Compound words

The idea

A compound word is one word made by joining two smaller words together, like 'rain' and 'bow' making 'rainbow'. In these questions you are given two groups of words, and you must take one word from the first group and one word from the second group to build a real compound word.

Try joining words across the groups, not inside one group. Most joins will make nonsense words, and only one pairing in the whole grid makes a real word. Sound each join out in full before you decide — a join that looks nearly right, like 'waterset', is still wrong if it is not a real word.

The word from the first group always comes first. Keep the spellings of both small words exactly as they are: joining never changes any letters.

Worked example

One word from the first group (water, out, door) and one word from the second group (set, fall, out) join to make one new word. Which word can be made?

1. Try the joins across the groups: water + set and door + fall are not real words.
2. Take water from the first group and fall from the second group.
3. Join them: water + fall = waterfall, a real compound word.

Answer: waterfall

Watch out

• Joining two words from the same group instead of one from each group.
• Choosing a join that looks plausible but is not a real word, like 'doorfall'.
• Changing a letter when joining — compound words keep both spellings intact.