Word riddle: I know a six-letter word; subtract just one letter and a word meaning twelve remains. What is the original word?

Introduction / Context:
This is a wordplay puzzle that combines basic arithmetic with vocabulary. The riddle states that there is a word of six letters, and if you remove one letter, a word meaning twelve remains. Instead of doing numeric calculations, you have to think about English words whose lengths and meanings fit the description. Such problems are common in verbal reasoning and puzzle sections of competitive exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The target word has exactly six letters.
• Removing one letter from that word leaves a five-letter word.
• That resulting five-letter word must mean “twelve”.
• Answer options include “dozens”, “dozen”, “twelve”, and “letter”.

Concept / Approach:
A very common English word meaning “twelve” is “dozen”. The word “dozen” has five letters, which matches the requirement after one letter is removed. Now we need to find a six-letter word that becomes “dozen” when you remove a single letter. The word “dozens” fits perfectly, because removing the “s” at the end leaves “dozen”. Therefore, “dozens” is the original six-letter word described by the riddle.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify a five-letter English word that means twelve; “dozen” is the standard choice. Step 2: Add one letter to “dozen” to see which six-letter words you can form, focusing on options given in the question. Step 3: Notice that “dozens” is simply “dozen” plus the letter “s”. Step 4: Check that “dozens” contains six letters and, after removing one letter (the “s”), leaves “dozen”, which means twelve. Step 5: Confirm that none of the other answer choices satisfy both the length and the meaning conditions.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify each option. “dozens” is six letters and can lose one letter to form a five-letter word meaning twelve. “dozen” is already five letters, not six, so it cannot be the original word. “twelve” is six letters but if we remove any letter we do not get “dozen”. “letter” does not represent the number twelve at all. This confirms that the only valid answer is “dozens”.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
“dozen” fails the length requirement. “twelve” also fails the requirement because removing any letter does not give a new word that still means twelve. “letter” satisfies neither the numeric meaning nor the structure requested in the riddle. These options are there as distractors to test careful reading of each part of the puzzle.

Common Pitfalls:
Many learners rush and choose “dozen” because they see the word that means twelve and forget that the question asks for the original six-letter word, not the shorter one. Another pitfall is to ignore the requirement that subtracting one letter must produce a valid word with a clear meaning, not a random sequence of letters. Always re read the problem and ensure both the length and the meaning conditions are satisfied.

Final Answer:
The six-letter word is dozens, because removing the letter “s” leaves “dozen”, which means twelve.