THREE IN A ROW
Credit: GAMES Magazine
December, 2006
Paddy Smith

The same three consecutive letters of the alphabet can be inserted into each group of letters below - without re-arranging the letters in those groups - to make  reasonably common, uncapitalized English words. The letters may be inserted in different places, including the beginnings and ends of words - but their order must remain alphabetical from left to right. Can you determine what the three consecutive letters are, and then restore the original words?

AUS       CERI         BREAK
DUT       EROI         BREUE
FRI         SENE        DIOLI
IMI         SOND       MIENE
JET         TASO        STRAT

HINT:
You don't have to go very far into the alphabet to find the three consecutive letters.

Answer:

The letters are ABC:

ABACUS      ACERBIC       BAREBACK
ABDUCT     AEROBIC       BARBECUE
FABRIC       ABSENCE       DIABOLIC
IAMBIC       ABSCOND      AMBIENCE
ABJECT       TABASCO      ABSTRACT