Python script to find the longest words with letters in reverse alphabetical order.

sorted.py

# Remove non-alphabetic characters (hyphens, etc) from the word.
def strip_non_alpha(word):
    return "".join([x for x in list(word.lower()) if (x >= 'a' and x <= 'z')])

# Sort the letters in the word (in reverse).
def sort_letters(word):
    letters = sorted(list(word))
    letters.reverse()
    return "".join(letters)

# Read the list of words.
words = open("/Users/bgeiger/Downloads/enable1.txt", "r")

# Create a list of words that match.
sortedwords = []

# For each word in the input list...
for word in words:
    # ... take out the non-alphabetic characters...
    word = strip_non_alpha(word)
    # ... and if the letters are already sorted in the proper order...
    if sort_letters(word) == word:
        # ... add the word to the list.
        sortedwords.append(word)

# Sort the completed list of words by length.
sortedwords.sort(key=len)
# Reverse the list, so the longest words come first.
sortedwords.reverse()
# Print the entire list.
print sortedwords