… in reverse chronological order.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with ZOOS for 33 points.
The "X" or "Z" Bingo was not won.
The Best Scoring Non-Bingo words were XI by Carmen Beck and ZANY by Lynette Stewart tied for 55 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Rod Hulme was the highest winner of the evening with 530 points.
The highest loss was Henry de Young with 394 points.
Word Prize was won by Andrew Hocking with ZEA for 32 points.
The "X" or "Z" Bingo was not won.
The Best Scoring Non-Bingo was FAZE by Sandra Lavallee for 68 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 460 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 393 points.
Word Prize was won by Matt Schlegel with OBESITY for 64 points.
The "X" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Terry Aitken was the highest winner of the evening with 480 points.
The highest loss was Matt Schlegel with 352 points.
Word Prize was won by Matt Schlegel with CRONIES for 68 points.
The "X" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Terry Aitken was the highest winner of the evening with 448 points.
The highest loss was Frances Williamson with 330 points.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with HM for 29 points.
The "X" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Sandra Lavallee was the highest winner of the evening with 473 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 323 points.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with ZOOS for 33 points.
The "X" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 531 points.
The highest loss was Helen Devitt with 309 points.
Unexpected Plurals, (continued)
Here are three further examples of words that take an S-hook when you wouldn’t expect them to; that is, these words can be pluralized unexpectedly. They’re very useful in the game because they can draw unsuccessful challenges as well as leading to high scores.
BLEAK, DEAD and WAVEY are words that we normally wouldn’t think could be pluralized, in fact, we don’t even think of them as nouns at all. But BLEAKS are freshwater fish, DEADS are periods of greatest intensity, and WAVEYS are snow geese.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words. Their meanings are taken from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
Word Prize was won by David Fowler with TIMER for 24 points.
The "W" Bingo was won by Lisa Kilpis with WAGERED for 85 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 454 points.
The highest loss was Carmen Beck with 371 points.
Unexpected Plurals, (continued)
Here are three further examples of words that take an S-hook when you wouldn’t expect them to; that is, these words can be pluralized unexpectedly. They’re very useful in the game because they can draw unsuccessful challenges as well as leading to high scores.
LETHAL, PREST and STANK are words that we normally wouldn’t think could be pluralized, in fact, we don’t even think of them as nouns at all. But LETHALS are death-causing genetic defects, PRESTS are loans, and STANKS are ponds.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words. Their meanings are taken from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
Word Prize was won by Nancy Kuhlman with DEVIL for 18 points.
The "W" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Susan Gosso was the highest winner of the evening with 389 points.
The highest loss was Susan Gosso with 364 points.
Unexpected Plurals, (continued)
Here are three further examples of words that take an S-hook when you wouldn’t expect them to; that is, these words can be pluralized unexpectedly. They’re very useful in the game because they can draw unsuccessful challenges as well as leading to high scores.
LATENT, RANDOM and SPRANG are words that we normally wouldn't think could be pluralized, in fact, we don't even think of them as nouns at all. But LATENTS are barely visible fingerprints that can be developed for study, RANDOMS are haphazard courses, and SPRANGS are weaving techniques to form an openwork mesh.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words. Their meanings are taken from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
Word Prize was won by David Fowler with KIT for 34 points.
The "V" Bingo was won by Walter Cates with SAVORED for 81 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Helen Devitt was the highest winner of the evening with 404 points.
The highest loss was Lisa Kilpis with 336 points.
Unexpected Plurals, (continued)
Here are three further examples of words that take an S-hook when you wouldn't expect them to; that is, these words can be pluralized unexpectedly. They're very useful in the game because they can draw unsuccessful challenges as well as leading to high scores.
GALORE, INBRED and LARGE are words that we normally wouldn't think could be pluralized, in fact, we don't even think of them as nouns at all. But GALORES are abundances, INBREDS are products of inbreeding, and, and LARGES are generosities.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words. Their meanings are taken from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with SAGGED for 41 points.
The "U" Bingo was won by John Dungey with HUSTLER for 89 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 478 points.
The highest loss was Helen Devitt with 352 points.
Unexpected Plurals, (continued)
Here are three further examples of words that take an S-hook when you wouldn't expect them to; that is, these words can be pluralized unexpectedly. They're very useful in the game because they can draw unsuccessful challenges as well as leading to high scores.
ADEPT, FRAIL and HARD are words that we normally wouldn't think could be pluralized, in fact, we don't even think of them as nouns at all. But ADEPTS are highly skilled persons, FRAILS are baskets for holding dried fruit, and HARDS are the coarse refuse of flax.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words. Their meanings are taken from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with REACTS.
The "T" Bingo was won by John Dungey with 89 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 493 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 388 points.
Unexpected Plurals
SCRABBLE® players quickly learn the value of back hooks, especially words that are S-hooks. Not only can many points be scored (even bingos, considering how useful an S is), but also an unsuccessful challenge from your opponent may well be likely if the S-hook looks implausible. That’s why these unexpected plurals are good words to know.
In each of the next six weeks I will provide three examples of these unusual plurals. To start with, consider the words ABOVE, BELOW and ACTIVE. Unexpectedly, they can all be pluralized: ABOVES are things that are in a higher place, BELOWS are things that are beneath, and ACTIVES are participating members of an organization.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words. Their meanings are taken from the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with ECHOING for 21 points.
The "S" Bingo was won by Henry de Young with PREVAILS for 86 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 523 points.
The highest loss was Lisa Kilpis with 380 points.
Finishing the List of 20 Best Words
Here is the completion to our look at the 20 best words you should know from the howstuffworks website: ZA (a pizza), QUIXOTRY (extremely idealistic action or thought), ZAX (a tool for cutting roof slates), SYZYGY (the configuration of the earth, sun and moon lying in a straight line), ZYMURGY (a branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation) and BEZIQUE (a card game).
The website details why each of these words is so valuable in the game. If you'e counting, including the words listed in the last two weeks, this makes 19 words. The remaining word in the website's list is wagyu (a Japanese breed of cattle). Unfortunately, it is acceptable for play only outside North America.
I would recommend the howstuffworks website for more than just this list of the best possible words. It's useful for SCRABBLE® strategy and for the history of the game as well. (You might be proud that Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II are SCRABBLE® fans, but so too was Richard Nixon.)
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with TREED for 36 points.
The "R" Bingo was won by Matt Schlegel with SLICERS for 91 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 454 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 354 points.
More Words You Should Learn
Last week I noted two of the highest possible word plays in SCRABBLE®, from a list of "20 Words You Should Learn" found on the howstuffworks website.
Today I'll give you ten more of these suggested words: AERIE (an especially useful — and quite common — vowel dump because of its four vowels), QUEUE (useful for the same reason, but also because of that valuable Q), FAQIR and QANAT (both because the Q can be played without a U) XI, YO, and AA (the best 2-letter plays for differing reasons) and JOUSTED, JUKEBOX and CHUTZPAH (because of their high-scoring potential). It's also interesting to note while we've got QUEUE in this list, that it's extremely rare to find a word that has five vowels in a row, but QUEUEING is one of them. The final eight words on the website's list will appear here next week.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with THRONE for 18 points.
The "Q" Bingo was won by Sandra Lavallee with QUARTET for 74 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 473 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 374 points.
As Good As It Gets
Wondering what words give the most possible points in SCRABBLE®? I found the answers in, of all places, the website howstuffworks. The word that gives the highest possible opening play in SCRABBLE® is MUZJIKS (meaning Russian peasants). It gives 128 points. The word FLAPJACK (a pancake) will yield 356 points if it is played as a nine-timer.
And the all-time record for a single play in SCRABBLE®? Dr. Karl Khoshaw set the record, playing CAZIQUES (meaning tropical orioles) as a nine-timer for 392 points! While the chances of getting these letters on our racks, let alone recognizing the words they form, are very low at best, it's interesting to know these things, isn't it?
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Matt Schlegel with FINALE.
The "P" Bingo was won by Terry Aitken with APOGEE for 74 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 539 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 348 points.
Two Golfers' Names
If you're a sports fan, as well as finding the names of sports teams in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, you may find the names of individual players that are "legal" to play in SCRABBLE® because their non-name meanings are rather obscure. Two examples from golf are BEN CRENSHAW (a BEN is an inner room, and a CRENSHAW is a type of honeydew lemon) and CORY PAVIN (a CORY is a former monetary unit of Guineau, and a PAVIN is a slow, stately dance). There are many others, should you want to make up your own list of golfers' names.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Henry de Young with FERNY for 32 points.
The "O" Bingo was won by Rod Hulme with SNOOZERS for 101 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 451 points.
The highest loss was Rod Hulme with 378 points.
Two More Sports Teams
Last week I gave the names of two English soccer teams that are acceptable in SCRABBLE®. This week I’ll add two more sports teams: the TEXAS AGGIES (from U.S. college football, although a TEXAS can refer to the uppermost level of a steamboat and an AGGIE is also a type of playing marble), and the TOLEDO MUDHENS, a famous minor-league baseball team (a TOLEDO is a finely tempered sword, and a MUDHEN is a bird that lives in marshes).
More to come in the next few weeks, sports fans.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Rod Hulme with YUK for 21 points.
The "N" Bingo was won by Rod Hulme with SALTINE for 82 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 489 points.
The highest loss was Elin Becker with 404 points.
Words from the English Premier League
If you’re a sports fan as well as a SCRABBLE® fan, you can pleasantly pass some time away by searching through the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary for “proper” nouns that are the names of sports teams and players.
You’ll find that quite a few such names can be played legally on the SCRABBLE® board because they also have rather obscure meanings that render them as improper nouns grammatically. I’ll detail some of these sports-related words in the next few weeks. To start with, consider both FULHAM and WIGAN, the names of two of the top teams in English soccer. Less famously, a FULHAM is a loaded die, and a WIGAN is a stiff fabric.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with DENIALS for 74 points.
The "M" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with RAMPAGE for 83 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 497 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 395 points.
Cars and Proper Nouns (Continued)
Staying with our look at the names of cars that seem at first glance like proper nouns but are in fact acceptable in SCRABBLE® because they have other more obscure meanings,
I wonder what the folks who named the Ford CORTINA were thinking. Unless this is an Italian word of some significance, then Ford has named this car after a membrane on some mushrooms. Hardly a way to get customers into the showroom (OK, so they stopped making the CORTINA in 1982).
Also, while I would very much like to own an Audi Quattro, on my budget I guess I’ll have to settle for a CUATRO. Unfortunately this is not a car at all, but a small guitar of South America.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with ABROAD for 18 points.
The "M" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 465 points.
The highest loss was also John Dungey with 370 points.
Cars and Proper Nouns
Staying with our look at the names of cars that seem at first glance like proper nouns but are in fact acceptable SCRABBLE® words, I am amused by two in particular.
The first is COROLLA. In choosing a name that would impress car buyers, especially those looking for power and performance, was Toyota really intending to name this car after the protective covering of a flower?
Even more so, were General Motors actually thinking of a grandmother when they named the Pontiac GRANDAM? (Well, of course not — the Pontiac GrandAm is made from two words, of course, and one of them is the contraction for America, I think. But the name still makes me smile.)
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Rod Hulme with INERTIA for 66 points.
The "K" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with KITCHEN for 103 points.
The "L" Bingo was won by Rod Hulme with LOITERS for 77 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 473 points.
The highest loss was Rod Hulme with 375 points.
Cars and Proper Nouns
For the next few weeks, I’ll continue looking at SCRABBLE® words that most people might think are proper nouns, but with particular themes in mind. For example, consider some words that are used as names for cars, but have obscure meanings that make them playable in the game. Toyota makes a TERCEL. Did you know that means a male falcon? And the word HONDA itself. Who knew it was part of a lariat?
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with BEARINGS for 77 points.
The "K" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 534 points.
The highest loss was also John Dungey with 382 points.
Brand Name Words
To continue (and conclude) the theme of words that represent brand names and are found in the Official Tournament and Club Word List but not in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, if you can play PYREX (especially if you use the X as a back hook on PYRE) or LYCRA in a future game you will be well-rewarded. So, I have listed six brand names like this over the last three weeks. There may well be some further examples lurking in the Official Tournament and Club Word List that are not present in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Henry de Young with DILATES for 79 points.
The "J" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with JETTIED for 75 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 531 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 386 points.
Brand Name Words
Continuing from last week with examples of brand names that somewhat surprisingly can be played in SCRABBLE® are the words BRILLO and BENADRYL. Like JELLO and KLEENEX, you won't find them listed in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, but they are included in the Official Tournament and Club Word List. If you get the chance to play one of these words in a game, not only would you get a great score, but it's very likely that it would be challenged as a phoney!
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with PIGMENTS for 84 points.
The "J" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 4871 points.
The highest loss was Matt Schlegeln with a new high of 478 points for the highest loss -- beating John Dungey's record of 447 points.
Brand Name Words
The last few weeks have focused on words that seem at first sight to be "proper" (that is, their first letter is capitalized) and therefore unacceptable in SCRABBLE®, yet they have obscure meanings that allow them to be played in the game as uncapitalized words. The topic for this week and next, that of brand names, is similar in that you might expect these words always to be proper, but not so. Two notable examples are the words JELLO and KLEENEX. You won't find them listed in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, but they are included in the Official Tournament and Club Word List.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with WINCH for 26 points.
The "J" Bingo was not won.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 458 points.
The highest loss was Rod Hulme with 346 points.
Words That Aren’t Always Proper
Continuing the theme of "proper" words that can be played in SCRABBLE because they have obscure meanings that make also make them "improper," a newcomer to SCRABBLE® might be surprised, in learning the three-letter words, that DAN is valid (it has the meaning of a level of skill in martial arts). Also valid for play is DAVY, which means a safety lamp.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with HEAT for 32 points.
The "I" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with QUIZZED for 116 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 484 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 420 points.
Words That Aren’t Always Proper
Following the theme of "proper" words that can be played in SCRABBLE® because they have obscure meanings that make also make them "improper," a newcomer to SCRABBLE might be surprised that CAESAR is playable because it can mean an emperor in the generic sense. Also, JOHANNES certainly sounds like a person's name, but it can also mean a Portuguese coin.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Andrew Hocking with HAND for 13 points.
The "H" Bingo was won by Terry Aitken with BEHOLDER for 72 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 531 points.
The highest loss was Terry Aitken with 353 points.
Words That Aren’t Always Proper
Newcomers to the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary soon find out that there are lots of words that they have always thought of as “proper” (in the grammatical sense of needing to begin with a capital letter, such as the names of people or places), which at first sight seem unacceptable for use in the game, but they also have a rather obscure meaning that doesn’t require them to be capitalized at all – these are “improper” words, and so they can be played on the board.
A good example is the word JONES, which can be a verb meaning to have a strong craving for something. (So I suppose I have often JONESED what I cannot have, though I have never heard the word used this way.)
Another example is ALAN, meaning a large hunting dog. (Just because you own an ALAN, you don’t have to name him Alan, but you can.)
There are many other words like this – easily numbering in the hundreds. So in the next few weeks I’ll give some further examples that I find intriguing.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Carmen Beck with CHAPS for 75 points.
The "G" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with ZINGARI for 87 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 493 points.
The highest loss was Matt Schlegel with 339 points.
More “Unnecessary Uns
To give two more examples of what I consider “Unnecessary Uns”, and to finish off this category of words, I suggest that UNYOUNG is unnecessary to anyone trying to be expressive, and so is UNORNATE. In fact, there’s irony in this second word, isn’t there? It’s hardly ornate itself!
There’s lots more that I could say about this category of words, but I realize I’m ranting here. My sensibilities as a former English teacher are somewhat offended.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Matt Schlegel with SULU for 13 points.
The "F" Bingo was won by John Dungey with FLOATER for 91 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was won by Andrew Hocking with
a new high of 298 points.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 499 points.
The highest loss was Matt Schlegel with 443 points.
Further “Unnecessary Uns
Following on from last week’s examples, another adjective beginning with un- that seems unnecessary to me is UNWET. Surely the idea of dryness is carried better by descriptive adjectives like SERE or DEHYDRATED or ARID, and a person who uses UNWET just isn’t trying to be expressive at all.
But UNWHITE, I think, is even more unnecessary. Since there’s no meaning given in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary for this word, perhaps all the other colours except white might qualify as UNWHITE. So UNWHITE seems not only unnecessary because of its lack of description, but also hopelessly inexact.
NONWHITE is a much more precise word, but it doesn’t address the same idea. It means “a person who is not of the white race.”
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Mary Lou Bennett with QUIET for 84 points.
The "E" Bingo was won by Henry de Young with FEODARY for 95 points.
The Sergey Bubka prize was won by Lisa Kilpas with a new high of 458 points.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 572 points.
The highest loss was Mary Lou Bennett with 344 points.
Related to the words of questionable grammar in this column in the last couple of weeks, this week I’m starting a category that I like to think of as“Unnecessary UNs”. Two examples to start with are UNNOISY and UNCUTE. In my copy of Roget’s Thesaurus there are ten perfectly fine synonyms for QUIET and sixteen for UGLY. Surely they render UNNOISY and UNCUTE unnecessary (unless someone is just joking).
And I am certainly intrigued by the word UNSTONED. It doesn’t help that the Official Scrabble Players’ Dictionary doesn’t show a meaning for this word, but I like to think of it as used in the old quip about the harsh theatre critic who panned everything he saw – and left no turn unstoned.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Madeleine Conrad with THAWED for 26 points.
The "D" Bingo was won by Terry Aitken with CODEINA for 95 points.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 455 points.
The highest loss was Helen Devitt with 354 points.
Continuing the theme of rarely-used and intriguing relatives of more common words, I invite you to enjoy examples like SOMEWHEN (meaning “sometime”) and WHENAS (meaning “at which time”) when you come across them in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.
Even better, try playing them against your opponents in games!
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Rod Hulme with DESERTED for 72 points.
The "C" Bingo was won by Mary Lou Bennett with FACING for 74 points.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 498 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 371 points.
If you peruse the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, you will sometimes encounter words that are rarely-used and intriguing relatives of more common words.
Two examples that I like are DAYMARE (meaning “a nightmarish fantasy experienced while awake”) and ONEFOLD (meaning“constituting a single, undivided whole”).
I’m pretty sure I’ll go through the rest of my life and never find occasion to say or write the word “onefold.” But “nightmare” and “twofold,” “threefold,” etc. are of course quite familiar.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Lisa Kilpis with CAUSING for 79 points.
The "B" Bingo was won by John Dungey with BRIDGES for 69 points.
Lisa Kilpis had a new high of 436 to win the Sergey Bubka prize.
Lynette Stewart was the highest winner of the evening with 479 points.
The highest loss was Terry Aitken with 370 points.
Carrying on with words that are iffy grammatically, how’s about HEIGHTH (meaning height)? I’m sure that any English teacher (and I was one!) would mark this as a spelling error in his/her students’ work.
But I do like the word GREENTH (meaning green vegetation): there’s nothing grammatically questionable about it, and it’s interesting that no other colour word can be inflected like this.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Matt Schlegel with WOMEN for 20 points.
The "B" Bingo was not won.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 509 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 361 points.
Carrying on with words that seem to have questionable grammar, how’s about DIGGED (a past tense of DIG)? You might also think that HIDED was questionable, but not when you realize it’s the past tense of HIDE, meaning to flog.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Andrew Hocking with BOIL for 6 points.
The "B" Bingo was not won.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 496 points.
The highest loss was also Matt Schlegel with 387 points.
"Really?"
That’s the reaction my non-SCRABBLE®-playing friends have when I tell them that words like ET (a past tense of EAT) are acceptable, despite sounding extremely ungrammatical. I also enjoy telling them about WORSER (meaning worse) and MOSTEST (meaning most).
Yet you cannot play “worsest” or “moster”. In fact, these and other apparent violations of English grammar are the main reason my brother won’t take up the game seriously – he’s very much a purist.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Lisa KILPIS with TERN for 32 points.
The "A" Bingo was won by Terry Aitken with REDACTED for 89 points.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 548 points.
The highest loss was Henry de Young with 402 points.
Some French Homonyms. Learning interesting groups of homonyms, words that sound the same but are spelled differently, is a good way of expanding your SCRABBLE® vocabulary. For example, the word CHAMOIS, a verb meaning to prepare a soft leather, has the homonyms CHAMOIX, SHAMOY and SHAMOIS. You can also add CHAMMY and SHAMMY as a pair of homonyms that mean the same as CHAMOIS.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
We had a great night with two records shattered and 14 in attendance.
The new Highest Combined Score: Matt S & John D: 1021 and
the new Highest 3 Game Total: Matt Schlegel: 1660
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitte with EGGS for 36 points.
The "Z" Bingo was won by Matt Schlegel with SEIZURE for 127 points.
The Sergei Bubka prize was not won this week.
Matt Schlegel was the highest winner of the evening with 581 points.
The highest loss was John Dungey with 440 points.
A Special Prefix.
It seems there are lots of words that begin with negative prefixes, like ANTI-, DYS- MIS-, and so on, yet there are very few that begin with positive prefixes.
But lurking in the dictionary is the two-letter prefix EU-. It changes “DEMON” (a bad spirit) into EUDEMON (a good spirit), and “DYSPEPSY” (poor digestion) into EUPEPSY (good digestion), for example.
It’s worth taking a look at the positive words that begin with EU-, but unfortunately the list isn’t very long.
The words in bold block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Sandra Lavallee with LINTY for 38 points.
The "Z" Bingo was not won.
The Sergei Bubka prize was won by Andrew Hocking with a new high of 289.
Lynette Stewart was the highest winner of the evening with 487 points.
The highest loss was Henry DeYoung with 365 points.
Keeping with the theme of words that look like people’s names but have obscure meanings that allow them to be spelled without the first letter being capitalized (and, like last week, starting with the J), this week’s words are JENNY (a noun meaning a donkey) and JESSE (a verb meaning to fasten straps around the legs of a hawk).
The words in block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Sandra Lavallee with WOBBLY for 26 points.
The "Z" Bingo was not won.
The Sergei Bubka prize was won by Andrew Hocking with a new high of 243.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 462 points.
The highest loss was also John Dungey with 351 points.
Newcomers to SCRABBLE are often surprised by how many apparent "proper" or capitalised words are acceptable. (They aren't really "proper," they just have an obscure meaning, usually.)
Two examples are JONES ( a verb meaning to have a strong craving for) and JORDAN (a type of container).
Next week: more examples of these words.
The words in block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Terry Aitken with SENTINO for 70 points.
The "Y" Bingo was won by Theresia Breault with MISERLY for 75 points.
The Sergei Bubka prize was not won.
Lorraine Lamont was the highest winner of the evening with 461 points.
The highest loss was also Lorraine Lamont with 328 points.
This is the last in the recent series of C-K pairs, but there are many more in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, should you want to compile a fuller list.
CREEP (the verb meaning to crawl) is familiar to all of us. But is KREEP (a basaltic lunar rock)?
The words in block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by John Dungey with CASH for 44 points.
The "X" Bingo was won by Terry Aitken with EXTERNE for 93 points.
The Sergei Bubka prize was not won.
Lynette Stewart was the highest winner of the evening with 460 points.
The highest loss was Matt Schlegel with 439 points.
Two similar C-K pairs: CRONE (a withered old woman) and KRONE (either a former monetary unit of Denmark, or a former monetary unit of Austria) and CROON (to sing softly) and KROON (a former monetary unit of Estonia).
Next week: the last in this series of C-K words.
The words in block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with ZAG for 68 points.
The "X" Bingo was not won.
The Sergei Bubka prize was not won.
Terry Aitken was the highest winner of the evening with 478 points.
The highest loss was Helen Devitt with 318 points.
A C-K pair to consider at breakfast. Over your morning coffee, you might recall that CRULLER can also be spelled KRULLER. They both mean "a small, sweet cake."
The words in block capitals are acceptable SCRABBLE® words.
Word Prize was won by Rod Hulme with CLEAREST for 70 points.
The "W" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with SEWAGES for 69 points.
The Sergei Bubka prize was not won.
Lynette Stewart was the highest winner of the evening with 410 points.
The highest loss was Frances Williamson with 327 points.
Another C-K pair: CULTURE (the noun form, meaning civilization) and KULTUR (which is an exact synonym). Interesting -- the second word is very rarely used.
Next week: some C-K pairs with the C's and K's in the middle of the words.
Word Prize was won by Carmen Beck with NETTING for 74 points.
The "W" Bingo was not won.
The Sergei Bubka prize was won by
Andrew Hocking with a new high of 239 points.
Helen Devitt was the highest winner of the evening with 417 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 365 points.
Interestingly, there are quite a few pairs of words beginning with either a C or a K that have exactly the same letters thereafter.
One pair that I like is CINEMA and KINEMA. (Both words mean a motion-picture theatre. I've never heard anyone actually pronounce "KINEMA," though. Is there such a sound as a soft K?).
There are more examples of these C-K pairs to come in the next few weeks.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with STEAMIER for 72 points.
The "V" Bingo was won by John Dungey with DIVERTED for 96 points.
Four people won the Sergei Bubka prize: Henry de Young with a new high of 582 points , Andrew Hocking with a new high of 237 points, Rod Hulme with a new high of 556 points, and Nancy Kuhlman with a new high of 486 points.
Henry de Young was the highest winner of the evening with 582 points.
The highest loss was Carmen Beck with 367 points.
Following up last week's theme of a word that likely would get misspelled by most sports fans (the correct word being TITLIST, not "titleist"), an avid soccer fan might think of the word "Reebok" as well -- the company that puts out lots of official soccer gear worldwide, named after a large antelope.
But the correct spelling is RHEBOK.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with FOLLIES for 78 points.
The "U" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with OUTMANS for 79 points.
Andrew Hocking won the Sergei Bubka prize wiht a new high of 224 points.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 440 points.
The highest loss was Lynette Stewart with 394 points.
A good phoney: the Titleist company, which manufactures the majority of golf balls that are used in the sport, especially on the P.G.A. Tour, as well as golf clubs and other related items, got the spelling wrong (perhaps on purpose).
In fact, there is no such word as "titleist" -- the correct spelling is TITLIST (without the "e").
But playing the word "titleist" as a phoney would probably fool any player who is sports-minded.
Word Prize was won by Lynette Stewart with ZOA for 37 points.
The "T" Bingo was won by Walter Cates with MINUTES for 81 points..
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 436 points.
The highest loss was Lynette STewart with 337 points.
The computer world is a good source for portmanteau words.
Some examples are PIXEL (formed from "picture" and "element"), QUBIT (from "quantum" and "bit"), NETIZEN (from "Internet" and "citizen") and SYSOP (from "system" and "operator").
Likely the list of new SCRABBLE®-acceptable words, when it arrives, will contain quite a few computer-related portmanteau words.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with HOUND for 34 points.
The "S" Bingo was won by Lynette Stewart with TABLOIDS for 90 points..
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 568 points.
The highest loss was also John Dungey with 350 points.
A further portmanteau word: VELCRO was created by combining "velour" and "crochet".
I could carry on for many more weeks with these kinds of words, but for the next while I'll finish off portmanteau words with examples from the computer world that are acceptable in SCRABBLE®.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with GASH for 20 points.
The "Q" or "R" Bingo was won by Sandra Lavallee with POTSHERD for 98 points..
Rod Hulme was the highest winner of the evening with 491 points.
The highest loss was also Rod Hulme with 324 points.
Another portmanteau word.
For many decades, scientists have known that light, in its smallest form (a photon) behaves both like a particle and a wave: it's both.
So, how could they devise a word to describe this smallest unit of light, since "photon" also applies to other kinds of energy?
They created the portmanteau word WAVICLE.
Word Prize was won by Helen Devitt with HOISTED for 77 points.
The "Q" Bingo was not won.
John Dungey was the highest winner of the evening with 518 points.
The highest loss was also John Dungey with 393 points.
Portmanteau words are created by splicing two other words together, like SMOG (smoke and fog combined).
A PLENCH is a tool that can be used both as a pair of pliers and as a wrench. It's an acceptable SCRABBLE® word.
Next week: another portmanteau word.
Word Prize was won by Terry Aitken with OVARIES for 76 points.
The "P" Bingo was won by Henry de Young with OPENING for 68 points..
Sandra Lavallee was the highest winner of the evening with 473 points.
The highest loss was Henry de Young with 335 points.
To start the new year with interesting words, how's about one that doesn't exist?
The Seattle Seahawks have been in the National Football League for 40 years, and their logo has been a stylized bird (much like a swooping eagle) for all that time.
The team has sold many thousands of dollars of merchandise carrying the logo -- yet neither the red nor the blue SCRABBLE® dictionary recognizes the word.
STRATFORDSCRABBLE.CA
We meet Wednesdays at 7 pm at
Anne Hathaway Retirement Residence,
480 Downie Street,
Stratford, Ontario
CONTACTS
+1 519 273 2233