NABIS

n. pl. NABIS a group of French artists

found: in my latest paperback read- or listen, rather. It's on CD.

also: anagrams are BASIN and SABIN. Interesting when the plural of a word is the same as singular.

POSTIE

n. pl. -TIES a letter carrier

found: when one of my coworkers brought in this article.

also: anagram of POTSIE, SOPITE

notes: a mailman on a motorcycle? I'm moving to Australia.

ABOHM

n. pl. -S a unit of electrical resistance

found: browsing the OSPD... again.

also: OK, so if you're reading a blog about SCRABBLE words, you're probably familiar with most of the three letter words, but if not, both OHM and MHO are valid words. I had heard of OHM, but not the other, which, as you can tell, is just OHM spelled backwards. Apparently because it is some sort of opposite. Pretty cool. Our language would definitely be more interesting if all opposite words were just reverse-spelled. But I digress. ABOHM and ABMHO are also words.

KAON

n. pl. -S a type of meson KAONIC adj.

found: actually, I meant to use the word KOAN.. read it in a paperback. FYI, it's a paradox meditated on by Buddhist monks. Oh, and MESON is a subatomic particle. Love it when I have to look up the definition of a definition.

also: KAOLIN is also a valid word.. found that one because it was a last name of someone I delivered mail to and for some reason I looked it up.

TORPOR

02.16.08 12:24 AM

n. pl. -S mental or physical inactivity

found: um, I was playing 'hunt the bear' with my son, which I think turned into being a bear and hibernating. Turns out bears don't even truly hibernate. Hey, if it's on Wikipedia, it must be true. While you're at it, check out this YouTube video of a bear hunting salmon. (that was our next activity.)

GLIOMA

n. pl. -MAS or -MATA a type of tumor

found: in an apocalyptic paperback novel

also: add an N to the mix, and you have LOAMING. I'm always hoping for an -ing, but nice to know a words that uses just the i and g...

notes: I've come to realize something about my literary taste- I'm shallow. I have a hard time reading something if I'm not intrigued about what's going to happen next. This is why I couldn't make it through the first chapter of Moby Dick, even on CD (enough about water, already!), yet I will blow through a book about a top secret U.S. government project to build a computer that imports people's intelligence through advanced MRI's of their brains. And only one man can stop them...

EDUCE

v. EDUCED EDUCING EDUCES to draw forth or bring out EDUCIBLE

found: while looking up the meaning of ILLICIT and ELICIT..

notes: since I like words that use up c's and i's, I thought of these two words. funny thing- the definition of ELICIT was 'to EDUCE', which I thought was a more obscure word. usually definitions are simplified...

GOBO

n. pl. -BOS or -BOES a device used to shield a microphone from extraneous sounds

found: browsing the SCRABBLE dictionary

notes: I like this better than that annoying made up retailing word- bogo (buy one get one).. stay tuned, I may make a list of _O_O words.

IN and EN

At the request of a reader (Olivia in Rochester, NY), I'm listing all words here that can take both the prefix EN- and IN-.... though some aren't words until you put the prefix on. (DORSE, TRANT, URE)

Some are just alternated spellings of each other, and some have completely different meanings. Here they are:

-ACTIVE -CAGE -CASE -CLASP -CLOSE -CRUST -CUMBER -DORSE -DOW -DUE -FLAME -FOLD -GRAFT -GRAIN -GULF -LACE -MESH -QUIRE -SCROLL -SHEATH -SHRINE -SNARE -SOUL -SPHERE -SURE -SWATHE
-THRALL -THRONE -TITLE -TOMB -TRANT -TREAT -TRENCH -TRUST
-TWINE -TWIST -URE -WIND -WRAP

In an effort to make this blog more interactive....

Hey there, readers. As exciting as it is to type in words and wonder if anyone is reading, I'd be thrilled to have you, the obsessed SCRABBLE player, contribute.

Have a question about word lists? Have a favorite word? A link to a well-played game? Other ideas? Submit a comment or email me at scrabblepodcast@gmail.com

I should also mention here that WORD UP: a scrabble podcast can be found on iTunes if you're interested.

OLIVARY

adj. shaped like an olive

found: looking up the name 'olivia' (I have a habit of looking up acquaintances names as a means of learning new words. Don't worry Olivia, I'm not a crazed stalker.)

also: OLIVINE sounds more like an adjective, but it's actually a mineral. OLIVINIC would be the adj. form of it.

VIZSLA

n. pl. -S a Hungarian breed of dog

found: while trying to learn some new vi- words (v & i are two of my least favorite letters)

also: SILVA is the best possible anagram from this

notes: my other two least favorite letters are c & u.

ELHI

adj. pertaining to school grades 1 through 12

found: not sure... I think I was looking up a word that started with e-l-i-?

also: anagram of HEIL

notes: this has to be one of the more bizarre short words I've come across... especially since it isn't foreign (I would have guessed it was a Hebrew term for something). my guess: it combines the words elementary and high (school)... wait, I just googled it. Yep, I'm right.

IMPRESA

02.07.08 04:25 PM

n. a type of emblem

found: while following a Subaru Impreza.

also: can be spelled IMPRESE; plus IMPREST is a valid word.

notes: I just made some pear ginger sunflower muffins. mmm. but on a more related note, the closest SCRABBLE word to Subaru is SUBAH or SUBARID.

FUGU

02.07.08 11:24 PM

n. pl. -S a toxin-containing fish

found: delivering mail to a business called fugu group, inc.

also: reminds me of another fish-related word I've come across- ZANDER

notes: when I asked the business owner if there was meaning behind the business name, he said, 'well, it's a type of sushi'. was that supposed to answer my question?

FUGGY

02.02.08 11:45 PM

adj. stuffy and odorous

found: also in the book on CD 'Closed Circle' by Robert Goddard. (see SHIRTY) I'm telling you, these British novels are a goldmine.

also: root word is FUG. As often is the case with strange words, I like to see what other 'rhyming words' are out there. BUGGY, MUGGY, PUGGY, and VUGGY all pass the test.

notes: speaking of rhyming, my kids are in the habit of showing their rhyming skills- for example, we'll past a stoplight and they'll declare 'stoplight, boplight, koplight!' Haven't quite grasped the concept that the words rhymed are supposed to be real ones. Though if they'd said 'buggy, fuggy, vuggy' a few months ago, I would have given them the same (falsely) knowing parental smile.

DAIKON

02.01.08 11:44 PM

n. a Japanese radish

found: at a discount produce store.. went to three different grocery places to try and save money. Probably made up the difference in gas.