New Scrabble Word Alert: GIWWSYY

WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) 

Add this to the crazy list of acronyms that have become words. 

New Q word: EEQSU

EQUES: a member of a privileged military class of Ancient Rome (pl. EQUITES)

Missed Bingo OTD: AAEILSWY

AISLEWAY. tough to see this one, the Y was on the board. 

Bingo OTD: BEEIISTU

I don't know if I'll ever get to play this again, but studying this 8 letter 'vowel dump' however many times I did, in this moment, paid off. 

Missed Extension OTD: HARM + IMNOU

Missed Front Hook OTD: AHRPSY

(S)HARPY

Sneaky Second Quiz: CLIMATE

METICAL. takes an S. Didn't know it!

A W-U word I didn't know: AHPUW

WHAUP: a European bird 

Missed Bingo OTD: AAAKNST

One of those words I know but wouldn't look for when I see a bunch of As...

KATANAS

Surprise back hook: YOGIS

I think I might have known YOGISM but adding a hook to a plural word is never an obvious move. 

Missed Bingo OTD: AADGIINS

GAINSAID

from GAINSAY: to deny

Worth a listen!

http://www.opb.org/news/article/national-scrabble-champ-gives-tips-for-winning/

NARCOMA + O

Found this when I saw a sign for incorrectly spelled MACARONS*

New word: EGGINORR

It's a least fun to run across a new word-

GORGERIN and ROGERING were in the last word list, but new to this one is 

REORGING (and of course, ORG) 

Some new K words

The poor K tile is not classified as a 'power tile' but is still a good one to know words for! Here are the new 4 letter K words added to the TWL14: 

KAPU	a Hawaiian set of rules for daily life [n -S]
KETA	a type of salmon [n -S]
KRAI	an administrative district in Russia [n -S] : KRAY(s)
KRAY	krai [n -S]

Another new 7 letter Z word: EEGMRUZ

MERGUEZ+ a spicy beef and lamb sausage 

Found word OTD: DENOORTX

Works great also as an extension, of course. 

Fill in the blank quiz: ACIKLO?

AIRLOCK

Bingo OTD: EEHIRRTX

Played by Jeremy Hildebrand this weekend in a high-scoring game, you can see the play (and the rest of the game of you'd like) here: 

http://cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=19714#11

Things I learned at club this week

I1. IAMBI is a great word.
2. ADEEKIM makes a word with an R.
3. AGOS* isn't good (luckily I got away with it)
4. BAIRD* also isn't good (argh)
5. DANCINGS* isn't good either (double argh)
6. When someone plays a word near the end of the game that puts them ahead 80 points (see above), you should probably challenge it if you're unsure if it's a phony.
7. Don't add insult to injury by giving them a spot to play a third bingo against you on the last play.

Fill in the blank quiz: EEILRTU?

RETICULE... Was pretty happy I was able to find this at club last night despite my many other terrible mistakes and eventual loss. 

Missed bingo OTD: AIMNOTU

MANITOU. Also, TINAMOU! Didn't know either. 

Things I leaned at scrabble club this week

1. MIT* still isn't a valid 3. Argh. 

2. SARCOID takes an S. Aargh. 

3. DERRICK is a word. (Didn't know it) 

4. ENVISAGE is good. (As a bright spot, a guess for a bingo outplay. Still lost though)

The newest 7 letter scrabble word: BEILNTS

NIBLETS (and NIBLET) were just announced as the two words of 8 letters or less (i.e. most likely to be played) that were incorrectly omitted from the new tournament word list. There was also a list of 24 words under 8 letters that should be deleted. 

Found word OTD: AABMNRTU

RAMBUTAN the edible fruit of the Malayan tree. (Gotta love Asian food markets!)

Sneaky second quiz: TEXTURE

It's a new one! URTEXTE+. Previously only URTEXT(S) was playable. 

Refers to the original text, as of a musical score or a literary work.

PERV now has three hooks instead of one!

Haha ok I know this post sounds a little odd, but I just tried to play PERVY+ in a Facebook game that didn't have the new dictionary yet and wasn't able to. So naturally I thought 'I wonder if it's in the new word list?' Yep, it is. So is PERVO+

OOF and YOOF: two fun new scrabble words

OOF- interjection used to express discomfort 

YOOF- youth (ok, that's just odd) 

Also of note: FOO- a name for temporary computer variables or files 

Missed bingo OTD: DEILOPU

EUPLOID: a cell having three or more identical genomes 

Of note, this word takes an S or a Y back hook! 

ABCN: another newly added scrabble word

BANC the bench on which the judges of a court sit. 

This is one of those words I used to always wish I could play, for some reason. Now I can! Takes an S or an O. 

Missed bingo OTD: BELMNOS

NOMBLES variant spelling of numbles; deer entrails 

Ever line up letters on your rack and say 'hm, that looks like it could be a word' but not play it? Yep, that happened here. 

Fill in the blank quiz: AEHILLR?

FIREHALL: a fire station

Thing I learned at scrabble club this week

1. GRIDE is a word. 

2. CEEILRT + E has an anagram. 

3. If you're playing on a closed board and you're ahead- keep it closed. 

Missed bingo OTD: AAEGLOVS

Darn it! I won't see that opportunity again for another 20 years. 

Found Word OTD: AEELQSTUZ

Ok I know a nine letter word isn't so useful, but wouldn't it be a cool front extension to ALES? I'd known QUETZALS, but not this version. 

New JQXZ word: AJMRU

JUMAR to climb with ropes using a type of clamps 

Also JUMARED JUMARING JUMARRED JUMARRING

New high probability scrabble word: ADEINOS

ANODISE+

anodize (takes a D, R, S) 

Words my kid says that I wonder if they are words: AFHINOSY

FASHIONY+ fashionable, trendy

Yes, it's only good in the new scrabble dictionary! I guess my kid is ahead (or current with) the times. Also makes for a fun back hook. 

Missed Bingo OTD: DEEINRTT

RETINTED

Whoops. What's an 'easy' word uo ve missed lately? 

-OWIE words

Do you know all four? These can be helpful if you're stuck with a W and several vowels. 

DOWIE (no s) dreary

TOWIEs a form of contract bridge for 3 players 

YOWIEs a small ewe 

ZOWIE (no s) used to express surprise 

Fill in the blank quiz: CEIRSY?

There are four answers, one is new: 

CLERISY the well educated class

CRUISEY+ cruisy 

RICKEYS an alcoholic beverage 

SPICERY a spicy quality 

High Probability Bingo OTD: EGILNOT

LENTIGO: a small pigmented spot on the skin

Not sure how I'd never seen this word. Of note; it doesn't take an S, or even an -ES. Plural is LENTIGINES. 

Sneaky Second: BATBOYS

BOBSTAY: a strong nautical rope 

Opening rack quiz: EEIORRU

What would you do? 

This is a case where knowing your vowel-heavy words really helps. Two options are EURO and OURIE. One leaves EIR and the other ER. One scores 6, the other twelve. And one can be placed so that there are no vowels under a DWS space, and the other can't. 

So, the more defensive play is likely EURO, while OURIE is more on the offensive side. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments if you'd like. 

Fill in the blank quiz: EILLNNS?

SNELLING: to tie a hook to a line. (SNELL)

Missed Bingo OTD: ACILNST

Normally when I post a 'missed bingo' it's one that I could've played in a game but didn't know. Unfortunately, in this case, it was one that both I and my opponent didn't know. 

'Wait, what?', you may ask? Well he tried to play LACTINS* on the previous turn as an out-play, and I challenged it off. What I didn't realize was that he had a valid word to put in the same spot, CATLINS (TINCALS), and therefore I didn't block it. He guessed the word on his next turn and won. 

For a much higher skill level of something similar happening, check here: 

http://www.cross-tables.com/annotated.php?u=19322#6#

AADEIOR: new vowel heavy scrabble word

AERADIO+: a Canadian radio system used by pilots. 

The only eight that can be formed with these 7 is AERADIOS. 

Another new high probability bingo: ADEINST

You probably already knew 

DETAINS

DESTAIN

INSTEAD

NIDATES

SAINTED 

STAINED

 

But now there is also SATINED+

Scrabble word OTD: ALNOUZ

Someone just played this against me today. 

ZONULA a small zone

I hadn't seen it before, which I knows may sound kind of silly, but considering there's also 

ZONULE

ZONULES

ZONULAE

ZONULAR

ZONULAS

You'd think I'd have run across it by now. (Interestingly, ALNOUZ?? yields no 8s)

SLANTIER+

SLANTY+ is a new TWL14 word too! 

SLANTIER may now be one the most played new 8s moving forward. (My very unprofessional opinion) 

Missed Bingo OTD: AEIKNTY

KYANITE: a blue silicate mineral. 

KYANITIC

KYANISE

KYANIZE

are all also variants. 

Also spelled CYANITE- which leads us to another set of words: 

CYANITIC

CYANIC

CYANID

CYANIDEd

CYANIN

CYANINE

CYANATE

CYANAMID

CYANAMIDE

All the ones that don't end with C take an S. 

9 letter word vs. 8 letter word...

That time then my 9 letter word extended to the TWS was actually not the hugest scoring play... But perhaps I win for style points? 

New AEIOU 8: ACEIOSSU

The podcast actually had this as a feature once upon a time; it looks like there's one more to add to the list! 

CAESIOUS: bluish green

8 letter words with 5 vowels can be life-savers in scrabble; and there's quite a few. I made a point of memorizing the ones that contained AEIOU just because it made for a short and easier list. 

New words with VV

I know this is hardly the right place to start as far as studying new words, but then again, I've never been one to study strictly by probability/playability. A friend texted me the word BEVIES (referring to beverages) and made me wonder about the word BEVVIES+. Yup, it's a new one. Here's a list of the others that are new to the TWL14 (up to 8 letters):

BEVVY

LUVVY

BOVVER

LUVVED

LUVVIE

BEVVIES

BOVVERS

LUVVIES

LUVVING

SPIVVIER

SPIVVISH

MANIA words.

I recently missed a clever move that would've added EGO to the existing MANIAS on the board, and so was inspired to create this list of words for you, with the back hooks added (they a take an S):

APIMANIA

BALLETOMANIA

BIBLIOMANIAc

DECALCOMANIA

DIPSOMANIAc

EGOMANIAc

EROTOMANIAc+

HYPERMANIA

HYPOMANIA

KLEPTOMANIAc

LEISHMANIA (takes an L)

MEGALOMANIAc

MONOMANIAc

MYTHOMANIAc

NYMPHOMANIAc

PYROMANIAc

ZOOMANIA

If you have to memorize only three, go for API-, EGO-, and ZOO-, as they will be the most useful in an opening word scenario. 

Missed Bingo OTD: AEFKOTU?

Also, fill-in-the-blank quiz. 

New Three Letter Scrabble Words Quiz...

Hey everyone! So if you are a serious scrabble player, you already use Zyzzyva to study words. Unfortunately, the new word list has not yet been released to use with Zyzzyva, making it tough to study. (Apparently they are close to making it work, however.) In the meantime, since I figured the first words I'd want to learn are the new 3s, I made a file that you can add to Zyzzyva as a custom lexicon. This includes all the new three letter words as well as anagrams of them that were already in the last word list. So if you load it up, you should be able to quiz yourself! Here is the file link: 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/68187597/new3s.txt

New JQXZ word OTD: ACHZ

CAZH: casual (does not take an S)

This one is new to the OSPD5/ TWL14! 

Always good to have new words to get rid of clunky tiles. 

EEW+ and EEEW+

However, EW* is not a new word. Also EEEEWWW* was not added. 

Fill in the blank quiz: ADFORU?

FOULARD: a soft fabric 

There's an 8 too, if you have ADFORU??

Low probability word OTD: AAHILRRZ

ARRHIZAL

Meaning: rootless (doesn't take an S)

Fill in the blank quiz: AAISTU?

YAUTIAS: a tropical plant 

It should be noted that AAISTU?? Yields 6 words, including ZAIBATSU and AQUAVITS

Why you should take an extra few seconds to look for a better play

I am often quick to play a bingo, especially when it's an exciting word- but had I spent 5 seconds more, I'd likely have realized it would for one row over- and for a whopping 49 more points. That's a lot. 

A rare 9 letter word find: EEINNOTZ?

I was pretty excited to spot this. Don't know if I would've gone for it in a regular game as I wasn't 100% sure it was good,  but that's not a problem with Facebook scrabble games. 

There happens to be one other word with the letters EEINNOTZ? if you wanna take a crack at it. 

Why you should take an extra few seconds to look for a better play

I am often quick to play a bingo, especially when it's an exciting word- but had I spent 5 seconds more, I'd likely have realized it would for one row over- and for a whopping 49 more points. That's a lot. 

3 things I learned at scrabble club last night

1. ACEILLN thru a T has a bingo. (Thru an A yields 3 more)

2. PAREO is a useful 5 (anagram of OPERA)

3. TOXIMAS* is not a word (it's funny how in the middle of a game, one can convince oneself that something looks familiar) TOXEMIA/ TOXAEMIA is good. 

Movie review and a cool word: ABFJORSU

Ok, I know you didn't come here for a movie recommendation, but I found 'Bad Words' starring (and directed by) Jason Bateman to be pretty hilarious. As a bonus: I discovered a new low probability 8 letter word! It means 'splendid'. Oh and the film is rated R, btw. 

Sneaky second: (5 letter edition) LEFTY

Five letter words are often far along the study list, but the right one can sure get you out of a bind. I didn't know FLYTE, and it would've scored more points and balance my rack better than the play I made. It's an alternate spelling of FLITE, and means 'to quarrel'. 

New Q without U words

Everyone usually learns words like QI, QAT, QADI and QAID pretty quickly when playing competitive scrabble, and with good reason- they get played a lot! The new dictionary has several new additions that will be useful- here are a few you will be most likely to play first: 

CINQ(S) cinque (the number five) 

NIQAB/NIQAAB(S) a veil worn by Muslim women

QIBLA(S) kibla/kiblah the direction Muslims face while praying 

TAJINES+

A word you'll likely see played a bit when the OSPD5 is enacted is TAJINES. The + symbol indicates that it's been added to the new TWL; words that are still only acceptable in CSW- international scrabble lexicon- are indicated with a # I.e. JANTIES#)

Also new to the OSPD5 is TAGINES (alternate spelling and even higher probability)

While JANTIES# isn't in it, JANTY was already in the last version. (Alternate spelling of JAUNTY)

Low Probability Bingo OTD: ACEHKLPR

KREPLACH: dumplings filled with ground meat or cheese (also KREPLECH)

It's plural, so no -S, either. 

Fun front hooks: _RATTLING

Although it didn't come into play this game, it would've been fun to play B(RATTLING) or P(RATTLING), especially given the board placement. Do you have a favorite surprise front hook?

Found Word OTD: ABERTY

Also a sneaky second. Interestingly, BETRAYER has been featured as a sneaky second before as well. 

The best place to learn about OSPD5 errata/ omissions, etc

The folks who run the Seattle Scrabble Club are on top of things. Check this link out for what is probably the best place on the web to find lists of newly added words, which ones are omitted from the OSPD (but are valid in tournament play), etc. 

http://www.seattlescrabble.org/owl3.php

Dear Scrabble app teacher...

I hate you. Sincerely, Jeff

Scrabble, distilled, and different levels of frustration

If I had to break scrabble play down to its essential elements, I think it would end up being these three things: 

1. Knowing the words. 

2. Finding the aforementioned words on your rack. 

3. Finding the best place on the board to play them. 

The first one is easy to amend; you just study more words. If I miss playing a word that I didn't know, well, I can't get too mad at myself. 

Number two is a little trickier. It involves the letters on your rack as well as playing through letters on the board. When I miss seeing a word that I know, because I fail to anagram it, then I get a little mad at myself. 

The last one is the toughest, and for me, can be the most aggravating. Say for example, I have the word CALX among the letters on my rack; but I don see anywhere on the board I can play it. I end up making a subpar play of AX, only to realize that I forgot I could add an X to the end of JIN. Well, 'forgot' is the wrong word. I just missed it. And that makes me really mad at myself. 

EVENTED#

So two times in the past week I've found DEEENTV on my rack- but it's only playable in the international scrabble lexicon (hence the # symbol). There is, however, one 8 letter word you can make in TWL by adding an I. Know it?

Missed bingo OTD: AEISTTU

Sometimes a perfectly normal word will still stump me, either because I keep trying to put one letter in the same spot (S at the end), or because it's just enough out of my probability range as far as studying (two Ts and a U will do that). On the bright side, it wasn't playable. But I knew I was missing something. 

Things I learned at club

1. Remember to double your opening play. Yeah. That happened. (And the game ended up being a tie)

2. INOORZ? contains a bingo. Plus two 8s! Darn it. 

3. PENCE takes an S front hook

Finding front extensions using Zyzzyva

Just one reason why Zyzzyva is so great: say, someone plays WIGS and you're wondering, what could I have put in front of that? Well, by using the @ sign along with a pattern search, Voila! You realize you had PERI on your rack. Darn it. 

Missed Bingo OTD: AAIILNZR

Thanks once a again, FB Scrabble teacher, for making me feel stupid. 

Definition: a red dye.

Back hooks: E and S 

New podcast episode!

With all the excitement of Nationals and the new dictionary, I forgot to mention that there's a new episode out! Find it on iTunes. 

Helpful OSPD5 search

So it looks like Merriam Webster has a feature on this page that allows you to search words that are in the new dictionary! The downside is, you can only use two blanks- but I've already found a few three letter words I'd missed this way. Try it out:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/scrabble/finder/

Found word OTD

I think I actually had this one in an old podcast. 

HALVA, too! 

Find the bingo quiz

Taken from round 25 at the NSC, Joel Sherman holds EINOST? on this turn. There are 25 anagrams but only one that will score across the double-double spot. How long will it take you to find it?

The entire game can be found here: http://event.scrabbleplayers.org/games//nsc2014/25/000.html

NSC 2014

Unless you're living in a hole, you must know that the National Scrabble Championships have been taking place in Buffalo, NY. Well, that, or you're just not a scrabble fan. But if you weren't, you wouldn't be on this page, right? 

Well aside from checking to see how my personal friends are faring, as well as checking to see who is leading Division 1 (gasp! The top seed is currently not even in the top 10- but I wouldn't count him out just yet), my favorite thing to do is to visit the live annotated games. It's great to follow along top players in action, and to see if I can properly guess what their next move will be. 

If you'd like to try it, visit here: http://event.scrabbleplayers.org/games///nsc2014/

I got it!

Now begins the sifting through and highlighting new words of interest. Who's with me? 

New 3 letter scrabble words in the OSPD5/ OWL14

You've all likely heard of the four new 2 letter words: DA, GI, PO and TE- but I haven't seen a list of the new three letter words anywhere. Well fear not, dear readers: I've scrolled through the OSPD and made an attempt to glean all the new 3 letter words. My friend has verified that these are all in the new TWL- some I have had to guess at the definitions.  Thanks to those who have helped add ones I was missing! 

New 3 letter scrabble words:

AJI a type of chili pepper 

CAF a cafeteria or cafe 

CAL small calorie

CUZ a cousin  

DAS plural of da

DEP a convenience store

DOH do

DUM cooked with steam

ECO ecology 

EEW eeew, used to express disgust 

EMO emo rock 

EST a group technique for raising self awareness 

FAH fa

FOO a name for temporary computer files

GIF a computer file 

GIS plural of gi

GRR interj used to express annoyance 

HOM a sacred plant of the ancient Persians 

HOO expresses suprise (interj)

LAH la

LOR variant of lord

LUD a form of address to a judge in a court 

LUN a lee

MAM a mother 

MEH interj boring 

MES ???

MMM mm

MOI me- interj

MUX to transmit several messages simultaneously along a single channel 

NAV navigation

NUG a chunk of wood sawn from a log 

OCH used to express surprise or regret

OIK a very rude or stupid person

OMA grandmother 

OOF interj used to express discomfort 

OPA grandfather 

ORG organization 

OWT anything 

PAK pack

PHO Vietnamese soup

POS plural of po

REZ reservation (area of land)

ROO kangaroo 

RYU school of japanese martial arts

SAN a sanatorium 

SEV an Indian food of deep fried strands of flour 

SEZ ???

SHO former monetary unit of Tibet 

SIG an email signature 

SOC a sociology course

SOH sol

SUS to suss (figure out)

TEC tech 

TES plural of te

TIX tickets

TIZ tizzy 

TUM stomach 

UMS to pause in speaking 

UNI uniform/ university 

VIN French wine

VOG air pollution caused by volcano

XED to mark with an X

YAS an Asian pear

YER ??? (found on naspa website)

YEZ you 

WUZ ???

WALK this way

Recently had a game where WALK was on the board, which made me wonder what front extensions there are for the word. There are 16...

BOARD

CAT

CAKE

CAT

CROSS

DUCK

JAY

MOON

OUT

RACE

ROPE

SHEEP

SIDE

SKY

SLEEP

SPACE

I find SHEEPWALK the most intriguing... It's a apparently what they call a sheep farm. 

Fun words and advice!

The NASPA (North American Scrabble Players Association) group on Facebook has a thread going via the link below- it's for an upcoming article in Time magazine, but the answers are fun to read, as everyone lists their favorite words, as well as a piece of advice! 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/72742393367?view=permalink&id=10153003520868368

Things I learned from a casual game this week

Well, no scrabble club this week, but I did meet up with a friend who is attending Nationals and was looking for extra practice.. 

1) OUTWEAR is good. And it takes and S and a Y! I was skeptical when I played it but decided to take the chance. The Y hook even crossed my mind but seemed even more implausible at the time. 

2) Getting both blanks is good, but if you get them at the same time and can only a play a low scoring bingo (and your opponent bingos twice naturally), then it's not so good. (Luckily this happened to him, not me) 

3) Always play the less common bingo! If the scoring isn't different. TETANOID drew a challenge. Know the anagram? 

New words coming soon!

For those of you who haven't heard, the long awaited update to the scrabble dictionary is coming... To be released at the national scrabble championship in August: http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/2014_National_SCRABBLE_Championship

I haven't been posting on here much, but it's possible that having a new set of words to study will be good incentive to do so! Stay tuned. 

Sneaky second: BETRAYER

TEABERRY

High Prob 8 I've never heard of: AEEILLRT

LAETRILE?  New to me. 

Things I learned at club tonight

Had one good game and one bad game. So here's what I leaned from the bad one: 

1. Just because there's three of one consonant in a rack doesn't mean you should not look for a bingo. (EIRSTTT, duh)

2. RITZES is good. Failing to play this set off a sequence of horrible racks. 

3. LIBATING* is a phony. (Challenged off)

4. MISTOLD* is also a phony. (Not challenged) 

5. When checking a play upside down, pay attention to the 2 letter words. (I checked and still missed IM*)

6. If you can't play RETRIAL, look for an A to start with. 

Missed triple triple

ACDELOPS, had ADELPS? With a C on the board. Definition: a subdivision of the zonal soil order. 

Front hook

NEATEN. Totally obvious but didn't think about a U.