1995 total words used from Scrabble Dictionary

When I play Scrabble on WordBiz, I write down the date of each game, and all the words I use, in a notebook I use for the purpose. I also highlight each word used in blue in my Dictionary. I also transfer all the new words I use into an Excel spreadsheet.

Up until about 4 weeks ago, whenever I wanted to input new words into the Excel spreadsheet, I'd have to type in the words for every day, then sort them alphabetically and delete the duplicates.

4 weeks ago I got smart. Now, when I go through the Dictionary to see if I've used a word or not, I also highlight any new words in my notebook. That way, when I transfer those words into an Excel spreadsheet, I only have to type in a couple words per game - usually no more than 6. That takes a heckuva less time than my previous method.

My excel spreadsheet has a column for words, and a column for the date when I first used each word.

I normally sort it alphabetically by word, but I envision  in future sorting it by date also. It's sometimes fun to see how a word progresses. For example a few days ago I spelled HARE, and a couple of turns later, spelled a word off of it, turning it into HAREM.

Sometimes, I have to admit, I do this even though it gets me fewer points than if I were to spell a word somewhere else. My goal after all is to use every word in the Scrabble Dictionary, so I've got to grab words when I can. Actually winning the game is secondary!

High-tech Scrabble board lets the world watch your games online

From DVice:  High-tech Scrabble board lets the world watch your games online

Scrabble is usually a pretty intimate game, played by bookish people who want to show off their command of English vocabulary. But if you're a competitor at the Prague Mind Sports Festival Scrabble Championship, the Scrabble world wants to study every word you lay down right as it happens.
To make that happen, Mind Sports International has come up with the world's most advanced Scrabble board, which uploads every move directly to the Internet.
The $32,000 board is stuffed with electronics, and uses special letter tiles embedded with RFID tags. Sensors under each square on the board read the tags, and score words instantly as they're put down. The information is then uploaded in real time to a website for fans following the game.
That's all very cool, but I see lots of potential for abuse here. I wonder how hard it would be for a competitor to rig up his own RFID scanner that can read what tiles his opponent is holding? It also seems like it might not be too hard to rig up a computer that could read the board, then suggest the best word to lay down based on what letters are in your rack.
Even with the finest players locked in battle there are bound to be dull stretches in the action, so the Mind Sports board is also equipped with an LED lighting system to liven things up. What's not clear is how the light show is going to be translated to the online version streaming from the board. If you're eager to find out, tune in when the Prague tournament opens on December 1.

 

It's all in the tiles

Well, a few days ago I'd been cock-a-hoop over being more than 20 games over .500, and having reached the 600 rating plateau.

Well, I'm still 20 games over .500, but I've lost several games in a row and am actually at a 495 rating as I type.

And it's all because of the tiles. It used to be I'd get all the good tiles - the power letters, etc., and my opponent wouldn't. And at these times I'd show no mercy.

Well, I've been on the receiving end of it for several days and it's getting pretty damned annoying!

Fortunately, the second reason I play, apart from trying to win, is to use new words so I can highlight them in my Dictionary, since my goal is to use every single word in the Dictionary, remember. And I've been able to a few new words, anyway!  

Dictionary Defs: AIBLINS

The definition for AIBLINS is ABLINS.

If you recall, ABLINS is the Scottish word for "perhaps."  There are quite a few Scottish words in this dictionary.

I don't know of any Scottish enclave in the US that uses ABLINS instead of perhaps, but I suppose there could be some.


"Ablins they want us to learn Scots as well as English."
"Ablings they want us to learn Scots as well as English."
"Aiblins they want us to learn Scots as well as English."

21 games over .500, rating of 576 at Wordbiz

Just played my first game of the day at Wordbiz.

Challenged a guy who likes to play 15 minute games. Normally this would be okay except I wasted a lot of time searching through my dictionary to highlight in blue the words I'd used....when it's only a 15 minute game I've got to do that at the end of the game, not during.

What happened was, my letters sucked for the first few turns, so I kind of gave up on the game and just concentrated on using new words - remember my goal is to use ever single word in the Scrabble Dictionary 4th edition.

So at the end I had very little time left...but I had gotten a few good words and was leading! I had a U and an I left, my opponent had an L. I was leading and should have won.

My opponent spelled LEWER, which even on my worst day I know is not a word! But instead of challenging it, I just passed, and he won by 6 points. Had I challenged it, I would have been able to spell NU, he would have had to pass, I'd've had to pass, and I would have won.

Just stupid on my part...I just wasn't paying attention.

But, anyway

My rating is now 576. Depending on if I play someone rated slightly higher or lower than myself, the rating goes up or down by 10 points. If I play someone very low, I could lose 20 points if I lose. 

My win loss record is 517-496.

Since the last time I input new words used into my excel database, I had used 1825 words out of the 100,000 in the dictionary (remember I started fresh on 8/28/12 for various reasons). I've used about 30-40 new words in 12 games since then.

So yes, I have a long way to go. But it's fun!

Dictionary Defs: AIGLET

If, in perusing the As, you came across AGLET  - the metal sheath at the end of a shoe lace, you might have forgotten it by the time you get to AIGLET - which is another spelling of AGLET.

An aiguillette, aguillette or aiglet (from French aiguille "needle") is a decorative tag or tip for a cord or ribbon, usually of gold and sometimes set with gemstones or enameled. Small cords and ribbon bows tipped with pairs of aiguilettes were fashionable ornaments in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

In contemporary military and civil uniforms, an aiguillette is an ornamental braided cord with a similar metal tip, derived from armor fastenings. The plastic or metal aglet on a shoe lace is also a direct descendant.

 black shoelace with plastic tip or aglet

Below, bolo tie with aiglets

Dictionary Defs: AGMA

We continue to peruse the As today, and come across the word AGMA.

The definition we are given is ENG.

And ENG means: "A phonetic symbol"

Eng or engma (capital: Ŋ, lowercase: ŋ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, used to represent a velar nasal (as in English singing) in the written form of some languages and in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Dictionary Defs: AGGRADE

The definition of AGGRADE is "to fill with DETRITAL material."

So what does DETRITAL mean?

DETRITAL is a conjugation of DETRITUS: "particles of rock"

Dictionary Defs: AGGADA

The definition for AGGADA is HAGGADAH.

Conjugations
AGGADA
AGGADAS
AGGADOT
AGGADOTH

AGGADAH
AGGADAHS

AGGADIC - HAGGADIC

And all these words have to do with "Biblical narrative"

HAGGADAH conjuntions

HAGADIC
HAGGADIC
HAGGADOTH
HAGGADOT

Dictionary Defs: AESTIVAL

Another case where the British AESTIVAL spelling is the American ESTIVAL spelling.

And ESTIVAL means: "Pertaining to summer"

Dictionary Defs: AERILY

Another weird thing about British English is that their "AE" is our "AI". That's why they spell AIRPLANE, AEROPLANE.

So here, AERILY means to do something in an AERY manner.

And AERY means AIRY (i.e., light-hearted). And AERILY means AIRILY.

Dictionary Defs: AEOLIAN

British English uses the "AE" where American English uses just the "E".

So if you come across AEOLIAN, know that that is is the British spelling of EOLIAN.

And EOLIAN means: "pertaining to the wind."

Dictionary Defs: ACTINOID

If you're browsing through the As and missed the definition for ACTINIDE, which means "any of a series of radioactive elements" then you won't know what ACTINOID means when you come across it three words later (but at the top of the second column).

So just remember that ACTINOID means "an ACTINIDE." which is a radioactive element.

Dictionary Def: ACKEE

And returning to the As once more, we come across ACKEE, the definition of which is AKEE.

AKEE: - a tropical tree.

The ackee, also known as akee apple or akee (Blighia sapida) is a member of the Sapindaceae (soapberry family), native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Flower

 

It is related to the lychee and the longan, and is an evergreen tree that grows about 10 metres tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown. The leaves are pinnate, leathery, compound, 15–30 centimetres long, with 6–10 elliptical obovate-oblong leaflets. Each leaflet is 8–12 centimetres long and 5–8 centimetres broad.
The flowers are unisexual and fragrant. They have five petals, are greenish-white and bloom during warm months. The fruit is pear-shaped. When it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh—arilli.The fruit typically weighs 100–200 grams.


The scientific name honours Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England in 1793 and introduced it to science. The common name is derived from the West African Akye fufo. The term ackee originated from the Akan language.

The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778. Since then it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisines, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world.

Dictionary Defs: ACHILLEA

Continuing our turn through the As, we come across ACHILLEA. The definition for ACHILLEA is "Yarrow."

YARROW: A perennial herb.

Dictionary Defs: ACETA

Continuing our stroll through the As, we come across ACETA, and the definition given is "plural of ACETUM."

ACETUM: Vinegar

Dictionary Defs: ACERATE and ACERATED

When you get to the words ACERATE and ACERATED, you will find the definition the same: ACEROSE

ACEROSE means needle-shaped.

It's an adjective.

A sample sentence: "This tree has leaves that are ACERATE," or "This tree has ACERATED leaves."

Dictionary Defs: ACCIDIA and ACCIDIE

Our next adventure in the As comes with ACCIDIA and ACCIDIE, which are both defined as: ACEDIA.

ACEDIA: apathy

And if more  than one person is apathetic, then they they both possess ACEDIAS.