Ten words I did not know were real words until I played Scrabulous: qat, ghi, hup, taw, pah, gey, ors, yoni, mana, and cowbird. I’d actually come across “yoni” before, but it was in this book, which has a distressing amount of kooky blithering mixed in with the important stuff, and I guess I thought it was just a word she made up while drinking pennyroyal birth-control tea, but what do you know, it’s for real. And now that I write them out here, those first six or so sound like I’m counting in Quechua or something.
Ten words I’d hoped would be real words in Scrabulous but are not (along with their surmised meanings): aith (melancholy); feo (Spanish for ugly; maybe it’s caught on?); nomen (the names of many); hitee (the person who is hit); feveree (the person with a fever); sia (some kind of martial-arts thingy); kithen (plural of kith); avise (to hold fast), and nas (a benign skin growth). Oh, the scores I could’ve scored had these words been for real.
But truth be told, I haven’t even been playing Scrabulous all that much over the past week or so, since I had to write my column. Now I have another article due next week, and on Friday we’re headed to Wisconsin for the weekend, so I can’t update the way I’d like to until next month. But in the meantime please dig how these folks got in the New York Times yesterday, and especially read Mo’s recent posts (and gawk at some of the hater comments) about the awesomely complicated subject of body image and fat acceptance and the whole crazy chalupa of controversy that comes with it. I wish I could write an entry about it right now, if I wasn’t so fat and lazy. I mean, busy. Whatever! See you in February.
Ah, Scrabulous! I totally agree on the “words that should be there (please, pretty please!).” I had a great triple-word score–using a “J” too–but alas, derogatory slang isn’t valid. Turns out it’s not in the OSPD either, so I’m going to have to clean out my mind and not try that again.
What’s going to happen to Scrabulous now that Hasbro has decided they want it to be their little cash cow? I got rid of it a long time ago because I was always forgetting I was playing games and then not taking my turns in a timely fashion.
February? What are you hollowing out a loaf of bread to hibernate in for a week? Heh, I refer to that part of your book whenever I go off about how much I love carbs. Then people stare at me. Then I cry a little.
Also, the 7-11 two blocks from my office sells dark bounty bars…Jealousss?
I just came across your website, through candyboots, via the Wacky Websites page-a-day calendar I just picked up from the book store. I’ve only had time to read through your last few blogs, but I can tell I will enjoy going back and reading more. I’m going to check out Scrabulous next, since I’m getting ready for my tenth winter-over in Antarctica and will need more mental stimuli than playing pool, or drooling over my bowl of frozen peas and instant mashed potatoes while watching John Carpenter’s “The Thing” for the hundred and eleventh time.
I wish we had the Lifetime network down here, but all we get are three military-run satellite channels, BBC, Australian Channel, TV NZ channel One, and two locally run channels that just show movies and reruns of Star Trek NG. We’re not allowed to download much on our government-provided internet, and no streaming audio or video allowed either. So…I will have to check out “How to Look Good Naked” when I get back to the real world in another year. Sounds like something I’d like. Been struggling with my weight over the last two years since a serious back sprain, and shortly after that the doctors yanked me off the birth control pill. It’s also hard to do anything with the food they have here. Not that it isn’t good, but sometimes that’s the problem.
Anyway…thank you.
Glad I found this place…
So, you’re an inspiration and all that. Are you sick of it yet? Okay, you’re not exactly an inspiration, I just think you rule. And as a fellow Chicagoan, you rule even more.
Anyhow, the fact that I’m an editor by training and lose to my 15 year old brother every time I play Scrabulous depresses the fuck out of me. So, I mostly try not to play it anymore. Sigh.
Cheers to you, one lady to another.
PS: I’d kill a small village for that new bed you guys have.
My favorite scrabulous words are “Qi,” “Qis,” “Xi” and “Xis.”
With Scrabulous being threatened and all by Hasbro, you might want to get your playin’ in asap.
Quim isn’t a word! So infuriating because I get those letters (and an opportunity to use them) once every ten games. Infuriating.
And yeah, I miss Bounty full stop, nevermind the dark chocolate. Sigh.
SIA is also the acronym for my beloved Survivors of Incest Anonymous, which is a pretty darn awesome 12-step program. This is what irritates me about Scrabble and scrabbly games – the total inability to use acronyms. Maybe it made sense when they first created the damn thing, but now we all talk in acronyms all the time! They become words! WHY can’t I put SIA in as a word when I pronounce it as a word and use it in sentences in casual conversation? HMPH.