Scrabble is a game that tests both your word knowledge and your relationship with the letter J. A rousing game of Scrabble often requires you to dig deep into your bag of tricks (or a thesaurus) to come up with rare and unusual words to maximize that triple word bonus. But sometimes you need just a little bit more help. What if you have a …
It’s a question that just about every English learner has asked: “Are there any English words that have no vowels?” The answer to this depends what you mean by “vowel” and “word.” In this article, we explain what vowel means and how English words without vowels can—and do!—exist. We also talk about the examples that some people may or may not believe are actually words. …
Great things can come out of hard times — take Scrabble. During the Great Depression, architect Alfred Mosher Butts couldn’t find work. So he decided to create a board game that required the vocabulary skills of anagrams and crossword puzzles but also had an element of chance. Butts hand-drew the original board with architectural drafting equipment.
The 23rd letter of the English alphabet is a bit of a wonder. The humble W is the only letter of the alphabet with a three-syllable name. It is also one of three letters (H, W, and Y) with a name that does not indicate its phonetic use. The complications of W are twofold because of its name, double-u, and its shape, double V. What sound …
What does it take to win a game of Scrabble? Intelligence, mastery of the English language, and a little luck certainly can’t hurt. There are, however, some little-known rules of the game that might give you an even stronger leg up when it comes to laying down those tiles and laying out all your opponents. Here are eight Scrabble rules most people don’t know that …
If you don’t play Words With Friends, you may be missing out. Not just on the hours of stimulating fun its throngs of devoted followers say it provides, but on some great friendships, romance, and other opportunities as well. What is Words with Friends? Brief primer for those not familiar with WWF: The word game lets players challenge each other to build words, much like …
In the age of LOL, WTF, and OMG, abbreviations are often looked at as a sign of the coming apocalypse. (Spoiler: LOL, WTF, and OMG are not the oldest abbreviations in English—you’re shocked, we know.) So-called textspeak is viewed as a lesser form of English, and many people worry that pretty soon we’ll all be communicating solely in emoji. But, abbreviations aren’t exactly a new invention. …
With its long, ambiguous history and multiple phonemes, the letter X is quite a dark horse. It can mean Christ, like the X in Xmas, stand for a chromosome, and even show up in friendly and amorous correspondence (XOXO). But, how did X end up in the alphabet to begin with? The origin of X Since its inception, the letter X has struggled to establish its own …
Poor lonely Z finishes up the alphabet at number 26. But, that’s not the only insult this lonely letter suffers!Z’s history includes a time when it was so infrequently used that it was removed from the alphabet altogether. Where did Z come from? The Greek zeta is the origin of the humble Z. The Phoenician glyph zayin, meaning “weapon,” had a long vertical line capped at …
There are plenty of crossword puzzles in publications across the country, but when we think of the pinnacle of puzzledom (Not officially a word, but, perhaps, it should be?), the purveyors of the most preeminent puzzles, we bow to The New York Times (NYT). For more than 75 years, the NYT crossword puzzle has been stumping readers with its clever clues and then sending them …
How much do we love the New York Times crossword puzzle? Let us count the ways … never mind, we can’t count that high. We can, however, count on it to continually challenge us with its sagacious clues and delight us when we discover the astute answers that fit just right. While each puzzle offers something unique, with aha moments aplenty, some of their clues …
You can tell a lot about a person by their daily habits. Do they make their bed every day? Do they eat the same lunch special? Maybe they’re a bit of a rebel and take each experience as it comes. How about something a little more puzzling. What does your crossword puzzle solving style say about you? Believe it or not, crossword solvers are a …