The Scrabble Word-Building Book Read online

  BUILD THE WORDS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A CHAMP!

  Learn the acceptable, but uncommon, two-letter words you can make with Z (ZA), Y (OY), Q (QI), X (XI and XU), J (JO), and K (KA and KI)—and the three-letter words that can be “built” from many of these.

  Memorize all 102 two-letter words—all strategically placed in Section One—that can give you an unbeatable advantage.

  With time, also master the three-letter word list, strategically placed in Section Two. These include sizzlers such as ZZZ, SHH, and MYC.

  Learn the 11 Q words which do not require a U (QABALA, QABALAH, QADI, QAID, QANAT, QAT, QI, QINDAR, QINTAR, QIVIUT, and QOPH). More good news: you can add an S at the end of all of them.

  For defensive play, also learn the many words which cannot be expanded at front or back.

  The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped book.” www.SimonandSchuster.com

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  Copyright © 1991, 2007 by Saleem Ahmed

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-0544-0

  ISBN-10: 1-4165-0544-X

  eISBN-13: 978-1-4165-7196-4

  This Pocket Books paperback edition October 2007

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

  © 1991, 2007 by Milton Bradley Company, a division of Hasbro, Inc.

  Cover design by Dreu Pennington-McNeil

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or [email protected].

  Dedication

  Dedicated to the memory of both Grannies(one in Pakistan, the other in Hawaii)for their love and support as this project progressed;

  and to

  The small but powerfulUniversity Laboratory School, Honolulu(graduating class under 50),for the fine trainingit providedour girls.

  CONTENTS

  Preface to the Second Edition

  Preface to the First Edition

  How to Use the Scrabble Word-Building Book

  Two-Letter Words

  Three-Letter Words

  Main List

  PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

  The book you are holding has been a family project and a labor of love for more than seven years. But the conceptual seed was sown more than 30 years ago when I was stationed as an agronomist in Sukkur, then a small and remotely located town 350 miles north of Karachi, Pakistan. With leisure time activities scarce (usually limited to visiting friends), my Hawaiian-born sansei (third-generation Japanese) wife, “Yasmin,” and I often played Scrabble.

  Gradually we began to play seriously and competition became fierce (I usually lost). How many times I wished some little angel would come to my rescue—especially late in the game when openings were few, “choice” spots already taken, and the desperation level at an all-time high! The brain would race in all directions, the mind would turn to mush, and I would feverishly try to recall nursery rhymes and musical notes to find that two- or three-letter word that could help me win the game. Did the black sheep go ba-ba or baaï-baa; and is the third musical note me or mi? Other questions that came up (as my game improved): Does any letter come before KA (the spiritual self in old Egyptian religion)? Answer: OKA, a Turkish unit of weight. Or after OX? Answer: OXY, containing oxygen. We allowed consulting the dictionary in our games, as this made the game a learning process also; but flipping through all alphabets to find a suitable connecting letter can be very time-consuming! Thus, secretly, I began to compile my own list of important two- and three-letter words having high point values, such as JO and XIS (a Scottish sweetheart and the plural of the fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, respectively). I still usually lost.

  As our lives became more hectic, we stopped playing Scrabble until our daughters, Aisha and Seema, were old enough to play with us. As competitiveness came back, the thought of expanding our word lists into a book came to mind. When we acquired a computer, I presented the book idea over a family dinner. Yasmin and our daughters, Aisha and Seema (then 17 and 12), accepted. The project was born.

  Had we any notion then of the magnitude of the task we were embarking upon, we probably would have nipped the project in the bud. At first, I envisioned our book to list only two- and three-letter words. So, Aisha and Seema pored over dictionaries and made a list of all such words. Then we sorted out 94 two-letter words and about 900 three-letter words commonly accepted in English. Of the latter, about 600 are “built up” by adding a letter to either the front or back of the two-letter words listed. We entered all in the computer, and Yasmin helped with proofreading. Thus, our separate lists of two-letter and three-letter words came into being. These are indicated in Sections I and II of this book.

  However, this made a very skimpy book. So, we decided to include four-, five-, six-, and seven-letter words also. And, with each new listing, our entries expanded in geometric proportions. After two years, when we were celebrating the completion of our task, it dawned on us that it would be highly irritating to the book’s users to have to look at each list separately. Reluctantly, we agreed to consolidate these separate listings into one alphabetical list. We used the seven-letter list as our base (it was the longest), and entered words from each of the other lists—word by word—in their proper alphabetical sequence! This took another year.

  When we got down to celebrating again, another realization struck us. Our book listed only those words from which other words can be made; but what about words standing by themselves; from which no other word could be made? For example, can any letter be added either to the front or the back of the common word QUIZ? Our book did not include this word at that time as nothing can be added. Well, the reader would not know whether this was our oversight or if nothing indeed could be added either to its front or back. Then the stark realization gripped us: The only way to prevent the reader from having to use another dictionary to ensure that nothing could be added to QUIZ, or that a word such as ZYMURGY (the branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation) existed in English, would be to include in our book all words in the English language up to seven letters long, even those standing by themselves!

  So, back to the drawing board we went. This time, we added all other words up to seven letters long which we had previously omitted! Another year’s task! Altogether, more than 70,000 words are listed. We are thankful to the Almighty for giving us the joy, patience, and perseverance in taking the project to completion. The memory of the family having worked together over many years will certainly be treasured by all of us. We hope using this book helps draw your family and friends closer together also.

  We thank the National Scrabble Association for examining sample sections of this book and offering useful suggestions. To join the NSA, send $20.00 (foreign fee is $27.00 in U.S. funds) to:

  National SCRABBLE® Association

  Box 700

  Greenport, NY 11944

  USA

  You’ll receive a year’s subscription to the Scrabble News (8 issues), a roster of official Scrabble clubs throughout the U.S. and
Canada, a membership card, and information about local and regional Scrabble tournaments.

  Aloha!

  Saleem Ahmed

  Honolulu, January 1990

  PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

  The release of OSPD-4 (Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition) in 2005 added approximately 3,300 new words to the growing list of “acceptable” words in the Scrabble® game. This prompted us to update the SWBB (Scrabble Word-Building Book) accordingly. The new words include currencies (such as Equatorial Guinea’s “ekpwele” ), slang words such as “za” (short for pizza), and technical words such as the Chinese “qi” (nature’s vital force) and Arabic “shariah” (Muslim law). The arsenal of words available to the Scrabble player has thus increased significantly—and the sting of the previously feared Z and Q has been largely replaced by a hope of acquiring these assets. While the number of two-letter words has increased by 8 to 102, the number of three-letter words has doubled to approximately 1,500. As in SWBB-1, these valuable word-connectors are also listed separately as the first part of this book. We hope you’ll find SWBB-2 a valuable resource in helping you with this game.

  A major milestone in our home from the time SWBB-1 was first released (1991) is that two of our co-authors, daughters Aisha and Seema, are now happily married and have “left the nest.” Thus this edition was compiled by Saleem with the help of wife Carol “Yasmin”—although both daughters were with us in spirit as this project progressed. A note about the family appears on pages 707 709.

  We are thankful for the numerous letters received from many countries, some pointing out typographical errors, others advising us to add new words, and still others seeking clarifications. We were particularly delighted to receive letters from prisons across the nation—and from even as far away as Thailand! It was educational to learn that some prisons try to provide proactive and educational leisuretime activities to their inmates. And we are indeed delighted that our family project has prompted some other families to also consider projects in which all family members can be involved meaningfully. For us, this has been a very satisfying experience.

  While this manuscript has been prepared carefully, we will appreciate very much your pointing out any error and/ or oversights on our part. We can be reached c/o P.O. Box 25155, Honolulu, HI 96825. Our email address is [email protected]. Happy Scrabble playing!

  Honolulu, Hawaii

  Summer 2006

  HOW TO USE THE SCRABBLE WORD-BUILDING BOOK

  This book is designed primarily as an educational tool to improve your skills in playing Scrabble® and other word games. It also serves as a reference book listing all words in English containing up to seven letters (the number of tiles each player has on the rack in Scrabble, and the corresponding new words formed by adding a letter to the front or back of these words.

  The book is divided into three sections. Given the importance in Scrabble of using small words in making the most effective use of bonus squares, two special sections— one containing all 102 two-letter words, the other containing approximately 1,500 three-letter words—have been created and appear as Sections I and II, respectively. These invaluable words should be memorized over time. Section III contains all of the approximately 80,000 English words up to eight letters long.

  The Scrabble Word-Building Book is the only reference book for Scrabble and other word games that exclusively shows how to build words from both front and back of existing words by simply adding a letter. This works as follows:

  Word New words

  1 QUA aqua; quad, quag, quai, guay

  2 QUART -; quarte, quarto, quarts, quartz

  3 QUARE square; -

  4 QUIZ -; -

  Example 1 shows that a can be added to QUA in front; and d, g, i, and y at the back. The semicolon (;) separates “front” and “back” words. Example 2 shows that no letter can be added in front of QUART; but e, o, s, and z can be added at the back. Example 3 shows that s can be added in front of QUARE; but nothing can be added at the back. And Example 4 shows that nothing can be added either in front or back of QUIZ.

  Approximately 80,000 words are listed in SWBB-2. To economize on space, when a “nonexpandable” word is formed by adding a letter to another word, it is generally not listed again. For example, AMPULS is listed against AMPUL (a small glass vial), but not again by itself. However, some high-scoring words, such as QUARTZ (a mineral), have also been listed separately (in addition to being listed against QUART) although no other word can be formed from them. Finally, the dynamic English language is growing by “adopting” words from other languages, and by the creation of new words. The addition of approximately 3,300 new words in OSPD-4 is an example of how fast the English language is growing. We will probably see other words added in the future.

  Sources for Our Words

  The words listed in the Scrabble Word-Building Book-2 are those included in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (fourth edition). Thus, it inherently carries forward a perceived weakness of OSPD, in that it excludes many of the commonly used four-letter words and politically incorrect words—although these are perfectly good and bona fide English words. We thus support OSPD’s promotion of Scrabble as a family game. Thus, to avoid unnecessary disputes in highly competitive Scrabble games, it is advisable that players decide ahead of time which dictionary will be used to settle disputes.

  SCRABBLE WORD-BUILDING BOOK

  SECTION I

  TWO-LETTER WORDS

  A must for good players of Scrabble and other word-building games is a knowledge of two-letter words. These are invaluable word-linkers and are particularly helpful in making effective use of bonus squares. Listed below are the more common 102 such words found in many dictionaries. (We have omitted some uncommon words such as ja, which is actually German but listed in some dictionaries.) Memorize them all! You’ll be glad you did! (Note: each word appears under both letters—for example, za appears under both A and Z. Don’t think that 204 words are listed!)

  A: aa, ba, da, fa, ha, ka, la, ma, na, pa, ta, ya, za; aa, ab, ad, ae, ag, ah, ai, al, am, an, ar, as, at, aw, ax, ay

  B: ab; ba, be, bi, bo, by

  C: -; -

  D: ad, ed, id, od; da, de, do

  E: ae, be, de, fe, he, me, ne, oe, pe, re, we, ye; ed, ef, eh, el, em, en, er, es, et, ex

  F: ef, if, of; fa, fe, fi

  G: ag; go

  H: ah, eh, oh, sh, uh; ha, he, hi, hm, ho

  I: ai, bi, fi, hi, ki, li, mi, oi, pi, qi, si, ti, xi; id, if, in, is, it

  J: -; jo

  K: -; ka, ki

  L: al, el; la, li, lo

  M: am, em, hm, mm, om, um; ma, me, mi, mm, mo, mu, my

  N: an, en, in, on, un; na, ne, no, nu

  O: bo, do, go, ho, jo, lo, mo, no, so, to, wo, yo; od, oe, of, oh, oi, om, on, op, or, os, ow, ox, oy

  P: op, up; pa, pe, pi

  Q: -; qi

  R: ar, er, or; re

  S: as, es, is, os, us; sh, si, so

  T: at, et, it, ut; ta, ti, to

  U: mu, nu, xu; uh, um, un, up, us, ut

  V: -; -

  W: aw, ow; we, wo

  X: ax, ex, ox; xi, xu

  Y: ay, by, my, oy; ya, ye, yo

  Z: -; za

  SECTION II

  THREE-LETTER WORDS

  Listed below are about 1,470 three-letter words. Of these, 1,002 are “built up” from two-letter words by adding a letter to their front or back; and the remaining 468 are “independent.” In the former case, the “root two-letter words” are shown in bold capital letters, with their corresponding three-letter words listed to their right. In the latter case, these “independent” three-letter words are indicated in capital unbolded letters, such as ABY. Memorize these also—with time. As with two-letter words, there are some three-letter words which are listed twice. For example, ado is built up from both AD and DO.

  A

  AA: baa; aah, aal, aas

  AB: cab, dab, fab, gab, jab, kab, lab, rab, sab, tab, wab; ab
a, abs

  ABY

  ACE

  ACT

  AD: bad, cad, dad, fad, gad, had, lad, mad, pad, rad, sad, tad, wad; add, ado, ads, adz

  AE: gae, hae, kae, mae, nae, sae, tae, wae; -

  AFF

  AFT

  AG: bag, dag, fag, gag, hag, jag, lag, mag, nag, rag, sag, tag, wag, zag; aga, age, ago

  AH: aah, bah, dah, hah, nah, pah, rah, yah; aha, ahi

  AI: -; aid, ail, aim, ain, air, ais, ait

  AL: aal, bal, dal, gal, pal, sal; ala, alb, ale, all, alp, als, alt

  AM: bam, cam, dam, gam, ham, jam, lam, nam, pam, ram, tam, yam; ama, ami, amp, amu

  AN: ban, can, dan, fan, gan, man, pan, ran, tan, van, wan; ana, and, ane, ani, ant, any

  APE

  APO

  APP

  APT

  AR: bar, car, ear, far, gar, jar, lar, mar, oar, par, tar, var, war, yar; arb, arc, are, arf, ark, arm, ars, art

  AS: bas, fas, gas, has, kas, las, mas, pas, ras, tas, vas, was; ash, ask, asp, ass

  AT: bat, cat, eat, fat, gat, hat, kat, lat, mat, oat, pat, qat, rat, sat, tat, vat, wat; ate, att

  AUK

  AVA

  AVE

  AVO

  AW: caw, daw, haw, jaw, law, maw, naw, paw, raw, saw, taw, vaw, waw, yaw; awa, awe, awl, awn

  AX: fax, lax, pax, rax, sax, tax, wax, zax; axe

  AY: bay, cay, day, fay, gay, hay, jay, kay, lay, may, nay, pay, ray, say, way, yay; aye, ays

  AZO

  B

  BA: aba; baa, bad, bag, bah, bal, bam, ban, bap, bar, bas, bat, bay

  BE: obe; bed, bee, beg, bel, ben, bes, bet, bey

  BI: obi; bib, bid, big, bin, bio, bis, bit, biz