Saturday 12 April 2008

SOWPODS Three Letter Words

A 'cwm' (on Mt Everest, in fact)


Perhaps the easiest way to excel in the game of Boggle is to take the time to learn all of three letter words in SOWPODS. This may sound daunting, but it really doesn't need to take too long. One of the best ways to go about it is to learn the various three letter word patterns that exist. To help you towards this end I have compiled a complete list. Have fun!


5 Anagrams
AET – ATE/EAT/ETA/TAE/TEA


4 Anagrams
AHS – AHS/ASH/HAS/SHA
APS – ASP/SPA/SAP/PAS
ARY – ARY/RAY/RYA/YAR
BOR – BOR/BRO/ORB/ROB
BRU – BRU/BUR/RUB/URB
DOS – DOS/DSO/ODS/SOD
OTW – OWT/TOW/TWO/WOT


3 Anagrams
ABL – ALB/BAL/LAB
ABO – ABO/BOA/OBA
ABR – ARB/BAR/BRA
ABS – ABS/BAS/SAB
ADS – ADS/DAS/SAD
AEK – AKE/KAE/KEA
AEN – ANE/EAN/NAE
AER – ARE/EAR/ERA
AES – EAS/SAE/SEA
AEY – AYE/YAE/YEA
AFR – ARF/FAR/FRA
AGS – AGS/GAS/SAG
AIR – AIR/RAI/RIA
AIT – AIT/ITA/TAI
AKO – KOA/OKA/OAK
AKS – ASK/KAS/SKA
ALP – ALP/LAP/PAL
ALS – ALS/LAS/SAL
AMN – MAN/MNA/NAM
AMP – AMP/MAP/PAM
AMR – ARM/MAR/RAM
AMS – MAS/SAM/SMA
ANT – ANT/NAT/TAN
ANW – AWN/NAW/WAN
APT – APT/PAT/TAP
APY – PAY/PYA/YAP
ARS – ARS/RAS/SAR
ART – ART/RAT/TAR
ATW – TAW/TWA/WAT
BIO – BIO/BOI/OBI
BOS – BOS/OBS/SOB
CHI – CHI/HIC/ICH
COR – COR/ORC/ROC
CRU – CRU/CUR/RUC
DEL – DEL/ELD/LED
DEN – DEN/END/NED
DEI – DEI/DIE/IDE
DLO – DOL/LOD/OLD
DOR – DOR/ORD/ROD
DOU – DUO/OUD/UDO
EEN – EEN/ENE/NEE
EFR – ERF/FER/REF
EFT – EFT/FET/TEF
EGN – ENG/GEN/NEG
EGO – EGO/GEO/GOE
EHS – EHS/HES/SHE
EHT – ETH/HET/THE
EHY – HEY/YEH/HYE
EKU – EUK/KUE/UKE
ELS – ELS/LES/SEL
ELT – ELT/LET/TEL
EOR – ORE/REO/ROE
EPR – PER/PRE/REP
ERS – ERS/RES/SER
EST – EST/SET/TES
ESY – SEY/SYE/YES
ETW – EWT/TEW/WET
EWY – WEY/WYE/YEW
FOR – FOR/FRO/ORF
HMO – HOM/MHO/OHM
HOO – HOO/OOH/OHO
HOP – HOP/PHO/POH
HOS – HOS/OHS/SOH
IKS – KIS/SIK/SKI
INS – INS/NIS/SIN
IMS – ISM/MIS/SIM
IPS – PIS/PSI/SIP
IST – ITS/SIT/TIS
MOS – MOS/OMS/SOM
NOO – NOO/ONO/OON
NOS – NOS/ONS/SON
NOW – NOW/OWN/WON
NOY – NOY/ONY/YON
NRU – NUR/RUN/URN
NSU – NUS/SUN/UNS
NSY – NYS/SNY/SYN
OPS – OPS/POS/SOP
OPT – OPT/POT/TOP
ORT – ORT/ROT/TOR
OSY – OYS/SOY/YOS
PSU – PUS/SUP/UPS


2 Anagrams
AAB – ABA/BAA
AAH – AAH/AHA
AAL – AAL/ALA
AAM – AMA/MAA
ABC - BAC/CAB
ABD – BAD/DAB
ABG – BAG/GAB
ABN – BAN/NAB
ABT – BAT/TAB
ABY – ABY/BAY
ACH – ACH/CHA
ACM – CAM/MAC
ACP – CAP/PAC
ACR – ARC/CAR
ACT – ACT/CAT
ADD – ADD/DAD
ADG – DAG/GAD
ADH – DAH/HAD
ADL – DAL/LAD
ADM – DAM/MAD
ADN – AND/DAN
ADO – ADO/ODA
ADP – DAP/PAD
ADR – ARD/RAD
ADW – DAW/WAD
ADY – DAY/YAD
AEG – AGE/GAE
AEL – ALE/LEA
AEP – APE/PEA
AEU – AUE/EAU
AEV – AVE/VAE
AEW – AWE/WAE
AFT – AFT/FAT
AGL – GAL/LAG
AGM – GAM/MAG
AGN – GAN/NAG
AGO – AGO/GOA
AGR – GAR/RAG
AGT – GAT/TAG
AGY – GAY/YAG
AHN – HAN/NAH
AHO – HAO/HOA
AHP – HAP/PAH
AHW – HAW/WHA
AHY – HAY/YAH
AIM – AIM/AMI
AIN – AIN/ANI
AIS – AIS/SAI
AJR – JAR/RAJ
AKM – KAM/MAK
AKT – KAT/TAK
AKY – KAY/YAK
ALM – LAM/MAL
ALT – ALT/LAT
ALW – AWL/LAW
AMT – MAT/TAM
AMY – MAY/YAM
ANN – ANN/NAN
ANP – PAN/NAP
ANS – NAS/SAN
ANY – ANY/NAY
AOP – APO/POA
AOR – OAR/ORA
AOT – OAT/TAO
AOV – AVO/OVA
AOZ – AZO/ZOA
APP – APP/PAP
APR – PAR/RAP
ARW – RAW/WAR
APW – PAW/WAP
AST – SAT/TAS
ASV – SAV/VAS
ASW – SAW/WAS
ASY – AYS/SAY
ASZ – SAZ/ZAS
ATT – ATT/TAT
ATU – TAU/UTA
ATV – TAV/VAT
AUV – UVA/VAU
AWY – WAY/YAW
BDE – BED/DEB
BDI – BID/DIB
BDO – BOD/DOB
BDU – BUD/DUB
BEN – BEN/NEB
BEY – BEY/BYE
BGI – BIG/GIB
BGO – BOG/GOB
BGU – BUG/GUB
BHO – BOH/HOB
BIN – BIN/NIB
BIS – BIS/SIB
BKO – BOK/KOB
BNO – BON/NOB
BNU – BUN/NUB
BOO – BOO/OBO
BOY – BOY/YOB
BSU – BUS/SUB
BTU – BUT/TUB
CDO – COD/DOC
CEP – CEP/PEC
CEH - CHE/ECH
CHO – HOC/OCH
CIS – CIS/SIC
CIT – CIT/TIC
COS – COS/SOC
COT – COT/TOC
DDO – DOD/ODD
DEF – DEF/FED
DEG – DEG/GED
DEO – DOE/ODE
DES – EDS/SED
DEW – DEW/WED
DEY – DEY/DYE
DFI – DIF/FID
DGI – DIG/GID
DGO – DOG/GOD
DHO – DOH/HOD
DIM – DIM/MID
DIN – DIN/NID
DIS – DIS/IDS
DIT – DIT/TID
DIV – DIV/VID
DMO – DOM/MOD
DNO – DON/NOD
DOP – DOP/POD
DOT – DOT/TOD
DOY – DOY/YOD
DPU – DUP/PUD
DRU – RUD/URD
DSU – SUD/UDS
EEK – EEK/EKE
EEL – EEL/LEE
EEM – EME/MEE
EER – ERE/REE
EEV – EVE/VEE
EEW – EWE/WEE
EFN – FEN/NEF
EFS – EFS/FES
EGL – GEL/LEG
EGM – GEM/MEG
EGR – ERG/REG
EHP – HEP/PEH
EHR – HER/REH
EIL – LEI/LIE
EIR – IRE/REI
EKL – ELK/LEK
EKN – KEN/NEK
EKY – KEY/KYE
ELM – ELM/MEL
ELU – LEU/ULE
ELY – LEY/LYE
ELZ – LEZ/ZEL
EMO – EMO/MOE
EMS – EMS/MES
EMU – EMU/MEU
EMW – MEW/WEM
ENS – ENS/SEN
ENO – EON/ONE
ENP – NEP/PEN
ENT – NET/TEN
ENW – NEW/WEN
ENY – NYE/YEN
EOS – OSE/OES
EOV – EVO/VOE
EOW – OWE/WOE
EPY – PYE/YEP
ERN – ERN/REN
ERU – RUE/URE
ESU – SUE/USE
ETY – TYE/YET
FGI – FIG/GIF
FIR – FIR/RIF
FOU – FOU/UFO
GET – GET/TEG
GGI – GIG/IGG
GHU – HUG/UGH
GIP – GIP/PIG
GIT – GIT/TIG
GJU – GJU/JUG
GNU – GNU/GUN
GNO – GON/NOG
GOS – GOS/SOG
GOT – GOT/TOG
GOY – GOY/YGO
GLU – GUL/LUG
GMU – GUM/MUG
GPU – GUP/PUG
GRU – GUR/RUG
GSU – GUS/UGS
GTU – GUT/TUG
GUV – GUV/VUG
GUY – GUY/YUG
HIP – HIP/PHI
HIS – HIS/ISH
HNO – HON/NOH
HOT – HOT/THO
HOW – HOW/WHO
HPU – HUP/PUH
IFS – IFS/SIF
IKN – INK/KIN
IKR – IRK/KIR
IKO – KOI/OIK
IMR – MIR/RIM
INP – NIP/PIN
INT – NIT/TIN
IOS – IOS/ISO
IPR – PIR/RIP
IPT – PIT/TIP
ISR – SIR/SRI
ISX – SIX/XIS
KOR – KOR/ROK
KOW – KOW/WOK
KUY – KYU/YUK
ILN – LIN/NIL
ILT – LIT/TIL
LMO – MOL/OLM
LOP – LOP/POL
LOS – LOS/SOL
LOW – LOW/OWL
LPU – PLU/PUL
MMU – MUM/UMM
MNO – MON/NOM
MOO – MOO/OOM
MOP – MOP/POM
MOR – MOR/ROM
MOT – MOT/TOM
MOY – MOY/YOM
MSU – MUS/SUM
MTU – MUT/TUM
NOT – NOT/TON
NTU – NUT/TUN
OOP – OOP/POO
OOR – OOR/ROO
OOT – OOT/TOO
OPW – POW/WOP
OSU – OUS/SOU
OSW – SOW/WOS
PRU – PUR/URP
PTU – PUT/TUP
PUY – PUY/YUP


No Anagrams
AAS ABB ACE ADZ AFF AGA AHI AIA AID AIL AKA ALF ALL AMU ANA ARK ASS AUA AUF AUK AVA AWA AXE AYU BAH BAM BAP BAY BEE BEG BEL BES BET BEZ BIB BIT BIZ BOB BOP BOT BOW BOX BRR BUB BUM BUY BYS CAA CAD CAG CAN CAW CAY CAZ CEE CEL CID CIG CLY COB COG COL CON COO COP COW COX COY COZ CRY CUB CUD CUE CUM CUP CUT CUZ CWM DAE DAK DEE DEV DEX DID DIP DOF DOO DOW DRY DUD DUE DUG DUH DUI DUN DUX DZO EBB ECO ECU EDH EFF EGG EIK ELF ELL ERK ERR ESS EWK EXO EYE FAA FAB FAD FAE FAG FAH FAN FAP FAS FAW FAX FAY FEE FEG FEH FEM FEU FEW FEY FEZ FIB FIE FIL FIN FIT FIX FIZ FLU FLY FOB FOE FOG FOH FON FOP FOX FOY FRY FUB FUD FUG FUM FUN FUR GAG GAP GAU GEE GEY GHI GIE GIN GIO GIS GOO GOR GOV GOX GUE GYM GYP HAE HAG HAH HAJ HAM HAT HEH HEM HEN HEW HEX HID HIE HIM HIN HIT HMM HOE HOG HOH HOI HOX HOY HUB HUE HUH HUI HUM HUN HUT HYP ICE ICK ICY IFF ILK ILL IMP INN ION IVY IWI JAB JAG JAI JAK JAM JAP JAW JAY JEE JET JEU JEW JIB JIG JIN JIZ JOB JOE JOG JOL JOR JOT JOW JOY JUD JUN JUS JUT KAB KAF KAI KAK KAW KEB KED KEF KEG KEP KET KEX KHI KID KIF KIP KIT KON KOP KOS LAC LAH LAR LAV LAX LAY LEP LEV LEW LEX LIB LID LIG LIP LIS LOB LOG LOO LOR LOT LOU LOX LOY LUD LUM LUR LUV LUX LUZ LYM MAE MAM MAW MAX MED MEM MEN MET MIB MIC MIG MIL MIM MIX MIZ MOA MOB MOC MOG MOI MOM MOU MOW MOZ MUD MUN MUX MYC NIE NIM NIX NON NOR NOX NTH NUN OAF OBE OCA OFF OFT OIL OKE OLE OOF OOS OPE ORS OUK OUP OUR OUT OXO OXY OYE PAV PAX PED PEE PEG PEP PES PET PEW PHT PIA PIC PIE PIP PIU PIX PLY POI POP POX POZ PRO PRY PST PUB PUN PUP PYX QAT QIS QUA RAH RAN RAX REB REC RED REE REG REM RET REV REW REX REZ RHO RHY RIB RID RIG RIN RIT RIZ ROW RUM RUT RYE SAC SAU SAX SAY SEC SEE SEG SEI SEW SEX SEZ SHH SHY SIS SKY SLY SOS SOT SOV SOX SPY STY SUI SUK SUQ SUR SUS SWY TAD TAJ TAX TAY TEC TED TEE TET TEX THE THY TIE TIT TIX TOE TOT TOY TRY TSK TUI TUT TUX TWP TYG UEY ULU UMP UMU UNI UPO UTE UTS UTU VAC VAG VAN VAR VAV VAW VEG VET VEX VIA VIE VIG VIM VIN VIS VLY VOL VOR VOW VOX VUG VUM WAB WAG WAI WAW WAX WEB WEX WHY WIG WIN WIS WIT WIZ WOF WOG WOO WOW WOX WRY WUD WUS WYN YAY YEX YID YIN YIP YOK YOU YOW YUM YUS ZAG ZAP ZAX ZEA ZED ZEE ZEK ZEP ZEX ZHO ZIG ZIN ZIP ZIT ZIZ ZOL ZOO ZOS ZUZ ZZZ

9 comments:

Howard said...

Wow! This stuff is great. Can't wait to see your 4 letter word version.

Are you just culling all the words out of SOWPODS yourself? Or is there a reliable resource that lists all the 4s?

Al said...

The words come from the SOWPODS word list, downloaded from the Scrabulous site. That is the most up-to-date list I know of; older lists online miss words like ZEP, CHAV and CWTCH. Using Word I got every four letter word on the list and I then go through the list, running each word through the anagram checker on Zyzzyva. The final list should be comprehensive.

Howard said...

... I never realized you could use word to sort by word length!

How do you use Word to sort by word length? I looked for a way to do that when I converted the .txt file to a Word document and had it bound as a book. I wanted to have appendices with all the 3s and 4s, but couldn't figure how to do that.

Howard said...

I guess I didn't try hard enough --- Word is now frozen as I've asked it to highlight every four letter word using ^$^$^$^$ :D

So once I've got those, I should be able to cut and paste it into another file. Thanks! Wouldn't have thought to give the problem more thought if you hadn't let me know that you had already done it.

Al said...

Binding the SOWPODS word list as a book! That is so cool! :)

Howard said...

The funny thing is, it was about the same price to have it bound as a paperback book as it would have been to just print them as 500 loose pages. It just needs to be converted to a .pdf. With a font size of 6 (or 8, can't remember exactly, and 5 columns per page 8.5x11 trim size, it came out to 480 pages.

I have just now created a master list of all the 3s and 4s, and if there is ever a 2009 edition :), I'll be adding those as appendices.

If you're interested, I can send you links for how you can self-publish a copy for yourself, or I could put you on the (very short) list of those waiting for the next edition.

I know that you're as much a "Scrabbler" as you are a "Boggler", so a list of anagrams past the 3 level is useful to you, but have you ever considered doing a list of hooks off the 3s? I find learning hooks to be much more useful in Boggle, especially when you're adding them to words that you already know and and are already finding.

Al said...

I would certainly be interested in a copy of your next edition. How much will it cost?

I am hoping to compile a number of lists, including all possible hooks for 3lw and possibly, at some stage in the future, 4lw. I have come across lists online, but all the ones that I have checked have been either incomplete or out of date. I can send you copies of my lists when I have created them, if you would like to include them in subsequent editions.

Howard said...

Well, the one that I have right now cost $14.11 plus shipping from the printer. It's the equivalent of a vanity press publisher, so there's no ISBN, and it's all POD (print on demand). Unless the next version has a lot more pages, the cost should be about the same.

You're in the U.S.? If so, it should be cheaper to ship to you than it was for me in Canada. I printed 3 copies for a total of $67 shipped.

In fact, if you want the current barebones edition (which includes zep,chav, and cwtch), I can send you the link, and you can order it yourself. But it probably makes more sense to wait until we've completed the additions before having any more copies bound.

lol "edition". I originally had them made as a Christmas present for Gary S, and I joked that I should have made up some cover blurbs for the back, and added a limitation page at the front ("this is copy 'A' of a limited edition of 3 lettered copies").

I was in a bit of a rush to get it done in time (only realizing a couple months into playing that SOWPODS referred to the standardized word list), so there wasn't a chance to conceive of any extras, never mind putting them.

I've already got a few lists that were helpful at the beginning (all the 3 letter words with ae/ai/oo/oh in them plus end hooks), and it's amazing how helpful it was seeing them all together. I'm a relatively slow typer, so the key for me has always been to save time by avoiding the "is-this-really-a-word?" step while playing, and just typing the letter sequences that my brain recognized as being acceptable.

One thing Gary S mentioned is that there are nice editions of the the SOWPODS dictionary available internationally with their own "extras" -- he keeps forgetting to bring his over -- but it would be interesting to see what others have done to make it more helpful for gamers.

Al said...

I live in the UK, so I might be better for me to make my own copy. I am also friends with some binders who could give me a cheap rate. I might take the time to gather a large range of helpful resources to go in the dictionary (hooks, anagrams, stuff like that).

Some day someone needs to write the definitive Boggle handbook, going through playing strategies, etc. Some of the other leaderboard players out there have very different strategies to mine. I would like to learn more about how they work.

I tend to focus a lot on patterns. I am also a slow typist (50wpm max; generally around 30wpm) and so patterns are important to speed up my game. Also since, my fingers aren't moving around on the keyboard so much (I am a 2-4 fingered typist) I can look at the screen more and make fewer spelling mistakes.