The Bogglers

OUT- words Part 2

2008-06-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

This is the concluding part of our list of SOWPODS OUT- words.

Over 8 letters
OUTMUSCLE(D/S/ING)
OUTNUMBER(ED/S/ING)
OUTOFFICE(S)
OUTORGANISE(D/S/ING)
OUTORGANIZE(D/S/ING)
OUTPASSION(ED/S/ING)
OUTPATIENT(S)
OUTPEOPLE(D/S/ING)
OUTPERFORM(ED/S/ING)
OUTPITIED
OUTPITIES
OUTPLACEMENT(S)
OUTPOLITICK(ED/S/ING)
OUTPOPULATE(D/S/ING)
OUTPREACH(ED/S/ING)
OUTPRODUCE(D/S/ING)
OUTPROMISE(D/S/ING)
OUTPURSUE(D/S/ING)
OUTQUARTERS
OUTRAGEOUS(LY/NESS)
OUTREASON(ED/S/ING)
OUTREBOUND(ED/S/ING)
OUTRECKON(ED/S/ING)
OUTRECUIDANCE(S)
OUTREDDEN(ED/S/ING)
OUTRELIEF(S)
OUTREPRODUCE(D/S/ING)
OUTRIDDEN
OUTSCHEME(D/S/ING)
OUTSCREAM(ED/S/ING)
OUTSETTLEMENT(S)
OUTSIDERNESS(ES)
OUTSOURCE(D/S/ING[S])
OUTSPARKLE(D/S/ING)
OUTSPECKLE(S)
OUTSPOKENNESS(ES)
OUTSPRANG
OUTSPREAD(S/ING)
OUTSPRING(S/ING)
OUTSPRINT(ED/S/ING)
OUTSPRUNG
OUTSTATION(S)
OUTSTRAIN(ED/S/ING)
OUTSTRETCH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTSTRIDDEN
OUTSTRIDE(S/ING)
OUTSTRIKE(S/ING)
OUTSTRIVE(N/S/ING)
OUTSTRODE
OUTSTROKE(S)
OUTSTROVE
OUTSTRUCK
OUTSTUDIED
OUTSTUDIES
OUTSWEETEN(ED/S/ING)
OUTSWOLLEN
OUTTHIEVE(D/S/ING)
OUTTHOUGHT
OUTTHRUST(ED/S/ING)
OUTTONGUE(D/S/ING)
OUTTRAVEL([L]ED/S/[L]ING)
OUTVILLAIN(ED/S/ING)
OUTWARDNESS(ES)
OUTWEARIED
OUTWEARIES
OUTWRESTLE(D/S/ING)
OUTWROUGHT

8 letters
OUTNIGHT(ED/S/ING)
OUTPAINT(ED/S/ING)
OUTPITCH(ED/S/ING)
OUTPLACE(D/R[S]/S/ING)
OUTPOINT(ED/S/ING)
OUTPOWER(ED/S/ING)
OUTPREEN(ED/S/ING)
OUTPRESS(ED/ES/ING)
OUTPRICE(D/S/ING)
OUTPRIZE(D/S/ING)
OUTPUNCH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTPUPIL(S)
OUTQUOTE(D/S/ING)
OUTRANCE(S)
OUTRANGE(D/S/ING)
OUTRAISE(D/S/ING)
OUTREACH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTREIGN(ED/S/ING)
OUTREMER(S)
OUTRIGHT(LY)
OUTRIVAL([L]ED/S/[L]ING)
OUTSAVOR(ED/S/ING)
OUTSCOLD(ED/S/ING)
OUTSCOOP(ED/S/ING)
OUTSCORE(D/S/ING)
OUTSCORN(ED/S/ING)
OUTSERVE(D/S/ING)
OUTSHAME(D/S/ING)
OUTSHINE(D/S/ING)
OUTSHONE
OUTSHOOT(S/ING)
OUTSHOUT(ED/S/ING)
OUTSIGHT(S)
OUTSKATE(D/S/ING)
OUTSKIRT(S)
OUTSLEEP(S/ING)
OUTSLEPT
OUTSLICK(ED/S/ING)
OUTSMART(ED/S/ING)
OUTSMELL(ED/S/ING)
OUTSMELT
OUTSMILE(D/S/ING)
OUTSMOKE(D/S/ING)
OUTSNORE(D/S/ING)
OUTSPEAK(S/ING)
OUTSPEED(ED/S/ING)
OUTSPELL(ED/S/ING)
OUTSPELT
OUTSPEND(S/ING)
OUTSPENT
OUTSPOKE(N[LY])
OUTSPORT(ED/S/ING)
OUTSTAND(S/ING[LY])
OUTSTARE(D/S/ING)
OUTSTART(ED/S/ING)
OUTSTATE(D/S/ING)
OUTSTEER(ED/S/ING)
OUTSTOOD
OUTSTRIP(ED/S/ING)
OUTSTUDY(ING)
OUTSTUNT(ED/S/ING)
OUTSWARE
OUTSWEAR(S/ING)
OUTSWEEP(S/ING)
OUTSWELL(ED/S/ING)
OUTSWEPT
OUTSWING(ER[S]/S/ING)
OUTSWORE
OUTSWORN
OUTSWUM
OUTSWUNG
OUTTHANK(ED/S/ING)
OUTTHINK(S/ING)
OUTTHREW
OUTTHROB(ED/S/ING)
OUTTHROW(N/S/ING)
OUTTOWER(ED/S/ING)
OUTTRADE(D/S/ING)
OUTTRICK(ED/S/ING)
OUTTRUMP(ED/S/ING)
OUTVALUE(D/S/ING)
OUTVAUNT(ED/S/ING)
OUTVENOM(ED/S/ING)
OUTVOICE(D/S/ING)
OUTVYING
OUTWASTE(D/S/ING)
OUTWATCH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTWEARY(ING)
OUTWEIGH(ED/S/ING)
OUTWHIRL(ED/S/ING)
OUTWORTH(ED/S/ING)
OUTWOUND
OUTWREST(ED/S/ING)
OUTWRITE(S/ING)
OUTWROTE
OUTYIELD(ED/S/ING)

7 letters
OUTMOST
OUTMOVE(D/S/ING)
OUTNAME(D/S/ING)
OUTNESS(ES)
OUTPACE(D/S/ING)
OUTPART(S)
OUTPASS(ED/S/ING)
OUTPEEP(ED/S/ING)
OUTPEER(ED/S/ING)
OUTPITY(ING)
OUTPLAN(ED/S/ING)
OUTPLAY(ED/S/ING)
OUTPLOD(ED/S/ING)
OUTPLOT(ED/S/ING)
OUTPOLL(ED/S/ING)
OUTPORT(ER[S]/S)
OUTPOST(S)
OUTPOUR(ED/ER[S]/S/ING[S])
OUTPRAY(ED/S/ING)
OUTPULL(ED/S/ING)
OUTPUSH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTRACE(D/S/ING)
OUTRAGE(D/S/ING)
OUTRANG
OUTRANK(ED/S/ING)
OUTRATE(D/S/ING)
OUTRAVE(D/S/ING)
OUTREAD(S/ING)
OUTRIDE(R[S]/S/ING)
OUTRING(S/ING)
OUTROAR(ED/S/ING)
OUTROCK(ED/S/ING)
OUTRODE
OUTROLL(ED/S/ING)
OUTROOP(ER[S]/S)
OUTROOT(ED/S/ING)
OUTROPE(R[S]/S)
OUTRUNG
OUTRUSH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTSAID
OUTSAIL(ED/S/ING)
OUTSANG
OUTSELL(S/ING)
OUTSERT(S)
OUTSHOT(S)
OUTSIDE(R[S]/S)
OUTSING(S/ING)
OUTSIZE(D/S)
OUTSOAR(ED/S/ING)
OUTSOLD
OUTSOLE(S)
OUTSPAN(ED/S/ING)
OUTSPED
OUTSTAY(ED/S/ING)
OUTSTEP(ED/S/ING)
OUTSULK(ED/S/ING)
OUTSUNG
OUTSWAM
OUTSWIM(S/ING)
OUTTAKE(N/S/ING)
OUTTALK(ED/S/ING)
OUTTASK(ED/S/ING)
OUTTELL(S/ING)
OUTTOLD
OUTTOOK
OUTTROT(ED/S/ING)
OUTTURN(S)
OUTVOTE(D/R[S]/S/ING)
OUTWAIT(ED/S/ING)
OUTWALK(ED/S/ING)
OUTWARD(LY/S)
OUTWASH(ES)
OUTWEAR(S/ING)
OUTWEED(ED/S/ING)
OUTWEEP(S/ING)
OUTWELL(ED/S/ING)
OUTWENT
OUTWEPT
OUTWICK(ED/S/ING)
OUTWILE(D/S/ING)
OUTWILL(ED/S/ING)
OUTWIN(S/ING)
OUTWIND(ED/S/ING)
OUTWING(ED/S/ING)
OUTWISH(ED/ES/ING)
OUTWITH
OUTWORE
OUTWORK(ED/ER[S]/S/ING)
OUTWORN
OUTWRIT(TEN)
OUTYELL(ED/S/ING)
OUTYELP(ED/S/ING)

6 letters
OUTPUT(S/ED/ING)
OUTRAN
OUTRED(ED/S/ING)
OUTRIG(ED/ER[S]/S/ING)
OUTROW(ED/S/ING)
OUTRUN(ER[S]/S/ING)
OUTSAT
OUTSAW
OUTSAY(S/ING)
OUTSEE(N/S/ING)
OUTSET(S/ING[S])
OUTSIN(ED/S/ING)
OUTSIT(S/ING)
OUTSUM(ED/S/ING)
OUTTOP(ED/S/ING)
OUTVIE(D/S)
OUTWAR(ED/S/ING)
OUTWIT(ED/S/ING)
OUTWON

5 letters
OUTRO(S)

OUT- words Part 1

2008-06-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

Definition for the Day: 'Outfangthief', from the archaic 'utfangtheof': the right of ancient lords to summon any within their demenses who had committed crimes outside of their limits to judgment at their courts. Infangthief (from 'infangtheof' or 'infangennetheof' was the right to call those accused of crimes within the demense to judgment). Some of you may remember the term from the following poem from W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman's 1066 And All That:

Beoleopard
or
The Witan's Whail

Whan Cnut Cyng the Witan wold enfeoff
Of infangthief and outfangthief
Wonderlich were they enwraged
And wordwar waged
Sware Cnut great scot and lot
Swinge wold ich this illbegotten lot.

Wroth was Cnut and wrothword spake.
Well wold he win at wopantake.
Fain wold he brake frith and cracke heads
And than they shold worshippe his redes.

Swinged Cnut Cyng with swung sword
Howled Witane helle but hearkened his word
Murie sang Quit Cyng
Outfangthief is Damgudthyng.

As mentioned in the previous post, learning compound words is one of the best ways in which to begin to raise your game up to the next level, and OUT- words are one of the best places to start. OUT- comes up fairly regularly and it can take many different endings. The little effort expended in learning the most common of these and keeping one's eyes peeled when OUT appears on a board can reap huge dividends. The following is the first part of my comprehensive list of SOWPODS OUT- words.

Over 8 letters
OUTACHIEVE(S/D/ING)
OUTASIGHT
OUTBALANCE(S/D/ING)
OUTBARGAIN(S/ED/ING)
OUTBLUSTER(S/ED/ING)
OUTBOUGHT
OUTBRAZEN(S/ED/ING)
OUTBREATHE(S/D/ING)
OUTBULLIED
OUTBULLIES
OUTCAUGHT
OUTCHARGE(S/D/ING)
OUTCITIES
OUTCOMPETE(S/D/ING)
OUTCRAFTIED
OUTCRAFTIES
OUTCRAFTY(ING)
OUTDACIOUS
OUTDATEDNESS(ES)
OUTDAZZLE(S/D/ING)
OUTDEBATE(S/D/ING)
OUTDELIVER(S/ED/ING)
OUTDESIGN(S/ED/ING)
OUTDISTANCE(S/D/ING)
OUTDOORSMAN(SHIP)
OUTDOORSMEN
OUTERCOAT(S)
OUTERCOURSE(S)
OUTERMOST
OUTERWEAR(S)
OUTFANGTHIEF
OUTFANGTHIEVES
OUTFIGURE(S/D/ING)
OUTFOUGHT
OUTFUMBLE(S/D/ING)
OUTGALLOP(S/ED/ING)
OUTGAMBLE(S/ED/ING)
OUTGENERAL(S/[L]ED/[L]ING)
OUTGLITTER(S/ED/ING)
OUTGOINGNESS(ES)
OUTHANDLE(S/D/ING)
OUTHUSTLE(S/ED/ING)
OUTINTRIGUE(S/D/ING)
OUTJOCKEY(S/ED/ING)
OUTJUGGLE(S/D/ING)
OUTLANDISH(LY/NESS)
OUTLAUNCE(S/D/ING)
OUTLAUNCH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTLAWRIES
OUTLODGING(S)
OUTLUSTRE(S/D/ING)
OUTMANEUVER(S/ED/ING)
OUTMANIPULATE(S/D/ING)
OUTMANOEUVRE(S/D/ING)
OUTMANTLE(S/D/ING)
OUTMARRIAGE(S)
OUTMASTER(S/ED/ING)
OUTMEASURE(S/D/ING)
OUTMODEDNESS(ES)

8 letters
OUTARGUE(S/D/ING)
OUTBITCH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTBLAZE(S/D/ING)
OUTBLEAT(S/ED/ING)
OUTBLESS(ES/ED/ING)
OUTBLOOM(S/ED/ING)
OUTBLUFF(S/ED/ING)
OUTBLUSH(S/ED/ING)
OUTBOARD(S)
OUTBOAST(S/ED/ING)
OUTBOUND(S)
OUTBRAVE(S/D/ING)
OUTBRAWL(S/ED/ING)
OUTBREAK(S/ING)
OUTBREED(S/ING[S])
OUTBRIBE(D/S/ING)
OUTBROKE(N)
OUTBUILD(S/ING[S])
OUTBUILT
OUTBULGE(S/D/ING)
OUTBULLY(ING)
OUTBURST(S/ING)
OUTCAPER(S/ED/ING)
OUTCASTE(S)
OUTCATCH(S/ING)
OUTCAVIL(S/[L]ED/[L]ING)
OUTCHARM(S/ED/ING)
OUTCHEAT(S/ED/ING)
OUTCLASS(ES/ED/ING)
OUTCLIMB(S/ED/ING)
OUTCLOMB
OUTCOACH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTCOUNT(S/ED/ING)
OUTCRAWL(S/ED/ING)
OUTCRIED
OUTCRIES
OUTCROSS(ES/ED/ING[S])
OUTCROWD(S/ED/ING)
OUTCURSE(S/D/ING)
OUTCURVE(S)
OUTDANCE(S/D/ING)
OUTDODGE(S/D/ING)
OUTDRANK
OUTDREAM(S/T/ED/ING)
OUTDRESS(ES/ED/ING)
OUTDRINK(S/ING)
OUTDRIVE(S/N/ING)
OUTDROVE
OUTDRUNK
OUTDWELL(S/T/ED/ING)
OUTFABLE(S/D/ING)
OUTFEAST(S/ED/ING)
OUTFENCE(S/D/ING)
OUTFIELD(S/ER[S])
OUTFIGHT(S/ING)
OUTFLANK(S/ED/ING)
OUTFLASH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTFLIES
OUTFLING(S)
OUTFLOAT(S/ED/ING)
OUTFLUSH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTFOUND
OUTFROWN(S/ED/ING)
OUTGLARE(S/D/ING)
OUTGLEAM(S/ED/ING)
OUTGROSS(ES/ED/ING)
OUTGROUP(S)
OUTGUARD(S)
OUTGUESS(ES/ED/ING)
OUTGUIDE(S/D/ING)
OUTHOMER(S/ED/ING)
OUTHOUSE(S)
OUTHUMOR(S/ED/ING)
OUTLAUGH(S/ED/ING)
OUTLAWRY
OUTLEARN(S/T/ED/ING)
OUTLYING
OUTMARCH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTMATCH(ES/ED/ING)

7 letters
OUTBACK(S/ER[S])
OUTBAKE(S/D/ING)
OUTBARK(S/ED/ING)
OUTBAWL(S/ED/ING)
OUTBEAM(S/ED/ING)
OUTBRAG(S/ED/ING)
OUTBRED
OUTBULK(S/ED/ING)
OUTBURN(S/T/ED/ING)
OUTCALL(S)
OUTCAST(S/ED/ING)
OUTCHID(E[S]/DEN/ED/ING)
OUTCITY
OUTCOME(S)
OUTCOOK(S/ED/ING)
OUTCROP(S/ED/ING[S])
OUTCROW(S/ED/ING)
OUTDARE(S/D/ING)
OUTDATE(D[LY]/S/ING)
OUTDOOR(S[Y])
OUTDRAG(S/ED/ING)
OUTDRAW(S/N/ING)
OUTDREW
OUTDROP(S/ED/ING)
OUTDUEL(S/[L]ED/[L]ING)
OUTDURE(S/D/ING)
OUTEARN(S/ED/ING)
OUTECHO(ES/ED/ING)
OUTEDGE(S)
OUTFACE(S/D/ING)
OUTFALL(S)
OUTFAST(S/ED/ING)
OUTFAWN(S/ED/ING)
OUTFEEL(S/ING)
OUTFELT
OUTFIND(S/ING)
OUTFIRE(S/D/ING)
OUTFISH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTFLEW
OUTFLOW(S/ED/N/ING[S])
OUTFOOL(S/ED/ING)
OUTFOOT(S/ED/ING)
OUTGAIN(S/ED/ING)
OUTGATE(S)
OUTGAVE
OUTGAZE(S/D/ING)
OUTGIVE(S/N/ING[S])
OUTGLOW(S/ED/ING)
OUTGNAW(S/ED/N/ING)
OUTGREW
OUTGRIN(S/ED/ING)
OUTGROW(S/N/TH[S]/ING)
OUTGUSH(ES/ED/ING)
OUTHAUL(ER[S]/S)
OUTHEAR(S/D/ING)
OUTHIRE(S/D/ING)
OUTHOWL(S/ED/ING)
OUTHUNT(S/ED/ING)
OUTHYRE(S/D/ING)
OUTJEST(S/ED/ING)
OUTJINX(ES/ED/ING)
OUTJUMP(S/ED/ING)
OUTKEEP(S/ING)
OUTKEPT
OUTKICK(S/ED/ING)
OUTKILL(S/ED/ING)
OUTKISS(ES/ED/ING)
OUTLAID
OUTLAIN
OUTLAND(S/ER[S])
OUTLASH(ES)
OUTLAST(S/ED/ING)
OUTLEAD(S/ING)
OUTLEAP(S/T/ED/ING)
OUTLINE(AR/D/R[S]/S/ING)
OUTLIVE(S/R[S]/D/ING)
OUTLOOK(S/ED/ING)
OUTLOVE(S/ED/ING)
OUTMODE(D[LY]/S/ING)

6 letters
OUTACT(S/ED/ING)
OUTADD(S/ED/ING)
OUTAGE(S)
OUTASK(S/ED/ING)
OUTATE
OUTBAR(S/ED/ING)
OUTBEG(S/ED/ING)
OUTBID(S/EN/ER[S]/ING)
OUTBOX(ES/ED/ING)
OUTBUY(S/ING)
OUTBYE
OUTCRY(ING)
OUTDID
OUTEAT(S/EN/ING)
OUTFIT(S/ED/ER[S]/ING[S])
OUTFLY(ING)
OUTFOX(ES/ED/ING)
OUTGAS(ES/ED/ING[S])
OUTGUN(S/ED/ING)
OUTHER
OUTHIT(S/ING)
OUTJET(S/ING[S])
OUTJUT(S/ED/ING[S])
OUTLAW(S/ED/ING)
OUTLAY(S/ING)
OUTLED
OUTLER(S)
OUTLET(S)
OUTLIE(D/R[S]/S)
OUTMAN(S/ED/ING)

5 letters
OUTBY
OUTDO(ES/ER[S]/NE/ING)
OUTGO(ES/ER[S]/NE/ING[S])

3 letters
OUT(S/ED/ER[S]/RE/ING[S])

My Boggle Strategy (FWIW)

2008-06-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

As a player I tend to focus on small word clusters, rather than on the larger board. As a result, I miss almost all of the longer words, but get a good percentage of the smaller ones. I work up to the longer words, rather than down from them. My strategy is more geared for regular 4x4 boards than it is for 5x5s or the new 4x4(4)s.

I am a slow typist and also need to spend a lot of time looking at my fingers, so I have to see words quickly in order to keep ahead of my fellow players. In order to do this, I think in terms of creating strong and interlocking word networks. In a game you always need to know which word comes next, as it were. Each word needs to lead to the next word or set of words. You shouldn’t have to pause to think about it; pause and it might cost you the game.

Word networks can be formed in many ways. At first my networks were primarily formed by a mixture of letter order, semantics and phonetics. I would mentally say the words to myself as I wrote them, checking to see if they sounded right. If I saw HEAD, I would probably see DEAD. The problem was that I would often miss a word like BEAD, as it was pronounced differently. I still employ this method on occasions, but complement it with many others and don’t rely on it so much.

Primary Opening Strategy
Nowadays (or until I went cold turkey, at least) I rely far more on anagram patterns and hook words.

An example movement might help to illustrate my approach. Having begun by quickly scanning the board for common prefixes and suffixes and taking note of them (if there is an open –ING, or an –ED that looks promising I will work with it immediately), I start off seeing letters like A-R-I and then instantly write AIR/RAI/RIA. I keep my eye out for an S and, if there is one, I type the plural forms, along with ARIS/SARI/SAIR. I then see that a T is connected and type ART/TAR/RAT and AIT/TAI/ITA as the remaining subanagrams of A-R-I-T. I type ARTI/RAIT/TIAR/AIRT and look for an A so that I can have ATRIA/AARTI/RIATA/RAITA/TIARA/TAIRA. At each stage I am looking for possible plural forms of each of these words and typing them as I see them (and adding in words like RASTA and ASTIR, if they are there). I remember that ATRIA, being the plural of ATRIUM, cannot take an S, but that it can take an L at either end, making LATRIA or ATRIAL (I also remember that LARIAT is a word; if I see LARIAT, I also glance to see if SALARIAT is there — the only SOWPODS anagram of my first name). If I see an L at the end, I would immediately move to TRIAL/TRAIL/LIART, RIAL/RAIL/LAIR/LARI/LIRA/LIAR/ARIL and TIRL.

Prefixes and Suffixes
Most of the words listed above cannot take any common suffix (-ED, -ER, -ING, etc.) or prefix (RE-, DE-, EX-, UN-, etc.), but a few can. When I type a word like TRAIL, I will look out of the corner of my eye for such suffixes and prefixes. If they look very promising I will type them immediately and make a mental note to return to the other word chain. Once I feel that I have got the best out of a certain set of letters, I will start again somewhere else on the board.

Strengthening Connections
As I said earlier, each word needs to lead to the next. There are plenty of mediocre Boggle players out there with a far better vocabulary than mine. The difference is to be found in the length and strength of my word threads. When it comes to Boggle, the size of one’s vocabulary counts far less than the strength with which your words are bound together. Consequently, if you want to improve your game this is what you need to focus on.

There are a few places where connections, either between word sets or within them, may be weak. There are some words that you will generally miss as you move between and within word sets. Your goal must be to ‘stick’ such words to their neighbours. For example, while AIR/RIA/RAI may be easy enough, ARIL/LAIR/LARI/LIAR/LIRA/RAIL/RIAL is slightly harder. I remember that particular set by trying to observe loose patterns: in the L anagrams, the R only appears in third and fourth position and the vowels can be reversed when the R is in both positions. A similar pattern helps me to remember RIATA/RAITA/TIARA/TAIRA. Once I have remembered those, the remaining two A words are not too hard (that anagram set has two A words, two R words and two T words).

I remember the number of words in an anagram set and sometimes the number of words in the set beginning with particular letters. I rehearse word chains (like the one illustrated above) in my mind, until I get every word every time.

I divide each anagram set (for 4-letter words and greater) into subanagram sets and learn the most useful anagram sets that can be formed by the addition of a letter. For instance, if I have the letters A-A-L-P, I write PAAL/ALAP, AAL/ALA, ALP/PAL/LAP, but my priority is on looking for an S and another A. If I find the S, I write PALAS/ALAPS/PAALS/PLAAS/SALPA. If I find the A, I write ALAAP/ALAPA.

One of the best ways to strengthen connections is to learn the meanings of words. For instance, having studied Hebrew, I hardly ever miss ZAYIN and AYIN when they come up on a board. Semantically reinforcing key words in your mind makes it easier to remember connected words as well. Once you come to know how your own mental word chains work, you will better know which parts need some ‘semantic greasing’!

Creating New Connections
There are a number of ways in which words can be connected in networks. Anagrams are my primary focus. When learning anagrams I focus on the largest sets for each word length and then work on those which have the most common letters, or those which contain the most unusual words. I can gradually work my way through all of the words of a particular length following such a method.

I also use hook words a lot. SUR, SURA(S), SURRA(S), SURAH(S) and SUN(S), SUNN(S), SUNNA(S), SUNNAH(S) are good examples of useful hook word sets. The importance of hook words cannot be overstated. They are a great way of connecting uncommon words to more familiar ones. For instance, both WHAT and DOWN can take an A at the end to form WHATA and DOWNA (ADOWN is also a word).

I also form sets of words with slightly unusual common endings, e.g. BEARE, DEARE, FEARE, GEARE, HEARE, LEARE, MEARE, PEARE, SEARE, WHEARE. There are various mnemonics that one can create to help one to remember such a list. I use ‘DouGH, (Wh)iFF, BLiMP’ to help me to remember the list above. Rather poor, I know, but it does the job (you might prefer ‘(Wh)ee! FaBLeD PHLeGM!’). I then remember that each one of these words takes an S at the end, except the one with an S at the beginning; all take a D at the end except those with a HuMP in them; all take an R at the end except the GLuMPy ones (and WHEARE). Somewhat cryptic, perhaps, but it usually works.

I try to remember some of the unusual prefixes that certain words can take. For instance, LITH can take a number of prefixes, making OOLITH, EOLITH, NEOLITH, ZOOLITH, TALLITH, OTOLITH, TRILITH, and UROLITH. I also create some sets of similar looking words in my mind: e.g. ANOESES, ANOESIS, ENOSES/NOESES, NAOSES, NOISES and ENOSIS/NOESIS.

I also group words with alternative spellings together in my mind. DALETH, DALEDH, DALED are all words for the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Hebrew letters generally have at least one alternative spelling). Often if one is on a board, one of the others will be there as well.

Learning the meaning of some exotic words is a good way to create new word sets and chains. A ROJI is a Japanese tea-garden. When I see that I look for RIOJA, then JAR/RAJ, JAI and JIAO.

Going Further
Words with really odd sets of letters or odd letter orders can really prove valuable on occasions. For example, SDEIN, SDAYN, SDEIGN and SDEIGNE are all SOWPODS words, being archaic forms of DISDAIN. The oddness of such words can make them easier to remember as they tend to stick out in your mind.

Learning lots of obscure word trivia is a proven method of familiarizing yourself with words. Semordnilaps (words that can be reversed to spell other words) are one example of useful word trivia — REWARDER/REDRAWER, DIAPER/REPAID, IMAGED/DEGAMI, LAMINA/ANIMAL, DESSERTS/STRESSED, REKNITS/STINKER, etc. If you know your semordnilaps, you won’t miss REKNITS next time you find STINKER on a board. Lists of famous people’s names that are in SOWPODS, lists of words of Yiddish or Welsh origin, and that sort of thing can also be very useful in improving your Boggle vocabulary.

Learning words with unusual letter sets is important, starting with all of the vowel-only (EUOUAE, EUOI, AUA, AUE, EAU, AIA, etc.) and all of the consonant-only words (PHPHT, CRWTH, CWTCH, TSKTSK, PHT, BRRR, BRR, CWM, etc.), and moving on to slightly less unusual letter sets. On tough boards these are the sort of words that can win games.

It is worthwhile to set yourself the target of learning at least two new words (from one of your opponents' lists or from the missed word list) every game. It really isn't that hard and the words add up quite fast. I have dozens of sheets on which I have jotted new words to learn over the last few months.

A tool like Zyzzyva can also be extremely helpful for learning new words. Zyzzyva allows you to set up quizzes for yourself. I used to use Zyzzyva's quizzes to test myself on my anagram knowledge.

Once you have been playing for a while you need to start working on compound words. Words ending with -MAN and words beginning with OUT- would be a good place to begin. There are over 50 6-letter words connected with both OUT and MAN. The list is far, far greater for 7-letter words.

I could say far more about my preferred strategy (about how to vary it when playing particular players or types of boards, etc.), but, as an introduction to the broad contours of my general approach, the above comments are about as detailed as it gets.

SOWPODS Four Letter Words Part 5

2008-06-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

A 'zebu', a type of domestic cattle found in East Africa and Asia, recognizable by their shoulder humps.

The final instalment of our SOWPODS 4-letter word anagrams.

Six Anagrams
STAW/SWAT/TAWS/TWAS/WAST/WATS

Four Anagrams
SETT/STET/TEST/TETS
STEY/STYE/TYES/YEST
SWEY/WEYS/WYES/YEWS
TREY/TRYE/TYER/TYRE

Three Anagrams
SAUT/TAUS/UTAS
SITE/STIE/TIES
STOT/TOST/TOTS
SUIT/TUIS/UTIS
SWAY/WAYS/YAWS
TAVS/VAST/VATS
TAWT/TWAT/WATT
TEDY/TYDE/TYED
TWAE/WATE/WETA
VAIL/VALI/VIAL
WAKE/WEAK/WEKA

Two Anagrams
SCYE/SYCE
SECT/TECS
SEIS/SIES
SESH/SHES
SEYS/SYES
SHIR/SHRI
SIRS/SRIS
SIST/SITS
SITZ/ZITS
SKRY/SKYR
SOTS/TOSS
SOWF/WOFS
SPAZ/ZAPS
SPUE/SUPE
STAT/TATS
STAY/TAYS
STED/TEDS
SUES/USES
SUET/UTES
SULU/ULUS
SUMP/UMPS
SWAB/WABS
SWAG/WAGS
SWIG/WIGS
TAAL/TALA
TART/TRAT
TATH/THAT
TATU/TAUT
THAW/WHAT
THEW/WHET
TINY/TYIN
TOES/TOSE
TONY/YONT
TORT/TROT
TREW/WERT
TWEE/WEET
TYMP/YMPT
TYTE/YETT
UVAE/UVEA
UVAS/VAUS
VAGI/VIGA
VAIN/VINA
VATU/VAUT
VEST/VETS
VETO/VOTE
VIAS/VISA
VIES/VISE
VIEW/WIVE
VIRL/VRIL
WADI/WAID
WAIL/WALI
WALY/YAWL
WARP/WRAP
WEID/WIDE
WEIR/WIRE
WHIT/WITH
WIST/WITS
YETI/YITE
YEUK/YUKE
YOUK/YUKO
ZEIN/ZINE

No Anagrams
SACS SADS SAFE SAGS SAIS SANS SARS SASH SASS SAUL SAVS SAWS SAYS SCRY SCUG SCUL SCUM SEAS SECH SEGS SEPS SERS SESS SEWS SEXT SEXY SHAN SHIV SIBS SICK SICS SIJO SIMI SINS SISS SIZE SIZY SKAG SKIM SKOL SKUG SKYF SLEW SLUB SNAR SOCK SOFT SOJA SONS SOOK SORI SORN SOSS SOUS SOVS SOWS SOYA SOYS SPIF SPIV SUBA SUDS SUID SUKS SUMY SUNK SUNS SUQS SUSS SUSU SWIM SWIZ SWUM SYLI SYNC SYND TACK TACT TADS TAHA TAIT TALK TALL TAMP TASS TATT TAVA TAWA TAXA TAXI TEES TEFF TEGG TEGU TEHR TELL TELT TERM TETE TETH TEXT THIG THIO THIR THON THRO THUD THUG TICK TIDY TIFF TIKI TILT TING TINT TIPI TIPT TIRL TIRR TITE TITI TITS TIVY TIZZ TOBY TOCK TOEA TOFF TOFT TOFU TOGE TOGS TOIT TOLL TOLT TOMB TONG TOPI TORC TOTE TOUK TOUT TOWT TOWY TOYO TOYS TOZE TREK TRET TREZ TRIM TRIN TRUE TRUG TRYP TSKS TUCK TUFF TUFT TUMP TUNE TUNG TUNY TURD TURF TURK TURM TUSK TUTS TUTU TUZZ TWAL TWAY TWIG TWIN TWIT TYEE TYGS TYND TYNE TYPP TYPY TZAR UEYS ULVA UNAI UNAU UNBE UNCE UNCI UNCO UNDY UNIS UNIT UPAS UPBY UPGO URAO URDY UREA URIC URUS URVA UTUS VACS VAGS VAMP VANG VANS VANT VARA VARS VARY VAVS VAWS VEEP VEGO VEHM VELD VELL VEND VENT VERB VERT VERY VEXT VIAE VIBE VIBS VIGS VILD VILL VIMS VINO VINS VINT VINY VIOL VITA VITE VIVA VIVE VIVO VIZY VOID VOLK VOLS VOLT VORS VOWS VROT VROU VROW VUGG VUGH VULN VUMS WAAC WADY WAFF WAFT WAGE WAIF WAIN WAIR WAIS WAIT WAKF WALL WAME WANK WANT WAQF WARK WART WAUK WAUL WAUR WAVE WAVY WAWA WAWE WAWL WAWS WAXY WEBS WEED WEEK WEEL WEEM WEEP WEFT WELL WELT WEMB WEND WEPT WEXE WHAE WHAP WHEE WHEW WHEY WHID WHIG WHIM WHIN WHIO WHIP WHIR WHIZ WHOA WHOM WHOP WHOT WHOW WHUP WHYS WICE WICH WICK WIFE WILD WILI WILL WILT WILY WIMP WIND WINE WING WINK WINN WINO WINS WINY WIPE WIRY WISE WISH WISP WISS WITE WOAD WOGS WOKE WOMB WOOD WOOF WOOL WOON WOOS WOOT WORK WORM WORN WOVE WOWF WOWS WREN WRIT WUDS WUDU WULL WUSS WYCH WYLE WYND WYNN WYNS WYTE XYST YABA YAGI YALE YANG YANK YAPP YARR YATE YAUD YAUP YAWP YAWY YAYS YEAD YEAH YEAN YECH YELD YELL YELP YEVE YIDS YIKE YINS YIPE YIPS YIRD YIRK YIRR YMPE YODE YODH YOGA YOGH YOGI YOKE YOKS YOLK YOND YONI YOOP YOUR YOUS YOWE YOWS YUAN YUCA YUCH YUCK YUFT YUGA YUKY YULE YUNX YURT YUTZ YUZU YWIS ZACK ZAGS ZANY ZARF ZATI ZEAS ZEBU ZEDS ZEES ZEKS ZELS ZEPS ZERK ZERO ZEST ZETA ZEZE ZHOS ZIFF ZIGS ZILA ZILL ZIMB ZINC ZING ZINS ZIPS ZITE ZITI ZIZZ ZOBU ZOEA ZOIC ZOLS ZONE ZONK ZOON ZOOS ZOOT ZORI ZOUK ZULU ZUPA ZURF ZYME ZZZS

SOWPODS Four Letter Words Part 4

2008-05-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

A 'roji' is a small Japanese tea-garden. If you see it in a word game, keep your eyes open for 'rioja' too.
Here is the penultimate set of SOWPODS four letter word anagrams:

Seven Anagrams
OWTS/STOW/SWOT/TOWS/TWOS/WOST/WOTS

Six Anagrams
OPTS/POST/POTS/SPOT/STOP/TOPS
RUES/RUSE/SUER/SURE/URES/USER

Five Anagrams
OAST/OATS/STOA/TAOS/TOSA
ORTS/ROST/ROTS/SORT/TORS
PART/PRAT/RAPT/TARP/TRAP
PAWS/SPAW/SWAP/WAPS/WASP
PEST/PETS/SEPT/SPET/STEP
RIOT/ROTI/TIRO/TORI/TRIO

Four Anagrams
OARS/OSAR/SOAR/SORA
OHOS/OOHS/SHOO/SOHO
OILS/SILO/SOIL/SOLI
OWER/OWRE/WERO/WORE
PARS/RAPS/RASP/SPAR
PATE/PEAT/TAPE/TEPA
PAYS/PYAS/SPAY/YAPS
PIES/PISE/SIPE/SPIE
PORY/PYRO/ROPY/YORP
POWS/SOWP/SWOP/WOPS
RATO/ROTA/TARO/TORA
RITE/TIER/TIRE/TRIE
RYOT/TORY/TROY/TYRO

Three Anagrams
ODYL/OLDY/YOLD
OKES/SKEO/SOKE
ONOS/OONS/SOON
ONST/SNOT/TONS
ONTO/OONT/TOON
OOPS/POOS/SOOP
OPUS/OUPS/SOUP
OUST/OUTS/SOUT
OWES/OWSE/WOES
PATU/TAPU/UPTA
PEER/PERE/PREE
PEIN/PENI/PINE
PEPO/POEP/POPE
PERI/PIER/RIPE
PERP/PREP/REPP
PIRS/RIPS/RISP
PISS/PSIS/SIPS
PITS/SPIT/TIPS
POET/POTE/TOPE
POOR/PROO/ROOP
PORE/REPO/ROPE
PREY/PYRE/RYPE
PUMY/UMPY/YUMP
PURS/SPUR/URPS
PUYS/UPSY/YUPS
RETE/TEER/TREE
RIVE/VIER/VIRE
RONT/TORN/TRON
ROOT/ROTO/TORO
ROWT/TROW/WORT
RUDS/SURD/URDS
RUSA/SURA/URSA
SAUT/TAUS/UTAS
SITE/STIE/TIES
STOT/TOST/TOTS
SUIT/TUIS/UTIS
SWAY/WAYS/YAWS
TAVS/VAST/VATS
TAWT/TWAT/WATT
TEDY/TYDE/TYED
TWAE/WATE/WETA
VAIL/VALI/VIAL
WAKE/WEAK/WEKA

Two Anagrams
OAFS/SOFA
OBEY/YEBO
OCAS/SOCA
OMBU/UMBO
ONER/RONE
OOFY/YOOF
OOTS/SOOT
OPPO/POOP
ORAD/ROAD
ORRA/ROAR
OTTO/TOOT
OUKS/SOUK
OURS/SOUR
OVAL/VOLA
OVER/ROVE
OWLY/YOWL
OYER/YORE
PADI/PAID
PAIK/PIKA
PAIS/PIAS
PALP/PLAP
PALY/PLAY
PATH/PHAT
PATY/PYAT
PAUL/PULA
PEDS/SPED
PEES/SEEP
PERM/PREM
PEWS/SPEW
PHOT/TOPH
PICS/SPIC
PINY/PYIN
PISO/POIS
PLOT/POLT
PLOY/POLY
PLUE/PULE
PLUS/PULS
POOT/TOPO
PORT/TROP
POSS/SOPS
POUR/ROUP
PRAM/RAMP
PRAO/PROA
PROM/ROMP
PRYS/SPRY
PUER/PURE
PUIR/PURI
PUNS/SPUN
PURR/RURP
PUSS/SUPS
PUTS/TUPS
PYET/TYPE
PYOT/TYPO
QADI/QAID
RAHS/RASH
RAIK/RAKI
RAKE/REAK
RANT/TARN
RARE/REAR
RATA/TARA
RAWN/WARN
RAWS/WARS
RAYA/YAAR
REEK/REKE
REFS/SERF
REIN/RINE
RENT/TERN
REVS/VERS
RHUS/RUSH
RIPT/TRIP
RITS/STIR
RIVA/VAIR
ROKY/YORK
RORT/TORR
ROTE/TORE
ROUT/TOUR
RUMS/SMUR
RUNT/TURN
RUST/RUTS
RYKE/YERK

No Anagrams
OARY OATH OBES OBIA OBOE OCCY ODAH ODEA ODIC OFAY OFFS OGAM OGEE OHIA OILY OLEO OLIO OLLA OMOV ONIE ONLY ONYX OOFS OOSE OOSY OOZE OOZY OPAH OPAL ORAL ORBY ORYX ORZO OSES OSSA OULK OUMA OUPA OUPH OURN OUZO OVEN OVUM OWED OXER OXES OXID OXIM OYES OYEZ PACK PACT PACY PAIR PALL PAND PANG PANT PAPA PAPE PARK PARP PARR PAUA PAVE PAVS PAWA PAWK PAWL PAWN PEAK PEBA PECH PECK PEEP PEGH PEGS PELF PELL PEND PENK PENT PEPS PERK PERN PERT PERV PFFT PFUI PHEW PHIZ PHOH PHON PHUT PICK PIED PIET PIKI PILI PILL PILY PIMA PIMP PING PINK PINT PION PIOY PIPA PIPE PIPI PIPS PIPY PIRL PIRN PITA PITY PIUM PIXY PIZE PLAN PLAT PLEB PLED PLEW PLEX PLOD PLOP POCK POGY POKE POKY POLK POLL POMP POND PONG PONS PONT PONY POOD POOF POOK POPS PORK PORN POSY POTT POUF POUK POUT POWN POXY POZZ PRAU PRAY PREX PREZ PRIM PROB PROF PROP PROS PROW PRUH PSST PTUI PUBE PUBS PUCE PUCK PUDU PUFF PUGH PUKA PUKE PUKU PULI PULK PULL PULP PULU PULY PUMA PUMP PUNA PUNG PUNK PUNT PUNY PUPA PUPS PUPU PURL PUTT PUTZ PYIC PYNE QATS QOPH QUAD QUAG QUAI QUAT QUAY QUEP QUEY QUID QUIM QUIN QUIP QUIT QUIZ QUOD QUOP RACA RAFF RAGG RAKU RARK RATU RAUN RAZE RAZZ REBS RECK RECS REDD REDS REMS RENY REPS REWS RICH RICK RICY RIDS RIFF RILL RIND RINS RIPP RITT RITZ RIVO ROAN ROCH ROJI ROLL RONG ROOF ROON ROOS RORE RORY ROSY ROTL ROUM ROUX ROWS RUBE RUCK RUDD RUER RUFF RUIN RUKH RULY RUMP RUNE RURU RUSK RYES RYFE RYND

Double vowels

2008-05-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Words with double vowels are a lot of fun. Here's a list of all three letter words that have both a "u" and an "e":

AUE, CUE, DUE, EAU, ECU
EMU, EUK, FEU, GUE, HUE
JEU, KUE, LEU, MEU, RUE
SUE, UEY, UKE, ULE, URE
USE, UTE

There are lots of four letter words with both letters, but there are only 55 where they're adjacent:

AGUE, BLUE, CLUE, CRUE, CUED
CUES, DEUS, DUED, DUEL, DUES
DUET, EMEU, EUGE, EUGH, EUKS
EUOI, EURO, FEUD, FEUS, FLUE
FUEL, GEUM, GLUE, GRUE, GUES
HUED, HUER, HUES, JEUX, KUEH
KUES, LEUD, LIEU, LUES, MEUS
MOUE, NEUK, NEUM, PLUE, PUER
QUEP, QUEY, ROUE, RUED, RUER
RUES, SLUE, SPUE, SUED, SUER
SUES, SUET, TRUE, UEYS, YEUK

(Ask a Singaporean or Malaysian what kue/kueh is, if you're curious! You'll get a "Yum!")

SOWPODS Four Letter Words Part 4

2008-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Kvas, a mildly alcoholic drink made from black or rye bread

It has been a few days since the last set of 4 letter word anagrams were posted. Here is part 4:

Six Anagrams
AELT – LATE/LEAT/TAEL/TALE/TEAL/TELA

Five Anagrams
AELP – LEAP/PALE/PEAL/PELA/PLEA
AEMS – MAES/MASE/MESA/SAME/SEAM
AEMT – MATE/MEAT/META/TAME/TEAM
EILR – LEIR/LIER/LIRE/RIEL/RILE
EILS – ISLE/LEIS/LIES/SEIL/SILE
EIRS – IRES/REIS/RISE/SEIR/SIRE
ENST – NEST/NETS/SENT/STEN/TENS
ENSY – NYES/SNYE/SYEN/SYNE/YENS
INOR – INRO/IRON/NOIR/NORI/ROIN
ILST – LIST/LITS/SILT/SLIT/TILS
MSTU – MUST/MUTS/SMUT/STUM/TUMS
NOSW – NOWS/OWNS/SNOW/SOWN/WONS

Four Anagrams
AENP – NAPE/NEAP/PANE/PEAN
AIKL – ILKA/KAIL/KALI/LIAK
AIKM – KAIM/KAMI/MAIK/MAKI
AIKT – IKAT/KATI/TAKI/TIKA
AILP – LIPA/PAIL/PIAL/PILA
AINP – NIPA/PAIN/PIAN/PINA
AKNR – KARN/KNAR/NARK/RANK
AKOS – KOAS/OAKS/OKAS/SOAK
AKST – KATS/SKAT/TAKS/TASK
AMNO – MANO/MOAN/MONA/NOMA
ANPS – NAPS/PANS/SNAP/SPAN
EEMT – MEET/METE/TEEM/TEME
EILW – LWEI/WEIL/WIEL/WILE
EKST – KEST/KETS/SEKT/SKET
ELOS – LOSE/OLES/SLOE/SOLE
ELOV – LEVO/LOVE/OVEL/VOLE
ELSY – LEYS/LYES/LYSE/SLEY
ENOP – NOPE/OPEN/PEON/PONE
IKNS – INKS/KINS/SINK/SKIN
IKRS – IRKS/KIRS/KRIS/RISK
IMPS – IMPS/MIPS/SIMP/SPIM
INPS – NIPS/PINS/SNIP/SPIN
ILNO – LINO/LION/LOIN/NOIL
LOSW – LOWS/OWLS/SLOW/SOWL
MOSU – MOUS/MUSO/SOUM/SUMO

Three Anagrams
AEKL – KALE/LAKE/LEAK
AEKT – KETA/TAKE/TEAK
AENV – NAVE/VANE/VENA
AIKS – KAIS/SAKI/SIKA
AILM – LIMA/MAIL/MALI
AKOR – KARO/KORA/OKRA
AKOY – KAYO/OAKY/OKAY
ALMO – LOAM/LOMA/MOLA
ALNU – LUNA/ULAN/ULNA
AMNS – MANS/MNAS/NAMS
AMOR – MORA/ROAM/ROMA
AMST – MAST/MATS/TAMS
AMSW – MAWS/SWAM/WASM
DILS – LIDS/SILD/SLID
DLOU – LOUD/LUDO/OULD
EEKL – KEEL/LEEK/LEKE
EEKP – KEEP/PEEK/PEKE
EEKT – KEET/KETE/TEEK
EELP – LEEP/PEEL/PELE
EELR – LEER/LERE/REEL
EELT – LEET/TEEL/TELE
EENP – NEEP/PEEN/PENE
EIKP – KEPI/KIPE/PIKE
EIKR – KEIR/KIER/REIK
EILP – LIPE/PILE/PLIE
EILT – LITE/TEIL/TILE
EIMN – MEIN/MIEN/MINE
EINS – NIES/SIEN/SINE
EINV – NEVI/VEIN/VINE
EKLY – KYLE/YELK/YLKE
EKNR – KERN/NERK/RENK
EKNS – KENS/NEKS/SKEN
EKNU – KUNE/NEUK/NUKE
EKOR – KERO/KORE/ROKE
EKPS – KEPS/SKEP/SPEK
ELOP – LOPE/OLPE/POLE
ELSU – LUES/SLUE/ULES
EMNO – MENO/NOME/OMEN
EMOP – MOPE/POEM/POME
EMOR – MOER/MORE/OMER
EMST – METS/STEM/TEMS
EMSW – MEWS/SMEW/WEMS
ENSW – NEWS/SEWN/WENS
IKLS – ILKS/LISK/SILK
IKNO – IKON/KINO/OINK
IKOS – KOIS/OIKS/SKIO
IKPS – KIPS/SKIP/SPIK
IKST – KIST/KITS/SKIT
ILLY – ILLY/LILY/YILL
IMOT – MOIT/MOTI/OMIT
IMRS – MIRS/RIMS/SMIR
IMSS – ISMS/MISS/SIMS
IMST – MIST/SMIT/STIM
INST – NITS/SNIT/TINS
ILMO – LIMO/MILO/MOIL
ILPS – LIPS/LISP/SLIP
KOOT – KOTO/TOKO/TOOK
LOOP – LOOP/POLO/POOL
LOOS – LOOS/SOLO/SOOL
LOOT – LOOT/LOTO/TOOL
LOPS – LOPS/POLS/SLOP
LOST – LOST/LOTS/SLOT
MOOS – MOOS/OOMS/SOOM
MOOT – MOOT/TOMO/TOOM
MOST – MOST/MOTS/TOMS
NOTU – NOUT/TOUN/UNTO
NOTW – NOWT/TOWN/WONT
NRSU – NURS/RUNS/URNS
NSTU – NUTS/STUN/TUNS

Two Anagrams
AAMR – MAAR/MARA
AAKT – KATA/TAKA
AAKW – KAWA/WAKA
AAMN – MANA/NAAM
ADLY – LADY/YALD
AEJN – JANE/JEAN
AEKM – KAME/MAKE
AELZ – LAZE/ZEAL
AEMR – MARE/REAM
AGKN – KANG/KNAG
AHLS – LAHS/LASH
AIKK – KAIK/KAKI
AIMM – IMAM/MAIM
AIRZ – IZAR/RIZA
AJOT – JATO/JOTA
AJPS – JAPS/JASP
AJPU – JAUP/PUJA
AJSY – JASY/JAYS
AKLW – LAWK/WALK
AKMS – MAKS/MASK
AKNO – KAON/KOAN
AKNS – KANS/SANK
AKNT – KANT/TANK
AKRY – KYAR/YARK
AKSW – KAWS/SKAW
AKSY – KAYS/YAKS
AKTY – KYAT/TAKY
ALMP – LAMP/PALM
ALSS – LASS/SALS
ALSY – LAYS/SLAY
AMNU – MAUN/NAMU
AMNY – MANY/MYNA
AMOS – MOAS/SOMA
AMOY – MAYO/MOYA
AMRT – MART/TRAM
AMRW – MAWR/WARM
AMSS – MASS/SAMS
AMSY – MAYS/YAMS
ANRY – NARY/YARN
ANSY – NAYS/NYAS
BLOS – LOBS/SLOB
BNOS – NOBS/SNOB
CEIS – ICES/SICE
DELW – LEWD/WELD
DIIM – IMID/MIDI
DILY – IDLY/IDYL
EEKN – KEEN/KNEE
EELV – LEVE/VELE
EEMN – MENE/NEEM
EEMR – MEER/MERE
EEMZ – MEZE/MZEE
EFLT – FELT/LEFT
EGKS – KEGS/SKEG
EHMT – METH/THEM
EIKT – KITE/TIKE
EILM – LIME/MILE
EILN – LIEN/LINE
EIMS – MISE/SEMI
EINT – NITE/TINE
EJOS – JOES/SJOE
EJST – JEST/JETS
EKLO – KOEL/LOKE
EKLU – LEKU/LUKE
EKLW – KEWL/WELK
EKOT – KETO/TOKE
EKTY – KYTE/TYKE
ELPT – LEPT/PELT
ELMO – LOME/MOLE
ELOT – LOTE/TOLE
ELRU – LURE/RULE
ELRY – LYRE/RELY
ELSS – LESS/SELS
ELTU – LUTE/TULE
ELTY – LYTE/YELT
EMMO – MEMO/MOME
EMNU – MENU/NEUM
EMOT – MOTE/TOME
EMOU – MEOU/MOUE
EMRU – MURE/RUME
ENNO – NEON/NONE
ENNS – NESS/SENS
ENNT – NETT/TENT
ENOT – NOTE/TONE
ENPS – NEPS/PENS
ENTW – NEWT/WENT
GLOS – LOGS/SLOG
GMOS – MOGS/SMOG
HIKS – KHIS/KISH
HLOS – HOLS/LOSH
HLSU – LUSH/SHUL
IIRS – IRIS/SIRI
IKLN – KILN/LINK
IKNR – KIRN/RINK
IKNT – KNIT/TINK
IKSS – KISS/SKIS
ILLS – ILLS/SILL
ILMS – MILS/SLIM
ILNY – INLY/LINY
ILOR – LOIR/ROIL
ILOT – LOTI/TOIL
IMRU – MUIR/RIMU
IMRY – MIRY/RIMY
INOT – INTO/OINT
JMOO – JOMO/MOJO
JSTU – JUST/JUTS
KLOO – KOLO/LOOK
KLSU – LUSK/SULK
KMOO – MOKO/MOOK
KNOP – KNOP/PONK
KNOT – KNOT/TONK
KNOW – KNOW/WONK
KOOR – KORO/ROOK
KORS – KORS/ROKS
KOSW – KOWS/WOKS
KSUY – KYUS/YUKS
ILLT – LILT/TILL
ILMP – LIMP/PLIM
ILNS – LINS/NILS
ILTU – LITU/LUIT
LMOO – LOOM/MOOL
LMOS – MOLS/OLMS
LMOY – MOLY/MOYL
LMPU – LUMP/PLUM
LMSU – LUMS/SLUM
LNOO – LOON/NOLO
LNOU – LOUN/NOUL
LNOW – LOWN/NOWL
LOPW – LOWP/PLOW
LORU – LOUR/ROUL
LOSS – LOSS/SOLS
LOSU – LOUS/SOUL
LOTU – LOUT/TOLU
LRSU – LURS/SLUR
LSTU – LUST/SLUT
MNOO – MONO/MOON
MNOR – MORN/NORM
MNOS – MONS/NOMS
MOOP – MOOP/POMO
MOOR – MOOR/ROOM
MOPS – MOPS/POMS
MOPY – MOPY/YOMP
MORS – MORS/ROMS
MOSS – MOSS/SOMS
MOSW – MOWS/SOWM
MOSY – MOYS/SOMY
MOOZ – MOZO/ZOOM
MSSU – MUSS/SUMS
NNSU – NUNS/SUNN
NOOP – NOOP/POON
NOPU – NOUP/UPON
NOSU – NOUS/ONUS
NOSY – NOSY/NOYS

No Anagrams
IBEX IBIS ICKY IFFY IGLU ILEA ILEX ILIA IMMY IMPI INBY INGO INIA INKY INNS INTI IONS IOTA IRID ISIT ISOS IURE IWIS IXIA JAAP JABS JACK JADE JAFA JAGA JAGG JAGS JAIL JAKE JAKS JAMB JAMS JANN JAPE JARK JARL JARP JARS JASS JAUK JAVA JAWS JAXY JAZY JAZZ JEAT JEDI JEED JEEL JEEP JEER JEES JEEZ JEFE JEFF JEHU JELL JEON JERK JESS JETE JEUX JEWS JIAO JIBB JIBE JIBS JIFF JIGS JILL JILT JIMP JINK JINN JINS JINX JIRD JISM JIVE JIVY JIZZ JOBE JOBS JOCK JOCO JOEY JOGS JOHN JOIN JOKE JOKY JOLE JOLL JOLS JOLT JONG JOOK JORS JOSH JOSS JOTS JOUK JOUR JOWL JOWS JOYS JUBE JUCO JUDO JUDS JUDY JUGA JUJU JUKE JUKU JUMP JUNK JUPE JURA JURE JURY JUTE JUVE JYNX KAAL KAAS KAFS KAGO KAGU KAIE KAKA KAKS KAMA KANA KANE KAPA KAPH KARK KART KAVA KAZI KEBS KECK KEEF KEEK KEFS KEKS KELL KELP KELT KEMB KEMP KENO KENT KEPT KERF KESH KHAF KHAT KHET KHOR KHUD KICK KIFF KIKE KILD KILL KILO KILP KILT KINE KINK KIPP KIRK KITH KIVA KIWI KLAP KLIK KNAP KNEW KNUR KNUT KOAP KOFF KOJI KOND KONK KONS KOOK KOPH KOPS KORU KOSS KUDU KUEH KUFI KUIA KUKU KULA KUNA KURI KURU KUTA KUTI KUTU KUZU KVAS KYAK KYBO KYND KYNE KYPE LACS LAIC LAKH LALL LAND LANG LANK LANT LANX LARD LARK LARN LARS LATU LAUF LAVS LAWN LAZO LAZY LEAL LECH LEME LEND LENS LENT LEPS LERP LEVY LEZZ LIBS LICH LICK LIEU LIGS LIKE LILL LILO LIMB LIMN LIMY LIND LING LINN LINT LIPO LIRI LIRK LOAN LOCH LOCK LOFT LOGY LOLL LONG LOOR LORD LORN LORY LOUP LOWE LOWT LOYS LUAU LUCK LUDS LUFF LULL LULU LUNE LUNG LUNK LUNT LUNY LURK LUTZ LUVS LYCH LYMS LYNE LYNX MACK MAGG MAGI MAKS MALL MALM MALT MAMA MAMS MANG MARK MARL MARM MATH MATT MATY MAUT MAWK MAWN MAXI MAYA MAZE MECK MEDS MEEK MEFF MELD MELL MELT MEME MEMS MEND MENG MENT MEOW MERK MERL MESS MEVE MEWL MEZZ MIBS MICA MICH MICK MICO MICS MIFF MIGG MIHA MIHI MIKE MILD MILK MILL MILT MIME MIND MING MINI MINK MINO MINT MINX MINY MIRI MIRK MIRV MISO MITT MITY MIXT MIXY MIZZ MOAI MOBE MOBS MOBY MOCH MOCK MODI MOFO MOHR MOKE MOKI MOLD MOLL MOLT MOMI MOMS MONG MONK MONY MOOI MORT MOSK MOTH MOTT MOTU MOUP MOVE MOWA MOWN MOXA MOZE MOZZ MUCK MUDS MUFF MUGG MUID MUIL MULE MULL MUMM MUMP MUMS MUMU MUNG MUNI MUNS MUNT MUON MURK MURL MURR MUSK MUTE MUTI MUTT MUZZ MYCS MYTH MYXO NACH NADA NAFF NAIN NANE NAOI NAOS NAPA NAVY NAZE NAZI NECK NEMN NENE NEXT NICK NIDI NIFF NILL NIMB NIMS NINE NIRL NISI NIXE NIXY NOAH NOLL NONG NONI NOOK NOON NORK NOTA NOTT NOUN NOVA NOWN NOWY NUFF NULL NUMB NURL NURR

SOWPODS Y Words not Followed by a Vowel

2008-05-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

The Ypsilon, a car produced by Lancia, a letter of the Greek alphabet (also known as upsilon) and a word in SOWPODS

Some of the most interesting words in SOWPODS are the words that have a Y without directly being followed by a vowel. The vast majority of these words (ypsilon being one of the exceptions) are relics of an archaic way of forming the past participles of verbs, by means of adding an initial Y. As very few people know these words, they are a great way to pick up easy points in some games. Here is a full list:

YBET
YBLENT
YBORE
YBOUND
YBOUNDEN
YBRENT
YCLAD
YCLED
YCLEEPE
YCLEEPED
YCLEEPES
YCLEEPING
YCLEPED
YCLEPT
YCOND
YDRAD
YDRED
YFERE
YGLAUNST
YGO
YGOE
YLEM
YLEMS
YLIKE
YLKE
YLKES
YMOLT
YMOLTEN
YMPE
YMPES
YMPING
YMPT
YNAMBU
YNAMBUS
YPERITE
YPERITES
YPIGHT
YPLAST
YPLIGHT
YPSILIFORM
YPSILOID
YPSILON
YPSILONS
YRAPT
YRAVISHED
YRENT
YRIVD
YRNEH
YRNEHS
YSAME
YSHEND
YSHENDING
YSHENDS
YSHENT
YSLAKED
YTHUNDERED
YTOST

SOWPODS Four Letter Words Part 3

2008-04-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

The huia, an extinct bird from New Zealand. The male and female had such radically different shaped beaks that they were originally thought to be distinct species. Huhu beetles, another word in this instalment, formed part of their diet.

One way in which you can speed up your learning of these word lists is to record yourself reading them out and repeatedly play them back to yourself while doing various odd jobs around the house, or while driving. If anyone has any further tips for word memorization, please share them in the comments. It would be great to hear how you memorize your words.

Six Anagrams
EELS – EELS/ELSE/LEES/SEEL/SELE/SLEE
EEMS – EMES/MEES/MESE/SEEM/SEME/SMEE
EORS – EROS/ORES/REOS/ROES/ROSE/SORE

Five Anagrams
AETH – EATH/HAET/HATE/HEAT/THAE
EENS – ENES/ESNE/SEEN/SENE/SNEE
EFIN – FENI/FINE/NEIF/NIEF/NIFE
EGOR – ERGO/GOER/GORE/OGRE/REGO
EILV – EVIL/LIVE/VEIL/VILE/VLEI
EIMR – EMIR/MERI/MIRE/RIEM/RIME
EKSY – ESKY/KEYS/KYES/SYKE/YESK
ELNO – ENOL/LENO/LONE/NOEL/NOLE
ENOS – EONS/NOES/NOSE/ONES/SONE
ESTW – EWTS/STEW/TEWS/WEST/WETS
HINS – HINS/HISN/NISH/SHIN/SINH
HIST – HIST/HITS/SHIT/SITH/THIS
HMOS – HOMS/MHOS/MOSH/OHMS/SHMO
HOPS – HOPS/PHOS/POSH/SHOP/SOPH
HOST – HOST/HOTS/SHOT/SOTH/TOSH

Four Anagrams
AEGM – EGMA/GAME/MAGE/MEGA
AELN – ELAN/LANE/LEAN/NEAL
AENR – EARN/NARE/NEAR/REAN
AGNS – GANS/NAGS/SANG/SNAG
AGST – GAST/GATS/STAG/TAGS
AHPS – HAPS/HASP/PAHS/PASH
AHRT – HART/RATH/TAHR/THAR
AHST – HAST/HATS/SHAT/TASH
AHSW – HAWS/SHAW/SHWA/WASH
EEFR – FEER/FERE/FREE/REEF
EENT – ETEN/NETE/TEEN/TENE
EERS – ERES/REES/SEER/SERE
EESS – ESES/ESSE/SEES/SESE
EFIR – FIER/FIRE/REIF/RIFE
EFRT – FRET/REFT/TERF/TREF
EFST – EFTS/FEST/FETS/TEFS
EGLO – GOEL/GOLE/LOGE/OGLE
EGOS – EGOS/GEOS/GOES/SEGO
EHST – ETHS/HEST/HETS/SHET
EIMT – EMIT/ITEM/MITE/TIME
ELMY – ELMY/LYME/YELM/YLEM
ELOR – EORL/LORE/ORLE/ROLE
ELST – ELTS/LEST/LETS/TELS
EMOS – EMOS/MOES/MOSE/SOME
EOPS – EPOS/OPES/PESO/POSE
EPSY – ESPY/PYES/SYPE/YEPS
ERST – ERST/REST/RETS/TRES
GHSU – GUSH/HUGS/SUGH/UGHS
GINS – GINS/SIGN/SING/SNIG
GNOS – GONS/NOGS/SNOG/SONG
GNSU – GNUS/GUNS/SNUG/SUNG
HIPS – HIPS/PHIS/PISH/SHIP
HSTU – HUTS/SHUT/THUS/TUSH

Three Anagrams
ADGI – GADI/GAID/IGAD
AEFR – FARE/FEAR/FRAE
AEFT – FATE/FEAT/FETA
AEGL – EGAL/GALE/GEAL
AEGP – GAPE/PAGE/PEAG
AEGT – GATE/GEAT/GETA
AEHR – HARE/HEAR/RHEA
AETT – ETAT/TATE/TEAT
AFRT – FART/FRAT/RAFT
AFST – FAST/FATS/SAFT
AGHS – GASH/HAGS/SHAG
AGIR – GAIR/GARI/RAGI
AGLS – GALS/LAGS/SLAG
AGNR – GNAR/GRAN/RANG
AGNT – GANT/GNAT/TANG
AGPS – GAPS/GASP/SPAG
AGRU – GAUR/GUAR/RUGA
AGSY – GAYS/SAGY/YAGS
AHHS – HAHS/HASH/SHAH
AHMS – HAMS/MASH/SHAM
AHNT – HANT/TANH/THAN
AHOR – HARO/HOAR/HORA
CEHT – ECHT/ETCH/TECH
DEEY – EYED/YEDE/YEED
DEHI – HEID/HIDE/HIED
EEGR – EGER/GERE/GREE
EEHT – ETHE/HETE/THEE
EEKS – EKES/SEEK/SKEE
EESW – EWES/SWEE/WEES
EENV – EEVN/EVEN/NEVE
EERV – EREV/EVER/VEER
EERW – EWER/WEER/WERE
EERY – EERY/EYER/EYRE
EFIL – FILE/LIEF/LIFE
EFOR – FORE/FROE/ORFE
EGIT – GEIT/GITE/TIGE
EGLU – GLUE/GULE/LUGE
EGNS – ENGS/GENS/NEGS
EGST – GEST/GETS/TEGS
EHOR – HERO/HOER/HORE
EHOS – HOES/HOSE/SHOE
EHPS – HEPS/HESP/PEHS
EHRS – HERS/REHS/RESH
EIKS – EIKS/SEIK/SIKE
EKRS – ERKS/SERK/SKER
EKSU – EUKS/KUES/UKES
ELUX – EXUL/LUXE/ULEX
EMSU – EMUS/MEUS/MUSE
FINO – FINO/FOIN/INFO
FIRS – FIRS/FRIS/RIFS
FIST – FIST/FITS/SIFT
FLOW – FLOW/FOWL/WOLF
GHOS – GOSH/HOGS/SHOG
GINR – GIRN/GRIN/RING
GIRT – GIRT/GRIT/TRIG
GIST – GIST/GITS/TIGS
GLSU – GULS/LUGS/SLUG
GMSU – GUMS/MUGS/SMUG
GORY – GORY/GYRO/ORGY
GPSU – GUPS/PUGS/SPUG
GSTU – GUST/GUTS/TUGS
HRTU – HURT/RUTH/THRU

Two Anagrams
ADGO – DAGO/GOAD
AEGV – GAVE/VEGA
AEHL – HALE/HEAL
AEHP – EPHA/HEAP
AEHS – HAES/SHEA
AFHS – FAHS/FASH
AFIN – FAIN/NAIF
AFIR – FAIR/FIAR
AFKI – FAIK/KAIF
AFLO – FOAL/LOAF
AFLX – FALX/FLAX
AFRU – FAUR/FRAU
AFTU – FAUT/TUFA
AGHT – GATH/GHAT
AGIL – GILA/GLIA
AGIT – GAIT/TAIG
AGLO – GAOL/GOAL
AGMR – GRAM/MARG
AGMS – GAMS/MAGS
AGNU – GAUN/GUAN
AGNW – GNAW/WANG
AGOS – GOAS/SAGO
AGOT – GOAT/TOGA
AGRS – GARS/RAGS
AGRT – GART/GRAT
AGYZ – GAZY/ZYGA
AHIL – HAIL/HILA
AHKO – HOKA/KOHA
AHLT – HALT/LATH
AHLU – HAUL/HULA
AHMW – HAWM/WHAM
AHPU – HAPU/PUHA
CEEH – ECHE/EECH
CEHO – ECHO/OCHE
CEIM – EMIC/MICE
CEIP – EPIC/PICE
DEEG – EDGE/GEED
DEEH – EHED/HEED
DEEI – EIDE/IDEE
DEHS – EDHS/SHED
DFIO – FIDO/FOID
DGIL – GILD/GLID
DGIR – GIRD/GRID
EDGL – GELD/GLED
EEFL – FEEL/FLEE
EEFT – FEET/FETE
EEHL – HEEL/HELE
EENR – ERNE/REEN
EENW – ENEW/WEEN
EENY – EYEN/EYNE
EESV – EVES/VEES
EFFI – FIEF/FIFE
EFIK – FIKE/KIEF
EFIS – FEIS/SEIF
EFLS – ELFS/SELF
EFLT – FELT/LEFT
EFLU – FLUE/FUEL
EFLY – FLEY/FYLE
EFNO – FOEN/FONE
EFNS – FENS/NEFS
EFSU – FEUS/FUSE
EGGY – EGGY/YEGG
EGHU – EUGH/HUGE
EGIS – EGIS/GIES
EGLN – GLEN/LENG
EGLS – GELS/LEGS
EGMS – GEMS/MEGS
EGOY – GOEY/YGOE
EGRS – ERGS/REGS
EGRU – GRUE/URGE
EGRY – GREY/GYRE
EHIL – ELHI/HEIL
EHIR – HEIR/HIRE
EHIS – EISH/HIES
EHKO – HOKE/OKEH
EHLO – HELO/HOLE
EHLR – HERL/LEHR
EHMS – HEMS/MESH
EHNS – HENS/NESH
EHNT – HENT/THEN
EHNW – HEWN/WHEN
EHSW – HEWS/SHEW
EHSY – HEYS/HYES
EHTY – HYTE/THEY
EKLS – ELKS/LEKS
EKSW – EWKS/SKEW
ELLS – ELLS/SELL
ELMS – ELMS/MELS
EMPT – EMPT/TEMP
ENOX – EXON/OXEN
ENRS – ERNS/RENS
EORU – EURO/ROUE
EOSV – EVOS/VOES
EOTY – EYOT/TOEY
ERRS – ERRS/SERR
ESST – ESTS/SETS
FGLO – FLOG/GOLF
FIKS – FISK/KIFS
FILM – FILM/FLIM
FILO – FILO/FOIL
FIRT – FRIT/RIFT
FITT – FITT/TIFT
FLOO – FOOL/LOOF
FLOR – FLOR/ROLF
FMOR – FORM/FROM
FORS – FROS/ORFS
FOSU – FOUS/UFOS
FRSU – FURS/SURF
GGIR – GRIG/RIGG
GGIS – GIGS/IGGS
GGNO – GONG/NOGG
GGOO – GOGO/GOOG
GHIN – HING/NIGH
GHIS – GHIS/SIGH
GIKN – GINK/KING
GILT – GILT/GLIT
GIMS – GISM/MIGS
GIOR – GIRO/GORI
GIPR – GRIP/PRIG
GIPS – GIPS/PIGS
GIRS – GRIS/RIGS
GJSU – GJUS/JUGS
GLOO – GOOL/LOGO
GLOP – GLOP/GOLP
GLOW – GLOW/GOWL
GLPU – GULP/PLUG
GLUY – GULY/UGLY
GNOW – GNOW/GOWN
GNRU – GURN/RUNG
GOOP – GOOP/POGO
GOPR – GORP/PROG
GORT – GROT/TROG
GOSS – GOSS/SOGS
GRSU – GURS/RUGS
GSUV – GUVS/VUGS
GSUY – GUYS/YUGS
HIKO – HOIK/HOKI
HILT – HILT/LITH
HIMS – HIMS/SHIM
HINT – HINT/THIN
HIPT – HIPT/PITH
HKLO – HOLK/KOHL
HKSU – HUSK/SUKH
HLOS – HOLS/LOSH
HLOT – HOLT/LOTH
HMPU – HUMP/UMPH
HMSU – HUMS/MUSH
HNOS – HONS/NOSH
HNSU – HUNS/SHUN
HOOP – HOOP/POOH
HOOT – HOOT/TOHO
HORS – HORS/RHOS
HOSS – HOSS/SOHS
HOSW – HOWS/SHOW
HOTU – HOUT/THOU
HPSU – HUPS/PUSH
HPSY – HYPS/SYPH

No Anagrams
EASE EAUS EAUX EAVE EBBS ECCE ECCO EDDO EDGY EELY EFFS EGGS EINE EKKA EMEU EMMA EMMY EMYS ENOW ENUF ENVY EPEE ERUV ETUI EUGE EUOI EVET EVOE EXAM EXEC EXED EXES EXIT EXPO EYES EYRY FAAN FAAS FABS FACT FADO FADS FADY FAFF FAGS FAIX FAKE FALL FAME FAND FANE FANG FANK FANO FANS FARD FARL FARM FAUN FAUX FAVA FAVE FAWN FAWS FAYS FAZE FECK FEDS FEED FEEN FEES FEGS FEHM FEHS FELL FEME FEMS FEND FENT FEOD FERM FERN FESS FETT FEUD FEYS FIAT FIBS FICE FIFI FIGO FIGS FIKY FILL FILS FIND FINI FINK FINS FIRK FIRM FIRN FISC FISH FIVE FIXT FIZZ FLAB FLAG FLAK FLAM FLAN FLAP FLAT FLAW FLAY FLEG FLEW FLEX FLIC FLIP FLIR FLIT FLIX FLOC FLOE FLOP FLUB FLUS FLUX FOAM FOBS FOES FOGS FOGY FOHN FOHS FOLD FOLK FOND FONS FONT FOOD FOOT FOPS FORB FORD FORK FORT FOSS FOUD FOUL FOUR FOXY FOYS FOZY FRAG FRAP FRAY FRIB FRIG FRIZ FROG FROW FRUG FUBS FUCK FUDS FUFF FUGS FUGU FUJI FULL FUME FUMS FUMY FUND FUNG FUNK FUNS FURL FURR FURY FUSC FUSS FUST FUTZ FUZE FUZZ FYCE FYKE FYRD GABY GAFF GAGA GAGE GAGS GAJO GALL GAMB GAMP GAMY GANG GAPO GAPY GAUD GAUM GAUP GAUS GAWD GAWK GAWP GECK GEEK GEEP GEES GEEZ GELT GENE GENT GENU GERM GEUM GHEE GIBE GIED GIEN GIFT GILL GIMP GING GINN GIOS GIRL GIRR GIVE GIZZ GLAD GLAM GLEE GLEG GLEY GLIB GLIM GLOM GLUG GLUM GOAF GOBO GOFF GOLD GONE GONK GOOD GOOF GOOK GOON GOOR GORA GORM GOTH GOUK GOUT GOVS GOWD GOWF GOWK GOYS GRAV GRAY GREN GREW GREX GRIM GROG GROK GROW GRUM GUCK GUDE GUES GUFF GUGA GUID GULF GULL GUMP GUNG GUNK GURL GURU GYBE GYMP GYMS GYNY GYPS GYRI GYTE GYVE HAAF HAAR HABU HACK HADJ HAFF HAFT HAGG HAHA HAIK HAIN HAIR HAJI HAJJ HAKA HAKE HAKU HALF HALL HALM HALO HAND HANG HARD HARK HARL HARM HARN HARP HASK HATH HAUD HAUF HAUT HAVE HAWK HAZE HAZY HEBE HECH HECK HEFT HEHS HELD HELL HELM HELP HEME HEMP HEND HEPT HERB HERD HERE HERM HERN HERY HETH HIGH HIKE HILD HILI HILL HIND HIOI HISH HISS HIVE HIYA HIZZ HOAS HOAX HOCK HOGG HOGH HOHA HOHS HOLM HOLP HOLY HOMA HOME HOMO HOMY HOND HONE HONG HONK HOOD HOOF HOOK HOON HOPE HORI HORN HOTE HOUF HOUR HOVE HOWE HOWF HOWK HOWL HOYS HUCK HUED HUER HUES HUFF HUGY HUHU HUIA HUIC HUIS HULE HULK HULL HUMA HUMF HUNG HUNH HUNK HUNT HURL HUSH HUSO HUSS HWAN HWYL HYED HYEN HYKE HYLA HYLE HYMN HYPE HYPO

Musically Sowpods

2008-04-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Band Names/Singers in Sowpods

(qualifications for inclusion – all words in the band name or singer’s name must be in sowpods but not necessarily when run together – this is probably a partial list)

Abba
Madonna
REM
Counting Crows
Hooty and the Blowfish
Oasis
Nirvana
Megadeath
Goo Goo Dolls
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Pearl Jam
Death Cab for Cutie
They Might be Giants
The Raconteurs
Nine Inch Nails
The Breeders
The Kooks
Jack Johnson
The Wallflowers
Flogging Molly
The White Stripes
Third Eye Blind
Evanescence
Snow Patrol
Billy Idol
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Cars
The Killers
Great Big Sea
Rage Against the Machine
The Clash
Replacements
Modest Mouse
Cowboy Junkies
Green Day
Smashing Pumpkins
Avenged Sevenfold
Sublime
Blind Melon
Fall Out Boy
Prince
Cake
Moby
Sting
Stone Temple Pilots
Velvet Underground
Tom Waits
Jimmy Eat World
The Cranberries
Eurythmics
The Offspring
Creed
Incubus
Depeche Mode
Dexy(’s) Midnight Runners
Beck
Beastie Boys
Default
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
My Chemical Romance
Collective Soul
Matchbox Twenty
Brad Paisley
Good Charlotte
Rolling Stones
The Smiths
Reel Big Fish
Live
Carbon Leaf
Garbage
Journey
Billie Holiday
The Cure
The Righteous Brothers
Pixies
Sixpence None the Richer
Third Day
Don Henley
The Eagles
Willie Nelson
Buddy Holly and the Crickets
The Drifters
Fuel
Fats Domino
Kid Rock
Royal Crown Revue
Finger Eleven
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Sister Hazel
Led Zeppelin
Queen
Foreigner
Meat Loaf
Toad the Wet Sprocket
The Doors
Boston
Kiss
The Who
The Kinks
Tool

*honorable mention to David Bowie, Tracy Chapman, and Phil Collins for having their last names in Sowpods

SOWPODS Four Letter Words Part 2

2008-04-25T16:39:00.001-07:00

A 'wadt' (alternatively spelt 'wad' or 'wadd'), is a colloquialism of North England miners to refer to impure earthy deposits like the one above
The following is the second instalment of our series of four letter anagrams. Have fun!

Six Anagrams
DEER – DEER/DERE/DREE/ERED/REDE/REED
DEIL – DEIL/DELI/DIEL/EILD/IDLE/LIED
DEOR – DERO/DOER/DORE/REDO/RODE/ROED

Five Anagrams
DEIT – DIET/DITE/EDIT/TIDE/TIED
DENS – DENS/ENDS/NEDS/SEND/SNED
DILO – DIOL/IDOL/LIDO/LOID/OLID

Four Anagrams
ADEL – DALE/DEAL/LADE/LEAD
ADHS – DAHS/DASH/HADS/SHAD
CDEI – CEDI/CIDE/DICE/ICED
CDEO – CODE/COED/DECO/ECOD
CEIR – CIRE/ERIC/ICER/RICE
CINO – CION/COIN/CONI/ICON
COST – COST/COTS/SCOT/TOCS
CRSU – CRUS/CURS/RUCS/SCUR
DEIN – DENI/DINE/NIDE/NIED
DEIS – DESI/DIES/IDES/SIDE
DELS – DELS/ELDS/SELD/SLED
DELU – DUEL/DULE/LEUD/LUDE
DERU – DURE/RUDE/RUED/URDE
DESU – DEUS/DUES/SUED/USED
DHOS – DOHS/DOSH/HODS/SHOD
DLOS – DOLS/LODS/OLDS/SOLD
DOOR – DOOR/ODOR/ORDO/ROOD
DORS – DORS/ORDS/RODS/SORD

Three Anagrams
ACMS – CAMS/MACS/SCAM
ACNR – CARN/CRAN/NARC
ADEM – DAME/MADE/MEAD
ADET – DATE/TAED/TEAD
ADGR – DARG/DRAG/GRAD
ADIK – DIKA/KADI/KAID
ADIL – DALI/DIAL/LAID
ADNR – DARN/NARD/RAND
ADOT – DATO/DOAT/TOAD
ADPR – DRAP/PARD/PRAD
ADRT – DART/DRAT/TRAD
ADRU – DAUR/DUAR/DURA
ADSW – DAWS/SWAD/WADS
CEIL – CEIL/CIEL/LICE
CEIT – CITE/ETIC/TICE
CEOS – COSE/ECOS/SECO
CEPS – CEPS/PECS/SPEC
CERU – CRUE/CURE/ECRU
CFIO – COIF/FICO/FOCI
CHIS – CHIS/ICHS/SICH
CHIT – CHIT/ITCH/TICH
CIOT – CITO/COIT/OTIC
CIST – CIST/CITS/TICS
CORS – CORS/ORCS/ROCS
CPSU – CUPS/CUSP/SCUP
DEEK – DEEK/DEKE/EKED
DEEM – DEEM/DEME/MEED
DEEN – DEEN/DENE/NEED
DEIR – DIRE/IRED/RIDE
DEIV – DIVE/VIDE/VIED
DELO – DELO/DOLE/LODE
DEMO – DEMO/DOME/MODE
DENO – DOEN/DONE/NODE
DENR – DERN/NERD/REND
DENU – DUNE/NUDE/UNDE
DENY – DENY/DYNE/NYED
DEOS – DOES/DOSE/ODES
DERY – DREY/DYER/YERD
DESY – DEYS/DYES/SYED
DIKS – DISK/KIDS/KIDS
DINS – DINS/NIDS/SIND
DNOS – DONS/NODS/SNOD
DNOU – DOUN/UDON/UNDO
DNRU – DURN/NURD/RUND
DOPR – DORP/DROP/PROD
DOPS – DOPS/PODS/SPOD
DOSS – DOSS/DSOS/SODS
DOST – DOST/DOTS/TODS
DOSU – DUOS/OUDS/UDOS
DPSU – DUPS/PUDS/SPUD

Two Anagrams
AACP – CAPA/PACA
AACS – CAAS/CASA
ABCR – CARB/CRAB
ACDR – CARD/DRAC
ACDS – CADS/SCAD
ACEF – CAFE/FACE
ACEP – CAPE/PACE
ACET – CATE/TACE
ACGS – CAGS/SCAG
ACHI – CHAI/CHIA
ACHM – CHAM/MACH
ACHP – CAPH/CHAP
ACHS – CASH/CHAS
ACHT – CHAT/TACH
ACIP – CAPI/PICA
ACKL – CALK/LACK
ACKR – CARK/RACK
ACKS – CASK/SACK
ACKW – CAWK/WACK
ACKY – CAKY/YACK
ACLM – CALM/CLAM
ACLP – CALP/CLAP
ACLT – CLAT/TALC
ACMO – CAMO/COMA
ACMR – CRAM/MARC
ACNS – CANS/SCAN
ACNY – CANY/CYAN
ACOP – CAPO/PACO
ACOX – COAX/COXA
ACPR – CARP/CRAP
ACPS – CAPS/PACS
ACRY – CRAY/RACY
ACSW – CAWS/SCAW
ADDU – DAUD/DUAD
ADDW – DAWD/WADD
ADEF – DEAF/FADE
ADES – DAES/SADE
ADEV – DEVA/VADE
ADGO – DAGO/GOAD
ADGS – DAGS/GADS
ADHL – DAHL/DHAL
ADLS – DALS/LADS
ADMN – DAMN/MAND
ADMR – DRAM/MARD
ADMS – DAMS/MADS
ADMU – DUMA/MAUD
ADNW – DAWN/WAND
ADPS – DAPS/PADS
ADRW – DRAW/WARD
ADSY – DAYS/YADS
ADTW – DAWT/WADT
CCHO – CHOC/COCH
CDEU – CUED/DUCE
CDHI – CHID/DICH
CDIS – CIDS/DISC
CDLO – CLOD/COLD
CDOS – CODS/DOCS
CDRU – CRUD/CURD
CDSU – CUDS/SCUD
CEER – CERE/CREE
CEIV – CIVE/VICE
CELU – CLUE/LUCE
CEMR – CREM/MERC
CENI – CINE/NICE
CENO – CONE/ONCE
CEOR – CERO/CORE
CESS – CESS/SECS
CESU – CUES/ECUS
CFIU – CUIF/FUCI
CGOS – COGS/SCOG
CHIK – CHIK/HICK
CHIN – CHIN/INCH
CHMU – CHUM/MUCH
CHOU – CHOU/OUCH
CHSU – CUSH/SUCH
CILO – COIL/LOCI
CKNO – CONK/NOCK
CKOR – CORK/ROCK
CKOW – COWK/WOCK
CKOY – COKY/YOCK
CKSU – CUSK/SUCK
CLOO – COOL/LOCO
CLOT – CLOT/COLT
CLOW – CLOW/COWL
CLOY – CLOY/COLY
CMOS – COMS/MOCS
COOP – COOP/POCO
COOT – COOT/TOCO
COPS – COPS/SCOP
COSS – COSS/SOCS
COSW – COWS/SCOW
COSY – COSY/COYS
CSTU – CUTS/SCUT
DDEI – DEID/DIED
DDEU – DUDE/DUED
DDEY – DYED/EDDY
DDOS – DODS/ODDS
DEEL – DELE/LEED
DEEP – DEEP/PEED
DEES – DEES/SEED
DEET – DEET/TEED
DEFI – DEFI/DEIF
DEFL – DELF/FLED
DEGS – DEGS/GEDS
DEIM – DIME/IDEM
DEKS – DESK/KEDS
DELT – DELT/TELD
DEMY – DEMY/EMYD
DENT – DENT/TEND
DEOP – DOPE/OPED
DEOT – DOTE/TOED
DERV – DERV/VERD
DESW – DEWS/WEDS
DFIS – DIFS/FIDS
DGIS – DIGS/GIDS
DGOS – DOGS/GODS
DHIS – DISH/SIDH
DHLO – DHOL/HOLD
DIKN – DINK/KIND
DIMS – DIMS/MIDS
DINO – DINO/NODI
DINT – DINT/TIND
DIST – DITS/TIDS
DISV – DIVS/VIDS
DKOU – DOUK/KUDO
DLOT – DOLT/TOLD
DLOW – DOWL/WOLD
DMOO – DOOM/MOOD
DMOS – DOMS/MODS
DNTU – DUNT/TUND
DOOS – DOOS/ODSO
DOPU – DOUP/UPDO
DORT – DORT/TROD
DORU – DOUR/DURO
DORW – DROW/WORD
DOSY – DOYS/YODS
DOTY – DOTY/TODY
DSTU – DUST/STUD

No Anagrams
CAFF CAGE CAGY CAIN CAKE CALF CALL CALX CAMA CAMP CANG CANN CANT CARL CARR CART CAUF CAUK CAUL CAUM CAUP CAVA CAVE CAVY CAYS CECA CEDE CEES CELL CELS CELT CENS CENT CEPE CERT CETE CHAD CHAL CHAO CHAV CHAW CHEF CHER CHEW CHEZ CHIB CHIC CHIP CHIV CHIZ CHOG CHON CHOP CHOW CHUB CHUG CHUT CIAO CIGS CILL CIRL CITY CLAD CLAG CLAN CLAW CLEF CLEG CLEM CLEW CLIP CLOG CLON CLOP CLOU CLUB COBB COBS COCA COCK COCO CODA COFF COFT COHO COIR COKE COLE COLL COLS COMB COME COMM COMP COND CONF CONN CONS CONY COOF COOK COOM COON COOS COPE COPY CORD CORF CORM CORN CORY COSH COTE COTH COTT COUP COUR COVE COWP COWY COXY COZE COZY CRAG CRAW CRED CREW CRIB CRIM CRIS CRIT CROC CROG CROP CROW CRUX CUBE CUBS CUFF CUIT CUKE CULL CULM CULT CUNT CURB CURF CURL CURN CURR CURT CUSS CUTE CWMS CYMA CYME CYST CYTE CZAR DACK DADA DADO DAFF DAFT DAKS DALT DAMP DANG DANK DANT DARK DATA DAUT DAVY DAWK DEAD DEAN DEBT DECK DEED DEEV DEFT DEFY DELL DERM DEVS DEWY DEXY DHAK DHOW DICK DICT DIDO DIDY DIFF DIKE DILL DIMP DING DIPS DIPT DIRK DIRL DIRT DISS DITT DITZ DIVI DIXI DIXY DJIN DOAB DOCK DOCO DODO DOEK DOFF DOGE DOGY DOIT DOJO DOLL DOMY DONA DONG DOOB DOOK DOOL DOON DOPY DORK DORM DORR DORY DOTH DOUC DOUM DOUT DOUX DOVE DOWD DOWF DOWN DOWP DOWS DOWT DOXY DOZE DOZY DRAD DREG DREK DREW DRIP DRUG DRUM DRYS DUAN DUCI DUCK DUCT DUET DUFF DUGS DUIT DUKA DUKE DULL DULY DUMB DUMP DUNG DUNK DUNS DUPE DURR DUSH DUSK DUTY DWAM DYKE DZHO DZOS

SOWPODS Four Letter Words Part 1

2008-04-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

A man wearing a 'bubu'
Over the next couple of weeks I hope to post a series of posts containing every single potential four letter word anagram in SOWPODS. This is the first instalment.

Nine Anagrams
AEST – ATES/EAST/EATS/ETAS/SATE/SEAT/SETA/TAES/TEAS

Seven Anagrams
AELR – ARLE/EARL/LAER/LARE/LEAR/RALE/REAL
AERS – ARES/ARSE/EARS/ERAS/RASE/SEAR/SERA
AILR – ARIL/LAIR/LARI/LIAR/LIRA/RAIL/RIAL

Six Anagrams
ADIS – AIDS/DAIS/DISA/SADI/SAID/SIDA
AELM – ALME/LAME/LEAM/MALE/MEAL/MELA
AELS – ALES/LASE/LEAS/SALE/SEAL/SLAE
AELV – AVEL/LAVE/LEVA/VALE/VEAL/VELA
AERD – ARED/DARE/DEAR/EARD/RADE/READ
AIRS – AIRS/ARIS/RAIS/RIAS/SAIR/SARI
APST – APTS/PAST/PATS/SPAT/STAP/TAPS
ARST – ARTS/RAST/RATS/STAR/TARS/TSAR

Five Anagrams
ABEL – ABLE/ALBE/BAEL/BALE/BLAE
ACLO – ALCO/CALO/COAL/COLA/LOCA
AEGN – AGEN/GAEN/GANE/GEAN/GENA
AEGR – AGER/AREG/GARE/GEAR/RAGE
AEMN – AMEN/MANE/MEAN/NAME/NEMA
AENS – ANES/EANS/SANE/SEAN/SENA
AEPR – APER/PARE/PEAR/RAPE/REAP
AEPS – APES/APSE/PASE/PEAS/SPAE
AERY – AERY/AYRE/EYRA/YARE/YEAR
AIKN – AKIN/IKAN/KAIN/KINA/NAIK
ALPS – ALPS/LAPS/PALS/SALP/SLAP
ALST – ALTS/LAST/LATS/SALT/SLAT
AMPS – AMPS/MAPS/PAMS/SAMP/SPAM
ANSW – AWNS/SAWN/SNAW/SWAN/WANS
BORS – BORS/BROS/ORBS/ROBS/SORB

Four Anagrams
AALM – ALMA/AMLA/LAMA/MALA
AALN – ALAN/ANAL/LANA/NALA
AAMS – AMAS/MAAS/MASA/SAMA
AANN – ANAN/ANNA/NAAN/NANA
ABDR – BARD/BRAD/DARB/DRAB
ABET – ABET/BATE/BEAT/BETA
ABKR – BARK/BRAK/KBAR/KRAB
ABLS – ALBS/BALS/LABS/SLAB
ABOS – ABOS/BOAS/OBAS/SOBA
ABST – BAST/BATS/STAB/TABS
ABTU – ABUT/BUAT/TABU/TUBA
ACDE – ACED/CADE/DACE/ECAD
ACER – ACER/ACRE/CARE/RACE
ACES – ACES/AESC/CASE/CEAS
ACOT – ATOC/COAT/OCTA/TACO
ACST – ACTS/CAST/CATS/SCAT
ADEG – AGED/EGAD/GADE/GAED
ADEH – AHED/HADE/HAED/HEAD
ADLU – AULD/DUAL/LAUD/UDAL
ADNS – ANDS/DANS/NADS/SAND
ADOS – ADOS/ODAS/SADO/SODA
AEFL – ALEF/FEAL/FLEA/LEAF
AEKS – AKES/KAES/KEAS/SAKE
AENT – ANTE/ETNA/NEAT/TANE
AENW – ANEW/WANE/WEAN/WENA
AERT – ARET/RATE/TARE/TEAR
AERV – AVER/RAVE/VARE/VERA
AESV – AVES/SAVE/VAES/VASE
AESY – AYES/EASY/EYAS/YEAS
AHSY – ASHY/HAYS/SHAY/YAHS
AILS – AILS/LIAS/SAIL/SIAL
AILT – ALIT/LATI/TAIL/TALI
AIMN – AMIN/MAIN/MANI/MINA
AIMR – AMIR/MAIR/RAMI/RIMA
AIMS – AIMS/AMIS/SAIM/SIMA
AINS – AINS/ANIS/ISNA/SAIN
AIRT – AIRT/ARTI/RAIT/TIAR
AIST – AITS/ITAS/SATI/TAIS
ALMS – ALMS/LAMS/MALS/SLAM
ANST – ANTS/NATS/SANT/TANS
AOPS – APOS/APSO/POAS/SOAP
APSS – ASPS/PASS/SAPS/SPAS
BEIN – BEIN/BENI/BIEN/BINE
BLOO – BOLO/BOOL/LOBO/OBOL
BRSU – BRUS/BURS/RUBS/URBS
BSTU – BUST/BUTS/STUB/TUBS

Three Anagrams
ABCS – BACS/CABS/SCAB
ABDE – ABED/BADE/BEAD
ABDU – BAUD/BUDA/DAUB
ABEM – BEAM/BEMA/MABE
ABER – BARE/BEAR/BRAE
ABEN – BANE/BEAN/NABE
ABGR – BRAG/GARB/GRAB
ABHT – BAHT/BATH/BHAT
ABIR – ABRI/RABI/RIBA
ABLM – BALM/BLAM/LAMB
ABNS – BANS/NABS/SNAB
ABRS – ARBS/BARS/BRAS
ABRW – BAWR/BRAW/WARB
ACDI – ACID/CADI/CAID
ACEM – ACME/CAME/MACE
ACEN – ACNE/ANCE/CANE
ACHR – ARCH/CHAR/RACH
ACLY – ACYL/CLAY/LACY
ACRS – ARCS/CARS/SCAR
ADEK – AKED/KADE/KAED
ADEW – AWED/DEAW/WADE
ADIR – ARID/DARI/RAID
ADLO – ALOD/LOAD/ODAL
ADRS – ARDS/RADS/SARD
ADRY – ADRY/DRAY/YARD
AEGS – AGES/GAES/SAGE
AEHM – AHEM/HAEM/HAME
AELW – ALEW/WALE/WEAL
AERW – AREW/WARE/WEAR
AESW – AWES/WAES/WASE
AFOR – AFRO/FARO/FORA
AFIL – ALIF/FAIL/FILA
AFRS – ARFS/FARS/FRAS
AHKN – ANKH/HANK/KHAN
AILN – ANIL/LAIN/NAIL
AINR – AIRN/RAIN/RANI
AKRS – ARKS/KSAR/SARK
ALMU – ALUM/LUMA/MAUL
ALMY – AMYL/LYAM/MYAL
ALOT – ALTO/LOTA/TOLA
ALRY – ARYL/LYRA/RYAL
ALSW – AWLS/LAWS/SLAW
AMRS – ARMS/MARS/RAMS
ANNO – ANNO/ANON/NONA
ANTU – AUNT/TUAN/TUNA
ANWY – AWNY/WANY/YAWN
ARSY – ARSY/RAYS/RYAS
BDOR – BORD/BROD/DORB
BEER – BEER/BERE/BREE
BENS – BENS/NEBS/SNEB
BERI – BIER/BREI/BRIE
BGOY – BOGY/BOYG/GOBY
BHOO – BOHO/BOOH/HOBO
BHOS – BOHS/BOSH/HOBS
BINS – BINS/NIBS/SNIB
BIOS – BIOS/BOIS/OBIS
BKOO – BOKO/BOOK/KOBO
BKOS – BOKS/BOSK/KOBS
BNSU – BUNS/NUBS/SNUB
BOSY – BOYS/SYBO/YOBS

Two Anagrams
AABB – ABBA/BABA
AABC – ABAC/CABA
AABS – ABAS/BAAS
AACC – ACCA/CACA
AAGL – ALGA/GALA
AAGM – AGMA/GAMA
AAGN – ANGA/NAGA
AAGR – AGAR/RAGA
AAGS – AGAS/SAGA
AAIR – ARIA/RAIA
AAJR – AJAR/RAJA
AAKR – ARAK/KARA
AALB – ALBA/BAAL
AALP – ALAP/PAAL
AALS – AALS/ALAS
AALV – AVAL/LAVA
AANR – ARNA/RANA
AANT – ANTA/TANA
AANS – ANAS/ANSA
AAPR – ARPA/PARA
AAPT – ATAP/TAPA
AASV – AVAS/VASA
ABBE – ABBE/BABE
ABBO – BOAB/BOBA
ABBU – BABU/BUBA
ABDL – BALD/BLAD
ABDS – BADS/DABS
ABEK – BAKE/BEAK
ABES – BASE/SABE
ABEY – ABYE/BAYE
ABFR – BARF/FRAB
ABGS – BAGS/GABS
ABIM – BIMA/IAMB
ABIS – BIAS/ISBA
ABIT – BAIT/TABI
ABJU – BAJU/JUBA
ABKS – BASK/KABS
ABLW – BAWL/BLAW
ABLY – ABLY/BLAY
ABMO – AMBO/BOMA
ABNK – BANK/NABK
ABNR – BARN/BRAN
ABOR – BOAR/BORA
ABOT – BOAT/BOTA
ABRU – BAUR/BURA
ABSS – BASS/SABS
ABSY – ABYS/BAYS
ACEH – ACHE/EACH
ACEL – ALEC/LACE
ACHY – ACHY/CHAY
ACIS – ASCI/SAIC
ACOR – ARCO/ORCA
ADDS – ADDS/DADS
ADDY – ADDY/DYAD
ADEI – AIDE/IDEA
ADEZ – ADZE/DAZE
ADIM – AMID/MAID
ADIT – ADIT/DITA
ADIV – AVID/DIVA
ADLW – AWDL/WALD
ADOP – APOD/DOPA
AEEL – ALEE/EALE
AEIN – AINE/EINA
AELX – AXEL/AXLE
AENO – AEON/EOAN
AESX – AXES/SAXE
AFFY – AFFY/YAFF
AGIN – AGIN/GAIN
AGLU – AGLU/GULA
AGLY – AGLY/GYAL
AHOY – AHOY/HOYA
AINT – ANTI/TAIN
AKLO – ALKO/KOLA
AKLY – ALKY/LAKY
AKMO – AMOK/MAKO
AKOT – ATOK/OKTA
AKSS – ASKS/SKAS
AKSU – AUKS/SKUA
ALLS – ALLS/SALL
ALOE – ALOE/OLEA
ALOS – ALSO/SOLA
ALOW – ALOW/AWOL
AMOT – ATOM/MOAT
AMRU – ARUM/MURA
AMRY – ARMY/MARY
AMSU – AMUS/MASU
AMYZ – AZYM/MAZY
ANNS – ANNS/NANS
ANOZ – AZON/ZONA
AORV – ARVO/VOAR
ARTY – ARTY/TRAY
ARWY – AWRY/WARY
BBIS – BIBS/SIBB
BBLU – BLUB/BULB
BDEE – BEDE/DEBE
BDEI – BIDE/DIEB
BDES – BEDS/DEBS
BDIR – BIRD/DRIB
BDIS – BIDS/DIBS
BDOS – BODS/DOBS
BDOY – BODY/DOBY
BDRU – BURD/DRUB
BDSU – BUDS/DUBS
BEEF – BEEF/FEEB
BEEN – BEEN/BENE
BEET – BEET/BETE
BEIK – BIKE/KIBE
BEKR – BERK/KERB
BELO – BOLE/LOBE
BELT – BELT/BLET
BELU – BLUE/LUBE
BENO – BONE/EBON
BEOR – BORE/ROBE
BERY – BREY/BYRE
BEST – BEST/BETS
BESY – BEYS/BYES
BETU – BUTE/TUBE
BETY – BYTE/YBET
BGIS – BIGS/GIBS
BGLO – BLOG/GLOB
BGOS – BOGS/GOBS
BGRU – BURG/GRUB
BGSU – BUGS/GUBS
BHSU – BUSH/HUBS
BIKR – BIRK/BRIK
BILO – BOIL/LOBI
BIOR – BIRO/BRIO
BIOT – BITO/OBIT
BIRS – BRIS/RIBS
BIST – BIST/BITS
BKNO – BONK/KNOB
BKNU – BUNK/KNUB
BLOT – BLOT/BOLT
BLOW – BLOW/BOWL
BLRU – BLUR/BURL
BOOR – BOOR/BROO
BOOS – BOOS/OBOS
BOOZ – BOZO/ZOBO
BORW – BOWR/BROW
BOSS – BOSS/SOBS
BOST – BOTS/STOB
BOSW – BOWS/SWOB
BRUY – BURY/RUBY
BSSU – BUSS/SUBS
BSUY – BUSY/BUYS

No Anagrams
AAHS ABBS ABID ACAI ADAW AERO AFAR AGEE AGHA AGIO AGOG AGON AGUE AHIS AIAS AIGA AIRY AITU AJEE AKEE ALAE ALAR ALAY ALFA ALFS ALLY AMAH AMIA AMIE AMMO ANOA ANOW ANUS APAY APED APEX AQUA ARAR ARBA AREA AROW ASAR ASEA ATMA ATOP ATUA AUFS AULA AUNE AURA AUTO AVOS AVOW AWAY AWEE AXAL AXED AXIL AXIS AXON AYAH AYIN AYUS AZAN BABY BACH BACK BAFF BAFT BAGH BAIL BALK BALL BALU BAMS BANC BAND BANG BANI BANT BAPS BAPU BARB BARM BARP BASH BATT BAUK BAWD BAWN BAYT BEAU BECK BEDU BEEP BEES BEGO BEGS BELL BELS BEND BENJ BENT BERG BERM BETH BEVY BHEL BHUT BIBB BICE BIDI BIFF BIGA BIGG BILK BILL BIND BING BINK BINT BIOG BIRL BIRR BISE BISH BISK BITE BITT BIZE BLAB BLAG BLAH BLAT BLEB BLED BLEE BLEW BLEY BLIN BLIP BLOB BLOC BOAK BOBS BOCK BODE BOEP BOET BOFF BOKE BOLA BOLD BOLL BOMB BONA BOND BONG BONY BOOB BOOM BOON BOOT BOPS BORK BORM BORN BORT BOTH BOTT BOUK BOUN BOUT BOXY BOYF BRAT BRAY BRED BREN BRER BREW BRIG BRIM BRIN BRIT BROG BRRR BRUT BRUX BUBO BUBS BUBU BUCK BUDI BUDO BUFF BUHL BUHR BUIK BUKE BULK BULL BUMF BUMP BUMS BUNA BUND BUNG BUNN BUNT BUOY BURB BURK BURN BURP BURR BUSK BUTT BUZZ BYDE BYRL

Double double

2008-04-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

As a Boggle-playing computer geek, I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to share some of the fun words that are lurking in SOWPODS. This contribution is a comprehensive list of all words length 8 or less that have two different double vowels (like "aalii"). There are only 27 of them. There are another 60 or so that have the same vowel doubled (like "beebee"). Without further ado:

Five letters: aalii, cooee
Six letters: aaliis, bootee, cooeed, cooees, doolee, soogee
Seven letter: bootees, doolees, soogeed, soogees, whoopee
Eight letters: beefwood, beetroot, boortree, braaiing, cooeeing, feelgood, freeboot, moonseed, moonshee, peekaboo, peekapoo, rooftree, whoopees, woodfree

Enjoy!

SOWPODS Proper Names

2008-04-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Morgan Freeman - on the big screen and in the dictionary

Courtesy of Betsy-Marie (with a little input from some others) comes this superb list of proper names that are also acceptable words in SOWPODS. Enjoy!

Alan Aby Alastor Alec Alf Alma Amber Ami Ana Ann Anna Ani Ash Ava
Barney Ben Benny Beth Betty Bill Billy Blain Bob/Bobby Brad Brant Brent Bud
Cadence Cain Carl Carol Chad Charlie Charley Christian Clint Colin Corrie/Cory Craig
Daisy Dale Dan/Danny Davy Deb Dean Denis Derrick Desi Dido Dieter Dirk Don Donna Donny
Eddy Emma Eric Erica Eve
Fanny Frank
Gabby Gaby Garnet Garth Gene Gilbert Glen Grace Gus
Haily Hank Harry Heath Heather Hector Henry Homer/s
Iris
Jack/Jacky Jake James Jane Jann Jasmine Jay Jean Jeff Jenny Jerry Jess Jesse Jesus Jill Jimmy Joe Joey John/Johnny Jordan Joseph Josh Joss Judas
Kai Kara Kay Kelly Ken Kent Kerry Kyle
Lacy/Lacey Lana Lar/s Laura Lea Lee Les Lily Logan Louie Louis Luke Lulu
Mac Maggie Marc/Mark Maria Marge Martin Mary Matt Maude May Maya Mel Meg Mike Mickey Minnie Moe Moira Molly Morgan Mort Moses
Nancy Nat/Nates Neal Ned Nelson Neve/s Nick Noah Noel Norma Norman
Ollie Olive Oliver Oscar
Pam Paddy Pat Patty Paul Peter Phoebe Piper
Quintin Quin
Raj Ralph Randy Ray Rick Riley Rob Robin Rod Roger Roman Rory Rose Rosemary Ruby Ruth
Sade Sally Sam/Sammy Sandy Saul Sean Shawn Shea Sheila Sharon Stella Sten Sue
Tammy Tara Terry Tiffany Tom Tommy Tony Tori Travis Troy Tyler
Vera Victor Violet
Wade Will Willy Wilt

Doubly SOWPODS Named:

Heath Ledger
Morgan Freeman
Peter Piper
Sean Bean
Christian Bale
Ben Stiller
Jack Black
Norman Bates
Tommy Lee Jones
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Bill Pullman
Danny Glover
Jay Leno
Colin Firth
Joss Stone

SOWPODS Three Letter Words

2008-04-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

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

From The Country That Gave You 'Crwth'...

2008-04-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Words are deeply fascinating, and some more than most. One such word is ‘cwtch’. If ‘cwtch’ looks a little strange to you then, fear not, this is not without good reason. For ‘cwtch’ is not a word that originated on English soil. In fact, it is a Welsh word that has only recently been adopted into English dictionaries, having been embraced by many English speakers over the last century. 'Embraced' is the appropriate word, for a ‘cwtch’ is - among other things - a hug! To give someone a cwtch is to give them a cuddle, or something that might be more accurately translated as a ‘small safe place’.

It seems somewhat appropriate that a word of such a beautiful appearance (how many other 5 letter words can you think of without a vowel or Y?) should be the bearer of such a wonderful meaning!

To find out more about this word, you can listen to this recording, or read this BBC news report. 'Cwtched', 'cwtches' and 'cwtching' are all words (in SOWPODS) too. If you have ever played any or all of these words in Scrabble or Boggle, please share your experience with us in the comments below!

Needed to Share This With You All!

2008-04-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

I just scored 646 points in a game of Scrabulous. Yes, I can hardly believe it either! The game seemed pretty uneventful - save for a high scoring non-bingo with ZAIRE for 99 points - until my last 15 tiles. Placing those 15 tiles added 237 points to my score, including my highest ever bingo (beating GRIZZLY for 139 points in regular offline Scrabble) and first triple-triple with BUSGIRLS for 149 points. Having suffered the humiliating fate of having over 30 points shaved from my Prolific rating, this proved ample balm for the wound and helped to finally knock my Scrabulous ranking over 2100 for the first time (and just in time for Linda to tear it down again!).

Craziest!

2008-03-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

If you can in any way identify with the girl in this video, you are the perfect reader of this blog...

It's Alive!

2008-03-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

There are over 12 million blogs in the world. Never before in the history of the human race has there been such a fertile ground for the proliferation of self-indulgent prose, innumerable people expecting us to read the products of their ruminations on the petty details of their quotidian existences. If any proof were needed of Saint Augustine's description of postlapsarian man as homo incurvatus in se, the blogosphere has given it to us in spades. In such a climate, one is well justified in questioning the purpose of yet another new blog.

Fear not, gentle reader, for this is not your average blog! We do not subscribe to the popular notion that the most important thing is self-expression, believing that the only things really worthy of the effort of expression are the things that are much greater than ourselves, things like the meaning of the universe, love, truth, beauty and online word games.

It is to the last of these matters that this blog is dedicated. My esteemed colleagues and fellow-contributors to this blog, if you were to meet them on the street, would not strike you as possessing any distinguishing features that would mark them out from the crowd. But they are different. Very different. In their brains. For in the deep recesses of their crania reside countless bizarre words (in most case floating free of any semantic moorings). Thousands of hours of playing online word games have driven deep ruts into their neural pathways. The most abstruse mysteries of the games of Scrabble and Boggle are now perspicuous to their exalted consciousnesses.

In an act of gracious condescension, these people (when I get around to finding them) have deigned to act as gurus on your route to linguistic enlightenment. This blog will be a resource for all who wish to draw from the wells of their esoteric wisdom. To all who wish to venture on this path, we wish you the greatest of success. May you find this blog to be a constant source of insight and aid on your pilgrimage.