Discussion Groups / English Usage / June 2008

My aversion to the game stems primarily from these two statements in
the Wikipedia entry:

Acronyms or abbreviations, other than those that have been regularized
(such as AWOL, RADAR, and SCUBA), are not allowed. Variant spellings,
slang or offensive terms, archaic or obsolete terms, and specialized
jargon words are allowed if they meet all other criteria for
acceptability.

That last bit about all other criteria has to do with listing in
certain dictionaries -- /al/ is acceptable, not as an abbreviation of
aluminum, but as specialized jargon for a metallurgical element in
bauxite (which happens to be aluminum).  What specialized jargon words
from metallurgy are included in the select dics?  Primarily, they’re
only the short ones, the ones most convenient for Scrabble experts
(ag, al, ba, bi, er, es, ho, mo, na, si, ta).

Here’s the opening paragraph of a blog about short Scrabble words:

Scrabble Two-Letter Word List
Opinion by cressida posted 11 months ago

I ALWAYS forget the oh-so-important two-letter words when I play but
whenever I look online for a decent list, there are dozens of
conflicting reports on what is appropriate. So this is my complied
list of acceptable words for American tournament play approved by the
National Scrabble Association. The words in bold are words also
acceptable in the United Kingdom and in most Commonwealth countries.
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/scrabble/soapbox/368

The 94 two-letter words that are ok for the US (there are two
different OFFICIAL Scrabble dics for the US) include these gems from
the Greek, Hebrew, and English alphabets: mu, nu, pi, xi, pe, ef, and
el. (Apparently it is peachy keen to omit the names of the letters of
the hundreds of other alphabets in the world because those three are
so superior.)

Don’t forget the musical shorties: re, mi, fa, la, ti, and ut.  (Don’t
we love ut?)

Of course, the most universally understood expression on the entire
planet – ok – is not included (it’s in my NOAD 2d edition without
periods and should be so listed in any self-respecting compilation --
remember awol, radar, and scuba?)

The first two steps toward making the game respectable, imo, require
throwing out 69 of the 94 two-letter combinations, and establishing a
single OFFICIAL dictionary that is a self-respecting compilation.
These are a few of my unfavorite things re Scrabble -- I have nothing
bad to say about our dearly departed auer.

--
Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego

Oliver Burkeman, the _Guardian_ reporter, apparently was unaware of the
award-winning documentary _Word Wars: Tiles and Tribulations on the
SCRABBLE Circuit_, Eric Chaikin's fascinating 2004 film chronicling the
lives of four word- and SCRABBLE-obsessed fellows.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Matt Graham (one of the four) showing
his book-filled apartment and then holding up a copy of _Maledicta 1_,
"The International Journal of Verbal Aggression," one of the many
sources he uses to learn unusual words.