We have all been there at least once in our lives, exchanging furious verbal battles with friends and family over whether the word they have just put down in a game of Scrabble is in fact acceptable. For those of us who do not own a Scrabble dictionary, these arguments can go on for ages, seemingly without the prospect of resolution.
Diffuse that tension, learn which Scrabble words to use!
Sometimes whether or not a word is acceptable to use in a game of Scrabble can determine the outcome of a game, so it is a very important issue! Are you tired of grappling over letters and thrashing it out over issues such as whether one is allowed to use foreign words, British and American spellings, or abbreviations? There are a few simple tips and tricks that will help you to diffuse that tension over acceptable Scrabble words, and get on with your game in peace.
Contested terms.
One of the most common arguments that crops up during games of Scrabble is whether abbreviations and proper names are acceptable Scrabble words. In general, the rule of thumb is that they are not: if a word is an abbreviation (for instance ‘NT’ for ‘National Trust’ or ‘RSPB’ for ‘Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’), it will not be allowed in Scrabble.
No proper namens, but…
The same goes, in general, for proper names: ‘Simon’ and ‘Anabella’ are not acceptable Scrabble words. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For instance, proper names that are also nouns in their own right are acceptable scrabble words. Thus, ‘Rosemary’ or ‘Jasmine’, though they are often used as proper names in real life, are acceptable words to use in Scrabble because they are also nouns.
No abbreviations, but…
A similar exception exists for abbreviations that have other meanings as nouns. Some abbreviations, however, are acceptable Scrabble words because they have entered common parlance. One example of such a word is the word ‘Awol’ which was originally an abbreviation (‘Absent WithOut Leave’) but has entered common usage as if it was a word in its own right.
Ask for (Scrabble) help
The rules of Scrabble can often sound rather complicated and confusing. Often, you can simply grab your nearest copy of the Scrabble Manual (which comes with every Scrabble board) to resolve a tussle over acceptable Scrabble words. However, sometimes a lexical conundrum is particularly tricky. For instance, you might have a whole load of consonants and be completely unable to think of a word to make from them that would be acceptable according to the Scrabble rules.
In sticky situations like these, our fabulous online Scrabble Helper is a great tool to use. This handy Scrabble tool asks Scrabble players to type in all of the letters that they have available, and then provides them with a comprehensive lists of acceptable words that they can make from those letters. The Scrabble Helper is the perfect way to solve any Scrabble related difficulty, and to let peace and quiet reign supreme during even the most challenging and competitive game of Scrabble.
Is “iq” allowed because it is common use or not allowed because it is an abbreviation
Hi Inge,
IQ is the short form of intelligence quotinet and is not allowed in Scrabble! But you can make eleven points with the word qi (https://www.word-grabber.com/dictionary/qi). For more words with Q without U check this article: https://www.word-grabber.com/word-lists/words-with-q-without-u
Greetings