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Blanking Out Again

A couple of months ago I did a blog on the condition unique to scrabble players known as ‘blank out’

It is a term invented by Roger Cole-Baker to describe the inability to see words when you have two blanks on your rack. This week’s blank out quiz is brought to you by the letters:

A A E E L ? ?

There are 13 words of 7 letters that can be made from that rack.

Setting a target of finding all 13 words would be an unrealistic target for anyone except an international player, so these are the targets you should aim for:

A Graders – 7 words good, 9 words excellent B Graders – 5 words good, 7 words excellent C Graders – 3 words good, 5 words excellent

This week’s blog was inspired by a word played by Mary Gray last week. I finished my last game a little early and was looking at some of the other boards as I waited to pick up all the scoresheets. On Mary’s board was the following word:

S E A ? A L E

I couldn’t figure out what the blank was and had to go and look it up. It turned out to be a word I hadn’t seen before. I won’t tell you what it was just yet, because you might want to do the quiz.

OK, pause here for a moment because the next part of the blog contains all the answers:

ANELACE A short, two-edged dagger

DEALATE An insect with wings taken off. DEALATES and DEALATED are good

LEAFAGE Foliage

LEAKAGE The act, or an instance of, leaking

ETALAGE A display of goods in a shop window

GALEATE Helmet-shaped. Both GALEATES and GALEATED are good

MELAENA A condition marked by black tarry stool. Also spelled MELENA

MALEATE A salt derived from malic acid. Also spelled MALATE

AREOLAE Small spaces in a network of leaf veins

PALEATE Like a palea. The membranous inner bract of a grass flower

LAETARE The fourth Sunday in Lent

SEAKALE A kind of maritime cabbage

EATABLE Anything used as food. Front hooks make BEATABLE and HEATABLE

Cheers Patrick

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