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