Vowel Dumps

The main part of this week’s blog is about short words that can be used to try to balance a rack that has too many vowels. That will be old hat for the A grade players, but important information for C grade players. So I will continue the format I started last week where I give the A graders a tough anagramming challenge before moving on to the main part of the blog

A Grade Challenge

Can you unscramble these 6 letter words with 4 vowels? Answers are at the end

A A A I M N

A A E O C M

A A E U B D

I O O U K R

A I O O D L

Words that have no consonants

There is one 4 letter word with 4 vowels and four 3 letter words with 3 vowels

Make sure you know everything about them, including the ‘hooks’ because they should be on your board frequently whether played by yourself or your opponent

EUOI A Greek expression of Bacchic frenzy. Does not take any hooks

AIA An Indian maid or nurse. Pluralises with an S and also hooks an R in front for RAIA (A non-Muslim subject of Turkey)

AUA The yellow eyed mullet. Pluralises with an S and hooks a P in front for PAUA

EAU Water. Pluralises with either an S or an X and also hooks a B in front for BEAU

AUE A Maori cry of pain or astonishment. Does not take any hooks

The following words do have one consonant, but they all may be useful if your rack has too many of the letter A

ACAI A berry found in Brazil. Also called the palm berry

AIDA A finely meshed cotton fabric used in cross stitch embroidery

ALAE The plural of ALA which is a flat winglike projection

AIGA A large Samoan family

AULA A Latin word for a large hall

ANOA An Indonesian wild ox

ATUA The spirit of a Polynesian ancestor

Answers to the A Grade challenge

MANAIA A Maori figure with a human body and birdlike head

CAEOMA A spore forming organ of a fungus

AUBADE A song or poem greeting the dawn

KOUROI Greek statues of nude boys

OOIDAL Egg shaped

The first 3 take an S, but not the last 2 - KOUROI is the plural of KOUROS

Happy Scrabbling

Patrick