Grab your ‘koozie’ and catch a spot of ‘rabbit showjumping’ – Lucy Mangan’s back with your new word submissions

A phenomenon that is spreading faster than cracks in a Californian riverbed is “droughtshaming”. Submitted by RobertG, it refers to the practice of posting pictures on social media of violations of the water use restrictions that the state has put in place as a result of the ongoing absence of… Read More

Etymology Corner – ‘Cricket’

Although the weather may still suggest otherwise, the British cricket season is now fully under way. The first test series has been put to bed, and supporters are eagerly eyeing up The Ashes in July. With that in mind, we decided to look at the etymology of the word ‘cricket’…… Read More

‘Austerity’, ‘Portillo moment’, and ‘1%er’: May’s Words in the News

I expected to have to open this month’s post with confidence and supply (an arrangement in a hung parliament in which the second largest party agrees to support the minority government in budget and confidence votes only). Confidence and supply is the main alternative to a coalition government. It keeps… Read More

Tips from the Champions – Philip Nelkon

Philip Nelkon, four-time National Scrabble Champion, tells us his top tips. 1. Always consider taking a few points less on score in order to avoid leaving a large imbalance of vowels and consonants amongst the letters left on your rack. 2. The blank is the most… Read More

Around the World in 15 Words

Scrabble is played globally, so here are some of the new words that originate from countries and regions around the world. TANAISTE(Irish) in Irish politcs, the vice-Taoiseach or deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland HAUN(Scots) a hand… Read More

It’s all in the Mind

What’s inside the head of a World Scrabble Champion? Craig Beevers sheds some light. What mental preparation is involved for playing in a World Scrabble Championship?It’s no different to any other tournament really. Ideally you would skim through the most useful words, ie short words and bonuses… Read More

Tips from the Champions – Barry Grossman

Barry Grossman, author of Play like a Scrabble Champion, tells us his top tips. 1. There are several places on the board to play a 5-letter word where you can double the score of the first or last letter, and also double the whole word. So learning some… Read More

‘Pandafication’, ‘Jockalypse’, and a word with no meaning are among the new word suggestions dissected by Lucy Mangan

Thank you first of all to moneill, for “whaling” – a form of phishing (nefarious emailing to try and extract sensitive data from unsuspecting recipients) that targets company executives instead of average Joes with their only averagely valuable information. Phishing for bigger fish = whaling! PLEASING! “Flakka”, submitted… Read More

Tips from the Champions – Allan Simmons

Allan Simmons, four-time British Champion and winner of other national titles, tells us his top tips. 1. Make yourself look for seven-letter words (or eight-letter words using a letter on the board) no matter how unlikely your rack is. Even very unlikely-looking racks may be hiding a common… Read More