# What words should be added to the official Scrabble Dictionary? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 25, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395 "2010-02-25T15:31:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/41 "2010-02-26T23:44:40Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > “re” meaning “in regards to” I thought “re” was in there because of solfege (as the second tone of the scale) not the “in re:” usage. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/42 "2010-02-27T01:21:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I thought “re” was in there because of solfege (as the second tone of the scale) not the “in re:” usage. Well there’s that too now isn’t there? 🙂 (I figured it was “re” because of “res” and “qua” but you’re probably right) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/43 "2010-02-27T01:25:09Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I’m sorry - I don’t have my copy of the Scrabble Dictionary with me here - is ‘qua’ in there? You can look stuff up (and get the definition) for the _Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Ed._ from Hasbro online [right here](http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/). (That’s for the U.S. wordlist anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/44 "2010-02-27T01:43:24Z")
An odd selection from what I would consider recently coined vernacular: PHAT is in there (meaning “excellent”), but BLING is not. RAD is in there (meaning “to fear” ?!), but not HELLA. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/45 "2010-02-27T07:06:36Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > PHAT is in there (meaning “excellent”), but BLING is not. > RAD is in there (meaning “to fear” ?!), but not HELLA. Phat was in there before anyone thought it was excellent. I forget exactly what but it has something to do with nails (the hammering kind). Rad is a unit of radiation dosage. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/46 "2010-02-27T11:31:24Z")
I’ve always been frustrated that _zoot_ (as in _zoot suit_, _zoot suiter_, and _zoot pants_) isn’t in the Scrabble dictionary. Granted, those terms are sometimes capitalized and sometimes hyphenated, but not always. Oddly enough, the derived term _zooty_ is in the dictionary now, a word I have never seen or heard outside the Scrabble dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/47 "2010-02-27T11:34:24Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I’ve always been frustrated that _zoot_ (as in _zoot suit_, _zoot suiter_, and _zoot pants_) isn’t in the Scrabble dictionary. Granted, those terms are sometimes capitalized and sometimes hyphenated, but not always. Oddly enough, the derived term _zooty_ is in the dictionary now, a word I have never seen or heard outside the Scrabble dictionary. Weird. I just sat down to write up “zoot” and you beat me by three minutes. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/48 "2010-02-27T15:14:21Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > Phat was in there before anyone thought it was excellent. I forget exactly what but it has something to do with nails (the hammering kind). Rad is a unit of radiation dosage. The definitions I gave (for PHAT, and RAD meaning “to fear”) are the ones actually given in the Scrabble dictionary. Hence the head scratching! ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/49 "2010-02-27T19:38:51Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > The definitions I gave (for PHAT, and RAD meaning “to fear”) are the ones actually given in the Scrabble dictionary. Hence the head scratching! Ok. The preferred definition to give in the OSPD is not necessarily the oldest or most common, but the one that has the most forms (i.e., “radder, raddest” etc.). ---
**Author:** ![MaxCrystal1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@MaxCrystal1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxCrystal1)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/50 "2010-03-26T18:16:30Z")
Hi everyone, my issue is not so much with “za” though I think that is a stretch, it is with missing solfege. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti are the syllables for the Major Scale. They are part of an international musical language that is used by every musician I have ever met. So if the Major scale is acceptable, why isn’t the Minor scale acceptable: Do, Re, Me (“may”), Fa, So, Le (“lay”), Te (“tay”) In fact, I would argue that if they accept some solfege syllables, they must accept all of them: Do, Di, Ra, Re, Ri, Me, Mi, Fa, Fi, Se, So, Si, Le, La, Li, Te, Ti. There are two Solfege systems in use. The American system is known as “Moveable Do” meaning that whatever key you’re in, the first degree of the scale is “Do”. The older European system is also known as “Fixed Do”. In this system, Do is always “C”. There is some variation historically in the treatment of accidentals (black keys on the piano) but among musicians who play modern music, the chromatic scale that I listed above is universally used and understood. I live in New York City, the undisputed capital of Pizza and undisputed capital of Jazz. I eat a slice of “za” 4-5 times a week. I can honestly say I heard the word “za” twice before becoming a scrabble addict. Once by an MC in a freestyle battle, once by a friend. On the other hand, I have heard and used solfege syllables (especially Fi, Le and Te) thousands of times at least… and that doesn’t include my time in music school or while teaching. Whenever I bring this up with other scrabble enthusiasts, they usually shrug it off. Is it possible that I am the only person who sees the inherent flaw in accepting some solfege syllables and not others? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/51 "2010-03-26T19:20:29Z")
Superman as a verb. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/52 "2010-03-26T21:09:23Z")
> [@MaxCrystal1](#): > > Hi everyone, my issue is not so much with “za” though I think that is a stretch, it is with missing solfege. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti are the syllables for the Major Scale. They are part of an international musical language that is used by every musician I have ever met. So if the Major scale is acceptable, why isn’t the Minor scale acceptable: Do, Re, Me (“may”), Fa, So, Le (“lay”), Te (“tay”) In fact, I would argue that if they accept some solfege syllables, they must accept all of them: Do, Di, Ra, Re, Ri, Me, Mi, Fa, Fi, Se, So, Si, Le, La, Li, Te, Ti…Whenever I bring this up with other scrabble enthusiasts, they usually shrug it off. Is it possible that I am the only person who sees the inherent flaw in accepting some solfege syllables and not others? I’ve never heard the term ‘solfege.’ I know the notes of the major scale because of the Julie Andrews song. Does the harmonic scale have a name for that three-half-tone jump (seventh?)? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/53 "2010-03-26T21:39:23Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh yeah - \*gi \*- that’s a good one. And \*gis \*(if you have more than one karate outfit). Those are the ones that are annoying to me, especially pinyinizations. Apparently some are common enough for scrabble, but others aren’t. If you live in a very cross-cultural place, the only way to know in advance if a word is valid or not is to memorize every freaking instance or omission in the dictionary. E.g. why is gyro valid but shumai is not? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/54 "2010-03-26T21:52:39Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I’ve never heard the term ‘solfege.’ I know the notes of the major scale because of the Julie Andrews song. > > Does the harmonic scale have a name for that three-half-tone jump (seventh?)? Ti. It’s the same note as the one in the major scale, so the actual note has the same name. Why don’t I give you the traditional chromatic scale, which covers all 17 notes? ```auto UP DOWN SOLFEGE KEY OF C SOLFEGE KEY OF C do C ti B di C♯ te B♭ re D la A ri D♯ le A♭ mi E so G fa F se G♭ fi F♯ fa F so G mi E si G♯ me E♭ la A re D li A♯ ra D♭ ti B do C ``` ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/55 "2010-03-27T00:12:39Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > E.g. why is gyro valid but shumai is not? I was going to say “because you can get a gyro in every mall food court in America,” but I checked the Scrabble dictionary – they use it as “short for gyroscope,” no food reference involved. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/56 "2010-03-27T14:30:10Z")
More Scrabble dictionary omissions: -“afro” (as in the hairstyle) ain’t in -“yanqui” is in, “yankee” isn’t -on the cheese front, “havarti” makes the cut, “gouda” and “edam” don’t ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/57 "2010-03-27T14:53:32Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Superman as a verb. Seconded. > [@42fish](#): > > … “gouda” … I remember playing gouda once during a tight game, being challenged, then losing my turn. I was a bit miffed, but then less so when I won. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/58 "2010-03-27T20:48:32Z")
Elements of the periodic table. Nothing’s more annoying than having to sit on an elegant Scrabble, just because “Mg” ain’t a word. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/59 "2010-04-06T18:09:26Z")
Someone please tell me that [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8604625.stm) is a joke. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395/60 "2010-04-06T18:14:38Z")
My friend told me about that this morning. I was hoping it was some sort of late April Fool’s prank. Nobody worth playing Scrabble with will give in to this proper noun rubbish anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-should-be-added-to-the-official-scrabble-dictionary/530395.md?page=4)