Two for One
True Scrabble fans know enough legitimate two-letter words to really annoy the casual player. To even the odds ever so slightly, I will list a dozen or so twofers, with definitions.
Not surprisingly, many, like Ti, a woody plant native to the Pacific islands like Samoa and Tahiti, are not your English garden variety words but ones that emerge from the remote corners of our linguistically fertile planet. As you seed the board with these short but sweet exotica, you can show that you are both well-versed and well-traveled.
There are animals, running the full spectrum of the alphabet, from Ai, a South American three-toed sloth, to Zo, which is a Dr. Suess-like cross between a yak and a cow.
For the esoteric, Ba is the eternal spirit in Egyptian mythology. Qi (pronounced chee as in, but different than, tai chi) is the Chinese life force. Another mystical universal force is Od, sometimes manifesting itself in supernatural phenomena. (This, by the way, is not Odd, another universal force manifesting itself in the unnatural behaviour of various aunts on my mother’s side.)
Everyone knows an Em is a printer’s measure, but most don’t know that an En, also a printer’s measure, equals half an Em.
Yes, Fa is a perfume, but it’s also the fourth note in the diationic scale (do re mi fa so…) and perfectly acceptable Scrabble fare. As are Greek letters like Mu, Nu, and Xi. Xi should not be confused with Xu, a Vietnamese coin. Xu, by the way, is also the plural of Xu; you may get called on it.
Another weird one is Gu, a violin played in Shetland, an archipelago off the northeast coast of Scotland. It comes with a bonus: you can also spell it gue and gju.
It’s now time to finish off your frustrated foes. You can continue to bury them bit by bit with your Ko, a Maori digging stick, or cut directly to the chase with a Da, a Burmese knife that would make Crocodile Dundee proud.
When you’ve got dozens of two-letter words down, it’s your choice.
You forgot aa. It’s a form of lava rock. I used it in a story but everyone said I should take it out because it confused them and made them think that the volcano was still active. Doh! I shouldn’t dumb my stuff down!
Hello,
Thanks for this post. I hope to put it to good use.
I’m going to get a dictionary and I will be right back.
Calvin passed on your email.
Hope to see ya this summer,
XO
Great post. In addition to Qi, there are a couple other acceptable Scrabble words that start with “Q”, but don’t require a “U”.
qat — the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
qadi — an Islamic judge
I also love to play with words (see http://2kop.blogspot.com/2008/02/play-with-your-words.html).
I’ll be back.
Susan