ABAKA and ABACA

The more you read through the Official Scrabble Dictionary, the more you'll see that a vast percentage of words are given alternate spellings. Sometimes a LOT of alternate spellings.  (To be frank, misspelled words that the Powers that Be decided to include for God knows what reason.)

ABACA and ABAKA are relatively straightforward.

An ABACA is a tree, also called Manila hemp, grown in the Philippines, and ABAKA is another way to spell it.

It is a very important tree - provides fibers for clothing as well as preventing soil erosion.

D is for DAL

A DAL is an Indian dish of lentils and spices.

As with many words in the Scrabble Dictionary, it has alternate spellings.

DAHL and DHAL are also forms of DAL.

They are each pluralized with an S.

Do not confuse DAHL, DHAL or DAL with DHAK, which is an Asian drum.

C is for CAB

When you think of the word CAB, you think of taking a CAB - a TAXI.

However, CAB has been turned into a verb. So,

"We CABBED to the restaurant."

"We were CABBING through Central Park when we saw the meteorite."

"CABS are hard to find this time of night."

The driver of a CAB is called a CABBY or CABBIE.

If you pluralize CAB and then anagram it, you get SCAB.

"The cut SCABBED over."

"This wound is already SCABBING over."

To be covered with SCABS is to be SCABBY. "The wounds were SCABBILY covered."

Find the bingo: EENMHAT

There is one bingo in the following 7 letters:

E E N M H A T

Can you find it?

Time yourself, how long did it take?

B is for BAA

Sheep BLEAT, and the sound they make is often said to be a BAA.

The sheep BAAED. The sheep are BAAING. That sheep BAAS loudly.

A sheep that is two years old is called a TEG or TEGG.

Male TEGGS will TUP, or have sex with, a female sheep.

A sheep that is not castrated is a TUP. and when it has sex, that's called TUPPING.

A sheep that is castrated is called a WETHER.

Add an L to BAA and you get BAAL. BAAL was once the name of an Egyptian god, now it just means a false god that someone worships.

BAAL is pluralized BAALS or BAALIM.

The worship of a false god is called BAALISM.

BAAL was originally spelled with the Hebrew letter AYIN (or AIN), and so it would have a diacritical mark and so not technically be suitable for Scrabble, but Scrabble allows it because it ignores diacritical marks.


Anagram BAA to ABA.

An ABA is a garment worn by Arab men. The ABAYA is worn by women. (According to the official Scrabble dictionary).

According to an online dictionary, ABA and ABAYA are interchangeable.

If you pluralize ABA, you get ABAS.

And if you anagram ABAS, you get BABA, which is a rum cake. BABA is also spelled BABKA.

A is for AAL

"AAH,, isn't that a pretty AAL?

"AHA, I agree with you!"

An AAL is an East Indian shrub. It is pluralized AALS.

You can add two "I's" to the end of AAL for AALII(S), which is another East Indian tree.

It can be anagrammed ALA, which is Latin for part of a wing, and is used to describe things, other than bird wings, that resemble wings.  This word is pluralized ALAE.    (ALAS is a word meaning SORROW.)

For example, the two upper parts of the pelvic ILIUM, including the ILIAC crest, are called ALA(S).

2 letter words: AL, AM, AN, AR, AS, AT

AL

AL is an East Indian tree, not to be confused with the AAL or the AALII, which are also East Indian trees.

AL is pluralized ALS.

Anagrammed, LA is a musical note, and LAS is a plural of the musical note.


AM is the present tense singular of "to be.

AN is an indefinite article.

AR

AR is the phonetic spelling of the letter R.   It is pluralized ARS.

The anagram of ARS is RAS, which is the word PRINCE in Ethiopian.


AS is an adverb which means, "to the same degree."

AT is a preposition, and means, "in the position of"