Scrabble friends Facebook, innit
Spawn of Zuckerberg makes official word list
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Aficionados of Scrabble can as of right now deploy "Facebook", "blook", "wiki", "webzine" and "inbox" without fear of their opponent calling foul, following the incorporation of the terms into the list of Collins Official Scrabble Words.
The first update to the Scrabblers' bible since 2007 includes 3,000 newly approved words which are an "eclectic mix of new technological jargon, overseas English, recent colloquialisms, street slang, and a few fairly well-established phrases that had not made it onto the list until now", according to Robert Groves, editor of Collins English Dictionaries.
Linguistic purists are unlikely to applaud the appearance of "thang", "grrl", "blingy", "innit", "tik" (methamphetamine) and "gak" (commonly cocaine), but those struggling to place a "q" will be delighted with the chance to spell "fiqh" (Islamic jurisprudence) and "qin" (a Chinese stringed musical instrument).
Other foreign newbies are "alu/aloo", "keema" and "gobi", (spud, minced meat curry and cauliflower, respectively, as any fan of Indian cuisine knows).
Among the "fairly well-established phrases" to have finally gained official recognition are "airgun", "heatwave" and "pushbike".
Groves described the new guide, which sells at £16.99 for the hardback and £12.99 for the paperback, as "the essential reference for all Scrabble players, from tournament enthusiasts to families battling it out in their front rooms".
He added: "Over half of British homes own a Scrabble board, over four million games are sold worldwide each year, and nearly anyone who has played it has been involved in a dispute over which words can and can't be used. Now all those arguments can be settled, with the latest official wordlist from Collins – the authority on Scrabble." ®
COMMENTS
Meh
'Aficionados of Scrabble can as of right now deploy "Facebook", "blook", "wiki", "webzine" and "inbox"
Not if they're playing in my house they can't. I play the real rules : no names, no slang, no abbreviations and no American English. Any player whose word scores fewer points than the preceding one loses an item of clothing and drinks a shot.
It's like 'facepalm', but with a book instead of the palm.
Documentary about Scrabble
A documentary about international Scrabble competitions showed how it was possible for people who can't speak English to win tournaments. They don't need to know the words, just that the collection of tiles is valid for the game.
As such there is no 'deathknell' (death-knell?) as the language is not being used - only a collection of symbols that have may different ways they can be arranged, many of which are valid according to the rules of the game.
'Our beloved language' is a mongrel anyway, a rag-tag collection of words from invaders or invadees that reflects the history of this septic isle.
What you need to know about cloud backup
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything
Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime
SaaS data loss: The problem you didn’t know you had
