Karaoke ( definition )

As I was going through David Sutton`s list of Japanese words valid in Scrabble, I saw the definition of the word KARAOKE+S. KARAOKE is defined as being "an instrument of torture". After laughing my head off for about five minutes, I realized that David was right. Karaoke can be used as an instrument of torture. In fact, this is probably how the Japanese army tortured their prisoners during wartime: " Talk, or I`ll get the mike and sing the karaoke version of Happy Birthday to You". And the prisoners usually talked.

A Word with You

ALALAGMOS!!! It`s a Greek war cry. I have no idea whether it has a meaning or not, but I must say it sounds scary... I`d love to get to play this word. What`s even scarier is that ALALAGMOS has a plural: ALALAGMOI.

A Word with You ( A Word a Day )

Today`s word is INCUBUS. The INCUBUS is a demon believed to have sex with sleeping women. INCUBUS has two plural forms: INCUBI and INCUBUSES.

Uk Open- Day 5

I finished the tournament with two losses. Evan Cohen played CINEASTS as a triple triple to score 140 points and unintentionally block my OUBAASES play while Wayne Kelly managed to get to 470 in his first five moves or so. My last play of the tournament was INFERIOR to go out and reduce the spread. Uk Open 2010 was very enjoyable. I did feel a bit groggy towards the end. My opponents averaged 505 points in the last seven games, and I felt like an observer! And here are my statistics: 17 wins, 21 losses, 111 spread, 431 average/game, 34 blanks to my opponents' 42, 81 bingoes( bonuses) to my opponents' 74. I lost 11 games where I scored over 400 points and won a game where I scored 357 points! Go figure! I`ll upload some photos and make a list of the played bingoes(bonuses)later.

WSC ( Day 2- licking my wounds )

Harshan And I before the game

As you already know, today was not such a good day for me. A lost game to Sherwin Rodriguez after being 140 ahead and holding a blank, a balanced game against Trevor Mark Hovelmeier( more balanced than the score shows), five games where I was just an observer and a win against Harshan Lamabadusuriya. And how sweet that win was! I have played Harshan seven times and this is the first time I beat him! He is not having a good tournament either. And neither is Joel Wapnick, a former World Champion and finalist of the World Scrabble Championship, who will be my next " victim" tomorrow...
Out of curiousity I had a look at the "goodies" I picked today. In Scrabble, QZJXSS?? are called goodies, because they make one's life a lot easier during play.

Game 9: Adrian Tamas ZQXSS Martin Harrison ??SSJ lost
Game 10: Adrian Tamas JXSS? Sherwin Rodrigues ZQSS? lost
Game 11: Adrian Tamas QZ? Nathan Benedict JXSSSS? lost
Game 12: Adrian Tamas S Mark Nyman QZJXSSS?? lost
Game 13: Adrian Tamas QXSSS? Harshan Lambadusuriya JZS? won
Game 14: Adrian Tamas X Helen Gipson QZJSSSS?? lost
Game 15: Adrian Tamas QS Ayorinde Saidu JZXSSS?? lost
Game 16: Adrian Tamas ZXSS? Trevor Mark Hovelmeier QJSS? won

I will look at my first eight games tomorrow. I'm sure I picked better tiles than today! Tomorrow I am planning to pick all 16 blanks:))



Me celebrating the historical win against Harshan:))

AnagramsV (for Scrabble players only)

Now that you've seen where I keep my dictionary, let's move on to more serious things. See if you can solve this quiz in 5 minutes. I will post a comment with the answers. Good luck!
1.GORY+SITE
2.INNER+BAD
3.CUT+SEAN
4.US+DEMON
5.CORE+TENT
6.COLD+IRE
7.PLAIN+OAT
8.GRAND+USE
9.SEE+TRAMP
10ROUSE+MEN

Anagrams( IV (for scrabble players only)

Here comes another set of anagrams I keep missing.See if you can find them within 5 minutes. Good luck!

1.PORN+HEAD

2.NON+CHEAT

3.PINK+SEAT

4.TRUE+CHIN

5.COD+BRAIN

6.OUT+CABLE

7.FARAD+UNI

8.A+MEAN+BED

9.ADKLNOPR

10.HER+COILS

 

Anagrams III (for Scrabble players only)

I'm back with another quiz. The second quiz was a bit harder than the first one. As a result, some of the players only found 5 words. None of the players who sent feedback managed to find all the words. Hopefully the third quiz will be even more difficult than the second one. Give yourself 5 minutes. Good luck!

1.MEGA+NERD
2.RATS+MULE
3.TIRE+DUST
4.HEARD+AIR
5.DEAR+MIKE
6.HURT+NICE
7.PRAY+DO+IT
8.RODE+MICE
9.STAB+LICE
10.SUB+ADORN

A List... Sometimes (-dar)

Apparently, "-dar" is a suffix derived from the Persian verb dash tan which means to hold, to own. A word like "ZAMINDAR" for example, was created by adding the suffix "-dar" to "ZAMIN" which means land. So a "ZAMINDAR" is a landowner. The word "GAYDAR"though was not formed with the help of the Persian suffix. It is just a blend of the words "GAY" and "RADAR", not a very politically correct word. Neither were the words "GOSPODAR" and "HOSPODAR", words which were created with the help of the suffix "-ar", "a suffix appended to words to create a masculine noun, usually denoting a profession, person who does something or an animal". "KALENDAR" and "CALENDAR" come from the Latin "CALENDAE"( the first day of the month). " CHEDDAR", the cheese most of us love and some of us hate, was named after a village in England. So not all the words ending in "-dar" are formed with the assistance of the Persian suffix "-dar".
Here are some words ending in "-dar":
6 Letter Words
BANDAR+I,S = a rhesus monkey
BORDAR+S = a cottager subject to a lord
CHADAR+S = a large shawl, also CHADOR [n CHADARS or CHADRI]
DEODAR+A,S = an East Indian cedar, also DEODARA
GAYDAR+S = the ability to recognize that a person is homosexual
PANDAR+S = to act as a procurer, also PANDER [v -ED, -ING, -S]
QINDAR+S = n Albanian currency, also QINTAR, QUINTAR [n QINDARS or QINDARKA]
SARDAR+S= a person of rank in India, also SIRDAR
SIRDAR+S = a person of rank in India, also SARDAR
7 Letter Words
AMILDAR+S = an Indian manager, also AUMIL
CHADDAR+S = a type of large veil
CHEDDAR+S,Y = a type of cheese
CHOBDAR+S = an usher
CHUDDAR+S = a large square shawl, also CHUDDAH, CHUDDER
JAMADAR+S = an Indian police officer
JEMADAR+S = an Indian army officer, also JEMIDAR
JEMIDAR+S = an Indian army officer, also JEMADAR
KHADDAR+S = a cotton cloth, also KHADI
SUBADAR+S = a governor of a subah, also SUBAHDAR, SUBEDAR
SUBEDAR+S = a governor of a subah, also SUBAHDAR, SUBADAR
TANADAR+S = an officer in charge of a tana [n -S]
8 Letter Words
CALENDAR+S =to schedule, also KALENDAR [v -ED, -ING, -S]
CHOKIDAR+S = a watchman (a man employed to stand guard)
CHURIDAR+S = pl long tight-fitting trousers (Hindi) [n -S] s
GOSPODAR+s = a Russian address, equivalent to Mr, also GOSPODA, GOSPODIN, HOSPODAR
HAVILDAR+S =an Indian sergeant
HOSPODAR+S = a Russian address, equivalent to Mr, also GOSPODA, GOSPODAR. GOSPODIN
KALENDAR+S = to schedule, also CALENDAR [v -ED, -ING, -S]
KILLADAR+S= in India, the commandant of a fort
RISALDAR+S = a commander of Indian cavalry
SILLADAR+S = an irregular cavalryman
SUBAHDAR+S,Y = a governor of a subah, also SUBADAR, SUBEDAR
TABERDAR+S= a scholar of Queens College Oxford
TALUKDAR+S=the holder of a taluk
THANADAR+S= on officer in charge of a thana
ZAMINDAR+I,S,Y = a tax collector in India, also ZEMINDAR
ZEMINDAR+I,S,Y = a tax collector in India, also ZAMINDAR

If there is something you would like to add, please feel free to do it. I would be interested to find out more about these fascinating words.

Defunnytions (XVI)

The fictionary opened at "PIGNOLIA" today. A "PIGNOLIA" is the offspring of a pig and a magnolia. In other dictionaries "PIGNOLIA" is defined as being the edible seed of nut pines.

Anagrams (for Scrabble players only)

I've been trying to study some words for the WSC and CAUSEWAY and there are quite a few I just can't get right. I have selected ten of those words. See how many you can find in 5 minutes and let me know your result. I'm curious if anybody can find all ten words. Good luck!
1. NON+THIEF=?
2. I+NOT+PLAY=?
3. RICE+HEAD=?
4. THEM+ON+IT=?
5. BEST+RACE=?
6. FITS+WEAR=?
7. MAIL+A+HEN=?
8. SHUT+ROAD=?
9. OUR+PLACE=?
10. TO+HIT+APE=?

The Story of HABANERO and HABANERA

Once upon a time, on a fair piece of land that would later be called South America, there lived a hardworking peasant. And our peasant simply loved fiery hot peppers, he could never had enough of them. Every year, he strived and toiled in order to make even hotter peppers, using all means and devices he could think of. No, his original methods will not be revealed here, because this is a “DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME” story. One day, when the hot peppers were ripe and ready to be eaten, the peasant went to the field early in the morning, eager to try the result of his labours. The peppers glowed a burning red, as if the fire from all the South American volcanoes had gathered inside their tender shiny flesh. Without hesitation, the peasant picked one, took a bite, and a flood of tears rolled on his cheek. No, they were not tears of pain, they were tears of joy. After years of trials and failures, he had finally grown the perfect hot red pepper. The Absolute Pepper, uncontested king of all hot peppers in the world.
“Thy name shall be HABANERO”, proclaimed the peasant while running towards his house.
“Wife, wife”, he called breathlessly, “try this pepper!”
The peasant’s wife was a nice obedient woman, so, although she did not share her husband’s passion for hot peppers, listened to his urges and took a bite. But no sooner had the devilish pepper flesh touched her tongue that she started waving her hands and spinning around the table, her face in flames and her eyes bulging out of her head. At the same time, some women from the neighbourhood were passing by and they saw through the window the peasant’s wife “dance”.
“Great dance”, they thought, “we could all dance it at the harvest festival next month!” So they entered the house and joined the peasant’s wife, trying to learn the moves.
“Say, sister, this is wonderful! How do you call it? It must be from your mother’s village, because we’ve never seen the likes of it around here.”
But the peasant’s wife was still under the HABANERO spell and unable to talk. From a corner, the other women could hear the elated husband’s voice:
“HABANERA, I call it HABANERA!”
And thus the hot pepper HABANERO and HABANERA the dance were born on the same day. I must add here that while the habanero is still fiery hot, fortunately for the audiences, the habanera dropped the chaotic running around the table, the red face and the bulging eyes, turning into a slow dance.

Defunnytions (XV)

Today's specialty is "LATEWAKE". How many times did your alarm clock not wake you up in time and had to eat your breakfast while shaving? How many times did you spill coffee on your neighbour's shoes while running to the bus station? How many times did you have to catch a taxi instead of taking a bus, so you can make it to work on time? If your answer is at least once, you are a "LATEWAKE".
In other dictionaries "LATEWAKE" is defined as a watch over the dead. I bet you like my "defunnytion" better.

The Death of Vishnu(III) Miscellanea

In “The Death of Vishnu”, Manil Suri uses the word SHRIMATI* which means “wife” in Hindu. This word is not valid in Scrabble, but the word ISARITHM, which is made of the same letters, is.
Another interesting word used by the author and which is not valid in Scrabble is NAMAZ*(a ritual prayer practiced by Muslims). Even more interesting is the fact that if you read this word backwards you get the valid word ZAMAN (a large ornamental tropical American tree).
JAMUN* (an evergreen tropical tree) is not valid either, but UNJAM (to free from jamming) is.
LADDOOS* (Indian and Pakistani sweets) is another nonvalid word that has an anagram: SOLDADO (soldier).
CHAMELI* (jasmine) cannot be found in The Collins Scrabble Dictionary but it does have a very nice anagram: LECHAIM (a traditional Jewish toast), which I strongly recommend to the “lords of the board”.
Another “phony” with a valid anagram is TULSI* (known as holy basil in English). Its valid anagram is SLUIT (a narrow water channel).
Manil Suri also uses the word PATAKAS* (firecrackers). Note that the singular form PATAKA (a storehouse on stilts) is playable in Scrabble, while PATAKAS* is not.

The Death of Vishnu(II)

Dais+y = a raised platform
Dharma+s = sacred duty
Garuda+s = a Hindu demigod
Jambul+s = tree with small purple fruit
Kumari+s = in India, the title of Miss
Kurta+s Khurta+s = a loose fitting tunic of India
Lathi+s = long piece of bamboo usually used as a weapon
Maharaja+h,s = a king or prince in India
Masala+s = a mixture of ground spices used in Indian cookery
Mela+s = a Hindu festival or fair
Mooli+s = an East African vegetable
Namaste+s = an Indian form of greeting
Okra+s = a tall annual herb
Pakora+s = an Indian vegetable dish
Paneer+s = homemade Indian cheese
Pomfret+s = a marine fish
Rupee+s = a monetary unit of India
Salaam+s = to greet with a low bow
Tamasha+s = a public entertainment in India
Tiffin+ g,s = stacking containers used to carry prepared food

Defunnytions (XIV) It's not you, it's the ring.

Today, as I was going through some anagrams, I found the word "SHOWRING". Right away I could tell what a "SHOWRING" was. A "SHOWRING" is somebody who kneels down in front of his princess and asks her to marry him. Let's not forget the ring. The ring plays a very important role. If the ring is cheap, she might say no. If the ring is expensive, there is no doubt she will say yes. He takes out the magic ring and shows it to the woman of his dreams. At that very moment, he becomes a "SHOWRING". Other dictionaries less imaginative than mine define "SHOWRING" as being a ring where animals are displayed.

Defunnytions (XIII)

The fictionary* opened at "BOREHOLE" today. "BOREHOLE"is described as being an uninteresting place. I even managed to find an example: " This blog is such a borehole"."BOREHOLE" is defined in other dictionaries as a hole made in the earth's crust.

Defunnytions (XII)

As I was thumbing through my fictionary* tonight, I found the word "DROPHEAD". A "DROPHEAD" is somebody who had to undergo the unpleasant process of decapitation. Surprisingly, according to other dictionaries, a "DROPHEAD" is a convertible car. As you probably already found out, my fictionary* is not a very reliable source.

Defunnytions (XI)

"REDBELLY". In my fictionary* a "REDBELLY" is a fat guy with a big red belly who spent too much time exposed to the sun. "REDBELLY" is a kind of fish in other dictionaries.

Defunnytions (X)

Today's "Defunnytion" is "HELPMEET". In my dictionary, a "HELPMEET" is a matchmaker, a person who tries to arrange marriages. In other dictionaries, "HELPMEET" means a helpful partner.