Scrabble Dictionary Adds 500 New Words

2022-11-19

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • Scrabble is a popular word game in which players put letters of the alphabet together to form words.
  • 2
  • It helps when a player remembers unusual words to use in the game.
  • 3
  • This month, the game is about to get more interesting with 500 new words and variations added to The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.
  • 4
  • Some of the new words include stan, sitch, convo, zedonk, dox, and fauxhawk.
  • 5
  • They will be a part of the more than 100,000 words of two to eight letters in the dictionary.
  • 6
  • The book was last brought up to date in 2018 through a longstanding partnership between Hasbro, the maker of Scrabble, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
  • 7
  • Peter Sokolowski is Merriam-Webster's editor at large.
  • 8
  • He said the editors look at the often-updated online database at Merriam-Webster.com to expand the Scrabble dictionary.
  • 9
  • But Scrabble players only look for eight-letter words that help them clear their racks for 50 extra points.
  • 10
  • Sokolowski said the new word fauxhawk has the highest possible points for a new word.
  • 11
  • Fauxhawk is a haircut similar to a Mohawk.
  • 12
  • Embiggen, a verb meaning to increase in size, is among the unexpected.
  • 13
  • For example, "I really need to embiggen that Scrabble dictionary."
  • 14
  • Other eight-letter words include hogsbane, more commonly known as giant hogweed, and pranayam, a breathing technique in yoga.
  • 15
  • The new words include shorter versions of other words like guac for guacamole.
  • 16
  • And there are more variations in the use of nouns as verbs, like adulted and adulting.
  • 17
  • Sokolowski told the Associated Press, "We also turned verb into a verb so you can play verbed and verbing."
  • 18
  • Compound words are words created by combining two or more words.
  • 19
  • In the new dictionary, there are deadname, pageview, babymoon, and subtweet.
  • 20
  • So are words with "un," such as unfollow and unsub.
  • 21
  • They may sound familiar, but they were never in Scrabble's official dictionary.
  • 22
  • The new dictionary includes at least one old-sounding word that simply was forgotten for years: yeehaw.
  • 23
  • "Yeehaw is like so many of the older, informal terms.
  • 24
  • They were more spoken than written, and the gold standard for dictionary editing was always written evidence.
  • 25
  • So a term like yeehaw, which we all know from our childhood and in movies and TV, was something you heard. You didn't read it that often," Sokolowski said.
  • 26
  • The editors have also added many new words related to food.
  • 27
  • They include iftar, horchata, kabocha, mofongo, zoodle, wagyu, and queso.
  • 28
  • Scrabble players, however, only care about scoring more points with the words than their meaning.
  • 29
  • But if you want to know: Iftar is a meal taken by Muslims at sundown to break the daily fast during the holiday season of Ramadan.
  • 30
  • Mofongo is a traditional food from Puerto Rico.
  • 31
  • Horchata is a sweet drink and kabocha is a winter squash.
  • 32
  • For the rest, you will have to look them up yourself.
  • 33
  • In the last year or two, Scrabble has also removed more than 200 offensive words.
  • 34
  • They may, however, still be present in older Scrabble dictionaries.
  • 35
  • Sokolowski would not say what all the 500 new words were.
  • 36
  • He said the players should hunt them down on their own.
  • 37
  • And he added, "You've got some fun new words."
  • 38
  • So which new word is his favorite? "I like eggcorn," Sokolowski said, "because it's a word about words."
  • 39
  • The dictionary says eggcorn is a word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used for another word.
  • 40
  • I'm Gregory Stachel.
  • 1
  • Scrabble is a popular word game in which players put letters of the alphabet together to form words. It helps when a player remembers unusual words to use in the game.
  • 2
  • This month, the game is about to get more interesting with 500 new words and variations added to The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.
  • 3
  • Some of the new words include stan, sitch, convo, zedonk, dox, and fauxhawk. They will be a part of the more than 100,000 words of two to eight letters in the dictionary.
  • 4
  • The book was last brought up to date in 2018 through a longstanding partnership between Hasbro, the maker of Scrabble, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
  • 5
  • New words
  • 6
  • Peter Sokolowski is Merriam-Webster's editor at large. He said the editors look at the often-updated online database at Merriam-Webster.com to expand the Scrabble dictionary.
  • 7
  • But Scrabble players only look for eight-letter words that help them clear their racks for 50 extra points. Sokolowski said the new word fauxhawk has the highest possible points for a new word.
  • 8
  • Fauxhawk is a haircut similar to a Mohawk. Embiggen, a verb meaning to increase in size, is among the unexpected. For example, "I really need to embiggen that Scrabble dictionary."
  • 9
  • Other eight-letter words include hogsbane, more commonly known as giant hogweed, and pranayam, a breathing technique in yoga.
  • 10
  • The new words include shorter versions of other words like guac for guacamole. And there are more variations in the use of nouns as verbs, like adulted and adulting.
  • 11
  • Sokolowski told the Associated Press, "We also turned verb into a verb so you can play verbed and verbing."
  • 12
  • Compound words are words created by combining two or more words. In the new dictionary, there are deadname, pageview, babymoon, and subtweet. So are words with "un," such as unfollow and unsub. They may sound familiar, but they were never in Scrabble's official dictionary.
  • 13
  • The new dictionary includes at least one old-sounding word that simply was forgotten for years: yeehaw.
  • 14
  • "Yeehaw is like so many of the older, informal terms. They were more spoken than written, and the gold standard for dictionary editing was always written evidence. So a term like yeehaw, which we all know from our childhood and in movies and TV, was something you heard. You didn't read it that often," Sokolowski said.
  • 15
  • Other words
  • 16
  • The editors have also added many new words related to food. They include iftar, horchata, kabocha, mofongo, zoodle, wagyu, and queso.
  • 17
  • Scrabble players, however, only care about scoring more points with the words than their meaning.
  • 18
  • But if you want to know: Iftar is a meal taken by Muslims at sundown to break the daily fast during the holiday season of Ramadan. Mofongo is a traditional food from Puerto Rico. Horchata is a sweet drink and kabocha is a winter squash.
  • 19
  • For the rest, you will have to look them up yourself.
  • 20
  • Hunt them down
  • 21
  • In the last year or two, Scrabble has also removed more than 200 offensive words. They may, however, still be present in older Scrabble dictionaries.
  • 22
  • Sokolowski would not say what all the 500 new words were. He said the players should hunt them down on their own. And he added, "You've got some fun new words."
  • 23
  • So which new word is his favorite? "I like eggcorn," Sokolowski said, "because it's a word about words."
  • 24
  • The dictionary says eggcorn is a word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used for another word.
  • 25
  • I'm Gregory Stachel.
  • 26
  • Leanne Italie reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.
  • 27
  • ______________________________________________________________
  • 28
  • Words in This Story
  • 29
  • variation - n. feeling or showing the effect of too much work, use, or effort
  • 30
  • informal - adj. the state of being poor
  • 31
  • standard - n. a level of quality or achievement that is considered acceptable or desirable
  • 32
  • ______________________________________________________________
  • 33
  • What do you think of word games like Scrabble?
  • 34
  • We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works:
  • 35
  • Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.