Welcome to the Jerusalem Scrabble Club
COME PLAY WITH US … VISITORS ALWAYS WELCOME!
*** NEW PLAYERS: CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ***
Director: David Litke, 050-535-1800, david_sojsc@yahoo.com
THIS WEEK AT THE CLUB…
*** Season 76: Wk 21 of 25 – October 12, 2021 ***
Tuesday’s session opened with a splendid kiddush supplied by Pamela, whose birthday was actually a month ago when bringing refreshments was off-limits. The Happy Birthdays were no less sincere for all that – and Pamela’s contribution didn’t end there: She brought along Beatrice Samuel, originally from New York, now resident at Nofei Yerushalayim. The celebratory spirit continued with the announcement of a winter tournament on December 22 at the Zippori Center in the Jerusalem Forest, details to come. And – last but not least – Chani returns with Scrabble School on October 26, the week after next.
Wendy addressed a few words to players who complain about being paired too often with the same people or with players from higher or lower divisions, reminding them that “we are a small club, and so will inevitably be playing the same people, as well as up and down [divisions].” Learning how to play stronger and weaker opponents is part of the Scrabble experience, she said; and indeed, players have been heard to observe that they play better when faced with a stronger opponent.
DavidS performed a remarkable feat by playing the bingo MONEYER (a minter of money) down one column to the left of a triple; and then, when it was challenged, using his free turn to play PRORATE next to and exactly parallel to it down the triple, forming in the process seven other words(!) – two 3-letter and five 2-letter words, UMP, GOR, NO, ER, YA, ET, RE. “I couldn’t have drawn better had I Iooked in the bag,” he commented.
A bit of fun, or food for masochists? Players were invited to record plays in which just one letter different on their rack would have brought them a bonanza. There were four: TOXITES (TOXINES), CREAMAR, (CREAMER), POLEMIA (POLEMIC), CHARRID (CHARRED).
Knowing that YUCKY is good, Bernard didn’t hesitate to add a Y to YUCH, of similar meaning. Sadly, he was wrong. In case he needed more ways to express his displeasure, Chani helpfully remarked that YECH is good, also YECCH. To liven things up, YECHY is good; YECCHY isn’t.
One player was gratified but surprised that her BES and BELOWS were both good, the latter even being challenged. It emerges that BES is the plural of BE (go figure). But she was at a loss to learn how a preposition/adverb (BELOW) can take an S. Well… in US English, BELOW qualifies as four different parts of speech – including as a noun meaning “something that is below.” Only the Americans could do this! Check it out: Below | Definition of Below by Merriam-Webster
WWW: Elaine, DavidL, DavidS
WOW: PERFUSE(Hilda), NONIDEAL(Steve), TEGUMEN/MONEYER(DavidS), PANTHEON(Pamela), FOREHAND(DavidL)
PHOW: BOOKAGE(Madeline), FISTIER(JudyM)
High Win, High Loss, High Triple:
A: 593(DavidS), 401(Dahlia), 1471(DavidS)
B1: 466(Nechama), 395(Brenda), 1277(Nechama)
100-pt plays: SELTZER, 108(Chani) / PRORATE, 108(DavidS – 7-tile hook along MONEYER) / DASHERS, 101(Steve, 2×2)
Attendance: 31