We would like to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave permission for copyright material to be used in the Collins Corpus. We would also like to thank Times Newspapers Ltd for providing valuable data.
The author would like to thank his Scrabble colleagues who have helped with some of these tips, especially the arithmetic in Tip 55.
Barry Grossman is a leading UK Scrabble player and winner of several tournaments. He is the author of Scrabble for Beginners (Chambers), Need to Know Scrabble, Scrabble Play to Win and The Little Book of Scrabble Trickster. He has also contributed to numerous other books on the subject of words and word-games, has been a series champion of Channel 4s Countdown, and has written four comedy series for BBC Radio 4. He lives in Hertford.
AA | noun volcanic rock |
AB | noun abdominal muscle |
AD | noun advertisement |
AE | determiner one |
AG | noun agriculture |
AH | interjection expressing surprise, joy; verb say ah |
AI | noun shaggy-coated slow-moving animal of South America |
AL | noun Asian shrub or tree |
AM | form of the present tense of be |
AN | determiner form of a used before vowels; noun additional condition |
AR | noun letter R |
AS | adverb used to indicate amount or extent in comparisons; noun ancient Roman unit of weight |
AT | noun Laotian monetary unit |
AW | variant of all |
AX | same as axe |
AY | adverb ever; noun expression of agreement |
BA | noun symbol for the soul in ancient Egyptian religion |
BE | verb exist or live |
BI | short for bisexual |
BO | interjection uttered to startle or surprise someone; noun fellow, buddy |
BY | preposition indicating the doer of an action, nearness, movement past, etc.; noun pass to the next round (of a competition, etc.) |
CH | obsolete form of I |
DA | noun Burmese knife |
DE | preposition of or from |
DI | plural of deus |
DO | verb perform or complete (a deed or action); noun party, celebration |
EA | noun river |
ED | noun editor |
EE | Scots word for eye (plural EEN ) |
EF | noun letter F |
EH | interjection exclamation of surprise or inquiry; verb say eh |
EL | noun American elevated railway |
EM | noun square of a body of any size of type, used as a unit of measurement |
EN | noun unit of measurement, half the width of an em |
ER | interjection made when hesitating in speech |
ES | noun letter S |
ET | dialect past tense of eat |
EX | preposition not including; noun former husband, wife, etc.; verb cross out or delete |
FA | noun (in tonic sol-fa) fourth degree of any major scale |
FE | variant of Hebrew letter pe, transliterated as f |
FY | interjection exclamation of disapproval |
GI | noun white suit worn in martial arts |
GO | verb move to or from a place; noun attempt |
GU | noun type of violin used in Shetland |
HA | interjection exclamation of triumph, surprise, or scorn |
HE | pronoun male person or animal; noun male person or animal; interjection expression of amusement or derision |
HI | interjection hello |
HM | interjection sound made to express hesitation or doubt |
HO | noun cry of ho; interjection imitation or representation of the sound of a deep laugh; verb halt |
ID | noun minds instinctive unconscious energies |
IF | noun uncertainty or doubt |
IN | preposition indicating position inside, state or situation, etc.; adverb indicating position inside, entry into, etc.; adjective fashionable; noun way of approaching or befriending a person; verb take in |
IO | interjection exclamation of triumph; noun cry of io |
IS | form of the present tense of be |
IT | pronoun refers to a nonhuman, animal, plant, or inanimate object; noun player whose turn it is to catch the others in childrens games |
JA | interjection and sentence substitute yes |
JO | Scots word for sweetheart (plural JOES ) |
KA | noun (in ancient Egypt) type of spirit; verb (in archaic usage) help |
KI | noun vital energy |
KO | noun (in New Zealand) traditional digging tool |
KY | Scots word for cows |
LA | noun the sixth note of the musical scale |
LI | noun Chinese measurement of distance |
LO | interjection look! |
MA | noun mother |
ME | noun (in tonic sol-fa) third degree of any major scale; pronoun refers to the speaker or writer |
MI | noun (in tonic sol-fa) third degree of any major scale |
MM | interjection expressing enjoyment of taste or smell |
MO | noun moment |
MU | noun twelfth letter in the Greek alphabet |
MY | adjective belonging to me; interjection exclamation of surprise or awe |
NA | Scots word for no |
NE | conjunction nor |
NO | interjection expressing denial, disagreement, or refusal; adjective not any, not a; noun answer or vote of no |
NU | noun thirteenth letter in the Greek alphabet |
NY | nigh: preposition near; adverb nearly; verb approach |
OB | noun expression of opposition |
OD | noun hypothetical force |
OE | noun grandchild |
OF | preposition belonging to |
OH | interjection exclamation of surprise, pain, etc.; verb say oh |
OI | interjection shout to attract attention; noun grey-faced petrel |
OM | noun sacred syllable in Hinduism |
ON | preposition indicating position above, attachment, closeness, etc.; adjective/adverb in operation; noun side of the field on which the batsman stands (in cricket); verb go on |
OO | Scots word for wool |
OP | noun operation |
OR | |