Nearly 10000 online viewers
were glued to their computer screens last Saturday as the ultimate board-gaming
event of the year came to its exciting climax when Paul Allan seized the title of
British Scrabble Champion from his opponent Allan Simmons with the winning word ‘bandura’, a type of Ukrainian lute (86 points).
It’s a game that has caused
many a family feud and sibling squabble and yet Scrabble remains a firm
favourite in many households all over the world.
The game was originally
invented in 1938 by out of work architect Alfred Mosher Butts during the Great
Depression in America. Initially called ‘Criss-cross Words’, the game combined the
vocabulary skills of crossword puzzles and anagrams, with an added element of
chance. It is now available in 29 languages with around 150 million sets having
been sold in 121 different countries.
For those of you who enjoy a
good board game, Scrabble is the perfect way to put your English vocabulary to
the test and learn some new (and slightly obscure) words along the way. Why not
try out one of these lesser-known words of the English language that were
played during the final of this year’s Championship:
Aecia: A fruiting body of a
rust fungus
Atigi: A type of parka worn
by the Inuit in Canada
Bandura: Ukrainian lute
Coniines: Alkaloid that makes
up the poisonous part of hemlock
Enew: Falconry term for
driving a bird into the water
Erev: The part of the day or
the day immediately preceding the Jewish Sabbath or a Jewish holiday
Evet: The common newt
Jingo: A vociferous supporter
of policy favouring war, especially in the name of patriotism
Khis: Plural of khi, the 22nd
letter of the Greek alphabet
Litu: Plural of Litas, a
former silver coin and monetary unit of Lithuania
Ny: To approach
Qat: variant spelling of
khat, an Arabian shrub whose leaves are chewed as a stimulant
Swarf: Fine chips or filings
of stone, metal or other material produced by a machining operation
Ugh: Used to express disgust
or horror
Vela: Plural of velum, a
glass screen
Zeds: Name of the letter Z,
plural
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/national-scrabble-championship-the-big-match-won-by-the-playing-of-a-ukrainian-lute-bandura-86-points-8919939.html
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/national-scrabble-championship-the-big-match-won-by-the-playing-of-a-ukrainian-lute-bandura-86-points-8919939.html
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