Scrabble lovers, get ready to play the game using even more words!
Merriam-Webster just added 300 new words to its Scrabble dictionary, including some — like "OK" and "ew" — that players have long clamored for.
The sixth edition of "The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary," released Monday, comes four years after the last version. Its slew of new short words is bound to make competitors happy.
"'OK' is something Scrabble players have been waiting for, for a long time," lexicographer Peter Sokolowski, editor at large at Merriam-Webster, told the Associated Press. "Basically two- and three-letter words are the lifeblood of the game."
Another useful new addition: "qapik," a unit of currency in Azerbaijan.
"Every time there's a word with 'q' and no 'u,' it's a big deal," Sokolowski said. "Most of these are obscure."
The Springfield, Massachusetts-based dictionary company sought counsel from the North American Scrabble Players Association when updating the book, Sokolowski told the AP, "to make sure that they agree these words are desirable."
Other legit new Scrabble words to get fired up about include the vowel-packed "arancini" and "bizjet." "Bizjet" with an "s" at the end would nab a player a whopping 120 points on an opening play, thanks to the 50-point bonus for using all seven tiles and the double word bonus space usually played at the start.
"Aquafaba," "beatdown," "zomboid," "twerk," "sheeple," "wayback," "bokeh," "botnet," "emoji," "facepalm," "frowny," "hivemind," "puggle" and "nubber" also made the cut.
Sokolowski has his own favorite new word, but it has nothing to do with score potential.
"It's 'macaron,'" he said, referring to the sweet French meringue-based sandwich cookie.
"I just like what it means," he said.