We played Bananagrams yesterday evening with Iris and one of her playmates (his parents were attending a party). I should have taken a picture of our words, because they really are amusing.
However, I can't believe Bad Dad ever scored high enough on the SAT to be admitted to an elite college. Perhaps he had a larger vocabulary in high school than he has now? He raised an eyebrow at WEIR but challenged me on AVER. There ought to be a penalty in Bananagrams for challenging actual words.
In two days, we celebrate our 18th anniversary. Iris says she wants to accompany us for our anniversary dinner. Where should we go?
Yuzu!
ReplyDeleteI did know someone when I was younger whose parents made him play Scrabble with them to increase his vocabulary. That's a nice idea per se, but they did it specifically so that he would get into a better college.
ReplyDelete"Aver" is an excellent, and deceptive word. It looks like it should mean everything but what it does mean. "A tragedy was narrowly averred." "Aver Maria, full of grace." There is something weir about both the above examples.
ReplyDeleteEric
I am not sure why aver is not a more popular word. Mark is the one who went through the courtroom drama novel phase. You would have thought one of those books would have used the word.
ReplyDeleteAver, while a perfectly cromulent word, does have an air of "I used the thesaurus so I would sound smarter." A possible exception would be its use as a specific legal term, since legal briefs are meant to sound pretentious anyway.
ReplyDeleteIn general, the words that are most useful in Scrabble and similar games seem to be among the least useful in daily conversation.
There is a very exciting version of Bananagrams (developed by Large Animal Games) available on Facebook:
ReplyDeletehttp://apps.new.facebook.com/bananagrams/
This game is highly addicting, and a total blast to play! Gamers have a bunch of play options. Solo play can be done at one's leisure, or it can be a race against the clock. These are the Banana Cafe and Solitaire games. Players can invite their friends to either a regular challenge, or to a live game. In the live game, everyone play simultaneously, communicating via text and peeking at the others' boards. There is also a public play version, where you can challenge anyone on Facebook with the app, regardless of whether or not they are on your friends list.
There is also a store, where players cash in their hard-earned points for a variety of tiles and boards.
This is a fantastic game, and I really enjoy it! highly recommended!
First off, I did not learn aver from the thesaurus. I read it in a book (Agatha Christie mystery?) and looked it up in the dictionary. I don't use words to show off. I use them when they are the best fit for the idea I want to get across.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I normally delete spam comments, but I will let Countess de Chats et Chiens' comment stand. If you are a Facebook user, you might find it interesting.
I opened a Facebook account upon the invitation of my next door neighbor. She opened one up because her boss thought it might be a good idea for their office to use it.
But neither of us use it as we prefer to talk to one another face to face.