Leading Ladies

The most well-known letter groups are RETINA, SATINE and SATIRE. Last week we covered SENIOR as a less well-known group. This time we will look at LADIES. It is less likely that it will fall onto your rack as there are only 4 D’s and 4 L’s in the bag, but the words it takes with some of the common letters such as E, O and U are unusual enough that a non-expert player might not know them. It is also a very high performing group. If you take 6 tiles out of the bag and find that they are LADIES then as your reach back into the 94 letters left in the bag there are 88 that will make a 7 letter word. That is huge. The only 6 letters that do not work are: JQWWXZ

A Grade Challenge

8 letter words, all including the letters LADIES

L     A     D     I     E     S     B     M

L     A     D     I     E     S     L     W

L     A     D     I     E     S     W     Y

L     A     D     I     E     S     F     H

L     A     D     I     E     S     B     U

B & C Grade Study List

A – ALIASED

B – BALDIES DIABLES DISABLE

C – SCAILED

D – DAIDLES LADDIES

E – AEDILES DEISEAL

F – DISLEAF

G – SILAGED

H – HALIDES

I – DAILIES LIAISED SEDILIA

K – SKAILED

L – DALLIES DISLEAL LALDIES SALLIED

M – MAELIDS MEDIALS MISDEAL MISLEAD

N – DENIALS SNAILED

O – DEASOIL ISOLEAD

P – ALIPEDS ELAPIDS LAIPSED LAPIDES PAIDLES PALSIED PLEIADS

R – DERAILS DIALERS REDIALS SIDERAL

S – AIDLESS DEASILS

T – DETAILS DILATES

U – AUDILES DEASIUL DUALISE

V – DEVISAL

Y – DIALYSE EYLIADS

Just a few of the meanings:

DEISEAL, DEASOIL, DEASIUL, DEASILS as well as the 8 letter word DEISHEAL are all Scottish words to describe something that moves in the same direction as the sun.

SCAILED and SKAILED are also Scottish words meaning dispersed.

AEDILES are magistrates in charge of games, markets or buildings.

AUDILES are people who think in terms of sounds.

Answers to A Grade Challenge

SEMIBALD    Partially bald.

SIDEWALL   Side portion of a tyre between tread and rim.

SLIDEWAY   Route along which something slides.

DEALFISH   Also known as the ribbonfish.

AUDIBLES    Calls out a plan.

AUDIBLE can be a verb that you can put an S on because it is used in American Football to describe the Quarterback calling out a plan in a huddle on the field. AUDIBLED and AUDIBLING look even worse, but are allowed. Presumably the term differentiates it from the coach writing up a plan in a training session. I don’t know what the verb would be to describe that that because LEGIBLES or LEGIBLED are not allowed.

Both AUDIBLED and AUDIBLING have anagrams. BUDDLEIA is a shrub that is also called the butterfly bush. ABUILDING is in the process of being built. No S, so A is a great front hook for BUILDING, but not for BUILDINGS

Happy Scrabbling

Patrick