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#355 - 03/16/00 03:44 PM Five-letter word with no vowels
arne Offline
stranger

Registered: 03/16/00
Posts: 1
Loc: Toronto, ON, Canada
Several years ago at a Scrabble tournament, a player used a five-letter word that was vowelless (is that a word?). Does anyone know it and save me from reading the Scrabble Dictionary cover to cover? Merci.


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#356 - 03/17/00 03:51 AM Re: Five-letter word with no vowels
shanks Offline
old hand

Registered: 03/16/00
Posts: 1004
Loc: London, UK
I'm not sure what the conventions are, but there are a number of words that use 'y' in place of vowels. I believe some commentators consider y and w as de facto vowels, in which case these examples would not apply, but here are some possibilities:

pygmy

gypsy

(Both have alternative spellings, with 'i', though.)

rhythm (and its extension: rhythms) is about the longest I have come across. Also (are there enough 'y's in Scrabble for this?): syzygy.

The longest string of letters without a vowel (or a fake vowel like y or w) occurs, I believe, in the compound word: laTCHSTRing.

Hope this helps.


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#357 - 03/17/00 04:17 AM Re: Five-letter word with no vowels
mcarmen_ Offline
stranger

Registered: 03/17/00
Posts: 2
Another word is nymph.


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#358 - 04/03/00 11:54 PM Re: Five-letter word with no vowels
tsuwm Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 10461
Loc: this too shall pass
here's one that's rare (and Welsh): crwth


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#359 - 04/04/00 10:37 AM Re: Five-letter word with no vowels
jnvmiles Offline
stranger

Registered: 04/02/00
Posts: 2
Strengths, is I believe the longest word with only one vowel.


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#360 - 04/05/00 08:52 PM Re: Five-letter word with no vowels
Apocryphon Offline
stranger

Registered: 04/04/00
Posts: 5
Loc: Providence, RI
As for words that have no Ys either (lest we should forget the ..."and sometimes Y" part of the nursery mantra), there are 2 three letter ones: nth, and qts.

There is a seven-letter one as well: "tsktsks," meaning the noise of disapproval or admonishment.

Cheers.


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#361 - 04/06/00 11:34 AM Re: Five-letter word with no vowels
tsuwm Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 10461
Loc: this too shall pass
Is "qts" really accepted in Scrabble?

Here's another actual Welsh word: cwm (it means valley)


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