Meanings of Q Words Without U's

Last week, we looked at some 2-letter words. This week, we’ll look at another SCRABBLE fave, words with q’s but no u’s. 

God knows that can be a challenging rack.  Maybe knowing the definitions of these babies can help you remember these dozen lifesavers.

Also, do you speak Arabic?  That might help a little too. Indeed, of the 12 words here, 7 come from that language. 

Note that I stopped at words of 5 letters. There are some with 6 and 7, but I just figured that the chances of playing those are pretty slim. 


Qi (qis)

The life force, in Chinese philosophy (and medicine). Pretty much every SCRABBLE player's favorite play, as it's a 2-letter word as well. Indeed, if you use it for a hook on a triple-letter space, it's 60 points right there. Also spelled “chi.” Pronounced “chee.” 

Qat (qats)

Catha edulis, a plant native to the region around the Horn of Africa. Khat is chewed by the natives there for its stimulating effect. Also spelled “khat.” Pronounced “cot.”

I don’t know – he looks pretty happy to me

Qaid (qaids) 

A kind of Muslim leader. It’s also spelled “kaid” and “caid,” though only the latter is legit in SCRABBLE. An alternative plural is “qaad,” though that’s not kosher either.  “Qaid,” with the definite article “al,” just so happens to be the source of the Spanish word for mayor, “alcalde.” Pronounced “kaid,” with a hard i.

It’s also the name of (pretty dramatic, I would assume) telenovela in Pakistan

Qadi (qadis)

A Muslim judge, in Shari’a court. Once again, there are numerous other forms – “cadi,” “kadi,” “qazi,” “cazi,” and “kazi” (with only the first 2 being legitimate for our purposes). Pronounced “kah-dee.”

 Mohammed Al Qadi is an Egyptian body builder 

(and not a judge - at least as far as I know)

Qoph (qophs)

A Hebrew letter. There’s no real no real English equivalent, but it’s usually rendered as a “k.” Also spelled “koph.” Pronounced “cough.”

Cinq (cinqs)

The number five. I honestly have no idea why this is legit. I mean, une, deux, trois, and quatre aren’t in there. So, why “cinq”? If it’s like the French word, it should be pronounced “sahnk.”


Faqir (faqirs)

A Muslim (and Hindu) ascetic, living primarily on alms. They’re the ones who like to sleep on beds of nails, walk across hot coals, engage in elaborate body piercings, and performs other forms of extreme body mortification. Also spelled “fakir.” Pronounced “fah-keer.”

Niqab (niqabs)

A veil worn by some Muslim women. It covers everything but the eyes. You can contrast it with the hijab, chador, and burka. Pronounced “nee-kahb.”

Tranq (tranqs)

To tranquilize, usually an animal. It’s also a noun, typically street slang for a tranquilizer pill. Also spelled “trank.” Pronouned “traynk.” 

A tranq gun

Qanat (qanats)

An underground tunnel built to lead water from deep underground a hill to a village below. It means “channel.” The alternative spellings for this one are legion: khanat, kunut, kona, konait, ghanat, ghundat, kariz, karez, kahan, kahn, kahriz,  khettara, falaj, foggara, fughara, kakuriz, chin-avulz, amayun. None of these are proper for SCRABBLE though (except for “kona,” which is of course a coffee).  Pronounced “kah-naht.”

Qibla (qiblahs)

The direction that a Muslim faces when praying. In particular, it’s the direction of the Kaaba in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca. Most mosques contain a wall niche to help you orient yourself. Also spelled “kiblah,” Pronounced “kib-luh.”

Oh, this modern world

Qapik (qapiks)

A monetary unit of Azerbaijan, worth 1/100 of an amant (so, basically, a cent).  It comes from the Russian “kopek,” 1/100th of a ruble. Also spelled “gopik.” Pronounced “kah-peek.”

Twenty of 'em

Meanings of Two-Letter Words in SCRABBLE

If you’re a serious SCRABBLE player like me, you probably memorized all the two-letter words a long time ago. Sure, most of them are pretty easy – at, be, it, me … But there are a few that are definitely out there – ai, ba, qi, ut … 

Though some players scoff at definitions, I’ve actually found that that can help me immensely. So, herewith, some definitions for those two-letter words that aren’t always that obvious.


Aa (aas)

One of the two basic forms of lava. Aa is rough and jagged, as opposed to pahoehoe, which is smooth and ropy. Aa is formed from rapid a flow of lava, which breaks up when cools. The word comes straight from the Hawaiian, and means “stony.” It’s pronounced “ah-ah.”

Ae 

One, in Scots dialect. It’s similar to the article “a” or “an.” It’s pronounced “ay,” like the letter. 


Ai (ais)

The maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus), one of only three three-toed sloths in existence. It hangs out in  Brazil, and is listed as threatened. It spends up to 80% of its time asleep, and never leave the trees. The name comes from the cry it makes. It’s pronounced “eye.”

Awww!!

Al (als)

An Asian tree, Morinda citrifolia, and also known as the great morinda, Indian mulberry, noni, beach mulberry, and cheese fruit. It has a strong, vomit-like odor, but is cultivated nonetheless (albeit mostly for medicines and dyes). It’s pronounced “ahl.”

Ba (bas)

In Ancient Egypt, an aspect of the soul (there were many). In particular, ba represented mobility, and was depicted as a man-headed raptor, typically shown in art hovering over a mummy. It’s pronounced “bah.” See also see ka.

Bo (bos)

A pal, or chum. Also used in addressing someone (you know, like “Dude!”). Used in the US, especially down South.  Probably from “boy.” Pronounced “bow.”

Whoops, wrong Bo

Da (das)

Dad, common in Ireland. My boys called me this growing up. Though my wife is Irish-American (and her brother’s children use the same form), I think it just came from one of the kids. Pronounced “dah.”

Et

A past tense of eat, a non-standard form (i.e., frowned upon as bad grammar). Popular on both sides of the pond, it’s a common pronunciation if you go back far enough (though not spelling). Pronounced “eht.”

As we all know, SCRABBLE does not allow abbreviations

Fe (fes)

A Hebrew letter, basically the same as the Latin F. Pronounced “fay.”

Gi (gis)

Traditional white garment worn in karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, and other martial arts. It consists of a traditionally white top and pants. It’s pronounced with a hard G – i.e., “ghee” and not “jee.”

Jo 

A sweetheart, in Scottish dialect. Probably short for “joy.” A famous Bobby Burns poem is “John Anderson My Jo” (1789). Pronounced “joe.” Not totally sure why this doesn’t have a plural.

Bobby (and not John)

Ka (kas)

Another aspect of the soul in ancient Egypt. What it’s for is actually a little bit confusing. I do know that it’s symbolized by something that looks a lot like the signal for a touchdown. Pronounced “kah.” Also see “ba.”

Ki (kis)

Variant of qi, which see


Li (lis)

A Chinese unit of measurement, roughly half a kilometer, or about a third of a mile. The expression “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" was actually referring to lis (so, I guess that should be, “A journey of 333 miles …”). Pronounced “lee.”

Ne

Born with the name of. It’s like nee, but is the masculine form (though I have to wonder how often that comes up). Both come from the French past participle of naitre, which means to be born. Pronounced “nay.”


Od (ods)

A “hypothetical force of natural power,” akin to something like “life force,” “elan vital,” or even “qi” (which see). It was coined by one Baron Carl von Reichenbach, a 19th Century German scientist and philosopher. He named it after the Germanic god Odin. Pronounced “ode.”

Carl, not Odin

Oe (oes)

A whirlwind off the Faeroe Islands. Sorry, that’s about all I could find on this one.

Well, at least I could find this map

Oi

The SCRABBLE dictionary lists this as a variant of “oy.” Variant spellings like this are a common occurrence with words transliterated from another alphabet. “Oy,” of course, is an interjection, used to express exasperation or dismay, and comes from the Yiddish. By the way, “oi” is also a British expression, typically to get someone’s attention (kind of like “hey”).

Notice the Brooklyn Bridge in the background

Op (ops)

A style of abstract art, typically focusing on patterns and optical illusions, and popular during the 60s and 70s. For some reason, you can make this plural (?!?!).

Os

A bone, typically used to describe specific ones, for little ones that don’t have common names, and in technical contexts. Just as an example, the hip bone is also known as the os coxae. “Os” is straight from the Latin. BTW, it’s also a medical term for an opening. Interestingly, the plural is “ossa.” Pronounced “ahss.”


Pe (pes)

A Hebrew letter, basically the same as the Latin P. Pronounced “pay.”

Po (pos)

A chamber pot, of all things. Possible from the French pot de chambre (with “pot” pronounced “poh”). Other synonyms for chamber pot include thunder mug, jerry, Jordan, and guzunder.

Qi (qis)

The life force, in Chinese philosophy (and medicine). Also spelled “chi.” Pronounced “chee.” Also see ki and od.

Si (sis), Te (tes)

Whoa! A two-for-one? Sure enough, these two words both stand for the seventh tone of the diatonic scale, much more commonly known as “ti” (and standing in for the note B). Bet you didn’t know that the process of giving notes phonetic symbols like this is called “solmization.” Pronounced, respectively, “see” and “tee.”

Ut (uts)

And here’s another! This one is for the first tone of the diatonic scale, stands in for C, was ultimately changed to “do,” and is pronounced “uht.”

What does “ut” have to do with “do”? Good question. The original syllables were from a popular medieval chant, which began, “UT queant laxis REsonare fibris, MIra gestorum, FAmuli tuorum,SOLve polluti LAbii reatum, Sancte Ioannes.” The whole thing was devised by a Benedictine named monk Guido d'Arezzo.

Wo (wos)

Woe. It appears to be an older variant, though I can’t really find that much on it.


Xu

A Vietnamese coin, worth a 100th of a dong (so, kind of equivalent to our cent). Not used currently.

"Hai" mean "two"

Ya (yas)

An Asian pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, also known as a ya li, nashi pear, and a Chinese white pear. They're similar to a standard Bosc pear, but whiter, crisper, juicier, and not as sweet.  Personally, I like 'em on salads.

Presidential Facial Hair

It truly runs the gamut. On one extreme, Rutherford B. Hayes could easily have been a member of ZZ Top. On the other, Dwight Eisenhower seemed to have more hair in his eyebrows that he did anywhere else.

Ike – am I right?

But, what I want to know is, Are there any patterns here? Is one look more popular than others? How has that changed over time? Let’s take a look …

Well, one way to do that is to simply look at the subject over time. Now, there are a couple of ways to do that as well. One that might be particularly effective, though, is a pie chart (of all things! – I’ll explain).

In this particular instance, try and see the pie as the 250+ years our country’s been in existence. Just start at 12 noon and then follow the clock to the current day, at 12 midnight:

See! Works pretty well, doesn’t it?

A few thoughts come immediately to mind …  First, there is definitely a preponderance of clean-shaven gentlemen. That said, there are also, however, definitely some other patterns mixed in as well. Do note, though, that they never quite sweep the boards, with the clean-shaven almost always popping in here and there.

So, here are what I see as the main periods of presidential facial hair:


The Wig Ascendancy – Excuse the pun, as these guys are all Federalists or Democrat-Republicans. And who I’m talking about here are basically the first four presidents – Washington through Madison. Now, all of them are clean-shaven as well, but those powdered wigs are just so dang interesting that I had to give them their own sub-category. That first clean-shaven guy who gets tagged on there at the end? That would be James Madison. 

NOTE: Debated putting our current chief exec here, but made the tough call and called him clean-shaven.

Makes a good Halloween costume as well

The Era of Good Whiskers – Well, I’m not sure two guys really make an era, but whiskers are pretty darn interesting as well, so what the heck. And, here, I’m referring to John Quincy Adams and Martin Van Buren, with poor Andrew Jackson getting sandwiched between them.

Though no one rocked ‘em like ol' MVB

The First Great Clean-Shaving – Our first dynasty. Twenty whole years, from 1841 to the start of the Civil War, and from William Henry Harrison to James Buchanan, and all without any interruption.

Love the curls, Franklin Pierce

The Bearded Age – This time period starts, of course, with Abraham Lincoln. Few people know, though, that Lincoln only grew his chinstrap right before being elected, and at the instigation of an 11-year-old girl. Perhaps it had an influence, as beards would rule for 32 more years, ending only in 1893, with the fully-bearded Benjamin Harrison. The only real outliers in this period were the clean-shaven Andrew Johnson and the mustachioed Grover Cleveland.

Rutherford Z Topp

The Mustachioed Era – Interestingly, Cleveland starts our next era as well (being our only president with multiple but non-consecutive terms will do that for you). Others with furry upper lips include Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. The outlier here is the extremely clean-shaven William McKinley.

But only Taft’s turned up at the end

The Second Great Clean-Shaving – And this is what we’re all used to. Indeed, it’s been more than a 100 years ago since any president dared to rock any facial hair. From Woodrow Wilson on, there have been no whiskers, mustaches, or beards. 

I dunno – I think ol’ Woody shoulda kept it

And, here, just to blow your mind, is how that all shakes out in more traditional pie chart form: