SAID - S under FACE for FACES, marrying up to the D in wasted. Or is that against a Scrabble rule? Who needs rules?

I know this will probably be said 50 times, but saws - using the s at the top of sane. If that blue spot is a triple letter score it would be worth at least 9 points!

Thank you so much for your wonderful site! I look forward to reading it every day, as you always bring a smile to my face!
I want to learn to knit socks but don't know where to start? Any recommendations for good books that are fairly easy to follow?
Feel better, and yes, I also think about minor injuries that would give me more time to knit. I just finished chemo for breast cancer, but that doesn't count, as I was way too sick to knit!!!!!

i am going to go for "audios" off of the "d" on wasted :)

"Dais" off the D in "wasted" to hit the *squint* double word score? (Why go for higher scoring when you can go for obscure?)

I have the far less satisfying creeping crud. I feel just lousy enough to be a total grouch at work, but not bad enough to be keeping you company on the chesterfield.

Hope you (we) feel better soon!

I like said. I can find a lot of three-letter words; saw or sow; sip or sap; sud, sod, sad. Three letters don't get very far, but atleast it's a move and maybe you'll get a good letter (or letters) next time. I'll keep looking (I like this kind of puzzle!) p.s. I sort of look forward to feeling under the weather so I can knit (sometimes I feel above the weather but pretend I don't so I have an excuse) anyway - hope you feel better soon! Good luck finishing your beautiful shawl.

Here's the best I can come up with --

connect the S & W at the top with an O for sow

from the D at the bottom, add AIS for dais

Sorry, my brain is too fried for Scrabble. Too much time spent in a hospital waiting room (mom is fine, so far).
love the Harlotty colourway - I've had appliances in all those colours in some places I've lived in...

My fantasy was that my doctor would insist on total bedrest at about 5 months pregnant, giving me license to lie around, knit, and watch movies. Never happened, and 2 babies was plenty, so that dream is dead. Minor injuries are tricky to wish for, anything upper extremity and knitting capability is threatened!

Isn't Canada bilingual? How about French?

I am shamed. I thought I was so smart coming up with dais, but not only has it been said, it's not even the best one! Betharoopie would mop the board with me.
I hope you feel better soon, since really, you'd probably sit around and knit all day anyway, what with Rhinebeck approaching. Buy some of that Grafton fibers glory in my honor - I just got my first spindle. (If only that guy made DPNs - have you SEEN his crochet hooks? It's almost enough to make me give up knitting for crochet.)

I think he should make "soup" for his sick friend, using the P in plants.

I rarely win at scrabble especially when playing with my husband. In a losing situation i would go for making a statement
"odious" is my word and damn the points !!!

ADIS....like what you say at the register in a yarn shop?.....adis up for me cuz maybe I can go get more.

Is Spanglish close enough? He could totally spell "adios" across the bottom. John Wayne said it in a lot of his movies; that must make it English. Western English, anyway.

Feel better, soon.

Put an O before the D, then follow up with I O U S and you get ODIOUS.

Then put the A between the S and W to get
SAW.

Then put an I after the T and start singing "Doe, A Deer" from "The Sound of Music."

(I first typed 'Beer' instead of 'Deer.' Wishful thinking here at work, or a Freudian slip? Sometimes a beer is just a beer.)

"OS" with the O next to the W on the triple word score, and the S next to the A.

Wo - another way of saying "woe."
As - you should all know this word.
Os - orfice, bone, or esker (ridge of gravel or sand)

13 points and leaves the three Is, so not the best move, but I'd definitely put it down to confuse people.

I'm going to go with "pious" off the p in plants - because Ken is so charming and pious (as in always having the _appropriate_ level of respect for others); then, I would argue (until my opponent knocked the board over in frustration) that IACE is a word (as in the International Air Cadet Exchange).

God I love the internet.

My guess would be adding IS, with the S being the end of FACES. This would be worth 14 points by my calculation - 10 for faces, and 2 for IS, on a double word score.

You could use AS, but IS uses up one of those awful "I"s!

s-a-u-d-i, started under "face"....not a double word or high scorer, but enables you to dump a few of those miserable vowels. Also leaves the "u" unavailable in case your opponent has the "q". And yes, there is a lower case "saudi" in the dictionary, so it's a legal scrabble word!

How about "adios" using the D. I know you might think that is Spanish, but here in California, it is used so often that I'm sure it must be English. Betsy in Sacramento www.culturedpurl.com

Make the word "face" plural by adding the s, and put the "u" before it. Fourteen points.

I like either "SOWS" or "SAWS" across the top there (putting in the A or O between the S/W and adding the S at the end, or SAID/FACES (already suggested above). Or of course WAS off that top W. Either SOAP or SOUP onto the P in plants could work. I want to do ESAU off the E in WASTED but I don't think proper names are allowed.

change that. Use an "i" instead of the "u" because he had 3 "i's". He might need the U later for a "q" word.

how about "odious" using the "d" from wasted?

WAS - - and I am mildly fair at this - - I think the fella got screwed!!

Congrats by the way - - 1000mcg of Vitamin C daily may help you sickies. You really plowed yourself under with the book and God knows what else.

Lay low - Knit - nap - Vit C for 2 days!! finish the shawl! You'll feel better.

What I would do with the scrabble words is to put the S on "face" and make that plural and then add the A and I across from the S, so you have "faces" and "said" and you get the letters from both words for 15 points and hopefully you can draw some better letters next time!

P.S. Hope you're feeling better.

Can't find anything to stick the dratted I-O-U-S onto.

Anyway, that's some game of Scrabble with wasted faceplants in it. Is the theme supposed to be LCBO related?

Just askin'.

As for knitting, you go, Girl! I got to try out an antique spinning wheel on Thanksgiving weekend and gave myself tendonitis. (Is two days straight on a brand new [to me] wheel too much? Can't knit, can't spin. Phoo.

Atlantis where plants is now. this will turn wasted into waited
Dee

I'd use the D at the end of wicked... O-D-I-U-S and hope nobody notices that my spelling stinks.

Was

I am not well, still. Which may be fine for a knitter, but completely sucks for someone who has been waiting for weeks to play with her new skewchigauge. (yes, that's spelled correctly)

And as much as I love Ken, and I do adore Ken, I'm no help on the word thing. That would require thinking, which just isn't going to happen today.

How about sade (18th letter of the hebrew alphabet and in the English dictionary therefore fair game right?) using the d in face also forming lad. OR was using the w in wasted and getting whatever extra points that blue square means. Feel better soon but in the meantime...knit like the wind sister!

"SOWI" (as in 'sorry') After all I'm sure Ken would rather be knitting, right?

Re fantasising about being ill enough to stay home and knit... done that so much, but then when you actually do get a bug, you feel so rotten you don't even want to cast on! And then when you do feel up to it, you're obviously well enough to get out there and start doing energetic things again! Catch 22!

It's not a cop-out to post an interesting puzzle with a prize for the best solution!

(I like audios.)

Feel better soon!

I hear you on the illness = knitting thing. The only reason I've gotten as far as I have on Eris is that I did the cabled neckline while I was sick, leaving a vast expanse of plain stockinette to do during my "distracted knitting" time. Now I have to find time to do the cabling at the bottom so I can get to the sleeves.

I vote for "said" below "face", etc. Although for style, I think "odious" is hard to beat.

I'm pretty bad at Scrabble and the mistress of small words. How about (s)o(w), (d)ais, (t)au, (e)sau (proper name, but the dictionary says it's a noun), (w)os (archaic of "woes), (w)ais (unfortunately, an acromym). I hope you feel better soon!

I was for SAID, but it does open up the triple word. So Odious is probably the best.

use the "d" in wasted for "dias" or "duos" neither is particularly high scoring, but both are fun to say. Or you can stretch the rules (just a bit) and make it into "i do" (perhaps ken wants to encourage you in your marathon rows of the wedding shawl)

Hmmm...
Well, if 'iface' is a word (and surely 'aface' is, so why not 'iface'), then you can totally do "oasis" up there along the triple word score to connect with sane.

other than that... I got "laos" down at the bottom, but that's a country and a proper name, and would have to make "oe" into a word. Hm. I'm stumped. My deepest sympathies, Ken!

I'm gonna say "sows" for uniquieness off the S in Sane and the W in wasted. or "said" and "Faces" for maximum points and letter usage.

First time caller, er commenter. Love the 70s appliance socks. When the cold medicine starts to kick in those socks may actually strobe. My favorite word, though it does bend the English rule, is "adios" off the bottom D. Or, if you want no word at all, have a vowel party off the E.

This is what we need!!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1703206,00.html

D-I-O-S as in "Madre de Dios/Mother of God." Way to go Sam!

Anything for a contest: I did try not to read comments!

use the D from wasted:
Dais - raised platform
Soda
Said
sod

off of the T from wasted
TA
TAO
TAU
TI
TO
TUI

Off of the W in Wasted:
Was
Wis
Wo

Using the S in sane and W from wasted
Sow, sows
Saw, Saws

off of the A in wasted
aa
ai
as

Off the E in wasted
ae
eau
es
see
sea
sei

Glad your illness is mild enough that you can knit. I'm pregnant again and sick as a dog, and have been too nauseated and exhausted to knit most days, which is really annoying.

Many thanks to Betharoopi for making the first entry so dazzling that I'm absolved from trying to come up with anything. My first boyfriend would play "jo" with the J on a triple word space, claiming it means coffee (yeah, as slang -- impermissible) and Burns's "John Anderson, My Jo" (Scots dialect, though my current professor, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, says the difference between a dialect and a language is that a language has an army and a navy.) Scrabble dictionaries have saved families.

No brain power after a day at work for scrabble, but I'm totally bummed that I haven't sprained my ankle since I took up knitting.

off of the P of pants
asp
op
sap
sip
soap
sop
sup
up

IS with the S under Faces and the I on the double letter.

"quip" off the "p" in plant and "Sadi" of the "d" in wasted. Leaving and one letter "I".

Hope you feel better soon!

I'm not really a scrabble player, so I don't really have "the next best move" for Ken. However, my option would have been to tell Sam that he'd rather play "Speed Scrabble".

This is played without a board. Just the tiles. Divide tiles up evenly amongst players (anywhere from 2 - 5 or 6 players work well.) All players play at the same time with a time limit. Let's say, 5 mins. Start the timer and each person much make their own scrabble words in the regular form, but without a board. When the timer rings, tally up the points from the tiles (no double points, etc since there isn't a board though.) However, if you make a word that doesn't exist, you must delete that word from your puzzle and any other connecting words. Winner is the one with the most points.

Excellent for those who can think quick - or at least quicker than a girl of Sam's age. See Ken? You can win this way. ;)

Okay, just off the top of my head, and without looking at the other answers: off the p: Pi, Pisa, Ipso. Off the LA: Alas. Off the S: Saw, Sow, add an s to each. Off the T: Tis and Situ. Off the w: Was. Off the D: Dias.

Of course, if you wanted to play interesting Scrabble: we used to do dogleg scrabble, which meant you had to make a turn with the word. So off the P: Poi(down)turn right add s to the e for Poise.

Oh, I am so bad at Scrabble. My grandmother played it every night and you'd think a little of that talent would've been passed on to me. Alas, no.

So I really just hopped on to wish you a speedy recovery. (And seriously - just last week I contemplated a slight sprained ankle to get out of something so that I could sit at home and knit with my cup of coffee. The whole thought seemed ridiculous at the time, but maybe not if the Harlot herself has had those thoughts. Good to know.)

Okay, take that 4-point W to your advantage, stick and O between the S and the W and put another S after that: SOWS. As in a whole lotta female pigs. Bingo! (Sorry, wrong game.)

Well, what is he interested in? Could it be "audio," like someone else close to the Harlot? Or perhaps he is a philosophical fellow who is interested in "taos" (Chinese enlightenment) instead of points? Or is he a very clean, attracted to the idea of "soap"?

Steph, you are not alone in the wish for minor injury to increase your knitting time. I'm almost looking forward to getting my wisdom teeth out this Thursday since it means a couple of days off work and a lot of knitting!

Tell Ken to 'accidentally' knock the board over and call it a draw , have you tried Beechams and a whisky hot toddy ?Ronny

Use the D and make AIDIOUS. It means a person who won't help, is odious in the aid department, if you know what I mean.
Actually, I just made it up.

Without reading through all of the comments (forgive me if this is a repeat, therefore) - I came up with AUDIOS, hitting a double word score and using six of those seven vile letters. On another note...I wish I had someone to play Scrabble with. My most worthy opponent lives 2 hours away (love you, Mom!!).

I'd make SAID off the Faces and use the D :)

I LOVE SCRABBLE! It only comes second to my knitting. My grandmother always played Scrabble with me, but I was never able to win :P

Off of the A in WASTED :

AIOAIUSI

You might not find this in a conventional dictionary. It's pronounced phonetically as:
AI-O-AI-USI.

It's the sound a knitter might utter who has 800+ lace stitches on the needles and finds a mistake 4 rows back. Keening followed by the obvious solution (isn't Usi the Canadian version of Uzi?)

Hhehehehe- prepare for some weird:

there is of course DAIS, which is probly the best english word, but the coolest thing you could do on that board currently would be the word DIOS which is the first person singlular genetive declension of Zeus/god/supreme being. (in ancient greek. im a philosophy major. i translate aristotle. WHAT????) now since this is the genetive declension it would in fact mean that ken owned zeus, either in the possesive sense or the colloquial (i OWNED zeus last night at scrabble, man).

alternatley the adverbial construction of this word (which would transliterate the same from the greek alphabet) would translate as divine, worthy, trustworthy, and also swine-herd. yes, greek is a little strange.

to add to the fun, there are 2 ways to refer to gods in ancient greek. you can either use the root THEOS or the root DIOS. THEOS is more closely connected to the philosophical concept of the divine in an abstract sense, while DIOS is closer to the polytheistic idea of humanized gods, similar to the gods of the pantheon. (note the presence of the DI augmenting root, DIvergent, DIlate, etc hence the connection with polytheism.)

so there you go. this is what my college education is getting me. the ability to think up ridiculous ancient greek scrabble words.

Tommy

Soup.

Because DAMN, it turned cold early, and they won't turn the heat on in my office. I'm freezing on the one day I leave my knitting at home.

Im sure everyone is saying the same thing, but I tried my darndest!
SAID..under FACE or under Face again SAUDI or DAIS
off the "D". or SODA. or AUDIO
...and ya. i thought odious too..but no extra "O".

How about oasis, in honor of your oasis on the chesterfield with cuppa tea and knitting in hand?
I currently have a sprained ankle that is anything but mild, and I have to admit to getting in a fair amount of knitting time. Unfortunately, I'm also spending a lot of time unknitting (a ripping good time, as my mom always says), since I am too exhausted by the aches and pains and effort of moving around to be able to concentrate much. Be careful what you wish for!

Definitely no choice but to exchange 6 tiles for better ones - keep the S. Know when to fold 'em, know when to hold 'em!

Everyone guessed all my guesses already but I'll go with my first idea, "SAID" with the S under face and using the D from wasted.

OK, I'm going to say SO in front of WASTED to mean So Wasted. I'd be disqualified but would have a great laugh!!!

Hmmm. In the first picture, I'd stick the "s" on the end of "face" and go across and make "said" also using the "d" on "wasted.

Or, in the second picture, use the "k" in "kid" and go down to make "kois" (as in the fish, if that's allowed).

I spy, with my little eye, another word on the board! Kid! That K is usable - Koas (which is a legal word, although I have no idea what it means). I don't know if it's more points than other suggested words, but it does use the kicky, kitschy k!

I know that you said english but enough people use Adios that it is known.
Adios off of the Wasted "d"

Or

If that doesn't work what about Said? under face connecting to the "d"

or

Audio

Did I mention that I love you and adore Ken?
:)

For pure elegance and simplicity, slip an 'A' between the 'S' of 'sane' and the 'W' of 'Wasted'. You may not get a lot of points but you will have the words 'Saw face plants wasted' on the same board at the same time which is reward enough.

Ok, everyone's taken the good words, I'll take the smartass so-so answer - so + sow (as in sowing seeds, so it's pronounced the same). Sow what did Ken do?

For odious, wouldn't Ken need to have two Os?

OK, I didn't read through all the comments, so I don't know if this one is taken or not (given some of the answers I did read, my chances of winning are slim and none, but hope and merino spring eternal):

W O
A S
S
T
E
D

(All of those are common (meaning not proper or capitalized; I don't claim they're in everyday use) English words according to dictionary.com.)

As a West Coaster, unlikely I am the first to say this, but "dais" off Wasted - whatever is chosen should come off wasted as the conclusion for Ken's chances. And maybe a chance to teach Sam a new word - maybe not - she seems like a smart cookie - as in "Sometimes when your mom gives knitting talks, she stands on a dais."

After much extensive research (ie trying to remember years of vocabulary from grammer school and all those college/grad school placement exams) I have come up with:

audios (it's long!)
soap
sows
saws
dais (it hardly ever gets used in daily conversation!)

Just like everyone else :)
Poor Ken!

Audio across the bottom - that's a nice big double word score block right there! But then, I don't play scrabble, so...

That'll teach me not to proofread, audioS!

Audio for 12 points, retaining the S because it would get you only 2 more points. This play would use the most number of vowels (4).

Do we get to see how the game turned out tomorrow? What did Ken do?

Well, I can't come up with anything that hasn't been mentioned before me, but in a desperate moment I did once come up with YAMEO - which is, of course, a suprise appearance by a sweet potato. They gave me the points. ;)

Other people have already said these, but my first thoughts were:

audios off the "D" - 8 pts.

soap off the "P" - 6 pts.

asp off the "P" - 5 pts.

And my own word that I don't think I've seen anyone else use:

tuis

1. A type of New Zealand honey-eater that has glossy black feathers with a distinctive tuft of white ones at its throat, renowned as a mimic of human voices and of other songbirds. Also called parson bird.

Only 4 pts. but it's a pretty cool bird, no?

I feel the need to play Scrabble now! Feel better soon, Miss Stephanie!

"SOUII" - a kind of pig call?

Everything I thought of was already mentioned, so I consulted my Scrabble-loving friend, who said "AIS," with the S landing under "FACE" to make "FACES," for 16 points. Everyone knows that an "ai" is a three-toed sloth of South America, right?

I vote for SOWS (I prefer it to be the planting reference)...using that lovely high-scoring W...and "sowing" even more creativity into the game...let's grow a crop of offbeat word choices!!

Well, I think 'audios' worked for points... howzabout 'dais' (that archaic word for elevated platform for seating or dining?) for charm?

How about Oidia?

Noun: o·id·i·um
Plural. o·id·i·a
A thin-walled spore produced by fragmentation in certain filamentous fungi.

Also
Dias, Sow, Was, all the things everyone else has already said.

OK-no that's not it.

WUS triple letter score on the U

WUS=Me trying to win at a thinking game.

Feel better & yes I fantasize 1 & 2 week illnesses to knit ;) alot.

Hmm, well having spotted the "kid" in the 2nd picture, I'd go for adding an S under "face" to make SKID - gives you 18 points which isn't bad for 1 letter!
So tell us Ken, what did you actually do?

I have not looked at the other comments, I swear!

I'd go with an s at the end of face and make the word said... 14 points I think.

So far as I can see, AUDIO takes the prize. As Michal noted, it uses the double-word and gets rid of 4 vowels, including a pesky "I", and it retains the "S", which I try hard not to use unless I can get at least 8 points for using it.

I was much less bright last night. I think I went with SAD to reflect my mental state. No wait, this was when I turned in all my tiles and drew almost all vowels again. Ah yes, that was a fun game!

S(1)I(1)W(4)I(1)O(1)U(1)S(1)

Yes, I am.

;-)

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that I have that fantasy every single morning (and sometimes the night before work)... just a little something, not enough to lay me flat, but to snuggle in a chair and knit and watch a dvd... I'm going use one of those days next Monday (after Rhinebeck). Hope you're feeling better!

Federally, Canada is bilingual. A few provinces are officially bilingual, and a few are not (e.g., Alberta). But, speaking as one of the few Torontonians who only speaks one language. Canada is not "really" bilingual.

Oooh - The K in Kid!
Ka
Kas
Koa
Koi
Kos

Add the I and A to the T for Tia... as in Tia Carrera. What man didn't lust for Tia in Wayne's World ??!!

Ken could use the "T" in wasted to make:
TUIS -- "a black New Zealand honey eater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, having a patch of white feathers on each side of the throat, sometimes tamed as a pet." There's a photo in the wikipedia.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tui_(bird)

Good luck!

Another vote for AUDIO. Save the "S" for a future move.

Just wondering--does Ken knit when it's not his turn? I wonder if knitting makes the brain work better.

I'd also say use the d for dais or, if the spanglish is acceptable, go for dias, the spanish word for "days." They both make you sound smart.
I'd like to note that even though scrabble is the official game of my mom's side of the family, I hate it.

Clearly, with letters like that, cheating is in order!
First, some distraction: "Say Steph, are your socks...unravelling?"
Second, new letters: Ken deftly exchanges his I and A for his secret stash of Scrabble stitch markers in M and B.
Finally, play and win: MOBIUS, with the S under FACE.
:)

Wousi. I feel wousi and need a lie-down. Wousi.
Feel better soon!

If I had read this entry sooner, perhaps I would have an original suggestion for the Scrabble board, but I highly doubt it now. Besides, I think I've gotten worse at Scrabble over the years--no idea why.

"Soap", ending with the "p" in plants. Not inspired, but surely extra points are awarded for being eco-friendly?

add an A and an S to make Saws. The S falls into the triple letter score. It would buy you 9 points.

Well I don't know about Ken but I personally would have forgone a turn, swapped all my tiles, and headed to the kitchen for a beer.

I hate scrabble.

That makes me sound so stupid, but even though I am an avid reader and a cunning linguist (I can never say that without smiling), I just really hate the pressure and it makes my brain go all woozy.

And yes, I had major abdominal surgery a couple months back and all I could think of leading up to it was how I'd have 2 whole days in the hospital sans my 2 year old with which to knit. But alas, I was all hopped up on pain-killers and couldn't even finish one sticking sock!

I'm going for the points. FACES (add the S) and SAID (using the d in wasted). Then I'm going to distract my opponent, hope I get lucky and can spell UNSAID for the double word score.

SAUDI using the D in WASTED and making FACE into FACES.

Since you can't trade for a "T" so you can spell facetious (which I just like the idea of the word), how about offering Stephanie some "soup" for her illness....alphabet soup that is!

Faces and Said and the best one I think, from the D in wasted - DUOS - such a fun word to say - many famous duos - Lucy and Ricky, Fred and Wilma, Fred and Ethel, Archie and Edith, Adam and Eve and of course, the newly minted Mr. and Mrs Harlot :-)

IS or AS -- across the bottom with the S making "FACES" double word score should bring your total up to 14.

Unless you'll go for the multigenerational "ISAID"...as in "because ISAID!" or the every popular mummy reiteration: "ISAID DO NOT give your sister a haircut on picture day!"

Could us the "s" under Sane for Sanes--yes, my husband used to use a "sane" to get fish bait up out of the bottom of the river--kinda like a net, and then you'd also have "es" horizontally.

Love the blog!
Vicki

What a fun bunch of comments! You have such clever readers, dear Harlot.

I'd say Ken should distract Sam and "accidentally" bump the board and then start over again.

keep the /s/ and the /o/ and trade the rest of the letters. It is early in the game. If you lose "so" what? Life is short, knit fast. Sorry you are under the weather again.
Sue

I just love that so many knitter's also play scrabble! yay. I was pulling for oasis, but just can't get it to fit as the board stands.
Feel better soon. You should model the shawl with the wedding dress as soon as it's done. :)

So strange...you are back posting and it would seem, from the contentment I feel when I see your new posts, that you were away for a year... but it was only very few days. I am very grateful you wrote the book and happy you got married - the internet just wasn't as rich or creative or connected or cool..what IS the word? I'm studying the 'Knitting Rules' again; thank you for the empowerment.

Get better.

I say make pious off of the p which makes ace into iace and just tell Ken that the i is a lower case l which makes lace. Sometimes you just have to cheat.

Ah yes, Scrabble. In my family this is a competitive sport. So much so that a magnetic set was purchased to prevent my grandmother from accidentally bumping the board when someone else was doing well.

I opt for the phonetic Scrabble and I'll be Elmer Fudd. Take the S from sane, the W from wasted and you get "siwious". As in: "My gwandmother took this game vewy siwiously".

In order to have this accepted one needs to cultivate absolute conviction in the face of strong opposition. It also helps to be be playing with people who are either alcohol affected, under 7 years of age or very easily swayed by a hastily doctored dictionary.

Wishing you a speedy recovery (just as soon as the shawl is completed);) .

If only Ken had a blank!

He could have had SUPPLANTS which would have had a value of 13 and a triple word score would have given him 39!

Ken needs a P!

My guess is Was-with what i think is 9 points

How about OPUS? Ya got a great P hangin' right out where you need it.

Using one of those several "lower case l's" from Ken's rack and playing down from the p,-- l,u,s which makes plus down and lace across. Although I suppose since Sam's a minor, they probably weren't using the alternate "Beer Rules."

It's snowing here in Denver, and like being sick, I think it's a great excuse to knit. Hope you're feeling better soon!

I was going with "dais" - after i realized I was short one letter for "odious". Why are there never enough vowels? However, since my dictionary calls a dais "a raised platform for a lectern, seats of honor, or a throne" maybe that would make Ken the King of Scrabble, even if he didn't win.

Be well. I am sending lots of virtual vitamin C and virtual chicken soup. And bless the shawl for keeping you entertained!

i got "do" (d in wasted) "was" (w in wasted) "up" (p in plants)

Oh, Ken, this is an ODIOUS hand indeed. That's the best I can do with that lonely "D" in "WASTED." Which is the condition I would need to be in if I had that set of tiles.

If I were you at this point I would either ask Vanna White for a date or insist that play continue using Finnish rules.

Oh, Stephanie says no. That's right, she has already ruled out Danish.

You can also hang DIAS, SAID, and AUDIOS off the "D" in "wasted." You can Hang "TAU" of the T as well. Letters of the Greek alphabet count (in America, anyway -- et tu, Canada?). And SEA can come out of the "S."

SOAP, SOUP, SAP, ASP, SIP or SUP can be laid atop that "P" there.

And you can get a way-too-easy triple letter score with
WAS.

Sow and so putting the O between the S of sane and the w of wasted. It's so-so points, but so cute.

oasis is my choice. According to this, IFACE is an acronym for interface. http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/IFACE
It's also the name of a process used in an internet security package. Therefore, by my scrabble rules (which change as I need them to) oasis is the winner. :)

Arg! I wish he had an extra "p" so "supplants" would be an option. Hmm.

alias, using the "a" in "ace" and moving upward (or is that not allowed? I haven't played scrabble in such a long time!)

or "saws" off the "s" in "sane"

Uwah. I wish I remembered the rules o' scrabble better than I do.

SAID S under Face to the D at the end of Wasted for 16 points.

Plus... then he could say something sassy like : "I SAID you are now WASTED!" ahaha...

Is that a halo behind Sam's head? Wait, no, it's a spinning wheel -- and look, is that another one? How about introducing us? Please?

no comment peeking, though at 130 and counting i'd guess some if not all of these are repeats:

sau[d]i, would also create [face]s. can't remember if that means you get credit for both full words or not.
au[d]io (double word score)
sou[p] (double letter score)
[d]ais
[s]a[w]s (triple letter score)
[w]as (triple letter score)

Is that the right link for the right Lene? Unless the Lene from Toronto is also Finnish, I think you want Dances With Wool...?

You could use the D on the end of wasted, and the three i's to make DIII - 503 in roman numerals...

I'm not entirely sure of the rules of scrabble, but it would be tricky enough.

I haven't played Scrabble in eons so don't know the scoring, but he could do "pious" off the P in plant. Must relearn this game.

Obviously, it's the point at which Ken uses the age-old technique of Distraction.

Ken should start his turn by loudly clearing his throat, repeatedly. As if some errant wool tufts had gotten lodged there. Then he should stage cough his way out of the room & into the kitchen, waving and frowning reassurances to all looks of concern he most certainly be getting at that point, and fetch himself a glass of water. When he returns, still coughing, spluttering, and otherwise making everyone in the room mentally check where the phone is for emergency calls, that's the point at which he faux-trips and up-ends the coffee table. The tiles, the board, and all the pieces will scatter, presumably the water will splash in a great muss that will require mopping, and he will be in a heap, elbows & knees splayed, and by that point in time, absolutely noone will know that he had a handful of vowels & a lowly "s".

Or he could go with audios. But someone said that already.

Oh Ken! i feel for ya man!

Deb and i play scrabble all the time and i'm always getting crap letters. Fortunately for me, i know the Greek Alphabet by heart...4th grade social studies class, never forgot it, it usually helps in a pinch.

With your letters, hmm...all i can say is OI! Or should that be OY!?

Seeing that someone laid "kid" down off of the "D" in "wasted" and knowing that a "k" has higher point value than some of the other letters available to build on, i'd offer "koi" ...those lovely pond carp.

A play on the letters...to your opponent, "I'll play "koi" another word for pond carp, because these letters are CRAP!"

I amuse myself!

~Suz~

I have been known to fake sick at work to go home and finish a project. And I, too, have a HUGE shawl to finish as well, just 40 rows away. But I have until next July to finish as it's a b-day gift for my favorite aunt.

Hey Harlot,

I posted earlier in the day and thought that my "Speed Scrabble" rules were a bit off... I thought a friend of mine had made up that game, but then, bam! I found rules on the internet. Ken should give it a try. ;)

http://www.mrkland.com/games/spscrab.htm

oh i sux at scrabble (being a poor speller and all) but i know a sprain wouldn't keep me forced to sit and knit (i've run with a class 3? 4? really bad sprain). i've fantisized recently about a broken ankle. not that i'd wish that on anyone else, but otherwise i really need to learn to knit in my sleep. i've gotten walking and knitting down, but i haven't yet succeeded while sleeping.

Well it doesn't work with any of the words already on the board, but my first thought was "Suiii". Isn't that the sound you holler to call in pigs? And no, it's not in the Scrabble Dictionary!

Bummer dude.

All I can come up with is: audios? soap? soup? sows? dais?

I say slap 'em all in a line with the s at the end of wasted and convince Sam that both things are words. A straight face and an air of confidence is required to make it work though.

Well, I'd probably try "Saudi" but if Ken is a stickler he'd probably throw it out as a proper noun.

Drink lots of tea & enjoy your knitting time. Hope your shawl is done soon. . . I have a never-ending shawl, too. The Tina from Fiddlesticks is progressing at snail's pace. I suppose if I were to take it out of the bag more often it might get done sooner.

"FA LA", said the ACE Scrabble player, I am SANE, but I feel WASTED by my letters, so I'll do some FACE PLANTS into the board. Then I'll return all of my letters, gave up my turn, and pick 7 new tiles!

I vote for throwing the whole board across the room and screaming "I don't wanna play no more! You cheated!"

No, you're not the only one. I was disappointed with my bout of cat flu because I was too sick to knit. What's the point of that? Who wants to lay in bed for four days doing nothing, but watching movies on telly? Mysterious foot/ankle/leg pain that comes and goes a couple of days a week would be very nice. As long as I got a doctor's note, too, of course.

I hope someone can help Ken. I am so not a speller. *L*

SAWS on a triple word score will get him the highest score I could find - I'd rather be knitting, but I can't knit at work and I can sneakily read this blog so...

"IIDIUS"

Meaning "I is a idius to be playing with the smart Samantha."

hee!

Could you fit in oasis anywhere? Though I do like odious. Oasis does suggest a nice comfy spot to knit, however one might picture it...

Never mind. Even though "oasis" is a nice word, it requires two available s's, doesn't it?

Sorry --

I *heart* scrabble. Dh and I play scabble often. :)

When I was pregnent with #3 [ back when dinosaurs walked the earth ] I was ordered to rest for 4 months. Just knit !
Heaven ... except I gave myself RSI ... and the Dr thought it was rheumatoid arthritis and told me keep knitting... result? ... by the time bubby arrived the hand was useless and I spent much of her first year with it in plaster and couldn't knit for YEARS. So be careful what you wish for!! :]

Soap, off the P on plants

who knows if this word is in the zillions of comments above

odious off the "d" in wasted. then he gets the double word. AND it describes his horrid choice of letters.

My first thought is dais - going off of the d on wasted, but I see someone else already thought of that!
taus works, but nto a lot of points ...

EIIEIO, while singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." Always go out singing :-)

"Said". Played off the D in Wasted. It would connect with Face to make is Faces.

Using the D on the board - Dais, a platform.

Apparently I am not the only one who thought of said. Lol.

soap or soup of of plants
saws off of sane

I hope you feel better!

First, the Scrabble question. Odious is the best I could come up with. But, of course, numerous people have come up with that way before me.

Don't feel guilty about wishing for a minor illness so that you can sit and knit, I've wished that many times and I'm sure most everybody else has too. What's much worse is that I've actually faked feeling "not quite right" to get some down time. I'm a bad person. Even worse, the occasional thought that I could get more socks done without second sock syndrome if only I lived with a family who all only had one foot. Now, you feel better about yourself? You're practically a saint compared to me.

I say soap. Sure there's no double letter or word score to add, but it will give more room to play off of in future turns (who likes a bogged down scrabble board?) and it's such a nice clean word! Completely appropriate for infront of the mum, even if she is the Harlot!

Dias (Spanish for Days)

I'd put the su ahead of plant for suplant and hope nobody realized that it's actually supplant, with 2 p's.

My first thought was SAID off of FACE and WASTED - but someone else got there way before I did.

Instead I will go with AUDIOS off WASTED for 16 points.

OK, I love a challenge:

Place an I between the existing S and W. Add IOUS.

There you go! Guys, I'm TOTALLy siwious about this!!!!

How about "ios" next to wasted, so that it is

i
wo
as
s
...

I always like using the goofy words that are only useful in Scrabble, and also building more than one word. It's 14 points I believe.

I say Saws at the top. Triple word score baby

How about adios using the d in wasted? It's used in English sometimes....

Or, use the d in wasted, audios.

Use the T in wasted, make it "Taos". Sound like a made up word a young girl might try to dispute--but it's real and you'll score from the dispute!
natalie

I also came up with "said" but after reading the comments I'd go with "audio" because it gets rid of some of the nasty vowels but leaves you a useful S to potentially score more later on. And it gets rid of a u in a place were your opponent can't stick a q in front of it.

Ack! I've been officially OFF Scrabble for a while. My husband and I played every day the last three weeks of my pregnancy. We played the last game when I was in labor. While that was only 8 weeks ago, I think it will be a long while before I can disassociate Scrabble and labor pains!!!

On the "D" at the bottom--over to the right for the pink double word: the plural of the word "duos":
du·o (d, dy) Pronunciation Key, n. pl. du·os;
Music. A duet, especially two performers singing or playing together; Two people or two things in close association: a duo of negotiators.

Hmmm. You didn't mention Indian. I'd build off the D in WASTED, using O,A,S, and I and make Dosai, which is plural for Dosa, that yummy thin Indian pancake thingy that is usually filled with spiced potatoes. Bet those would hit the spot for a not so well knitter, too :-)

oh...if he only had a couple more letters--the first thing that came to my mind: Bauhaus

Adios! (the "D" on the bottom). Though, if Danish doesn't count, then Spanish probably wouldn't either. Darn it.

Soda (using the "D" in wasted), or dais using the same "D."

If I were playing, I'd dump those letters for new ones. I'm sure Ken, who is much smarter than I, thought of some clever word combo that I cannot come up with at this moment that someone else hasn't already said. Steph, I hope you feel better soon. AS someone who has suffered with a 2nd degree sprained ankle for 10 weeks now, be careful what you ask for. The first few days hurt so bad that even knitting wasn't satisfying.

Wifey sayeth ADIOS from WASTED.

Mafia sayeth EOSIN (a red dye) off WASTED. No N you say? Well, tip that pesky U upside down and say it's a lower case N.

However, tell Ken my favorite from the comments is SIWIOUS. That Janine deserves some sock yarn.

I would dump these letters for new ones, but if I was working with what I had I would go with "SOW" using the "W" from "WASTED"

I would have made the worde Dais....just my input.

Sow
Was
Dais

That's the best i can come up with at 10 minutes after bedtime. :) But then again i'm not a scrabble nut - i also see other people have come up with dais as well. :)

I'd put an s at the end of face for faces and add an a and an i to meet up with the d for said which would be 15 points. I love your site and your books! You even have me knitting again - I started in September. I haven't done any knitting for over 30 years! So far I've done a scarf, a dishrag, am almost finished with a second scarf, and just started a baby kimono. I'm temporarily ditching a blanket I started because I don't like the circular needles and the thought of working my way to 190 stitches is too mind boggling! I love the yarn I bought, so something else will be made. But it will have to wait until after my carpal tunnel surgery. Is knitting good therapy for after the surgery?

Ok. I have 2

How about using the D in "wasted" and adding "IOSA", you get the word "DIOSA" = Godess in spanish, aren't you a Knitting godess?

or

Put "WO" in front of the "E" from "face" to make "WOE" and with the "L" from "Plants" and "A" from "FACES" make "LAOS"?

p.s I guess you can't mix beer and ssscrabble without thessse kind of answersss :-)

Won't even comment on the Scrabble options. Some of you guys are way too clever.

But on the secret wishing for a sprained ankle so I could knit my heart out. Oh Yeah! I would even deal with knee surgery to be able to knit a bunch, undisturbed. But I am afraid, that knee surgery would come with interference from my mother-in-law. Talk about harshing my cool! She knits with novelty yarn!!!

I just realized I misspelled the word Goddess, oopsss!

well for points I think his best bet is to as AS after the W for WAS, cuz he'll get the bonus, but if he wants to be charming, he could put any of the following combinations above the P: SU for SUP, SI for SIP or SA for SAP all depending on his mental state and humor at the time. I have to say though as tile choices go, his really stink! Poor guy! Better luck next time.

Oh and I'm posting without reading comments... I'm sure there are many better suggestions than mine!

Too bad they weren't playing with Hawaiian words -- not that I know any, but they seem to be pretty generous with the letter i. Since "kid" appears to have appeared on the board, Ken could've thrown down "koi" and milked a few points off the k, but not many. Ummm... yeah. Every time Bill and I try to play Scrabble we end up with an imploding board like that, too. But that's why there's the rule about trading in all your letters!

Screw Scrabble! Go have a Beer (or four)!
(and this from an English teacher--not that I suck at Scrabble or anything)

;-)

Asia, faces, sows or saws, id...
Hope you feel better soon!
(so who ended up winning?)

Wow! I haven't played Scrabble in years and years.

aDios - in my part of the USA this IS english!

Add an "i" to "la" to form "lai": a narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets and dealing with tales of adventure and romance. Cool, eh?

This leaves "ie" across, which is listed as a word (not only an abbreviation, though it's also listed as that too) in dictionary.com meaning "that is to say."

"adios" to all those vowels...hello consonants.

Ok... I'm sooo not good at scrabble -- only found 2 words -- "said" (by adding A & I between the S on the bottom of faces, and the D on the bottom of wasted) and "up" (by adding a U above the P on plants)... not sure if you use 2 letter words with your rules... can also turn the T on wasted into "to"... but yet another 2 letter word.... only other thing that occurs to me is that if you add an O & a U to the D at the bottom of wasted, you now have a "duo" to go with your "ace"... now if I could have just had enough letters to either get third or trey, I'd have a theme going ;)

Still trying to figure out a humorous phrase out of the available words... but my powers of creativity seem to be at an all time low tonight!!

Try 'dais' off the D in WASTED. Double word score in there as well.

I was gonna go for "iouea" (a genus of sponges) with the -e from "face", but that'd conflict with the other words ("LAU" and "SANEA" are acronyms). The same would go for adding "aulas" (cavities in the brain, I think? Something like that) vertically into "plant" and "ace", but likewise it'd make the acronym "UFA".

Aside from that... I don't know? You can only do so much with so many vowels in English. (If it were Romanian, you could go for "aceitia" [those] in the middle. "Ti" could stand as a musical note just like "fa" and "la" already have. Problem solved, except for the Romanian word sticking out in the middle.)

Ken, who did you piss off during this game to get dealt these letters?

Using the d at the end of wasted - idious.

Well, I know it's been mentioned, but "dais" was my immediate choice. Hope you're feeling better by the weekend.

Screw the scrabble ..I want the socks and scarf..gotta love em

Dias off the D in wasted or Audio off the d in wasted.

I have to admit, I had my husband, the scabble king help me, but now I already see our answers in the other comments, so allow me to defend myself:

Why is dias the best option, although not the highest scoring? Because you'd be teaching new vocabulary and creative thinking. Who cares if she can spell SAID, or WAS, we already know that. But if you put down dias and she's like, "what the h*ll is that?" You can be like, go head Sam, challenge me. A dias is raised platform for sitting on.

Does sucking up work? Yarn Harlot, you're my hero!

how about soap to use on his mouth after all those words he probably uttered after drawing that set of letters!

Hope you get well soon, and in the meantime milk for all it's worth. The family will have to wait on you hand and foot, and make sure you are getting plenty of fluids, rest, and delightful food for the sick, like ice cream and all your favorites. Well, I know it is a dream, but the idea is to save energy to get well with. You have been very busy and dealing with deadlines and now need to just take it easy for a while. Take care.

In this house that's known as a McDonald hand (..had a farm, eieio). I'd dump it and redraw as it's going to be challenging for the next few turns. That's probably why I don't win so many

The only thing that I can think of is Saida. I think it used to be a port. I'm not sure if it's still around, my teacher mentioned it ages ago in history. And it was an extra credit answer, don't remember the question. So you start from the bottom of FACE, put S there, and make saida. You won't get that extra bonus square thingy (I don't play scrabble, I don't know what that is), but you'll get FACES I believe.

Best I can come up with is, and I'm not certain waht the rules on this would be, because I don't play much scrabble...

Put an S on face and start there, then use an A and an I so that you've made 'Faces' and 'Said'.

Faces, near as I can tell, is worth 20 points (since it's on a double word score), and then said is worth another... five? That'd be 25. But in terms of being charming, it's not very.

Good luck with finishing the shawl! I had a great time knitting my wedding shawl this spring. On another note, I just finished my first homespun yarn and photographed it in a pineapple guava tree, the only spot of my yard that still had sunlight when I got off work.

I too, would've said "dais".

:D

And I would like to say that the picture of Ken and Sam is a really good picture of Ken. It almost makes me wish that I lived near you. Then again, I'm not quite willing to live with 9 months of winter, 1 fall/spring, and 2 of summer. Definately never again.

I think dump the letters except for the "s" - then pick up 6 letters and start afresh. No need to sweat over it.

Well I've deliberately not looked at everyone's answers, but I couldn't help spotting that Cathy (just above) went for my first choice of dumping everything except the s - but my second choice is ais (yes, of COURSE it's a word) with the s on the bottom of face.

Oh, and I love your prescription for a little illness - I have a little illness myself right now (some sinusitis - not too bad, but far too much to tackle laundry or washing up...), so once I've taught my one lesson for today I shall come home and do a little knitting (aka a lot of knitting...)

I did a "find" to see if anyone else had guessed this and it didn't come up.

Using the T in wasted

Toads.

LOL, what the heck, what the fetch! (that's what we say in Utah). I was sure I saw a D in that line up. Never mind, on the whole Toads. I'm going to bed lol

Wait wait! I wasnt' seeing things. Even though it's 2:30am almost, and I should have been sleeping hours ago. Put the T under Face, make it into facet, and finish out with Toads. It still works! =)

And what else should a knitter's other half have on their scrabble board but an ode to one of our favorite type animals....

Not quite a frog, but toads still rippet, rippet, rippet..

I suggest he uses the scrabble rule that says you can miss a turn and excahnge as many of your tiles for new ones in the bag!

I ... give... up. Truly. I'm an idiot.
But I knit okay.

(hides in the corner, shaking, and wondering why she's hallucinating letters)

Well, it's been SAID... off FACE.

You know. Just in case this thing becomes a drawing and ya' have to "play to win" :)

(I did come from behind to win SAID game at Sunday's weekly Scrabble game at mom's. Mom is a killer crossword filler-outer, oldest DD is Chemical Engineer, youngest if Creative Writing English major and I'm Cranky Democrat who Took Up Knitting. I used the word YARN on the way to my win!!)

Having such a crap day, it has to be 'sod'....the earthy kind of course.

I'm probably way late and don't know whether Ken even likes alpaca and although it is a recognized term it probably isn't in any North American dictionaries I suggest tuis. Tuis is the term used to designate an alpaca's second, and usually best, fleece or an alpaca in it's second year.
Hope you feel better soon, with all this rain I'm starting to feel mouldy.

The proper Scrabble answer for this problem?

Knock the board "accidently" off the table.... then claim to have HAD enough points to win, had you been able to count them up;)

Either way- you only actually LOSE if there is a final tally;)

I would definitely have put the 'S' and 'O' before the 'D' to make 'SOD'.

Because 'Sod it' is exactly how I would have felt with this set of letters.

http://www.zoo.ufl.edu/bolker/vocab/node5.html

After much consideration, the "best" I can come up with is "toas". It's certainly not the highest point option, but it's the most interesting I could come up with. It's in Merriam Webster (www.m-w.com/dictionary/toas--although it looks like you have to subscribe to see the definition). One Web site (www.dreamtime.net.au/indigenous/land.cfm) says they're "carved wooden and painted objects once used by the Dieri people who live near Lake Eyre in South Australia," though their purpose remains a mystery. Plus, I find it amusing and geekily entertaining that it's so close to the name of a fictional Lego people (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toa)--although "Toa" is plural in this case.

Sorry--I probably should have mentioned that I'd use the "t" from "wasted".

Having just returned from the California desert, my choice would be 'oasi'. That would be 'oasis' in the plural.
Hope you're feeling better soon!

In which Amy realizes that she didn't look at the board, but rather at the letters in his queue only.
In looking at the board itself, I think I would have made 'faces' with the 's' and continued across making the word 'said'. Is that right?
Being the mother of four young children, two of whom are a bit unsteady on their feet, I had a bit of a giggle in that the words 'face' and 'plants' are on the same board. Learning to walk is tough.

I am crap at Scrabble, I just wanted to say I'm sorry you're feeling ill. It is a bummer, especially the 'again' part. I get repetitive migraines and the 'again' factor is worse than the actual pain.

Give yourself, or your knitting, a big hug and know that there's an army of fans out there all sending their love.

Put the s at the bottom of face and put one of the "i"s to the right of the s---14 points. Hope you feel better (soon, tomorow, next week, you insert the amount of recovery time you need)

I was going with dais, but it has been said numerous times.

The perfect solution for Ken...found on the Scrabble website....

"Exchanging Tiles (or Trading Tiles): Instead of playing a word on the board, the player may use his or her turn to exchange from one to seven tiles for new tiles drawn from the bag. There must be at least seven tiles in the bag in order to exchange. To exchange, place the unwanted tiles facedown in front of you, announce the number of tiles you are exchanging, draw an equal number of tiles from the bag and place them on your rack. Finally, return the unwanted tiles to the bag. "

http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/pl/page.glossary/dn/home.cfm

Sorry to hear you're under the weather. If I was sick I would want a bowl of soup - I think he spelled soup, using the s-o-u vertically up from the left 'p' -

I cant stand scrabble its too slow....the only way I would consider playing is if I could knit at the same time, but then I loose miserably because when its my turn am in the middle of some very important counting and cant be bothered to think of letters.... Add an S, get back to knitting.
I had surgery 6 weeks ago, appart from the sucess of not having anymore pain, huge success, I got to knit without guilt for the entire time, no chores, not aloud to lift, (I mastered the nupps in the interweave knit swallowtail shawl in 2 days!!!)and got so much knitting done that I decided to try russian spinning on a thin cashmere spindle....wich arrived yesterday, and I have to go back to work today!!! Needles to say, instead of a relaxed good night sleep I spun for hours, it'll take time... So really Looks like I need more yarn, right... Cheers, milk your illness it's worth it!

I didn't read all the comments, so if someone beat me to this, sorry to be late. Using the D: o-D-i-o-u-s.

audios, using the d at the bottom . . . best I can do today. I finished my third pair of Harlot Socks! Yeah! Christmas presents. I am so ready.

He doesn't have two Os, so he can't make oDious. Right? Or am I missing something?

i am going to go with making the word said. attach the s to the bottom of face and then use the a and the i to get over to the d in wasted. at least that way you get points for making faces and said. that is a good move!

Let me preface this by saying that I have a reputation for being exceptionally verbose and have a most extensive vocabulary.

I would have used the W and made WASAI and claimed it was plural for wasail. It would work in my neck of the woods.

BTW-- I stayed home from work yesterday trying to prevent a crud from growing in my body. I had visions of getting alot of knitting done, the crud decided sleep would happen and knitting wouldn't.

Then I had trouble getting to sleep last night.

Well, I would have gone for "odious," but I noticed in the other board shots that the D was taken by "kid."

Clearly it's still early in the game. Pass and get some new letters, but keep the "s" and one or two or the vowels. That will be better in the long run.

My other suggestion is: ditch the Scrabble and play UpWords. It's a lot like Scrabble, but more fun. (Makes an excellent Christmas present, Ken.)

I think that the Scrabble options have been used up, but I'll trump your thoughts of a sprain with hoping/longing for a broken ankle/leg. A much more obvious injury so the family is reminded that I really can't run & fetch for them & a much longer recuperative time.

One idea, but taken was 'dis' off the D in 'wasted.' Not only is it worth a lousy 8 points (as compared with the 14 for said or 18 for wus) but it may reflect Ken's feeling about what the letter bag just did to him. Apparently Saida is a geographical name, as in part of Lebanon, but proper names are completely illegal in Scrabble.

Another option is 'wis' as in the past tense of wise. Incidentally, 'wiss' is another word for wish and I wish Ken had another s. But of course, Ken probably wanted another P for supplants.

You do know in both shots you have different #s of letters right? In the second shot you could make SKID, which I'm guessing is what Ken did.

(Results for oiiaius)

AI
ai ais \ n pl. -S a three-toed sloth

AS
as \ adv to the same degree

IS
is \ present 3d person sing. of be

OS
os ossa \ n pl. OSSA a bone

OS
os osar \ n pl. OSAR an esker

OS
os \ n pl. ORA an orifice

SAU
sau \ n pl. SAU xu

SI
si sis \ n pl. -S ti

SO
so sos \ n pl. SOS sol

SOU
sou sous \ n pl. -S a former French coin

US
us \ pron the objective case of the pronoun we

So, I'll just go with wis as in I was wish I was wise enough not to try to answer this question.

Now I purposely didn't read any of the other posts...play S A I horizontally off the D. You also create the word faces vertically. Scoring for both words. Now I'll read what others said.

AIS with the S added to face. That would put the I on double word score.
AIS=3x2 = 6
FACES = 10
total = 16 points

All the obvious ones are gone. If Ken is the kind of guy I think he is -- given that he associates with a yarn harlot and all -- he'll like this:

PIOUS using the "P" in Plants

AND

LACE, pretenting the I in pious is a lower case "L".

20 points. Yarn lingo. Piety AND creativity. So what if it's violating the rules.

what more do you want?

I vote for the facet/toads solution - but I would make it "Toadius" (after the Roman sucker-up to the Emperor Caligula) who invented Scrabble.

Man, if there's something I can't stand it's a f*ing smart ass.

I have not read through all 250 comments and I am not a Scrabble player, but the one I see is: oasis, using that S on the upper left as the final S in the word.

Hate Scrabble......

Not the highest scorer, but I like its obscurity.

Dais

AFACE-down/AS-across; SAWS or SOWS across; or go to the bottom and you can have your very own DAIS! I love Scrabble! Get well soon!

Though I will say that foreign (i.e. non-English) words are allowed - at least, if the players agree on that...

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that the board with Ken's letter tray is slightly different. My favorite option: adding the "s" to make "faces" and "skid." Because you receive the multipliers even when they've been used before, both words together total 21 points - and you remove one play opportunity without adding any new ones.

Then, all you'd have to do is draw an E and an F to rack up 38 points with "effaces" and "es."

Alas, the only problem with this is that you only dump one letter...at which point you'd go back to the other options, or use your next turn to dump your tray...but NEVER SAY DIE in Scrabble.

Take ALL the letters for the entire game ---toss those suckers up in the air and the first one to pick up the most and put them in a neat pile ib the board wins . That's what i would do anyways. Have fun lol

Changing FACE into FACES and playing SAID using the D in WASTED
for 15 points!

So, the way to get the highest score is "said" (yay 14 points!). "wis" (past tense WIST to know) off the "w" in wasted could also work (6 points)... then again so would "was", "saw", "sow"...any of those would suffice. Or just add the "s" onto "face", and that's 10 points... good luck!

Hope you feel better soon.

~firefly

dais or soda - too bad we can't use Spanish. I did not even glance at any of the other commenters, which would have probably discouraged me from commenting myself. Feel better.

I didn't read all the comments, so I'm probably not the first one to suggest an O between the S and W. SOW. Probably not a sock-yarn-winning answer, but one can always hope! pattiO

love me a challenge!

Audis because they are super cute!

Audios

Said

or if we use the board in the picture with the letters to be used for play, we've got:

Kias

I don't know if proper words are against the rules, we always allow proper nouns as long as it isn't a persons name.

I just have to say that the answers from Rams and S. Kate cracked me up ("SIWIOUS. Yes. I am." Come on.) Tears of hilarity are in my eyes at work.

Oh, Stephanie, what would I do without your blog? ;)

Put the word "us" with the "s" under "face". Completely within the rules, and it's 17 points.

Place S-O-U in front of P-L-A-N-T-S, making "Souplants". They're what you make your salad out of at Souplantation, a restaurant here in the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souplantation

Total points: 33.

I think that the word should be OIDIA off of the "D" in wasted. That is a double word score for a total of 12 points. Plus you get rid of TWO "I"s.

Pious - ious off the p, double word score, total points 14

I LOVE Scrabble, 'tho not very good at it. I prefer finding more obscure words to getting the most points (some would call that stupid). Anyway: "Sows" up at the top and horizontally might garner the most points, but I prefer either 1) "opus" to the left of the board and going down, or 2) "Dais" at the bottom and to right side of the board.

"said" using the "s" at the bottom of faces, and running into the "d" in wasted. Or dais, off the d in wasted which would give him a double letter/word score.

Personally, you take that P and you make the word Opus. After you do this, get out a Bloom County, screw the scrabble game. Then you follow the bloom county train of thought on our good neighbour's presidents, and you realize that the current president can't spell, has horrible grammar, and even makes up Entirely new words. So if the president can do it, you should be able to also, so you go back to the abandoned scrabble game, rules be damned, use the P and spell "POIIAIUS". Tell the girl it's a hawaiian fish. You might not even be lying.

P. S. I don't think this post was a blog copout at all! Scrabble is fun, fun, fun. But I can't for the life of me figure out what you meant by answering Lene's question before she asks it??? I suspect one must know Lene well in order to do that. Hope you feel better soon (a/k/a/ finish Shropshire ;-))

I would play "dais" off the D in "wasted", and then cross my fingers to draw a Y next turn and make it into "daisy". :-)

Ok, I am sure this one has been suggested since there are a mere 271 comments ahead of me but ... I'd use the D at the bottom of WASTED and make AUDIO that way you would get the double word score. I'm not sure if you cab add an S and make it plural (audios?), but in any event I would save the S for later on when I was totally s.o.l.

Not sure if this has already been posted. How about: dias off the D in wasted? With the double word score that's gotta be pretty good...

Ken needs this shirt: http://www.threadless.com/product/297/Well_This_Just_Really_Sucks

What I want to know is how big is the shawl supposed to be when it's done???????

What are you doing Steph - knitting a shawl to cover the whole house? All of Toronto - or Ontario, or a whole Providence somewhere????

800+ sts per row?!?!? THUD!

Have fun with it - it will be beautiful :-)

I just finished an Azalea shawl using the same idea as you had - did 2 repeats back and forth in some handdyed handspun silk yarn - still have to block it though.

Abi

DAIS using the D in Wasted. I've never had a reason to use that word until now. =)

I totally suck at Scrabble, but is there a way to make OASIS work somewhere?

Dang... I didn't notice a second 'o' was needed! Hmmm... if I'm playing with missing letters anyway, I say add a 'p' and make "supplants". ;) (Triple word score!)

Hope there is still time. I haven't read all the rest, so here goes:
I would throw the letters in. I can't see anything that would use enough of the letters to help me out much on the next round (i.e. use more than two letters to get good letters next time) or that would open up the board any, or even get much in the way of points. As it is early in the game I would throw in and count on getting a much better crop of letters next round.
So there's my two cents (of course, if I had my mother's scrabble dictionary, which I think she has memorized, it may be a different story. But I don't. And I can't stand them anyhow.)

D'oh! you only have one "O" ...my bad hehehe...I used to be a good scrabble player, really I was....then I think I inhaled too may wool fumes or something

very limited options and I am sure that everyone already guessed the potential for fun or maximum points (which I think is SAID at the bottom of FACE and connecting to WASTED) and of course you could always toss a couple back (or all of them). I generally don't do that and would go with the SAID as to not WASTE my turn and then saving FACE.

I'd try SAUDI; add "s" to "faces", then use the "d" in "wasted."

I say add ias to the bottom d to make dias.

Dunno about the Scrabble, I'm not very good at it, but I do know something about germs, being a mother and teacher. I get millions of nasty microbes sprayed at me every day, but I don't get sick very often anymore. Anyway, here's two remedies for warding off a cold. Take a couple of cloves of RAW garlic and kind of chop it up, or put it through a garlic press. Spread on a few crackers and eat. Some cheese under the garlic will help get it down. You should feel a lot better the next day. Maybe make Joe eat some too just so your breath will match. The other is a good before-bed drink. Put some rum, a bit of brown sugar and a dab of butter in a pan. Simmer for a few minutes, pour in a glass and swig it down. The rum, like the garlic, will disinfect your throat. I don't know how much rum to recommend. I guess as much as you need to make you feel better!

I spent three months on bedrest with my son - I don't know as I would have chosen the stress and worry, but I sure got a lot of knitting done (12+ hours a day, in fact). I got him almost to term by never being without a project on the needles, and hubby became a fixture at the LYS nearest the hospital. Colds just suck, though. I'm personally a fan of the garlic thing, also hot toddies.

As far as Scrabble goes - what could I say that hasn't already been said! Hope you feel better soon.

Add s to face and spell said. Always use an s for two word scores.

It DOES suck being sick and you have my condolences. And it's getting cold up there isn't it... Just be happy, knit, and drink lots of water and eat healthy. And don't swim. It doesn't help at all. Actually, long soaks in really hot water helps. I think so at least.

I think SAWS is a good choice working with the S and W at the top. That should be 21 points.

PIOUS going either down or up from the P using IOUS. Leaving A to be placed between the S and W for SAW. and I after the D for ID and the fi8nal I to be placed before the S in PIOUS forming IS.

Adios!

I say "adiiious", using the D in "wasted". What? Not a word? Umm.. It's colloquial English for "see you later!" So, lets see.. that's 18 points, +50 for using all 7 letters.

I am terrible at scrabble, so I will say to put the 'a' in between the 's' and the 'w'.

You have the word saw! Yay!

I vote for the Elmer Fudd phonetic by Taphophile - Siwious! I laughed so hard...

Did you know that you can set Google Pweferwences to Elmer Fudd? Look for Intewface Wanguage options in the Pweferwences... (There is also a Bork Bork Bork for muppet fans!)

Although I think that SIWIOUS is my favourite answer so far...

I'm going with "so" - which is what Ken would be likely to say upon losing, if in fact he allowed his Inner Middle Schooler to rear it's ugly head.

(But Ken doesn't look to be the sour grapes type ;) )

I don't know if this has been said (I didn't have time to read through 300 comments - I don't know how you do it!), but like the song says - "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when too fold 'em." I know that can't count as a guess, but dadgum, that hand stinks!

I think your best bet here is to page through the dictionary, say, "Hmmm... I never knew that!" and grin. Then throw down WOAIUS (from the W in wasted) or DOSAUA (from the D in wasted) or some other combination that gets you out to a triple word score and insist that it is a rare Patagonian love monkey or a deadly toenail fungus or an obscure sport involving juggling geese while sledding downhill on a trashcan lid.

Said (as has been SAID many times, I'm sure) off the bottom of Face. 15 Points.

I too am coming down with something that has been going around and around (life with a three-year-old, I guess...) but I'm not letting it keep me from Rhinebeck! It *has* kept me from finishing my Rhinebeck Sweater, but no matter. At least I'll be there! I hope to bump into you! Don't worry though, I'll keep my cold to myself.

Given the Scrabble problem as stated (board as shown, letters as shown ignoring added word "kid" in second photo), I'd go with "isoid" with the "s" at the bottom of "face", to the "d" on wasted. This gets rid of two "i" tiles, and hits the double word prior to the "s" for 22 points total. This will require you to either [a] bluff hard with such explanations as "its a geometrical term for a shape that is not quite a regular polyhedron" (or with the time-tested "I'm not telling you what it means; if you challenge me you get to look it up and find out"), or [b] hope your dictionary is really comprehensive (an isoid is actually a mathematical theorem relating to the identity law for isomorphism).

I've always enjoyed playing Scrabble using the OED; it makes it into a bluffing game. With a lesser dictionary in the house, "said" is probably your best play for points, or toss in all but the "u" and the "s" and hope to draw a "p" to make "supplants" next time.

I'm going to go with Crystal's idea about "audios", but since you really need to get rid of some of those "i"'s I think you should try to convince Ken and Sam that audio is in fact a Latin word and so the plural must be "audii". (Never mind that the singular doesn't end with "us".)

Hmmm...making your scarf pattern but it comes out looking very different. Are you sure you wrote that one line pattern down right?
I'm getting two rows of garter looking stitches between the knit through back loop rows, so it doesn't look like a window pane at all like yours does. What am I doing wrong?

Sorry you're not well, but if your brain still works...what does one do to rid the vinegar smell from kettle dyed merino wool before using it? (Malabrigo merino in Azul Profundo) I've had it airing out, but I remember animals who steal hand spun wool..so I must change my method. Thanks for the terrific blogs! I hope you feel better soon.

Using the D in Wasted - Audios for 14 points.

Excuse me. Are you trying to trick us?

The first and third pics show the addition of the word "kid" playing off the "d" at the very bottom.

However, the second pic of the board at Ken's turn doesn't show "kid." Therefore, two things might have happened that you're not telling us about:

1. Sam had a turn before Ken's, and used it to make "kid." That would have changed the board before Ken's turn (that is, he also could've played off the "k" and the "i," an option not explicitly revealed to us).

2. Ken elected to trade some or all of his letters for his turn, and, according to the rules, could not place any letters on the board in the same turn. Then, on Sam's turn, she formed "kid."

So I'm not sure how to predict what Ken did. The red herring "kid" throws me off.

I'm fairly new to Yarn Harlotry, so I don't know whether you're the sneaky sort.

Just sayin'.

I'm useless at scrabble but hope you feel better soon.

Using the S & W at the top of the board, how about Siwi for the language, or Siwa for the region in Egypt? Either would hit the dark blue square for extra points. Too bad there isn't another A & S, or he could go for SiwaOasis -- the full name. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/siwahistory.htm

(Yes, I'm going for the *really* obscure.)

Great post! I love Scrabble. Mine was already taken, I see - my natural tendency would be to go for 'dais' with the double word score. But, I see Betharoopie's first response makes two words - SAID and FACES. That is a great bit of thinking there - so go with hers!

Gah brain scrabbled...

How about sows for 21 points (triple word score). Beats adding the s to face and finishing the word said with the d for only 15. I'm a little behind myself, so I may not have won the yarn, but oh, well ...

How about sows for 21 points (triple word score). Beats adding the s to face and finishing the word said with the d for only 15. I'm a little behind myself, so I may not have won the yarn, but oh, well ...

Well at first I was thinking "odious" but there's not enough o's. So I'm going with "saws" or "sows". I'm sure I'm not the first.

Play "ais," using the "s" to pluralize "face." An ai is a three-toed sloth, and ais is the plural form of the word. It'd be worth 16 points, I believe, which isn't too shabby -- or slothy -- given the awful tiles he's been dealt.

I have to go with ODIUS. No I did not spell it wrong. It is part of the latin name for a butterfly. Historis Odius. North America. How can you not love a butterfly?

Probably late to the party and embarrassed by the genius that is surely in the posts above me...but I'd make the W into WAS for 8 pts or the D into AUDIO for 12 pts (think there is a double-word score there).

Cheers!

I would reach across the board to gently brush a lock of hair off my daughter's forehead, "accidentally" knocking the board onto the floor! New game! :)

What about dais off of the bottom "D"; saws off of the top "s" and "w"; soup going down onto the "p" in the top left corner;

Just a start.

Continued good luck on the shawl.

I would put the 'S' at the bottom of FACE and spell SAUDI using the d at the bottom of WASTED. But then, I like using 'U's. BTW, love your knitting!

hey, did we ever get a winner to this contest??

"sad" off the d on wasted. Yes, a small boring word, but his letters really are. Though, 4 months late for a word...I really need to get to Kombo more. Ah well, not like I am going to need sock yarn in Africa.