Slang words you can now officially use to win Scrabble

Pull your Scrabble boards out: your favorite word game is about to get a lot more competitive. Earlier this week, the Collins Official Scrabble Dictionary announced that it had added over 6,500 words to its collection, marking the first time the guide had been updated since 2011. Helen Newstead, head of language content at Collins, explained the new entries, stating that the growth of the Internet has necessitated the inclusion of slang. Those of us who struggle to find words more creative than “bee” in Scrabble can rejoice in some of Newstead’s proposals. For example:

1) Shizzle (phrase): sure, of course

To recognize this word, you’ll have to reach deep into your brain, into the dark depths of middle school, in order to find all of those yearbook notes reading “I’ll see you this summer, fo’ shizzle!” or “fo’ shizzle my nizzle, I’m definitely coming to your future wedding with Aaron Carter.” That’s the only context I’ve heard (or ever want to hear) shizzle used in, so I can only assume it functions as an alternative to “for sure” or “of course.”

2) Cakehole (n.): a person’s mouth

The worst kind of slang is the kind that teases you with thoughts of delicious food, even though it has nothing to do with said delicious food. You can imagine my disappointment at the addition of “cakehole,” then, to the official Scrabble dictionary. Cakehole, used primarily by angry parents in telling their children to stop complaining (“Close your cakehole! We’re going to the beach, end of story!”), has no relation to Munchkins or cupcakes or really any other type of pastry. I know, I’m sad too.

3) Dench (adj.): nice, awesome

I like to think Judi Dench inspired this word but it seems to have appeared out of thin air, which is much less exciting. Dench is a synonym for “nice” as in “James Bond did a dench job stopping those villains.” A warning to all of you planning on integrating this word into your compliments: it doesn’t sound as nice as you think it does. (i.e. “My, my, don’t you just look dench today.”)

4) Lolz (n.): expression of laughter or enjoyment

There has been some controversy over where exactly “lolz” comes from. Some claim it’s a pluralized version of “lol” (to avoid ever having to say “lololololololol” aloud, I’m assuming). Others claim it stands for “laugh out loud, zebra.” Actually, only one person says that, some user on UrbanDictionary, but I thought it was significant enough to warrant a mention. No word on whether “lawlz” or “rofltcopter” have been accepted by Collins.

5) Ixnay (interjection): an exclamation expressing rejection

“Ixnay on the ooties-cay” is a phrase that I spent far too long trying to construct, probably because it was invented by teenage girls back in the day to talk about boys without them knowing. What I’m talking about here is Pig Latin, a made-up language that involves taking the first letter of every word and tagging it onto the end followed by “ay.” Ixnay started as a Pig Latin term for “nix” as in “nix the broccoli idea,” but as it grew more popular, it started to be recognized as its own term which completely defeats the purpose of having a code language, but moving on…

6) Cazh (adj.): casual

Well, I’m stumped. I didn’t think putting a “z” and an “h” next to each other in such a small word was kosher but apparently I was wrong. Cazh is the shortened version of “casual” for those who are too “cazh” to pronounce the entire word. But hey, a four-letter word and a z/h/c combination may be helpful when you’re in a word pickle, so I’m not complaining.

7) Hacktivist (n.): hacker that hacks for activist causes

Here’s one choice that when compared to the others on this list is slightly more legitimate. Hacktivist is a portmanteau between hacker and activist and has become significantly more important in today’s world as a result of hacking groups.

8) Bezzy (n.): best friend

Bezzy adds a bit of pizazz to the regular best friend slang word, and it guarantees the player at least 20 points from the get go. Still waiting to hear whether or not BFF will make the cut.

9) Onesie (n.): a one-piece outfit, usually a form of sleepwear

Yes, yes, a million times yes. Onesie won’t be particularly helpful in racking up the points but it will certainly enhance your playing experience when you get to play the word onesie while sitting in your onesie.

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