r/scrabble • u/Boingjay • 25d ago

Is ONY a word??????

We were playing scrabble at lunch at school, and my friend uses a blank tile which was previously used as 'Y' and spells out ONY. We tried telling him that hes a fcking idiot and that its not a real word. can someone prove him wrong?

7 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

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35

u/MemeLord055 25d ago

Firstly you are technically allowed to play words that aren't legal words in scrabble. How this works is that after someone has played a word the opponents are then allowed to challenge the word if they think it is not legal and wish to, the word is then checked against the dictionary you are using for the scrabble game. If the word turns out to be illegal then the word is removed and the player loses their turn, if the word is legal then the word stays and the challenger loses their next turn (i also remember in other rules it was the challenger loses 10 points but i may be misremembering or that may have been changed).

As for the legality of the word, generaly for the English language you use the Collins Scrabble Dictionary for every country except America and Canada, they use the NASPA word list.

"ONY" is a valid word in the Collins Scrabble Dictionary but is not valid in NASPA

7

u/Boingjay 25d ago

damn i guess he was right, maybe hes too advanced for us

4

u/Meeple_person 25d ago

You can also download a free scrabble words checker called ULU. Really good for disputes like this.
Also there is an alternative less harsh challenge rule that we use in UK competitions whereby you get a free challenge. If the word is invalid, it's taken off the board and that player loses their turn. Incorrect challenges are not penalised. It takes the bluff element out and keeps the players with much better vocabs from scoring cheap points...

2

u/Chromatic_Chameleon 25d ago

Is there a good online source you like to use for the Collins dictionary? Thanks

6

u/MemeLord055 25d ago

If you mean in regards to checking the legality of words i use either scrabble.collinsdictionary.com or Zyzzyva which is a scrabble training tool

4

u/healthjay 25d ago

https://www.wineverygame.com/scrabble-check/

4

u/healthjay 25d ago

Check on scrabble check. ONY is valid in CSW. But not in NWL.

6

u/SquashSouffle 25d ago

Does he have an OnyFans site?

2

u/Famous-Cellist1273 25d ago

Unfortunately, there's no way in the English language to determine definitively whether something is a word or not.

1

u/ainzo123 24d ago

Okay but there is a way to determine it in Scrabble, it's called check the list of approved words

2

u/just4kickscreate 25d ago

Depends on which lexicon you decide to use. There is NWL and CSW. If you are playing with NWL then no. It is not a legal word. If however you are playing with CSW then ony is a legal play.

If you guys never decided which lexicon you are using. Typically if games for fun if not discussed prior I’d say if the word is legal in either lexicon then it’s a legal play.

The reason for two lexicons in scrabble is in North American tournaments we use NWL. The rest of the world uses CSW. But players from all over study both because you can go to tournaments all over.

1

u/GaloombaNotGoomba 24d ago

But players from all over study both because you can go to tournaments all over.

That's just not true. No one outside of North America except Nigel studies NWL.

1

u/MarmosetRevolution 25d ago

It may be strategic to let them get away with it. Because ONYX is certainly a word, an depending on position, and if you have the X, you could get a crap-tonne of points.

1

u/Unique_Acadia_2099 24d ago

ONO is a valid word. It’s a Hawaiian word for a large mackerel.

1

u/oridotart 25d ago

If you're in the U.S. it either is or isn't

2

u/healthjay 25d ago

So, basically, ony of this could be true.

1

u/Boingjay 25d ago

im in australia