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Scrabble Bingo of the Day: LEVOGYRE

LEVOGYRE 65 points (15 points without the bingo)

Definition: turning toward the left [adj]

The basic meaning of levogyre above is correct, since it comes from the Latin words laevus (left) and gyrare (rotate), but it's more common in organic chemistry, referring to a compound that's able to rotate the plane of a polarized light ray counterclockwise, facing the oncoming radiation. Its opposite would be dextro (to the right, or clockwise). An example compound is nicotine, which in nature is levogyre.

Methamphetamine (or just meth) is both levorotatory and dextrorotatory, but the levorotatory form is the innocent of the two, used in over-the-counter inhalers and nasal decongestants.

Also: LEVO, LEVOROTARY, LEVOROTATORY, LAEVO

Similar Words: DEXTRO, DEXTROROTARY, DEXTROROTATORY, DEXTRAL, DEXTER, DEXTRORSE

Cigarette with visible tobacco close-up. Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is levogyre.

Photo by sentinelchem

Chemical structure of (S)(+)-Nicotine with structural arrows indicating conformation changes. Nicotine, a levorotatory substance.

Image by UCLA

So, just what is a Scrabble Bingo?

A bingo is when a player empties his or her rack in one turn, placing all seven of their letters on the board to create a word that's at least seven letters long. The term "bingo" is used primarily in the U.S., but elsewhere it's simply known as a "bonus" because you get a bonus of 50 points added to your turn's score. "Scrabble Bingo of the Day" will focus on these high scoring plays, teaching you some interesting and possibly unusual seven-letter or longer words accepted in a game of Scrabble.

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