Scrabble Bingo of the Day: PHONEYS

PHONEYS  64 points (14 points without the bingo)

Definition: to phony, i.e. alters so as to make appear genuine [v]

Phoneys (or phonies) is a word for altering something to make it appear legit, like turning a cheap handbag into a Louis Vuitton. It also simply means not genuine or real, as in bogus, counterfeit, ersatz, fake, faux, feigned, forged, fraudulent, imitation, inauthentic, pseudo, spurious, sham, etc.

But if you look it up in the Scrabble Dictionary (OSPD4), you could get a little confused, because this is what it looks like:

PHONEY  adj -NIER, -NIEST  phony
PHONEY  v -ED, -ING, -S  to phony
PHONIED  past tense of phony
PHONIER  comparative of phoney and phony
PHONIES  present 3d person sing. of phony
PHONIEST  superlative of phoney and phony
PHONILY  adv  in a phony manner
PHONY  adj -NIER, -NIEST  not genuine or real
PHONY  v -NIED, -NYING, -NIES  to alter so as to make appear genuine

But phoney can also be a noun in the game of Scrabble, as in a knowingly fake word played with the purpose of deceiving your opponent(s). They're totally legal to use, unless the other players call you out on it and challenge you.

Inflections: PHONEY, PHONEYED, PHONEYING, PHONIER, PHONIEST
Also: PHONY, PHONIES, PHONIED, PHONYING, PHONILY

 Real iPhone next to a phoney iPhone.
 Photo by Robert Scoble

 A phoney word played in a game of Scrabble.
 Photo by Justin Meyers

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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