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

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: PHONEYS Real iPhone next to a phoney iPhone.
Photo by Robert Scoble

Scrabble Bingo of the Day: PHONEYS 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.

Track future Bingo of the Days: Follow @scrabbleworld on Twitter and like on Facebook.