Scrabble: The Two-Letter Words Quiz

Answer: RA

"Ra" is the name of the Egyptian god of the sun, but since this is a proper noun, it is not accepted in Scrabble.

"Ba" and "ka" are both forms of spiritual manifestation (also from Egyptian myth), and "ki" is the vital Japanese force that is thought to be inherent in all things.

Answer: SA

While the letter S should mainly be used for plurals, many players will put the S next to a triple word score if they can get a lot for it, so two-letter words with S are still worth knowing.

"Es" is the letter S, "os" is an anatomical term for a bone, and "si" is the seventh tone of a major scale (also called "ti").

"Os" can also mean an orifice or an esker (a sandy, gravely ridge that forms in glaciers), and each meaning has a different plural form: "ossa" for bones, "ora" for orifices and "osar" for eskers.

Answer: EE

Every letter except W and the vowels can be spelled in Scrabble.

"Ef," "el" and "ar" spell the letters F, L and R, respectively. Other examples include "aitch" for H and "wye" for Y.

Answer: NI

"Ni!" is the battle cry of a group of knights in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," but not a Scrabble word.

"Nu" and "pi" are Greek letters, and "pe" is Hebrew.

Answer: XO

There are five two-letter words which contain an X: ax, ex, ox, xi and xu. Notice that the five vowels each appear once, meaning that the X can be paired with any vowel.

"Ex" is the letter X, "xi" is the fourteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and "xu" is a unit of currency in Vietnam.

Answer: JA

"Ja" is German for "yes," but has no meaning in English.

A "jo" is a sweetheart, "za" is slang for pizza, and "qi" is the Chinese equivalent of the Japanese "ki." These words can be lifesavers if you happen to draw a J, Q or Z late in the game.

Answer: IO

Io is one of Jupiter's moons, but it has no meaning besides being a proper noun.

An "ai" is a three-toed sloth, "ae" is the Scottish equivalent of the word "an" and an "oe" is a whirlwind off the Faeroe Islands (which sounds like it should be proper... but it's in the OSPD!).

Answer: BR

You might say it if you're cold, but you need either two or three R's to play it... "Brr" and "brrr" are both valid words; "br" is not.

You say "hm" when you're thinking about something, "mm" if you're agreeing with what someone has said, and "sh" if you want someone to be quiet.

Answer: M

The letter M is used in a whopping twelve two-letter words: am, em, hm, ma, me, mi, mm, mo, mu, my, om and um.

H comes in second with ten, N has nine and S has eight. Extreme caution should be taken before playing any of these letters near a triple word score... it's highly likely that your opponent will be able to seize the opportunity.

Answer: C and V

For this reason, C and V are two of the hardest letters to play in the endgame; if you draw one, it's best to get rid of it as soon as possible, because it will cost you six or eight points if you're stuck with it.

If you happen to have them both, however, and there's an open A, you can play "vac," which is short for vacuum.