UVSC Session Report
September 17, 2018 (Session #197)
(authored by BJ)

Our newest member, Gabe, had his strongest game yet, posting his first
400 score, first win, and first bingo.  Nicely done, Gabe!  Thanks in
part to Gabe's and others' inquiries, I have also been setting up my
laptop for anyone to not only check word validity, but also find out
definitions and other related information between games.  I'm hoping
that this change will allow us all to enhance the depth and breadth of
our word knowledge.

Amit and Mike also joined the rest of the regulars (Iliana, Margaret,
Ellen, and myself) and the seven of us played 15 total games.  I had the
high non-bingo with ZESTS for 85, and Amit got the high play with the
triple-triple STUDDING for 158!  Many interesting bingo words got played
today, too, including:

FAIRIEST:  most like a fairy[1]
OUTSEEN:   form of outsee, to see beyond
ANTICKE#:  a playful prank, old spelling of antic
AZOTURIA:  an excess of nitrogenous substances in the urine
LISTERIA:  a bacterium that causes mononucleosis
SLITTIER#: form of SLITTY#, long and narrow, as an opening
DOUTERS#:  a DOUTER# is one that DOUTS, or extinguishes
VIEWIER:   more VIEWY, or showy
PANTILE:   a roofing tile
BLENCHED:  form of BLENCH, to flinch
TROPINS:   a TROPIN is a poisonous alkaloid
MORAINE:   a deposit of glacial debris
ISOBARS:   an ISOBAR is an atom with different properties than other atoms
             with the same atomic weight
BESTIARY:  a book of animal fables
FREEBORN:  born free
MILREIS:   a former monetary unit of Portugal
CHIRMED:   form of CHIRM, to chirp
TETRODE:   a type of electron tube
SENITIS:   the SENITI is the monetary unit of Tonga
FORENOON:  the part of the day before noon
MAFTIRS:   a MAFTIR is a concluding section of a Torah reading
ANTINGS:   ANTING is when birds place ants on their feathers (really!)
URTEXTS:   an URTEXT is the earliest version of a text

[1] You are unlikely to find a dictionary which includes the adjective
fairy listed as having the comparative and superlative forms fairier and
fairiest.  A number of such somewhat questionable adjectival forms were
added to the Scrabble word list when it was updated in 2014, and though
there has been some acknowledgment that they may not have been fully
vetted, it does not appear that they are going to be removed.  So (1)
the definitions for such words are not necessarily meaningful, and (2)
keep on playing them for big points as long as they are valid! :)