Scrabble fans know that some of the game’s toughest letters — and thus the ones with highest point value — are J, X, Q and Z.
Devotees will likewise acknowledge that of these, X is probably the easiest to use — partly because no less than five two-letter words feature this end-of-the-alphabet item. (J, Q and Z, by contrast, offer just one apiece.)
Two of those five start with X: xi and xu — the latter a Vietnamese monetary unit, the former itself a letter in the Greek alphabet.
I forgot to mention these unusual choices last week, when — scrambling for something Xmas related — Webb’s Weird Words offered a set of oddball terms that start with X.
Two-letter options ending in X are much simpler; you can figure those out on your own!
In the meantime, here’s a second set of oddball X-words. Arriving a week after Xmas, these all naturally end with that letter:
Bollix (BALL-icks, verb) – Also spelled bolix or bollox, this means: to do something badly — to botch, or bungle. The verb is often used with “up” — as in, for example, “You really bollixed up that math homework.” Its origin is a bit risque for a family newspaper, but you can probably guess — especially if you’re old enough to remember that title-related controversy over the Sex Pistols’ one and only studio album.
Gravlax (GRAHV-lox, noun) – From dictionary.com: “boned salmon, cured by marinating in sugar, salt, pepper, and other spices, especially dill.” A Scandinavian dish, it can also be styled gravadlax — and it is indeed related to the more common lox (hence its pronunciation).
Grex (GRECKS, noun) – “A group of plants that has arisen from the same hybrid parent group” (Collins). Etymologically, grex relates to the Latin base “greg-,” meaning “flock or group” — as in congregation, gregarious and segregate (the last literally means “outside the group”).
Haruspex (huh-RUSS-specks, noun) – Also spelled without the “H,” this is an ancient Roman priest who practiced divination by inspecting the entrails of sacrificed animals. Divination, incidentally, involves foretelling the future or plumbing secret knowledge — and if that haruspex method sounds bizarre, other ancient priests would sometimes consult the flight-paths of birds; and in any case, it’s not much weirder than tea leaves.
The word’s final syllable is a form of the common root “spec(t)-,” meaning “to look.”
Oryx (AWR-icks [also OAR-icks or OH-ricks], noun) – Various species of African antelope, including the gemsbok (another great word!).
Phlox (FLOCKS, noun) – “Weird Words” tries to live up to its name by avoiding common terms like phlox, a fairly well-known type of showy, colorful flower. But I do love this word — it looks cool, and it is fun to say; plus, in keeping with its bright appearance, it stems from an ancient Greek word meaning “flame.”
Roux (ROO, noun) – “A mixture of fat and flour used to thicken sauces” (Random House Collegiate). It’s related to the word russet — for its yellow, brown or reddish color.
Scolex (SKO-lecks, noun) – And the winner for this week’s grossest definition: “the anterior, headlike segment of a tapeworm, having suckers, hooks, or the like, for attachment” (dictionary.com). In the fashion of many words ending in X, its plural forms are scoleces or scolices. But let’s be honest — one of these is plenty, thanks.
Scramasax (SKRAM-uh-sacks, noun) – Also spelled scramasaxe, this is a single-edged Anglo-Saxon sword or knife. I don’t know about you, but I can almost hear Beowulf whipping out his scramasax to slaughter some underwater beast or dragon.
Spadix (SPAY-dicks, noun) – I just have to quote this definition from the American Heritage Dictionary — largely because it contains at least two other “weird word” candidates: “a fleshy clublike spike bearing minute flowers, usually enclosed within a sheathlike spathe, characteristic of aroid plants, such as the calla.” Happily, as so often with unfamiliar terms, the massive and marvelous AHD provides a color illustration to help with this unwieldly definition.
And to close out today’s list, I’m throwing in prexy — even though it doesn’t end with X. Another fun word to use and say, it’s a slangy shortened form of president.
What’s more, its actual final letter points to our next “Weird Words,” which will follow our X-lists — by focusing on Y and Z.
