A few weeks ago, I was checking my stats on Words With Friends and saw that I started playing on April 11, 2010. So, five years later, here’s where my life has been, along with 26 words I like to use, one for each member of the alphabet.
Games played: around 5,953, give or take a few.
My all time score: 737, 925.
Longest win streak 32 games in a row.
Highest score: 656.
And now, for the words:
AOUDAD
What it is: A type of sheep found North Africa. It comes from French and Berber, specifically the Berber word udad, meaning “ram.”
Used in a sentence: What a lovely sweater you have there; is it aoudad fur?
BAHT
What it is: The currency of Thailand. It comes from Thai, obviously and refers to a weight.
Used in a sentence: Good lord, Enid, what did you buy in that river market in Phuket that cost twelve million baht?
COHO
What it is: A type of salmon. Its origin is unknown.
Used in a sentence: If you take a hooker out to dinner, order coho for the ho and a bottle of rum.
DJIN or DJINN
What it is: A figure in Islamic mythology, and the inspiration for Robin Williams’ character in Aladdin. Language of origin is Arabic.
Used in a sentence: Were I a djin, I’d want my home to be a bottle of gin.
EDH
What it is: A rune, to stand in for the “th” sound in Old English.
Used in a sentence: There is no funny way to use edh in a sentence.
FEIJOA
What it is: A South American shrub, also known as pineapple guava. Named for Joao da Silva Feijo.
Used in a sentence: I wouldn’t go near that feijoa smoothie if I were you.
GRIOT
What it is: A member of an African tribe whose job it is to tell stories. Originated from French and Portuguese.
Used in a sentence: “Tell us another one, griot,” said Tommy, “before our lands are gone.”
HAEN
What it is: Past tense of “have,” in Scottish.
Used in a sentence: “Oh mother Mary,” said Oona, “I haen no more wool to make the tartans.”
INIA
What it is: A type of river dolphin found in South America.
Used in a sentence: You won’t find no inia in West Virginia.
JUGA or JUGAL
What it is: Of or relating to the jugum (another good word), also known as the cheekbone. From Latin.
Used in a sentence: After Peter’s wife came to prison for a conjugal visit and he went to sleep, she and his cellmate Pedro had a con jugal visit of their own. (Oh oh, see what I did there?)
KARST
What it is: An underground limestone chamber. It comes from German.
Used in a sentence: After Brunhilda slipped and fell in the Alps, she was afraid she was cursed to remain in the karst forever.
LWEI
What it is: Another fun money word, this time from Angola.
Used in a sentence: Holy cannoli, Camilla, what did you buy from that arms dealer in Luanda that cost twelve million lwei?
MAQUI
What it is: A shrub grown in Chile and southern California. Comes from Spanish and Araucanian.
Used in a sentence: In Southern California, sometimes they cut the maqui into the shape of a famous mouse.
NAOS or NAOI
What it is: The inner sanctum of a temple in Greece. Greek origin, obviously.
Used in a sentence: “Oh no,” said Aphrodite, “I think I left my blouse in the naos!”
OBIA or OBEAH
What it is: A form of sorcery practiced mostly in the West Indies. The word claims roots from “Gullah, Jamaican English, Guyanan English, Sranan, Twi and Igbo.” Quite a pedigree for such a small word.
Used in a sentence: If you were scared of sorcery, would that mean you had obiaphobia?
PHAGE
What it is: A shortened form of a biology term, like “bacteriophage.”
Used in a sentence: Mitosis is just two cells going through a phage.
QADI
What it is: A judge in a Muslim community. From Arabic.
Used in a sentence: Abdul was hoping to be reassigned to a courthouse in a town near an oasis, so he could be the first qadi in the wadi.
RINGHALS
What it is: A highly venomous snake from Africa, and Afrikaans.
Used in a sentence: The ringhals is so deadly that it is its own plural.
SAUTOIR
What it is: Well, it’s obviously from French, and it’s a ribbon tied around your neck, sometimes with a pendant.
Used in a sentence: Isabelle refused to let her daughter out of the house unless her sautoir was straight.
THERIACA
What it is: A fancy name for treacle. Latin/Greek origins.
Used in a sentence: Who uses theriaca in cooking anymore?
UREA
What it is: A compound in urine. Either comes from French or Greek.
Used in a sentence: Urea is a great way to end a game, and I resisted the urge to make a pee joke.
VOXEL
What it is: Something to do with medical coding. I don’t know, it’s late.
Used in a sentence: I have never seen a voxel.
WOOMERA
What it is: A notched stick used by Australian Aborigines as a hunting spear. From Dharuk.
Used in a sentence: “Crikey,” said Kyle, “I think I hit a wallaby with my woomera!”
XYST
What it is: A tree-covered promenade or path. From Latin/Greek.
Used in a sentence: Without a good xyst, I think we would cease to exist.
YESHIVA
What it is: An Orthodox Jewish educational institution. Okay, I admit, I put this in for personal reasons but I have used it successfully and even as a plural. It’s Hebrew, if you couldn’t tell.
Used in a sentence: “They’ll never find me here,” giggled Sister Mary-Celine Dion, as she ducked into the yeshiva, thinking to herself that this was the best game of hide-and-seek the convent ever had.
ZAS
What it is: Shortening of “pizzas.”
Used in a sentence: Passover is done so GIVE ME ALL THE ZAS.
That was not as fun as I thought it would be to type but I hope y’all enjoyed it. Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the aoudads bite.
That’s So Jacob 
I prefer Scramble with friends personally, I way overthink Words with Friends. Totally stresses me out. 😉 So kewl though to be able to see your progress after so long!!!!
Thanks, Shopgirl! I used to play both then I realized that I had responsibilities.
I don’t play either anymore…stopped when my iPhone was stolen about two years ago. 😉
Laughing here. Peggy and I play crossword cubes daily and have mastered many of the words you use. Our friends and family hate us when we break out za for the first time, or qi, or qat, or any number of other such words. –Curt
Thanks Curt!
I’ve never played Words with Friends! I was always terrible at Scrabble and other things like that so I just never got into it. It’s kind of ironic that I’m a writer, yet I’m terrible at word-related games… Oh well haha.
You should! Or not, if you want to continue living your lovely social life 😉
I’m sure you must be getting close to Guinness World Records status by now… if not, you should be, as I can confidently say (or type) that I’ve never used any one of those words in my life! I need to up my word game.
Do you play Words with Friends?
I’m switching on relevant electronic device now….. confirmation to follow. I recall the name but it has been some time.
Nope! Between “Scramble” and “What’s the word?” I almost had it. I tried to download it but my software is outdated, woo! Perhaps it’s a sign that I have a wordless and friendless future ahead. I’ll just live vicariously through your blog post.
I had Scramble for awhile but I got bored of it, or something. What did you think of my latest post?
This is my bedtime reading, so “The Naked and The Dead” title made me think that this might be best reserved for another time – though, I do love my films! Am I wrong? This does make me sound like I’m about 12 but shhhh… long day.