Teachers Day Letter

Parental involvement is a crucial ingredient in the success of many children. Teachers know the saying all too well that it takes more than a village to raise a child, for one - it takes parental involvement. Thus, it is important for teachers to reach out to parents in that f ...more

Reddit user smellslikeurine is seeking advice for a "friend of a friend" who recently pulled a clever prank on an evil bully, and may now be legally liable: "A relative of a close friend (we'll call him Todd) carried Mountain Dew in his backpack to school every day. For a few ...more

What happened to please and thank you? When did asking someone to come look at your build degenerate into COME NOW or FOLLOW or sending out teleport requests to any and all currently on the server without asking? Phillip Chan, a yahoo network contributor wrote this back in 20 ...more

First off, don't be frustrated. YOU CAN DO IT! Contrary to the message in the image above, it's NOT over. It's just beginning. And when it comes to solving the New York Times crossword puzzle, the old cliche does apply: practice makes perfect. I've read quite a few books and ...more

Originally posted by FrontierVillePost This is part 1 of the challenge to open the school – Get Ready for the Schoolmarm! Challenge Opens the challenge Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Completion letter Originally posted by FrontierVillePost !

If you haven't noticed yet, I've started dishing out some "Scrabble Bingo of the Day" articles that showcase interesting and somewhat unusual seven-letter words (or longer) that could give you an extra 50-point bonus on the board, as long as you empty your rack. So, for this w ...more

JUMBUCK 74 points (24 points without the bingo) Definition: a sheep [n] There are many different words for sheep—not sheep breeds, but words separating sheep by ages, sex, and by the use of the animal itself. Some of these words include buck, dam, ewe, ram, hogg, hogget, wet ...more

EUCAINE n pl. -S an anesthetic 59 points (9 points without the bingo) The first effective local anesthetic ever was cocaine, obtained from the leaves of the coca plant, and it's still legal for medical use. But cocaine tends to cause intense vasoconstrictor activity and some ...more

DIAPSID 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a reptile with two pairs of temporal openings in the skull [n] Diapsids are "double-arched" reptiles whose skulls possess two developed openings (temporal fenestra) behind each of the eye sockets (above and below) w ...more

ZUGZWANG n pl. -S a situation in chess that forces a disadvantageous move 81 points (31 points without the bingo) You may not ever get a chance to play zugzwang on the Scrabble board, since it requires two G tiles and two Z tiles (obviously one Z being a blank), but you've p ...more

BEJABERS interj bejesus (used as a mild oath) 69 points (19 points without the bingo) An oath is almost always associated with promises or sworn declarations, but it also has a different meaning as a profane or offensive expression used to convey anger or other strong emotio ...more

GUISARD n pl. -S a masker 59 points (9 points without the bingo) This is a pretty simple word to explain. Since the definition states guisard being a masker, then it's easy to tell where this word comes from—guise, which means to disguise, or more specifically to alter the a ...more

APOLOGUE n pl. -S an allegory 61 points (11 points without the bingo) An apologue (or apolog) is an allegorical short story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning or principle, typically a moral or political one. It's very similar to a fable, bu ...more

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 genui ...more

LEVOGYRE 65 points (15 points without the bingo) Definition: turning toward the left [adj] The basic meaning of levogyre above is correct, since it comes from the Latin words laevus (left) and gyrare (rotate), but it's more common in organic chemistry, referring to a compoun ...more

ZEBRASS 68 points (18 points without the bingo) Definition: the offspring of a zebra and an ass [n] Didn't know they had a name for it, did you? Well, they do, and it's a nice looking portmanteau word that's exactly what it sounds like—a hybrid animal produced by breeding a ...more

BOVINITY 66 points (16 points without the bingo) Definition: the state of being a bovine [n] At first glance, the definition for bovinity seems a bit too obvious… the state of being an ox-like animal. But outside the world of cattle, it's meant more as a disparaging remark t ...more

RHYOLITE 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Definition: a volcanic rock [n] Rhyolite is an igneous rock, which is one of the three main rock types, aside from sedimentary and metamorphic rock. It's also an extrusive volcanic rock, which is formed on the surface through ...more

CYNOSURE 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Definition: a center of attraction [n] A cynosure is something or someone that strongly attracts attention and admiration from others by its allure, brilliance, and interest, and usually is associated with lustrousness and att ...more

POSTICHE 65 points (15 points without the bingo) Definition: an imitation [n] Not to be confused with pastiche, postiche simply means an imitation—a counterfeit of something. It could be anything, but most commonly it's referred to as false hair on the face or head, which in ...more

SHLEMIEL 63 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: an unlucky bungler [n] Shlemiel is a Yiddish word that describes a clumsy, inept person by Jewish persons. The Yiddish language is a mix of German, Hebrew and Slavic languages, and was very common amongst Jews in c ...more

WANIGAN 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a supply chest used in a logging camp [n] The most common definition of wanigan (or wannigan) is a small chest which holds supplies for lumberjacks. Some will just call it a lumberjack's trunk, but if you want to ta ...more

DOTTREL 58 points (8 points without the bingo) Definition: dotterel; a shore bird [n] If you're familiar with the dotterel bird, you may think dottrel is a misspelling, but it's just another way of putting it. Hopefully, your opponent will think it's a misspelling, too. A d ...more

ALAMEDA 60 points (10 points without the bingo) Definition: a shaded walkway [n] For those on the west coast, alameda is not just a city in the Harbor Bay or a street in downtown Los Angeles, it's also a legitimate Scrabble word meaning a shady walkway. It's actually a Spani ...more

WICKIUP 68 points (18 points without the bingo) Definition: an American Indian hut [n] It's shaped like an igloo, but wickiups aren't made of snow and ice, there made of arched wooden poles and some sort of roofing material, such as grass, brush, reeds, or cloth—basically, w ...more

URUSHIOL 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a toxic liquid [n] It may look like a funny word, especially since it's derived from a word meaning "lacquer" in Japan, but most of you are probably familiar with urushiol. Maybe not by name, but by its bothersome ...more

FOXBORO, Mass. - The New England Patriots Alumni Club (NEPAC), announced that more than a dozen former Patriots players are gearing up to host a "Football for You" youth clinic in Worcester on Saturday, May 29 from 12:30-5:00 p.m. The "Football for You" clinic is being offere ...more

REAPHOOK n pl. -S an implement used in reaping 67 points (17 points without the bingo) After guisard was featured a couple days ago, it seems right to keep throwing in a few Halloween related Bingo of the Days. I doubt it will be one everyday, but just a few here and there t ...more

MIMESIS n pl. -MESISES or -MESES mimicry MIMETIC adj 61 points (11 points without the bingo) MIMESIS is just another term for MIMICRY in the world of zoology, but it's not just limited to the science of animals, it's used elsewhere as well. But no matter where you use the wo ...more

BANSHIE n pl. -S banshee 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The BANSHIE (or BANSHEE) is a female spirit from Gaelic folklore that wails unbearably loud as PRESAGE for someone's imminent death. Irish legend states her as being a fairy woman and messenger of death from th ...more

CUCURBIT n pl. -S a gourd 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Halloween is just around the corner, and by now most of you have already picked up a CUCURBIT to gut and carve scary faces into. Yes, that jack-o-lantern decorating your doorstep for all of the trick-or-treate ...more

UTILIDOR n pl. -S an insulated system of pipes for use in arctic regions 59 points (9 points without the bingo) UTILIDOR is a portmanteau word for "utility" and "corridor" used to describe a large enclosed and insulated conduit built either above or below the ground surface ...more

PLASTRUM n pl. -S plastron 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The PLASTRUM (or PLASTRON) is the ventral part of a turtle's shell, which is the almost flat part on the underside of a turtle or tortoise. It's one of the main two parts of the shell, the other being the CAR ...more

HEXEREI n pl. -S witchcraft 67 points (17 points without the bingo) HEXEREI is a word used in Pennsylvania Dutch dialects in lieu of WITCHCRAFT, usually related to black magic that's brought upon them and their farm as retaliation for some minor wrongdoing. A farmer who may ...more

FOVEOLET n pl. -S a foveola 64 points (14 points without the bingo) So, if a foveolet is a foveola, what's a foveola? It's a small fovea. Okay… what's a fovea? It's a shallow anatomical depression, which is basically a small pit or cuplike indentation in a bone or bodily org ...more

VERONICA n pl. -S a handkerchief bearing the image of Christ's face 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Veronica was the name given to the cloth veil that was supposedly impressed with an image of Jesus's face. The veil was given to Christ by Saint Veronica of Jerusalem ...more

HOOSGOW 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Definition: a jail [n] Actually, it's slang for jail. You may not believe that slang is allowed on the Scrabble board, but it most definitely is when the word in question is used by a good majority of the people out there. Mer ...more

YANQUIS 68 points (18 points without the bingo) Definition: United States citizens [n/pl.] By the way it's spelled, you might not even realize it's the exact same thing as Yankees, only with a QUI instead of a KEE. But wait… Yankees isn't a legitimate Scrabble word, so why i ...more

FEAZING 70 points (20 points without the bingo) Definition: fazing; disturbing the composure of [present participle of feaze] As mentioned, feazing is the present participle of feaze, which is a verb that means "to faze," which itself means "to disturb the composure of." In ...more

MACHZOR 73 points (23 points without the bingo) Definition: mahzor; a Jewish prayer book [n] If you ever get stuck with a rack like ZORCHAM, you might be prompted to lay something down like CHAM or CHROMA, which could both get you some pretty big points, but knowing this muc ...more

ISOPLETH 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Definition: a type of isogram [n] Okay... in order to know what an isopleth is, you first have to know what an isogram is... An isogram (or isoline) is a contour line on a map connecting points of equal value. In other words, ...more

Bingo! No, this isn't the game where balls fly around in machines and players dab their cards with daubers. In a game of Scrabble, bingo refers to the bonus a player receives when emptying their rack in one turn, which gets them an extra 50 points on top of whatever their play ...more

To some, SCRABBLE is just a board game to play during family game night or during a casual get-together. Others think of SCRABBLE as a mere hobby. But with any activity, there will always be fanatics—the ones who would rather sell their soul than stop—the ones with a constant ...more

Besides Wikipedia and teachers (in that order), textbooks are the go-to source of information during our school years. Today, we take a look at what happens when the people writing these voluminous tomes get attacked by a sudden bout of ennui. Forward Fellow Feeling Frisky I ...more

SHAITAN n pl. -S an evil spirit 60 points (10 points without the bingo) For the closing of these Halloween-themed bingo words, there's no better word than SHAITAN, the evilest of all evils, which is present in all horror movie monsters and demons. Generally speaking, SHAITA ...more

CARRION n pl. -S dead and putrefying flesh 59 points (9 points without the bingo) The word CARRION refers to the dead and putrefying flesh on the carcass of any dead animal. Yes… humans are animals. Carrion differs from plain old dead bodies (cadavers, corpses, LICH, etc.) b ...more

ZEPHYRS n sing. ZEPHYR gentle breezes 74 points (24 points without the bingo) A few days ago, Cerek Tunca mentioned that a great seven-letter bingo word would be ZEPHYRS, because of the amount of points gained. He's definitely right, with it being more than 20 points by its ...more

WENDIGO n pl. -GOS windigo 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The WENDIGO (or WINDIGO) is a malevolent creature from the mythology of the Algonquian, one of the most populous and widespread Native American language groups, which includes such tribes as the Innu, Ojibwe, ...more

GRAMARYE n pl. -S occult learning; magic 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Simply put, GRAMARYE is MAGIC, SORCERY, and in some cases, NECROMANCY. But overall, there is very little distinction between the terms. Magic is best described as an OCCULT art that can manipula ...more

CREMAINS n/pl the ashes of a cremated body 62 points (12 points without the bingo) Perhaps one of the creepiest portmanteau words out there, CREMAINS combines CREMATED and REMAINS to clearly describe the leftover ashes from a dead body that was burned. When you're grieving, ...more

REVENANT n pl. -S one that returns 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Frankenstein. Vampires. Zombies. These creepy creatures are all examples of the UNDEAD, living entities that are technically dead but still animate. Some of these 'walking dead' feed off blood, others ...more

BURKITE n pl. -S a burker 63 points (13 points without the bingo) There's no better time than Halloween to have the BEJABERS scared out of you, and no better way than with a slasher flick or horror movie about HEXEREI. To some, Halloween is a time for candy, costumes and cel ...more

COXSWAIN v -ED, -ING, -S to direct (a crew) as coxwain 70 points (20 points without the bingo) The definition for coxswain could be pretty confusing if you don't know what a coxwain is, but perhaps even more confusing is the fact that coxwain is not an acceptable word in Scr ...more