14 September 2008

Words that appear illegal for Scrabble - but aren't

Herewith 113 words that would appear to be illegal because they are proper names of people/places etc. But all of these words have alternate meanings and are acceptable under the rules of Scrabble. Granted you are unlikely ever to have the opportunity to play "Rousseau" or "Sherlock,"but a "Ralph" or a "Merlin" may trigger an unsuccessful challenge by your opponent, and an advantage for you. I compiled this list a couple years ago by searching through the OSPD; I trust they haven't changed since then.

Abigail lady’s maid
Adonis handsome man
Al tree
Alan hunting dog
Angelica herb
Anna coin
Apollo handsome man
Ariel gazelle
Ava at all
Apache gangster
Bailey castle wall
Balboa coin
Batman orderly
Ben inner room
Benjamin benzoin
Beth letter
Bolivar coin
Bolivia fabric
Bonnie pretty
Buffy color
Caesar empower
Charley/Charlie fool
Chico shrub
Chopin shoe
Daphne shrub
Degas remove gas
Dick detective
Dicky/Dickie/Dickey blouse front
Dickens devil
Donna lady
Einstein smart person
Erica shrub
Fido coin
Franklin landowner
Fritz not working
Garth garden
Ginny affected by gin
Gloria halo
Graham flow
Hansel give a gift
Hazel shrub
Henry electrical unit
Hercules strong man
Jane a girl
Jean fabric
Jenny donkey
Jerry german soldier
Jesse put strap on hawk
Jill liquid measure
Joey kangaroo
Johannes coin
Johnny hospital gown
Jones drug addiction
Joseph woman’s cloak
Judas peephole
Kay letter
Kelley green
Ken know
Kerry cattle
Laura monastery
Leno weaving style
Lewis hoisting device
Madonna title of respect
Mahatma sage
Maria plural of mare
Maryjane marijuana
Martin bird
Maud plaid
Mavis songbird
Maxwell unit of magnetism
Merlin falcon
Missy young girl
Moira fate
Mollie/molly fish
Morgan unit of distance
Napoleon pastry
Nelly/nellie effeminate male
Nelson wrestling hold
Otto attar
Pam jack of clubs
Patsy person easily fooled
Pedro card game
Perry beverage
Peter diminish
Porgy fish
Quixote quixotic person
Ralph vomit
Regina queen
Roger pirate flag
Rolf massage
Romeo lover
Rosemary shrub
Rousseau pemmican
Ruth compassion
Sal salt
Saul soul
Scottie terrier
Sheila young woman
Sherlock detective
Shylock to lend money
Spencer trysail
Stella coin
Tammie/Tammy fabric
Tarzan strong person
Ted spread for drying
Terry fabric
Timothy grass
Tom male animal
Tony stylish
Vera very
Victoria carriage
Warren rabbit place
Whitey whitish

(Sorry about the awkward formatting; I can't find a way to insert tables using Blogger.)

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