Saturday 2 July 2011

Saturday 2.


I reopen today's blog to record the above game of scrabble played by Ann and meself after supper. Near the top right hand corner I'd put 'fib' and Ann then laid down 'abstains' making a triple-triple score of 99 points, and claiming the extra fifty points for laying down all seven letters made it up to a score of 149 points (a personal best). The final score was Ann 460 points, and meself 380 points, giving us a combined total of 840 points.
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19 comments:

Crowbard said...

I had not realized Swedish family names were permitted, MIke.
Bottom left corner - Soop.
a noble Swedish family whose heraldic arms are, if I remember be heraldic college of arms stuff, empaled, dexter or, sinister azure a fess argent. The earliest member I can find is Åke Soop, born 1 June 1584, died about or after 1648, buried Lidköping church, married 1stly 13 December 1612 Anna Svan (born 1676 at Kalmar castle, died 4 August 1638 at Stora Kålltorp, daughter of governor Arvid Göransson Svan and Christina Ribbing - her family was not introduced); married 2ndly Margareta Drake af Intorp (died 1678, buried 24 November 1678 at Lidköping church).
Now I'm sure you'll advise me of the english meaning of soop... is it eaten with crootons, perhaps?

Unknown said...

Hi Carl. Not so much with crootons (sounds a Norfolk dish) as before the haggis course. According to Chamber's Dictionary it is a Scottish word meaning to sweep. There is even a Scottish word soopstake!!!!!! and NO! I didn't make that up.

Lori Skoog said...

Mike and Ann...there you go, showing off how good you are at this game!

Z said...

Very impressive, Ann, jolly well done!

Christopher said...

Happy to validate 'soop' as a Scots variant of 'sweep' - you hear it most frequently during bonspiels (curling matches) as curlers are urged to sweep frantically with their brooms either to deflect opponents' stones or to favour their own.

That suit you wear is never a zoot suit, is it, Mike?

Unknown said...

Hello Christopher. Thankyou for the information re sooping. And no; I remember 'zoot suits' from the early fifties, but I've never had one - they were considered very 'spivvy'. Now there's a good word for getting rid of Vs at scrabble...........

Crowbard said...

Ah well Mike, it's the thin edge of the wedge. With anyone but you I would challenge the use of Scottish words in an English game of scrabble? I can see the counter challenge... would I challenge bungalow or pyjamas which are Hindi words? or tea which derives from the Chinese word for Thibet where they discovered the shrub?
I guess I'll just have to accept the zeitgeist of the nebulous parameters of the English languages, init? (is it not so?)
Auntient words of blessing be upon ye, an wivit ones an'orl.
C

v-word is cullogi, is that the neo-scottish scrabble word for American soldiers at Culloden?

Unknown said...

It's in the book(the Collins book of acceptable scrabble words, that is). Moreover, according to Christopher (ibid.) it's a scottish word in regular usage in curling circles in France. What better reference could you possibly require?

Pat said...

Do you ever play Scrabble on Face book?
I find it much more peaceful then the games on used to have en famille.
So far I seem to play with superior opponents but I'm getting better.

Unknown said...

Hello Pat. Yes, I do. I've got two games on at the moment, one of them with granddaughter Laura.
You may consider yourself challenged to a game, but I don't know how to get through to you and set one up. Can you sort it out? I play as Mike H, but I should think there are dozens doing that. Perhaps Crowbard (who is a scientific sort of a gent) can suggest how?

Crowbard said...

Bless you Mike for the kind thought. I do try to keep up with what's going on on at CERN and I love the splendid developments in nano-technology... but face-book does not appear to have any logical or scientific basis for its methodology. I would recommend a quick poke at g-daughter Laura, who appears to handle it as if she'd designed the system herself.

Unknown said...

Hello Crowbard. Good thought. But the game Laura and I are playing, you'll be astonished to learn, is one that I set up myself. The problem is, of course, that I can't remember how I did it.

Crowbard said...

My memory must be going too mike, I can't remember how you did it either!
I'm afraid facebook is not only outside my fields of expertize its also outside my experience. I have never really done more than follow a few seemingly interesting links - and then been unable to pick them up again later.

Z said...

You go to your Facebook Scrabble page and click on 'invite friends', which is just above the big red Scrabble logo. I'd love to play Scrabble with you, if I can find you on Facebook. I might be easier to find, actually.

And you too, Pat x

Nea said...

"soop" is Swedish for sweep, so I should have worked that one out especially as curling is big here, but what is "zoot"?

Unknown said...

Thank you, Zoe. You're on.

Unknown said...

Hello Nea. A 'zoot suit' was, in the late 1940s, a man's suit with very square shoulders, rather tight otherwise, usually double breasted, much favoured by spivs and wide boys. Not sure about the derivation of the word. Christopher (earlier in these comments) asks if I wear one. I should have told him I haven't worn out my demob suit yet, but, as is usual, only thought of the right answer later.

Unknown said...

P.s. Above answer re demob suit is true, but only if you work it out correctly.

Unknown said...

P.p.s. i.e. working out of right answer :- Of course I haven't worn out my demob suit, because (as I'm sure you've all spotted) I am far too young to have ever been issued with one.