Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson for February 03, 2017

I think that’s her first made up word of the year. 7 more before she reaches the legal limit. I’ll be keeping count if it occurs to me.

How many points for “cheater”?

Marigold’s just bowdlerizing it for Phoebe. I’m pretty sure it’s the Unicorn translation of the Cat word JOZXYQK.

even Calvin and Hobbes played Scrabble; Hobbes used “zygomorphic” (150 points) and “nucleoplasm” (40 points)

Loved these board games and all the cheating that made them all the more fun! Most times, they would up in a fight, with one or more players walking out in a huff… but I think they also taught us how to keep a sharp eye out for your opponents’ moves, and the art of negotiation, in some ways.

Oh, I thought it mean “she-fox in a taxi”

How did Phoebe manage to get the 9 letter word “xylophone” with only 7 tiles? Was it lucky placement, or is Marigold not the only one cheating?

Show proof in a Unicorn dictionary.

It’s only fair, Phoebe cheated first. There’s no way she could get a 9-letter word on a board like that with only 7 tiles. =P Presumably only 6, even, since she didn’t take the 50-point bonus.

Bluffing is actually a good Scrabble strategy. Put down something that looks like a word and dare your opponent to challenge it, as incorrect challenges cost the player their turn.

What’s that weird board? Is it a new way of playing Words with Friends? Do they do that when Marigold’s Wi-Fi isn’t working?

I would have had my doubts until I saw it used in a sentence…

Now why didn’t I think of that whenever I played Scrabble?

I remember one episode of CSI where they were playing a game similar to scrabble and one guy made up a word and then challenged his opponent to challenge his word. His opponent didn’t want to take a chance challenging the first guy but he decided to take advantage of his word so he added an S to the word. The first guy challenged the new word and the official ordered the guy to reclaim the whole word. The murder of the week was the guy who made up the word, he was killed by having the letter pieces from his made-up word shoved down his throat until he choked to death.

Or, a famous Dorothy Parker quote, when asked to use “horticulture” in a sentence: “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.”

Unicorn words? Oh dear, are there going to be Unicorn facts? 7@=Q

She deserves full points for that comeback alone.

What’s wrong with Phoebe adding “xylo” to an extant “phone”? Doesn’t quite fit on the board as drawn, but that’s clearly just a sketch.

JOZYXQE !!

thought that was rot13 at first

No vowels… that breaks the laws of words

superdaisical!

Phoebe: Ok, we need to keep playing this game based on the HUMAN English dictionary!