Blog about Scrabble, anagrams, and word games

Creative Wordplay – How to Invent Your Own Neologisms? Basics of Word Creation: Where to Start? Word creation is an art that combines logic and creativity. Start by observing existing words – notice how prefixes and suffixes change meanings. For example, "run" becomes "rerun" or "runscape". Experiment by blending roots: "book" + "hungry" = "bookhungry"? Why not! The key is to make the new word sound intuitive. Don't fear mistakes – even absurd inventions like "teacrash" (from tea and crash?) can spark inspiration. The essence is to play freely – language evolves thanks to those who dare to break the rules. Dialects and slang are also great sources. Regional terms like "bubbler" (for water fountain in parts of the US) show how culture shapes words. Try to create words for things that have no name in standard English – for example, "snow dust" could become "fluffmist". Remember, neologisms often emerge from communication needs. When you lack a word to describe a feeling of mixed nostalg...

How to Write an Anagram Generator in One Line of Code? Is it possible to write a program that generates anagrams in just one line of code? Absolutely! In Python, all you need is a single call to the standard library: from itertools import permutations print([''.join(p) for p in permutations("cat")]) That’s it! Thanks to the built-in permutations function from the itertools module, all possible letter combinations are generated instantly. How Does It Work? This code creates all possible letter arrangements, meaning it generates the complete set of anagrams for a given word. For the word "cat", the result will be: ['cat', 'cta', 'act', 'atc', 'tca', 'tac'] What Is an Anagram? An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. For example: Roma → Amor Listen → Silent Debit Card → Bad Credit Anagrams are commonly used in word games, cryptography, and language puzzles. Comparison with JavaScript You can write similar code in Jav...

Linguistic Archetypes: Why Do Some Words Exist in All Languages? 1. "Mama" and "Papa" – Universal Words That Bridge Cultures Ever noticed how "mama" and "papa" sound almost the same in so many languages? From English "mom" to Chinese "māma" and Arabic "mama"—it's no accident. Researchers explain that these words come naturally from infant babbling. Babies easily produce sounds like "m" or "b" combined with open vowels like "a," which leads to those familiar repeating syllables. Parents, in turn, interpret these sounds as referring to themselves, creating a universal language of closeness and care. It's linguistic evolution at its most primal—when the basic need to connect leads to the same solutions everywhere. Georgian is a quirky exception, where "mama" means father and "deda" means mother. Still, the syllable patterns are familiar. Anthropologists say these early words act as a social glue, bonding families and communities. Many cultures also create affectionate versions by doublin...