First New Word -- ZA

If you're a Scrabble enthusiast -- and by that, I mean someone whose a member of the National Scrabble Association -- then you know that the Scrabble dictionary sold in bookstores is for recreational use only. But you also know that this dictionary has similarities to the official one used for clubs and tournaments.

While we're waiting for the 2nd edition of the official dictionary to come out, you might have noticed that they finally came out with a 4th edition of the recreational dictionary. And one of the exciting prospects in this dictionary is the new word "ZA" that's been added. (Short for "pizza".)

If this goes into the new, official dictionary, it'll be another powerful tool of the trade, because it's going to open up new uses of the Z tile. (I've already seen a number of times when I could've used that in the last couple weeks.)

Keep your eyes peeled for ZA when the new official dictionary arrives and surprise your opponent with that as a move. (And if you get challenged, so much the better!) Just don't use it before the new dictionary is adopted for use!