Althouse: "'Qajaq... the first Scrabble-sanctioned palindromic word to include a 'j' or 'q,' is 'irresistibly attractive' to some players..."

August 16, 2014

"'Qajaq... the first Scrabble-sanctioned palindromic word to include a 'j' or 'q,' is 'irresistibly attractive' to some players..."

It's another way to spell "kayak."

31 comments:

lemondog said...: poop; 8/16/14, 4:39 PM
Roger von Oech said...: Not as cool as Kojak!

Which reminds me of a mid-1970s New Yorker cartoon. A youngish balding man is sitting in an examining room. And the doctor checking him shakes his head and says, "In the trade, we call your hair loss Premature Kojakulation." Pretty funny!; 8/16/14, 4:42 PM
Quaestor said...: I once played kraal and touched off a row that led to an OED consultation.

"But it's a Dutch word!" said my friend wingeingly.

But it's in a dictionary of the English language, said I, ergo fairly played. English speakers in South Africa use this word.

"I don't think you should allowed to play it," said another friend.

If we're playing by the rules I should, I replied. If you want me to play down to some level of erudition, ask me.

All in all, Scrabble should be banned as an anti-social practice.; 8/16/14, 4:56 PM
Gahrie said...: Yes...but is it legal in Words with Friends?; 8/16/14, 5:28 PM
Quaestor said...: "Qajaq" is a spelling of "kayak" that appears in many northern Canadian sources because it is a more authentic representation of the original Inuit word, according to Katherine Barber, former editor of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

This strikes me as a questionable. The Latin alphabet doesn't have a consonant nor does English have a diphthong that accurately represents those juicy gutturals indicative of Eskimo (or Inuit, if you must insist) languages. Phonetically ka and qa are indistinguishable in English. Those who pronounce Qajaq with the appropriate saliva content are following a convention dictated by a transliteration convention, just as those who pronounce ¡kung! with a dental click are applying a convention. There’s no intrinsic phonetic clue. One could just as easily stipulate a conventional that kayak should be pronounced in the authentic Inuit manner. Canuck obstreperousness.; 8/16/14, 5:29 PM
Quaestor said...: Yes...but is it legal in Words with Friends?

Well, I could have played lark, but where's the triumphalist value in that? Also it would have left me with L M A. Big whoop.

As it was kraal ended on a double word score, which I think got their goat more than kraal.; 8/16/14, 5:39 PM
averagejoe said...: Quaestor said...
...Canuck obstreperousness.

8/16/14, 5:29 PM

Don't you mean, Qanuq obstreperousness?; 8/16/14, 5:51 PM
Quaestor said...: Yeah, let's start calling all those Great White North types Qanuqs, complete with the phelm. That'll larn 'em.; 8/16/14, 6:25 PM
Lucien said...: I suppose "gayag" would be rejected because the score is too low.; 8/16/14, 6:47 PM
Roy Lofquist said...: I had a hardscrabble childhood. Our second hand set had four Qs and no Us.; 8/16/14, 6:49 PM
George M. Spencer said...: A slut nixes sex in Tulsa.; 8/16/14, 8:04 PM
caplight45 said...: "Irresistibly attractive," but does she put out?; 8/16/14, 8:24 PM
rhhardin said...: !qajaq is the bushman version.; 8/16/14, 8:28 PM
madAsHell said...: My fuggin brother-in-law insists upon the word Qi.
He insists it is a Chinese word, and is pronounced Chi.

What a pile of BullShit!!; 8/16/14, 9:00 PM
CWJ said...: Quaestor @ 4:56,

Agreed, I've only played scramble once competitively (in a so-called social situation). That was enough for me.; 8/16/14, 9:58 PM
rhhardin said...: It's like printing money, though. The values of the letters should change if you let in lots of non-English spelling words.; 8/17/14, 7:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker says:

After the Apocalypse food became scarce: people were living like feral animals, crouching scared in shanty-towns of scavenged tin and cinderblock. A good day was one in which you speared a scrawny rat to eat. But if you are going to eat a rat, why not at least have it with bread as a rat sandwich? And if you are going to have a rat sandwich, why not make the most of it with fresh Artisan Bread? Thus, my calling: Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker.; 8/17/14, 7:48 AM
Anonymous said...: Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker says:

A thick spread of my special recipe crushed ant-and-eartworm paste would come alive -- figuratively, of course, if crushed correctly -- on a steaming slice of Artisan baguette. I have an entire line of assorted Crushed Ant-and-Earthworm Garden-Seasoned Organic Pastes: life in the Post-Apocalypse doesn't need to be dreary all the time.; 8/17/14, 7:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker says:

One could spend all day collecting enough assorted dung to make a meal. And -- if you are left to eating dung -- wouldn't it be better as a dung panino? Pretend the beetles are sun-dried tomatoes and dream of Tuscany. Or what is left of Tuscany: I hear they have resorted to eating human flesh -- but eating human flesh with Artisan Olive Oil. My Post-Apocalypse Artisan Movement is spreading near and far.; 8/17/14, 7:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker says:

One day the World will be an almost slightly better place, and I would like to think I have played a small role in such. It is not too late to get in on the Qajaq Post-Apocalypse Artisan Bakery franchise. I have Post-Apocalypse floor plans.; 8/17/14, 7:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker says:

Whatever you do, do not confuse Qajaq, the Post-Apocalypse Artisan Baker with Kunuk, the Post-Apocalypse Canadian Donut Maker. He is riding on my coat-tails, and there is no maple in his maple frosting: none.; 8/17/14, 7:50 AM
tim maguire said...: Every word rule of Scrabble is violated somewhere in the Scrabble dictionary. It is not a legitimate part of the game, it is a crutch for those who can't play the game.; 8/17/14, 7:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Kunuk, the Post-Apocalypse Canadian Donut Maker says:

Life in the Post-Apocalypse is not the time for organic hipsters. People want comfort food, and Kunuk, the Post-Apocalypse Canadian Donut Maker, will supply it. Yes, there is no maple in my maple frosting, nor is my chocolate frosting really chocolate: this is the Post-Apocalypse, sometimes we have to make do with what we have.; 8/17/14, 8:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Kunuk, the Post-Apocalypse Canadian Donut Maker says:

Yes, the sprinkles on my sprinkle cake donuts are really ants, and the cake donuts themselves have a high dung content: again, this is the Post-Apocalypse, people, some pretending is in order. I also serve soup.; 8/17/14, 8:04 AM
Anonymous said...: Sajak, the Post-Apocalypse Game Show Host says:

Vanna is dead from radiation-poisoning. The set is nothing but rocks, now: there are no more glamorous gifts, only sorrow and empty cans of Beefaroni. I have lost the will to live. Play amongst yourselves.; 8/17/14, 8:07 AM
stlcdr said...: Qajaq has been used for many years to refer to a skin-on-frame kayak used by the Inuits for seal and walrus hunting.

These type of kayaks are most often form fitting - very narrow (17 to 21") and long, of the typical sea kayak length of 15 to 19 feet.

There is a small following in the US and internationally, and this type of kayak is used - using a Greenland paddle - in competitions: the walrus pull, racing, as well as rolling.

The walrus pull is quite interesting: this simulates a kayaker harpooning a walrus, and the kayak dragged sideways. People on the bank of a pond or lake drag the qajaq with the rope tied to it. The objective is to remain upright.

Note that most competitions are held in arctic water.; 8/17/14, 8:13 AM
tim in vermont said...: I play by the unabridged dictionary of US English. That is my level of "erudition."

I also insist that all acceptable two letter words are listed for all to consult during that game. This disadvantages those who know "scrabble words" that are almost never used in any other context. Nothing is more annoying than playing with somebody who uses words like "kraal" which would only be used by a US speaker of English in the context of scrabble.

With these two rules in place, I win almost every time.; 8/17/14, 12:13 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I thought there was only one "q" in Scrabble?; 8/17/14, 1:34 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: You're thinking of Sqrabble.; 8/18/14, 8:20 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/18/14, 10:04 AM
JackOfClubs said...: Yancey Ward said...
I thought there was only one "q" in Scrabble? 8/17/14, 1:34 PM

Correct. However, Super Scrabble has a double set of letters and presumably the dictionary would need to cover that game as well.; 8/18/14, 6:45 PM