Dear Cecil: Cecil, how about something for us Scrabble freaks? A list of all the usable two-letter words would be fantastic! Mel R., Phoenix
Cecil replies:
Oh, me no do it. If so, it do me in.
Dear Cecil:
In the tradition of your loyal readers bailing you out when the heavy responsibility of having to know everything starts to sink you, I hereby offer a list of the usable two-letter Scrabble words:
AA AW DO FA IT MY OP SH WE AD AX EF GO JO NA OR SI WO AE AY EH HA KA NO OS SO XI AH BA EL HE LA NU OW TA XU AI BE EM HI LI OD OX TI YA AM BI EN HO LO OE OY TO YE AN BO ER ID MA OF PA UN AR BY ES IF ME OH PE UP AS DA ET IN MI OM PI US AT DE EX IS MU ON RE UT
This 86-word list comes from Scrabble Players, which has competitive clubs throughout the United States.
— Bruce D., Scrabble Players Club Number 44, Los Angeles
Cecil replies:
Scrabble knowledge having progressed at a dizzy pace, the number of two-letter Scrabble words recognized in the U.S. has now risen to 96 — here’s a list with definitions, courtesy of San Jose Scrabble Club No. 21. Ought to be enough for anyone, but if it’s not you’re welcome to adopt the anything-goes approach favored in the UK, where it’s said they recognize 101.
Mo
Fine. Now San Jose (as of May 15, 2010, anyway) recognizes 101 too.
Cecil Adams
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.