Scrabble just added new words – and it’s the only time we’ll accept mansplaining
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- Sarah Shaffi
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The new additions to the Scrabble dictionary reflect millennial life.
Mansplaining is rife, whether it’s a man explaining what a vagina is to a gynaecologist, or the gymbros who insist on (incorrectly) instructing a woman how to use weights.
But at long last, we’ve finally found a use for it – to win us points during a game of Scrabble.
The Collins Official Scrabble Words dictionary is the bible for people who take the game seriously, and it’s just added more than 2,000 new words, including mansplaining, which is worth 13 points.
Mansplaining’s companion, manspreading, has also been added, and will net you 18 points, while shebagging – the word used to describe a female passenger who places her bag on the seat next to her – is also worth 18 points.
Upskirting, which has finally become a legal offence, is also now in the dictionary and is worth 17 points.
The new additions also reflects discussions on gender identity with the inclusion of words such as cisgender, a term used to describe people whose assigned birth gender and gender identity are the same, which is worth 13 points. Also new this year are agender, referring to a person who does not identify with a gender, which will get you nine points; genderqueer, a person with a non-traditional gender identity, which is worth 22 points; and misgender, the word for referring to a person as the wrong gender, which will get you 13 points.
If you wanted to use Scrabble as a way to escape politics, the new dictionary has scuppered your efforts – the term Remainer, commonly used to refer to people in the UK who voted to stay in the European Union during the Brexit referendum, has been added and is worth 10 points.
Other words added include hackerazzo, to refer to a person who hacks a celebrity’s computer, which is worth 27 points; acquafaba, the vegan substitute for egg whites, worth 22 points; and omnishambles, describing a mismanaged situation, which will get 21 points.
But it’s not all multi-syllable words. This year the dictionary has added three new two-letter words: ok, ew, and ze (a gender neutral pronoun).
We’re off to drag out our Scrabble tiles and board, but a warning to any men reading – the only times mansplaining and manspreading are acceptable is during this board game.
Images: Getty