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Word nerd : dispatches from the games, grammar, and geek underground / John D. Williams, Jr.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Liverlight Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2015]Copyright date: ©2015Edition: First editionDescription: xii, 216 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0871407736 (hbk.)
  • 9780871407733 (hbk.)
Other title:
  • Wordnerd : dispatches from the games, grammar, and geek underground
Subject(s):
Contents:
The game begins -- Opening moves -- How a word gets into the dictionary -- Wash our mouths out with soap -- How I became a player -- Media time -- The world joins in -- Man vs. machine -- The school SCRABBLE program -- School SCRABBLE makes the grade -- SCRABBLE hits TV -- Going Hollywood -- Jimmy Kimmel spells it out -- Wordplay -- Are men really better than women? -- The end game -- After words: afterwards.
Summary: "Explores anagrams, palindromes, the highest-scoring Scrabble plays of all time, [and] the birth of the World Scrabble Championship, as well as many of the more colorful figures that inhabit this subculture. Die-hard word fans will find ... tips on how top players see their boards and racks to come up with the best play, how they prepare, and the psychology of tournament competition. Those uninitiated in the mysteries of Scrabble mania will find a ... memoir about all the fun people have with language and how words shape our lives and culture in unexpected ways"--Dust jacket flap.
List(s) this item appears in: Game On! Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 793.734 W724 Available 33111008034551
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Beginning his career on a lark as a freelance contributor to SCRABBLE News, John D. Williams fell down a rabbit hole inhabited by gamers, geeks, and the grammar police. For twenty-five years, as the executive director of the National SCRABBLE Association, Williams served as the official spokesperson for the game, and as the middleman between legions of fanatical word-game fans and the official brand. Now Word Nerd takes readers inside the byzantine, dog-eat-dog world of top tournament players, creating a piquant (seven-letter word, 68 points!) work that is part pop-cultural history, part anthropological study. Indeed, what Christopher Guest did for the world of dog shows in his film Best in Show, Williams does for the world of competitive word games in this funny and perfectly observed memoir.

As readers will discover, Word Nerd explores anagrams, palindromes, the highest-scoring SCRABBLE plays of all time, the birth of the World SCRABBLE Championship, as well as many of the more colorful figures that inhabit this subculture. Die-hard word fans will find invaluable tips on how top players see their boards and racks to come up with the best play, how they prepare, and the psychology of tournament competition. Those uninitiated in the mysteries of SCRABBLE mania will find a delightful, madcap memoir about all the fun people have with language and how words shape our lives and culture in unexpected ways.

Whether reminiscing about past national champions, detailing the controversy over efforts to purge the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary of all offensive words, opining on the number of vowelless words that are allowable (cmw for a Welsh deep-walled basin or nth for the ultimate degree), noting how long it takes a word to get into a dictionary, or explaining why there remain more male than female champions, Williams crafts a loving tribute to words and the games people play with them. Word Nerd will fascinate both amateurs and seasoned experts alike.

The game begins -- Opening moves -- How a word gets into the dictionary -- Wash our mouths out with soap -- How I became a player -- Media time -- The world joins in -- Man vs. machine -- The school SCRABBLE program -- School SCRABBLE makes the grade -- SCRABBLE hits TV -- Going Hollywood -- Jimmy Kimmel spells it out -- Wordplay -- Are men really better than women? -- The end game -- After words: afterwards.

"Explores anagrams, palindromes, the highest-scoring Scrabble plays of all time, [and] the birth of the World Scrabble Championship, as well as many of the more colorful figures that inhabit this subculture. Die-hard word fans will find ... tips on how top players see their boards and racks to come up with the best play, how they prepare, and the psychology of tournament competition. Those uninitiated in the mysteries of Scrabble mania will find a ... memoir about all the fun people have with language and how words shape our lives and culture in unexpected ways"--Dust jacket flap.

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