I play xi in Words With Friends anytime I can. Especially when it lines up with extra word count. Other than it's a Greek letter I haven't got a clue what it is, so writting a blog post about it is out.
Xyst on the other hand has more word count in WWF. Besides it has a couple definitions and is a word I can easily pronounce--when I remember the correct pronunciation.
Reading xyst I initially pronounce it zeye-st. Every time. And every time I'm wrong.
It's actually pronounced zist (rhymes with list). Easy-peasy.
According to Collins English Dictionary, a xyst is a long portico. I already knew a portico was a porch with support columns. But the next part of the definition was news to me--the xyst were used in ancient Greece for athletic events. No wonder I hadn't a clue--I adamantly avoid anything remotely associated with making me
The good news is, Collins reports a second meaning for xyst (rhymes with list--my reminder to myself). This definition is much more acceptable to my inner Southern Belle. It seems in ancient Rome, a xyst (rhymes with list) was a covered garden walk--or at least one lined with trees.
Of course, in the south, tree-lined pathways, gardens, and even streets are in fact covered--especially when the trees are spaced close enough to grow together and form a living canopy. Think of the scene from Forrest Gump, where he's running down that long tree-lined driveway.
So there you have it--xyst, rhymes with list, is a long covered path, which has the capacity for upping your Scrable or Words With Friends word count. All without making you
I know xi! I ran across it in physics classes. I hated writing it. It's like a squiggly uppercase E in cursive. It was my least favorite Greek letter.
ReplyDeleteDon't ask me what it stood for? I've blocked that memory.
LOL that's awesome. Liz, I wish I could remember 1/10 of the information I was exposed to in school.
ReplyDelete