Sunday, April 1, 2012

A is for Abbeysmut


I leaned over Sara’s shoulder and looked at the letters she had on her rack and then at the Scrabble board. I wasn’t playing with her or the two other girls in the messy dorm room; I was waiting for another friend with whom I had plans. Although I knew all of the girls and Sara and I had a few classes together we were still just acquaintances.

Jen, the girl I was waiting for ran into the room, gave me a quick wave and an “I’ll be right out” and darted into the bathroom. I returned my attention back to the game. It wasn’t Sara’s turn yet and she was studying the Scrabble board and arranging her letters.

“I’ve got a word for you,” I said reaching over her shoulder and arranging the letters on her rack.

A B B E Y S M U T

“What is that?” Sara asked.

“Abbeysmut?” I asked. “You know…the stuff nuns do? In the abbey”

Sara frowned at me. “That is not a word.”

“Sure it is,” I insisted. “You can put it there,” I told her pointing at a spot on the board.

Sara shook her head. “I am not putting that on the board.” She started to rearrange the letters putting down a “real” word instead.

Jen came out a few minutes later ready to go and I left Sara and the other two girls to their game. But “abbeysmut” became a doorway of sorts. The classes we shared became common ground. And a friendship of epic proportion was born.

28 comments:

  1. What a great way to start a friendship. "Abbeysmut" would definitely stay with you. I know I won't be able to forget it.

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    1. It has stuck with us. Sara even made me a scrapbook that included it!

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  2. Well Well,

    the ending sentence friendship of epic proportion was born looks cool!!!


    Entry #^04 here. Happy to visit you!!

    with reagards
    Another Author

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  3. Great A.

    A lovely read.

    I checked my dictionary, just in case, and sadly it wasn't there. My theme's words of 10 letters or more and it wouldn't quite make it in either. What a shame.

    My A's '

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    1. I wonder if I could apply to Webster's or the OED to get it recognized?

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  4. Like LynneLives, I'm disappointed it's not a real word. Although I will be trying to get away with it next time I play Scrabble. Cool post!

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    1. You are more than welcome to it! good luck and thanks!

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  5. Abbeysmut should give her creative points at least. I don't mind losing to creativity.
    Great start to the challenge. I can guarantee NO ONE is starting with "A is for Abbeysmut".

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    1. Thanks! I was kind-of disappointed in her choice to go with a supposed "real word." Personally, when I play Scrabble if I can come up with a good definition for the word, then it counts. Maybe that's why she won't play with me...

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  6. Nice try on the scrabble and a great way that started a friendship! :)

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  7. Great post. I'm excited about reading your upcoming posts. Have fun in the Challenge.

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  8. Haha - I like "abbeysmut." I'm always for creative word choices in Scrabble, or my preferred word game, Boggle. Not that I'm easily prone to allowing those words to score points, but I appreciate the creativity. :)

    Good luck with the A to Z Challenge and blogging the whole month!

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    1. Oh Boggle is so hard for me! I am a horrible speller and can't ever seen to get more that four letter words!

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  9. Hey--Shakespeare made up his own words, so I figure any writer can. No one knew what a Muggle was until Harry Potter came out.

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    1. I told my students (when I was still in the classroom) that earning an English degree allowed me to make up words and pronounce words however I saw fit. Sometimes they believed me.

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  10. great post--it reminded me of my grandmother's love for scrabble and her cheating :)

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    1. Cheating is just another word for "creative interpretation of the guidelines!"

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  11. Love Scrabble! Visiting from the challenge, nice to meet you!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you come back!

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  12. "Abbeysmut" - consider my vocabulary expanded! ;-)

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    1. It was my pleasure to bring you this vital word, sir!

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  13. Haha. I wish people would let me play Scrabble this way. Thanks for swinging by my blog.

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    1. I try to bring a bit of creativity to all the games I play!

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  14. I will admit this much - it was certainly the most interesting game of Scrabble I've ever played! I'm pretty sure it was also the last. It's amazing that one of the most important relationships in my life started with one of my least favorite board games!

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    1. I agree completely. About the "important relationship" part. Not about Scrabble. I like it because I get to make up words. That's the whole point of the game, right?

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