Throw it up there--see if it sticks

Words with Friends. If you don't know what it is, then you must not have a good friend who talked you into playing, like I do. It's basically Scrabble with a twist or two. It's fun and addictive and can bring your competitive juices out of hiding. Especially if you get beat 4 times in a row like I did. I have, however, evened out the scoreboard.

There are several ways to do that, even out the scores. One is to realize that there are more legitimate two- and three-letter words than you had any idea existed. All it takes is your friendly (?) opponent springing one of them on you for you to find the website. Qi, anyone? Try Phrontistery. Mark it.

The next way is to realize that the way the game works, no illegal words can be played. So if you're stuck with seven letters of dubious use, you can keep pushing an assortment of them onto your board until you find a combo the game will allow. Who knew pelf was word? Not me. Not until I tried it this morning. And it stuck.

It's like that old saying of how to test the doneness of spaghetti: toss a strand on the wall and if it sticks, it's done. Well, if the game allows it to stick, you've got your points.

And, mercifully, new letters.