rec.puzzles Archive

What trigraphs (three-letter combinations) occur in only one word?

language/english/spelling/rare.trigraphs Added material

Problem

What trigraphs (three-letter combinations) occur in only one word?
Show solution
Here is a list of all the trigraphs which occur exactly once in the union of
_Official Scrabble Words_ (First Edition), the _Official Scrabble Players
Dictionary_ and _Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (Second Edition)_,
together with the words in which they occur.

The definition of "word" is a problematic.  For example, lots of words
starting deoxy- contain the trigraph `eox', but no others do.  Should
`eox' be on the list?

Common words are marked with a *.

aae baaed
adq*headquarter headquarters
ajs svarajs
aqs talaqs
bks nabks
bze subzero
cda ducdame
dph*headphone headphones 
dsf*handsful 
dts veldts
dzu kudzu kudzus 
ekd*weekday weekdays 
evh evhoe
evz evzone evzones 
exv sexvalent 
ezv*rendezvous
fhu cliffhung
fjo fjord fjords 
fsp*offspring offsprings 
gds smaragds
ggp*eggplant eggplants 
gnb signboard signboards 
gnp*signpost signposted signposting signposts
gnt sovereignty
gty hogtying
gza*zigzag zigzagged zigzagging zigzaggy zigzags
hds camanachds
hky droshky
hlr kohlrabi kohlrabies kohlrabis
hrj lehrjahre
hyx asphyxia asphyxias asphyxiate asphyxies asphyxy 
itv mitvoth 
iwy skiwy
ixg sixgun
jds slojds
jje hajjes
jki pirojki pirojki
jym jymold
kky yukky
ksg*thanksgiving
kuz yakuza 
kvo mikvoth
kyj*skyjack skyjacked skyjacker skyjackers skyjacking skyjackings skyjacks
llj killjoy killjoys
lmd filmdom filmdoms
ltd*meltdown meltdowns
lxe calxes
lzy schmalzy
mds fremds
mfy comfy
mhs ollamhs
mky dumky
mmm dwammming
mpg*campground
mss bremsstrahlung
muo muon muonic muonium muoniums muons
nhs sinhs 
njy benjy
nuu continuum
obg hobgoblin hobgoblins
ojk pirojki
okc*bookcase bookcases 
ovk sovkhoz sovkhozes sovkhozy
pev*grapevine grapevines
pfs dummkopfs
php ephphatha
pss topssmelt
pyj pyjama pyjamaed pyjamas
siq physique physiques
slt juslted
smk besmkes
spb*raspberries raspberry
spt claspt
swy swythe
syg*easygoing
szy groszy
tux*tux tuxedo tuxedoes tuxedos tuxes
tvy outvying
tzu tzuris
ucd ducdame
vho evhoe
vkh sovkhoz sovkhozes sovkhozy sovkhos
vly vly 
vns eevns
voh evohe
vun avuncular
wcy gawcy
wdu*sawdust sawdusted sawdusting sawdusts sawdusty 
wfr bowfront
wft ewftes
xeu exeunt
xgl foxglove foxgloves
xiw taxiway taxiways
xls cacomixls
xtd nextdoor
xva sexvalent
yks bashlyks
yrf gyrfalcon gyrfalcons 
ysd paysd
yxy asphyxy
zhk pirozhki
zow zowie
zwo*buzzword buzzwords
zzs*buzzsaw 

Additional material

[ Editor: comments on three items in the list above. ]

itv mitvoth
  This looks like a typo for either "mikvoth" (ritual baths), which
  occurs further down the list, or "mi[t]zvoth" (commandments or good
  deeds).  What is "mitvoth" supposed to mean?
mmm dwammming
  Is this word for real!?  How about "lll shelllac", then?
lzy schmalzy
  And this seems like a misspelled "schmaltzy".  Also, I wonder by what
  standard "sovereignty", "asphyxiate" and "physique" are deemed less
  common words than "skyjack", "meltdown" and "rendezvous".

-- Noam D. Elkies <elkies@zariski.harvard.edu>