The R is one of the one-point tiles, meaning it is a common letter and may be useful for making bonus words. The most obvious prefix and suffix using R are RE- and -ER. This does rather point to the main weakness of the R – it tends to need an E for you to use it to its best advantage.
Both RE- and -ER, along with the likes of UN- and -LY, are affixes which can lead you astray. You can’t automatically add them to any old word, so take care. Having said that, both the lists contain some real doozies:
REASSORT to assort again
RECHIP to put a new chip into a stolen mobile phone
REINK to ink again
REMINT to mint again
REZONE to zone again
CLAYIER containing more clay
GELIDER colder
NUTSIER more foolish
TEUGHER tougher
VUTTIER dirtier
You may not have known GELID was a synonym for cold. It appears regularly in the steamier works of romantic fiction, or VUTTY novels, if you prefer.
By Barry Grossman
Barry is a leading UK Scrabble player and winner of several tournaments. He is the author of Scrabble for Beginners (Chambers), Need to Know Scrabble, Scrabble – Play to Win and The Little Book of Scrabble Trickster. He has also contributed to numerous other books on the subject of words and word-games, has been a series champion of Channel 4’s Countdown, and has written four comedy series for BBC Radio 4. He lives in Hertford.
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