The T is in that select club with N and R of being one of the best consonants for making bonus words. Not quite in the class of the S but probably the next best. The T is more versatile than the N or R, not so dependent on an E to make it work well. You have suffixes like -TION, -IST, and -ITIS.
Here are a few ITISes you might like to get, in Scrabble if not in real life, all meaning inflammation of the relevant body part:
AORTITIS the aorta
COXITIS the coxa or hip joint
OSTEITIS a bone
OTITIS the inner ear
RECTITIS the rectum
UVEITIS the uvea, part of the eye
There are some wonderful words beginning with T, some more useful for Scrabble than others:
TAGHAIRM form of divination involving lying in a bullock’s hide behind a waterfall
TSKTSK to tut in irritation (hence TSKTSKS, TSKTSKED and TSKTSKING, all allowed)
TUBFAST fasting and sweating in a tub, intended as a cure for disease
TULCHAN the skin of a calf, placed next to a cow to induce it to give milk
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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