by Liz Clift

Last month, we posted Part 2 of this blog with 10 words from our field that might improve your Scrabble game (or at the very least, help you out when you’re staring at your rack wondering what you do with those letters. And in February, we posted Part 1.

Now, we offer Part 3. As with Parts 1 and 2, points are based on the Hasbro website’s Scrabble dictionary, which assumes only the face value of tiles.

Adit (5 points) –  an entrance, as to a mine

Related: adits

Arkosic (13 points) – sand that is rich in feldspar

Related: akrose

Ctenidia (11 points) – a comb-like anatomical structure, such as a gill

Eelier (6 points) – resembling an eel

Related: eely, eeliest

Feldspar (14 points) – the single most abundant mineral group on earth

Meristem (12 points) – formative plant tissue containing undifferentiated cells

Related: meristems

Notochord (15 points) – a flexible rod that exists at some point during the life cycle of all vertebrates

Related: notochords

Parr (6 points) – a young salmon

Related: parrs

Peat (6 points) – a soil composed of partially decayed vegetative material

Related: peaty, peatier, peatiest

Sculpin (11 points) – a type of fish that may appear in both freshwater and marine environments

Related: sculpins

Fun fact: Eelier is one of my favorite words, and although I don’t get to use it in an ecological context all that often (okay, so once, exactly, while talking with a volunteer at a marine life center about eels and wolffish), it is handy for getting rid of a surplus of “e” tiles and almost guaranteeing that someone will challenge you.

Study up on these words—I’m sure we’ll have more coming at you in the future.