I’m not a champion Scrabble player by any means. I often resort to words like “at” and “it” just to use up a turn. But with this list, hopefully I’ll be a little more creative when using tiny little words. And if all else fails, there’s always “ZQFMGB”… a worm found in New Guinea, according to Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes.

1. Aa – And I don’t mean the acronym for Alcoholics Anonymous, either. Aa is “basaltic lava having a rough surface.”

2. Qat – A flowering plant native to East Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

3. Zax – A slater or slate mason, or the tool used to cut and punch nail holes in roofing slate.

4. Cwm – a valley, especially one created by glacial movement. Be warned: this one won’t get you many points, but it is good for using up pesky, low-score consonants taking up valuable space on your rack.

5. Xu – Vietnamese money.

6. Qua – as or as being, or in the character of.

7. Suq – a market, or part of a market, in an Arab city.

8. Adz – an axe-like tool.

9. Jo – sweetheart or dear.

10. Qadi – a judge in the Muslim community.

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