From Z to A: ZZZ

ZZZ is a word used to indicate the sound of sleeping. It is an interjection, so cannot be pluralized.

The only way it can be spelled is with a Z and two blanks.

On March 18, 2009, writer Carl Bialik wrote an article about Scrabble in the Wall Street Journal. His first paragraph:

A trio of words -- one that's slang for pizza, another defined as a body's vital life force and a third referring to a snoring sound -- have conspired to change the game of Scrabble.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123731266862258869

"Za," "qi" and "zzz" were added recently to the game's official word list for its original English-language edition. Because Z's and Q's each have the game's highest point value of 10, those monosyllabic words can rack up big scores for relatively little effort.

 ZZZ actually can't get you many extra points, since you need those two blanks to spell it!

The 4th edition of the Official Scrabble Dictionary was superseded by the 5th edition in 2015. The 4th edition had actually been published in 2006, three years before Bialik wrote his article. (Which also addressed board games like Monopoly and athletic sports like basketball and football.

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 Apparently in 2009 the prospect of lowering the values for the Q and Z were being discussed. But changing the point values would play havoc with the record books, so it was never carried through.

The addition of non-words (IMHO) to the Scrabble Dictionary began with the 4th edition and continue to this day.

Take NEARLY, for example. In the Tournament Word List, NEARLIER and NEARLIEST are viable words!

Ridiculous!