101 Two-Letter Words

by Stephin Merritt, Roz Chast (Illustrations)

The country folk say howdy-do but here in town, it's yo; they'll say it in the country too in twenty years or so. Rolling Stone magazine has called songwriter Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields the Cole Porter of his generation; O, The Oprah Magazine has hailed cartoonist Roz Chast as the wryest pen since Dorothy Parker's. Together they have crafted a witty and unique book in celebration of two-letter words, focusing on the 101 such words that count in Scrabble. Featuring original four-line poems by Merritt and color illustrations by Chast, 101 Two-Letter Words covers familiar words (go, hi, no, ox) as well as obscure ones (ka, oe, qi, xu). With the dark wit and clever wordplay of Edward Gorey or Shel Silverstein, this book is sure to delight not just Scrabble players and crossword puzzle fanatics but also anyone in thrall to the weirdest corners of the English language."

Genres: Poetry, Humor, Nonfiction, Language, Reference, The United States Of America, Graphic Novels

216 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2014

Reviews

[ambyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly adorable aide–mémoire with entirely adorable illustrations. I'm particularly fond of AG, BA, and OD. A few quibbles:

1. It was written before the fifth edition dictionary came out, which means it's missing DA, GI, PO, and TE despite being published after the dictionary revision. Okay, this isn't really Merritt's fault.

2. He defines some of the words (FE, NU, OE, etc.) incorrectly. Mostly this is just nitpicky of me, but in the case of FE I think it's pretty important to know that the Scrabble definition is "a Hebrew letter" and not, as Merritt claims, the element iron, because that means it can be made plural and is also a useful reminder of the existence of the alternate spelling FEH.

3. More seriously, what's with the gratuitous bashing of trans people? Did a trans person run over Merritt's childhood cat or something? I guess it's inspiration for me to come up with my own poems for AN and HE, because I'm sure not using these.

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to like?! Stephen Merritt, singer-songwriter of the Magnetic Fields (who play a lot of Scrabble on the road) has written a 4-line rhyming poem for each of the 2-letter words officially allowed in Scrabble. Each poem illustrated by the great Roz Chast.

A book to be picked up and perused occasionally, as well as a handy reference when playing WWF. :)

Will make you smile.

[Icewineanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for scrabble players & lovers of words. The author loves playing the on-line game "Words With Friends" (I'm also totally hooked on WWF scrabble).
I tested the 2 letter words using the iphone/ipad game & they work! The game accepts them as valid dictionary words.
Some are common knowledge & others are a little more obscure. For each 2 letter word, Stepin Merritt (a professional singer/songwriter) has written a rhyming poem and each word also has a fun illustration by Roz Chast.
A great reference book for scrabble players, whether you play on-line or using the traditional board.

[Joy H.]

Added 1/22/17. (Published September 29th 2014 by W. W. Norton & Company)

I found this book while browsing online after seeing a question at FunTrivia.com related to two-letter words used in the game of Scrabble. At first I found a related poem at:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...
Then I found this book, "used but like new", and ordered it for around $4.00 total.
I love words and I love light-verse and I love humor. So this book really appealed to me.

I will leave it where my grandkids will see it and I hope they'll take a look at it. It's hard to resist a title like this!

[Natalie Pietro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't even start to tell you how dumb I feel after reading this book. This little tiny books was to intelligent for my likings. This book of 101 two-letter words is great for the lover of scrabble. However I found the poems to be quite interesting to say the lest. Ok here have a go at one of them....

ED

Ed works for the board of ed.
(That's short for education)
He's dead board at the board of ed.
But that's his occupation.

Or

SH

"Sh", says the librarian,
"People are trying to read.
And turn that goddamn cellphone off,
Before I make you bleed"

Ok enough said. I'm out.

[Maggie]

Delightful. 101 little ditties for all the scrabble 2 letter words. Some are groan worthy, some are perfect, and UT made me grin:

Time was, the French sang "ut re mi"
(Instead of "do" put "ut");
But "ut" was so unmemorable,
the French do "do" now too.

Perhaps the best part is that it inspired me to pick up Words With Friends again.

[Vilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephin Merritt's day job is being a rock star, which sometimes involves sitting around . . . playing Scrabble and Words with Friends on his phone. To help him remember the admissible two-letter Scrabble words he wrote some rhymes. Then he kindly shared with the rest of us word freaks. It's fun--and it totally works.

[nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

i like the idea of this book much more than the execution. the little poems didn't really do much for me. and i hate to be nit-picky but i just don't tolerate a blatantly transphobic passage in a book published as recently as 2014. where were the editors on that call?? would have given this two stars except for that.

would be a great book for quick reference in a scrabble game, though.

[Jeffrey West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and full of wit, this book does what it sets out to do. You may not feel smarter after you finish it, but you'll have 101 new, interesting words to add to your vocabulary. It'll sure up your Scrabble advantage at the very least.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got to read the whole book as the original pages at an art exhibit!

[Natasha Nurse, Esq. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books are filled with words then there are books about words. This is a book you shouldn't miss reading 😆

[Ciarán Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, Stephin Merritt is one of my favorite songwriters/musicians, so when I saw that he'd written this book I was obligated to buy it. I really enjoy his clever writing and I felt pretty confident that this collection of 101 two-letter words that can be used in Scrabble games would be adorable, and I was 99.9% satisfied.

My only complaint is for "he" -- I was really disappointed to see transgender people treated really disrespectfully for that entry, not only because of the use of a slur but the overall spirit of it.

I still like the book. I still like Stephin Merritt's writing and music, but I am sort of disappointed in him.

The illustrations by Roz Chast fit Merritt's writing really well. If I had to choose some favorites from this collection, it would probably be "ai" and all of the words that feature the Vampire Dog.

[Douglas Lord · Rating 2 out of 5]

In rhymed couplets, Merritt defines 26 two-letter words (e.g., Ai: a threatened, Brazilian, 3-toed sloth. Or Id: “the source of primal drives”). Roz Chast's whimsical illustrations, which somewhat recall B. Kliban, provide a central focus for this trifle. The purpose? Unknown. Perhaps unknowable. Good for reading in: waiting rooms, airport lounges, and long checkout lines.
Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

EF

Ef starts that four-letter word
all children love repeating;
they scream it, jumping up and down,
until they get a beating.

A rock star kept running out of books to read while on planes, so he bought a deck of index cards (which unfortunately come only in packs of 100) to write about each of the 101 two-letter words allowed in Scrabble and Words with Friends--one poem per word. Then a New Yorker cartoonist illustrated each poem. I know this sounds like a Mad Lib, but it actually happened.

[Blackout · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been a fan of the Magnetic Fields for many years and have always enjoyed Stephin's pithy and erudite lyrics as much as the music, so I was interested to see what his first book would offer. I was well aware of the format and limitations before I started but I was shocked at the lack of creativity on display here. To make matters worse, the (intentionally?) crappy illustrations add nothing and are often offensive to the eye. I will endeavor to forget that this book exists and would not recommend it to anyone. Luckily it only took a half hour to stumble through.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book by Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields (and several other bands) is a collection of very short poems about the two-letter words permitted in Scrabble and Words with Friends, with illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. The poems and drawings are funny and whimsical, and even include a few running gags, like the Vampire Dog. Merritt mentions Edward Gorey as an influence in the introduction, and there are hints of Ogden Nash and Shel Silverstein as well.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool, I thought, a way to finally beat all my friends at Bananagrams by deploying those sneaky and super-effective two letter words. And then I actually read the book. It was mostly harmless and sort of funny. And then you hit the casual transphobia and fatphobia. So, no, I do not recommend. I don't need to see transphobic slurs used casually because they're an easy word to rhyme. Lazy and sophomoric.

[Amar Pai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly. The illustrations from Roz Chast really make it (although credit to Merritt as well for conjuring some good images for her to illustrate.) I already had all the two letter words memorized but I didn't know all of their meanings. This book really highlights how arbitrary the two letter word list is in Scrabble. Why allow ow but not ew? What determines if a foreign word is allowed?

[Stu Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming delightful book.....written by Stephin Merritt of Th Magnetic Fields, and illustrated by critically lauded illustrator Roz Chast, it's the 101 2-letter words you can use in Scrabble, accompanied by a four line poem about the word, and an illustration by Chast. It's a short read, but it is wonderful

[Iowa City Public Library]

Chast's expressive illustrations accompany the poems Merritt wrote to honor the 101 two-letter words allowed in Scrabble. With Chast’s illustrations and Merritt’s clever songwriting abilities, the book is sure to bring a ton of smiles.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this 3.5 stars if possible - I thought the illustrations were great and a majority of the little poems were funny and clever. I threw in an extra half star for the Scottish poem that accompanied "AE." That one killed me.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and lots of fun ... And will be handy for Words With Friends. I always love Roz Chast's illustrations!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2019 POP Sugar Challenge - A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)

[Amanda Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great people. Cool concept. Quick read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever rhymes, Gorey meets Seuss, and useful information for Scrabblers and Words with Frienders!

[Rebecca Plaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

For language lovers which I am one. Some bright rhymes and always engaging pics

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book by a clever lyricist and a great cartoonist, and a fun way to learn all the two-letter Scrabble words, it still feels like a marketing meeting decision.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Magentic Fields and Scrabble fan, how could I not love this!!! I enjoy that the reviews at the back of the book were also written in the same style. Well done.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read with some good reminders of 2 letter words that you can use in Scrabble.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems are kind of dumb, but help you remember 2 letter words for scrabble.