Vicinal and nonvicinal heterograms.A vicinal, as defined in Dave Morice's The Dictionary of Wordplay, is a word in which each letter has an alphabetic neighbor; that is, each letter in the word occupies a position in the alphabet next to another letter that appears in the word. (The term was created by Eugene Ulrich in the August 1983 Kickshaws.) Let us write the alphabet in a circle, regarding A and Z as alphabetic neighbors as well. Here is a collection of heterograms (words with no repeated letters) that are vicinals: 2 pairs abed abut adze azon bade balk balm bars bast bats beat bona bras chid daze done dope duct duet efts faze fest lets hide hied hist hits hong hopi join lamb meld mend nimh node nots onyx oped opts polk post pots pout pros reds refs rust ruts serf shit shri sith snot sorn spot stab stop Styx tabs tabu teds this thug tons tops tuba unto vugh xyst 1 pair, 1 triple abuts bacon banco block brats chide coden coned coped crabs demon drest ducts duets duvet educt fetus frets girsh monde morns mount norms notum ohing plank porns ports pouts prost punto puton shirt sight snort snout sport spout stoup strop tabus thugs tonus tonus /to·nus/ (to´nus) tone or tonicity; the slight, continuous contraction of a muscle, which in skeletal muscles aids in the maintenance of posture and in the return of blood to the heart. tsuba tubas upton 3 pairs ambled aplomb ardebs badmen balked bardes barons basted batons beards bedamn bedlam beldam blamed breads broncs cobnut debars depots despot dopers drones fetish fisher flambe Fresno habits habitu hagbut hiders histed hognut Hog´nut` n. 1. (Bot.) The pignut. hoiden honied jerids joined joints jurist kiblah klutzy lambed nought pedros phobia phobic posted pouted prosed quartz rhinos sabred serdab shedir sherif Shinto snored soften sonder sorned spored stoned stoped tabued thongs tonish updove 2 triples bracts educts girths griths homing hopingjutish mounts puntos putons rights sacbut unstop 1 pair, 1 quadruple abduct dolmen duster fights Proust rudest rusted sprout stupor 2 pairs, 1 triple abdomen bedfast bighead bighead a general swelling of the head. equine bighead see osteodystrophia fibrosa. ovine bighead a form of malignant edema due to Clostridium novyi in rams, usually the result of fighting. bingham Carbons chiders clomped clonked cobnuts corbans counted dabster deports demount disject ditches dithers docents dustmen endmost end·most adj. Being at or closest to the end; last. endmost Adjective nearest the end foments fondest frontes fron·tes n. Plural of frons. gabfest gunshot habitus hagnuts hedonic herdics hognuts holking horsing hosting Jacobin modems mounted mulcted noughts plonked ponders redfish redtops respond rodents rodsmen scoring shifted shifter shoring shotgun snorted snouted sported spouted thouing throngs unmoved 1 triple, 1 quadruple abducts compend crudest crusted frights nostrum nostrum /nos·trum/ (nos´trum) a quack, patent, or secret remedy. nos·trum n. A medicine whose effectiveness is unproved and whose ingredients are usually secret; a quack remedy. 1 pair, 1 quintuple blacked menfolk 4 pairs bandores banjoist Brahmins broadens confuted habitude halutzim hedonist hoatzins hordeins joinders pibrochs spheroid spheroid /sphe·roid/ (sfer´oid) a spherelike body. spher·oid or sphe·roi·dal adj. Having a generally spherical shape. 1 pair, 2 triples contused con·tuse tr.v. con·tused, con·tus·ing, con·tus·es To injure without breaking the skin; bruise. [Middle English contusen, from Latin contundere demijohn demounts ditchers document forspent for·spent adj. Archaic Worn out, as from exertion; exhausted. gunsmith mordents mouthing mudstone outspend portends shorting shouting 1 triple, 1 quintuple fighters freights refights 3 triples documents 1 pair, 1 triple, 1 quadruple undermost 2 pairs, 1 quintuple absconder bedchairs scrambled 3 pairs, 1 triple adsorbent adsorbent /ad·sor·bent/ (ad-sor´bent) 1. pertaining to or characterized by adsorption. 2. a substance that attracts other materials or particles to its surface by adsorption. basketful bismuthal blacktops construed Dobermans eastbound habitudes obscurant outshined thumbnail thyroxins 5 pairs rhapsodize 2 pairs, 2 triples blackshirt blacksmith chrondites hindermost hind·er·most adj. Variant of hindmost. Adj. 1. hindermost - located farthest to the rear backmost, hindmost, rearmost back - related to or located at the back; "the back yard"; "the back entrance" thumbnails 1 pair, 3 triples Christendom 2 pairs, 2 quadruples flourishment In a nonvicinal, no letter has an alphabetic neighbor. Here is a small collection of heterograms of nine or more letters that are nonvicinals. (The maximum possible length is thirteen.) 9 Letters Berkowitz capsuling carpeting certainly clavering coxalgies cravingly expulsing flowchart franticly interplay lacewings lawyering neuralgic overmatch packeting paltering panegyric parceling parleying pecuniary picayunes preacting prelaunch privately puckering racketing repacking replacing replating replaying sluiceway Spaulding squawking squeaking squealing traveling unshapely vectorial 10 Letters caperingly lacqueying taperingly ERIC IVERSON Eagan, Minnesota |
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