week 3

i pulled the bar on the string generator like a slot machine and watched as three letters rolled into view. r—okay, i can work with this, all the best words have r’s in them. then rw—this isn’t so bad, i could think of a few rw words off the top of my head: underwear, caterwaul, and small forward. but then rwt—what english words contain this sinister combination? were my three letters no better than two lemons and a bell?

the answer, to my surprise, was no. the oh ee dee, being the uncanny grimoire that it is choked up not one but two entries for rwt. i chose crwth not for its definition—because who cares about obsolete stringed instruments—but for the fact that it is one of only a handful of words admitted into english totally void of the traditional vowels of a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.

for the record: crwth rhymes with tooth.
also: the other rwt word is sooper badass. it is rwtowr, a variant of router and means “a swaggering solidier or bully.” a rwtowr and a lobcock would make a fine duo. if you use this combo as the basis for your next cop drama screenplay please consider naming their precinct captain raynor and giving him forearms the size of suckling pigs.

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this is a post in the ragbag word summer series. for this series, i search for words in the oh ee dee that contain a randomly generated string of 3 letters and report my findings. it is a thrill ride.

previous winners in this series have been: acyrological (incorrect in use of words) and lobcock (a blundering fool).