Often when I’m playing Scrabble, I’m testing every normally -ed word with the -t variant to see if I can make it fit, but only a small percentage of them gets accepted or is in the dictionary. Some seem self-explanatory, but others seem arbitrary, and feel like hangovers from an old mediaeval version of the language.
An example of a self-explanatory variation would be “burned” and “burnt”. One is the past particle of the verb to burn, the other is a description of the quality of having been burned. Although interchangeable, one generally feels more appropriate than the other in specific circumstances. I’m ok with that particular t/ed switcheroo. It’s stuff like the following that I’m confused about:
- Vexed/Vext
- Fixed/Fixt
- Flocked/Flockt
- Picked/Pickt
- Skinned/Skint (borderline case, “skint” has another meaning)
Those are all in the dictionary, but these aren’t:
- Backed/Backt
- Racked/Rackt
- Packed/Packt
- Fucked/Fuckt
I can’t for the life of me figure out the rule, if such a rule even exists.
Cheers!
Using words like “fixt” or “vext” is completely fuckt
They’re not acceptable. In fact I can’t think of a single one except burnt that is still actively kicking around.
Who told you it was acceptable, if you don’t mind me asking. And if it was your english teacher, please ask them how they managed to get here from all the way back in Shakespeare’s time.
I sleeped on it and I decided you’re wrong.
Those ending in a ‘-t’ are archaic forms left over from Middle English.
Mostly loadwords from dwarvish.
Scrabble is not a language game, but instead a spatial and arithmetic game using arbitrary strings of letters. Don’t look to it as a reflexion of the state of English as she is spoke.
reflexion
I see what you did there.
I hadn’t heard of most of those examples besides burnt/burned, but I do know of learned/learnt, which hasn’t been mentioned.
All of the ‘t’ examples in the dictionary come as a genuine shock to me
Could be a British/American English thing. We (Americans) say “learned”, they will often say “learnt.”
Nope. Brit here. All those examples were wrong. Yours is valid though.
feel like hangovers from an old mediaeval version of the language.
This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think that might be the explanation.
Also like @Forester@pawb.social alluded to, English really isn’t one language, but more like 4(+) languages in a trench coat pretending to be one. Lots of weird shit that really doesn’t make much sense unless viewed from a perspective of language development & history
Because things ending with a t like that looks like shit and I’m sure those who decided the spelling though the same.
