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Comment by quuxplusone | Hacker News Reader

I'm not sure PYRUS should be in the word list, and fairly sure YACK shouldn't; but also it'd be nice to avoid generating puzzles with multiple legal solutions. Look up the old HN thread on HueWords for some discussion of Wordle-style "valid" versus "target" word lists and their applicability to this sort of puzzle-game design.

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This game has a fairly comprehensive dictionary, kind of like Scrabble. The idea is that words should not be rejected merely for being uncommon.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Pyrus

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/yack

Basically, if a respected dictionary includes a word, this list does as well. I do understand the appeal of omitting weird words, but that would be a considerable and subjective undertaking.

But I'll see if I can find that thread, perhaps it will change my mind. Thanks!

I'd agree. I got stuck after getting SYRUP because I just assumed YACK wasn't a word.

FYI

yack n 1: noisy talk [syn: {yak}, {yack}, {yakety-yak}, {chatter}, {cackle}]

      v 1: talk incessantly and tiresomely [syn: {yack}, {jaw}, {yack
           away}, {rattle on}, {yap away}]

Yeah I thought it was just a slang term. It's not a common word in Britain at all.

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