Heroics

[Morbius]

I unsuccessfully tried the word heroics in yesterday's Challenge puzzle on the basis that it is neither a plural nor a verb form (as far as I know heroic isn't a singular noun and there is no verb to heroic.)  I thought it might be in same category as tongs which is allowed because, depite the 's' ending, it's not a plural or verb form.  I'd suggest that heroics should be allowed on the same basis.       

[mkenuk]

I agree. A similar word might be 'politics', since it is neither a plural form or an inflected verb form. I can't remember 'politics' ever coming in a chi game; I wonder if it would be allowed/
MK

[Morbius]

I also remember trying optics a while ago and that wasn't allowed either.  Physics is another one like that - not sure if that's allowed.  In fact, there are probably quite a few words that end in 'ics' that would fall into the same category.

[mkenuk]

'physics' is Ok - I think I remember raising that point a couple of years ago; the science 'physics' is obviously different from the plural of the word meaning 'medicine'. Not sure about 'optics' - in UK 'an optic' is a device a barman uses to measure spirits - the plural of that would be 'optics'. It probably comes down to which of the meanings of the word Alan considers most common.
MK

[Alan W]

I recently accepted that heroics should be allowed. Here, along with an earlier suggestion for the same word, Morbius also raised the case of optics.

As usual it's not an open and shut case. As Mike pointed out a device for measuring spirits can be called an optic. And the word can also be used for an optical instrument or a component of such an instrument. Here's an example from Popular Science in 2010:

A $120 million Earth-based telescope using brand new adaptive optics just trumped Hubble's deep space image clarity three-fold, but such high tech optics aren't just reserved for high-dollar observatories.

However, I feel the word optics is overwhelmingly used with one of two meanings that are plural only. One is the sciences of light and vision. The other, more recent, sense is the way some behaviour is perceived by the public. The earliest example of this usage given in the OED is from 1973. A very recent example is from this morning's paper here in Australia, in reference to the prime minister's purchase of a luxury cliff-top house:

But it has opened the prime minister to criticism from colleagues that he has misjudged the optics as voters battle high interest rates, rents and property prices.

In future optics will be allowed as a common word.

[Jacki]

I miss Mike.
Wow Alan, you’re adding common words in a flurry! Optics, heroics, next it will be pags! A word in our house our son made up for cuffs on his pants, (when he was young).

[Alan W]

Just clearing up the outstanding -ics words, Jacki. There are a few more to go.