New word suggestion - NERDINESS

[mkenuk]

It’s one of those silly words that most people could probably come up with but have never actually used.

Probably another example in yesterday's Standard game : throatily.

Possibly?

[pat]

And another - freebasing. That’s to say, another word that’s doubtful as a seed word.

[Alan W]

A multitude of issues were raised in this discussion in 2018, but the original suggestion, to include nerdiness as an allowable word, has obvious merit. From now on it will be accepted, and as a common word. However it won't be a puzzle seed word at this stage, meaning you won't see it as the big word in a nine-letter puzzle, but it will be playable as a common word in some ten-letter puzzles.

[Alan W]

Pat raised the question of freebasing which has, on two occasions, been the 10-letter word in a daily puzzle.

The word relates to a method of using cocaine. It appeared in the news in the 1980s and 1990s more often than in recent times, but was probably never what we would class as a common word. Currently freebase and freebased are also treated as common, and the latter has had the potential to be the all-letter word in a 7-by-many puzzle.

I'll make all three of these words rare for the future, and remove freebasing and freebased as puzzle seed words.