Is ETUI a valid word?

ETUI is a small ornamental case for holding needles, scissors or other small things; its plural is ETUIS. It comes from French. ETUI clears an E, a U and an I with a single T, all one-point tiles. It is one of the best ways to play an unwanted U along with other vowels. Victorian ladies often carried an etui on a chain at the waist, so a needle or scissors was always close at hand.

Before any bonus squares: E 1 + T 1 + U 1 + I 1 = 4. On a double-word square that's 8, on a triple-word 12, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the E on a 3L square and ETUI is worth 6 before any word bonus.

Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.

Swap any one letter of ETUI and these are still words:

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters E, T, U and I.

ETUI is a small decorative case for needles or toiletries. Three vowels and a T.

• Vowel-heavy words

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