Is OWIE a valid word?

OWIE is a minor injury, the kind of scrape or bump a child shows you, usually with a request for a bandage; its plural is OWIES. It is easy to remember because it starts with OW, the sound you make when you get one. OWIE clears an O, an I and an E with one 4-point W. Parents everywhere know the word even if they have never seen it written. It is a cozy word, the kind heard in every family with small children.

Before any bonus squares: O 1 + W 4 + I 1 + E 1 = 7. On a double-word square that's 14, on a triple-word 21, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the W on a 3L square and OWIE is worth 15 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 OWIE and these are still words:

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters O, W, I and E.

OWIE is a little hurt, like a scraped knee, the word a child uses. It starts with OW, the sound you make.

• Vowel-heavy words

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Tileside checks words against the North American list, the NASPA Word List 2023. Your group's chosen dictionary always wins.

Works with the Scrabble board game, played at the table. Tileside is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Scrabble.