Is QABALAHS a valid word?

QABALAHS is the plural of QABALAH, a spelling of kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. At eight letters it can only be played through a tile already on the board, since your rack holds seven. That makes it a rare play, but a memorable one: the Q, B and H together carry most of the score, and the three A tiles and the S are easy to find. It also hooks onto QABALAH with a single S. The S hook is the realistic play, since the eight-letter word needs a tile already in place. Learning the spellings together (CABALA, KABALA, QABALA and their longer forms) makes each one easier to recall.

Before any bonus squares: Q 10 + A 1 + B 3 + A 1 + L 1 + A 1 + H 4 + S 1 = 22. On a double-word square that's 44, on a triple-word 66, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters Q, A, B, A, L, A, H and S.

QABALAHS is the plural of QABALAH. Eight letters, so play it through a tile already on the board.

• Q without U

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