Is SOX a valid word?

SOX is a plural of SOCK, used in North American English and familiar from baseball team names; SOCKS is valid too. SOX uses an S, an O and the X, worth 10 before any bonus. Baseball fans in Boston and Chicago know the spelling well. It is the kind of short X word that fits where nothing longer will. Its 8-point X sits at the end, where it can reach a letter bonus at the edge of a play, and its S and O are easy tiles to hold. If the X lands on a triple-letter square, SOX alone is worth 26 before any word bonus, a big return for three tiles.

Before any bonus squares: S 1 + O 1 + X 8 = 10. On a double-word square that's 20, on a triple-word 30, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the X on a 3L square and SOX is worth 26 before any word bonus.

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

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters S, O and X.

SOX is a plural of SOCK, as in the Red Sox. SOCKS is valid too.

• Three-letter words with J, Q, X or Z

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