Is XYST a valid word?

XYST is a long covered porch or walkway where athletes exercised in ancient Greece, and in Rome a garden walk lined with trees; XYSTUS and XYSTOS are other forms, and its plural is XYSTS. It has no A, E, I, O or U, yet it carries the 8-point X and the 4-point Y, so it is worth 14 points before any bonus. Few players know it, so it is a great challenge-winner.

Before any bonus squares: X 8 + Y 4 + S 1 + T 1 = 14. On a double-word square that's 28, on a triple-word 42, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the X on a 3L square and XYST is worth 30 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 XYST and these are still words:

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

XYST is a covered porch where athletes trained in ancient Greece. It has an X and a Y but no A, E, I, O or U.

• Words without vowels

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