Scrabble contest gives fans chance to add new words

PAWTUCKET, R.I., March 12 (UPI) -- A contest giving U.S. Scrabble fans the chance to add new words to the official dictionary began Wednesday on Facebook.

Hasbro, the company that produces Scrabble in the United States and Canada, launched the first Scrabble Word Showdown, the New York Times reported. Words can be nominated on the Scrabble Facebook page.

While Scrabble is a board game, the company plans to take some of its rules from the "March Madness" college basketball showdown. Contest officials will select 16 words from those offered on the page, and fans will vote on those with the winner becoming public April 10.

The word that captures the most votes will be added to the next edition of Merriam-Webster's Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.

Stephin Merritt, a songwriter, leader of the band Magnetic Fields and author of an upcoming book, "101 Two-Letter Words," told the Times he is submitting the word "ew."

"I don't understand why this isn't in enough dictionaries to qualify it for the Scrabble Dictionary," Merritt said in an email. "I use it every day."

Hasbro in its announcement suggested neologisms like "selfie" and "hashtag."