It rained today in Mendocino, shortly after Standard Time returned. In the darkness Amanita mushrooms sprouted in our driveway. In the nearby pine forest a great cloud of poisonous spores spewed heavenward, followed soon by waves of commercial mushroom hunters.

Mendocino winter approaches with its multi-hued molds, its rain, its cabin fever, its seasonal affective disorders, its week-long Scrabble games, and we have just the right book for house-bound depressives:

One Letter Words: A Dictionary.

Compiled by obsessive researcher Craig Conley, this little book offers a thousand definitions of 26 words, a to zed.

Conley quotes the White Queen who spoke to Alice in Through the Looking Glass: "I'll tell you a secret -- I can read words of one letter! Isn't that grand?"

Who except the White Queen knew there WERE any one-letter words beyond "I" and the article "a" and perhaps, if you were stretching it a bit in a Scrabble game, "O"?

Try THIS next time you have an odd Z to use up: Z Definition #33 (noun) (astronomy) "Redshift. Astronomers use the letter Z to denote redshift."

That knowledge alone is going to get you a triple ten points.

"The fact of the matter is," Conley explains, "...a word is any letter or group of letters that has meaning and is used as a unit of language. So even though there are only 26 letters in the English alphabet, my research shows that they stand for 1,000 distinct units of meaning."

"... the poet Karen Drayne once wrote about an imaginary country where the language is so simple they have only one letter in the alphabet, and it works because 'Context is everything.'" Conley adds, "That got me thinking about how a single letter of the alphabet can represent all sorts of distinct meanings..."

"The most important English words are small ones. And those small words -- which occur most often in our speech, reading, and writing -- are relatively few in number. Just ten words account for 25 per cent of all the words we use, and they all have only one syllable. Fifty words account for 50 per cent of all the words in our speech, and they, too, all have only one syllable."

Sue Grafton, popular mystery author, has made quite an excellent living out of nearly-one-word book titles. Currently she's up to "S" as in "S is for Silence." Going backward a couple of years, she's published "R is for Ricochet" "Q is for Quarry" all the way to "A is for Alibi." Her publisher once sponsored a contest for fans to name her next mystery. I came up with "ZZZ is for Snoring" but it didn't win, at least as far as I know.

"H" (noun) "The cosmic property of a substance without relation to the force manifesting itself through it... (it) is called 'hydrogen,' and like the hydrogen of chemistry, it is designated by the letter H."

The source of this fairly esoteric use of the letter H is P. D. Uspenskii, in his book In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching.

Clearly Conley has done some esoteric research of his own.

"E" "Something having the shape of an E. 'He had decided on the E shape for the building to keep it narrow enough to maximize the efficient use of natural light...'" That sourced from something called The Panama Canal Review.

I never thought I'd wonder about The Panama Canal Review but now I do wonder about it. Is there an ongoing publication for Canal scholars? Articles on "Teddy's Legacy" and "Locks -- Who Has the Key?" and so on. Just wondering.

Conley gets one of his X words from Earliest Uses of Mathematical Symbols and a D word from George Orwell in the novel Animal Farm.

"Boxer [the horse] could not get beyond the letter D."

It's fun, it's a goof, it's a serious work of scholarship, it's a bar bet, it's something to read when rain is pounding the roof, you're sitting in your favorite upholstered reading chair, and a soaking wet cat jumps into your lap, upsetting the glass of hot chocolate onto your clean white pajamas.

Cat. Three silly letters: C as in "a future event caused by something in the present", A as in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, T as in "T cushion: The technical name for the removable cushion in a stuffed chair, which looks like a very broad and squat T." Now with a nice cocoa stain on it, too.

Aired Sunday November 6, 2005 at 10:55 am and Monday November 7, 2005 at 8:40 am

Orders/Information:

One Letter Words: A Dictionary by Craig Conley. HarperCollins hardcover $16.95. ISBN 0060798734.

The author's web site: http://www.blueray.com/dictionary/ which features other outstanding works by Craig Conley, such as The Dictionary of All-Consonant Words and, of course, the Dictionary of All-Vowel Words. If that doesn't work, try this: http://www.oneletterwords.com/

---

Our readers & listeners respond:

Tony's old friend John Merryman responded to the When A is A Word issue of Words On Books with his own word list. Below is Tony's correspondence with John, and the list that John sent back.

Tony wrote:

John,

Clearly I have touched a nerve, nurv, knurev. I had no idea you were so OBSESSED and it's a good, gud, thing. May I have your permission to post your note on my web site? Laughing out loud, as they say.

Best, Tony

John's reply:

Tony,

Persimmon granted. Below is revised list (with several additions) and revised "Scheme," my rules for the list.

Many good wishes.

John Merryman (New York)

Homophones:
adds, ads, adze ade, aid, aide ail, ale air, ere, err, heir aisle, isle all, awl altar, alter ant, aunt arc, ark ascent, assent ate, eight aural, oral aw, awe away, aweigh aye, eye, I baa, bah bail, bale bait, bate baize, bays bald, balled, bawled balm, bomb band, banned banns, bans bard, barred bare, bear bark, barque barrier, burier base, bass based, baste baud, bawd bazaar, bizarre be, bee beach, beech beat, beet beaut, butte been, bin beer, bier bell, belle berry, bury berth, birth bight, bite, byte bird, burred bit, bitt blew, blue boar, bore board, bored boarder, border bode, bowed bold, bowled bole, bowl boos, booze born, borne bough, bow braid, brayed braise, brays, braze brake, break breach, breech bread, bred brewed, brood brews, bruise broach, brooch brows, browse bussed, bust but, butt buy, by, bye cache, cash call, caul callous, callus canter, cantor capital, capitol caret, carrot cast, caste caws, cause cede, seed ceiling, sealing cel, cell, sell cellar, seller censer, censor cent, scent, sent cereal, serial chard, charred chary, cherry cheap, cheep chews, choose chic, sheikh choir, quire choral, coral chord, cord, cored cite, sight, site clack, claque clew, clue click, clique climb, clime close, clothes coal, cole coarse, course coat, cote colonel, kernel coo, coup coop, coupe core, corps council, counsel coy, koi creak, creek crewed, crude crews, cruise cue, queue cymbal, symbol dam, damn days, daze descent, dissent desert, dessert dew, do, due die, dye dine, dyne dire, dyer do, doe, dough does, doughs, doze dos, dues done, dun dual, duel ducked, duct earn, urn eaves, eves ewe, yew, you faile, file fair, fare fairy, ferry faun, fawn faze, phase feat, feet file, phial find, fined fir, fur fisher, fissure flacks, flax flea, flee flecks, flex flew, flu, flue flocks, phlox floe, flow flour, flower for, fore, four forth, fourth foul, fowl frays, phrase frees, freeze, frieze friar, fryer furs, furze gage, gauge gait, gate gamble, gambol gays, gaze gel, jell gene, jean gest(e), jest gibe, jibe	gild, guild gilt, guilt gin, jinn gnu, knew, new gnus, news grade, grayed grate, great graze, greys greave, grieve grip, grippe groan, grown guide, guyed guise, guys hair, hare hairy, harry hail, hale hall, haul halve, have hangar, hanger hay, hey heal, heel hear, here heard, herd hew, hue hi, hie, high higher, hire ho, hoe hoar, whore hoard, horde, whored hoarse, horse hoes, hose hole, whole holed, hold hour, our house, hows idle, idol in, inn jam, jamb jewel, joule knave, nave knead, kneed, need knight, night knit, nit knot, not know, no knows, nose lacks, lax lade, laid lai, lay lain, lane lais, laze lam, lamb laps, lapse lea, lee leach, leech lead, led leak, leek lean, lien leased, least less, loess lessen, lesson levee, levy liar, lier, lyre lichen, liken licker, liquor lie, lye lieu, loo limb, limn links, lynx lo, low load, lode loan, lone locks, lox loop, loupe loot, lute made, maid mail, male main, mane maize, maze mall, maul manner, manor mantel, mantle marry, merry massed, mast mat, matte me, mi mean, mien meat, meet, mete metal, mettle mewl, mule mews, muse might, mite mil, mill mind, mined miner, minor missal, missile missed, mist misses, missus moan, mown moat, mote mode, mowed mood, mooed moose, mousse morn, mourn muscle, mussel mussed, must mustard, mustered naval, navel nay, neigh nicks, nix noes, nose none, nun oar, or, ore ode, owed oh, owe one, won paced, paste pact, packed paean, paeon, peon paid, payed pail, pale pain, pane pair, pare, pear pall, pawl patience, patients pause, paws pea, pee peak, peek, pique peal, peel pearl, purl peer, pier pi, pie pica, pika pistil, pistol place, plaice plain, plane plait, plate planar, planer plantar, planter passed, past pleas, please plum, plumb pocks, pox pole, poll poor, pore, pour pray, prey pride, pried pries, prize principal, principle pupal, pupil rabbet, rabbit rack, wrack rail, rale rain, reign, rein raise, rays, raze rancor, ranker rap, wrap	ray, re rayed, raid read, red read, reed real, reel recede, reseed reek, wreak rest, wrest retch, wretch rheum, room rhyme, rime rigger, rigor right, write, wright ring, wring rise, ryes road, rode, rowed roe, row roil, royal rÙle, roll rood, rude, rued root, route rose, rows rote, wrote rough, ruff rout, route rues, ruse rouse, rows rung, wrung rye, wry sacks, sacs, sax sail, sale sane, seine sault, sue saver, savor scene, seen scull, skull sea, see seam, seem sear, sere seas, sees, seize serf, surf sew, so, sow sewer, suer shake, sheikh shear, sheer shier, shire shoe, shoo shone, shown sic, sick sics, six side, sighed sigher, sire sighs, size sign, sine sink, sync slay, sleigh sleight, slight slew, slough, slue sloe, slow soar, sore soared, sword socks, sox sold, soled sole, soul some, sum son, sun spier, spire staid, stayed stair, stare stake, steak stationary, stationery steal, steel step, steppe stile, style stoop, stupe straight, strait succor, sucker suede, swayed suite, sweet summary, summery tacks, tax tact, tacked tail, tale tailor, taler tare, tear tarry, terry tartar, tarter taught, taut tea, tee, ti team, teem tear, tier teas, tease, tees tern, turn their, there threw, through throe, throw throne, thrown tic, tick tide, tied tier, tire tighter, titer tilde, tilled time, thyme to, too, two toad, toed, towed tocsin, toxin toe, tow told, tolled tole, toll ton, tun tool, tulle tor, tore, torr tort, torte tracked, tract tray, trey troop, troupe trussed, trust tucks, tux use, yews vain, vane, vein vale, veil vary, very vial, vile vice, vise wade, weighed wail, wale, whale waist, waste wait, weight waive, wave want, wont war, wore ward, warred ware, wear, where warn, worn wax, whacks way, weigh, whey we, wee weak, week weal, wheel weather, whether weld, welled were, whirr wet, whet wheeled, wield which, witch while, wile whine, wine whined, wind, wined whirled, world whit, wit white, wight whoa, woe whys, wise worst, wurst wild, wiled wood, would yoke, yolk

Scheme: Each word set is alphabetical. List is alphabetical by first words. First word is simplest form with homophone mate(s). No new sets by changing inflection if basic meanings are unchanged; e.g., "faze, phase", not "fazes, phases"; "cede, seed", not "ceded, seeded", etc. New sets allowed only if introducing a new meaning. No proper nouns, contractions, over-specialized, archaic, obsolete, dubious, or strictly foreign words. Pronunciations must be identical. Alternate pronunciations accepted if they appear in list's authority: Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, (2003).