Now You Can Use The Word ‘Selfie’ in Scrabble

The day has come when Scrabble players everywhere can now lay down tiles spelling Q-I-G-O-N-G or S-E-L-F-I-E without worrying about coming to F-I-S-T-I-C-U-F-F-S with their fellow spellers.

Those words, among more than 5,000 others, are included in the Fifth Edition of The Official SCRABBLE Player’s Dictionary, put out by American dictionary behemoth Merriam-Webster.

The announcement, marking the Scrabble bible’s first big update in nearly a decade, comes just days before 500 of the world’s most eminent Scrabblers go head-to-head at the national championships in Buffalo, N.Y. on Aug. 9.

The new words won’t be sanctioned for official use in club and tournament play until Dec. 1. But the new dictionaries will be on sale this week, with updated apps available later this month. Here are some other newly sanctioned words that players might consider throwing down in future competitions:

BEATBOX (v. -ED, -ING, -ES) to sing to the rhythm of rap music

BROMANCE (n. pl. -S) a close nonsexual relationship between men

BUZZKILL (n. pl. -S) one that has a depressing or negative effect

CHILLAX (v. -ED, -ING) -ES to calm down

COQUI (n. pl. -S) a small arboreal frog

DA (n. pl. -S) dad

DUBSTEP (n. pl. -S) a type of electronic dance music

FRENEMY (n. pl. -MIES) one who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy

FUNPLEX (n. pl. -ES) a building with facilities for sports and games

GEOCACHE (n. pl. –CACHED, -CACHING, -CACHES) to search for hidden items by using a Global Positioning System device as part of a game

GI (n. pl. -S) a white garment worn in martial arts

HASHTAG (n. pl. -S) a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that categorizes the accompanying text

JOCKDOM (n. pl. -S) the world of athletes

JOYPAD (n. pl. -S) a device with buttons to control computer images

MIXTAPE (n. pl. -S) a compilation of songs recorded from various sources

MOJITO (n. pl. -TOS) a cocktail made of rum, sugar, mint, and lime juice

PO (n. pl. POS) a chamber pot

PONZU (n. pl. -S) a tangy sauce used chiefly on seafood

QAJAQ (n. pl. -S) kayak

QIGONG (n. pl. -S) a Chinese system of physical exercises

SCHMUTZ (n. pl. -ES) dirt, grime

SELFIE (n. pl. -S) an image of oneself taken by oneself using a phone camera

SOJU (n. pl. -S) Korean vodka distilled from rice or sweet potato

SUDOKU (n. pl. -S) a puzzle involving the numbers 1 through 9

TE (n. pl. -S) ti

TEXTER (n. pl. -S) one that texts

VLOG (v. VLOGGED, VLOGGING, VLOGS) to blog video material

VODCAST (v. -CAST or -CASTED, -CASTING, -CASTS) to make video files available for download over the Internet

WEBZINE (n. pl. -S) a magazine published on the Internet

YUZU (n. pl. -S) a sour Japanese citrus fruit