Okay, so technically the letter *y* is mostly a vowel but you know what we mean: things can look pretty bleak out there on the Scrabble field when all you’ve got on your tile bench is a bunch of clunky consonants (and sometimes *y*). This article is designed for such situations: 10 words you can play for anywhere between 10 and 17 points at minimum, all without *a*, *e*, *i*, *o*, or *u*, and all sanctioned by *The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary*.

*Lymph* once meant “plant sap,” but now refers to (deep breath) “a usually clear coagulable fluid that passes from intercellular spaces of body tissue into the lymphatic vessels, is discharged into the blood by way of the thoracic duct, and resembles blood plasma in containing white blood cells and especially lymphocytes but normally few red blood cells and no platelets.” Anyhoo, playing *lymph* in Scrabble is worth at least 15 points.

Another four-letter word that can score you a lot of points, even without a special tile. This word used for several wildcats with long legs, stubby tails, mottled coats, and usually tufted ears will get you at least 14 points. *Lynx* traces all the way back to Greek and may share a root with the Greek word for “white,” *leukos*.

This short word for an emotion that inspires impassioned eloquence will net you at least 13 points. *Hwyl* is a Welsh borrowing that in Welsh can also mean “sail,” “sheet,” “journey,” “course,” or “mood.” It also forms part of the traditional Welsh farewell *hwyl fawr*.

Tied for the highest-scoring word on this list with 17 points, *flybys* (not *flybies*) is the plural of *flyby*.

This vowelless standout (not even a *y*!) is pronounced KOOM and refers to a deep steep-walled basin on a mountain usually forming the blunt end of a valley. It may only have 3 letters, but it will earn you at least 10 points.

*Gold* will only net you 6 points, and at 12 letters, *frankincense* is going to be a stretch to play (unless you’re building off of *incense* or *frank*, of course), so *myrrh* is perhaps the greatest gift of the three for Scrabble players, worth 13 points at minimum.

Speaking of myth, playing *Sphinx*, which refers to a monster of Greek mythology, will certainly net you a goodly amount of points. But riddle us this: what if you don’t have, or have access to, an *i*? Well, buddy, then look for a *y* instead and play this word for a breed of (virtually) hairless cats for a whopping 17 points.