Anamonic

An anamonic is a form of mnemonic device frequently employed by tournament Scrabble players (the word anamonic is itself a portmanteau of anagram and mnemonic). It consists of a six or seven letter "stem" (often, but not always, an acceptable word itself), paired with a phrase in which each letter can be added to the stem and rearranged (anagrammed) to form a new word. Typical stems are sets of six or seven letters, as such anamonics aid in learning and in finding valuable seven- and eight-letter bingo (UK: "bonus") plays. Just as importantly, a player can quickly verify that he or she should not waste valuable time looking for a word in a set of letters that is ruled out by an anamonic.