Q is for Qi

The quandary makes me quiver, as I quietly question the quality of my letters, while I quickly scan the game board. My opponent cannot see the quizzical look, nor hear the quips. There is no opportunity to quarrel about the queries of word origin, no need to quell the crowd. I suppose it seems quaint for this quirky gal to begin a quest that she cannot quit until she wins her quota, quenching her desire to be the quintessential queen...of Words with Friends.

The initial glimpse of that lone Q tile makes one queasy. Unless there is a tile with the marking that qualifies it as a U, you are out of luck. No quays, quarts, quotients, quilts or quiche for you...without a U...until...

Words with friends came along as an online, sort of mystical interwebs, game. The device you play on, with the designated app, does all of the quashing of questionable words for the opponents who are quarantined to their own touch screens. There is no penalty for trying some odd combinations of letters in hopes that they might actually be a word, according to the electronic powers that be. I am sure that is how the word qi was discovered amongst my friends with words. News sent a quake through the grapevine that there was a use for Q with no U necessary...just a free standing I. 

Our dictionary is quite old, and the word qi is not in it. We could not quote the definitions, and pass the book to the next player in the queue. A quick google search eased my querulousness by showing results that explained qi as a life force, breath or air...I just know it's worth a minimum of 11 points, but 31 points if that free I is next to an open triple letter space.