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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: nebo113 on August 28, 2020, 05:56:09 AM

Title: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on August 28, 2020, 05:56:09 AM
NYT dropped SET, so in addition to the crossword, I'm been trying Spelling Bee.  However, I'm frustrated because it rejects perfectly good words, solid English language words that are in dictionaries.  Any body else doing Spelling Bee?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: mahagonny on August 28, 2020, 06:11:29 AM
I will try it as soon as I find out whether 'black' must be capitalized.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: fleabite on August 28, 2020, 07:59:45 AM
I do the Spelling Bee in the print edition. The instructions say that you can count any words you come up with that are in the dictionary but not in the list of answers. I'm guessing from your comment that the electronic edition has a fill-in-the-blanks interface that is rejecting some of your submissions. Maybe their standard dictionary is different from the one you use? For example, some dictionaries demand hyphens for certain words and others consider them non-hyphenated.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2020, 09:02:22 AM
Yeah, I do the free version online every day which cuts you off after a few words. They used to let you do the whole thing for free, but I think they got tired of me and others sending them words they missed. RAFFIA, PAPAIN...

I love the print one on Sundays. Like fleabite I check words in the dictionary and if they are there, I go for it.

I get to genius level. Eventually.

Have you tried LetterBoxed?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2020, 09:36:12 AM
I do Spelling Bee every day on the app, along with the crosswords.  Today was the first (and probably last) day that I got Queen Bee all by myself and in only an hour or so! Usually my husband and I work on it independently throughout the day, then compare lists, then... a little nerdy, but we each wrote computer programs to help find the remaining words.  I wrote mine in R, he wrote his in some language on his Linux system (Perl?).  They go about the process differently, so we usually find all of them eventually.  I also found a site that will give you the answers (you have to click a button to see them, so they aren't just readily visible on this site: https://nytbee.com/).  It also gives metrics for words seen most often, number of words of a particular length, etc.  We only look at that after all else has been exhausted.  My R program currently just checks against the Hunspell dictionary, which tends to leave some more technical words out, and his spits out way too many possible words.  So I am trying to build an actual Spelling Bee dictionary to check against by copying the words out from that site and making a database.  Sometimes there are words that we think should be in there that aren't, and some of the words that are in there are pretty wacky.  As far as I know, the Spelling Bee dictionary is not available.  From the NYT website, they describe it as curated.  But it certainly isn't the same as the crossword, for example.  There are a bunch we kick ourselves over and then try to remember going forward (acacia, acai, lulu, whatever that c word was yesterday, words that can have two spelling variations included).

Of course the fun is in trying to solve it yourself! But we are also using this as a programming exercise.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2020, 09:59:10 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on August 28, 2020, 05:56:09 AM
NYT dropped SET, so in addition to the crossword, I'm been trying Spelling Bee.  However, I'm frustrated because it rejects perfectly good words, solid English language words that are in dictionaries.  Any body else doing Spelling Bee?

Yes! I do it every day. I generally manage to get genius and the pangram; Queen Bee is tougher. I get that a couple times a week, these days (but my first one was just a month or two ago).

But yeah, it rejects all kinds of legitimate words (including, but not limited to, any non-American spellings). I also find it incredibly frustrating. The puzzles also seem to repeat a fair bit, albeit occasionally with a different central letter. =/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Boomvang on August 28, 2020, 12:23:57 PM
I, too, do the Spelling Bee every day on my phone (the paid version, which costs a little extra but is worth it). I keep going until I reach the Genius level, although occasionally I fall a bit short. I have assembled lists of words that are not accepted and I have emailed the NYT puzzlemasters about this a few times. In some cases, they have added words from the list. I encourage you to email them about words that they do not accept--the more of us who do so, the better the chances that they will instate them! I have also emailed them about reusing the same puzzle and just changing the letter in the center. The reply indicated that they are concerned about reaching the ceiling for variants of the puzzle.

I send my emails to: nytcrossword@nyt.com. Last time, they informed me that words suggestions should be sent to: buzzwords@nyt.com
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2020, 12:43:59 PM
Quote from: Boomvang on August 28, 2020, 12:23:57 PM
I, too, do the Spelling Bee every day on my phone (the paid version, which costs a little extra but is worth it). I keep going until I reach the Genius level, although occasionally I fall a bit short. I have assembled lists of words that are not accepted and I have emailed the NYT puzzlemasters about this a few times. In some cases, they have added words from the list. I encourage you to email them about words that they do not accept--the more of us who do so, the better the chances that they will instate them! I have also emailed them about reusing the same puzzle and just changing the letter in the center. The reply indicated that they are concerned about reaching the ceiling for variants of the puzzle.

I send my emails to: nytcrossword@nyt.com. Last time, they informed me that words suggestions should be sent to: buzzwords@nyt.com

Thanks for bringing this up! We noticed the note about emailing acceptable words but always wondered what happens when you do.  It sounds as if they at least responded.  Did they let you know if there is a particular process for adjudication? One thing I'm torn about is whether I want them to add words in as time goes on.  On the one hand, they should be in there if they fit the criteria.  On the other hand, I have a mental list of "not in there but should be" and don't tend to check them again, so if they do add words in I would like to know! Can you say a little more about your experiences emailing the powers that be?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on August 28, 2020, 01:01:11 PM
I do the free version as well, but I haven't played in awhile since they started cutting you off after a few words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Boomvang on August 28, 2020, 01:14:34 PM
ab_grp:
They have responded to my emails every time. In general, their reasoning for finding words on my list unsuitable for inclusion has been that the words are not common enough. My reply was something to the effect of: as a Ph.D., I realize that I'm not the best judge, but in my view these words are common, and the Spelling Bee puzzles' own master list often includes words that are unfamiliar to me. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2020, 01:54:55 PM
Thanks for the additional detail, Boomvang.  It's great that they are so responsive, although some of their rulings seem pretty arbitrary.  This goes for compound words as well.  I shake my head at some of what's in there and some of what's not.  According to their site (https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029050872-Word-Games-and-Logic-Puzzles),

5. Why isn't every word in Spelling Bee?

Every Spelling Bee puzzle is hand-curated to focus on relatively common words (with a couple tough ones here and there to keep it challenging). Occasionally we'll miss some common words and add them in, but our puzzle editors ultimately draw from our internal lexicon and make the call for what's best with that day's puzzle.

The key word here is 'common'. We just removed words from Spelling Bee that we believe are not common enough, despite them being defined words, in order to maintain a level-field for all of our solvers.

We also try to avoid terms that are very specific to any professional field, such as terms that might be familiar to, for example, a physician, ornithologist or geologist, but not to people outside of that field of expertise.


Like I said, it seems a bit arbitrary.  It seems that some "common" words are not so common, even to those who are word game fanatics and etc.  And there are some in the puzzle that definitely seem pretty specific.  Maybe they are just outside my wheelhouse.  For example, "lamella(e)"? My husband identified those two (and promptly forgot to the next time they appeared), but only due to a weird discussion he happened to have with our dentist at one point.  Yet, "aroar", which is a NYT crossword fave, is not apparently a word.  Not the best example, but I can't think of others right now that we come across pretty often.  They also seem to take an arbitrary approach to which foreign words (currency, foods) are allowed.  The site I linked above also lists valid dictionary words that do not appear in each day's puzzle, if that is of interest.

I do wonder if they ever add words in.  I'm going to start keeping track of what we think should be in there, email the powers, see what happens, and report back.  I will also try to pay better attention to whether words that I don't think counted before do now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2020, 02:24:38 PM
'Lich' still isn't one, but anybody who's played any RPGs (tabletop or video) knows it, and that's... a lot of people these days. 'Afro' wasn't one recently, but a friend wrote to them about it. I think it counts now. A few times I've found pangrams that didn't count, and that was pretty annoying.

There are just so, so many, though. I can't keep track of them all. As for words that don't seem common... from yesterday's puzzle: boba, callaloo, clonal (I mean, sure, it's the adjective, but when have you ever come across it?), colcannon, and llano.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2020, 02:36:41 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2020, 02:24:38 PM
There are just so, so many, though. I can't keep track of them all. As for words that don't seem common... from yesterday's puzzle: boba, callaloo, clonal (I mean, sure, it's the adjective, but when have you ever come across it?), colcannon, and llano.

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssss.  Yes.  I was thinking callaloo specifically, but all of the above, and llano always gets us.  OH! Also, they include things like "doggo", "dunno", and "gonna"? And no "yoyo" (okay, maybe a brand name at one point, but still), "nono", "bobby",  but they'll take "bootee" and both "bandana" and "bandanna".  I do like to learn new words, like "dugong", and "tantara", which is apparently short for "taratantara".
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2020, 03:19:28 PM
I always wonder how they create the puzzle and decide where the level cut-offs are. Like it's that scientific...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2020, 03:26:12 PM
I haven't calculated all the levels, but Genius is approximately 70% of the total number of points.  I would guess the other levels are similar? Looks like Amazing is about 50% today.  Great is about 40%.  I use the reverse to figure out from Genius how many total points to expect.  Is that what you were asking, ciao_yall?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2020, 07:06:09 PM
Yeah, it looked to me like it was percentage-based, too.

Good call on 'yoyo'. I try it every time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: fleabite on August 28, 2020, 07:24:43 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on August 28, 2020, 02:36:41 PM
And no "yoyo" (okay, maybe a brand name at one point, but still), "nono", "bobby",  but they'll take "bootee" and both "bandana" and "bandanna".

At least in the print version, the words you construct have to have at least five letters, so "yo-yo" wouldn't qualify. Also, it's hyphenated, and hyphenated words are also no-nos.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on August 29, 2020, 05:34:11 AM
Glad to know I'm not the only frustrated speller.  Why don't they just use a standard dictionary??  And, boyoboy, I wish NYT would re-instate SET.  I don't like the online free version I found.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2020, 12:38:57 PM
Okay, there is a word today that is not in the puzzle that I definitely think should be! It's a pretty common word! I am going to use this as my experiment to write to the powers.  I'm sure I won't be the only one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 03, 2020, 12:42:28 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 03, 2020, 12:38:57 PM
Okay, there is a word today that is not in the puzzle that I definitely think should be! It's a pretty common word! I am going to use this as my experiment to write to the powers.  I'm sure I won't be the only one.

Eight letters? It should absolutely be counted. There's a bizarre omission at four letters, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2020, 12:51:24 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 03, 2020, 12:42:28 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 03, 2020, 12:38:57 PM
Okay, there is a word today that is not in the puzzle that I definitely think should be! It's a pretty common word! I am going to use this as my experiment to write to the powers.  I'm sure I won't be the only one.

Eight letters? It should absolutely be counted. There's a bizarre omission at four letters, too.

Hmm! I was talking about a four-letter word (probably same as yours) but am now curious about the eight-letter word.   As an update, I had emailed the address provided in the app (NYTCrossword@nytimes.com) just to see if they would redirect me as they had Boomvang.  I received an auto-reply within a minute and then a real reply within two minutes! Apparently, quite a lot of folks have notified them of the omission, it was an honest error, and it will most certainly show up in any future puzzles for which it would be a possibility letter-wise.  So, that definitely seems like confirmation that they will add words in at times.  I will be keeping an eye out! But I appreciate their swift response.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 04, 2020, 04:54:04 AM
Denied cove!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2020, 08:40:04 AM
My email was about cope.  Parasaurolophus, what was the eight-letter word you were thinking of?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 04, 2020, 08:56:13 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 04, 2020, 08:40:04 AM
My email was about cope.  Parasaurolophus, what was the eight-letter word you were thinking of?

Pellmell. I'll grant it's usually hyphenated, but it's spelled without often enough that it should have worked, as far as I'm concerned. More readily acceptable than today's four-letter Spanish word, I should think!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2020, 09:14:41 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 04, 2020, 08:56:13 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 04, 2020, 08:40:04 AM
My email was about cope.  Parasaurolophus, what was the eight-letter word you were thinking of?

Pellmell. I'll grant it's usually hyphenated, but it's spelled without often enough that it should have worked, as far as I'm concerned. More readily acceptable than today's four-letter Spanish word, I should think!

Ah, yep! We tried that one, too.  I don't think I found the Spanish word yet, but now I have a lead! Still have about 16 points to go for QB and am, as usual, stuck.  I would also like to know why some common dances are accepted and others aren't.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 15, 2020, 04:37:51 AM
Didn't quite make genius, but yesterday I used ALL the letters in one word!!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2020, 08:20:04 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on September 15, 2020, 04:37:51 AM
Didn't quite make genius, but yesterday I used ALL the letters in one word!!!

Nice work! I really struggled with yesterday's, especially the pangram. I don't accept 'boogaloo'. It's not a word, it's just what some bigoted fascist morons call themselves.


Lots of non-words-that-should-be-words in today's. And I noticed the other day that they still haven't decided to accept 'atlatl'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 15, 2020, 09:24:55 AM
Lede and clitic aren't on the list of acceptable (English) words, but raita and baobab are OK. I'm still struggling with today's pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2020, 09:46:10 AM
Right, clitic! I tried it yesterday, but was struggling to remember it this morning.

I don't have the pangram yet either, but if I don't see it early, it usually comes to me after I've set it aside for a few hours.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 10:20:00 AM
It took me forever to get the pangram today.  I think I already had genius plus 20 or so points by the time my husband finally got it and I begged him for a clue.  I tried so many compound words that didn't work.  Boogaloo really annoyed me yesterday.  It was the only word I was missing, and my program didn't find it (I guess I need to load more of the solutions to the database to help supplement the dictionary match).  When I finally just looked at the answer page, I just thought okay, whatever.  Give me a break.  So many more common words do not appear, but then some wackadoo words are in there.  I did try gabagool yesterday, which was kind of funny because we then watched an episode of The Office in which they used that word.  Anyway, today I still have about 12 points to go and am running my program, so we'll see.  Otherwise, I will just stew on it all day and not get as much done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2020, 10:59:28 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 10:20:00 AM
I did try gabagool yesterday, which was kind of funny because we then watched an episode of The Office in which they used that word.


Haha, me too!

Boogaloo is just not a word. At all. In any dictionary except the urban one. I may just complain about it, because wtf.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 11:31:46 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2020, 10:59:28 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 10:20:00 AM
I did try gabagool yesterday, which was kind of funny because we then watched an episode of The Office in which they used that word.


Haha, me too!

Boogaloo is just not a word. At all. In any dictionary except the urban one. I may just complain about it, because wtf.

Go for it! I am also driven crazy by the inconsistency in which archaic or variant spellings are allowed.  Enow? Really? Not gaol, though.  And cancan but not chacha, even though both seem to be hyphenated in their common forms.  No enema or ebola, either, from what I recall.  Maybe I just can't discern why the included ones are considered appropriate but not the excluded ones.  We finally got QB today through my husband's program.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 15, 2020, 05:15:44 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2020, 10:59:28 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 10:20:00 AM
I did try gabagool yesterday, which was kind of funny because we then watched an episode of The Office in which they used that word.

Boogaloo is just not a word. At all. In any dictionary except the urban one. I may just complain about it, because wtf.

I might complain about boogaloo too especially since croft, which I had assumed to be a proper English word, wasn't accepated.
My apologies if the quote function malfunctions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: fleabite on September 15, 2020, 08:00:58 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 11:31:46 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2020, 10:59:28 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 15, 2020, 10:20:00 AM
I did try gabagool yesterday, which was kind of funny because we then watched an episode of The Office in which they used that word.


Haha, me too!

Boogaloo is just not a word. At all. In any dictionary except the urban one. I may just complain about it, because wtf.

Go for it! I am also driven crazy by the inconsistency in which archaic or variant spellings are allowed.  Enow? Really? Not gaol, though.  And cancan but not chacha, even though both seem to be hyphenated in their common forms.  No enema or ebola, either, from what I recall.  Maybe I just can't discern why the included ones are considered appropriate but not the excluded ones.  We finally got QB today through my husband's program.

I believe that the dictionary used for copyediting at the New York Times is Webster's New World College Dictionary. Therefore, those compiling the games are probably using that dictionary's spelling and hyphenation when determining whether a word is valid for the Spelling Bee. If you don't happen to have a copy, you could also try Merriam Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary, which is the dictionary of choice for Chicago style. That's what I have, and it must be relatively close to the New World College Dictionary, because my spellings tend to follow those of the Spelling Bee approved answers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 16, 2020, 05:43:58 AM
I am delighted with ya'lls take on Spelling Bee, and to find that I'm definitely not the only one who goes grrrr at what is acceptable and what isn't.  Croft NO but boogaloo YES?????   NONONO
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Boomvang on September 16, 2020, 11:51:30 AM
Agreed. As I wrote before in this thread, send your comments and suggestions to the NYT puzzlemasters about such issues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2020, 12:06:36 PM
Maybe we can take turns sending the complaints of the week in.  I want to add the absence of loggia the other day.  And there is a word in it today that is another WTF given that others are not included.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Boomvang on September 16, 2020, 12:16:46 PM
ab_group: I tried that too. As per previous comments, I tried "croft" as well and I was quite surprised when "cope" was not accepted. Haven't done today's yet (set them aside for the evening), so posters please don't give anything away!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2020, 01:51:39 PM
Yes, I agree... I try to make only obscure references to the current day's puzzle.  If that is still too much or could be so, someone please say so, and then maybe we should hold off current day puzzle chat until the next day.  That would be fine with me if it prevents spoiling puzzle happiness!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 16, 2020, 05:58:59 PM
Here's the reply from the Spelling Bee Technical Specialist. Hu did not respond to my questions as to why words such as croft, lede, clitic, tarn were unacceptable whereas gonna, wanna, boogaloo, naan, raita were acceptable. The response earns an F.

Quote[/quoteWelcome to Spelling Bee! Thrilled to hear that you are having enough fun solving to send us a note. In short, our word lists are curated. Here is a bit of the how and a bit of the why:

While proper names and words that contain hyphens or apostrophes are not part of our word list, every Spelling Bee puzzle is hand-curated to focus on relatively common words, with a couple of tough ones here and there to keep it challenging. Occasionally, we may miss a common word or two and will add them in, but our puzzle editors ultimately draw from an internal lexicon and make the call for what's best with that day's puzzle. Lastly, In fairness to our wide-ranging audience, Spelling Bee avoids terms that are hyper-specific to any professional field, such as terms that might be familiar to, for example, a physician, ornithologist or geologist, but not to people outside of that field of expertise.

What words has the solving community spoken up about recently? BUCCAL, CARRACK, MILT, MITOTIC, NEOTENY, INTINCTION, INFARCT, LANTANA, LUFF, ONCOGENE, PORPHYRY, TROPONIN, and PHTHALATE, among others. While these terms are certainly defined, they either do not meet the bar of commonality that this puzzle has employed since its first day in circulation or they break a rule of the puzzle.

I hope that offers you at least a bit of solace and some proper clarity here! Thank you again for taking the time to send us a note, and most of all, for solving with us.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 17, 2020, 06:13:06 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on September 16, 2020, 05:58:59 PM
Here's the reply from the Spelling Bee Technical Specialist. Hu did not respond to my questions as to why words such as croft, lede, clitic, tarn were unacceptable whereas gonna, wanna, boogaloo, naan, raita were acceptable. The response earns an F.

Quote[/quoteWelcome to Spelling Bee! Thrilled to hear that you are having enough fun solving to send us a note. In short, our word lists are curated. Here is a bit of the how and a bit of the why:

While proper names and words that contain hyphens or apostrophes are not part of our word list, every Spelling Bee puzzle is hand-curated to focus on relatively common words, with a couple of tough ones here and there to keep it challenging. Occasionally, we may miss a common word or two and will add them in, but our puzzle editors ultimately draw from an internal lexicon and make the call for what's best with that day's puzzle. Lastly, In fairness to our wide-ranging audience, Spelling Bee avoids terms that are hyper-specific to any professional field, such as terms that might be familiar to, for example, a physician, ornithologist or geologist, but not to people outside of that field of expertise.

What words has the solving community spoken up about recently? BUCCAL, CARRACK, MILT, MITOTIC, NEOTENY, INTINCTION, INFARCT, LANTANA, LUFF, ONCOGENE, PORPHYRY, TROPONIN, and PHTHALATE, among others. While these terms are certainly defined, they either do not meet the bar of commonality that this puzzle has employed since its first day in circulation or they break a rule of the puzzle.

I hope that offers you at least a bit of solace and some proper clarity here! Thank you again for taking the time to send us a note, and most of all, for solving with us.

Guess us academics are just dumb bunnies for not knowing that lede is really le-de.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 17, 2020, 08:00:44 AM
Or, they could just include all possible words, and to achieve genius one only needs to get 70% of them instead of 90%.

But that would make too much sense.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 17, 2020, 10:35:35 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on September 17, 2020, 08:00:44 AM
Or, they could just include all possible words, and to achieve genius one only needs to get 70% of them instead of 90%.

But that would make too much sense.

That'd be nice.

There'd still be no *%!$/&)ing 'boogaloo', though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Boomvang on September 17, 2020, 02:37:56 PM
A suggestion to all: It might be fun to form a Zoom or Skype group to chat about these matters and others associated with NYT puzzles. Is anyone interested? Is there a way to start one and join in a way that would not reveal who posts under which username in The Fora?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on September 17, 2020, 05:55:38 PM
I've  become addicted since  April--it's  often  the bright spot in my pandemic day.

Also, I "cheat" (and enjoy the data) at: www.nytbee.com.  I don't look at the answers but I look at the common words, what words were rejected, how many   of each size word, how difficult, how many pangrams,  how many total  words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 18, 2020, 05:01:40 AM
Quote from: Boomvang on September 17, 2020, 02:37:56 PM
A suggestion to all: It might be fun to form a Zoom or Skype group to chat about these matters and others associated with NYT puzzles. Is anyone interested? Is there a way to start one and join in a way that would not reveal who posts under which username in The Fora?

I have iffy internet so won't work for me.  But thanks for the idea.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 25, 2020, 06:34:56 AM
Got the pantagram two days in a row but yesterday's total score was still low.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 25, 2020, 10:24:18 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on September 25, 2020, 06:34:56 AM
Got the pantagram two days in a row but yesterday's total score was still low.

Well done!


Today, I'm complaining that a couple days ago, 'troy' was counted as a word. Either it's a proper noun, in which case it's ineligible, or it's an adjective meaning 'expressed or computed in troy weight', in which case, it's so obscure that almost nobody knows it and is instead thinking of the ancient city, so it's ineligible.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 26, 2020, 04:47:10 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 25, 2020, 10:24:18 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on September 25, 2020, 06:34:56 AM
Got the pantagram two days in a row but yesterday's total score was still low.

Well done!


Today, I'm complaining that a couple days ago, 'troy' was counted as a word. Either it's a proper noun, in which case it's ineligible, or it's an adjective meaning 'expressed or computed in troy weight', in which case, it's so obscure that almost nobody knows it and is instead thinking of the ancient city, so it's ineligible.

Thanks!   Though I'm going to disagree about 'troy' which I did not get.  I'm disagreeing because, if we're doing the NYT Spelling Bee, we obviously think we're smarter than the average bear so should know about 'troy.'  ~:)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 26, 2020, 09:37:00 AM
...locoweed?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on September 27, 2020, 05:16:17 AM
'Labrador' isn't on today's list.  GRRRRR
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 27, 2020, 10:31:55 AM
Nor boll. Much to my surprise, enow was accepted a couple of days ago, but not lego yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 06, 2020, 03:35:10 PM
Caught and forgot another suprising omission t'other day.

I have to confess that I'd been having a bad few days until yesterday. It was days in a row of not hitting 'genius', or anywhere even close (all those days where it was set at 170+ points). Dunno if it was stress or distraction, or whatever. But I was really sucking (comparatively). I think I'm back on form now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2020, 04:15:17 PM
There were a couple days of really big (number of words) puzzles, and unfortunately a lot of that tends to be grind-it-out stuff like adding various prefixes and/or suffixes.  After a while, that can feel a bit boring (husband calls those bookkeeping puzzles... always have to check to be sure we've tried all variations of words).  There was one the other day that was really tough for us due to the combination of letters, and on more than one day we couldn't find the final words using either of our programs.  Then yesterday or the day before, I got queen bee by myself before finishing my first cup of coffee, and in comparing our lists today we were able to get queen bee without having to run our programs.  The experience certainly differs from day to day or set of letters to set of letters! At least I got to try "yabba dabba doo" a week or so ago.  I know, it has spaces.  I still tried it.  There have been a couple compound words recently that didn't appear in the puzzle that seemed as though they should given the random stuff they often include.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 07, 2020, 01:40:19 PM
Dudette was nixed, but the Spelling Bee allows a plethora of words that are obscure, archaic, or non-English.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on October 07, 2020, 03:55:48 PM
I'm down to needing one five-letter word to be Queen Bee and I'm done. They should allow dudette, among other things. Grrr. I did get to genius halfway through first cup. Some letter combinations fire my brain; others do not.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on October 08, 2020, 04:09:26 AM
Quote from: reener06 on October 07, 2020, 03:55:48 PM
I'm down to needing one five-letter word to be Queen Bee and I'm done. They should allow dudette, among other things. Grrr. I did get to genius halfway through first cup. Some letter combinations fire my brain; others do not.

Same for me on the letter combos. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2020, 05:33:19 AM
It's a brutal one today, or so it seems.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 08, 2020, 08:01:46 AM
Yeah, I'm stuck at 34 right now. But inspiration often strikes me later in the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2020, 08:06:19 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 08, 2020, 08:01:46 AM
Yeah, I'm stuck at 21 right now. But inspiration often strikes me later in the day.
Me too, stuck at 22. I usually mange to find more words when I come back to it later. I often get the pangrams, but not the run of the mill words. Today, though, I think I AM stuck.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 08, 2020, 09:34:30 AM
Immediately after posting, I found two more for 13 points. But I'm definitely stuck again, and probably will be until the end of the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2020, 10:08:00 AM
Just inched up to 45. Still on 'Great'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 08, 2020, 10:48:18 AM
Quote from: reener06 on October 07, 2020, 03:55:48 PM
I'm down to needing one five-letter word to be Queen Bee and I'm done. They should allow dudette, among other things. Grrr. I did get to genius halfway through first cup. Some letter combinations fire my brain; others do not.

What did the final word end up being? For us it was "outdo"... I always miss those for some reason.  Totally agree on dudette!

Today was short but tough.  We ended up comparing once we reached genius, and then I figured out the final word, but at least there weren't a ton of words I thought should be in there that weren't this time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2020, 12:56:45 PM
Felt like a marathon today, but I made it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 08, 2020, 03:10:48 PM
Had a glance and saw the pangram and a few more. Not there yet, but probably by the end of the day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2020, 08:17:59 AM
Yesterday was a haul and not helped by husband having to go into the office and stay longer than planned, so we finally finished up in the evening and had to look at the final words.  Colcannon! Argh! And also vanillin.  I am also still mad about dudette given that they had phat the other day.

Today I am having an interesting experience.  Usually I kill the app so it resets (otherwise, the following day it sometimes just shows me at Queen Bee with the previous days letters), but sometimes I don't if I'm going to do some archived crosswords.  I hadn't, so I thought I did that this morning, but when I opened the app it had me at 0 points and with new letters but with Queen Bee! I figured I'd just go for it and see what happens.  I'm now at 48 words and 888 points.  I guess after starting to input words it put me at some really high point count.  I have been taking screen shots because it's just funny to me.  But I figure I must have surpassed genius by now, if each word is at least 4 points and it's only 169 to genius.  Plus I have a bunch of longer words.  It hadn't changed my status before (to good start, moving up, etc.), but genius usually changes the screen briefly, so I thought maybe it would do something at that point.  Anyway, I guess I still have some words left to find.  We shall see what happens if I can find all of them before something happens that resets the app.  I'm trying not to leave the bee, though I usually try to get the crossword done first.  An exciting day in the NYT games app! Has anyone had this happen before?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2020, 08:39:18 AM
ab_grp, what app are you using? Spelling Bee saves my entries so I can use my desktop, kindle, phone, and occasionally my laptop depending on when I'm playing.

All I need today is a six-letter word. Pullup is a no-no.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2020, 09:25:30 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 10, 2020, 08:39:18 AM
ab_grp, what app are you using? Spelling Bee saves my entries so I can use my desktop, kindle, phone, and occasionally my laptop depending on when I'm playing.

All I need today is a six-letter word. Pullup is a no-no.

I use the NYT Crossword app.  I use the desktop login to play sudoku, because I am slow enough at that without trying to do it on my phone through the website, and it is not in the app (yet?).

Good luck finding the final word! Could it be a 5 letter and a 4 letter? I realized my reasoning before was faulty, thinking that if each is at least 4 letters (thinking 4 points for those), I must be at least at genius.  It turned out when comparing to my husband's that I was at genius, but I am the one who always reminds him that 4-letter words are only 1 point, so I guess I was too aflutter about the app shenanigans. 

Looks like I have only a few more words to find so am just going to run the program to see what happens when I get to real QB.  Probably nothing exciting, but I feel like I am stuck in this app until I finish this today.  Then onto the crosswords! Given the total points and number of words I have left, some must be 4-letter, but I feel like I have tried everything I can think of. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2020, 11:57:27 AM
I use my kindle for most of the games, as I've found that the crossword doesn't show up properly on my phone. I start on the Spelling Bee first thing every morning, even before getting caffeinated.

I did find the last word--I typed in a sequence of letters that turned out to be an actual word. I'll keep coming back to it as I often find more words later in the day.

Vanillin was a surprise, as were anion and anionic.

The mini is one of my favorites. I also work on Letter Boxed, but don't always manage to get all the letters into three or four words, which is my maximum (I have my own rules).

Hope you made it to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2020, 12:25:55 PM
I had to change some of the settings on my phone so that the crossword appeared the way I wanted it to.  A big help was changing the font size! But if I had a tablet or such, I would prefer to use that.  I will have to check with my Kindles! One is eight years old (Kindle Fire).  The other is one of the new paperwhites.  I'm not sure if the older one has the ability to access that app, and the newer one might not be much bigger display than my phone.  Still, I never thought of using either of them!

Congrats on finding the last word! We hacked at it and hacked at it and finally just ran the programs.  Mine found three longer words that we had missed somehow.  I had to look up the final word on the answer site so husband did not have to plow through a huge list of four-letter words.  The final one was pretty dumb, in my opinion.

So what happened when I finally inputted that four-letter word? Nothing! It said "Nice!", added 1 point to my total, and then just sat there.  So I ended up with a purported 939 points.  I finally backed out of the Bee to get to the crosswords, went back in, and was told I was Queen Bee with yesterday's total points and number of words.  Now I just went back in and it has reset and shows me at QB with the correct totals for today.  I don't know why glitches amuse me so much.  Thanks for the QB wishes!

I like the mini, too.  I usually start with the Bee, working on it while I am getting ready first thing in the morning.  Then we make coffee, and I try to go back and do the mini and then the regular daily crosswords.  Then back to the Bee until I at least get Genius, and over to Wordscapes to do that daily puzzle.  Then back to the Bee.  I have tried Letter Boxed but don't find it very intuitive for some reason.  Maybe I just need to keep at it.  I definitely understand having your own rules.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2020, 12:39:58 PM
Spelling Bee would on your Kindle Fire. Mine dates back to 2014. All you need is your anytime username and password.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2020, 02:20:18 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 10, 2020, 12:39:58 PM
Spelling Bee would on your Kindle Fire. Mine dates back to 2014. All you need is your anytime username and password.

Thanks! I dug out the old Kindle and got some charge in it but don't see the app in the store.  I am probably doing something wrong and will have to look into it more.  Maybe my device is too old? It uses Amazon App Store for Android.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2020, 02:47:04 PM
There isn't any app for the Spelling Bee. I think I just typed my username and password. NYTimes used to have an app for the kindle but discontinued it a few years ago.

If you can access your NYTimes account on the internet on Kindle, you should be able to access the games as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2020, 03:18:21 PM
Oh, that makes sense.  I'll see if I can access it through the site instead.  Too bad that they discontinued the app, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on October 12, 2020, 11:36:14 AM
What is up with today? I thought Monday was easier. Blech. I hate these letters.I got to  Amazing, and have 31 points to go. Blech.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 12, 2020, 11:38:53 AM
Quote from: reener06 on October 12, 2020, 11:36:14 AM
What is up with today? I thought Monday was easier. Blech. I hate these letters.I got to  Amazing, and have 31 points to go. Blech.

Yeah, it's tough. I've only got 83 points so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 12, 2020, 11:53:37 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 12, 2020, 11:38:53 AM
Quote from: reener06 on October 12, 2020, 11:36:14 AM
What is up with today? I thought Monday was easier. Blech. I hate these letters.I got to  Amazing, and have 31 points to go. Blech.

Yeah, it's tough. I've only got 83 points so far.

Agreed. I got one of the pangrams fairly early on, then stalled.  Could not make these letters work in my head. I think I do worse when the anchor letter is a vowel. Also, I just kept seeing "donut" which of course doesn't count for anything and makes me want snack food.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 12, 2020, 11:54:55 AM
Agree. Tedious, and not very interesting words. I made it to QB though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2020, 12:05:07 PM
We got pretty far with it before going to the programs and then the answers, but that's probably because most words were pretty familiar and easy to get from previous puzzles.  Some we just forgot about.  I think we were about 17 points away before the programs, then 6 points away after.  Had to look at the answers to find the final word.  I thought it was okay, not super fun, not a super drudge.  At least there weren't any really crazy words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on October 12, 2020, 12:44:05 PM
Thanks for this thread. How did I not know that these puzzles existed? I've been doing NYT crosswords Thurs-Sun each week.
This will be a good way to burn some time on Mon-Weds (!)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on October 13, 2020, 05:38:57 AM
Just got today's panagram on the 5th word, so will quit while I'm ahead!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 13, 2020, 06:35:55 AM
Today's wasn't too bad, but I'm stuck. I'll have to come back to it later for my last two words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 13, 2020, 07:00:01 AM
Yes, the pangram came easy today! Good way to start the morning. Perhaps it's because there is only one vowel?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2020, 07:38:32 AM
Since I'm doing the free version it cuts me off just as I'm getting started.

But if I start paying, I'll get Letter Boxed, and I'll never stop looking at my phone and end up like Arachnia.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 13, 2020, 08:47:51 AM
Quote from: monarda on October 12, 2020, 12:44:05 PM
Thanks for this thread. How did I not know that these puzzles existed? I've been doing NYT crosswords Thurs-Sun each week.
This will be a good way to burn some time on Mon-Weds (!)

Glad you found us!

Today's seems a bit tough, but maybe I need more coffee.  I did get a pangram and got to genius, but I am at a loss for now.  I'll go back to it.  I will have some comments about particulars tomorrow so I don't give anything away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 13, 2020, 09:30:55 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on October 13, 2020, 07:38:32 AM
Since I'm doing the free version it cuts me off just as I'm getting started.

But if I start paying, I'll get Letter Boxed, and I'll never stop looking at my phone and end up like Arachnia.

Letter boxed is not as satisfying as the Bee, and that's the problem: I can go on and on and on and on forever.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 13, 2020, 09:49:09 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on October 13, 2020, 07:38:32 AM
Since I'm doing the free version it cuts me off just as I'm getting started.

But if I start paying, I'll get Letter Boxed, and I'll never stop looking at my phone and end up like Arachnia.

Yeah, me too, just the free version for now. I try to at least find the pangram before it cuts me off, then I just write my answers down and compare to the answer list. Probably not as satisfying as playing with the subscription.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 14, 2020, 01:50:07 PM
Did anyone else find yesterday's entry "gaydar" to be a little surprising? What they include or not or think is appropriate or not really boggles the mind sometimes.  At this point, I figure I will just try anything that comes to mind.  You never know.

Today was another long one.  We got pretty far before having to throw in the towel and go get some other things accomplished.  I only knew one of the three remaining words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 14, 2020, 06:22:01 PM
Gaydar was a wild guess on my part. I'd much rather have difficult puzzles that contain fewer words instead of puzzles that contain more than 200 words as was the case today and probably on Monday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 16, 2020, 12:49:05 PM
There was a nice, long article about the bee in the NYT today: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html)

I found it interesting that a reasonably small percentage of people reach genius and that QB is apparently an easter egg level? The article mentions that genius is actually the official top level.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 16, 2020, 02:54:24 PM
I didn't know there was a level past Genius!

That said, I only play the free version these days. I got sick of finding words that Spelling Bee doesn't accept. This morning's was MILT.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 16, 2020, 09:57:03 PM
I'd assumed that QB was another name for genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on October 17, 2020, 05:34:40 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 16, 2020, 12:49:05 PM
There was a nice, long article about the bee in the NYT today: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html)

I found it interesting that a reasonably small percentage of people reach genius and that QB is apparently an easter egg level? The article mentions that genius is actually the official top level.

Thanks.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2020, 09:43:24 AM
Well, QB is all the possible points, and genius is about 70% of possible points.  I have always shot for QB, because I thought that was the point, but it's good to know genius is the official goal.  Today is shorter, but I have still not gotten to genius.  Some days are definitely more challenging than the others.  It would be interesting to know which letter combos, numbers of words, and so forth are associated with more or fewer people getting to genius.  I would like a look at the data! But it also made me wonder if those counts take into account folks like those on this thread who play the free version and can only go so far before being cut off, as that would have an impact on the percentages reaching genius. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 17, 2020, 10:24:03 AM
I got today's pangram, but am still looking for what must be very obviously common words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2020, 04:08:07 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 17, 2020, 10:24:03 AM
I got today's pangram, but am still looking for what must be very obviously common words.

The pangram popped right out at me, but then I got stuck in the sludge.  Finally, spouse and I both got to genius and compared lists and had only 7 or so points left to QB.  We probably should have gotten one of the two words that were left at that point.  Oh well.  I hope you had some luck with your efforts!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 17, 2020, 04:16:29 PM
I'm doing the free version and got the panagram first. Then it cut me off... Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2020, 04:25:41 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on October 17, 2020, 04:16:29 PM
I'm doing the free version and got the panagram first. Then it cut me off... Oh well.

What is the criterion for cutting you off? Is it if you get so many points, or spend so much time, or something like that? Sorry you get cut off like that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 17, 2020, 04:38:38 PM
I'm still suck, but have been out and about, so I don't think I'll get around to looking for more words tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 22, 2020, 07:33:21 AM
Yesterday, it didn't accept 'decile'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 22, 2020, 07:47:46 AM
I'm playing the free version; after it kicks me off, I write down more words and compare to answer key, so I'm never sure exactly how well I've done, but I'm happy if I get most words and the pangrams.
Today, it kicked me off after I entered 3 words (including the pangram, what else cold it be?). There must not be that many words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 22, 2020, 08:00:00 AM
Today's was short, but not sweet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 22, 2020, 08:54:59 AM
I was mad that decile was not included.  And yet pfft has been in there a couple times lately! Pfft!! I have reached genius but not QB so far today.  Due to the letter placement, it seems as though it's going to be one of those bookkeeping types.  Yesterday was as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 23, 2020, 05:53:44 AM
Today's was easy. I got to genius, but have to wait until later to find more words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 23, 2020, 10:20:07 AM
I am stuck with about 7 points left to QB but hope to get them.  I got the final word on my own again yesterday and hope the streak continues! I'm probably jinxing myself.  There were a bunch of easy words today, but I did get stuck now and again before either just guessing a word that worked or realizing I had overlooked a very easy word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 24, 2020, 07:17:11 AM
It's a dreary one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:37:28 PM
We finally each got genius, compared, and got to QB without looking at the program output.  The final word was a guess of letters that could work together, which I am not a fan of.  I managed to get two like that yesterday (photoic and photopic).  The final word we got today seemed very specific given that they did not have "anjou" in there a couple days ago, and that is a pretty common type of pear. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:37:28 PM
We finally each got genius, compared, and got to QB without looking at the program output.  The final word was a guess of letters that could work together, which I am not a fan of.  I managed to get two like that yesterday (photoic and photopic).  The final word we got today seemed very specific given that they did not have "anjou" in there a couple days ago, and that is a pretty common type of pear.

Anjou is a French province, though, so it's a proper noun.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:51:55 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:37:28 PM
We finally each got genius, compared, and got to QB without looking at the program output.  The final word was a guess of letters that could work together, which I am not a fan of.  I managed to get two like that yesterday (photoic and photopic).  The final word we got today seemed very specific given that they did not have "anjou" in there a couple days ago, and that is a pretty common type of pear.

Anjou is a French province, though, so it's a proper noun.

That makes sense, but they also have "panama" in there.  I assumed it was included because it's a type of hat (?), but it's also a proper noun.  Maybe there's some other distinction between them?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 04:22:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:51:55 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:37:28 PM
We finally each got genius, compared, and got to QB without looking at the program output.  The final word was a guess of letters that could work together, which I am not a fan of.  I managed to get two like that yesterday (photoic and photopic).  The final word we got today seemed very specific given that they did not have "anjou" in there a couple days ago, and that is a pretty common type of pear.

Anjou is a French province, though, so it's a proper noun.

That makes sense, but they also have "panama" in there.  I assumed it was included because it's a type of hat (?), but it's also a proper noun.  Maybe there's some other distinction between them?

Uh oh. Sigh. The 'system' isn't even systematic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 25, 2020, 05:41:19 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 04:22:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:51:55 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:37:28 PM
We finally each got genius, compared, and got to QB without looking at the program output.  The final word was a guess of letters that could work together, which I am not a fan of.  I managed to get two like that yesterday (photoic and photopic).  The final word we got today seemed very specific given that they did not have "anjou" in there a couple days ago, and that is a pretty common type of pear.

Anjou is a French province, though, so it's a proper noun.

That makes sense, but they also have "panama" in there.  I assumed it was included because it's a type of hat (?), but it's also a proper noun.  Maybe there's some other distinction between them?

Uh oh. Sigh. The 'system' isn't even systematic.

If the system accepts panama as a synonym for hat, then it should also accept anjou as one of the synonyms for pear.
Today's is joyless. I'm giving up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 25, 2020, 09:27:09 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 25, 2020, 05:41:19 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 04:22:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:51:55 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2020, 02:49:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 24, 2020, 02:37:28 PM
We finally each got genius, compared, and got to QB without looking at the program output.  The final word was a guess of letters that could work together, which I am not a fan of.  I managed to get two like that yesterday (photoic and photopic).  The final word we got today seemed very specific given that they did not have "anjou" in there a couple days ago, and that is a pretty common type of pear.

Anjou is a French province, though, so it's a proper noun.

That makes sense, but they also have "panama" in there.  I assumed it was included because it's a type of hat (?), but it's also a proper noun.  Maybe there's some other distinction between them?

Uh oh. Sigh. The 'system' isn't even systematic.

If the system accepts panama as a synonym for hat, then it should also accept anjou as one of the synonyms for pear.
Today's is joyless. I'm giving up.

It does seem inconsistent.  The final word we got yesterday was "Puli", which appears to be a type of dog that is capitalized in most references I've seen.  Seems comparatively uncommon and also to test the boundaries of acceptable.

I am almost to genius today and don't think it will be too much trouble to get there.  Not sure about QB yet.  But the pangram (or one of them if there is more than one) seems a bit more difficult than most.   I had heard the word (somewhere?) and got it, but I had no idea what it meant until I looked it up just now. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 25, 2020, 01:31:17 PM
I too was surprised to see 'puli'. Just crept up to 79. That's it for today, I think.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 25, 2020, 03:46:10 PM
The inconsistencies are why I hate the online edition. It will take YUCCA but not LANTANA or VERBENA. YTTRIUM but not VANILLIN. As langue_doc says, it's joyless.

They should put every possible word in the online solution and just set the bar a bit lower.

Meanwhile in the old-school print edition I am one word short from genius this morning.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on October 26, 2020, 04:58:45 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on October 25, 2020, 03:46:10 PM
The inconsistencies are why I hate the online edition. It will take YUCCA but not LANTANA or VERBENA. YTTRIUM but not VANILLIN. As langue_doc says, it's joyless.

They should put every possible word in the online solution and just set the bar a bit lower.

Meanwhile in the old-school print edition I am one word short from genius this morning.

Where do you get the print edition?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on October 26, 2020, 05:30:59 AM
Boy am I pissed!!!  The first word I put in today was "dicot" and it was rejected!!!  Don't even want to keep going.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2020, 06:58:28 AM
Another dreary one. You need @250 points to reach Genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 26, 2020, 08:13:31 AM
Hmm. No 'factum' yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2020, 09:01:55 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on October 26, 2020, 04:58:45 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on October 25, 2020, 03:46:10 PM
The inconsistencies are why I hate the online edition. It will take YUCCA but not LANTANA or VERBENA. YTTRIUM but not VANILLIN. As langue_doc says, it's joyless.

They should put every possible word in the online solution and just set the bar a bit lower.

Meanwhile in the old-school print edition I am one word short from genius this morning.

Where do you get the print edition?

Sunday paper delivered. It's in the magazine with the crossword puzzle.

I achieved genius BTW.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2020, 09:07:17 AM
Are well all doing the same online version?

The panagram was a medical term, but then it would not take OTIC.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2020, 09:14:03 AM
I'm up to 244. I did get the pangram, but am frustrated because 'coir' and 'doric' weren't accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2020, 09:16:58 AM
I'm doing the free version so it cuts me off at "Solid" which in today's case was 58 points.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 26, 2020, 09:19:29 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 26, 2020, 09:14:03 AM
I'm up to 244. I did get the pangram, but am frustrated because 'coir' and 'doric' weren't accepted.

Yeah, same, although I'm at a lowly 129 and convinced there's another pangram in there somewhere.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2020, 09:20:46 AM
I made it to genius plus a bit (284 points) so far, but although we have had these letters before it is a slog to try to remember all the words that will work.  I've found a couple avenues of inquiry that have led to some longer words but am giving it a rest for a bit.  And like many here, I am playing the game of "why is X not in the list but Y is?!"
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on October 26, 2020, 09:52:47 AM
I've been doing the free version also. It just isn't satisfying enough, so I may end up subscribing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2020, 09:58:11 AM
Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on October 26, 2020, 09:52:47 AM
I've been doing the free version also. It just isn't satisfying enough, so I may end up subscribing.

I'm not interested in the paid version, but I might pay to get LetterBoxed. Of course, then I'll spend my whole life with my face in my phone That game is seriously like crack.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2020, 10:17:27 AM
It isn't expensive if you get home delivery. I think I'm paying around $19 for the games (both crosswords, letter boxed, spelling bee, tiles, and a few others).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 26, 2020, 10:21:43 AM
I pay 5 USD a month, which is good for all the puzzles.

I wouldn't shell out for the paper, because my opinion of its general quality is too low at this point. I fret a little about supporting them as it is, but it seems worth it for now just for the crossword, bee, and letterboxed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on October 28, 2020, 05:48:18 AM
Got yesterday's pangram first off.  Just hit me instantly.  Downhill from there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 28, 2020, 05:59:35 AM
Yesterday's pangram was my first word. I did get to Genius, but didn't get minimize or minimized.

Today's is one of those wordy ones that depend on related word forms. I made it to Genius, but it wasn't fun. The pangram was one of my last words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2020, 09:53:50 AM
Yesterday's was tough until I stumbled on the zigging, zagging, zigzag, zigzagging, etc.  We fell short of the final three words, geez, meze, and mezze (which I thought I had tried!).  Today's is another "bookkeeping" effort.  Make sure to get all the variations of each word! I think I am at about 238, so not too much more to genius, but as usual am now at a loss so am giving it a rest, briefly.  I haven't figured out the pangram yet, so maybe that will at least put me over the genius hump for now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 28, 2020, 10:07:07 AM
Surely it should have been 'geeze'.

Edit: got to genius, but since QB is 100 points away, that's never happening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2020, 11:09:23 AM
I don't think it should have been in there at all!

Finally got to genius and got the pangram.  Looks like I have about 24 points left to get to QB, but I am worn out.  Hopefully we'll find the rest of the words once we compare what we have.  I have to wait until husband gets to genius, though.  Shouldn't be too long.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 31, 2020, 08:03:12 AM
Easy one today, with a nice little witch hat over the bee.

But I've been led to wonder: has anyone ever seen a puzzle with an 's' in it? I don't think I ever have.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 31, 2020, 08:30:58 AM
Made it to slightly over genius.

I don't recall seeing any puzzles with 's', but quite a few with 'e, d' and 'i, n, g'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2020, 08:37:36 AM
I looped over genius with a total guess.  Hopefully I'll get to QB! Is that where the witch hat is? Thanks for mentioning it, because I probably would have completely missed it.

As for 's', I thought about that a while back and don't think I have ever seen an 's' in the puzzle.  Can't say for sure, but I have gone back through a bunch of word lists from before I started playing, and I haven't seen any there, either.  Maybe the solution list would just be way too long? And probably a pain in the neck to just have to go through and add 's' to everything.  Though there would be new words we don't usually get to find, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 31, 2020, 09:07:18 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 31, 2020, 08:37:36 AM
I looped over genius with a total guess.  Hopefully I'll get to QB! Is that where the witch hat is? Thanks for mentioning it, because I probably would have completely missed it.


You get the hat at genius. I've not yet made it to QB, but I'm close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2020, 09:41:10 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 31, 2020, 09:07:18 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 31, 2020, 08:37:36 AM
I looped over genius with a total guess.  Hopefully I'll get to QB! Is that where the witch hat is? Thanks for mentioning it, because I probably would have completely missed it.


You get the hat at genius. I've not yet made it to QB, but I'm close.

Mine doesn't seem to show a witch hat, but maybe spouse's does, as we are on different operating systems.  We made it to within about 6 points of QB but haven't gotten the final word or words yet.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 31, 2020, 10:30:30 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 31, 2020, 09:41:10 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 31, 2020, 09:07:18 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 31, 2020, 08:37:36 AM
I looped over genius with a total guess.  Hopefully I'll get to QB! Is that where the witch hat is? Thanks for mentioning it, because I probably would have completely missed it.


You get the hat at genius. I've not yet made it to QB, but I'm close.

Mine doesn't seem to show a witch hat, but maybe spouse's does, as we are on different operating systems.  We made it to within about 6 points of QB but haven't gotten the final word or words yet.  Good luck!

It was just on the popup telling you you've hit genius. I imagine it'll show up again when you hit QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 01, 2020, 05:14:25 AM
Got to genius. I'll have to look for the remaining words later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2020, 07:59:40 AM
We didn't get to see the witch hat yesterday, but we did make it to QB with the help of the program finding the last two words (barb, which we should have gotten, and babka, which we always miss).  I keep thinking barback or rawbar might be in there, to no avail.

Today's didn't seem too rough but is taking me a while.  I have to finish the crossword first, and that is also taking longer than usual.  Maybe it's the time change, or maybe I need the coffee to set in more. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2020, 06:25:26 AM
I'm well above genius today but can't find the pangram. It's probably something easy, but I'm stumped.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 02, 2020, 08:04:30 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 02, 2020, 06:25:26 AM
I'm well above genius today but can't find the pangram. It's probably something easy, but I'm stumped.

It's a tricky one to see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2020, 08:45:33 AM
I actually saw the pangram right off today, though there have been a couple days recently in which I got to genius and still had no clue about the pangram.  I wonder if the letters all start out in the same arrangement for folks? Spouse and I paid attention to that early on (and whether shuffling the letters took them to the same new arrangement), but now I can't recall.  I do think the arrangement helps.  Keep shuffling! Today has been pretty easy for me so far, though I'm still about 15 points from QB.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2020, 10:51:36 AM
I found the pangram.

The arrangements seem to vary as I have different ones on the desktop and the kindle (I just checked). Shuffling does help as words just pop up in certain configurations.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2020, 10:56:09 AM
Hooray! Another thing that sometimes helps me is to just start typing sets of letters that should work.  A lot of times, it will lead me to remember a word that I didn't try yet.  YMMV.

Happily, between the two of us we got all but one point, and I managed to figure out the final (very simple) four-letter word for QB.  Thankfully, spouse remembered one of the ones we always forget.  Yesterday we managed to forget that darned callaloo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2020, 11:12:50 AM
I do the typing of random letters too. This morning I tried to get the pangram by trying out words with un-. On rare occasions, random typing gives me words that I didn't know even existed. Today a perfectly legit word was rejected, presumably because SB thought it was naughty.

I got the spelling wrong with callaloo. The previous day I forgot abracadabra and crawdad.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2020, 11:52:45 AM
I go ahead and try words that might get rejected for being naughty, because there are plenty in there that I wouldn't personally add.  Sometimes I wonder if the app will delete itself if I enter anything too over the line.  Hasn't happened yet!

And I forgot to comment on abracadabra being in there the other day.  I was surprised when it was accepted but was glad to see it.  Actually, that was the word I was referring to when I said I guessed a word that looped me right past genius.  It felt like serendipity.

As for the pangram and trying letter sequences, I approach it similarly when it doesn't pop right out at me.  There are days when I just get stuck in a mental rut because particular prefixes, suffixes, or sequences occur a lot, and then I can't seem to think outside that box. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 03, 2020, 09:09:18 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 02, 2020, 11:52:45 AM
I go ahead and try words that might get rejected for being naughty, because there are plenty in there that I wouldn't personally add.  Sometimes I wonder if the app will delete itself if I enter anything too over the line.  Hasn't happened yet!


That made me laugh.

Seriously considering subscribing now. I miss the days when I could do it for free!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2020, 09:16:27 AM
Plodded up to 83, but haven't found the pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 03, 2020, 09:24:27 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 03, 2020, 09:16:27 AM
Plodded up to 83, but haven't found the pangram yet.

I haven't found it either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2020, 09:58:24 AM
It took me a long time to get the pangram, too.  But a weird coincidence (?) helped.  We ended up getting all but two words.  It's tough with that y in the middle!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 03, 2020, 10:08:12 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 03, 2020, 09:16:27 AM
Plodded up to 83, but haven't found the pangram yet.

Yeah, I'm at 85 and pangramless for the time being.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 03, 2020, 07:13:29 PM
Finally got the pangram. Don't think I can attempt QB, given the commitment to watching election returns live. (Why we do it, I don't know.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2020, 07:41:44 PM
I don't think I'm destined to get the pangram tonight. Must be the election related brain fog.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2020, 10:04:39 PM
Found it.  Made it to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 06:39:24 AM
The coincidence (?) I was talking about yesterday was that the pangram and at least two other words were answers in the main crossword.  I don't think there is too much crossover in staff working on those, so maybe it was just meant to be.  If I hadn't just done the crossword, I definitely do not think I would have figured out the pangram for a long while, and probably only then from the trying random letters approach.

Today has been pretty easy so far, but I'm sure I will be eating those words soon.  Still 23 points from genius, plus we had to get up early. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 06:46:34 AM
Today's isn't too bad. I found two pangrams which put me slightly above genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 04, 2020, 08:23:29 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 06:39:24 AM
The coincidence (?) I was talking about yesterday was that the pangram and at least two other words were answers in the main crossword.  I don't think there is too much crossover in staff working on those, so maybe it was just meant to be.  If I hadn't just done the crossword, I definitely do not think I would have figured out the pangram for a long while, and probably only then from the trying random letters approach.

Today has been pretty easy so far, but I'm sure I will be eating those words soon.  Still 23 points from genius, plus we had to get up early.

That's interesting about the crossword.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 04, 2020, 08:27:49 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 06:46:34 AM
Today's isn't too bad. I found two pangrams which put me slightly above genius.

I got one of them. :)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 04, 2020, 08:31:08 AM
Interesting that it won't accept 'chiral.'
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 04, 2020, 08:50:12 AM
Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 04, 2020, 08:23:29 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 06:39:24 AM
The coincidence (?) I was talking about yesterday was that the pangram and at least two other words were answers in the main crossword.  I don't think there is too much crossover in staff working on those, so maybe it was just meant to be.  If I hadn't just done the crossword, I definitely do not think I would have figured out the pangram for a long while, and probably only then from the trying random letters approach.

Today has been pretty easy so far, but I'm sure I will be eating those words soon.  Still 23 points from genius, plus we had to get up early.

That's interesting about the crossword.

Sometimes I find the same clues across multiple crosswords for a few weeks - like the word is in the zeitgeist or something. Then it goes away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 08:51:29 AM
Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 04, 2020, 08:27:49 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 06:46:34 AM
Today's isn't too bad. I found two pangrams which put me slightly above genius.

I got one of them. :)

I'm sure you'll find the other!

Still struggling along to genius.  Five more points to go.  Coffee does not seem to be helping today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 08:56:00 AM
I just found the third one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 08:58:53 AM
I don't know if I'm happy or not to hear that there is another pangram hiding in the forest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 04, 2020, 09:02:22 AM
Oooh, three! I only have two, and am not at genius yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 09:04:44 AM
They aren't too difficult--one's a compound.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 09:06:53 AM
Helpful to know! I finally dragged myself to exactly genius.  And totally feeling like one right now! Ugh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 12:15:45 PM
Woohoo! I got to QB all by my lonesome after being stuck on exactly genius forever.  And I tried a forumite's moniker, which appears to be a word but was not accepted.  Hmm! Or, should I say, pfft!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 12:48:04 PM
Congrats!
I'm stuck at 117 points. I tried a forumite's moniker too, most likely the same one, as it wasn't accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2020, 02:04:34 PM
Thanks! It helped to know there was another pangram to search for, although I had the one you had referred to (but was too sleep-deprived to realize it).  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 05, 2020, 04:48:39 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 04, 2020, 09:04:44 AM
They aren't too difficult--one's a compound.

I thought it rejected compounds.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2020, 05:30:07 AM
SB is inconsistent with its definitions. The word was archrival.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2020, 08:51:50 AM
Definitely inconsistent!

I did make it to genius but still have 20 points to QB and am flagging.  We'll see.  At least I'm feeling a little more alert today, but I think QB yesterday was a fluke.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2020, 09:54:09 AM
I made it to QB yesterday, late at night. I'm up to genius today. Not sure if I'll find any more words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2020, 10:10:22 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 05, 2020, 09:54:09 AM
I made it to QB yesterday, late at night. I'm up to genius today. Not sure if I'll find any more words.

That's great.  What were the final words you found, out of curiosity? I think my final one was archaic.  We got to within 7 points of QB today after comparing lists but decided to run the programs so we can move on with things.   I don't think the word we had missed would have come easily, so probably a good decision.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2020, 10:49:37 AM
The last two words were cirri and caviar. I got cirri by typing letters at random and then saw caviar with the letters neatly laid out around the 'r'.  I found archival even before getting to solid.

What are the programs you're using to find the missing words?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2020, 11:05:01 AM
Ah, cirri is one of those in my "don't forget words that end with i" list.  Cirri, cocci, croci, etc.  There are so many that we get in one puzzle and then totally miss in another.  I think I got archival and then archrival soon after, or vice versa, but I'm not sure I would have found chivalric if you hadn't noted that there were three pangrams.

Husband and I each wrote programs in our "native languages" (mine is R), just as kind of a fun thing to do.  I am too rusty with R these days, so I figured it would be motivation to get back a few basic skills, at least.  My program makes a list of all possible 4 to 9 letter sequences consisting of subsets of the letter list with middle letter required and then checks against a dictionary to identify what it considers to be words.  Then I run subsets of the full list (regardless of whether they are words) against the word list I've accumulated from previous spelling bees.  I guess we could just look at the answers online, but maybe I'll eventually have enough words in my database that I won't need to.  Husband's program works a little differently.  To my thinking, his program basically scores the full dictionary (different dictionary than mine) and outputs any letter sequences that have the middle letter, > 3 letters, subsets of the letter list.  So, he gets a much longer list out of it, but it also tends to be able to capture all the words in the puzzle, whereas my approach doesn't always.  We run my first part (dictionary), then second (my word bank), then his if the list is not too long.  I'm not sure there is much point to this exercise, but if I don't get to QB one way or the other I tend to keep thinking about it all day.  Unfortunately, we can't find the exact dictionary that they use for the bee.  That would make life easier.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2020, 07:47:06 PM
Thanks for the detailed information. I'm not technologically savvy, alas, but will look into writing a similar program. I usually stop when I reach genius, unless I feel motivated or find the letter combinations intriguing. I don't think I have any energy tonight to look for more words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2020, 08:03:57 PM
I can't stop, or as I mentioned I will keep spinning the wheel in my head.  If you would like my admittedly crap and inelegant program, just PM me or something! I made it better through several stages, but then the ROI was incremental, so I stopped.  It's still pretty short and uses a dictionary package, so no need to add anything unless you want to do step 2 or want a bigger dictionary.  I never got to the point of trying to add other dictionaries because I used the online answers to supplement my step 2 database if I missed anything.  It's still not totally comprehensive, but you get what you pay for!

ETA: I could post the relevant code here, too.  It will be a drag, but maybe it will be useful.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 06, 2020, 04:23:33 AM
Thanks, I'll PM you over the weekend.

I made it to 136 words today, but have to take care of grading and other work-related matters. The pangram wasn't too difficult. I hope there's another one as that would get me to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 06, 2020, 09:00:16 AM
Sure! I made it to just past genius so far today.  I have only found one pangram so far, though there were three the other days.  Good luck, in any case.

I felt pretty silly missing "augural" yesterday, as I had a calendar appointment that afternoon to attend a colleague's inaugural lecture as a distinguished professor.  I'm not sure I would have gotten it even if I had checked my calendar by then, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 07, 2020, 06:57:51 AM
Just got today's pangram (unless there's more than one) so will quit while I'm ahead!!!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 07, 2020, 09:35:43 AM
Congrats!  I made it to genius plus a little and found a pangram but am now stuck again, as usual. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 07, 2020, 09:41:04 AM
I'm a dozen short of genius today, but expect to get there eventually. I'll try to remember to complain about a word that's not being counted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 07, 2020, 10:40:43 AM
I'm slightly above genius, but have been stuck.

Stopped by for a quick look, now back to Canvas for another couple of hours.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 07, 2020, 10:46:01 AM
We compared lists and ended up having to run the program for the final three words. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 07, 2020, 04:52:09 PM
It's 131 today. I've given up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2020, 11:56:00 AM
We finally got to QB without any aid.  I had gotten within 6 points and racked up another 3 after comparing lists, but it was a challenge to find those final three words.  Luckily, the pangram made itself known fairly early on.  Kind of a tough day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 08, 2020, 01:01:47 PM
I got the pangram early on--it was an academically appropriate word. I'm stuck at 188.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on November 08, 2020, 06:36:03 PM
I got the pangram as the 1st word, as I was taking a break from grading to do it.
Did not get all the words, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2020, 06:35:04 AM
I made it to 63--hurrah! The pangram was my last word. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find the remaining words.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 09, 2020, 07:42:00 AM
This morning it would not take TEFF which is a grain. Grr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 09, 2020, 08:25:30 AM
Lots of weird words yesterday (epode, odea, ogee, yegg), and yet they wouldn't take 'elven'. I know Tolkein didn't like 'elven', but the fact is that it's a thing, now.


As for today... I'm stuck at 22 in 13 words for now.

EDIT: 37 in 14. Found the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 09, 2020, 09:37:36 AM
Yes, yesterday did have a lot of unusual words, and I also keep trying elven.  I ended up guessing epode and odea, and yegg is sometimes in the crossword.  Today I made it to genius in about 10 minutes, but I got lucky because I got the pangram fairly early on, and some of these words have been in the puzzle recently.  Then I got stuck, but I did finally make it to QB by guessing the final word.  I don't know if it feels like so much of an accomplishment if I have to guess, but maybe I heard the word somewhere.    I am thankful for a short word list that was not too bad today.  Given that I don't do much that's productive these, days, I will take it.  If only I could put it on my cv.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 09, 2020, 06:01:10 PM
Made it to 63 and found the pangram, but I don't think I can manage the further 160 points required for QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2020, 06:55:36 PM
I don't think you need another 160 points as it was only 53 points to reach genius today.

I've been at 64 most of the day, and am not venturing any higher.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 09, 2020, 07:14:23 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 09, 2020, 06:55:36 PM
I don't think you need another 160 points as it was only 53 points to reach genius today.

I've been at 64 most of the day, and am not venturing any higher.

QB is 223! (I checked when I gave up.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2020, 07:21:29 PM
I didn't realize that there would be several more words in today's puzzle. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the list.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 09, 2020, 07:23:38 PM
Yeah, there are, like, 53 total or so. I'll keep trying tonight, but QB is way too far out of reach.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 10, 2020, 04:52:40 AM
Yesterday's puzzle was a very short list of words. I missed only two, befit which I should have known, and abaft which I didn't.

I just made it to slightly above genius. I'll have to wait until afternoon to look for the remaining words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 10, 2020, 07:58:17 AM
Weird. I must have screwed up when I checked.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2020, 08:02:26 AM
Yep, yesterday was only 23 words and 75 points.   On Sunday it was 229, so maybe something was messed up in the app?

I managed to get to QB again today, so either getting more sleep is helping, or I'm doing this too often (or just often enough?).  Luckily, it's another short list of words. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 10, 2020, 01:53:57 PM
Must be the sleep. Note to self: get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Congrats.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 11, 2020, 03:52:19 AM
Coit be not an acceptable word but dildo is.  Gotta love it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2020, 06:35:51 AM
My sentiments exactly. Coition was rejected last week, as was clitic, which is an entirely unnaughty word. Must be the body part test on the part of SB; dildo isn't an anatomical noun or verb, hence gets past the SB censors.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2020, 08:46:44 AM
They do seem to make strange choices about what is appropriate or not, though the theory about the body part test is a good one. 

Today's is a longer list, and I have made it to genius and finally found the (a?) pangram, but it will probably take a while to make it much further.   Little victories, I guess!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2020, 08:51:06 AM
I just found the pangram, and have 144 points. A few more words and I'll make it to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 11, 2020, 09:33:50 AM
Is there only one pangram today?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2020, 09:50:24 AM
Probably; I'll let you know if I find another.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2020, 10:29:01 AM
I can report that there are at least two pangrams today.  When spouse and I compared words, we had different ones, so that helped get our points up.  Still searching the database for the remaining words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2020, 12:23:29 PM
Found the second pangram!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2020, 12:47:45 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 11, 2020, 12:23:29 PM
Found the second pangram!

Hurrah! I had to look at the answers for the final word (program turned up two others) but am now complete.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2020, 12:53:05 PM
Congrats!

I don't think I'll get there today. I'm four points short of 200, my target number for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2020, 12:55:54 PM
Thanks, but I am not sure running programs and then actually looking at the answers is really a win.  We did get to 208 beforehand, though, I think.  I only made it to about 171 before that.  So you on good ground in my book.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 12, 2020, 05:55:41 AM
Made it to genius with 30 words and 97 points. It's a short list today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2020, 08:31:06 AM
Luckily the (?) pangram popped right out, but I still have about 20 points to go for QB.  I have run out of steam for now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 13, 2020, 10:02:09 AM
SO, verbalized the pangram from yesterday before I could even look at it. Grr. Today's pangram (just one?) jumped out at me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2020, 10:48:56 AM
Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on November 13, 2020, 10:02:09 AM
SO, verbalized the pangram from yesterday before I could even look at it. Grr. Today's pangram (just one?) jumped out at me.

Argh!! Sorry to hear about that.  Congrats on the pangram today! It jumped out at me too, luckily.  We had to look up the final word.  Yesterday we missed "twilit" (again).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 13, 2020, 11:03:42 AM
I got to 101 this morning, and no pangram. I too missed twilit and tali, both of which I've seen in previous puzzles.

EPW, I hear you about having someone tell you the pangram before you found it.

Recovering from a trip to the grocery store--the employees don't know what the protocols are anymore. Aargh!!!!!

Edit: found the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2020, 11:43:01 AM
Glad you found the pangram, Langue_doc, and argh about the grocery store staff! I totally guessed tali yesterday, although I'm sure we've had it before.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 16, 2020, 07:52:31 AM
It's a wordy one today. Despite the two pangrams, I'm still 37 points short of genius.

I missed only two yesterday-- elegize and elegized.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 16, 2020, 08:58:07 AM
That's great, Langue_doc! I am in a similar place today, though it looks like about 40 points for me left to go.  I felt like I was doing pretty well, but it definitely is a wordy one!

Yesterday when we went to compare lists, we both had the same number of words, but husband was only one point away from QB.  I gave him a hint, because I suspected which one he was missing, so he got QB.  It was "geez" again.   I was missing "dizzied".   We were both stumped on why "deglaze" and "deglazed" wouldn't be in there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 16, 2020, 09:05:41 AM
ab_grp, I was stumped by deglaze and deglazed as well. I even googled the words just to make sure that I wasn't imagining things! I got dizzied not because I thought that it was an actual word, but just because I tried that particular configuration.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 16, 2020, 09:16:19 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 16, 2020, 08:58:07 AM
It was "geez" again.  [...] We were both stumped on why "deglaze" and "deglazed" wouldn't be in there.

Quote from: Langue_doc on November 16, 2020, 09:05:41 AM
ab_grp, I was stumped by deglaze and deglazed as well. I even googled the words just to make sure that I wasn't imagining things! I got dizzied not because I thought that it was an actual word, but just because I tried that particular configuration.

No kidding! Me three (four?)!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 16, 2020, 09:20:39 AM
Yep, we deglaze pans while cooking, and I looked it up, too! Sometimes I am sure something is a word, only to find out it is not or that I have spelled it incorrectly.  But that one seemed pretty obvious.  I noticed while posting earlier that deglaze and deglazed both get red lines under them, so maybe they aren't considered to be official words? Though so geez also got the red line.  And if they can have all sorts of stuff like fanfic, which also gets the red line, I would think a common-enough term like deglaze could be included.   I just now looked at various relevant Twitter accounts and see that we were not the only ones unhappy with that omission and that deglaze is in Merriam-Webster.  Sam Ezersky replied and indicated that deglaze and deglazed would be included in the future.

As for dizzied, I got so used to adding "d" or "ed" to words that were in the list without them that I fell into the trap of not thinking about words not in the list that could be if they were changed and that was added.  Usually I'm better about that because I have fallen into that trap before and learned from it, but I guess I just didn't get there yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 16, 2020, 09:21:15 AM
Parasaurolophus, welcome to the club.

Not recognizing deglaze, especially this time of the year when people are thinking about making gravy, is a cardinal sin.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 18, 2020, 07:21:34 AM
I missed helve yesterday. I don't see myself telling someone to hold the helve of their hammer or to be careful when holding the helve of their ax or hatchet!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 18, 2020, 08:38:09 AM
We missed helve, too. And halva and halvah.  And it took a rather stupid amount of time for us to get the pangram, given that we were sitting on the front patio, drinking coffee, facing our Chevy Avalanche.  I realized that after I had found the pangram, and spouse did not get it until later in the day.  Oh well!

I managed to get to QB today after being stuck on a final 5-letter word.  Today's seemed a bit easier to me.  At least there didn't seem to be any really esoteric words included.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 18, 2020, 10:53:04 AM
Six short of genius today, and haven't found the pangram yet.

Perhaps when I do find it, it'll unleash a torrent of other words and I can get QB. I can't be too far off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on November 19, 2020, 09:35:32 AM
Yesterday the damn pangram took forever and then just showed my gender biases.

Today I got it as the first word. Must've been the 'x' or something. But short of getting queen bee and I got little sleep last night so I'm satisfied with being a genius. Of sorts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 19, 2020, 10:19:17 AM
I had some trouble with the pangram yesterday, too.  I got noble and ennoble, then finally noblemen.  Luckily the light bulb clicked on! But they are so inconsistent about when they include both men and women.   The final word I got was melee.  I get too hung up on more typical letter combos.

It took a bit to get the (?) pangram today, but I made it to about 17 points short of QB.  Now I am stuck again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 19, 2020, 12:18:30 PM
I made it to QB yesterday. I got the pangram early on, as I remembered previous puzzles that allowed compounds containing men and women. As for today, I got stuck on 49 points this morning. I'll have to tackle the rest later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 21, 2020, 06:09:13 AM
Short and easy one today; made it to QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 21, 2020, 07:38:35 AM
Yes, very easy today. But since my skills have been deteriorating, it's a welcome reset!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 21, 2020, 08:53:30 AM
Man! I came here thinking everyone would be saying how hard today's is.  Congrats to both of you! For whatever reason, this one is taking me a while.  I am at 60 points, but the last bit is escaping me, so I will do some other things and hope the coffee kicks in.  Today's crossword was also made by the Spelling Bee guy, and that was also a bear, even for a Saturday puzzle. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 22, 2020, 06:27:56 PM
Well, if it's any consolation, I'm still 33 short of genius today! =p
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 22, 2020, 07:35:58 PM
The y makes it difficult to find words. Think of a couple of slangy expressions, email, and noise.

Not sure if these are American rather than North American expressions; the y doesn't have to be at the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 22, 2020, 07:53:45 PM
Did it in the end!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 22, 2020, 07:58:15 PM
Woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 07:28:37 AM
I made it to genius, but can't find the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 08:09:18 AM
I'm doing yesterday's in the NYT Magazine. Found the panagram fairly early but am completely stuck at Excellent (17) and so far away from Genius (26) that I'm wondering when that breakthrough will happen.

The rules and scoring is different on these.

NCEHORV are the letters - N is the required one. Words must be 5 letters or longer and each is worth 1 point. Panagram is 3 points.

8 = good; 17 = excellent; 26 = genius.

Feel free to play along at home, folks. I'd rather get tips from you than look at the answers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 08:43:57 AM
We finally got to QB yesterday after I found the final "word"... anyhoo.  Ugh.  Husband found wanna and wannabe the day before. 

Today I have about 26 points left to QB but am running out of steam.  Got the (a?) pangram, but it took a bit. 

Quote from: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 08:09:18 AM
I'm doing yesterday's in the NYT Magazine. Found the panagram fairly early but am completely stuck at Excellent (17) and so far away from Genius (26) that I'm wondering when that breakthrough will happen.

The rules and scoring is different on these.

NCEHORV are the letters - N is the required one. Words must be 5 letters or longer and each is worth 1 point. Panagram is 3 points.

8 = good; 17 = excellent; 26 = genius.

Feel free to play along at home, folks. I'd rather get tips from you than look at the answers.

Interesting! I will see what list I can come up with and what tips might come from that.  ETA: I am assuming letters can be repeated in this one as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 09:13:31 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 08:43:57 AM
We finally got to QB yesterday after I found the final "word"... anyhoo.  Ugh.  Husband found wanna and wannabe the day before. 

Today I have about 26 points left to QB but am running out of steam.  Got the (a?) pangram, but it took a bit. 

Quote from: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 08:09:18 AM
I'm doing yesterday's in the NYT Magazine. Found the panagram fairly early but am completely stuck at Excellent (17) and so far away from Genius (26) that I'm wondering when that breakthrough will happen.

The rules and scoring is different on these.

NCEHORV are the letters - N is the required one. Words must be 5 letters or longer and each is worth 1 point. Panagram is 3 points.

8 = good; 17 = excellent; 26 = genius.

Feel free to play along at home, folks. I'd rather get tips from you than look at the answers.

Interesting! I will see what list I can come up with and what tips might come from that.  ETA: I am assuming letters can be repeated in this one as well.

Yes, letters can be repeated. Ooh, fun! Feel free to start posting words you find, if you don't think that ruins the game.

If you ask, I will share the panagram I found and any words starting with a letter of your choice.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 09:23:54 AM
I found the pangram and a couple of words which brings my total to 5. I usually find words when I can shuffle the letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 10:02:11 AM
I got one pangram and 17 other things I think are words in the game posted by ciao_yall.  I'm not sure if they count, though.  It's hard when you can't shuffle letters or try answers. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 10:36:50 AM
I'll scan the page referred to by ciao_yall later tonight. The visual layout results in more words. I found the pangram early on, but now that I'm looking at the page, I'm finding more words.

Back to grading, alas.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 12:29:21 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 10:02:11 AM
I got one pangram and 17 other things I think are words in the game posted by ciao_yall.  I'm not sure if they count, though.  It's hard when you can't shuffle letters or try answers.

If it can be found in the dictionary, it counts. We're on the honor system.

I'm at 23 right now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 03:10:08 PM
I don't think I can attach files here. I do have the scanned page. If anyone know if and how files can be attached to these posts, please let me know.

I'm still looking for the elusive pangram in today's SB.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 03:14:26 PM
I still haven't figured out how to add an attachment in posts or PMs, but I haven't had time to look into it too carefully yet.  It says "Attachments and other options" under the reply window, but I don't see any way to add an attachment.  That option might have been turned off by admins, if it existed?

As for the pangram in today's bee, let me know if you want a hint (first letter or whatever).  It would be neat if we could change the font color (e.g., to white) so it could be invisible until highlighted. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 03:32:09 PM
I'm at 22 now. I put in a word that didn't have an N in it.

The word was REVERE.

I have:

POINTS / STARTING LETTER
3 / (panagram, not telling, but I suspect there might be two?)
3 / N
7 / C
1 / E
4 / H
1 / O
2 / R
1 / V
------
22


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 03:56:47 PM
Stealing your structure and just modifying for my number of each, so far I (think I) have:
POINTS / STARTING LETTER
3 / (panagram, not telling, but I suspect there might be two?)
3 / N
6 / C
1 / E
6 / H
1 / O (not sure... looks like it's supposed to be hyphenated)
2 / R
0 / V
------
22

Three of my words have red lines under them, but I did look them up, and they appear to have dictionary entries.  I had to keep updating this tally, because while I was looking for a V word I found a couple others. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 04:02:24 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 03:56:47 PM
Stealing your structure and just modifying for my number of each, so far I (think I) have:
POINTS / STARTING LETTER
3 / (panagram, not telling, but I suspect there might be two?)
3 / N
6 / C
1 / E
6 / H
1 / O (not sure... looks like it's supposed to be hyphenated)
2 / R
0 / V
------
22

Three of my words have red lines under them, but I did look them up, and they appear to have dictionary entries.  I had to keep updating this tally, because while I was looking for a V word I found a couple others.

Yes, if it's in the dictionary it counts. Huh, you have two more H words than me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 04:03:44 PM
POINTS / STARTING LETTER
3 / (panagram, not telling, but I suspect there might be two?)
3 / N
7 / C
1 / E
5 / H
1 / O
2 / R
1 / V
------
22 23
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 04:19:58 PM
Okay, I did some research, figuring there has to be some app or something that allows customization to be able to shuffle the letters.  I found the "Letter Hive" app (available at least for iOS), which I downloaded.  It lets you create custom puzzles, enter the required letter, enter the remaining letters.  I did this with the paper bee's letters, and it let me shuffle them, enter words just like in the online bee, etc.  Got me a few more words, in fact! Like the online bee, the app requires only that words be at least four letters (not five).  But it could still be a useful tool if you want to be able to shuffle the letters and check to see if words are in that list, at least.  And you could also enter four letter words for more fun if you would like. My O word was not accepted, for example.  Aside from the custom puzzles, it also makes other letter combo puzzles available, so if you are done with the bee and jonesing for more, more you shall have.

For those interested in aspects related to solving programs, I also found this: http://varianceexplained.org/r/honeycomb-puzzle/  It focuses on efficient computation in R to find which 7-letter "honeycomb" would result in the highest total score.  But, along the way there is some interesting stuff on approaches to solving the puzzle.  They use a different dictionary than the program I wrote.  I can't remember if my husband uses this particular list in his. 

Now I have added another C, subtracted an O, and have found no Vs yet.  Still at 22.  Hopefully the app will help me visualize this!   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 04:44:59 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 03:14:26 PM
I still haven't figured out how to add an attachment in posts or PMs, but I haven't had time to look into it too carefully yet.  It says "Attachments and other options" under the reply window, but I don't see any way to add an attachment.  That option might have been turned off by admins, if it existed?

As for the pangram in today's bee, let me know if yount a hint (first letter or whatever).  It would be neat if we could change the font color (e.g., to white) so it could be invisible until highlighted.

Thanks, the first letter would be helpful.

I got sidetracked doing the crossword, which as usual was an easy one on Mondays.

I too  tried the "attachments" link, but nothing happened.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 06:05:59 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 23, 2020, 04:44:59 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 03:14:26 PM
I still haven't figured out how to add an attachment in posts or PMs, but I haven't had time to look into it too carefully yet.  It says "Attachments and other options" under the reply window, but I don't see any way to add an attachment.  That option might have been turned off by admins, if it existed?

As for the pangram in today's bee, let me know if yount a hint (first letter or whatever).  It would be neat if we could change the font color (e.g., to white) so it could be invisible until highlighted.

Thanks, the first letter would be helpful.

I got sidetracked doing the crossword, which as usual was an easy one on Mondays.

I too  tried the "attachments" link, but nothing happened.

Found the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 23, 2020, 10:44:59 PM
I believe all attachments are off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2020, 08:10:11 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 23, 2020, 10:44:59 PM
I believe all attachments are off.

Thanks! That's good to know.  Maybe there are other options for sharing docs. 

Sorry I didn't get back about the pangram first letter, but I'm glad you found it, Langue_doc! There are days when I get caught up in the crossword, too. 

I think I am about 6 points shy of QB today but am feeling tapped out.  Maybe I'll get a second or third wind.  If not, I'll try out the solver feature in that letter hive app and compare to what my program produces.  Maybe I'll also try out the code in that blog post I linked to.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2020, 08:22:55 AM
Letterboxed is free today!

Okay, won't see you all for a few days...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2020, 08:39:56 AM
Letterboxed - starting us off with a hard one. I can usually, after a few tries, at least solve it with 10-11 words but there is an oddly placed W, plus a J that is getting me stuck.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2020, 09:15:55 AM
GOT IT IN 2 WORDS!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 24, 2020, 11:01:41 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 24, 2020, 08:10:11 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 23, 2020, 10:44:59 PM
I believe all attachments are off.

Thanks! That's good to know.  Maybe there are other options for sharing docs. 

Sorry I didn't get back about the pangram first letter, but I'm glad you found it, Langue_doc! There are days when I get caught up in the crossword, too. 

I think I am about 6 points shy of QB today but am feeling tapped out.  Maybe I'll get a second or third wind.  If not, I'll try out the solver feature in that letter hive app and compare to what my program produces.  Maybe I'll also try out the code in that blog post I linked to.

I made it to 183 points and then got stuck.

Quote from: ciao_yall on November 24, 2020, 09:15:55 AM
GOT IT IN 2 WORDS!



Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 24, 2020, 11:09:57 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 23, 2020, 12:29:21 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 23, 2020, 10:02:11 AM
I got one pangram and 17 other things I think are words in the game posted by ciao_yall.  I'm not sure if they count, though.  It's hard when you can't shuffle letters or try answers.

If it can be found in the dictionary, it counts. We're on the honor system.

I'm at 23 right now.

Here are the words: chevron (pangram), cocoon, coherence, concern, conch, convene, corner, coroner, coven, crone, croon, crooner, encore, hence, heron, honcho, honor, honoree, neocon, nerve, never, nonce, recon, reconvene, reverence, veneer. If you found words not on this list, you are allowed to include them in your score.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2020, 05:07:53 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 24, 2020, 11:01:41 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 24, 2020, 08:10:11 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 23, 2020, 10:44:59 PM
I believe all attachments are off.

Thanks! That's good to know.  Maybe there are other options for sharing docs. 

Sorry I didn't get back about the pangram first letter, but I'm glad you found it, Langue_doc! There are days when I get caught up in the crossword, too. 

I think I am about 6 points shy of QB today but am feeling tapped out.  Maybe I'll get a second or third wind.  If not, I'll try out the solver feature in that letter hive app and compare to what my program produces.  Maybe I'll also try out the code in that blog post I linked to.

I made it to 183 points and then got stuck.

Quote from: ciao_yall on November 24, 2020, 09:15:55 AM
GOT IT IN 2 WORDS!



Congrats!

Thank you. The C, J, and W are all used in odd ways.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 25, 2020, 04:44:38 AM
Is there any way to know if there is more than one pangram?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 25, 2020, 05:48:58 AM
I found only one. It's a slow and tedious puzzle today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 25, 2020, 07:48:38 AM
Is this the one with an "I" in the middle? It took a word I thought would be a foreign word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 25, 2020, 08:24:40 AM
Got Letterboxed in 2 already. Came slowly, then all of a sudden.

Well, now what am I gonna do the rest of the day?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on November 25, 2020, 08:28:03 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on November 25, 2020, 04:44:38 AM
Is there any way to know if there is more than one pangram?

If you go to the Spelling bee answers page https://www.nytbee.com/ it will tell you how many pangrams and how many words. You have to click on the show answers link to actually see the answers, so the answers are not spoiled if you just want to know how many pangrams there are.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 25, 2020, 08:36:19 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 25, 2020, 07:48:38 AM
Is this the one with an "I" in the middle? It took a word I thought would be a foreign word.

That's the one. It didn't accept fortition.

It's 165 scores for genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 25, 2020, 09:21:16 AM
It seems to be hit or miss whether various foods and/or foreign words will be accepted today.  I'm at 174 but really plodding along now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 26, 2020, 08:19:17 AM
Wouldn't take MARL this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2020, 08:38:27 AM
I was wondering why they wouldn't take nori yesterday but would take roti.  And of course, callaloo is always a bee favorite.  Is it because the word is Japanese? I don't understand some of the distinctions at times.

About 20 more points to QB today and taking a break from it. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 26, 2020, 08:41:37 AM
Letterboxed - solved with 3 a few times, but not getting close to 2. I need that long word that eats up a lot of letters.

Yesterday I solved with SUBATOMIC-CURVY but they had BOMBASTIC-CURVY. So we both duplicated a letter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2020, 08:45:15 AM
I'm going to have to try Letterboxed again.  It just hasn't clicked for me in the past, for whatever reason.  Do  you have any tips for how to approach solving? It seems like you could just start at any of the letters, but my mind can't seem to handle that many degrees of freedom.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 26, 2020, 09:50:25 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 26, 2020, 08:45:15 AM
I'm going to have to try Letterboxed again.  It just hasn't clicked for me in the past, for whatever reason.  Do  you have any tips for how to approach solving? It seems like you could just start at any of the letters, but my mind can't seem to handle that many degrees of freedom.

I look for long words first, and try to use up weird letters early. That may not be the best strategy, though!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2020, 12:27:58 PM
Thanks! I have tried today's a few times.  The first time, I found a longer word later on, so the second time I tried with that one first.  But I realized that it's probably better to try to find a pangram of sorts rather than reusing letters? Does anyone know if there is something similar to the bee solver page that says what the minimum possible words is? That's probably a dumb question.  I'll look for one later but will keep trying different assortments.  My minimum so far is three words.  I keep getting boxed into a corner with having to start with a letter that doesn't let me use up the other remaining letters very well, so I'll have to work on that.  I also tend to go clockwise, so I guess I'll have to try to think more broadly about where to start and how to move between sides. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 26, 2020, 02:09:08 PM
Quote from: OneMoreYear on November 25, 2020, 08:28:03 AM
Quote from: nebo113 on November 25, 2020, 04:44:38 AM
Is there any way to know if there is more than one pangram?

If you go to the Spelling bee answers page https://www.nytbee.com/ it will tell you how many pangrams and how many words. You have to click on the show answers link to actually see the answers, so the answers are not spoiled if you just want to know how many pangrams there are.

Thanks.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 26, 2020, 09:18:23 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 26, 2020, 09:50:25 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 26, 2020, 08:45:15 AM
I'm going to have to try Letterboxed again.  It just hasn't clicked for me in the past, for whatever reason.  Do  you have any tips for how to approach solving? It seems like you could just start at any of the letters, but my mind can't seem to handle that many degrees of freedom.

I look for long words first, and try to use up weird letters early. That may not be the best strategy, though!

Yes, me too. Find words that eat up a lot of letters, or odd combinations. Sometimes just consuming a bunch of letters then staring at what is left helps.

I start off playing around, then find some good words that use a lot of letters, then keep going.

Today's? I have yet to solve lower than 3 words. But hey, apparently the goal was 6 words or fewer, so I guess that's kind of a win?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 27, 2020, 07:42:06 AM
Got today's right quick. Now for QB...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 27, 2020, 09:10:39 AM
Letterboxed - solving with 3 pretty easily. Now, 2? I'd be there now if it wasn't for the letters on the same side.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 06:53:24 AM
I can usually solve Letter Boxed with three words, but managed to get all the letters in just two words yesterday.

I got the pangram early on the last few days, and made it to QB yesterday. As for today's puzzle, I have 143 points--got the pangram while still on 'solid'.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2020, 09:28:06 AM
I will have to keep practicing at Letterboxed! I manage to get in under the target number of words, but there's still more to aim for.

For the bee today, it took me a while to find a pangram.  Then I got to genius and was stuck for a bit.  Then I stumbled on a couple words, and now I'm at about 27 points from QB.  We'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 10:22:14 AM
It took me a lot of practicing to get to three words in Letter-Boxed. There are days when I've just given up as my goal for this puzzle is three words (or four if I'm desperate). Today's was quite easy, so I managed to get all the letters into two words.

I don't think I'll get to QB today as there are the crosswords from Thursday and Friday that I haven't even looked at.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2020, 10:45:33 AM
Yesterday I did get to 2 - it was pretty straightforward once I got my head around it.

Spelling bee wouldn't take TEFF this morning.

Okay, off to today's Letterboxed!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2020, 11:19:18 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 10:22:14 AM
It took me a lot of practicing to get to three words in Letter-Boxed. There are days when I've just given up as my goal for this puzzle is three words (or four if I'm desperate). Today's was quite easy, so I managed to get all the letters into two words.

I don't think I'll get to QB today as there are the crosswords from Thursday and Friday that I haven't even looked at.

3 words is coming pretty easily today. The J is driving me batty.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2020, 12:08:16 PM
I got three words in Letterboxed today after starting over and trying to get a word with a J first to get it out of the way.  But if it can be done in two, I want to give that a shot!

We did get to QB after comparing our lists today.  As for the crossword, I have been so off this week with regard to which day it is, so I thought today was Monday instead of Saturday.  At least it wasn't a typically difficult Saturday! If you are talking about NYT, Langue_doc, good luck with Thursday and Friday.  They took me a little while longer than today's.


ETA: Okay, I managed to wrangle Letterboxed in two words! But I actually did not know the second one was a word.  I had a word in mind, but two of the consecutive letters were on the same side, so I decided to just try without the one, and I guess it ended up being a correct answer. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 12:30:12 PM
As for the J, think vehicle, plural, and then you can get the second word. I'm typing this on my Kindle, which promptly mangled both your names.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2020, 12:46:15 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 12:30:12 PM
As for the J, think vehicle, plural, and then you can get the second word. I'm typing this on my Kindle, which promptly mangled both your names.

Yeah I had a pretty good first word using up the J. Then I just played around and got a second word which I didn't think was a word, either.

ETA: And, the second word isn't in the merriam-webster dictionary, either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2020, 01:05:09 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 12:30:12 PM
As for the J, think vehicle, plural, and then you can get the second word. I'm typing this on my Kindle, which promptly mangled both your names.

Ooh, I found your word, which definitely sets up a better second word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 28, 2020, 01:07:19 PM
My second word is a commonly used one. I'll post both words tomorrow.

ETA I think we both posted our replies at the same time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2020, 01:33:33 PM
Thanks for the vehicle hint, Langue_doc! I was also able to identify that one with your help and find a second word that worked.  I'll be interested to see what we each came up with for the two words.  Hopefully I can remember which ones I found earlier.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 29, 2020, 04:22:47 AM
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on November 29, 2020, 05:08:45 AM
Found pangram first!  It will be downhill from here!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2020, 08:58:33 AM
The pangram jumped right out at me today, too! Now I'm at a little over genius and in diminishing returns again.  Time to do other things and let see if that helps. 

For the Letterboxed from yesterday, my initial two-word solve entries were jailers and spotch.  I was going for splotch, but I guess p and l were on the same side, so I figured I'd try spotch to use up the remaining letters, and it worked, though it is not a word I have heard of.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 01:19:13 PM
I got the pangram quite early, then made it to genius and got stuck.

As for today's Letter-Boxed, I found two separate words for J, but couldn't get the rest of the letters into a single word, so it looks like a three-word solution for me.

Thank you, ab_grp, for posting the two words. These were most likely ciao_yall's words as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2020, 01:57:34 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 01:19:13 PM
I got the pangram quite early, then made it to genius and got stuck.

As for today's Letter-Boxed, I found two separate words for J, but couldn't get the rest of the letters into a single word, so it looks like a three-word solution for me.

Thank you, ab_grp, for posting the two words. These were most likely ciao_yall's words as well.

Yesterday I had been thinking about the vehicle word (darn, no Y) until you pointed out that it could be plural. Yes, I also had JAILERS and SPOTCH.

The two-word solution uses several hard letters in one word. I had several options for the other word, either starting or ending.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 01:59:25 PM
Thanks for the hint!

ETA Two words, finally, a flower and a word  that reminds me of Christmas carols.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2020, 04:17:46 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 01:59:25 PM
Thanks for the hint!

ETA Two words, finally, a flower and a word  that reminds me of Christmas carols.

Really? I had a unit of energy and something that reminded me of orthodontia.

ETA: I found one flower. Now my husband thinks I'm insane singing Christmas carols trying to come up with inspiration for the second word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2020, 04:19:43 PM
Okay, these Letterboxed hints are cracking me up.  I'll have to go have a try at 2 words and see if I can figure out which words you each have.

For the bee, we compared lists and got within 2 words of it.  Definitely should have gotten one of them given another word we tried, but I don't feel bad about the final word.

ETA: just got ciao_yall's, I think.  The orthodontia part came to me first and then I just worked with the letters that were left and made sure it ended with the first letter of the orthodontia word.  Now onto a flower and Christmas carols.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 05:31:59 PM
I found the energy word, but not the orthodontia one.

Yesterday, SB rejected folate, but accepted fellate which was surprising.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2020, 07:54:20 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 05:31:59 PM
I found the energy word, but not the orthodontia one.


Maybe think about tiling?

I have found 3 flowers but none queue up anything remotely related to Christmas.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2020, 08:39:25 PM
I'll PM you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 30, 2020, 05:00:37 AM
I found two pangrams today.

ab_grp and ciao_yall, what were your LetterBoxed words? Mine were larkspur and rejoice. I got jalousies initially but couldn't fit the remaining letters into a single word. Then I tried the hard letters suggested by ciao_yall, and came up with larkspur.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 30, 2020, 07:59:31 AM
The Bee seemed pretty easy today. I also found two pangrams. Yesterday rejected 'immanent'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 30, 2020, 09:11:37 AM
Same thought here with yesterday's bee not taking folate but taking fellate.  We got within one word of QB today and felt pretty dumb about it.  Pretty easy, but a lot of bookkeeping!

I couldn't find a flower, either! All the flowers I came up with were missing a letter.  Didn't even think of rejoice.  I tried precious at one point.  The only two-word solution I got was what I think were ciao_yall's, kilojoules and spacer.  Spacer was easier, so I wrote down the remaining letters and made sure to put the s at the end.  I haven't tried today's yet. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 30, 2020, 09:51:26 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on November 30, 2020, 05:00:37 AM
I found two pangrams today.

ab_grp and ciao_yall, what were your LetterBoxed words? Mine were larkspur and rejoice. I got jalousies initially but couldn't fit the remaining letters into a single word. Then I tried the hard letters suggested by ciao_yall, and came up with larkspur.

Looks like you got the official answer! I didn't know there was a flower called larkspur, though there is a town north of us with that name, so guess that's just my ignorance of the natural world coming through.

Yes, kilojoules and spacer were my words.

Today I would have so many great words if it wasn't for the darn "same side" rule.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 30, 2020, 05:44:07 PM
Plenty of threefers, but the two is eluding me...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 30, 2020, 06:24:23 PM
Same here.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 30, 2020, 07:11:06 PM
Yep! I really stared at it a while this afternoon, but I couldn't get to two.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 07:13:57 AM
We had to get up "nice" and early today, and I managed to get the crosswords done and QB by the time my husband left.  I was 5 points away and stymied but finally got the last word.  I feel so accomplished and now don't know what to do with the rest of my day.   Besides a lot of box emptying and file sorting.  And Letterboxed!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 07:41:42 AM
Spelling Bee wouldn't take MILT.

Letterboxed yesterday - WTF?

Okay, let's try for today.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 07:54:45 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 07:41:42 AM
Spelling Bee wouldn't take MILT.

Letterboxed yesterday - WTF?

Okay, let's try for today.

Or bitty.

Congrats, ab_grp.

I found both pangrams today and made it to above genius. I usually do the mini crossword before retiring, and the crossword sometime in the afternoon. I looked at Letterboxed, and didn't think I could fit all the letters into two words, but we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 08:02:27 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! The mini crossword is my warm up for the regular crossword.   Doesn't always help, but at least Tuesdays are not too bad in general.

I tried Letterboxed and got it in 3 words but agree that 2 might be tough.  I kind of wish you could bank previous solutions somewhere.  I'll just write them down as I go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 08:05:08 AM
The mini is my 10 PM break on weekdays.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 08:26:40 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 08:02:27 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! The mini crossword is my warm up for the regular crossword.   Doesn't always help, but at least Tuesdays are not too bad in general.

I tried Letterboxed and got it in 3 words but agree that 2 might be tough.  I kind of wish you could bank previous solutions somewhere.  I'll just write them down as I go.

Yesterday was driving me crazy - I found MORPHS and then would have finished it with SUNLIGHT if it wasn't for all the letters being on the same side.

Today's - managed to get 2. Not sure if it's the official solution, but it worked.

I have recommended to them that they keep a running log of found words somewhere so you can go back and refer. Maybe it would use up too much memory?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 08:54:31 AM
I think I was going along the same lines as you yesterday with morphs and trying to get sunlight! So many times I need consecutive letters that happen to be on the same side.  I saw their answer for yesterday and wasn't anywhere near those words.  Any hints for two words today? As for storing previous words or solutions, I don't know what that would require.  I'm not sure why it wouldn't be similar to the bee, though maybe it would store solutions rather than individual words.  Each time you use up all the letters, it just goes on the list.   There may be more to it than that, of course.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 09:22:37 AM
I may have gotten MONTH somewhere along the way, but the M and H weren't doing me any favors.

Hint for today.

"What an interesting exercise it has been, watching how various factions handle mask mandates."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 01, 2020, 09:32:36 AM
Easy Bee today, leaving me with energy for letter boxed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 12:44:34 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 09:22:37 AM
I may have gotten MONTH somewhere along the way, but the M and H weren't doing me any favors.

Hint for today.

"What an interesting exercise it has been, watching how various factions handle mask mandates."

I'm still stumped. Now if it weren't for that pesky z, I could have fitted the letters into two words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 01:04:41 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 12:44:34 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 09:22:37 AM
I may have gotten MONTH somewhere along the way, but the M and H weren't doing me any favors.

Hint for today.

"What an interesting exercise it has been, watching how various factions handle mask mandates."

I'm still stumped. Now if it weren't for that pesky z, I could have fitted the letters into two words.

I'm still stuck at 3 as well.  I finally got around to looking to see if there's anything that gives more information (e.g., is there always a solution that consists of only two words?), but I haven't located that in the articles I've read about it, and it doesn't appear in the Help items.   Guess I'll keep trying to think of more words with z.  I thought I had hit upon a good approach, but it hasn't panned out yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 02:25:22 PM
Finished the crossword, and made it to QB.

I'm still stuck on LetterBoxed, but I think I've done my good deeds for the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 02:42:23 PM
Wooha! I just got Letterboxed in two words. 

Quote from: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 09:22:37 AM
Hint for today.

"What an interesting exercise it has been, watching how various factions handle mask mandates."

I am still trying to figure out what this hint means.  My mind keeps trying to parse it like this pi mnemonic (just an example I found online and have not checked for accuracy): "How I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics."  Or, the first letters of the words might spell something illuminating out.  That hasn't worked yet, either.  My mind is definitely a little foggy today. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 02:59:58 PM
Got it down to two. My first word is alphabet related. There are several possibilities and permutations, once you get a variant of the first word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 03:06:02 PM
Your first word sounds like it might be a variant of my second word.  I had initially had it first but figured I'd try changing it a little and switching to second, and that made it easier for me to find a new first word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 05:03:07 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 02:42:23 PM
Wooha! I just got Letterboxed in two words. 

Quote from: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 09:22:37 AM
Hint for today.

"What an interesting exercise it has been, watching how various factions handle mask mandates."

I am still trying to figure out what this hint means.  My mind keeps trying to parse it like this pi mnemonic (just an example I found online and have not checked for accuracy): "How I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics."  Or, the first letters of the words might spell something illuminating out.  That hasn't worked yet, either.  My mind is definitely a little foggy today.

Maybe this is a bit clearer?


"What an interesting exercise it has been, watching how various factions handle tax loopholes."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 05:04:21 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 02:59:58 PM
Got it down to two. My first word is alphabet related. There are several possibilities and permutations, once you get a variant of the first word.

Yes, I found a first word that would be alphabet related but can't quite get the second in that scenario.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2020, 05:45:17 PM
Try using the past tense. I think the second word was also in the past tense.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2020, 06:29:18 PM
After my first solution, I'm doing okay with the Z but now the P is driving me bats. It's one or the other!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2020, 07:08:49 PM
I still don't get the hint! Sorry, I will keeping thinking and will try to take advantage of the hint (hint, hint!).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 09:22:07 AM
Spelling Bee would not take LIMNAL

Yesterday's Letterboxed: My words were POLITICIZE-EVADER

Exercise and factions were supposed to cue "politicize" and masks, taxes were supposed to cue "evader."

I had ZED-DECORATIVE but that left the L and P.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2020, 09:57:52 AM
My words were capitalized and devote (or devoted, I don't remember the second word).

Today's SB is taking forever. I found two pangrams and plodded up to 216 points, just two above genius. I haven't looked at today's LB yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 10:27:05 AM
Got a few solutions with 3 words. Hope will get to 2 soon. They would, of course, make any -TION or -LY words illegal. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 10:46:28 AM
Thanks for explaining the hint, ciao_yall! Makes sense now.  I tried to approach it yesterday by finding something ending in "ize" and was excited about capitalize or capitalized but couldn't figure out a second word from there and didn't think I could find one using the remaining letters and ending in "c".  So I tried "recapitalize", which it took, and ended up with OVER-RECAPITALIZED.  Capitalize was what I was trying to hint at with "take advantage of" (not a great hint), and I figured that's what Langue_doc was hinting at, too.  Looks like the "official" solution was CAPITALIZE-EVILDOER.

Today's bee is definitely a slog.  I was really going there for a while but have been pretty much stuck at 252 points, so still 50+ to go?! Yeek, definitely missing something.  Or a lot of somethings.  I took a quick look at LB and thought I had found a good inroad but will get back to that a bit later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 12:44:09 PM
We finally gave up on the bee after getting to 272 points and still being stumped.  Found two more in the dictionary, now searching the word list, but I am thinking we will have to look at the answers at this point.

But I did get to two words in Letterboxed!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2020, 03:24:38 PM
I don't think I'll be able to get back to SB or LB today, as I have a pile of grading/giving feedback that needs to be completed tonight.

As for SB, I'm missing a lot of words too. I'll have to look at the answers tomorrow to see what I missed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 03:50:14 PM
I don't think I would have found any of the five remaining bee words (the two in the dictionary and three that I had to look at the answers for).  I'm glad we gave up when we did.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 04:11:07 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 12:44:09 PM
But I did get to two words in Letterboxed!

Me too!

Am experimenting with taking screenshots when I get a threefer and/or twofer just to save some good candidate words.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 04:14:36 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 04:11:07 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 12:44:09 PM
But I did get to two words in Letterboxed!

Me too!

Am experimenting with taking screenshots when I get a threefer and/or twofer just to save some good candidate words.

Hurrah! I have just started writing good candidate words or solutions on a notepad, but screen shots make sense.  Didn't even think of that.  I kept today's solution in place after finding it so I could share it tomorrow, and then my computer decided to go ahead and need to be restarted, so I will write it down before I forget.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 05:48:47 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 04:14:36 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 04:11:07 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 12:44:09 PM
But I did get to two words in Letterboxed!

Me too!

Am experimenting with taking screenshots when I get a threefer and/or twofer just to save some good candidate words.

Hurrah! I have just started writing good candidate words or solutions on a notepad, but screen shots make sense.  Didn't even think of that.  I kept today's solution in place after finding it so I could share it tomorrow, and then my computer decided to go ahead and need to be restarted, so I will write it down before I forget.

Oooh, fun! Let's see if we can guess each other's solutions. Here is mine:

One who reacts; those whom we honor.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 07:18:35 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 05:48:47 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 04:14:36 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 02, 2020, 04:11:07 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2020, 12:44:09 PM
But I did get to two words in Letterboxed!

Me too!

Am experimenting with taking screenshots when I get a threefer and/or twofer just to save some good candidate words.

Hurrah! I have just started writing good candidate words or solutions on a notepad, but screen shots make sense.  Didn't even think of that.  I kept today's solution in place after finding it so I could share it tomorrow, and then my computer decided to go ahead and need to be restarted, so I will write it down before I forget.

Oooh, fun! Let's see if we can guess each other's solutions. Here is mine:

One who reacts; those whom we honor.

Haha, honestly those hints could refer to my solution as well! I think the first is most likely the same as mine.  The second, maybe not? But possible.  It's funny, because when I was walking into my office just now, I was thinking about what kinds of hints I could give for the two words.  I like yours.  Interesting if we ended up with the same solution...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2020, 08:04:15 PM
I don't think my words are the same as yours. My first word is a synonym of playful abandon, and the second, a word that I didn't think existed, but which LB accepted as a legit word is reminiscent of tra la la (the recognizable part, and not what appears to be a suffix).

Those whom we honor sounds like a plural form--perhaps a collective noun?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2020, 03:36:54 AM
Solved LB in about 5 minutes today, and also made it to genius in SB.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2020, 08:09:50 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 02, 2020, 08:04:15 PM
I don't think my words are the same as yours. My first word is a synonym of playful abandon, and the second, a word that I didn't think existed, but which LB accepted as a legit word is reminiscent of tra la la (the recognizable part, and not what appears to be a suffix).

Those whom we honor sounds like a plural form--perhaps a collective noun?

Mine were FLINCHER-ROYALTY

The official answer is FROLIC-CHANTEY - sounds like you got that as well?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2020, 08:14:21 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 03, 2020, 03:36:54 AM
Solved LB in about 5 minutes today, and also made it to genius in SB.

Ditto. Now what am I gonna do all day?

Note to ab_grp: I read Langue_doc's comment before I looked and thought uh-oh, LD really kicks @ss at this - but then I got it on the first try.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 03, 2020, 08:16:27 AM
Yeah, easy Bee this morning! One notable missing word, however.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2020, 08:47:48 AM
Yes, mine were frolic and chantey, despite my not knowing that word.

Today's was too easy. Maybe they have a new puzzle setter?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2020, 08:59:24 AM
I had the same answer as ciao_yall for yesterday's LB.  I guessed from Langue_doc's clues that one might be frolic.  I had tried frothy and frothy at some point so remembered some of that pattern.  I don't think I would have gotten chantey, though I think that might have been one that was in the bee a few weeks ago, same day as it was (luckily!) in the crossword? Still not something that would pop into mind.  Sounds like today might not be so hard, so I'll give that a try in a few.  Hopefully I'll have the same success that you all have had!

As for the bee, yes, thankfully it was pretty short and easy.  We each managed to get up to around 100 and then compared lists and got to QB.  Yesterday we missed minicam and caiman (in the dictionary) and catmint, mancula, and clamant (found from the answers and added to the database).     

ETA: Wow, today's LB was easy! Surprisingly so.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2020, 09:21:00 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 03, 2020, 08:47:48 AM
Yes, mine were frolic and chantey, despite my not knowing that word.

Today's was too easy. Maybe they have a new puzzle setter?

Interesting that you always seem to hit the "official" answer. Are you from the NY area? Or maybe you and the puzzle setters all went to the same college or something?

I find word puzzles very culturally specific.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2020, 10:02:55 AM
My responses are of the hit-or-miss type, so living in the city has no bearing on my guesses that turn out to be the correct answers. The puzzle setters are probably young 'uns living in typical young 'un neighborhoods and frequenting typical young 'un hangouts, so culturally and otherwise quite different from my background. Sorry to disappoint you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 04, 2020, 07:36:04 AM
At least four pangrams today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 04, 2020, 07:47:25 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 04, 2020, 07:36:04 AM
At least four pangrams today.

It cut me off after two.

Now to Letterboxed. 3 more days and then I need to decide if I want to start paying for it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2020, 08:31:24 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 04, 2020, 07:36:04 AM
At least four pangrams today.

Definitely feels like a different kind of bee today in some ways.  I'm about 15 points from QB but am taking a break for now. 

For LB, I had gravel yesterday but think I had a different first word.  Now I can't remember what it was.   Guess we'll see if today's is as easy as yesterday was. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 04, 2020, 08:53:42 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 04, 2020, 08:31:24 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 04, 2020, 07:36:04 AM
At least four pangrams today.

Definitely feels like a different kind of bee today in some ways.  I'm about 15 points from QB but am taking a break for now. 

For LB, I had gravel yesterday but think I had a different first word.  Now I can't remember what it was.   Guess we'll see if today's is as easy as yesterday was.

Definitely trickier. Getting to 3, and lots of great words, but 2 remains elusive for now. Am screen-shotting all my 3fers for inspiration.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2020, 03:35:21 PM
We made it to QB after comparing lists.  Whew!

I am having no luck so far getting 2 words on LB.  I have a bunch of possible words to work with, but haven't found the right ones or right combo yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 04, 2020, 04:23:39 PM
I also made it to QB. As for LB, the directions for today are to try to solve in 5 words, which suggests that fitting the letters into two words might be difficult. I gave up as there's still the crossword to tackle and the grading. Payback for yesterday's easy puzzle, no doubt.

I can see the suggestions for the number of words when on the computer, but not on the kindle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 04, 2020, 05:09:09 PM
Got all four pangrams and made it past genius today. We'll see about QB later.

Yesterday, it didn't want to accept 'levelly'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2020, 05:29:09 PM
For LB, it does typically have a "solve in [X] words" posted, but it has seemed as though there have been 2-word solutions each day lately.  I might be wrong and on a wild goose chase! I had been satisfied with 3-word solutions, and you folks have inspired me to go for 2.  I still haven't found an official note about whether there is always a 2-word solution possible, or what.  If anyone has looked at the official solutions more consistently than me and seen some that were 3 words, that would be great to know.

Langue_doc, congrats on QB, and the crossword didn't seem too bad today.  Sorry you have grading to distract you.

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 04, 2020, 05:09:09 PM
Yesterday, it didn't want to accept 'levelly'.

Yep, and with all the other 'ly' words! I looked it up to make sure I was spelling it correctly and kept trying it, which of course did not lead to any joy at all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 04, 2020, 06:37:52 PM
There is always a 2-word solution. I didn't realize that at first - I thought woohoo, I made 5, I guess I win.

Yeah, lots of 3fers. What I have noticed so far after looking at my screenshots is that they all involve UM or MU words. I have tried to do other things with the M and/or U but keep coming back there. Even when I solve the rest of the LB without them, my little filler words are that pattern.

Curious what the final result will be. Off to pour some more wine and watch "Life of Brian."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2020, 07:30:20 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 04, 2020, 06:37:52 PM
There is always a 2-word solution. I didn't realize that at first - I thought woohoo, I made 5, I guess I win.

Yeah, lots of 3fers. What I have noticed so far after looking at my screenshots is that they all involve UM or MU words. I have tried to do other things with the M and/or U but keep coming back there. Even when I solve the rest of the LB without them, my little filler words are that pattern.

Curious what the final result will be. Off to pour some more wine and watch "Life of Brian."

Okay, thanks for the confirmation that it is always possible to get 2 words.  I have a bunch of contender words with "um" in them.  Not sure I'll get back to it tonight given the Chinese food awaiting, but I am interested too to see the solution.  Your evening sounds great.  Enjoy!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 04, 2020, 08:06:11 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 04, 2020, 07:30:20 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 04, 2020, 06:37:52 PM
There is always a 2-word solution. I didn't realize that at first - I thought woohoo, I made 5, I guess I win.

Yeah, lots of 3fers. What I have noticed so far after looking at my screenshots is that they all involve UM or MU words. I have tried to do other things with the M and/or U but keep coming back there. Even when I solve the rest of the LB without them, my little filler words are that pattern.

Curious what the final result will be. Off to pour some more wine and watch "Life of Brian."

Okay, thanks for the confirmation that it is always possible to get 2 words.  I have a bunch of contender words with "um" in them.  Not sure I'll get back to it tonight given the Chinese food awaiting, but I am interested too to see the solution.  Your evening sounds great.  Enjoy!

All this talk about food and spirits is distracting. Time for dessert and a drink.

I gave up on LB. Very often I look at the two words solution and just grind my teeth.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2020, 08:47:52 AM
Well, I wouldn't have gotten the 2-word solution from yesterday, I don't think.  I didn't come too close to either of those words.  We'll see about today later.  Maybe a drink would help.  There are some areas of math/stats in which similar is useful!

I finally got to genius today in the bee, but it's been a tough time for some reason.  I feel like I'm missing some obvious stuff.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 08:53:16 AM
I wouldn't have gotten the two words solution either. I looked for words where the y was the second letter, but couldn't find any because of the configuration of letters.

I did make it to genius today. The rest of the words and LB will have to wait until later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2020, 09:06:49 AM
I had "cyclical", but my other "y" words were "clumsy" and "family".  I figured it would be tough to start on a "y", so those ending in "y" would have to be the second word.  Didn't get anywhere with it, though.  I also had "factum", "scrum(s)", "sumac", "sacrum", trying to use the "u" and "m".  Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 05, 2020, 09:10:16 AM
I made genius today in SB, but was very annoyed that "hominin" was not accepted. 

I thought that today's LB was hard.  I'll go back to it later.  I don't often get the two words, but I usually get fewer than the number suggested.  Not today, though.  Maybe later...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 09:30:26 AM
Yesterday - not even close!

Oh well, time to delete yesterday's screen shots and starting today's LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 09:50:30 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 05, 2020, 09:06:49 AM
I had "cyclical", but my other "y" words were "clumsy" and "family".  I figured it would be tough to start on a "y", so those ending in "y" would have to be the second word.  Didn't get anywhere with it, though.  I also had "factum", "scrum(s)", "sumac", "sacrum", trying to use the "u" and "m".  Oh well.

I had clumsy, muscles, turmeric (especially proud of that one) and others.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 10:11:30 AM
Woohoo! Long first word, think plural, and short second word. Both quite commonly used.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 10:28:42 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 10:11:30 AM
Woohoo! Long first word, think plural, and short second word. Both quite commonly used.

Lots of 3-fers over here, no 2-fers yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2020, 10:30:40 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 10:11:30 AM
Woohoo! Long first word, think plural, and short second word. Both quite commonly used.

Huzzah! Thanks for the hints, too.

Ciao_yall, turmeric is a good one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 10:34:10 AM
Got it! But both words were 7 letters. So, probably more than one 2-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 10:36:41 AM
I was inspired by your word turmeric.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 11:08:00 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 10:11:30 AM
Woohoo! Long first word, think plural, and short second word. Both quite commonly used.

Found another 2-fer combo that fit your pattern. Variation on my first one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2020, 12:38:53 PM
I finally got a 7 and 7 solution, so maybe that's the same as ciao_yall's.    Ooh wait, now I got one that's 10 and 4, in which the first word is a variation of the first of the 7-letter words in the other solution.  Thanks for all the hints!

As for the bee, we still had 20 some points left after comparing lists, and there were two words from the dictionary and two from the answers. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 05, 2020, 12:49:30 PM
Finally got LB!  One 10 letter word, one 4 letter word.  I can see the 7&7 variation.  Now I can proceed with my day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 02:01:10 PM
I'm still looking for the seven letter words. Mine were 10 and 4 letters as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 05:33:22 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 02:01:10 PM
I'm still looking for the seven letter words. Mine were 10 and 4 letters as well.

Different forms of the same words, if they are the same as mine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 05, 2020, 06:48:21 PM
Quote from: cathwen on December 05, 2020, 09:10:16 AM
I made genius today in SB, but was very annoyed that "hominin" was not accepted. 


Genius still eludes me today. It's a surprisingly difficult one. Still working on my pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 07:17:12 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 05, 2020, 05:33:22 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 05, 2020, 02:01:10 PM
I'm still looking for the seven letter words. Mine were 10 and 4 letters as well.

Different forms of the same words, if they are the same as mine.

Thanks for the hint--I found both words without much effort.

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 05, 2020, 06:48:21 PM
Quote from: cathwen on December 05, 2020, 09:10:16 AM
I made genius today in SB, but was very annoyed that "hominin" was not accepted. 


Genius still eludes me today. It's a surprisingly difficult one. Still working on my pangram.

There are two pangrams today, both variations on the same theme. Think sound. There was only one word that I didn't know, but got it by trying varying combinations of letters.

I made it to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 07:52:58 AM
Looks like the two 7-letter words were the official solution in LB yesterday.  Or, at least, the ones I think ciao_yall initially came up with here.  Flavors and showing? And the 10 and 4 was flavorings and show?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 06, 2020, 08:32:02 AM
Yes, flavors and showing are the correct responses. Mine, as you correctly guessed, were flavorings and show.

Today's LB is more challenging the directions suggest finding five words.

I made it to slightly above genius in SB.

ETA: two words, 10 and 7 letters in LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 08:56:13 AM
Cool! I'll try LB a little later.  I got to about 30 points from QB.  Luckily, some similar letters to those of a recent puzzle, so I could remember some I got and some I didn't in that one.  Still a ways to go.  The crossword wasn't too hard, just long, as usual for a Sunday.  But that plus a long bee means a bunch of time on puzzles! Not complaining.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 06, 2020, 08:59:34 AM
Today's SB is rather similar to the one from a couple days ago. Unfortunately, I don't remember all my words from then. =p
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 09:20:36 AM
I just got a 7 and 7 solution in LB.  Off to try for the 10 and 7!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 06, 2020, 09:29:30 AM
Oooh! I'm going to try for the two sevens.

I've been distracted by tiles today. I find several of them to be rather boring, but like today's configuration. I have no idea what the patterns mean though.

ETA: found them; yours are much more intuitive and straightforward than mine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2020, 10:13:14 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 07:52:58 AM
Looks like the two 7-letter words were the official solution in LB yesterday.  Or, at least, the ones I think ciao_yall initially came up with here.  Flavors and showing? And the 10 and 4 was flavorings and show?

Yep, exactly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2020, 10:21:50 AM
Are you finding today's LB, with both the X and the Z? I have found a 3-fer, but the 2-fer is way far away.

Great words are seen but darn letters on the same side makes it hard.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 11:13:41 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 06, 2020, 10:21:50 AM
Are you finding today's LB, with both the X and the Z? I have found a 3-fer, but the 2-fer is way far away.

Great words are seen but darn letters on the same side makes it hard.

Yes, I got a 7 and 7, and Langue_doc got a 10 and 7, which I am still going to try to find.  I got lucky, in that the first word kind of popped out at me, and I realized I could use the remaining letters pretty easily.  Fortunately, I did not have to stress and worry or have too much heartache about it.  Good luck!

We made it to within one word of QB, but we never would have gotten the last one found in the answers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2020, 11:42:04 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 11:13:41 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 06, 2020, 10:21:50 AM
Are you finding today's LB, with both the X and the Z? I have found a 3-fer, but the 2-fer is way far away.

Great words are seen but darn letters on the same side makes it hard.

Yes, I got a 7 and 7, and Langue_doc got a 10 and 7, which I am still going to try to find.  I got lucky, in that the first word kind of popped out at me, and I realized I could use the remaining letters pretty easily.  Fortunately, I did not have to stress and worry or have too much heartache about it.  Good luck!

We made it to within one word of QB, but we never would have gotten the last one found in the answers.

Got it! 10 and 7.

And the 7 and 7 - variation on the 10-letter word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2020, 11:50:26 AM
Aha! I got a 10 and 7, thanks to your hint, ciao_yall.  Although now I am wondering if Langue_doc found the same 10 and 7 or a different pair.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 06, 2020, 11:55:36 AM
My ten letter word is a variation of the seven letter one. As for the latter, it's probably one of the things we do when confronted with configurations such as today's.

ETA My ten letter word is most definitely not a variation of the seven letter one. I'm typing this on my kindle, which affects my thinking.

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 06, 2020, 08:59:34 AM
Today's SB is rather similar to the one from a couple days ago. Unfortunately, I don't remember all my words from then. =p

Yup. They're mostly run of the mill words, at least until you get to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2020, 08:33:59 AM
My words yesterday were ANTAGONIZE-EXCERPT and then I realized I could get it done with AGONIZE-EXCERPT.

Can't check the official answers yet because it has gone behind the paywall - I'll figure out the subscription add-on later today. I already subscribe to the NYTimes so maybe it's just an addition to my current account and it will be easy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 07, 2020, 08:36:26 AM
I didn't get back to LB yesterday, so I would be interested to know which words you found, Langue_doc! Mine were agonize and excerpt, and ciao_yall gave me a hint to get to antagonize as the first word.  ETA: just saw ciao_yall's post.  The official solution was agonize-excerpt.

Today's bee is getting to me! I was doing pretty well and got up to about 152, but neither husband nor I could find the pangram, so we compared lists and now have about 17 points left to QB and still no pangram.  Didn't sleep too well, which isn't helping.  I figure we either have just a long pangram left, or a pangram and a couple short words.  Maybe a little more coffee will do some magic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2020, 09:04:12 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 07, 2020, 08:36:26 AM
I didn't get back to LB yesterday, so I would be interested to know which words you found, Langue_doc! Mine were agonize and excerpt, and ciao_yall gave me a hint to get to antagonize as the first word.  ETA: just saw ciao_yall's post.  The official solution was agonize-excerpt.

Today's bee is getting to me! I was doing pretty well and got up to about 152, but neither husband nor I could find the pangram, so we compared lists and now have about 17 points left to QB and still no pangram.  Didn't sleep too well, which isn't helping.  I figure we either have just a long pangram left, or a pangram and a couple short words.  Maybe a little more coffee will do some magic.

The correct responses are agonize and excerpt. My first set of words were antagonize and excerpt, but the first word repeats letters (a and n in the first, and t in the second). I found the correct set after seeing ciao_yall's post yesterday.

I'm still missing the pangram in today's SB, but made it to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2020, 09:35:38 AM
SB - up to Amazing before a shower, no panagram yet. It wouldn't take CEPE which is a kind of mushroom. Now I'm cranky.

LB - got a clunky 5 word solution started but haven't found that long word that eats up a lot of letters, pointing toward the 2 word solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on December 07, 2020, 09:41:15 AM
Today's pangram became more obvious after I kept seeing headache (because I have a constant one this semester)--which obviously does not count as a word because it doesn't include p.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 07, 2020, 09:44:07 AM
I'm at genius, but the pangram eludes me for the time being!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2020, 09:49:18 AM
Wouldn't take HIPPED either, like a hipped roof.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2020, 09:57:52 AM
I too was miffed at SB's refusal to accept hipped.

The pangram must be a tricky one today as none of us has found it yet.

ETA: as for the pangram, just play around with word combinations; it's sort of a compound.

ETA: just saw this one:
Quote from: OneMoreYear on December 07, 2020, 09:41:15 AM
Today's pangram became more obvious after I kept seeing headache (because I have a constant one this semester)--which obviously does not count as a word because it doesn't include p.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 07, 2020, 10:31:32 AM
I finally got the pangram as the penultimate word.   The final word took another minute or two, but I finally got that.  And it was an easy one, so I was kicking myself. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2020, 01:13:20 PM
DIPACHE? No?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: nebo113 on December 07, 2020, 01:17:27 PM
Why does LB say "Genius" or "Awesome" after some words?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 07, 2020, 01:42:18 PM
Quote from: nebo113 on December 07, 2020, 01:17:27 PM
Why does LB say "Genius" or "Awesome" after some words?

Maybe they're trying to be like their more popular sibling, the bee. ;-)  Still struggling with today's LB, by the way.  I have some good candidate words but have not been able to make any solutions in two words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2020, 05:04:49 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 07, 2020, 01:42:18 PM
Quote from: nebo113 on December 07, 2020, 01:17:27 PM
Why does LB say "Genius" or "Awesome" after some words?

Maybe they're trying to be like their more popular sibling, the bee. ;-)  Still struggling with today's LB, by the way.  I have some good candidate words but have not been able to make any solutions in two words.

They think we're kids who need the "well done" feedback.

I made it to QB earlier this afternoon, and just completed the crossword, an easy one. Now on to some grading before tackling LB. I found a couple of words earlier but couldn't get the remaining letters to form a word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2020, 05:36:31 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 07, 2020, 05:04:49 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 07, 2020, 01:42:18 PM
Quote from: nebo113 on December 07, 2020, 01:17:27 PM
Why does LB say "Genius" or "Awesome" after some words?

Maybe they're trying to be like their more popular sibling, the bee. ;-)  Still struggling with today's LB, by the way.  I have some good candidate words but have not been able to make any solutions in two words.

They think we're kids who need the "well done" feedback.

I made it to QB earlier this afternoon, and just completed the crossword, an easy one. Now on to some grading before tackling LB. I found a couple of words earlier but couldn't get the remaining letters to form a word.

Found the panagram, but still stuck at Genius.

LB - Plenty of 3-fers but the 2-fer eludes me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 08, 2020, 06:18:01 AM
Found two pangrams today and made it to genius.

As for LB, I wouldn't have guessed yesterday's two words. I did find a couple or more starting with en-, but the result was a three-word solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 08, 2020, 07:57:52 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 08, 2020, 06:18:01 AM
Found two pangrams today and made it to genius.

As for LB, I wouldn't have guessed yesterday's two words. I did find a couple or more starting with en-, but the result was a three-word solution.

SB yesterday - missed 2 obvious ones (PEACE, CHEEPED) and one I should have gotten (EPEE) from doing the crossword puzzle all the time.

LB - I figured some sort of OMB; OMP; solution would be part of the final solution. I had all sorts of words like CAMBER, TAMPER, ROMPER, CRIMP... oh well. Onward! to today's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 08, 2020, 08:07:35 AM
I was apparently going in the wrong direction with LB yesterday, with reform, proforma, cabinet, informant, protein, pertain.  At least I was sort of close with camper.  I guess yesterday's was pretty tough, given that we all had trouble with it.

For the bee yesterday, epee was my final word, despite all the crossword stuff.  For today, sounds like I'm right around where Langue_doc is. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 08, 2020, 08:41:31 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 08, 2020, 06:18:01 AM
Found two pangrams today and made it to genius.

As for LB, I wouldn't have guessed yesterday's two words. I did find a couple or more starting with en-, but the result was a three-word solution.

2 panagrams, made it to genius, not sure if QB will happen.

My first 3-fer of the day and first "**** I would have had a 2-fer if the letters are on the same side."

Well, time for a shower.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2020, 05:21:37 AM
Today's SB is punitive rather than challenging. Made it to genius though, but no pangram yet.

As for LB, I haven't looked at the solution nor today's puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 09, 2020, 09:09:24 AM
SB - it wouldn't take COIR. Now I'm cranky.

LB - I didn't get either word in the solution! Okay, about to get started.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2020, 09:31:24 AM
For yesterday's LB I didn't get either of the words, either.  I thought I had a couple good candidates, but no deal.  Hopefully today's will be easier.  It seems like after that super easy one a few days ago, we are being punished!

I got up to 94 points on the bee today, but now I am really struggling.  Luckily, I accidentally started today's crossword last night.  I was trying to do an archive puzzle, but I guess I clicked on the new puzzle without thinking.  I figured it out midway, after there were a couple answers that I did not think would be part of a 2002 puzzle, as they weren't even around then.  But it took less time to get the crossword done this morning thanks to the head start.   Not that it has led to QB, yet.  I did get the (?) pangram pretty early on.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 09, 2020, 09:37:31 AM
Slow start with SB.

LB - lots of 5 and unders solutions, and lots of short words. But haven't found that long word that tends to point to a solution.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2020, 12:36:49 PM
I'll probably make it to QB. There are still a few words left on the crossword. I have a three-word solution to LB but don't think I have the patience to work on it today to get it down to two.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 09, 2020, 05:48:22 PM
SB - stuck at "great" and no panagram.

LB - plenty of 3fers with weird little words like "DOG" and "YAW" to bridge two real words. But the actual 2fer eludes me.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2020, 06:23:05 PM
Difficult words, a few plurals and one singular (this one should be intuitive). I found the pangram by playing around with word combinations. I've been pleasantly distracted by my book discussion group today, so don't know if I'll have the energy to get to QB. As for LB, it's a 3-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2020, 07:04:36 PM
After comparing bee lists, we got to within one word but had to run the program to find it.  Husband actually tried the word but had spelled it wrong.  So close! I actually got the pangram from a book we had read a couple years ago.

As for LB, I have another couple good candidate words but still can't get a second that finishes it off.  Tough couple puzzles the last few days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2020, 09:18:25 PM
Two-fer finally. Think of Oscar, the Muppet, and What one tends to do this time of the day, past tense.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2020, 09:06:04 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 09, 2020, 09:18:25 PM
Two-fer finally. Think of Oscar, the Muppet, and What one tends to do this time of the day, past tense.

Those were great clues.  Thanks! At least "I" completed yesterday's now.  That's the official solution, too.  Good work! I didn't have any words that were similar to those on my candidate list.

Today's bee is hard! I got to genius +1, barely.  I am either missing a lot of stuff that goes together, or there's still a bunch of unique words left. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 10, 2020, 09:09:09 AM
Two points short of genius on the Bee today, but they'll come eventually. Seems to me there's a foodstuff it's not accepting but should (although I suppose it's named after an ancient kingdom, so maybe that's the rationale).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2020, 09:26:33 AM
LB - yesterday I WAS SO CLOSE! I had both words in different 3-fer combinations.

SB - Gah.

Onward...

SB - cruising along, stuck at "Great" for now.

LB - plenty of 3-fers, hope to find the 2-fer at some point.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 10, 2020, 09:44:51 AM
I made it to genius--a couple of words of Greek origin, one plural, two dishes, not originally American, a body part (don't know how this sneaked past the censors), another body part, and plenty of four-letter words. Not sure if I have the energy to look further as there's the crossword and the LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 10, 2020, 09:49:23 AM
Got it with a six-pointer! I'm all out of steam for QB though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2020, 09:52:40 AM
Clearly not a California writer. SB wouldn't take HELLA.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2020, 10:40:46 AM
It is interesting when the bee won't take a word but will take a variation of the word.  We got up to 160 points after comparing but are probably going to throw in the towel.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2020, 12:29:25 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 10, 2020, 09:44:51 AM
I made it to genius--a couple of words of Greek origin, one plural, two dishes, not originally American, a body part (don't know how this sneaked past the censors), another body part, and plenty of four-letter words. Not sure if I have the energy to look further as there's the crossword and the LB.

I'm stuck at amazing/110 and think I have all that you have, still no panagram. I have the body parts that I think you are referring to - hey, it's the proper latin term and not a slang term so why not?

3fers coming out of my ears with LB. Probably same situation as yesterday in that there are 2 words that go together in my various 3fer combos.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 10, 2020, 01:26:04 PM
The pangram has a sort of recognizable prefix as well as a suffix. You can get another word from the pangram without the suffix part.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 10, 2020, 02:01:03 PM
I got the pangram fairly early, but the rest of today's SB was a struggle.  I did finally make it to Genius.  I just don't have the energy to go for QB.

Sometimes the decisions about what not to accept are surprising.  It rejected hella, but accepted a similar word that I would consider a slangy spelling.

As for LB, I'm stuck at a 3-word solution. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: permanent imposter on December 10, 2020, 11:49:00 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 10, 2020, 01:26:04 PM
The pangram has a sort of recognizable prefix as well as a suffix. You can get another word from the pangram without the suffix part.

Thanks for this, I've never used this word without the suffix part.

Also I wanted to thank this thread for informing me of SB's existence and thus claiming most of my morning productivity time :) If anyone is interested in a free app that has a similar concept it's called "Not That Spelling Bee."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2020, 04:51:54 AM
Made it to genius today, but alas, no pangram yet.

Now, self, get to work.

Welcome to the club, permanent imposter.

ETA: Found the pangram!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on December 11, 2020, 05:13:07 AM
And I got the pangram as first word but am one point shy of genius. Coffee not kicking in, yeah, that's it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 11, 2020, 08:45:55 AM
I got up to 89 points, and we are at 94 after comparing.  So I guess maybe two four-letter words left? It's been pretty easy today overall.  Good luck, reener06!

I never did get the 2-word LB solution yesterday.  And, looking at the solution, I was not even close with my contenders.  I got distracted trying for the first time to do the medium sudoku.  I don't know if that can be accomplished without guessing entries (which I don't want to do).  Guess I'm not at that level yet.

Quote from: permanent imposter on December 10, 2020, 11:49:00 PM
Also I wanted to thank this thread for informing me of SB's existence and thus claiming most of my morning productivity time :) If anyone is interested in a free app that has a similar concept it's called "Not That Spelling Bee."

Welcome! And thanks for the tip about the other app, which I'm sure will eventually suck up more of my time, just like these folks have now sucked me into Letter Boxed.  I also use Wordscapes, which is sort of similar and I think has helped with the bee.  And there is Letter Hive, which is much more like the bee and allows you to customize the letters and has a solve feature.

ETA: I finally got the last bee word (only one remained, not two).  Hurrah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 11, 2020, 09:38:38 AM
SB Yesterday - it took HELLUVA but not HELLA? Discrimination against California!

This morning, got the panagram fairly quickly. Maybe I'll do better today. Ran out of gas at "Amazing."

LB - Never got PLANKTON. I had SCHLUMP but oh well. I was coming up with a lot of combos with PHANTOM - close but no cigar!

Onward to today's - got the 2-fer on the first try!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2020, 10:25:09 AM
LB--didn't get either of the two words yesterday.

I made it to QB earlier today with the last word, one of foreign origin and which I invariably miss despite its frequent occurrence in SB, which I fortuitously remembered.

ciao_yall and ab_grp, woohoo for your solutions today.

I've been doing the sudokus and yes, you can adjust the settings so that you don't see the solution when you are working on it.

Dang, autocorrect! MYOB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on December 11, 2020, 03:02:15 PM
Well, I got to genius. Three words short of QB but I think I'm done. Not bad. I don't usually get QB or even close-I usually stop at genius, so I'll take it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 12, 2020, 09:08:13 AM
Last night I flew out of bed with words for yesterday's SB in my mind... and none of them contained an "I" so not usable.

SB - hit Amazing and found one panagram on the first run. Now to LB....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 12, 2020, 09:25:46 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 12, 2020, 09:08:13 AM
Last night I flew out of bed with words for yesterday's SB in my mind... and none of them contained an "I" so not usable.

That is funny, but sorry the words didn't work out.  I have found myself in the same position at times.

Yesterday's LB flummoxed me.  I could not figure out any words with x that would work with one more word.  I think I had the other word in the solution, at least.  Not getting very far with today's, either, but I'll keep at it from time to time.

For today's bee, I am a little over 20 points shy of QB.  I know we've had these letters or similar recently, so I'm trying to recall the answers and do good book keeping. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 12, 2020, 09:28:41 AM
I'm one word short of QB. As for LB, I didn't even come close to either word. I vaguely recall finding dominatrix in an earlier puzzle, but was looking for words with the x in the middle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 12, 2020, 09:51:13 AM
Today's LB - very slow start. Not even finding those weird 3-letter words that at least get to a 7-word solution.

Yesterday I found DOMINATRIX at the beginning, and there was SCOLD so that was easy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 12, 2020, 05:43:07 PM
SB - stuck again at Amazing.

LB - got a 3fer, considering that a win.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2020, 08:23:56 AM
Visualizing, I can understand. But grok? What the f*ck!!!

I'll probably make it to QB today. The list is boring though, just rearranging the same letters.

Quote from: ab_grp on December 12, 2020, 09:25:46 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 12, 2020, 09:08:13 AM
Last night I flew out of bed with words for yesterday's SB in my mind... and none of them contained an "I" so not usable.

That is funny, but sorry the words didn't work out.  I have found myself in the same position at times.


I too come up with words that I'm convinced are going to work. Yesterday, the word 'tugboat' kept popping up in my mind, despite 'a' missing from the list.

Quote from: reener06 on December 11, 2020, 03:02:15 PM
Well, I got to genius. Three words short of QB but I think I'm done. Not bad. I don't usually get QB or even close-I usually stop at genius, so I'll take it.

I used to stop at genius until I came across this thread. Peer pressure seems to have kicked in, so now instead of looking at the solution the following day, I try to make it to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 08:46:46 AM
I kept seeing "tugboat" yesterday, too.  And I'm with you, Langue_doc, on the peer pressure making me aspire to more! Particularly on LB, which I had never really played.  Now I want a 2-word solution or nothing.  I (again) did not get too close to the words yesterday and probably would not have come up with grok.  I figured one might end with "zing", but my candidates left too many other letters to deal with.

For the bee today, I've got about 27 points to go for QB.  I feel stuck in a pattern. 

Does anyone else have this happen: I sometimes get what seems to be a surprising word only to realize that, duh, it is an obvious word.  Yesterday I tried "both" but heard it in my head as rhyming with "goth" and was excited when it was accepted until, of course, I realized.  The other day I tried "thou" like short for thousand and then thought oh yeah... thou.  In Wordscapes yesterday I had "singe" and thought, well I guess if you singe something you are a singer and was happy that was accepted.  Not like you could pronounce that word differently or anything.  It just happens now and again and gives me a laugh.  This has happened when reading out loud to my husband as well.  "Legend" was hyphenated at the end of a line, and I was thinking what is a leg end?! Or pronouncing "Gee!" with a hard g.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2020, 09:26:23 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 13, 2020, 08:23:56 AM
Visualizing, I can understand. But grok? What the f*ck!!!


My 3-fer included GROK. I kept playing with -IVING, -IZING... somehow didn't get VISUALIZING.

Quote
I used to stop at genius until I came across this thread. Peer pressure seems to have kicked in, so now instead of looking at the solution the following day, I try to make it to QB.

This thread is now one of my morning stops. I enjoy everyone's creative a subtle hints!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 09:30:58 AM
I got a 2-word solution for today's LB! Yay! It has been a few days since any kind of victorious feeling in that game.  Am available for hints if needed.  Maybe I can trudge on closer to QB now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2020, 09:42:48 AM
Thanks for the offer, ab_grp. I'll take you up on it later this afternoon if I'm still desperate. I haven't tried today's puzzle yet but looked at it because I wanted to see the solution.

Several years ago, I met Will Shortz (of the crosswords) at an outdoor fair of sorts. He, naturally, was in the NY Times booth. I recall chatting with him and having him sign the crossword page in the magazine. I don't remember why I had the magazine--must have taken it along to read in the subway. I recall thinking that he looked very young for a crossword puzzle setter.

Gone are the days of taking the subway (they used to be much cleaner and safer, so I don't really miss them). Gone also are the days of street fairs.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2020, 09:48:01 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 09:30:58 AM
I got a 2-word solution for today's LB! Yay! It has been a few days since any kind of victorious feeling in that game.  Am available for hints if needed.  Maybe I can trudge on closer to QB now.

You rock! I came here to tell everyone I would have one if it weren't for the same darn letters on every side.

Quote
Several years ago, I met Will Shortz (of the crosswords) at an outdoor fair of sorts. He, naturally, was in the NY Times booth. I recall chatting with him and having him sign the crossword page in the magazine. I don't remember why I had the magazine--must have taken it along to read in the subway. I recall thinking that he looked very young for a crossword puzzle setter.

Will Shortz gave a talk on puzzles and the place was packed. My friend and I were fangirling like it was the Beatles 1964.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 10:49:40 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 13, 2020, 09:48:01 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 09:30:58 AM
I got a 2-word solution for today's LB! Yay! It has been a few days since any kind of victorious feeling in that game.  Am available for hints if needed.  Maybe I can trudge on closer to QB now.

You rock! I came here to tell everyone I would have one if it weren't for the same darn letters on every side.

Quote
Several years ago, I met Will Shortz (of the crosswords) at an outdoor fair of sorts. He, naturally, was in the NY Times booth. I recall chatting with him and having him sign the crossword page in the magazine. I don't remember why I had the magazine--must have taken it along to read in the subway. I recall thinking that he looked very young for a crossword puzzle setter.

Will Shortz gave a talk on puzzles and the place was packed. My friend and I were fangirling like it was the Beatles 1964.

Thanks! Good luck.  The same-side syndrome is a pain in the neck.  I just got lucky, I think.  And I envy both of you for your Will Shortz experiences! He has such an interesting background.  I've listened to a few podcasts he's been on but have never been in person with him.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2020, 12:58:33 PM
Got the 2fer. Woohoo! Also finished the crossword puzzle and the spiral puzzle in the print magazine.

Still stuck at "Amazing" for SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 01:06:13 PM
Yeah!! For SB, we got to within 8 points after comparing.  Should have picked up two of the final words, but I don't think we would have gotten the third without just trying stuff.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2020, 01:47:30 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 01:06:13 PM
Yeah!! For SB, we got to within 8 points after comparing.  Should have picked up two of the final words, but I don't think we would have gotten the third without just trying stuff.

Great minds think alike!

For SB got to "genius" with some very clever hints from one of the folks on the crossword puzzle comments thread. I think I'm one word away from QB which would be my first, but I can't make sense of the hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2020, 02:00:32 PM
Congrats to both of you.

I'm gearing up for a massive grading session tomorrow by rereading Jane Austen, so that's my priority for today.

Quote from: ab_grp on December 13, 2020, 08:46:46 AM

Does anyone else have this happen: I sometimes get what seems to be a surprising word only to realize that, duh, it is an obvious word.  Yesterday I tried "both" but heard it in my head as rhyming with "goth" and was excited when it was accepted until, of course, I realized.  The other day I tried "thou" like short for thousand and then thought oh yeah... thou.  In Wordscapes yesterday I had "singe" and thought, well I guess if you singe something you are a singer and was happy that was accepted.  Not like you could pronounce that word differently or anything.  It just happens now and again and gives me a laugh.  This has happened when reading out loud to my husband as well.  "Legend" was hyphenated at the end of a line, and I was thinking what is a leg end?! Or pronouncing "Gee!" with a hard g.   

I have variations of this happen, I think because I'm seeing random letters rather than words. Yesterday I got both and boot early on, but was surprised not to have seen booth until the very end.

SB wasn't too difficult; think of the various combinations with ch at the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2020, 08:25:36 PM
Got the two-fer and QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2020, 08:20:21 AM
Congrats, Langue_doc! At first I thought that you were already reporting in for today.  That would be super fast.  Obviously I need to wake up a bit.   Did you get the official solution, which ciao_yall and I found, or a different one? Hope your grading session goes well.

Doing okay so far on SB, but I just started.  It's a sort of long puzzle. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 08:33:37 AM
Those were my last tasks for last night, just before I completed today's crossword. Clearing my brain with good prose probably helped.

Mine were frolicker and random, I think. I found several possibilities with the j today, but have to play around some more.

As for SB, made it to genius. These are more or less the same words from a recent puzzle, so rather blah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2020, 09:35:08 AM
We had flicker-random yesterday for LB.  I just took a look at today's and had a great idea for a J word and... same side letters issue.  Argh!!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2020, 09:52:01 AM
Morning! Also thought Langue_doc was like a super-turbo-genius when I first checked in. S/he must get up really early in the morning.

SB - Ran out of gas at "Nice" but will shower and come back. Looks like there is a crowd that "meets" regularly in the comments section, so may compare lists with them.

LB - got a few 4-word solutions so hope the 3-fer and 2-fer emerge soon. Like ab_grp, saw a great word and that same side issue! Grr.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2020, 10:57:16 AM
Now that I have had breakfast, I will try the LB again.  For the bee, we were within 6 points after comparing, and I saw the final word just as I was about to give up.  Hurrah! Hopefully that won't be my only victory of the day.  I'm going to try to shake off the almost J word agony and go back to LB for a bit.

Quote from: ciao_yall on December 13, 2020, 01:47:30 PM
For SB got to "genius" with some very clever hints from one of the folks on the crossword puzzle comments thread. I think I'm one word away from QB which would be my first, but I can't make sense of the hint.

Did you end up being a word away? And what was it? We probably would not have gotten "lath" but should have gotten "attach" and "hath."

ETA: Dang! I now have a list J words that seem to have potential, and many are long and take up a lot of letters.  But I can't figure out another word to go with any of them!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 11:59:59 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 14, 2020, 09:52:01 AM
Morning! Also thought Langue_doc was like a super-turbo-genius when I first checked in. S/he must get up really early in the morning.

SB - Ran out of gas at "Nice" but will shower and come back. Looks like there is a crowd that "meets" regularly in the comments section, so may compare lists with them.

LB - got a few 4-word solutions so hope the 3-fer and 2-fer emerge soon. Like ab_grp, saw a great word and that same side issue! Grr.

Super-turbo-genius--not me alas. That was my post prior to retiring last night.

I'm having similar issues and frustrations with the same-side letters, especially the c and e. So much potential, unrealized and unfulfilled.

ab_grp, I found lath by putting those letters together. I expected a rejection, but was surprised to see that as far as SB was concerned, this was a legit word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2020, 01:19:19 PM
I finally figured out a second word to go with one of my many J words, and it worked! Yeehaw.  I also solved a medium sudoku puzzle without help for the first time.  This day is bound to start going downhill soon.

Quote from: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 11:59:59 AM
ab_grp, I found lath by putting those letters together. I expected a rejection, but was surprised to see that as far as SB was concerned, this was a legit word.

I think lath is one of those I just have to add to my list of words to try to remember that come up in the puzzle.  It is in the dictionary, but I am really not sure what they consider common enough to include given some that they don't.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2020, 01:46:42 PM
SB - stuck at amazing, no panagram yet.

LB - got a 2-fer - yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2020, 01:48:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 14, 2020, 10:57:16 AM
Did you end up being a word away? And what was it? We probably would not have gotten "lath" but should have gotten "attach" and "hath."

The only word I didn't find was NUTHATCH, which I thought was a not-very-nice word for mental health asylum, but turns out it is also a type of bird.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 02:01:28 PM
I found nuthatch early on and was proud of myself for doing so. However I missed flicker yesterday. This was annoying because last year I found the entire "shell" of a flicker with all the feathers intact after a predator had feasted on the poor bird. I gave a couple to a fellow birder and brought the rest of the feathers home.

I'm probably a couple of words short of QB. There's still the two-fer in LB.

Today's SB accepted a four letter word that it has steadfastly rejected as recently as last week. There must have been complaints.

ETA: Nuthatches are quite common in parks and botanical gardens, so this word has no other associations for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 04:41:05 PM
Got the two-fer and the QB. (Sigh of relief).

Now I can concentrate on the grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2020, 04:58:20 PM
SB - Went online to the puzzle commenters and after reviewing a list of hints, achieved "Genius." QB eludes me yet. They wouldn't take OLLA or ILIAL today. Whatever. I'm a QB in my own mind.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2020, 07:01:14 PM
Nuthatch is what got me to genius (and a little beyond yesterday).  I figured it was fitting.

Quote from: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 04:41:05 PM
Got the two-fer and the QB. (Sigh of relief).

Hooray!

Quote from: ciao_yall on December 14, 2020, 04:58:20 PM
SB - Went online to the puzzle commenters and after reviewing a list of hints, achieved "Genius." QB eludes me yet. They wouldn't take OLLA or ILIAL today. Whatever. I'm a QB in my own mind.

Yes!

I will be interested to see what we all came up with for LB today and what the official solution is.  I had (finally!!) found a good list of J words, but it took me forever to find a mate for one of them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2020, 07:36:42 PM
The LB turned out to be quite easy once I decided not to include the j and the y in the same word. So the first word ended in s, and the rest of the letters along with additional ones arranged themselves into a commonly used word.

Yes, ciao_yall, we're all QBs and lords of all that we survey (somehow "ladies of all that we survey" doesn't quite have the same ring to it).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 15, 2020, 07:52:39 AM
SB - found the panagram early on, but now it's going slowly. Stuck at "Great" but hope to achieve "Amazing" before joining my new friends at the crossword puzzle comments.

Don't worry, you all are still my "ride or die" crowd.

LB- my yesterday solution used fewer letters than the official solution. Today, already finding 4 and 5-word solutions, so hope the 2-fer will appear soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 15, 2020, 09:25:31 AM
We were still almost 20 points away today after comparing.  Interestingly, my program turned up one from the database that no longer seems to be accepted? It's in there multiple times, so I don't think I just mistyped it.  In the beginning, I was typing in all the answers, but I quickly started copying them in from the spelling bee solver site, so this is a little weird.  There is also a word that is not in there that I think should be given others of similar type that they include.

For LB yesterday, I got the official solution.  I was so hoping the remaining letters would allow for "strictly", as that's what popped out at me, but no joy.  At least I finally figured out a second word that worked.  I'll take a look at today's after breakfast. 

Wishing everyone good puzzling and solving today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 15, 2020, 10:17:40 AM
Achieved "genius" with help from the crossword puzzle commenters, but lots of hints I'm just not getting.

LB- found a very efficient 3-fer so hope the 2-fer appears soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 15, 2020, 10:52:52 AM
I managed to get a 2-fer in LB, though not down the avenue that I had thought might work out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 15, 2020, 01:05:57 PM
I saw both your emails this morning but couldn't post my responses as I was using my phone and couldn't remember my password, all of which relegated me to guest status. Anyway, I got the pangram while waiting for my car to be serviced, but had made it to genius before I left in the morning.

I was surprised to see 'moil' accepted yesterday. This word has been consistently refused, as I keep entering it whenever I see the four letters. Today I kept getting words with 'n' such as pound, around, apron, and so on. I would have had quite a list if only 'n' had been one of today's words.

As for LB, I found a three-word solution: I'll have to keep trying for a two-fer.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 15, 2020, 01:14:30 PM
Langue_doc, when you mentioned the word that had not previously been accepted, I thought that was it (after perusing my list).  I didn't remember that one, either.  And I was also looking for apron and etc. today.  Good luck with the 2-fer! I might try again, because I doubt my solution is the official one.  They tend to have more elegant solutions.  Glad you're back from being a guest!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 15, 2020, 06:56:16 PM
I got to QB and completed the crossword. SB wouldn't accept what I thought was a perfectly legit 6-letter word ending in -p.

I've probably given up on LB. I kept wanting to get the letters to spell "velociraptor"--no 'r', alas, and even with the 'r', the other letters wouldn't have been on the right sides. Sigh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 16, 2020, 07:32:46 AM
Never found the 2-fer yesterday. Was the official solution the one you found, ab_grp?

I found some things I wish were words, like SANIVIPE which sounds like a cleaning product my great-grandmother would have used. And a very tight 3-fer BLOCK-KNAVES-SIP which did nothing for getting me to the official solution but note that I didn't reuse a single letter....

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2020, 07:48:36 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 16, 2020, 07:32:46 AM
Never found the 2-fer yesterday. Was the official solution the one you found, ab_grp?

I suppose I could have gotten the official solution off of mine if I had kept at it, but I did not.  In any case, I got CLOVES-SPINBACK.  I was trying to do something with canvases.  I don't think spinback is a really good word, if it is a word, so it's kind of like my first ever 2-fer that included SPOTCH.  Doesn't really feel like a victory.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 16, 2020, 07:54:33 AM
Mine were backspins and solve. Made it to genius in SB, with two pangrams. I found a few words with the q, but can't get the remaining letters into a single word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2020, 09:08:07 AM
I just barely made it to genius today but didn't realize there's a second pangram, so that might help (if I can find it!).  Thanks for the tip, Langue_doc! As for LB, I haven't looked at it yet but am not sure if the Q will make it easier or harder... sounds like harder.  I'll take a look after the easy sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 16, 2020, 11:24:01 AM
The second pangram is quite easy, ab_grp. The words I've found so far are pretty standard. I might have to look for more esoteric ones to reach QB. I'm still a square amiss on the crossword.

I usually do the mini crossword and the sudokus as soon as they are released. Sometimes I start on the crossword at night. Last night I almost completed the crossword except for that pesky letter.

Today's schedule is the crossword, QB, and LB, in that order. All of this will have to wait until later this evening.

Good luck with the two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2020, 11:32:22 AM
Thanks! We ended up comparing lists, and I found out that husband had already gotten both pangrams.  I will blame his beating me to it on a not-great night of sleep.  That is also why I don't look at the puzzles the night they are released.  The mini is easy enough, but if I look at the bee I will be turning the letters over and over in my head all night.  And if I only had one square left in the crossword, that would be keeping me up, too.  I do the sudokus and LB on the computer, so that is during the day.   I just looked back at the crossword to try to guess which square was your obstacle.  Not quite sure.   Good luck!

I managed to screw up the easy sudoku by jamming along to a Metallica concert while solving.  Oh well, it was worth it.  I'm working on medium sudoku now and am glad to be getting better at it.  I will have to try the hard one once I get faster at medium.

For LB, I have a couple good contender Q words but am still missing a second word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 16, 2020, 12:04:34 PM
I made Genius on today's SB, but will probably not push for QB. I got both pangrams, and one word that was a lucky guess, tried in desperation as I wondered if the first part of the word I did know was a prefix.  Yes!  Apparently so. 

As for LB, the 2 word solution eludes me.  3 words, yes, but not 2.  Yet.

Crossword and sudokus are solved, too.  I used to be awful at sudoku, but thanks to the pandemic, I've gotten a lot better at it. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 16, 2020, 12:12:51 PM
SB - hit Genius with help from my friends on the crossword puzzle comments.

LB - Got the 2-fer - someone said something on the crossword puzzle comments and I tried it. It's tricky. PM me if you want a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 17, 2020, 04:50:40 AM
Two pangrams and a genius. Woohoo!

ETA: two-fer, and an easy one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2020, 08:46:48 AM
Okay, pressure is on, but still only on 2nd cup of coffee.

SB - two panagrams and amazing.

LB - quick 3fer, lots of nice long candidate words so hope to see the 2fer soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2020, 08:51:07 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 16, 2020, 12:12:51 PM
SB - hit Genius with help from my friends on the crossword puzzle comments.

LB - Got the 2-fer - someone said something on the crossword puzzle comments and I tried it. It's tricky. PM me if you want a hint.

What 2-fer did you get? I did not stray near the official solution.  I thought I had a couple good options like quince, cirque, and quininic.  The cirque was to try to get the q in the middle somewhere, which seems to have been the correct approach, but not close.  I was going to PM for a hint but was on and off the computer.  I used to read the crossword comments from top to bottom every day, because I wanted to create a puzzle to submit and wanted to see what people thought of each one.  But then I started the bee and found those hints mixed in with the comments and wanted to hold off until I had done what I could with it.  I might need to return for some help with that or LB now that I am trying at that, too.

Quote from: Langue_doc on December 17, 2020, 04:50:40 AM
Two pangrams and a genius. Woohoo!

ETA: two-fer, and an easy one today.

Hooray on both counts! And good to know there are two pangrams again.  I have only found one so far.

I hope today's solving goes better than yesterday.  I don't think I really had victories in any of the puzzles!

Quote from: cathwen on December 16, 2020, 12:04:34 PM
Crossword and sudokus are solved, too.  I used to be awful at sudoku, but thanks to the pandemic, I've gotten a lot better at it. 

This is good to know about the sudokus.  I have gotten good enough at easy that I try for speed, but the medium still takes me quite a while if I can even finish it out by straight reasoning.  Do you do the hard ones, too?

Just saw your post, ciao_yall.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2020, 08:58:05 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 17, 2020, 08:51:07 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 16, 2020, 12:12:51 PM
SB - hit Genius with help from my friends on the crossword puzzle comments.

LB - Got the 2-fer - someone said something on the crossword puzzle comments and I tried it. It's tricky. PM me if you want a hint.

What 2-fer did you get? I did not stray near the official solution.  I thought I had a couple good options like quince, cirque, and quininic.  The cirque was to try to get the q in the middle somewhere, which seems to have been the correct approach, but not close.  I was going to PM for a hint but was on and off the computer.  I used to read the crossword comments from top to bottom every day, because I wanted to create a puzzle to submit and wanted to see what people thought of each one.  But then I started the bee and found those hints mixed in with the comments and wanted to hold off until I had done what I could with it.  I might need to return for some help with that or LB now that I am trying at that, too.

I had "uniquely" which ate up a lot of letters, but set up a U and Y which was pretty useless. And then someone on the crossword thread mentioned "caribou" so voila! My hint was going to be something about Sarah Palin's nickname (remember Caribou Barbie?)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 17, 2020, 09:06:07 AM
LB, think weather.

Yesterday I got uniquely, but gave up after that. I wouldn't have found caribou however hard I'd tried.

Sudoku also comes with the Windows package (I could be mistaken as I installed this years ago). But here is the website, in case anyone is interested. https://www.webgamesonline.com/ I've also played "Guess the phrase" another game on this website. The page should have "Games for the Brain" at the top.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2020, 09:33:42 AM
I had forgotten about Caribou Barbie!

As for LB, I have a contender that I am determined to make into a solution, and it does have to do with weather, so hopefully I'm on the right track and can find a second word.

Quote from: Langue_doc on December 17, 2020, 09:06:07 AM
Sudoku also comes with the Windows package (I could be mistaken as I installed this years ago). But here is the website, in case anyone is interested. https://www.webgamesonline.com/ I've also played "Guess the phrase" another game on this website. The page should have "Games for the Brain" at the top.

Also, agh! A whole other page of puzzles!! Run away! ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2020, 09:40:13 AM
Got the 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 17, 2020, 02:40:06 PM
I've had an easy time with the Bees for the last couple days. Phew! It would be pretty demoralizing to struggle with the Bee and marking.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 17, 2020, 03:04:18 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 17, 2020, 08:51:07 AM

Quote from: cathwen on December 16, 2020, 12:04:34 PM
Crossword and sudokus are solved, too.  I used to be awful at sudoku, but thanks to the pandemic, I've gotten a lot better at it. 

This is good to know about the sudokus.  I have gotten good enough at easy that I try for speed, but the medium still takes me quite a while if I can even finish it out by straight reasoning.  Do you do the hard ones, too?


Yes, I start with medium and go on to hard.  I've gotten so that I can usually (not always!) solve the hard one in about 10 minutes.  What helped me a lot was googling information on how to solve sudoku--that helped a lot because it helped me recognize patterns that hadn't been obvious to me.  That said, I haven't mastered the more esoteric patterns on those sites (with names like swordfish).  And I'm not nearly as good as my son-in-law, who truly is a whiz!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2020, 03:49:40 PM
Quote from: cathwen on December 17, 2020, 03:04:18 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 17, 2020, 08:51:07 AM

Quote from: cathwen on December 16, 2020, 12:04:34 PM
Crossword and sudokus are solved, too.  I used to be awful at sudoku, but thanks to the pandemic, I've gotten a lot better at it. 

This is good to know about the sudokus.  I have gotten good enough at easy that I try for speed, but the medium still takes me quite a while if I can even finish it out by straight reasoning.  Do you do the hard ones, too?


Yes, I start with medium and go on to hard.  I've gotten so that I can usually (not always!) solve the hard one in about 10 minutes.  What helped me a lot was googling information on how to solve sudoku--that helped a lot because it helped me recognize patterns that hadn't been obvious to me.  That said, I haven't mastered the more esoteric patterns on those sites (with names like swordfish).  And I'm not nearly as good as my son-in-law, who truly is a whiz!

Holy crow! I will have to look into this.  I think my quickest easy time is about 3:13.  I have only solved one or two mediums without guessing or checking answers, and those took 38-50 mins? And you can solve hard in 10?!! I am sincerely bowing to you and hope to improve even somewhat in that direction.  I am very quick at crosswords, but sudoku is another thing entirely. 

ETA: Okay, I have to know how fast your son-in-law is at solving!

ETA^2: Now I have a 2-fer in LB.  I had a weather-related word, but a slightly different one. Looking at the remaining letters from that initial guess, I figured out that I should try the correct word.  After adjusting, the mate of it was easy.  Thanks again for the hint, Langue_doc.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 18, 2020, 09:22:28 AM
SB - Made it to "genius" yesterday but the words I missed were so out there that I don't think I will see QB, at least until I have been playing a while and learned the words.

LB - I didn't get the official solution, but I did have a 2fer that was close.

Onward...

ETA...

SB: Wouldn't take "boytoy" this morning. Humph.

LB: Already have a 3fer so hope the 2fer comes soon.

ETA^2

LB: Got the 2fer! Not sure it's the official solution but back to SB for now.

SB: Panagram, stuck at "nice." I'd like to at least get to "amazing" before checking in with my friends at the NYT comments board.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 18, 2020, 09:53:03 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 18, 2020, 09:22:28 AM
SB - Made it to "genius" yesterday but the words I missed were so out there that I don't think I will see QB, at least until I have been playing a while and learned the words.

LB - I didn't get the official solution, but I did have a 2fer that was close.


What were your words? Mine were the official ones.

SB wasn't too bad today; think of words ending in -y and also -y ending suffixes.

I have several long words but the two-fer still eludes me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 18, 2020, 10:00:09 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 18, 2020, 09:53:03 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 18, 2020, 09:22:28 AM
SB - Made it to "genius" yesterday but the words I missed were so out there that I don't think I will see QB, at least until I have been playing a while and learned the words.

LB - I didn't get the official solution, but I did have a 2fer that was close.


What were your words? Mine were the official ones.


PIECES-SNOWFLAKE

Quote
I have several long words but the two-fer still eludes me.

PM me if you want a hint. It probably isn't the official solution but it worked.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2020, 10:32:10 AM
For LB yesterday, I got the official solution (Langue_doc's) eventually but had snowscapes as my initial contender word that I was trying to make fit.  I have a good contender today but would dearly love an E to make my wordmate work.

The bee didn't go too badly today.  We each found a dumb word, and after comparing we were just 7 points away.  I managed to recognize the final word, thanks to one my husband had found.   I keep trying boytoy too.  The other day I mentioned that there was a word that no longer seemed to be accepted: duad.  I had it several times in the database, so I think it was previously accepted but is not now.  Does anyone remember it being accepted before?

Got through the easy sudoku puzzle in reasonable time and actually finished the medium (though at 38+ minutes), thanks to some guidance I found online after Cathwen's post.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2020, 12:04:01 PM
I can't modify my previous post now, but I did get a 2-fer in LB.  Not sure if it's the official solution or not, but the words are common enough.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 18, 2020, 01:53:05 PM
Congrats on the two-fers, ciao_yall and ab_grp.

I don't think I'll get to LB today (thanks for the hints) as there's the crossword, QB, and the grading (unrelated topic!), not necessarily in this order.

ab_grp, I do recall seeing duad some time ago in one of the puzzles. SB isn't very consistent. Today's puzzle accepted the name of a comics superhero which I thought was surprising as this is the name of a character and hence a proper noun.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 01:59:54 PM
Haven't found today's superhero yet... still about 20 off from genius, but it'll come.

I feel like yesterday's SB has been repeated several times.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2020, 02:12:28 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 01:59:54 PM
I feel like yesterday's SB has been repeated several times.

If you go to the bee solver page (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20201217.html is yesterday's), you can see which other puzzles used the same pangram and with which center letters.  Yesterday's exactly matched another puzzle from last June (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20190627.html).  Same letters, different middle letter (m) in March of this year (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20200327.html).  Good memory!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 18, 2020, 02:15:54 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 01:59:54 PM
Haven't found today's superhero yet... still about 20 off from genius, but it'll come.

It's a young'un.

Quote from: Parasaurolophus link=topic=1703.msg56117#msg56117 date=1608328794

I feel like yesterday's SB has been repeated several times.

/quote]

They keep getting recycled. Several words in today's puzzle have been cropping up during the past several weeks and also this week.

ETA: I can't get the quote function to work--my apologies.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 04:27:42 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 18, 2020, 02:12:28 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 01:59:54 PM
I feel like yesterday's SB has been repeated several times.

If you go to the bee solver page (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20201217.html is yesterday's), you can see which other puzzles used the same pangram and with which center letters.  Yesterday's exactly matched another puzzle from last June (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20190627.html).  Same letters, different middle letter (m) in March of this year (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20200327.html).  Good memory!

Oh! Thanks, I didn't know about that! I don't durdle around the site much.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2020, 04:34:30 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 04:27:42 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 18, 2020, 02:12:28 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2020, 01:59:54 PM
I feel like yesterday's SB has been repeated several times.

If you go to the bee solver page (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20201217.html is yesterday's), you can see which other puzzles used the same pangram and with which center letters.  Yesterday's exactly matched another puzzle from last June (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20190627.html).  Same letters, different middle letter (m) in March of this year (https://nytbee.com/Bee_20200327.html).  Good memory!

Oh! Thanks, I didn't know about that! I don't durdle around the site much.

I don't tend to much, either, but I thought I had seen some info like that.  As a data person, I think some of the stuff on that site is kind of neat.  Of course, I would still like to be able to find out other things like which words were included in which puzzles, which were accepted but are now not, and vice versa.  Maybe it's in there somewhere or on another site.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 18, 2020, 07:07:07 PM
I like to go here:

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords

And read today's puzzle/comments. There is always under "reader picks" a crowd of Bee solvers who share different types of hints.

There are a few LB-ers lurking around as well. That is how I tripped over CARIBOU the other day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2020, 07:32:47 AM
Thanks for the links above.

As for today, made it to genius and got the two-fer. Now I can get on with the rest of the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 19, 2020, 08:02:40 AM
So... what was the superhero, in the end?


EDIT: oooh, batboy. I found it, it just didn't click!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2020, 08:17:18 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 19, 2020, 07:32:47 AM
Thanks for the links above.

As for today, made it to genius and got the two-fer. Now I can get on with the rest of the day.

SB: Last night got up in the middle of the night and made it to "amazing". It wouldn't take "orlon." Maybe I can get to "genius" on my own?

LB: Just got up and poured coffee. Found a few candidate words but a few lingering letters that need to find a home.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 19, 2020, 08:43:08 AM
I didn't know what the superhero was, either! I thought about Tallboy, but Batboy makes more sense. 

About 13 points left to QB today, so we'll see.  My LB words yesterday were not the official solution.  Of course I now realize I did not write down my solution, but I think it was STOPLIGHTS-SUNLAMP.  I also had gunships, gunsights, and topologist as contender words but couldn't get anywhere with them.  I think I wanted the E for GUNSHIPS-SOULMATE.  Oh well.  At least I got some solution.  Hopefully today's won't be too difficult.  The crossword wasn't bad for a Saturday, though the top half came way easier than the bottom half for me.

ETA: Okay, got a 2-fer.  Not too tough, luckily!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2020, 09:41:54 AM
SB - At genius with a few hints from my friends at NYT Crossword Comments.

LB - I didn't have the official either - I got SUNLIGHT-TAMPON. Today, still working it. Haven't had that "snap" yet.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2020, 10:09:01 AM
Mine were humans and spotlight, I think. It's interesting that there are so many possibilities.

ETA: Just deleted my paragraph on batman as I realized that I was confusing 'batman' with 'batboy'. My brain is still foggy from all the grading and late nights.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2020, 10:12:08 AM
LB - Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2020, 10:22:34 AM
Did any of you get the musical word for LB?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 19, 2020, 10:47:59 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 19, 2020, 10:22:34 AM
Did any of you get the musical word for LB?

Yep, my first word is musical (though I got it second).  Yay for all the 2-fer victories today!

Yesterday I did have humans as a possibility but didn't see stoplight in the remaining letters at the time.

Had to check the program for the final two bee words.  I don't think I would have stumbled upon them, so I don't feel too badly about it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2020, 01:52:45 PM
Yes, a musical word. Set up the other letters very nicely.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 10:59:44 AM
Yesterday's LB - sounds like we all got the official solution?

SB - ran out of gas at Amazing but don't want to check the Crossword comments because we haven't done the Sunday Crossword yet. Husband starts it and I finish it. Kind of a tradition.

LB - 3fers coming out of my ears, so the 2fer must be close. Thought I had it but ARGH on the same side thing!!!!!! And a Z would have come in handy now that we know they will accept Yiddish words.

How is everyone else?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 11:21:42 AM
SB was rather blah today, but I got the pangram early on. (I thought it applied to us) and made it to QB by trying out various configurations with the letters.

As for LB I got the official solution. Got the two-fer; I tried to get to the difficult letters first. PM me if you would like a hint.

I'm still a letter awry on the crossword. I'm tempted to look at the solution. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2020, 11:23:49 AM
I got the official LB solution yesterday, too.  Today I have a couple good candidates but haven't found a match for a 2-fer yet.  So close on some of them! I'll keep at it for a bit and see if I need a hint later on.

I like your crossword tradition, ciao_yall! We usually do the crossword before the bee, though I tend to start the bee for a few minutes while getting ready in the morning.  After comparing, we got to within 5 points on the bee, and husband identified the final word.  Agreed with Langue_doc about the pangram! Easy to spot and very appropriate.  Wondering which letter you are stuck on in the crossword...

On the sudoku front, I finished easy but am stuck on medium.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 11:39:29 AM
Just got the letter and the solution. I had the wrong letter for the king's name. Crossword doesn't tell you where you went wrong, but only that you should keep trying.

Can't type either of your names because I'm on the kindle, which promptly and assiduously autocorrects words it doesn't approve of. Don't remember how long it took me to get it to accept 'two-fer'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2020, 12:12:08 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 11:39:29 AM
Just got the letter and the solution. I had the wrong letter for the king's name. Crossword doesn't tell you where you went wrong, but only that you should keep trying.

Can't type either of your names because I'm on the kindle, which promptly and assiduously autocorrects words it doesn't approve of. Don't remember how long it took me to get it to accept 'two-fer'.

Yep, I kind of went back and forth on that name a bit.  And although autocorrect is not an issue when I'm on the computer, I definitely understand the pain of it on other platforms.  I thought it was supposed to learn, but no matter how many times I correct my youngest daughter's name, it still does whatever it wants.  It's not that crazy of a name, either.  It comes up with some strange and very specific suggestions I've never heard of for other words, as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 12:58:06 PM
Ugh, I'm not worthy.

SB - Still no panagram, stuck at "amazing."

LB - Plenty of 3fers, with odd letters here and there which tells me I'm this close.

If someone wants to PM me a clever hint, I might not read your message... but I might.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2020, 01:06:18 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 12:58:06 PM
Ugh, I'm not worthy.

You are, too! I mean you are worthy, too, but I couldn't figure out how to punctuate that.  You are too worthy! No, that's not right. 

I just came here to say that I think I figured out what word you wanted a Z for.  As for the pangram, I will try to think of a clever and not-too-obvious clue, but the one I gave my husband this morning was a little too blunt.  Langue_doc seems to have a way with words and might have a good way to present a clue.

Still have a growing list of lots of seemingly good contender words and can't figure out what might go with them.  Stupid same side stupidness.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 01:48:10 PM
Still on my kindle, but here I go.

SB, think of what the three of us (and fellow posters on this thread) have in common. Think in classical language.

As for the king, I would have gotten the correct consonant if I had known the name of the person in the 'across' column.

As for being worthy, I see words only in certain configurations. There have been days when I've given up on puzzles only to find that the solution was quite obvious.

ETA Just sent PM; kindle won't let me type your name, c.

ETA2: On my computer now.
Thank you for your kind words, ab_grp. We all have a way with words, otherwise we wouldn't be on this and other threads. I can PM you the hint I sent ciao_yall if you like.

The same side requirement and the non-acceptance of double consonants and vowels continue to bug me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 20, 2020, 02:12:41 PM
After much struggling and trying and failing with what seemed to be good words, I finally got LB in 2 words.  So many 3-fer combinations, though!  I did not get yesterday's. 

I got to Genius in SB, but QB remains elusive—so congratulations, Langue_doc!  I did like the pangram, though, and yes, it is appropriate for this group.

I really screwed up sudoku yesterday, having to backtrack not once, but twice.  Today went better. 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 02:18:30 PM
Quote from: cathwen on December 20, 2020, 02:12:41 PM
After much struggling and trying and failing with what seemed to be good words, I finally got LB in 2 words.  So many 3-fer combinations, though!  I did not get yesterday's. 

I got to Genius in SB, but QB remains elusive—so congratulations, Langue_doc!  I did like the pangram, though, and yes, it is appropriate for this group.

I really screwed up sudoku yesterday, having to backtrack not once, but twice.  Today went better.

Woohoo! Congrats. I did get several three-fers initially.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2020, 02:35:43 PM
Hooray for the 2-fers! I am still working at it but feel like I am trying to force "favorite" contenders to work, so I went back to medium sudoku, got a foothold, and managed to reason it out in a total time of nearly an hour.  But, I solved it with no guessing, which is my goal.  I might try the hard one again just to see how far I get but will probably focus on LB.

Langue_doc, that was a good bee clue.  Much more straightforward than mine!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 07:11:25 PM
GOT THE 2-FER! Thanks Langue_doc for the hint. I don't think I would have gotten it.

I would have hinted something about a good place to play with one's ding-a-ling... Chuck Berry fans? Anyone?

If it hadn't been for the darn same side thing I would have had HIBISCUS-SOLVENT.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 07:22:36 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 07:11:25 PM
GOT THE 2-FER! Thanks Langue_doc for the hint. I don't think I would have gotten it.

I would have hinted something about a good place to play with one's ding-a-ling... Chuck Berry fans? Anyone?

If it hadn't been for the darn same side thing I would have had HIBISCUS-SOLVENT.

You're welcome; I'm on the kindle, so can't type your name.

The Chuck Berry phrase sounds like his Christmas song. I can hum the tune and these words, but can't recall the rest.

Congrats on the LB.

I just finished tomorrow's crossword. Interesting list of expressions including a British one that I haven't heard in a while.

ETA Your reference to playing with the ding-a-ling made me laugh. Sounds lewd.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 07:34:38 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 20, 2020, 07:22:36 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 20, 2020, 07:11:25 PM
GOT THE 2-FER! Thanks Langue_doc for the hint. I don't think I would have gotten it.

I would have hinted something about a good place to play with one's ding-a-ling... Chuck Berry fans? Anyone?

If it hadn't been for the darn same side thing I would have had HIBISCUS-SOLVENT.

You're welcome; I'm on the kindle, so can't type your name.

The Chuck Berry phrase sounds like his Christmas song. I can hum the tune and these words, but can't recall the rest.

Congrats on the LB.

I just finished tomorrow's crossword. Interesting list of expressions including a British one that I haven't heard in a while.

ETA Your reference to playing with the ding-a-ling made me laugh. Sounds lewd.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NiAD17wpEY
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 21, 2020, 08:40:40 AM
SB - Yesterday would NEVER have gotten the panagram, even with hints. Oh well, on to today's. Got the panagram first go, and now stuck on "amazing." Looks like a short one today.

LB - Looks like the official solution! And got a 2fer on the second try.

I may not be the Queen Bee of this thread, but at least I'm a form of lowbrow entertainment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2020, 09:28:59 AM
I was trying to hint subtly toward yesterday's pangram with the way of words comment (which was sincere but also a sort of clue).  I think it's one of those words that either pops out of you or is hard to ascertain.  They happen to all of us! And lowbrow entertainment is always welcome in my book.

I was so close with LB yesterday and should have asked if I could run some contenders by one of you.  I had vestibule(s) as my main contender but couldn't figure out the second (kept trying en- something).  I also had hibiscus, biscuit(s), nebulous... Oh well! Hopefully today will work out better. 

Got to within 7 points or so on the bee today but have to go to the program to see about the last word(s) and get closure on that.  There is a nice long word that should be accepted given other similar accepted words that is not in there, and a dumb one that I think should also be considered for acceptance given the other dumb ones accepted.  At least I finished today's easy sudoku yesterday when it changed to the new puzzle, and I started the medium puzzle, so a little less on the puzzle agenda for the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2020, 10:31:55 AM
LB will be the death of me today. Found some contenders for the first word, but still three-fers so far.

SB a couple of dishes/drinks, three plants/trees and a word that I've used only in the plural.

I got to QB by playing around with the letters. I got the drink, not knowing what it was, because I tried a word from my high school biology/zoology class that referred to a circulatory system part.

Congrats on the two-fer. Thanks for the YouTube link-- I'd always associated this tune and the words with Christmas.

Grrr! Am on kindle which keeps correcting me thinking I should congratulate you on Twitter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2020, 10:40:26 AM
We were missing two words in the bee.  One we definitely should have gotten, and I had tried something similar but missed the obvious.  The other is definitely a word I know but not one I probably would have found unless I was just messing around with letters.  I had tried that approach but had not found that word.    I think that might be the one you were referring to, Langue_doc.

No real luck on LB yet, but I haven't had much time to focus on it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 21, 2020, 10:41:52 AM
...'epilog'? Really? Is this some weird American variant?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2020, 10:59:58 AM
Merriam Webster accepts it as a less common variant; also accepts 'prolog'.

I hate these abbreviations!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2020, 11:02:42 AM
I was a little surprised when epilog worked!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2020, 04:21:19 PM
Wooha! Just got a 2-fer, finally, after trying many contender words.  That was a fight to the finish!

Somehow I managed to finish the hard sudoku today in a half hour after needing an hour to do the medium.  In each case I ran into a conflict at some point and used the "Check guesses when entered" to find and delete those entries and then turn the feature back off.  That's the best I can do at this point.  I am getting better at this, though.  I need to be able to do it more quickly so that I don't have to keep coming back to it and forgetting where I was each time.  I'm still confused about why the sudoku puzzles set to today's yesterday afternoon even though they supposedly set at 10PM ET.  They haven't set to tomorrow's yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2020, 05:14:42 PM
Not sure if this is your question, ab_grp, but the weekend crosswords and sudokus are available at 6 PM or so unlike the ones on weekdays which open up at 10. ETA: they open up early on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Congrats on the two-fer.

Ciao_yall, thanks for the hints. I think my first word is probably the same as yours, but not my second one, which is a rather long one, and sort of related to yesterday's pangram. I couldn't figure out what that hint meant; I kept thinking of rebels!

I used to be able to do the medium sudoku from the Windows game pack, but haven't looked at it in a while. I do the NYTimes sudokus but have the setting on "Highlight conflicts" because I do these and the mini crossword before retiring. This is more of a brain clearing activity than a puzzle. Sometimes the next day I reset the puzzle and try to solve it without the hints. With the hints I can do the medium anywhere between 7-10 minutes, and the hard around the same time. There have been occasions when the medium took longer than the hard to solve.

Quote from: ab_grp on December 21, 2020, 11:02:42 AM
I was a little surprised when epilog worked!

I've given up getting upset at what passes for acceptable words and expressions these days. I have Grammarly on my computers which corrects not only my emails but also every single sentence on Canvas. I've also learned to look up what I think are incorrect or non-standard words in student assignments because these are now acceptable. I've been meaning to keep a list of these words, but have not gotten around to doing so. Incidentally, Grammarly also keeps correcting my postings here as I'm typing this.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2020, 06:24:59 AM
Pugilist and thrown!!! Gah! I had growths initially, but then found grownup and philologist.

Today's SB was quite easy, and the pangram a delight (this is not a hint). Woke up around 4, tackled the SB, got to 87, then went back to sleep. Yesterday I found cava because I remembered the two vena cavas from my high school class, and civvy by playing around with the letters. I am familiar with civvies but didn't know that there was a singular form. I knew pica, but guessed piccata.

The crossword was so easy that I completed it before retiring last night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2020, 08:07:14 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 21, 2020, 05:14:42 PM
Not sure if this is your question, ab_grp, but the weekend crosswords and sudokus are available at 6 PM or so unlike the ones on weekdays which open up at 10. ETA: they open up early on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Yep, thanks! That helps to know.  When I looked it up, it just said they come out at 10 PM ET, so I must have missed the part about weekends. 

I was trying to hint at pugilist with the fight to the finish comment.  I also had growth(s), and plinth, whorl(s), shogun(s), photon(s), rhino(s), etc.  Finally got pugilist and then was so excited to see thrown! Ciao_yall, what solution did you find?  Haven't looked at today's yet.

For the bee yesterday, I was hoping cavatappi would be in there.  We missed cava, which I am okay with, but I couldn't believe we missed papacy.  I think I tried papacity or something stupid like that. 

I think we had today's bee pangram before but with a different center letter.  It might be one of the first my husband and I had come across when we started playing earlier this year.  We are still about 6 points away from QB.

I also have "highlight conflicts" on for sudoku, but I don't turn the check answers feature on unless I get a conflict, and then I don't feel like erasing everything or trying to backtrack for the harder puzzles.  But I try to turn it off right away.  I also use the check puzzle feature for the crosswords (only when doing archive puzzles because I don't want to lose my streak).  But I think once you turn that on, you can't turn it back off.  I'll have to see if that's true.  Anyway, it's nice to have the easy crosswords at the start of the week so that there's more time to spend on other puzzles as needed.

Langue_doc, you are ahead of the game today, sounds like!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 22, 2020, 09:06:43 AM
Morning!

SB - Yesterday made it to "genius" on my own. Not sure I'll see QB until I learn the funky words that NYT uses... that said, I should have gotten all the ones I missed. But by "genius" I'm ready to move on to other things.

LB - Yesterday I got GROWNUP-PLINTHS.

On to today's puzzles...

ETA - after a coffee refill...

SB - Achieved amazing, no panagram yet.

LB - would have a 2fer if it wasn't for the darn same side thing...

Perhaps more coffee?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2020, 09:20:13 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 22, 2020, 08:07:14 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 21, 2020, 05:14:42 PM


I also have "highlight conflicts" on for sudoku, but I don't turn the check answers feature on unless I get a conflict, and then I don't feel like erasing everything or trying to backtrack for the harder puzzles.  But I try to turn it off right away.  I also use the check puzzle feature for the crosswords (only when doing archive puzzles because I don't want to lose my streak).  But I think once you turn that on, you can't turn it back off.  I'll have to see if that's true.  Anyway, it's nice to have the easy crosswords at the start of the week so that there's more time to spend on other puzzles as needed.

Langue_doc, you are ahead of the game today, sounds like!

In the good old days when bookstores were aplenty, I used to get sudoku books and work on the puzzles, usually in ink. Some of those had 365 puzzles, one per page, in large print. I don't turn on the 'check answers' for Sudoku, as I can work around the conflicts. Like you, I don't use the 'check' feature in crosswords as I don't want to lose my streak. I usually miss Saturdays and Sundays, or don't manage to solve them before the 10 PM deadline, so these either show up as blue or white on my crossword page.

The only reason I'm ahead today is because I woke up in the middle of the night and started working on SB--and managed to get the pangram and to genius without much effort. I just looked at LB and went aaarrrggghhh! I used to dread waking up in the middle of the night, but not so much now as I know that if it's after 3 AM, I can work on the SB for the day. I did get to QB--with the help of a word that I consider to be Hawaiian, one of Far Eastern origin, one definitely South American, and one of African origin.

ciao_yall, what were your LB words yesterday? From the hint you gave me, I suspect that the first one was grownup.

ETA: ciao_yall, I think we both posted simultaneously; plinths sounds much more succinct than my philologist! Today's SB isn't too bad; see the hints above. As for the pangram, think of a music video, especially of the performance.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2020, 09:58:55 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 22, 2020, 09:06:43 AM
Morning!

SB - Yesterday made it to "genius" on my own. Not sure I'll see QB until I learn the funky words that NYT uses... that said, I should have gotten all the ones I missed. But by "genius" I'm ready to move on to other things.

Good morning! Or afternoon, as I suspect some of you have crossed past noon by now.  Hope the coffee helps.  Just remember that Genius is the official victory in the bee.  QB is just a cherry on top.  So, you won!

Langue_doc, I can deal with the conflicts in the easy sudoku easily enough, but when I get them in medium or hard I am usually far enough into it (but at the cost of so much time because it is so slow going for me right now) that the answer check helps.  I hope to leave that crutch behind as I get better at it (if I do).  For example, today I was cruising along in medium, feeling really good about it, and ran into a conflict.  Checked answers, and probably 70% of what I had filled in was wrong. :-(  I was reasoning it out and don't know where I went awry, but if I had to go back and undo one by one I would have gone nuts since it had already taken me at least 20 minutes to get that far.   As for waking up or being up to work on the puzzles in the middle of the night, the bee comes out at 1 AM my time, and once or twice I have been up and felt like giving it a try, but then it just sticks in my mind too much and prevents me from sleeping.  Crossword is another thing because those are pretty easy and quick for me to complete.  I had a pretty good streak going but broke it earlier in the year (May?) by accident because my phone had somehow logged me out of NYT and I thought I was supposed to use my husband's log in.  We figured it out pretty quickly when we were both doing the crossword at the same time and his letters were getting filled in really quickly (by me).  Oops.  It didn't occur to me to try to just sign in with my log in and try again.  So there went a 285 day streak.  Now I'm at 222, so it would have been over 500 if I hadn't been so dumb about it.  For a while I was doing all the archive puzzles from the beginning on, but now I just do the Saturday and Sunday archives.  I think the Saturdays were harder back then.

I still don't have any really good words for LB yet (thanks, partially, to the complete fail at medium sudoku, which I am trying to fix now).  Husband kindly woke me up earlier than usual to ask me if I was awake, so I am a bit sluggish today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2020, 12:46:44 PM
Okay, got a 2-fer after many contender words and a lot of drudgery.  I wish the medium and hard sudokus were treating me better, but I am flummoxed.  I thought a shower might bring some pep into my step, but neither that nor the coffee seems to have given me the required energy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2020, 01:25:41 PM
Woohoo! Congrats on the LB.

I'm impressed by your crossword streak, ab_grp. Mine is nowhere near your accomplishment. As for the sudokus and other seem-to-be-stuck puzzles, sometimes a break from the puzzle helps.

I haven't even thought about LB today as I consider the QB and crossword to be major accomplishments.

Just got back from a trip to the grocery store--I should have my head examined for deciding to drive through several miles of city blocks to get to the nearest Whole Foods which was overpriced, didn't have the prepared dishes that I can find at the other locations that I used to go to before the pandemic, and had to ward off people from practically manhandling me in their attempt to get to the items on some of the shelves. So the LB will have to wait until I recover from the shopping expedition.

I've also been sidetracked by two books I'm reading, one on the Norman conquest and the other the first of the Caro books on LBJ. I think this should go on the reading thread.

Gook luck with the sudokus, ab_grp, and with your puzzles, ciao_yall. You probably got the two-fer, as you usually do!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2020, 01:37:00 PM
Thanks, and the QB and crossword (and the shopping... ack!) are major accomplishments.  I did include a little hint or two in my previous post about the LB 2-fer if you get around to that after you recover.  As for my crossword streak, once I realized that was a thing I figured I would just try to keep at it.  And nearly lost my mind when I broke it in May, then realized it was pretty freeing.  I do the crossword every morning over coffee, so why not try to keep the streak alive (but be less type A about it).  I have always loved crosswords growing up.   You mentioned a break from the sudokus, which I am trying to do, just cycling back to them now and again (no luck), but with crosswords I definitely find that a break can help if I get stuck.   Fortunately, they are usually pretty easy with the exception of proper names or "naticks". 

Anyway, please do post about the books on the reading thread, and I hope you can recover well and quickly from your trip to the store. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 22, 2020, 06:54:22 PM
Woohoo, got a 2fer! Finally!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2020, 07:31:12 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 22, 2020, 06:54:22 PM
Woohoo, got a 2fer! Finally!
Yeehaw! Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2020, 09:32:52 PM
Two-fer and the crossword -- what more can one ask of life.

Thanks for the drudgery hint. Am on kindle, so can't type names with underscores.

ETA: and the sudokus with help from the 'highlight conflicts' setting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2020, 08:33:39 AM
Hooray, and I'm glad the hints helped for LB yesterday.  I went through parabola(s), bilious(ly), anorak(s), and others before finally getting to laboriously and then figuring out I had to drop the ly.  As for underscores, I wouldn't be offended if you dropped mine or just called me something else.

Crossword today was kind of fun.  For today's bee, I got the pangram and genius but still have 30 points to QB.  Yesterday I missed a pretty obvious word that I won't repeat because it's in today's.  At least a lot of the letters are similar to some recent puzzles, so I am trying not to forget the ones I missed previously.

When I got to my computer this morning it was frozen, so I had to reboot, and apparently it went ahead and opened the hard sudoku without me noticing as I went about my morning coffee crosswords/bee routine.  So I am at 1 hour and 10 minutes on it with no effort thus far.  Oh well, not like I'm trying for time on that one.  I never did make very much headway with medium or hard yesterday but wasn't awakened early today so will hopefully have a better shot at them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2020, 08:43:26 AM
LB - Yesterday I got BANKS-SPURIOUSLY. Almost first thing in the morning I would have had BUNIONS-SPARKLY.

Onward to today's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 23, 2020, 08:49:40 AM
ab_grp, I liked the crossword too. I think my LB words were laborious and spunky (haven't looked at the solution yet). I like to get the s at the end as it also works well as an initial letter.

As for SB, I got the pangram and was short of 5 letters to genius this morning. I too noticed words from recent puzzles. Had to do a bunch of errands, so I'll have time to get to the rest of the words (hopefully) this afternoon.

It's a shame about the computer and its effect on your sudokus. Good luck solving them.

I've had on occasion to reboot my frozen computer only to find that it started updating, and nothing would induce it to let me get to it until and unless it had taken its sweet time completing the updates.

ciao_yall, I think we posted almost simultaneously. I did get the alert to check the latest before hitting 'post', but suspected that it was probably your post.

On another note, I am not going anywhere near the prep thread! no, no, no. This is my well-deserved break.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2020, 09:50:34 AM
SB - ran out of gas at "Amazing" but should hit "Genius" soon. Very close. Am starting to remember oddball words I have missed in previous puzzles so who knows, maybe I'll achieve QB? What is the prize? Can I get a Bee tattoo to match yours? With a little crown?

LB - got a 2fer! Probably not the official solution as it's two rather long words but I'll chalk it up as a win.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 23, 2020, 09:59:24 AM
Woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2020, 10:24:13 AM
Thanks for the sudoku support, Langue_doc! I got easy over with.  It's taking me longer to do those now because I'm trying to use the pattern stuff that I am trying with the harder puzzles rather than just fill them in, but I think it's a good habit to try to work on.   As for the bee, we compared and got to within one word that I am mad at because I tried something like it but had no luck.  I don't think I would have figured it out, though I probably should have.  Good luck with your solving!

Congrats on the 2-fer, ciao_yall! I have a couple contender words so far, and I think one might be a winner if I can figure out a match with the few remaining letters.  That is a big "if", and I don't want to get stuck on that word if it is not a possible 2-fer candidate.  I like the idea of bee tattoos!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 23, 2020, 01:26:58 PM
Congratulations on solving LB, ciao-yall!  I am still stuck at 3 words. 

I did get SB eventually.  I kept seeing words using letters that were not there! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2020, 03:37:04 PM
PM me - I'll share hints if anyone wants. My solution is a bit clunky so might not be the official but I was never a 4.0 student either.

cathwen I do that too. The other day I wandered away from my phone. The panagram was LOGOPHILE but I hadn't gotten it yet, was still turning the letters around in my mind. Then I jumped up, startling my husband and yelled "PIGEONHOLE!" Grabbed my phone all proud of myself... yeah, no N.

Would have been such a great word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2020, 03:46:28 PM
I PMed you, ciao_yall, and I included my contenders but put some lines before them so hopefully you don't have to see them inadvertently if you don't want to. 

And I also see lots of words that would be in the bee if there were just this letter or that.  Having an idea spring into your head and then getting back to the puzzle excitedly and realizing not all your letters there is argh.

ETA: Okay, many thanks to ciao_yall, I think I have found that solution for the LB! It works and seems to fit the clues.  Yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 23, 2020, 05:24:13 PM
I'm still stuck at a few points above Genius. Like cathwen, I also see words that contain letters not in the puzzle. Today I kept finding words with r in them! If only SB would accept proper nouns, I'd be an empress several times over, especially today.

Congrats to all of you who found the solutions and made it to QB and the two-fers. I'm probably giving up on today's SB and LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 24, 2020, 07:42:44 AM
Good morning SB and LB aficionados! Got the official solution to LB, rather late at night. My initial word was backyards; I thought the s would help get the second word, but no such luck. I then tried backlash, and lo and behold, the rest of the letters spelled out the second word.

As for SB, manhattan!!! mahatma!!!  I'd assumed that the latter was an honorific and although a common noun in another language, was used in English with the first letter capitalized, as in Mahatma Gandhi. Oh, well. Both words for me are proper nouns--I wasn't thinking of spirits. Made it to amazing today with the pangram.

The crossword was an easy one, which I managed to complete before retiring.

I might not be posting today or tomorrow, so Merry Christmas if you celebrate/observe the holiday, otherwise happy not-having-to-work day. I'm not doing my usual spending Christmas with family/friends as everyone I know is observing the"households" only advisory. It will be a quiet Christmas with phone calls and zooms, and a break from the internet (I hope).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2020, 08:56:32 AM
Good morning, Langue_doc and all! Hooray on getting the 2-fer.  Without ciao_yall's help, I probably wouldn't have.  I thought about hydra but not hydraulic and was also stuck on backyards as my main contender.  Couldn't figure out what to make out of the remaining letters.  I also had barback and brushback but didn't think of backlash until I got hydraulic from the clues. 

Husband got manhattan and mahatma yesterday.  He had found mahatma in a previous puzzle, but I never see those words, or I ignore them because what is accepted is so inconsistent.  I do try proper names now just in case, but Montana is apparently nothing more than a state.  For today's, I have about 20 points to go, but it is a tough one for me.  There are a couple words I was happy to recognize as ones I had missed previously.  After husband gets to genius, maybe he will have some extra words for me.

The crossword was definitely not too bad for a Thursday.  Thursdays seem to be the trick days.  The trickiest that I have come across was Change of Heart from September 11, 2014, also a Thursday.  If you haven't tried that one, good luck if you do.  It was apparently the most-discussed puzzle at the Lollapuzzoola 7 tournament (according to puzzle description) and has 365 comments in the blog. 

I also realized yesterday that there is more to sudoku patterns than I had initially found by googling and now understand better about what cathwen was referring to.  I found some tutorials and solving videos so might try watching some of those and working on my sudoku skills a bit.  I have never been good at them and want to work to get better at seeing the patterns, which I never knew existed.  I just thought you had to try numbers iteratively until a solution worked. 

Haven't looked at LB yet today, other than to see what the official solution was yesterday.

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your internet down time after your phone calls and zooms, Langue_doc! We don't even have our tree up yet, as it's hard to feel like it's actually Christmas already.  Hopefully we will get moving on the cheer.   Without much on the agenda, I'll probably be around about as much as any day or days. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2020, 09:30:07 AM
SB: Yesterday - OOMPH? Really? Today, already got the panagram.

LB - Looks like we all got the official solution yesterday. Onward to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2020, 09:40:21 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 24, 2020, 09:30:07 AM
SB: Yesterday - OOMPH? Really? Today, already got the panagram.

Oh yeah! Yesterday I remembered oomph because I had missed it previously.   I tried oompahpah but not OOMPAH gosh darnit.  The other day I missed "momma" of all things.  And hooray on the pangram!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2020, 10:11:38 AM
LB - same side thing is driving me batty today.

ETA - finally got a 3-fer, so hope a 2-fer THAT WORKS will emerge soon. Grr...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2020, 11:03:23 AM
Good luck, ciao_yall! What I wouldn't give for an H today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2020, 01:49:13 PM
Still no real luck with LB, but I managed to solve the medium and hard sudokus today.  Of course, they each took about an hour (over the course of the day), but I had learned a new approach and wanted to try it out. 

Oh, and after comparing on the bee we were missing 6 points for QB and probably should have gotten the remaining word.  Oh well, close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2020, 03:39:25 PM
Would have a 2-fer if it wasn't for the same-side thing.

Slow going today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2020, 04:07:20 PM
Finally got a 2-fer!! Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2020, 10:00:50 AM
ab_grp was it the official one? I never got there. Would have had lounges-simplify but for the darn same side thing.

Onward to todays!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2020, 10:30:33 AM
Easy 2-fer today.

Back to SB... ran out of coffee at Amazing so on a refill now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 11:14:03 AM
Yes, it was the official solution.  I got gypsum and then, thankfully, saw lifelong in the remaining letters and crossed my fingers! Congrats on the 2-fer today.  I have some contenders that I'm working with.  The same side stuff is an obstacle to an obvious 2-fer.  Hopefully I'll get there.

For the bee, we got to within 7 points of QB after comparing and then probably wouldn't have gotten the last word. 

I had some time last night when the sudokus came out, so I got the easy done and decided to forge ahead on medium after some wine, so I am still trying to unravel what took place there and try to solve it and then move on to hard.  At least the crossword was easy for a Friday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2020, 11:26:28 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 11:14:03 AM
Yes, it was the official solution.  I got gypsum and then, thankfully, saw lifelong in the remaining letters and crossed my fingers! Congrats on the 2-fer today.  I have some contenders that I'm working with.  The same side stuff is an obstacle to an obvious 2-fer.  Hopefully I'll get there.

For the bee, we got to within 7 points of QB after comparing and then probably wouldn't have gotten the last word. 

I had some time last night when the sudokus came out, so I got the easy done and decided to forge ahead on medium after some wine, so I am still trying to unravel what took place there and try to solve it and then move on to hard.  At least the crossword was easy for a Friday!

I don't think I ever got "gypsum," but did get "spumone" and "spume" in various 3fer combinations so definitely got warm.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 11:43:00 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 25, 2020, 11:26:28 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 11:14:03 AM
Yes, it was the official solution.  I got gypsum and then, thankfully, saw lifelong in the remaining letters and crossed my fingers! Congrats on the 2-fer today.  I have some contenders that I'm working with.  The same side stuff is an obstacle to an obvious 2-fer.  Hopefully I'll get there.

For the bee, we got to within 7 points of QB after comparing and then probably wouldn't have gotten the last word. 

I had some time last night when the sudokus came out, so I got the easy done and decided to forge ahead on medium after some wine, so I am still trying to unravel what took place there and try to solve it and then move on to hard.  At least the crossword was easy for a Friday!

I don't think I ever got "gypsum," but did get "spumone" and "spume" in various 3fer combinations so definitely got warm.

That's funny! Spumone was my first contender! I also tried legions, genome, filmy, meiosis... but gypsum was the last one and luckily led in the right direction. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 25, 2020, 11:51:02 AM
I normally don't get the 2-word answer for LB, but today I did, after a shorter period of time than usual!  SB took more time, but I finally got Genius.   I salute anyone who gets QB with this group of letters. 

Now for the crossword!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 12:18:37 PM
I think Genius is great with this group of letters, especially with that dang Y in the middle!  And congrats on the 2-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 03:36:30 PM
Okay, finally got a 2-fer.  And I managed to finish the medium sudoku I started last night but am struggling with the hard one.  There seems to be something interesting about it, but I don't know what to call it to be able to look it up and see if that's some kind of pattern I can exploit.  It doesn't match the patterns I've read about so far, but there are so many!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 25, 2020, 03:45:09 PM
LB, the two-fer was easy, got it bright and early this morning. SB wasn't too bad, despite a Shakespearean-sounding word. Made it to QB. Completed the crossword. Yesterday, I got the first word for LB, but couldn't get a second word. No QB either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2020, 03:46:46 PM
Quote from: cathwen on December 25, 2020, 11:51:02 AM
I normally don't get the 2-word answer for LB, but today I did, after a shorter period of time than usual!  SB took more time, but I finally got Genius.   I salute anyone who gets QB with this group of letters. 

Now for the crossword!

Isn't that a great feeling?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2020, 04:22:55 PM
I didn't think the 2-fer was that easy, as I went down many wrong paths, but at least that is conquered for today.  And I finally finished the hard sudoku and think that is an actual pattern I found that I can make use of in the future, whatever it's called. 

Langue_doc, I think I know which word you're referring to in the bee.  If so, it has been in there before but is always one of those that I can't remember because it makes no sense to me as a word.    I guess it is literally what it is, but it definitely feels archaic.

Congrats all around!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 25, 2020, 06:57:34 PM
I'm struggling with today's SB. Real tough.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2020, 05:51:26 AM
I'm 11 points short of amazing. It's going to be a long haul today. Got the crossword though.

LB: my words were waterlilies and shadowy.

ab_grp, I just played around with yond, thinking of yon, and was surprised that it was accepted.

As for today, some words that I consider to be acceptable have been rejected, presumably because SB thinks that they are compounds, but nondairy and noonday were accepted yesterday--the latter is probably considered to be a complete word as opposed to nondairy, which I still think of as a compound despite my including it and the other two compounds in the puzzle yesterday.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2020, 07:38:18 AM
I had wreaths at one point and figured it could be the ticket given the theme, but I couldn't figure out the other word.  Finally ended up with LITERS-SHADOWY.  So, several solutions, I guess.

Haven't done much with the bee yet, but I see there are quite a lot of points to get.  I did get a pangram, at least.  Langue_doc, I thought maybe the word you were referring to was dooryard.  But yond makes sense, too.  I also got it the same way you did.  We missed noonday.  I keep thinking airdry should be in there.

Now off for coffee and crosswords and some more beeing.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2020, 08:14:52 AM
Dooryard was a surprise for me too. I might have seen this word somewhere in a novel or other writing because even though it isn't a word I use, I tried it out and it worked. Got the pangram early on today and have now reached amazing.

The crossword was an easy one for a Friday.

Liters is much more succinct and frugal compared to my wasteful use of letters in waterlilies. I was pleased though with that word as I thought "Monet!" as soon as I had entered the letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 26, 2020, 08:42:36 AM
"Dooryard" is what they call the front yard in Maine. Very regional.

Wow, I'm amazed at the words you all found in LB yesterday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2020, 08:48:48 AM
Waterlilies is much more lovely and evocative than liters.  I struggled with the NE corner of the crossword today but finally conquered it.  Making some headway on the bee, but still 16 points even to genius and about 100 to QB.  Yikes! There are some words that I think should be accepted, but I guess not. 

ETA: Managed to get a 2-fer, which is sort of amazing given that the easy sudoku took me much longer than usual. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 26, 2020, 09:27:05 AM
 My solution for yesterday's LB was retails and shadowy.  Lots of good answers, apparently!  I wish I'd seen waterlilies—so much more poetic than retails.

For yesterday's SB, I tried dooryard in a desperation move and was stunned when it was accepted.  I'd never heard of that before.  Ciao-yall, I didn't know that it means the front yard in Maine!  One of our daughters lives in Maine; I'll have to ask her if she's heard it.

For today's LB, I'm stuck on a 3-fer as usual.  I'm 28 points away from Genius on SB.  Just got the crossword, though.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2020, 09:29:29 AM
Oh my gosh, I just solved the medium sudoku in under 16 minutes.  I'm sure that's a fluke! I just checked my answers once early in because I thought I had made a mistake, but they were correct, and I turned that off again.  Whee!! Maybe that will give me some more juice on the bee. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 26, 2020, 09:56:15 AM
LB yesterday was wreath-holidays. I got it almost immediately. Very cool to see what you all are coming up with.

Today - getting 3fers and once really nice long word that leaves a few odd letters so hope I'm close.

SB - today feels like a slog. Panagram, starting to get into the weird words I recall from other puzzles and still at "Nice."

Saturdays I do the WSJ crossword puzzle and today they have a great variety puzzle from Patrick Berry who is one of my favorites. Hard to get started but once it clicks it gets going. But slow start today.

Time for a walk on this sunny winter day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2020, 11:02:47 AM
Wow.  We finally had to look at the answers after getting to within 22 or so points of QB.  Definitely would not have gotten some of them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 26, 2020, 11:57:35 AM
Hit the 2-fer, and "genius" after checking in with the NYT Crossword Puzzle Comments crowd.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2020, 12:24:25 PM
Made it to genius with a word from Jurassic Park. I don't think I can get to QB as I'm running out of possibilities and there's still a long way to go.

Two-fer in LB finally!

Congrats all. Sudoku medium sounds like a victory.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2020, 01:42:47 PM
Yes, high fives all around! I wonder if we'll have different 2-fers again today. 

Quote from: Langue_doc on December 26, 2020, 12:24:25 PM
Sudoku medium sounds like a victory.

Thanks! That time is amazing for me, definitely a victory.  And, I got the hard one done in under 40, so maybe I am improving.  I did have to check that one once and found an incorrect entry, but other than that I made it through. 

Good luck to any still slogging through the bee.  Tough one.  Some new (to me) words, for sure.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 26, 2020, 02:46:19 PM
I finally got to Genius in SB, but it was a slog—I can't imagine getting to QB.  I haven't gotten back to LB,  so I am still stuck at a 3-fer.  Congrats to those who found 2-fers! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 26, 2020, 06:12:44 PM
Stymied at 'amazing' again in the SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2020, 06:24:49 PM
Slogging through the crossword.

At 205 points I think I've done my good deed for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 27, 2020, 12:13:15 AM
Up in the middle of the night, and voilà...I found a solution for LB! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 07:20:34 AM
Congrats, cathwen! Was that for today's or yesterday's? Looks like yesterday's official solution was FORMATION-NEBULA.  I had AMBULATION-NIFTIER.  What did everyone else come up with?

We were awakened early to a call about sad but completely expected news about my father in law, so I am not really awake yet.  But, I did get through the crossword and to 6 points from QB.  Luckily it's an easy one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 27, 2020, 08:02:15 AM
It was yesterday's LB.  I found febrile and emulation. 

Today's LB is the usual 3-fer so far.  Congratulations, ab_grp, for getting so close to QB today!  I'm stuck at amazing. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2020, 08:31:41 AM
Mine were informant and trouble.

Made it to amazing on the SB. There's still the crossword to complete, and then the LB which I haven't looked at yet.

ETA Made it to genius and completed the crossword. It's usually the small words that get me into trouble.

ab_grp, sorry to hear that you got sad news about your father-in-law.

ETA 2: got the two-fer, an easy one, with words we use often, if not every day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 27, 2020, 09:40:53 AM
ab_grp, so sorry about your FIL.

I had "filament-trouble" for LB yesterday. At one point I found "beautiful" which ate up almost all the letters but didn't leave me anything to work with.

At amazing on SB so far so about to start LB.

Waiting for husband to start the Sunday Crossword so I can finish it. He likes to fill in the ones he knows, as well as a few joke answers. Luckily we do it in pencil...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 09:55:06 AM
Thanks for the kind words! We have had several weeks to get used to the eventuality, but it is still certainly a hard loss to deal with.

Husband had the final word I needed in the bee, so that is out of the way.  I don't think there were any really out-there words, so good luck to you all.

I had some LB contenders, but what Langue_doc said (hinted at?) made me think of another that I sort of had the letters for.  Now I need a word to go with it.  I also started with "beautiful" yesterday but couldn't get anywhere with it despite leaving few letters remaining.  But I hit "ambulation" second, and that worked out pretty quickly.  Interesting that we had so many different 2-fers!

Crossword wasn't bad, just long (as usual for Sunday). 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 27, 2020, 10:49:00 AM
Mes condoléances, ab_grp. I, too, am very sorry to hear about your father-in-law.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 12:06:40 PM
Thanks, Parasaurolophus! Or, merci beaucoup, I guess.  I took French for several years, but for some reason that just slipped my mind, and I thought "gracias." 

I'm still working on LB here and there and have 13 contenders but can't find mates for any of them.  One of them has got to be a solution component.  Maybe.  Several of them use up a darn lot of the letters, but the remaining ones are not being helpful right now or are on the same side.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 27, 2020, 12:52:58 PM
Finally got a 2fer after a zillion 3fers. PM me if you want a hint. Not sure it's the official solution so I may go back for more to see if I can consolidate some of the 3fers.

Genius on SB. Kind of a boring one - not much variety.

Also did the puzzles in the magazine. What an exciting day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 01:32:15 PM
I also picked up several more contender words but finally got a 2-fer with an earlier one that I thought was promising (after many tries). 

Agreed that today's bee is not that exciting.  Luckily, not too long or tough overall, either. 

I did today's easy sudoku yesterday and started on the medium, returned to medium today and finally got that finished in ~30 mins, and did the hard one in about 22 but had to check my answers and delete some of them. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2020, 01:40:09 PM
Woohoo for all the two-fers! We probably have different words. I'm pleased with mine as they seemed appropriate, and are ones that I enjoy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 27, 2020, 01:44:29 PM
I don't like my words - they aren't fun or happy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2020, 01:53:52 PM
I can PM you my words.

ETA Just sent you my words.

Any other requests?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 02:15:15 PM
I would like to know the words you each got.  One of mine is not so happy, and the other is pretty neutral.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2020, 02:17:36 PM
Just sent you my words.

ETA The second word sounds rather didactic, but it's something we enjoy, given what we have in common. At least, I do.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 02:28:17 PM
Thank ya! I enjoy both of your words.  I'd probably be more successful with the first than the second at the moment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2020, 02:41:49 PM
I can see why your second word isn't a  happy one. I should probably get cracking on working on my first word, physically and practically.

ETA Tomorrow's crosswords and sudokus are up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 04:43:24 PM
Yay! I got the tomorrow's easy sudoku done in reasonable time, but I'll wait until I have a little less brain fog and try the harder puzzles tomorrow.  Luckily, the crossword should be easy, but that is for coffee time. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 27, 2020, 05:52:33 PM
I finally got LB, after many attempts.  One word is a common baked good, and the other is something we are all involved in.  I'll be curious to see what other people found! 

ab_grp, I am so sorry to hear about your father-in-law.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 28, 2020, 06:00:07 AM
Quote from: cathwen on December 27, 2020, 05:52:33 PM
I finally got LB, after many attempts.  One word is a common baked good, and the other is something we are all involved in.  I'll be curious to see what other people found! 



I think we got the same words, brownie and educate. The official words are newbie and educator. These two do go together.

Quote from: ab_grp on December 27, 2020, 04:43:24 PM
Yay! I got the tomorrow's easy sudoku done in reasonable time, but I'll wait until I have a little less brain fog and try the harder puzzles tomorrow.  Luckily, the crossword should be easy, but that is for coffee time. 

The crossword was easy--I completed it last night, after the sudokus.

Reached genius on the SB today, and made it to QB on yesterday's puzzle. There was only one strange word which I got by trying out the letters. Binning, indeed!

All I have to do today is the LB. I'm still resolutely staying away from all things academic other than going through the piles of old handouts and photocopies, and recyling them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 28, 2020, 06:44:50 AM
Congratulations, Langue_doc, on yesterday's QB!  I don't think I've ever gotten a QB. 

We did get the same words for yesterday's LB.  I also got the 2-fer for today's LB.  It was a difficult arrangement of letters, and I just kind of stumbled on an answer. 

I, too, am staying away from anything remotely connected to the spring semester.  We start later than usual anyway (1/28), so I intend to put off the panicking until January 4.  All I really have to do, anyway, is minor tweaking.  So until then, the puzzles and some good books that my daughter (an English teacher) sent me for Christmas will fill my time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2020, 08:42:23 AM
Thank you for the sympathies, cathwen.  I got a different solution: CIRCUITED-DOWNBEAT.   I had a couple other contenders that seemed to have some potential, like "dancewear" or "browbeaten" or "benediction".  Never got newbie, educate, brownie, or educator! Haven't looked at today's yet.  Hopefully it will be as easy for me as it has for both of you.

I am about 7 points away from QB today.  Had to guess one word, not sure if I will find the remaining one(s).  So close. 

I hope you all get to have some time off from academic stuff and enjoy the time off (and do lots of puzzles).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 28, 2020, 09:50:35 AM
Did you make it to QB, ab_grp? I'm still a long way off.

Just got a two-fer in LB. Rather repetitious set of words, but a two-fer all the same.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on December 28, 2020, 10:03:55 AM
Happy to have found the pangram and hit genius on the bee (if I've added my points correctly; I'm playing the free version). Solved the easy sudoku in under 6 minutes, which is a good time for me.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 28, 2020, 10:12:25 AM
My LB today was also repetitious. Probably not the official solution.

Yesterday I had browned which set up dictation (left a u) or deduction (left an a). Other good words included brownout, toucan. My 2fer was incubated-drown which wasn't as fun as any solution including the word brownie! Downbeat was also in there.

SB - At amazing and found the panagram. Wouldn't take "hella" (that California hater thing) or "alee" which is always in the crossword puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2020, 10:35:56 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 28, 2020, 09:50:35 AM
Did you make it to QB, ab_grp? I'm still a long way off.

Husband gave me a four-letter word that I had somehow overlooked, but we couldn't figure out the remaining 5-letter word that we have missed before.  Good luck!

Ciao_yall, it always bugs me when they don't take crossword answers that are not proper nouns.  Alee is one of them, aroar is another. 

I have a couple contenders for LB so far but no joy on a mate.  Congrats for all the 2-fers! I need to get back to medium sudoku, which will not be completed in an amazing time if I do complete it, but hopefully I won't have to check for errors and will be able to get to the finish.  Then more LB attempts!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 28, 2020, 12:35:56 PM
Achieved genius. I don't think I'll ever see QB... Too many weird words!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on December 28, 2020, 01:40:49 PM
6 words and 35 points shy of QB. Got QB yesterday, which is rare for me. I think I'm going to call it quits for today. Lots of interesting words but I think I"m at my limit. I hate when they are obvious words though. I hope they are just odd.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2020, 03:28:14 PM
I managed to finish the other sudokus, slowly...  had to check my answers once on the hard puzzle but not for medium, so I will take it.

LB has still got me stymied.  I am wondering if I should revisit some earlier contenders that left few remaining letters. 

Also, congrats to Langue_doc and reener06 on the QBs yesterday!

ETA: Finally got a 2-fer.  Mine are a little repetitive as well, but no complaints. ;-) As I suspected, I had to go back to an earlier contender and work with the remaining letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 28, 2020, 05:01:55 PM
Woohoo, ab_grp. I was about to send you a hint. I think you, ciao_yall (congrats!) and I probably have the same words or the same endings. I'm not revisiting LB, but would like to know (tomorrow) what you both came up with.

Congrats on the QB yesterday, reener06. I'm probably a word or two short on the QB, so I might keep trying. I think there were only about 3-4 unfamiliar words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2020, 08:20:21 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 28, 2020, 05:01:55 PM
Woohoo, ab_grp. I was about to send you a hint. I think you, ciao_yall (congrats!) and I probably have the same words or the same endings. I'm not revisiting LB, but would like to know (tomorrow) what you both came up with.

Thanks! I see the official is JOCULAR-RUMBLING? I had CAJOLING-GRUMBLING.  I thought I had had jocular on the list but had jugular and conjugal and think I overlooked it.  Oh well, what did everyone else have?  If the ends were repetitive, probably what I got?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2020, 09:16:41 AM
I also had CAJOLING-GRUMBLING. Got it almost immediately.

On to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2020, 09:22:16 AM
Okay, two the same so far.  I got grumbling as my third contender but couldn't figure out the second (first) word for a while.

But I did get to QB by myself today! So yay for that.  There are a bunch of compound words that I thought might be in there that weren't.  I'll go see about LB now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2020, 09:52:08 AM
Got to genius pretty quickly this morning. I checked yesterday's SB and there are words I could have sworn I got that weren't checked off. Oh well. Doubt I'll ever see QB - between the weird words and my lack of patience I think I shall be a Bee-in-Waiting. A Beta-Bee. A Wanna-Bee.

Today's LB I sense will be one of those where it's nothing then *snap*. The RYE and STH is just... dastardly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 29, 2020, 11:26:28 AM
I had cajoling and grumbling too and immediately thought of high-maintenance people who are constantly grumbling and who need cajoling. My first attempt was jumbling, but couldn't find a second word to go with it.

Last night got yesterday's QB, and completed today's sudokus and crosswords. Surprisingly easy crossword.

Today, got to genius without finding the pangram, then found the pangram--not a word that I would use. Now for the rest of the words and the QB, if that's in the cards for me.

Yays to all your victories so far and the ones to come.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2020, 11:37:35 AM
Ciao_yall, I like Wanna-Bee.  I wish you and Langue_doc good luck with the rest of the words.  I don't think any were too obscure, except one that was in there a couple puzzles ago.  Last I heard, husband had one four-letter word left to find.  He had trouble with the pangram as well.  Interestingly (well, not interesting at all), I had a dream involving the pangram item last night or two nights ago. 

And way to go on getting ahead in the puzzles last night, Langue_doc! I got easy sudoku done and am still working away at medium.  The crossword had a number of longer entries that were pretty easy to get, so that definitely helped. 

I am also having trouble with LB letters on the same side. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2020, 04:57:28 PM
Well, I am calling it a day.  I should have figured getting QB fairly easily would not bode well for the other puzzles.  Didn't manage to get a 2-fer (not even any really good contenders) on LB or solve the medium or hard sudokus! But I did get some publication revisions completed and out, so I guess I will consider that an accomplishment (that pales in comparison to puzzling accomplishments!).  I hope the rest of you had better luck than I did today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 29, 2020, 06:45:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 29, 2020, 04:57:28 PM
Well, I am calling it a day.  I should have figured getting QB fairly easily would not bode well for the other puzzles.  Didn't manage to get a 2-fer (not even any really good contenders) on LB or solve the medium or hard sudokus! But I did get some publication revisions completed and out, so I guess I will consider that an accomplishment (that pales in comparison to puzzling accomplishments!).  I hope the rest of you had better luck than I did today.

Sounds like a major accomplishment, ab_grp.

I'm probably a word or two short of QB, and haven't even looked at LB. It's getting to be the time of night for tomorrow's crosswords and sudokus to be released, so that's probably my priority.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 29, 2020, 10:11:14 PM
Pangram took me forever to find, but it took me to genius, so there's that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2020, 06:12:59 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 29, 2020, 10:11:14 PM
Pangram took me forever to find.

Me too. As for today, made it to 140 but still at amazing despite the pangram which I just found. Got to QB last night; it took me forever to find the last word which was 'pact'. Didn't even get to LB, so I'm rather uncurious about the solution.

Last night I completed today's crossword and the sudokus which were relatively easy.

Easy and happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 09:02:31 AM
I actually managed to get yesterday's pangram right away, thankfully.  I've been trying to go back to that approach so I don't get caught up in letter patterns later on and overlook it.  It did take me a bit to get today's, but I finally got to genius, so good enough for now.  Congrats on QB last night, Langue_doc! My final word was "adapt".  I was nowhere near the LB solution yesterday.  Hope today's is easier. 

And a Christmas present arrived yesterday, the NYT Puzzle Mania! After much hoop jumping, husband was able to secure two copies for me.  I've never had one before and am looking forward to trying all those puzzles at some point.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2020, 09:15:14 AM
Yesterday - Never found the panagram but made genius. Plenty of 3fers but no 2fer. Still, like ab_grp there were some accomplishments outside of puzzle world. Took a few long walks, caught up with a few friends and did some Spring prep.

Back to it...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2020, 11:25:16 AM
LB - tripped over a strange 2fer this morning, gonna keep it even though it's probably not the official solution.

Yesterday I actually got close. I would have had sympathetic-crab but for the same side thing. Didn't know crabmeat was one word.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 11:33:15 AM
Yay for your accomplishments yesterday and 2-fer today! Sometimes I am unclear on what they will consider to be one word or not.

We finally gave up on the bee and checked answers.  Missed a couple long ones, primarily.  I completed the medium sudoku without having to check answers but in an unexciting time.  Struggling a bit now on the hard one, but I'll go look at LB again.  I only have one contender thus far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 30, 2020, 11:41:56 AM
Ap_grp, what a wonderful Christmas present!  Have fun with that!

I am 35 points away from QB.  That may be the closest I've ever come to that exalted status!

Today's LB solution remains elusive, but I've solved the sudokus.  I haven't attacked the crossword yet.  Wednesday is usually when the crossword gets interesting. 

Yesterday was a busy day, so I barely looked at the puzzles.  But I am quite sure I would never have thought of crabmeat for LB.  Two days ago, though, I got cajoling and grumbling, as some of you did. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 12:45:23 PM
Yes, it was a great and thoughtful gift.  I had mentioned it a year or two back, but we are not in a delivery area so could not figure out how to procure one.  Whee! And great job on the bee.

I finally got what seems to be a really good LB contender that used up almost all the letters, but I can't figure out a word to go with it! Argh.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2020, 04:04:11 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 09:02:31 AM

And a Christmas present arrived yesterday, the NYT Puzzle Mania! After much hoop jumping, husband was able to secure two copies for me.  I've never had one before and am looking forward to trying all those puzzles at some point.

Sounds like a fitting present. I looked into this on the NYTimes website, but it is listed as "sold out".

I'm probably a couple of words short of QB. As for LB, got one word, and decided that it was too much hassle to try to find a two-fer.

I'll be taking a break from the fora the next couple of days--might look in, but not post.

Happy New Year fellow puzzle aficionados. May you all be blessed with lots of puzzles!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 04:09:46 PM
Hope you have a very happy and wonderful New Year, Langue_doc! Enjoy your time!

ETA: I just recalled that my husband said the puzzle mania was sold out when he looked, too.  But he said he was able to put some sort of email alert on for when it was back in stock (I looked and don't see that option, so I will ask him how he pulled that off, unless I just missed it).  He had told me that there was another gift he was trying to get and that if he received an email he'd have to drop whatever he was doing and go attend to it, but I had no idea what the gift was until yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2020, 04:52:11 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 04:09:46 PM

ETA: I just recalled that my husband said the puzzle mania was sold out when he looked, too.  But he said he was able to put some sort of email alert on for when it was back in stock (I looked and don't see that option, so I will ask him how he pulled that off, unless I just missed it).  He had told me that there was another gift he was trying to get and that if he received an email he'd have to drop whatever he was doing and go attend to it, but I had no idea what the gift was until yesterday.

Yeehaw! I just found my pack in the Dec 13th paper. I'm glad you posted about the puzzle pack, as these pages would have gone into the recycling pile and onto the curb tonight. It was wedged in the Real Estate section that I never open.

The presents you get by reading the fora! I'll probably be pigging out on the Twilight Zone and other shows, but am looking forward to tackling these puzzles next year.

ETA I get only the weekend NYT, so I didn't have to look through several piles of papers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 30, 2020, 06:31:21 PM
I finally got LB, but frankly, one of the accepted words (tried in desperation) sounds like a fake word.  Tomorrow I'll be curious to see what others have found.  I'm at 200 points on SB, and feel wrung dry.  No QB for me!  Perhaps another day.  Hope springs eternal!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2020, 08:57:27 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 30, 2020, 04:52:11 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 30, 2020, 04:09:46 PM

ETA: I just recalled that my husband said the puzzle mania was sold out when he looked, too.  But he said he was able to put some sort of email alert on for when it was back in stock (I looked and don't see that option, so I will ask him how he pulled that off, unless I just missed it).  He had told me that there was another gift he was trying to get and that if he received an email he'd have to drop whatever he was doing and go attend to it, but I had no idea what the gift was until yesterday.

Yeehaw! I just found my pack in the Dec 13th paper. I'm glad you posted about the puzzle pack, as these pages would have gone into the recycling pile and onto the curb tonight. It was wedged in the Real Estate section that I never open.

The presents you get by reading the fora! I'll probably be pigging out on the Twilight Zone and other shows, but am looking forward to tackling these puzzles next year.

ETA I get only the weekend NYT, so I didn't have to look through several piles of papers.

Fantastic!! What a find! I'm so glad you have the pack and hope you enjoy it after your show binge.  I asked husband last night, and apparently he started looking in the NYT store online early in December and was able to put an email alert on while it was "coming soon", not sold out.  He had called to see if he could subscribe for Sunday print version (we have online subscription) just to get it, but no delivery anywhere near here, unfortunately.  Guess we'll have to keep an eye out this year.  Anyway, yay!!

And great that you found a 2-fer, cathwen.  It never feels as good when you get one but feel iffy about one of the words, as I did with my first one and the "spotch".  I haven't looked at the official answers yet because I still have yesterday's hard sudoku on my screen and want to see if it will let me try to finish that.  If I switch over, it might reset to today's puzzles.  The contender I had that used the most letters was "confirmed", but I couldn't figure out what to do with the remaining letters.  Definitely keep up the QB hope.  It is tough.  And today's bee has a LOT of points.  I am still not at genius, something like 15 points to go despite having a ton of words.  Gotta make some pizza dough and try again later.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 31, 2020, 09:06:04 AM
LB - Yesterday I had "crowned-damnify." I didn't know that was a word, but I kept seeing "indemnify" and thought "oh heck I'll just try it."

Then I woke up at 3 AM to the new puzzle and found another 2fer pretty quickly. Not as weird as "damnify." I'll keep it.

SB - stuck at amazing yesterday, then looked at the solution today and there were a few words I could have sworn I got. Well, if there was a computer error I'm sure the crowd on the NYT puzzle thread would raise holy heck so it might be ones I thought I got yesterday but didn't realize were on the list.

Today, found a rather strange panagram and am still stuck at great.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2020, 09:08:12 AM
Interesting about the strange pangram today, ciao_yall.  I found one that is pretty normal, so it sounds as if there are at least two, which makes sense given the number of points.  Congrats on the 2-fers!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 31, 2020, 09:11:37 AM
Had to chip in! Two pangrams today, one run-of-the-mill word, the other related to other words we all know. The words aren't too difficult, mostly good old English words; it helped to come back after breaks. Think variations on numbers. Made it past genius though. Haven't looked at LB.

Now back to my vacation mode. Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 31, 2020, 10:11:27 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 31, 2020, 09:06:04 AM
LB - Yesterday I had "crowned-damnify." I didn't know that was a word, but I kept seeing "indemnify" and thought "oh heck I'll just try it."

Then I woke up at 3 AM to the new puzzle and found another 2fer pretty quickly. Not as weird as "damnify." I'll keep it.

SB - stuck at amazing yesterday, then looked at the solution today and there were a few words I could have sworn I got. Well, if there was a computer error I'm sure the crowd on the NYT puzzle thread would raise holy heck so it might be ones I thought I got yesterday but didn't realize were on the list.

Today, found a rather strange panagram and am still stuck at great.

I had damnify also for yesterday's LB (with crowded).  Like you, I thought it was weird and was stunned when LB accepted it.  I haven't solved today's LB yet, and I'm stuck at Amazing in SB.  Lange_doc, thanks for the pangram hint.  I'll keep trying! I do have one of them, but the other is still hiding from me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2020, 11:07:17 AM
Yes, thanks for the hints, Langue_doc! I finally got to genius, and after comparing and trying a little longer to get a few more words, we were still about 19 points from QB.  Two of the remaining words were ones I have found before, so I was a little mad at myself about missing them this time.  The final word was so close to so many I tried! Oh well.  Good luck on it. 

The LB solution from yesterday was definitely not in my list or close to it, even though I had 20+ reasonable contenders (I thought).  Maybe today's will be more forgiving.

At least I was able to finish off yesterday's hard sudoku and can now start on today's LB and sudokus. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 01, 2021, 08:22:03 AM
Yesterday

SB - hit "genius" after some help from my friends at the NYT Crossword Puzzle comments. Wow... QB must be elusive. Checking yesterday's official answers I only missed one obvious one (entitle) one mediumly odd one (thine) and ???? (tilth. What the ??? is a tilth?)

LB - didn't get the official answers, but got two 2fers "chunkier-remotes" and "munchies-stoker." Both pretty quickly.

Happy new year everyone, and happy solving!

ETA - almost got a 2fer in LB except for the same side thing. Grrr...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2021, 09:54:07 AM
Happy New Year!

I didn't manage to solve yesterday's hard sudoku so still have that up to try again at.  Didn't look at the LB answers, but I only came up with a few contenders that didn't seem to lead anywhere.  Lots of others would have worked if only the same-side rule didn't apply.  I would have gotten away with it if not for the meddling rules!

But I did get to QB by myself today, so hooray.  It's a short puzzle, thankfully.    Yesterday I managed to miss loonie and toonie, which I usually find.  And eolith... I tried eolite and thought I had tried eolith.  Wasn't sure, but it sounded like something.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 01, 2021, 10:07:08 AM
Didn't make it past Amazing yesterday. Too many words!

Made it to Genius pretty easily today, however, and I'll continue hunting for the QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2021, 04:32:28 PM
Hope you had a successful hunt, Parasaurolophus!

I got yesterday's hard sudoku and today's easy and medium sudoku done but am still struggling with today's hard sudoku and LB.  I have some contenders, but no luck yet.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 01, 2021, 05:03:02 PM
ab_grp, same here. Lots of 3fers and good candidate words, but just not coming together.

SB - hit genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2021, 08:53:08 AM
Yeah for genius!  I had basilisk, blackjacks, absurd... will have to see what the solution was after I (hopefully) finish yesterday's hard sudoku.

Another loooong bee today.  I am at genius (just exactly), but still no pangram.  Husband is close to genius and also has not yet found a pangram.  Time to get on the other puzzles and get back to it later.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2021, 08:59:11 AM
I found blackjack, but not disturb which was part of the official solution. Maybe because blackjack was such a weird word, I didn't try as hard as I could have to find a word that ended with b?

Also had some great combinations with odd letters left: adjust-tailback (no r) and jurist-tailback (no d)

Early on I found jailbirds-stuck which would have been a great 2-fer but for the same side thing.

Onward to today's - looks tricky.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2021, 09:41:02 AM
I had blackjack but figured I couldn't find a word that started with k or ended with b, so I figured blackjacks was more likely.  Oops... I should have tried harder on that, too.  Only one contender so far today, and likely not to work given all the odd remaining letters. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2021, 09:49:05 AM
I have found a few words in today's letterboxed which eat up a lot of letters but don't set up a 2fer. An "e" would really help...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2021, 10:44:52 AM
Found a 2fer!

Still stuck on "great" for SB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2021, 10:54:56 AM
Thanks, ciao_yall! Well, husband finally found the pangram and then another after we had compared.  Not sure I would ever have figured them out.  We had one word left that we couldn't find, and of course it's one we both should have known.  Oh well.  At least I am now free to pursue other puzzles.  And I have to get some duolingo in. 

ETA: Double thanks for the hint! I found a 2-fer, probably same as yours, if your hint was for the second word.  Many thanks!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 02, 2021, 12:15:26 PM
Well, I made it to Genius and beyond today in SB, but I don't think that QB is on the horizon, especially since I have not found either of the two pangrams that are allegedly hiding there.   I almost made QB yesterday, though! Just one word shy, but I felt like conking myself on the head with a dictionary when I looked at the answers because the word I missed is built on another word I had found.  I should have gotten it!

I haven't gotten LB for the last day or two, but I got the (a?) 2fer today. 

And I solved the sudokus, but I thought that both the medium and the hard ones were more difficult than usual.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2021, 12:21:15 PM
What's driving me bananas is yesterday one of my 3fers was absurdist-tub-blackjack which was *this* close to the actual solution! But since I kept thinking "blackjack" was too weird a word I didn't follow up on it.

ab_grp you are welcome! I found it the nanosecond after I sent the message saying we should try a team effort...

Hit genius, no panagram but good enough for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2021, 12:33:24 PM
Cathwen, which word did you miss yesterday?

I think the past few days of LB have been pretty tough.  I likely wouldn't have gotten a 2-fer today without ciao_yall's help.

As for the pangrams, if you get one you should get the other.  And they give a lot of points together!

I finally finished yesterday's hard sudoku.  It gets to me that I don't notice leads that I should.  I guess stepping away does help, though sometimes it seems like holding certain patterns in my head helps (e.g., this set of numbers has to be here), and I lose that momentum after being away.  But I am sad to hear that today's are more difficult than usual even for you, cathwen! I have a few entries in the medium one but only have notes in the hard one so far.  Usually I can at least get one entry in the first minute or two on hard.   I'll keep cycling through, but I think since it's a weekend tomorrow's will come out this afternoon, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 02, 2021, 01:37:31 PM
The word I missed yesterday was toponymy.  And I had toponym!  Grrr!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2021, 02:54:38 PM
Ah, yep! After they had one in there a few days ago (homonymy?) that I missed, I keep trying to add a y to those just in case.  Of course there wasn't a mononymy, apparently.  I also think there is a word in there that I have tried before numerous times to no avail, so maybe they added it or I am just mistaken.

Finally finished medium sudoku today but had to check my answers once or twice (luckily none were incorrect, at least).  Trying to finish the hard one before the next batch comes out.  I think I got somewhere with it, but then I had to break for lunch, so hopefully I can pick back up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2021, 08:20:29 AM
Good morning! I got to QB by myself again, which is a nice way to start the day.  The word I missed yesterday was "modem".  I did finish the hard sudoku from yesterday, finally, with some checking and deleting of entries, and I got today's easy out of the way and started the others.  Still working on the medium and hard sudokus, and I see that LB has some interesting letters to contend with.  Looks like ciao_yall found the official solution yesterday, PUBLIC-COXSWAIN?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2021, 08:50:21 AM
Morning!

Yeah, pretty much tripped over the LB solution yesterday.

Slow start this morning on the puzzles, but going to read the actual physical paper for a while.

QB? ab_grp that's impressive!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2021, 09:36:44 AM
Thanks about the QB, but it is a pretty short bee today, and there are enough recent ones that have haunted me that I was not about to forget today.  It's good that it was short given the long Sunday crossword, but luckily that was pretty easy.  Enjoy your reading!

I did manage to finish today's medium sudoku without having to check answers.  Hopefully I can finish the hard puzzle, too.  Two contenders so far for LB, neither that promising.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2021, 02:01:06 PM
I am stuck at "amazing" for SB, and lots of 3fers. So hope to achieve "genius" and the 2fer... soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 03, 2021, 03:20:53 PM
I'm at Genius today for SB, but have not solved LB.  I have some great words, but can't make them work together.

Ab_grp, congratulations on QB! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2021, 09:21:58 PM
With a few hints, got SB "genius." With a few hints AND a search through thesaurus, got LB. It was a gnarly one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 03, 2021, 09:34:51 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 03, 2021, 02:01:06 PM
I am stuck at "amazing" for SB, and lots of 3fers. So hope to achieve "genius" and the 2fer... soon.

Yeah, it's a hard one today. I think I give up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2021, 08:57:55 AM
Thanks, Cathwen! And congrats on genius.  I have four-ish contenders in LB, but still no luck and am about to call it a day.  I now have 3 puzzle tabs open for today's hard sudoku, LB, and tomorrow's sudokus.   Agh. 

I realized I never actually posted the above last night.  The bee today is really hard! I am at 81 points, still no pangram.  Looked at the LB answers from yesterday, not even close. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 04, 2021, 10:13:32 AM
Woke up at 4 am, stuck at "amazing" on SB and found a weird 3fer pretty quickly on LB.

On the NYT Crossword comments board there is a whole sub-crowd of SB fans who post hints. They have their own lingo as well - I think they call it getting "emu'd" when a word that won't that is usually in the crossword doesn't pass in the SB. But I'm not quite sure. Today it wouldn't take chacha. So I guess I got emu'd?

There is a smaller sub-crowd that does LB and also posts hints. That is how I found last night's solution. They also have their own word - you will appreciate this - "spotch" - for weird words that make solutions. Ha! As in "I found a solution without a spotch in it."

What really threw me on the last few days' solutions was that LB usually tries to use as few letters as possible. So between the spotches and the many resuses of letters I think it's time to enter a brave new world of LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2021, 10:47:41 AM
Yay about the 2-fer last night, ciao_yall.  Sorry I missed that! That is so funny about spotch.  As far as the emus go, my interpretation from the crossword comments is that the emus are the censors of the comments page.  So sometimes comments don't show up, and people figure the emus are the cause because they posted something that was taken as offensive or such.  But I haven't read the comments thoroughly in a while, so I could be wrong.  That's my recollection, at least.

We finally got the pangram in the bee.  Well, husband got it, I declared that I would never get it, and then I saw it right away.  Funny how that works.  We got a few more points but were still about 20+ points from QB and gave up.  One of the words we missed was obvious, and we usually get it.  But the other four were more obscure to us and would likely not have been identified unless we stumbled upon them.  I tried something very close to one of them but no cigar.

Managed to finish today's medium sudoku in a little under 40 minutes, continuing from yesterday, no errors.  I was then doing pretty well at continuing the hard one and realized I had a problem, checked answers, had to delete a bunch, and had to revisit my assumptions for some cells.  Oh well, I will try again.  Still haven't solved yesterday's, either, so plenty on the agenda.  And I only have one (poor) contender word in LB so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 04, 2021, 10:53:03 AM
Thanks ab_grp for the cross-cultural tip!

Went over there after I managed to hit "genius" on my own. Still going to be there for a while - I can't quite get some of the more arcane ones.

Also tripped over the solution to the LB. Well, it was a good hint and I got it right away. So be forewarned if you go visit there - spoilers abound!

Back to prepping and college politicking.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2021, 11:49:09 AM
I've been feeling quite pleased with my SB solutions. On Jan 1, got to QB within 30 minutes without even having to play around with letters--decided that this was an auspicious beginning to the New Year. On other days I've been making it to almost QB, but deciding not to pursue the solutions to the bitter end. I've also been finding the pangrams without much effort except on the day it was 'mollycoddle' or something similar. Despite not finding the pangram, I made it to at least 40-50 points above genius.

As for LB, I tend to give up easily as that's the lowest on my list of puzzles. I find several first words and give up if I can't fit the remaining letters into a single word. Coxwain was one of my first words, and if I had tried harder, I might have found the first word and then managed to get coxswain as my second one. I was nowhere near the solutions to yesterday's LB. I wish I could be enthusiastic about LB the way you all are (sigh!).

I've been chugging along with the crosswords. Sunday's took a long time to solve. I've been managing to solve them before going to bed which means that I'm a day ahead with the crosswords and the sudokus. I don't think this trend will continue once classes begin (sigh!!!)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 04, 2021, 02:24:45 PM
I never got back to LB yesterday.  Today's LB is confounding me.  I've found some very long words that ought to leave letters that can be made into another word, but no solution is presenting itself yet.  Not sure I'll get back to it later. 

I thought SB was kind of hard today.  I did find the pangram and made it to Genius, but it was an effort.  I am annoyed that they rejected chacha.  Do they consider it a hyphenated word, perhaps?  Come to think of it, on the rare occasions when I have written it, I do hyphenate it:  cha-cha. 

Langue_doc, congratulations on your frequent QBs and almost QBs! 

I got the sudokus today, but yesterday--oof!  Does anyone else suffer from what I call "fat finger syndrome"?  That is, you think you're entering one number, but instead your finger is between two numbers and has actually entered the one you did not intend.  Usually, I notice that, but not always!  And yesterday was a fat finger syndrome day.  I had to backtrack a couple of times to undo the mistake (which had multiplied to mistakes).  Sigh.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2021, 02:53:35 PM
cathwen, I always, always, try chacha and then chachacha with no luck. The program does however accept another reduplicated word (think height of fashion) which I find to be rather inconsistent on the part of SB.

My fingers are always typing the wrong key, especially on the phone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2021, 03:16:58 PM
Congratulations on starting out of the gate so strong this year, Langue_doc!

I also keep trying chacha.  There are a couple other words that seem similar that are accepted, one of which Langue_doc alluded to.

I definitely have finger issues on my phone, usually with the crossword.  If I don't check carefully, I sometimes end up being misled by my earlier typo.  But I do think that can propagate much further in sudoku.  I tend to get more tripped up there with trying to remember what the candidates were in a cell if I entered a mistaken entry.  I can usually backspace and repopulate it, but if I deleted the entered number as a candidate elsewhere and can't remember where it was, that can be an issue.

Finally finished today's hard sudoku after much back tracking.  Still working on yesterday's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 04, 2021, 04:24:22 PM
I'm happy to share LB hints. Not sure I would have found it myself. Combination highbrow/lowbrow words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2021, 05:25:54 PM
I'm tempted to ask for a hint as I'm truly stuck on LB. I did get several interesting first words though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on January 04, 2021, 05:30:43 PM
I'm impressed with those of you who can solve the medium and hard sudoku puzzles online. I can do the easy ones online, but have to print the medium and hard ones to use my solve strategy.

I don't think I'd be successful on the LB, even if I had a subscription; SB is enough spelling for me with only 7 letters to use. I'm not a good speller, such that even common words look wrong to me even when they are spelled correctly, but the bee is a fun way to continue to attempt to improve, and it's motivating to see the excitement on this thread.

Happy solving, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2021, 08:10:44 PM
Tomorrow's crosswords and sudokus are done; made it to QB; failure, alas on LB.

I finally completed the preliminary vertex puzzles, so the program now "allows" me to play the daily puzzles. This one probably gets released at the same time as SB and LB, so I'm done with my puzzles for the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2021, 06:55:49 AM
Quote from: OneMoreYear on January 04, 2021, 05:30:43 PM
I'm impressed with those of you who can solve the medium and hard sudoku puzzles online. I can do the easy ones online, but have to print the medium and hard ones to use my solve strategy.

I just started solving them myself (and not well or quickly), but I have found a solving technique that is doable via online entry (put in candidate entries for any numbers for which there are only two possible locations in a 3x3 container).  Some people do all candidates, but I think that would be hard to keep track of (though I haven't tried yet).  I'm sure there are more sophisticated ways of solving, but that approach has really helped me at least get a little better at it and is easy to do online.  I don't know for sure if that is what they refer to as Snyder notation. 

As for LB, that was really impossible for me for a while.  I think it's because I initially thought you had to physically draw the connecting lines between letters in the word (you can do that but don't have to... typing in is quicker).  I think that constrained my thinking way too much, because I would be trying to figure out where to start and trying to always go in the same direction.  That's probably something wrong with my mind.  Once I realized you can just type in words that you see, it became a lot easier and more like the bee but just with different constraints.  Sometimes the answers pop out, but a lot of times it can be pretty tough.  I haven't gotten many 2-fers lately.

Yesterday I had flunky as my only contender but did not get and probably never would have gotten aperitif.

Congrats on QB yesterday, Langue_doc! I tried dachi I think but not dacha, should have gotten chai (as part of the acai acacia chai we look for), and I don't think I would have gotten indica or indicia, though I had jokingly suggested indicand.  Interestingly, it looks like indicia was in the database but not indica, so maybe they added indica at some point? Anyway, that is a huge QB in my book.   I haven't done much with today's yet.  Still gotta do coffee and crosswords.  And try the new sudokus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2021, 10:11:46 AM
Yeah, I found "flunky" pretty quickly, but "aperitif?" Like I said, when I went over the the NYT crowd I saw a pretty clear hint. Don't think I'll be going up there again unless desperate. I was especially proud yesterday of "pyrite," "epaulet."

LB - Found a 3fer this morning. SB - Up to "nice" but it wouldn't take "coir" so I think I'll do real work for a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2021, 10:37:39 AM
Pyrite and epaulet are good words! I haven't looked at LB much yet other than to note which letters might be more difficult.  Of course, a word that uses most of them jumped right out at me, but same side syndrome...

But ayeeeee I solved the hard sudoku in just under 30 minutes! I did have to check my answers one time after running into an issue but just had to delete one entry and turn that back off and was able to finish.  I'll take it.  Still working on medium, which is already over 30 minutes. 

Husband got to within 1 point in the bee today, so we counted the numbers of four-letter words we had starting with different letters, and he was able to figure out the final one.  He had to help me with my final three words. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2021, 01:14:43 PM
I would have had a 2fer if not for the same side thing. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2021, 01:24:43 PM
Argh I just came up with what I think is a really good LB contender word but can't figure out what goes with it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 05, 2021, 01:42:50 PM
I'm well past genius on SB, but haven't found the pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2021, 02:22:29 PM
It took me a lot longer than usual to find the pangram today, though not as bad as a couple days in the recent past.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2021, 02:51:31 PM
I probably have all the words except for the pangram, which has so far refused to jump off the page. I might just give up on this one.

Coir and noil are some of my favorite attempts in SB, despite knowing that these words aren't recognized by the program. I keep forgetting about chai and acai; I should know from experience that these two show up with such predictable regularity. Chai was the last word I found either yesterday or the day before.

Woohoo ab_grp on solving the hard sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2021, 03:07:44 PM
Thanks! I just managed to finish the medium in waaaay too much time, but no mistakes along the way that needed to be rectified.  I think having one of my husband's spectacular chocolate chip cookies helped me to find the inroad I needed.  I think these are the first cookies he's ever made for me, and they are so good they're dangerous.  But, if they are potentially the key to future successes in sudoku, I'd probably better keep eating them.  I still have the hard sudoku from 1/3 to finish (nearly 3.5 hours of clock time into it so far), so maybe I should ask him to pop a couple more in the oven.

There's another word that I think should be in the bee today, and I keep trying it each time the relevant letters come up.  But you never know if they will add the words in the future, so it might be worth it to keep trying.   I can try to give a clue to anyone who feels like PMing.

Uh oh.  I think I am lost in the sudokus.  I went back to the one I had just finished and clicked the play another sudoku button, which I was surprised to see there considering I thought I had finished them all for the day, and now there is a hard puzzle there that has not been started yet with today's date! Ack.  Which one did I just solve? Holy hand grenade.  I think something might just be wrong, because switching back and forth between easy/medium/hard, they're getting switched around (says I finished easy in 1:15:something and medium in 4:something instead of vice versa).  I do think the hard one is the one I did earlier today because it has that 517 wall that seems familiar.  Hmm.  Sorry for the tangent, but if anyone else notices anything else weird, please let me know.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 05, 2021, 04:14:04 PM
I got to genius on today's SB, but just.  I did find the pangram, a word I was sure would be rejected, because although it adheres to rules of English word formation, it seems unlikely that it would ever be used in normal conversation.  At least, not very often.

Ab_grp, you are right about always trying words that have been rejected.  One case in point is "annal," a former reject, which a friend of mine complained about rather strongly (I'm sure she wasn't the only one).  Then they added it!  I am hoping that "coir" will be added someday.  I always try it.  Same with the much-mentioned "chacha"! 

Yesterday, I got "flunky" for LB, but did not get "apéritif."  I have failed to solve today's LB, although I've found a lot of good words.  The best I can get is a 3-fer.  If I have time, I'll get back to it this evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2021, 06:22:38 PM
Made it to genius on my own.

After several 3-fers and same-side thwartings, went to the NYT comments thread where I got a hint that led me to the 2fer. Again, not one I think I would have found on my own. Maybe because I didn't think it was a real word?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2021, 06:36:00 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 05, 2021, 03:07:44 PM
Thanks! I just managed to finish the medium in waaaay too much time, but no mistakes along the way that needed to be rectified.  I think having one of my husband's spectacular chocolate chip cookies helped me to find the inroad I needed.  I think these are the first cookies he's ever made for me, and they are so good they're dangerous.  But, if they are potentially the key to future successes in sudoku, I'd probably better keep eating them.  I still have the hard sudoku from 1/3 to finish (nearly 3.5 hours of clock time into it so far), so maybe I should ask him to pop a couple more in the oven.

There's another word that I think should be in the bee today, and I keep trying it each time the relevant letters come up.  But you never know if they will add the words in the future, so it might be worth it to keep trying.   I can try to give a clue to anyone who feels like PMing.

Uh oh.  I think I am lost in the sudokus.  I went back to the one I had just finished and clicked the play another sudoku button, which I was surprised to see there considering I thought I had finished them all for the day, and now there is a hard puzzle there that has not been started yet with today's date! Ack.  Which one did I just solve? Holy hand grenade.  I think something might just be wrong, because switching back and forth between easy/medium/hard, they're getting switched around (says I finished easy in 1:15:something and medium in 4:something instead of vice versa).  I do think the hard one is the one I did earlier today because it has that 517 wall that seems familiar.  Hmm.  Sorry for the tangent, but if anyone else notices anything else weird, please let me know.

Husband seems to have started a new tradition, so yay for you both!

The sudoku timings do get switched around and are at times arbitrary especially if you take a break in the middle.

I decided, unilaterally, that there should be a category between genius and QB for those of us who score points well above genius, but do not always make it to QB. I've been giving myself the title of Supreme Bee several days this past week. I'm still playing around with the name, so on some days it's Genius Plus, and on others it's Gee!Bee!

Congrats on the geniuses to all (we have to exclude you, ab_grp), and for the two-fer, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 05, 2021, 08:42:17 PM
Got it, in the end. Still a couple short of QB, alas.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 06:37:14 AM
No QB for me yesterday either.

As for today, made it to genius in about 20 minutes. A word that I thought was a perfectly acceptable compound was rejected.

Pictogram, indeed! My words were product and taming. I found several other interesting first words, but couldn't get the other letters to form a single word.

Easy crossword which I completed before retiring. Did the sudokus, which I think of as workouts for my brain, so do not get emotional about my performance or lack thereof.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 08:12:17 AM
Hey, I made it to genius (132) before we compared yesterday!  I like the idea of other levels.  I have given it some thought.  It's weird that they track up to genius (70%) and then skip to QB (100%).  Why not use 80% and 90%? I came up with a few ideas but figure you professors might like the idea of 80% being "bee" (B), and 90% being "alpha bee" (A).  The other ideas did not lend themselves as easily to remembering which level is which.  Just an idea!

I got to genius pretty quickly today but wasn't sure I would make it to QB... but I did! Hopefully it is the bee is as good to all of you as it was to me.  Helped to have an easy crossword puzzle.  So if we used the above system, today genius is 74 points, bee is about 85 points, alpha is about 95 points, QB is 106.  Good luck! Congrats to Langue_doc on genius so far!

Now I have more time to try to get LB and sudokus done.  I had a bunch of good LB words yesterday, I thought: dramaturg, paradigm, paramount all led to few letters left.  No luck, and nowhere near the official solution.  Today's another day.

ETA: Managed to hit a 2-fer on my second contender word! Woohoo! Now I am certain that the sudokus will be my downfall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 08:49:05 AM
ab_grp, I like alpha bee (makes me sound and feel like the head of a wolf pack). Bee is too pedestrian. You have no idea how many students complain about getting (not earning) a mere B! We could also rename the SB categories. Alpha Bee would be a much better replacement for QB (IMHO) and QB would be more fitting for 90% scores.

Congrats on making it to QB and the two-fer. I'll have to wait until later this afternoon to get back to SB. I did complete the vertex puzzle though. Like the sudokus, it's another way for me to take a break or jumpstart my brain.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 09:01:23 AM
Yeah, I guess I can see bee being too pedestrian.  I thought of it as after genius you transcend past human into bee territory as you approach QB.  But if we want to rename other categories, there are lots of possibilities.  Possibilibees.  Har har. 

And thanks! And I actually solved the medium sudoku without errors in only about 21 minutes today, so hooray.  Maybe hard won't be too bad (though that's unlikely) and maybe I will eventually solve the 1/3 hard puzzle.  I haven't tried vertex yet, but I have absolutely no spatial ability, so I'm not sure that will ever be in my wheelhouse.  Maybe a good brain stretcher to try if time allows.  Sounds like congrats are in order for your completion of that puzzle, too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 06, 2021, 09:11:58 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 06:37:14 AM
No QB for me yesterday either.

As for today, made it to genius in about 20 minutes. A word that I thought was a perfectly acceptable compound was rejected.

Pictogram, indeed! My words were product and taming. I found several other interesting first words, but couldn't get the other letters to form a single word.

Easy crossword which I completed before retiring. Did the sudokus, which I think of as workouts for my brain, so do not get emotional about my performance or lack thereof.

Happy solving, all!

I had "product" and "taming" in two separate 3fers but didn't put them together until I saw the hints online.

Onward to today's...

ETA: "genius" and a couple of 3fers, so hope the 2fer will appear soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 10:25:54 AM
Got the two-fer! Effortless solution today--wish life were this easy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 10:48:31 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 10:25:54 AM
Got the two-fer! Effortless solution today--wish life were this easy.

Congrats! And true enough about life.

I did manage to solve the hard sudoku in under 40 mins, though I had to check my answers and delete some at one point.  On to chores now.  Fun...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 06, 2021, 11:22:51 AM
"genius" and a 2fer.

Went to the comments board to brag about my 2fer - someone else got mine as well as hinting a few others so I'm LB'd up.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 11:37:03 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 06, 2021, 11:22:51 AM
"genius" and a 2fer.

Woohoo! Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 12:46:32 PM
QB! Only one weird word. Back to work now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 01:06:20 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 12:46:32 PM
QB! Only one weird word. Back to work now.

Yeah! Congrats!  Husband finally made it to QB himself as well, and we each thought our final words were appropriate.

I think I just have to find some small things here or there to take care of if possible today. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 01:22:28 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 01:06:20 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 12:46:32 PM
QB! Only one weird word. Back to work now.

Yeah! Congrats!  Husband finally made it to QB himself as well, and we each thought our final words were appropriate.

I think I just have to find some small things here or there to take care of if possible today.

I think I can guess the final word. I'm always frustrated at the non-acceptance of willet, a perfectly "normal" and common shorebird, yet accepting the two not very commonly-used words in today's puzzle. In any case, yaaay!

(I'm a bit distracted by today's news, so don't think I'm going to get much work done.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 03:03:42 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 01:22:28 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 06, 2021, 01:06:20 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 06, 2021, 12:46:32 PM
QB! Only one weird word. Back to work now.

Yeah! Congrats!  Husband finally made it to QB himself as well, and we each thought our final words were appropriate.

I think I just have to find some small things here or there to take care of if possible today.

I think I can guess the final word. I'm always frustrated at the non-acceptance of willet, a perfectly "normal" and common shorebird, yet accepting the two not very commonly-used words in today's puzzle. In any case, yaaay!

(I'm a bit distracted by today's news, so don't think I'm going to get much work done.)

He and I had different final words, so you can probably figure out what both were!

Same here regarding news and work.  I finally unclenched my jaw enough to eat a quick sandwich and do some Duolingos, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 06, 2021, 05:19:15 PM
Achieved QB with help from the NYT comments thread!

Was kind of anticlimactic. And my app still lists me as "genius" so good thing I took a screen shot of the QB to memorialize the moment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2021, 08:39:10 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 06, 2021, 05:19:15 PM
Achieved QB with help from the NYT comments thread!

Was kind of anticlimactic. And my app still lists me as "genius" so good thing I took a screen shot of the QB to memorialize the moment.

Wahoo! Weird about the app, but that kind of thing has happened to me before.  I'm glad you got a screen shot! By the way, my final word was "whew" and husband's was "whee".

I see the LB answers from yesterday were CLEANUP-PROVOST.   I got STUPOR-RELEVANCE.  What did others get? My answer was so clean that I thought it was the official one, but I guess the official one might try to reuse as few letters as possible.  The contender I had before relevance was provenance.

For the bee today, I'm at about 90% of total (219/242 or so), so I guess alpha bee so far? I was thinking maybe "baby bee" for 80%? Not sure I will make it all the way to QB, but I will give it a try.  Husband also got to genius + and has to go in to the office for a while, so we may end up cutting it short and just comparing since we both got to at least genius and at least a pangram, which are our okay-to-compare criteria.

Hopefully today will be a better day all around.  Happy solving, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 07, 2021, 09:08:20 AM
Made it to genius earlier this morning. I'm not sure if I have the patience to find the remaining words as today's seems to be a rather wordy puzzle.

Is there more than one pangram today? Given the number of remaining points after genius, I wouldn't be surprised to find another pangram.

ab_grp, (ETA) I had assumed that the last words were whee and whew. I thought though that yours would have been the former. My last word was weigh--it was quite a struggle to find this one as I had earlier found weight and the pangram without any effort. Alpha bee you are!

ciao_yall, woohoo on being crowned QB!

LB--my words were stupor and relevance as well. The words just jumped right out when I was looking at the puzzle. I had provenance as well when I tried to redo the puzzle later but couldn't find a second word.

Completed the crossword (took a long time a-solving) and the sudokus, which also took me longer than usual, last night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2021, 09:31:03 AM
Yay for genius, Langue_doc! It is a little wordy, and there are at least two pangrams.  I have found two, for what it's worth.  Not sure if there are others.  And it's frustrating when you have a longer word like weight but not a shorter part of it like weigh!

Today's crossword was a little time-consuming, even once things clicked.  Thursdays can be so much fun, haha.  I added Thursday (and Friday) back into my archive solving because sometimes they have some interesting tricks in them. 

I got the medium sudoku done just now in about 24 minutes with no errors, which is a great time for me.  Haven't tried hard yet. 

Three LB contenders so far, but no joy on mates yet.   I have noticed patterns of remaining letters in this puzzle and a couple others, but I haven't figured out how to use that yet or if it is just an artifact.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 07, 2021, 09:37:29 AM
Morning!

SB - Langue_Doc my last word was "weigh" as well. One of those oddballs I overlooked. But wight? WTH?

LB - On my own I got punctuator-revels, then the comments board hinted out a few others - stupor-relevance and cleanup-provost.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2021, 10:47:33 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 07, 2021, 09:37:29 AM
LB - On my own I got punctuator-revels, then the comments board hinted out a few others - stupor-relevance and cleanup-provost.

Interesting third solution!

We finally ended up comparing lists.  Husband had none to add, but I managed to find just one more word.  Got to within 15 points of QB but had to call it a day since it is unclear how long he will be at work and then we'll have night time stuff to do once he gets home.  Had a couple missing words that we probably should have gotten.  The total today is 241, by the way, not 242 as I guessed earlier (rounding... you never know if they'll go up or down despite the decimal, so I usually assume they round up to be safe, but it's important to know the correct total if you are aiming for QB so you can see what lengths of words might be left). 

Hopefully once I get the mister out the door I can get back to LB and start the hard sudoku.

ETA: Woot! Got a 2-fer on my fourth contender word.  Once I found that word, the mate was very easy to spot, luckily.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 07, 2021, 01:06:57 PM
Surprisingly, I got LB with little effort today—it was more a case of stumbling over the words than any brilliant insights on my part.    As for SB, I'm at 215 points—so, beyond genius, but not quite Alpha Bee!  Apparently there is a second pangram, but I have not found it.

I got to genius yesterday, but hardly glanced at LB.  I was glued to the TV most of the day watching the events unroll. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2021, 01:22:19 PM
Quote from: cathwen on January 07, 2021, 01:06:57 PM
Surprisingly, I got LB with little effort today—it was more a case of stumbling over the words than any brilliant insights on my part.    As for SB, I'm at 215 points—so, beyond genius, but not quite Alpha Bee!  Apparently there is a second pangram, but I have not found it.

I got to genius yesterday, but hardly glanced at LB.  I was glued to the TV most of the day watching the events unroll.

Yay on LB! And you are at about 89.2% of the total points, so very nearly alpha bee but certainly baby bee or whatever we are calling 80% for now.  Looks like if you get another point or two, you will cross the threshold! I think I got what might be the less obvious pangram first.  Not a word I would tend to use, nor do I think I have ever heard it used, though it is not foreign or what I would consider obscure.

I don't have a TV (well, not one with cable or hooked up to anything but the dvd player) but was glued to the online news all day, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 07, 2021, 01:36:11 PM
Yay to y'all solvers. I'm taking refuge from the mayhem in a 700+ page detective novel so haven't made any effort to get back to the puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 07, 2021, 01:46:45 PM
Genius and a 2fer that is pretty clean - no letter used more than once. So if it's not the official solution I don't know what is.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2021, 01:51:57 PM
Awesome, ciao_yall.  You and I definitely have different solutions.  Your sounds more likely to be official.

Enjoy the read, Langue_doc! 700 pages seems long for a detective novel.  If you finish and like it enough to recommend it, please let me know or post on the reading thread. 

I'm still working on today's hard sudoku and not making much headway, but I am sure that I am just missing some key inroad as usual.  Taking some breaks to shred stuff and trying again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 07, 2021, 02:12:12 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall.

ab_grp, I've been rereading P. D. James mysteries. This one is "Death in Holy Orders".

If you like British fiction, then you could start with "Devices and Desires" or "The Lighthouse". These should be available in kindle formats through your local public library. They do tend to get a bit melodramatic toward the end though. In addition, as one of the reviewers put it, one does have to read about the "tiresome Emma" the detective's love interest. My eyes are glazing as I'm typing this because this particular character is rather blah. The plots are good and the narration riveting. Since I've read these before, I tend to skip some of the tiresome (for me) parts.

During the past month or two, I reread the two abovementioned novels as well as "Original Sin", "The Private Patient", "The Murder Room", and "A Taste for Death". Some of the older novels are quite interesting, but might not be on kindle. "A Shroud for a Nightingale" and "Cover her Face" come to mind.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 07, 2021, 06:32:25 PM
Easy Bee today, but I'm reminded just now that I had some complaints about yesterday's which I've now forgotten. Drat!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 08, 2021, 05:54:55 AM
I think there were a couple of w-initial words that were quite archaic in Wednesday's puzzle. Wight, probably?

Last night, made it QB and also LB. My first words were thump and pejorative, which I later amended to hump and pejorative (I can think of lewd sentences with the second pair of words). SB wasn't too bad once I'd found the second pangram.

Today's isn't too bad either. Just made it to genius.

Completed today's crossword and the sudokus before retiring last night.

Happy solving all!

ab_grp, finished the novel, at 2.30 in the morning. It's going to be a long day today and tomorrow, catching up with course prep.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 08, 2021, 09:04:55 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 07, 2021, 06:32:25 PM
Easy Bee today, but I'm reminded just now that I had some complaints about yesterday's which I've now forgotten. Drat!

If you remember, please share them.  And congrats on the bee!

Langue_doc, congrats on your QB and LB! We ended up missing cocoon and cocooning yesterday in our haste, so ugh.  I got hump and pejorative for LB, too.  Now I'm curious what ciao_yall got.  And yay on genius for today so far! I am at about 95% of total (125 out of 131 or 132) but can't figure out the final word or words right now.  Took forever to get the pangram.  I'm going to take a look at the books you listed today, so thanks.  And hooray on finishing the book and the puzzles! Hopefully course prep won't keep you away too much from more enjoyable pastimes.

Haven't done any of today's sudokus or LB yet, and I still have yesterday's hard sudoku and the 1/3 hard sudoku saved to try to finish. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 08, 2021, 10:17:44 AM
Missed a few easy ones yesterday so didn't make QB. Hit "genius" this morning in one sitting, but cranky they didn't take "oohed."

LB - I had hump-pejorative, and other than thump-pejorative it didn't seem that that crowd found any more 2fers. I found pejorative then hump was the only letters left. It's not a big group that does LB. On to today's.

ETA: Got a 3fer, and lots of great words except for the same side thing. So a 2fer is probably in sight.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 08, 2021, 04:12:41 PM
Hooray for genius, ciao_yall! We finally gave up with two words left.  Probably should have gotten one of them, probably wouldn't have gotten the other.  Oh well.

Still no luck on LB.  I have about 12 contenders, some of which I think are pretty good, and I was SO close with one but stupid same side got me int he end.  Argh.  Good luck on that too, ciao_yall.

And still no luck on any of the hard sudokus I have yet to solve.  But I did get a lot of shredding done and necessary paperwork.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 08, 2021, 08:36:31 PM
LB - so I went to the wordplay column and got humbled. They found three 2fers.

1) Got some help from Google for a term I have never heard of and seems it would be a proper name. Already had the other word.
2) Figured out the word, again, with help from Google but LB didn't accept it. I believe they are doing it through a computer program which might be how they got it.  Again, already had the other word.
3) Didn't know where to start. Got nothin'.

I'll share the answers and hints tomorrow so you can be with me in my struggle.

But yeah, lots of 3fers and a few 2fers-but-for-the-same-side-thing. So it's all good. At least  they weren't solutions staring me in the face.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 09, 2021, 07:32:02 AM
Made it to Alpha Bee yesterday. Couldn't find any two-fers in LB, so gave up. I found several possibilities, including my favorite one, trumpery, but couldn't find a second word with the remaining letters. I doubt if I would have found the solution, especially the second word, so am glad that I didn't spend too much time on the puzzle.

Today I'm past amazing, and have yet to find the pangram.

Crosswords and sudokus completed last night, but they all took a long time to solve.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2021, 07:46:38 AM
Ciao_yall, which 2-fers did the column folks find? I tried everything I could think of with "graphy" at the end and came close with topography, only had EKMU T left over... could have had kempt if not for that darn u.  I tried in vain to think of a "graphy" with a u in it.  I also had photography and almost got makeup, but u and p couldn't be next to each other. 

Langue_doc, congrats on your Alpha Bee yesterday.  Today's is longer, and I am at genius + currently (about 73%) and still have not found a pangram either.  I am usually pretty swift with the crossword, but today's was tough for some reason.  The NW corner was worst for me. 

Still haven't tried today's sudokus yet, but I am sad to hear they are difficult.  I am amassing unsolved sudokus in separate tabs and getting nowhere with any of them.  Haven't looked at LB today yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 09, 2021, 08:31:13 AM
LB from yesterday.

1) Hint was: K-A (7 letters),A-H (9) Ancient Gospel preaching, signature

KERYGMA-AUTOGRAPH. Yeah, I just Googled "ancient gospel preaching" and found out there is a thing called Kerygma.

2)  A-H (13), H-Y (5) A device for recording involuntary bodily movements, however corny

AUTOMOTOGRAPH-HOKEY. A bit of Googling after various logical letter combos made sense, AUTOMO---GRAPH but when I found the actual word (and letter count) the puzzle wouldn't take it. Someone on the thread mentioned having a python program and generating solutions, so I think this is how they got that one.

3) H-E (8), E-E (9)

Website for microbiologist studying cell nuclei.

I got nothin'.

Yesterday I had makeup-photography but for the same side thing, kraut-tomography left an "e" hanging... lots of 3fers, lots of good words, but no cigar.

Official solution was AUTOGRAPH-HAYMAKER. Hm.

On to today's.

ETA - oh the same side thing is going to drive us batty. You'll see... but already managed a 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2021, 09:08:22 AM
I can't figure out what they meant by the third set of clues! Never would have gotten kerygma.  But I did get a 2-fer today, got lucky on my second contender.

And managed to solve medium sudoku in a reasonable time without errors.  Still stuck on the hard one.  Now if I can get some more bee words...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 09, 2021, 09:33:33 AM
Yep, got a 2fer pretty quickly as well. Took more time lamenting all the great words I could have had - bodily, albino, donuts, stairs...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2021, 10:51:20 AM
Hurrah on the 2-fer!

After husband also got to genius +, we compared and then each found one more word but were still short by 11 points.  The final two were ones we've missed before.  Oh well! At least I also managed to solve the hard sudoku without errors in a reasonable time for me.  Still have to go back to the old ones, and I guess the new ones will come out this afternoon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 09, 2021, 06:21:45 PM
I was going to give up on LB, but since the two of you got the two-fer, I decided to try for one and got my very own two-fer.

Made it to above genius on SB, but don't feel the urge to complete it. Genius Bee it is for today. I hate it when SB rejects 'clitic', a perfectly legitimate grammatical term. I keep trying even though I know it's going to be rejected.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 10, 2021, 06:52:24 AM
Good morning, puzzle aficionados.

Two pangrams in today's bee; made it to genius.

LB--I had the official solution.

Happy solving all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 07:14:15 AM
Good morning!

Thanks for the bee info.  I just started wading in, no pangrams yet.  Yeah for genius!  I think we missed coital and alack yesterday.

I'm glad you kept at the LB and got the official solution.   Mine was BUILDS-STATIONARY. 

Time to go jump on the long Sunday crossword and have some coffee and try more bee.  At least I finished the sudokus for today and cleared up all but one outstanding hard sudoku!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 08:28:27 AM
Well, I was able to get a 2-fer with my first contender.  Whee!

I'm at just about 81% in the bee so better get on the stick and get to Alpha Bee.  That is what the ab in ab_grp stands for, by the way.  ;-) Or something like that.  Only found one pangram so far, though.

Luckily crossword wasn't too bad.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 10, 2021, 08:35:07 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 08:28:27 AM
Well, I was able to get a 2-fer with my first contender.  Whee!

I'm at just about 81% in the bee so better get on the stick and get to Alpha Bee.  That is what the ab in ab_grp stands for, by the way.  ;-) Or something like that.  Only found one pangram so far, though.

Luckily crossword wasn't too bad.

Whee on the LB. You'll get to Alpha Bee, ab_grp, and to QB!

I sometimes feel that I just have to keep up with the Joneses, so might work on LB and also try to find more words in SB. The pangrams aren't too difficult, so shuffling the letters would help. I found the relevant one rather late, even though the letters had been staring at me the entire time.

I haven't looked at the crossword yet, but breakfast calls.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 09:08:59 AM
Thanks! I got a couple more good words, still no second pangram.  I got the relevant one, I believe.  Will keep on shuffling! I sometimes wish you could shuffle within side on the LB or rotate the puzzle keeping the sides intact.  I'm sure if I figured out a 2-fer, you will as well.

Good luck with the crossword.  Even after reading the blog, I'm still not quite sure I understand if there are multiple layers to the theme or not.  And some of the clues/answers... timely in a bad way?

At least I finally finished the 1/8/21 hard sudoku so am now all caught up and ready for when they release tomorrow's this afternoon.   It was hard keeping track of all the unsolved puzzles in the various tabs (I am one of those who has hundreds open, though I do try to go through and close some once in a while).  But they are all complete now!

Enjoy breakfast! We will be eating ours in a bit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 10, 2021, 09:35:42 AM
Morning!

I also got builds-stationary. Someone else on the comments board got dinar-robustly.

Off to todays puzzles. Got a 2fr as well. Found a fun word and am bummed it probably isn't a contender but maybe I'll play with it anyway and see what happens.

ETA: Found another 2fer with my fun word. Whee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 10:31:34 AM
Wow, two 2-fers! I wonder if your second set is the same as mine, as I consider one of the words to be fun.  Not the other one.   Congrats!

I made husband hold off on comparing lists until I got another word to get to alpha bee.  Got it, we compared, and we got to QB.  But I didn't get there by myself.  I will take the alpha bee, at least.  He had the other pangram and a word I just keep on missing, somewhat ironically.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 10, 2021, 01:04:34 PM
Two 2-fers!  Wow, ciao_yall! 

I got a 2-fer today on my second try, which is definitely a record for me.  Yesterday I had some great words, but none that fit together.   I decided to take a break, but didn't get back to it.

I made genius in SB and even got the two pangrams for 190 points; not glorious, but a little above the minimum.  For now, I'm happy enough with that.  Congratulations, ab_grp, but making QB!

Off to solve the crossword!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 10, 2021, 02:30:13 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 09:08:59 AM
Thanks! I got a couple more good words, still no second pangram.  I got the relevant one, I believe.  Will keep on shuffling! I sometimes wish you could shuffle within side on the LB or rotate the puzzle keeping the sides intact.  I'm sure if I figured out a 2-fer, you will as well.

Good luck with the crossword. Even after reading the blog, I'm still not quite sure I understand if there are multiple layers to the theme or not.  And some of the clues/answers... timely in a bad way?

At least I finally finished the 1/8/21 hard sudoku so am now all caught up and ready for when they release tomorrow's this afternoon.   It was hard keeping track of all the unsolved puzzles in the various tabs (I am one of those who has hundreds open, though I do try to go through and close some once in a while).  But they are all complete now!

Enjoy breakfast! We will be eating ours in a bit.


The crossword was time-consuming, but otherwise straightforward. The John Donne quote is the one most people are familiar with, as is the title of the performance at the MET. I got stuck on several of the smaller words but managed to solve the puzzle in an hour. 72A is something I would say to the class after handling a digression or irrelevant question.

Congrats all on the two-fers! I got mine. Found a fun word, but couldn't fit the other letters into a word. So my two-fer is just a run-of-the-mill set of words.

Incidentally, LB accepts "coir"--I tried it out just to see if it would be accepted by LB. This is a word that SB consistently rejects.

I don't think I'll be spending much more time on SB. Sudokus were completed last night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2021, 04:57:25 PM
Thanks, Cathwen, but I only got alpha bee on my own.  QB was a team effort! But I will try again for QB tomorrow.  Congrats on genius + and the quick 2-fer! Have fun with the crossword.

Congrats on your 2-fer, Langue_doc, whatever the solution.  It is frustrating at times to have different NYT puzzles accept different words! I took a look at my crossword stats and am now a little confused.  It says my average Sunday is about 34 minutes, my fastest was about 14.  But it does not have today's in the stats as the Sunday of this week, even though I did clearly finish the puzzle today, in about 18.  Actually, now I'm wondering how it thinks of "this week".  I thought maybe it was because the Monday puzzle is already out and it thinks it has started on a new week.  Usually Sunday is considered the start of the week, so today's should be in "this week"? But I see they start the stats from left to right at Monday and end on Sunday, so maybe they have a different week than I do.  I guess I never thought of weeks in crossword time.  Maybe it makes sense that they progress in difficulty from Mon-Sat and then you have Sunday, which I think they say is more like a Thursday, but not a Monday.  Sorry I got off track there.  I didn't think the 1/10/21 puzzle was tricky, but I am not always a fan of themes that you don't really need to even take a look at to solve the puzzle and that don't add much enjoyment.  My downfall was the names like 21A.  Tomorrow's should be pretty quick.

I got tomorrow's easy and medium sudokus completed without issue and in reasonable times but am stuck on hard and am calling it a day!

Congrats all around of the great Sunday solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2021, 07:41:08 AM
Does anyone else do the variety puzzles in the Sunday magazine?

I love "Split Decisions." Almost finished except for the first word in the top left row. About to get my trusty 1979 dictionary out to see which words might fit.

LB - my second 2fer was the official solution: scowled-daiquiri. I first got acquired-dowels. Suspect there were a lot of options.

On to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2021, 08:01:04 AM
Good morning!

I got the daiquiri 2-fer, too.  I was so excited to make that work!  As for the magazine puzzles, I don't get the paper but checked the puzzle mania and see Split Decisions in there.  Yikes! That looks challenging.  I'll have to give it a try when I finally get my office cleared up enough to be able to spread that whole section out.

Just got up a bit ago, haven't been sleeping well.  Got a pangram right away, fortunately, but another long puzzle.  Looking forward to easy crossword and trying to solve the rest of today's hard sudoku.  And LB, of course!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 11, 2021, 08:13:19 AM
Haven't seen today's pangram yet!

Yesterday, it still wasn't accepting 'rota' or 'atlatl'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2021, 08:53:06 AM
The pangram is a word that we're all familiar with. I wouldn't be surprised to see a second one given the number of points needed for genius. Made it to genius though.

As for LB, my words were scowled, dowel; I found daiquiri, but as the first word.

Completed the crosswords and sudokus last night. I've also been playing the vertex puzzles as I find that they are soothing to the brain. It takes me several short sessions to complete them. Yesterday's was a hummingbird. Today's is a mundane object that we're all familiar with and probably use.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2021, 08:59:47 AM
Well *&$^#%*^ I am one or two points away from QB!! Just one or two four-letter words left.  I can think of a few four-letter words right now, but they probably wouldn't be accepted even if the letters were in there.  I can confirm that there is only one pangram, though, if that helps.  Congrats on genius, Langue_doc, and good luck to all!

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 11, 2021, 08:13:19 AM
Yesterday, it still wasn't accepting 'rota' or 'atlatl'.

My husband kept trying atlatl yesterday, too! I keep wanting them to accept "nori", but I guess since it's the Japanese name for seaweed they might consider it foreign, even though there are other foreign food words in there.  And I keep thinking there will be some compound words with "data", like "datacard", but I guess that's two words.

I was humming along on the crossword and had my best Monday time, I think, but I had a mistake I had to find that took an extra dang minute.  Oh well.  Onto LB and then hopefully to QB.

ETA: YAY I got to QB by guessing the final word.  Not sure if husband is at genius yet, but now I can help him get to QB if he needs it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 11, 2021, 02:44:21 PM
I got a different answer to yesterday's LB:  acquired and dowels.   But today's LB is confounding me.  I can get 3-fers, but the 2-fer is elusive.

As for SB, I got to genius--and a bit beyond--but not close to QB.  There was a word relating to calligraphy that was rejected, much to my annoyance.  I did find the pangram.

The hard sudoku was very hard, I thought.  I ended up making a guess, something I hate doing!  But I guessed right, and that enabled me to solve the whole thing. 

Ciao_yall, I do the extra Sunday puzzles, too.  I love Split Decisions!  I haven't started on that yet.  And I haven't done the Sunday crossword--at least, not all of it.  That will be this evening's entertainment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2021, 03:21:13 PM
Yay for your QB, ab_grp!

I hope to make it to QB today. I keep trying lanai and liana, knowing that they're not going to be accepted.

Found a naughty word for LB, but no luck on a second one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2021, 03:22:07 PM
Same here - lots of good 3fers but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on January 11, 2021, 03:57:57 PM
Finally made it to genius. Giving up. That was rather hard for a Monday.

It is Monday, right? Losing track of days again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 11, 2021, 04:19:40 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 11, 2021, 08:59:47 AM


My husband kept trying atlatl yesterday, too! I keep wanting them to accept "nori", but I guess since it's the Japanese name for seaweed they might consider it foreign, even though there are other foreign food words in there.  And I keep thinking there will be some compound words with "data", like "datacard", but I guess that's two words.


Oh yeah, I wanted to complain about 'nori' too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2021, 04:55:23 PM
Glad I'm in good company, Parasaurolophus. 

Thanks, Langue_doc! If I were you, I would try those words you mentioned (at least one of them)... and I am wishing you much luck in getting to QB! And who knows, maybe you will find a naughty word mate yet in LB.

I am still at a loss for LB, too.  Lots of contenders but no mates that I can identify at this point.  And still no luck on the hard sudoku, though I'm glad (and sorry) that I am not the only one who found it difficult.  I'll just put it in a spare tab if need be.  I am making no headway.  I think I have 7 actual numbers entered, though a lot of candidates noted.  Only a couple minutes till I need to call it a day, so I'll give LB one last shot.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2021, 05:26:19 PM
Thanks, ab_grp! I tried both this morning, but must have mistyped, which sometimes happens on the kindle. That was my penultimate word, so I'm now QB.

Yay, reneer06, for making it to genius. I often find words by experimenting with the letters.

ETA Just got the two-fer. It wasn't the naughty word. Let me know if any of you would like a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2021, 09:02:17 PM
Got some help online. I had one of the words, the other word made sense but I didn't quite realize it was a word.

Plenty of good J and C words, made some 3fers but hard to bring them into a 2fer. Curious what the official solution was.

Split decisions - finally found the top left hand corner so I can rest now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 12, 2021, 08:06:39 AM
Not the official solution, but am happy with my disjoint and trifocal. I wouldn't have thought of fjord, not even if I had all week to come up with the official solution.

SB -- grrrr!  Found the pangram and made it to amazing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2021, 09:11:45 AM
Big congrats on your QB last night, Langue_doc! I'm glad you mentioned the words and tried again.  What was your final word? Mine was "caul".  And congrats on your 2-fer as well!

I think today's bee is pretty difficult so far.  I did get to genius +, about 78% so far, and found a pangram, but whoo.  Really struggling!! Not sure if there is another pangram, but from hinting back and forth it sounds like husband and I found the same one.  I will try to get to 90% before comparing, but that will require more points than I am currently certain I can get.  He's not at genius yet, so I have some time to work on it.

For LB yesterday, I was trying too many "join" words.  Nowhere near the solution.  I don't think I would have ever thought of fjord either.

Congrats on your genius too, reener06! Sorry I missed that yesterday!

Will try the sudokus today and see if something magical gives me bee words, but yikes.  Still have to look at LB today as well.   Hopefully more straightforward than yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 12, 2021, 09:24:55 AM
The solution I got was disjoint-trifocal, which I didn't realize was a thing. I had disjoint, conjoin, and even fjord. Never did come across dislocation or  location.

On to today's...

Almost had a 2fer except for the same side thing!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2021, 11:19:59 AM
Argh about the same side stuff.  Good luck, ciao_yall! I have a couple contenders, but I don't think they're on the right track yet given the remaining letters.

We finally gave up on the bee and compared and still had 20+ points left.  There is a second pangram, FWIW. 

Got easy and medium sudoku done and am working on the hard one (and the hard one from yesterday) and then back to LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 12, 2021, 11:36:57 AM
Are we all having a hard time on bee? I'm usually at least at Amazing by the time my coffee gets cold. I'm still on Solid.

3fers coming along on LB. I need to work on that K for a while.

Regarding yesterday's LB, I did find "coital" - was that the naughty word Langue_Doc was referring to? There was another word, but for the same side thing, that was naughtier. I wouldn't expect men to be able to find it.

ETA: Got a 2fer!

Now to spend the rest of the day on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 12, 2021, 01:55:20 PM
I am also having a hard time with the Bee--stuck at Amazing.  I did get one pangram (apparently, there are two), which is a compound word. 

And LB is not coming together (3-fers, but no 2-fer). 

It's time to organize my mise en place for dinner, so I doubt that I'll get back to them tonight.  Oh well, can't win 'em all...



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 12, 2021, 02:08:06 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 12, 2021, 09:11:45 AM

Big congrats on your QB last night, Langue_doc! I'm glad you mentioned the words and tried again.  What was your final word? Mine was "caul".  And congrats on your 2-fer as well!

For LB yesterday, I was trying too many "join" words.  Nowhere near the solution.  I don't think I would have ever thought of fjord either.

Will try the sudokus today and see if something magical gives me bee words, but yikes.  Still have to look at LB today as well.   Hopefully more straightforward than yesterday.

Thanks, ab_grp. My last word was lacuna; this isn't a word that I would use on a daily basis, but one that I have come to associate with Barbara Kingsolver's novel of the same name. As for today's SB, I made it to genius. Several of the words are outliers that we've encountered recently. Today, however, they're all in the same puzzle, which makes the solving difficult.

I also had several -join words for LB. The sudokus are getting more difficult, or I'm getting slower solving them.

Quote
Are we all having a hard time on bee? I'm usually at least at Amazing by the time my coffee gets cold. I'm still on Solid.

3fers coming along on LB. I need to work on that K for a while.

Regarding yesterday's LB, I did find "coital" - was that the naughty word Langue_Doc was referring to? There was another word, but for the same side thing, that was naughtier. I wouldn't expect men to be able to find it.

ETA: Got a 2fer!

Congrats on the two-fer! My naughty word was fornication.

cathwen, I didn't realize that there were two pangrams. I don't have the energy to look for more words in SB, so this is it for today.

Incidentally there was a fun word, rather long, in today's puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2021, 02:16:53 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 12, 2021, 02:08:06 PM
Incidentally there was a fun word, rather long, in today's puzzle.

I think you're referring to one I had to look up in the answers.  If so, it is fun, but it's another example (to me) of accepting something iffy while not accepting what seem like more appropriate words.  The second pangram was the other word we were missing.  And I agree about lacuna.  If it hadn't shown up in other puzzles, I don't think I would have guessed it.  I guess caul probably showed up before, too, though I don't remember that one well.

Still no real luck on LB.  I did finish today's sudokus but am still stuck on yesterday's.

Yay about the 2-fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2021, 04:39:42 PM
Finally got a 2-fer, just as I was about to quit for the day.  Whee.  Still no luck with yesterday's hard sudoku, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2021, 06:53:16 AM
I had to give up on LB, but found the second pangram last night so I was probably Alpha Bee. I also managed to complete today's crosswords and sudokus yesterday.

Made it to slightly above genius on SB--it wasn't too difficult.

Quote
nebo113

NYT Tiles
« on: January 12, 2021, 06:07:59 PM »
Quote
Darn....another addiction.
Report to moderator    Logged
Liquidambar


Re: NYT Tiles
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2021, 09:31:21 PM »
Quote
Totally.  I had to cut myself off.  Tile free since mid-December!

The basic games had gotten boring, but then I'd made extra rules for myself to make them more challenging.  (For example, in the one with yellow, blue, and white tiles with the four-pointed stars in the middle, you need to clear all the other stuff first and save the stars for last.)
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Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all. ~ Dirk Gently

nebo113


Re: NYT Tiles
« Reply #2 on: Today at 06:22:19 AM »
Quote
Quote from: Liquidambar on January 12, 2021, 09:31:21 PM
Totally.  I had to cut myself off.  Tile free since mid-December!

The basic games had gotten boring, but then I'd made extra rules for myself to make them more challenging.  (For example, in the one with yellow, blue, and white tiles with the four-pointed stars in the middle, you need to clear all the other stuff first and save the stars for last.)

LOL!

As for tiles, some of them are interesting, but others are quite blah! I get to them about once or twice a week. I don't fancy the flower ones or the ones with a variety of colors or patterns--just an idiosyncratic dislike on my part. I prefer vertex.

There are a couple of word games on the kindle, monkey wrench and red herring, which I try to solve every night. These are quite easy, more like appetizers rather than real puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2021, 08:19:44 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your Alpha Bee yesterday, Langue_doc! And genius so far today, and the sudokus and crosswords.  Today's crossword seemed a little easy for a Wednesday, but that's good.  And thanks for mentioning the other word games you play on the Kindle.  I'll have to check them out. 

After some struggling, I finally got to Alpha Bee today.  One pangram so far, but I only have about 10 points left to QB so suspect there aren't any others.  And my LB solution yesterday was the official one, JUNIOR-ROADBLOCK.  We'll see how today's goes.  I'll have to get to the sudokus as well.  My computer wants to restart, and I still have a hard sudoku from a few days ago open, so I might print that just in case.  I doubt I will ever solve it, if cathwen had to make a guess to get it solved!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 13, 2021, 09:38:15 AM
LB - "junior-roadblock" was the only solution the NYT crowd found as well. But for the same side thing, I would also have had journal-laidback and adjourn-niblick.

On to today's - already some 3fers and "but for the same side" - are those going to be called B4SS?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2021, 09:45:58 AM
B4SS might be a good term for it.  I did manage to find a 2fer today, luckily! And I also thought niblick yesterday, though I just had to look it up to find out what it actually is.  Must have heard it somewhere before.  Good luck turning 3fers into a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 13, 2021, 09:47:59 AM
A better day today!  It didn't take long to reach genius in SB.  I'm now 15 points from QB; not sure I'll make it, but after yesterday, just getting to genius feels like a victory.

And miraculously, I found a 2-fer for LB without too much fuss.  I'm a little annoyed with myself for not having found junior yesterday, though.  I must have tried just about every other possible j-word!

I do Tiles and Vertex every day in addition to the others—part of my post-breakfast routine.  For Tiles, I like the set that includes the wolf's head and bee, and also the one that looks like construction materials. That one is a toughie, but solving it is very satisfying. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 13, 2021, 11:05:07 AM
Got a 2fer as well! Not sure it's the official one but I'll keep it.

Tiles - sometimes I do them before I doze off. Zen mode drives me batty because sometimes you do run out of matches and then it's not very Zen, is it?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2021, 11:29:52 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 13, 2021, 11:05:07 AM
Got a 2fer as well! Not sure it's the official one but I'll keep it.

Tiles - sometimes I do them before I doze off. Zen mode drives me batty because sometimes you do run out of matches and then it's not very Zen, is it?

Look at the number of your posts! 1111! Looks like an auspicious number.

Congrats all on the two-fers, ciao_yall, ab_grp, and cathwen. I came up with the same side problem this morning, and haven't had the time to take a second look.

I aslo like the ones that I assume are the heraldic symbols and the more difficult red, white, black, and yellow geometric shapes (doors I think).

I'm probably Alpha Bee today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2021, 04:25:42 PM
Happy auspicious number post, ciao_yall! And congrats on the 2fer.

Congrats on Alpha Bee, Langue_doc.  Good luck if you try for QB, and good luck on 2fer attainment.  Also, I have now tried both games you mentioned and am particularly into red herring so far.  I'm trying it on hard, and sometimes it's definitely harder to figure out what the categories are.

Congrats to cathwen on the 2fer as well.  I got roadblock first and found junior from the remaining letters.  I don't think I would have been able to find junior first.

Still stuck on the hard sudoku from today and the one from 1/11 but will probably have to give up on them and restart my computer and get it over with.  Maybe it will keep today's progress, but I think the old game will go away.  Oh well, I'm sure I will accumulate more to work on solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 14, 2021, 04:30:29 AM
Morning, all.

LB--I had the official solution; SB--made it to QB last night. Today's crosswords and sudokus have also been completed.
Today, I'm at Alpha Bee; it's a relatively easy puzzle as you need only 56 or 57 points to get to genius. LB looks more complicated though.

ab_grp, I'm glad you like Red Herring. You can reset the puzzle to medium if you're at a loss for the right categories. I sometimes have to do that as I'm practically illiterate as far as sports--teams and vocabulary--are concerned. You also have access to the older puzzles. As for the sudokus, you can print them out and work on them later. I like to do the crosswords and sudokus by hand, but now that I'm into "streaks", I am forced to do the former electronically, which slows me down. One of my friends sent me a book and went to the trouble of wrapping it in the comics and games section of her local Sunday paper. The first thing I did was to work on the crossword and sudoku!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2021, 07:45:11 AM
Good morning!

Wow, congrats on QB last night, Langue_doc! And LB! I didn't get the official LB solution either.  Mine was MUSTARD-DISCHARGE.  Just got up a bit ago so haven't tried much with the bee yet.  No pangram so far.  Crosswords first when coffee is ready.  Also have to check trivia league standings, as we are in a minileague right now.  Yay on all of today's puzzles and already getting to Alpha Bee!

I did have to switch back the red herring difficulty last night! Well, the wine didn't help.  Some of the categories are also a little obscure, but I do like trying at first to see if I can get one or two of the categories figured out and filled before I have to lower the difficulty.  Anyway, fun!

I "printed to PDF" both sudokus but don't know if they have an archive of solutions so I could check if I did complete it on paper.  I gave up on the 1/11 puzzle with the computer restart and figured I'd spend a few minutes trying out different features on it (hint, reveal cell, etc.).  It is pretty embarrassing how many of those I had to use before I could finally "solve" it.  I still don't really understand the hint feature.  I guess it suggests a cell that you should try to work on? At least I still have yesterday's to work on after today's.

Sounds like your friend picked just the right wrapping paper, intentionally or not.  Bonus gift!

ETA: After a successful crossword run, I managed to make progress on the bee and identify the pangram and am one or two points from QB.  I suspect there is just one four-letter word left, but I can't find it! Will keep trying after some other puzzling adventures.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 14, 2021, 08:54:02 AM
I'm one point short of QB this morning, so I'm hoping to get there soon!

You guys are awfully good at these!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2021, 09:30:51 AM
Well, obviously you're good at it too, Parasaurolophus! I am curious if we are both missing the same word.  I guess we can check in tomorrow about it! Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2021, 09:39:09 AM
Morning!

LB: I got DISGUST-SCHMEAR, but then got the official solution with help from the comments board. But for the same side (B4SS) I would have also had GRADUATES-SCHEMATIC.

This morning already got a 3fer.

SB: Off to a start!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 14, 2021, 09:56:27 AM
I made it to QB! The pangram wasn't too bad. I just guessed the word, based on one that was familiar.

Quote
Posted by: Parasaurolophus
« on: Today at 08:54:02 AM »Insert Quote
I'm one point short of QB this morning, so I'm hoping to get there soon!

You guys are awfully good at these!


It's merely a matter of guessing, the way I did with today's pangram and a couple of other words (maybe one). All you have to do is play around with the letters and also try to remember earlier words based on these letters.

My last word today was one that I'd encountered not too long ago.

Quote

Posted by: ab_grp
« on: Today at 07:45:11 AM »Insert Quote
Good morning!

Sounds like your friend picked just the right wrapping paper, intentionally or not.  Bonus gift!

ETA: After a successful crossword run, I managed to make progress on the bee and identify the pangram and am one or two points from QB.  I suspect there is just one four-letter word left, but I can't find it! Will keep trying after some other puzzling adventures.

The wrapping paper was intentional. We send newspaper clippings back and forth.

You've probably found the last word; they're all familiar ones.

Good luck with LB, all. I found a long word, but couldn't find a word for the other letters, including the x.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2021, 10:05:24 AM
It's neat that you send clippings back and forth, and congrats on QB! I found the final word, so QB for me, too!

No real luck with LB so far, but I got the medium sudoku in about 17 mins, which is not bad for me.  Still working on hard.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2021, 11:42:52 AM
SB - Hit genius with a wild guess.

LB - Plenty of 3fers and a few B4SSs so getting warm here.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 14, 2021, 03:09:25 PM
Ouf, finally found the bugger!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2021, 04:21:21 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 14, 2021, 03:09:25 PM
Ouf, finally found the bugger!

Yahoo! Good hunting.

Ciao_yall, I'm sending you lots of good luck vibes to get the 2fer! I have a couple contenders, but I keep getting stuck with a couple letters remaining that don't seem to work together.  I got pretty close with one pair but for one extra dumb letter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2021, 04:44:20 PM
Yeah, I have a hanging U or A.

I'll send you a PM. Maybe we have the same ones?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2021, 07:14:38 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 14, 2021, 04:44:20 PM
Yeah, I have a hanging U or A.

I'll send you a PM. Maybe we have the same ones?

I sent my contenders and probably won't get a chance to get back to it, but I hope they might help you get a 2fer.  Given that we have the same main set, I feel like that has to be really close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 14, 2021, 07:20:37 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 14, 2021, 04:44:20 PM
Yeah, I have a hanging U or A.

I'll send you a PM. Maybe we have the same ones?

I, too, have a hanging A. Argh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 15, 2021, 06:25:07 AM
Good morning, all.

At some point, when the puzzle is no longer a fun endeavor, I give up, which is what happened with LB yesterday. No amount of effort on my part would have resulted in the official solutions. It was particularly frustrating as there were several -ing contenders.

SB--the pangram was my first word, and then made it to a point or so above genius. That's probably it for today. The words so far are those we all know. The last couple of words, a 4-letter one and a 5-letter one, are ones I've seen on at least two recent puzzles.

The crossword wasn't too bad for a Friday, nor were the sudokus.

Class prep calls, as does the vertex.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 15, 2021, 07:12:34 AM
I didn't get yesterday's LB, either.  But I got it today! Maybe not the official solution, but a solution.

I also made genius on today's SB, and may play with it throughout the day to see if QB materializes,  which it probably won't.  I'm a little annoyed that SB rejected a word for a certain animal of the southwest.  Yesterday, I came within two words of QB.  One of these days...

I haven't tackled the crossword yet.

And yes, class prep is calling me, too.  Maybe I'll only permit myself the crossword after I've done some prepping and feel in need of a reward.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2021, 07:53:22 AM
SB - hit genius this morning after a midnight water-bathroom-bee loop.

LB yesterday

The official solution STRIKEOUT-TAXING ? Okay, I got TAXING but I thought STRIKEOUT was 2 words. Oddly enough the commenters crowd did not get that one, either. They did get STROKING-GATEAUX which I thought would be a foreign word.

Yesterday the word SEXUATE was found which apparently means to determine the gender of a fowl. However, again the comments board had several solutions such as OKRA-ASEXUATING or GROK-ASEXUATING but ASEXUATING is not a word and the LB puzzle didn't take it when I tried it.

I had several B4SS* solutions: EXTENUATING-GROKS; EXONERATES; EXTENUATES-STROKING.

* But For the Same Side

On to today's. Yeah, it can be frustrating, but that *snap* when the first 3fer is achieved, and then the dopamine *jolt* when the 2fer is found continues to romance me. About like the slot machines in Vegas, but I don't have to put a nickel in my phone or sit next to some crazy old lady chainsmoking and drinking too many free screwdrivers.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2021, 08:27:32 AM
Good morning!

Sorry we couldn't get the LB solution yesterday, despite our efforts! I felt like we were so close, but I don't think I would have tried STRIKEOUT, either.  If they would have taken STROKINGS, we could have had the SEXUATE mate.  Oh well.  I will take a look at today's in a few.  Congrats on the 2fer today, cathwen! I'm running out of paper so will have to start a new LB notebook.

For today's bee, I am at about 81% so far, but now I am struggling.  Got the pangram pretty quickly.  I think I know which word cathwen is referring to.  Tried that one, too! There are a couple crossword answers that aren't in there, which always bugs me, but I try them anyway.  Sounds like good progress all around, though.  Good luck to all of us.

Still have an old sudoku (or 2?) plus new ones to do.  I agree that the crossword was pretty easy for a Friday.  Hopefully I will find the sudokus to be easier than usual, too! At least I'm getting a bit more consistent about being able to solve mediums, though the hard ones are still a stretch at times.

By the way, my final bee word yesterday was "okra".  What did everyone else get last? After I got QB, husband was ready to throw in the towel with one word left.  It was "hoary", though he had "hoar".   Hate that!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2021, 08:28:52 AM
Today B4SS I would have had SCHTUP.

I keep myself amused...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2021, 08:30:36 AM
Ha! The other day, the LB lent itself to numerous compound words that the creators apparently didn't find acceptable.  I had fun entering them anyway as my frustration grew. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2021, 11:30:21 AM
Got a 2fer with a strange compound word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2021, 12:04:16 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 15, 2021, 11:30:21 AM
Got a 2fer with a strange compound word.

Hooray! I just got a 2fer, too. 

Still about 4 points away from Alpha Bee.  Argh! Husband has the same number of words but more points, so he probably got some longer ones I didn't get while I got shorter ones he didn't get, as usual.  I am determined to get to Alpha Bee!

I think my easy sudoku time was my best ever, 3 minutes flat.  Then medium was a bit of a slog but completed in a mediocre time.  But it was completed, no errors, which is my goal for that.  Still working on hard.  I feel like I have made good progress, at least.  On some of those, it's hard to find even a foothold.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 15, 2021, 12:55:22 PM
ab_grp, it sounds as though you need just a few 4-letter words or a 5-er. Those aren't too difficult.

There was a literary term, so let me know if anyone needs a hint. I get frustrated at the non-acceptance of villein, a proper medieval term, while archaic and specialized words are accepted. I keep trying all the same.

Incidentally, the same person is listed as the editor of SB and LB. Can't imagine why this person would assume that the words that are legit in LB are not legit in SB!

Congrats all on the LB.

QB for me, but no LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2021, 02:34:43 PM
Langue_doc, wow on getting to QB!! Congrats! That was a very tough one for me.  I finally got another (obvious, in retrospect, of course) 5-letter word to get to Alpha Bee, and we compared lists.  Husband donated another 5-letter to me, and I donated one or two 4-letter words to him.  Thank the masters of the universe that I finally made it over that threshold.  Good gravy.  Good luck with LB if you try again.  If you want a hint, feel free to PM, and if I'm around I will happily comply.

And I managed to finish today's hard sudoku and the one from 1/13, so those are cleared out of the queue.  Both took an hour or more, but I finished without checking answers and without mistakes.  Whew.  Maybe I can finish 1/14 hard before the next round come out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 16, 2021, 09:09:04 AM
ab_grp, thank you for your offer of a hint. I thought about it, but then decided that the upcoming crossword would take up my time, so didn't pursue it.

Cheers on the sudokus!

Made it to genius today; rather boring list, what with the letters and the derived forms. As usual, kine, a good ol' poetic word, was rejected. I'm done with the crosswords, sudokus, and vertex, and got some first words on LB, but no second word yet.

Happy solving all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2021, 09:18:42 AM
LB - yesterday ended up with CHANGEUP-PERFECTS but HANGUP and PREFECTS also worked. I had been trying to get to PREFECTURE, alas, b4ss.

ETA: Already some 3fers so should be close. 

SB - off to a start. Need to remember to add the -ING to every word I come up with and should hit "genius" soon enough.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2021, 09:28:34 AM
You're welcome and thank you, Langue_doc! Good thinking on the crossword, though.  It wasn't that bad once some of the longer answers got filled in, but you never know with a Saturday.   BTW, I see that the bee creator was the crossword constructor today. 

Ciao_yall, I got CHANGEUP-PREFECTS before I realized that PERFECTS also worked.   Haven't gained much traction on today's yet.

I'm right at 80% on the bee so far but will keep trying for Alpha Bee.  Got easy and medium sudokus done and am making progress on hard.  I know the next round come out earlier today, so I'm trying to get as far as I can.  At least I managed to finish the unsolved hard sudoko queue.

Yesterday's bee annoyed me because alee and alienee weren't in there, though they are always in the dang crossword.  Like I said above, Sam Ezersky did the crossword today, and I am keeping a mental notebook of any answers there to see if they are accepted in the bee when the letters allow.  If not, he will receive correspondence from me. ;-)

Good day and happy solving to you all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2021, 11:42:49 AM
After a fair number of contenders in LB, I finally managed to wrangle remaining letters for one of them into a mate, so I got a 2fer.  Was close with another one if not for the B4SS issue.

Still 6 points away from Alpha Bee, darn it.  Husband is ahead of me but still has one point to go before he is at Alpha Bee.  That is his goal now, too!

But, I did finish the hard sudoku without errors.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 16, 2021, 03:01:15 PM
I also have one point to go for Alpha Bee.  I know it must be there, but I just don't see it—never mind the several more I need for QB.   Like Langue_doc, I was annoyed that kine was rejected.  I like those old words (like wight a few days ago)!  And what's up with the rejection of knap/knapping? 

For yesterday's LB, I got hangup-prefects. But today was my real victory, as I found a solution on the very first try!  It will be a long time before that happens again. 

I unlocked the key to the hard sudoku by what I imagined was razor-sharp reasoning, but it was probably just a lucky guess. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2021, 03:26:40 PM
Yay, Cathwen, on your immediate LB! And good luck getting your one more point in the bee!  We ended up with a satisfactory (if not super exciting) finale for the bee today.  Husband got his four-letter word to get him to Alpha Bee (117 pts), and thankfully I got a 6-letter that brought me to the same total, same number of words.  So we both made it to Alpha Bee, and when we compared we had the exact same lists.  The final three words that I had to look at the answers for were ones I doubt we would ever have come up with unless we just stumbled upon them, so I'm glad we got to Alpha and quit!!  We also tried knap/knapping and a bunch of other stuff.  There's a word I have been waiting for the right letters for, and it wasn't in there! Too archaic, I guess? That would be a laugh considering some of what's in there today.

I don't doubt you have razor-sharp sudoku reasoning skills! There's a situation I come across sometimes that I feel implies a particular outcome, but I'm not sure if it does or not.  I've started going with it, and it's worked out.  Maybe if I thought it through in the abstract I could figure out if it's for real or not.  So I'm feeling my way around and think I'm developing some intuitions.  In any case, I guess the next round has come out, so I'll see how I do there.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2021, 05:08:10 PM
I got a 2fer as well.

cathwen, wow on the 2fer! 2fer on the first try - that needs an acronym. 2F1G (2fer on the first go?) 2F1S (2fer on the first strike?) Suggestions?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 16, 2021, 05:24:41 PM
Yay to y'all.

I've been prepping, mainly tweaking directions for assignments and due dates, so haven't made any progress on any of the puzzles. I did get a head start on the crossword earlier this afternoon.

I'll probably continue with the prep as I seem to be on a roll.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 16, 2021, 05:39:22 PM
Got my genius SB, but noted several omissions. We'll see if I remember them tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 17, 2021, 08:49:46 AM
...nankeen?

Yesterday rejected kine, pika, and kenning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2021, 08:50:20 AM
Haven't found the pangram yet, but made it to above genius. Alpha Bee yesterday.

As for yesterday's LB, I found the two-fer late last night, after I had completed the Sunday crossword. I have the same words as the official solution. I decided to give LB one more try as I didn't want to be left out of the two-fer crowd.

On to vertex and then LB.

ETA: kine, villein, and a few other words of the same vintage are routinely rejected. I try them anyway.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2021, 09:16:24 AM
We missed nankeen (though I tried Nanking even though I knew that probably wouldn't work), kippa, and kepi.  I was hoping pannikin might finally be in there.  No luck.  I guess some archaic words > others.  Looks like 189 is Alpha Bee today.  I got to genius + and a pangram but am still 36 points away from Alpha!

Congrats on genius yesterday, Parasaurolophus! Good  luck today.

And congrats on genius + today, Langue_doc, and Alpha Bee yesterday! And a 2fer! Mine were EXTREME-EVALUATING.  I have a few contenders today but no real traction yet.

I have a problem in my dang crossword, so of course I am not sure if it's an error with one of my answers or a technical foul, the fun part of doing tricky puzzles on the app.  I will go back through and resolve it at some point.  Still have the hard sudoku to attempt.  I got through medium with some errors to fix late yesterday afternoon but was just too tired to do well on it.

Happy solving, one and all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 17, 2021, 09:21:32 AM
Ah yes, I mean to note villein, too.

And yeah, I tried 'atlatl' again today, and 'lich' and 'elven' the other day. Sigh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2021, 10:30:52 AM
LB yesterday - MIXER-REVALUATING. Today's looks sticky.

Also off to a slow start with SB.

In the hard copy of the paper I got the panagram first, and also finished the Patrick Berry puzzle in one go. Waiting for husband to start the Sunday Crossword so I can finish it - kind of our Sunday tradition.

I think he could finish them if he stayed focused, but he gets bored and wants to do other things.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2021, 11:07:06 AM
Good luck with the bee, ciao_yall! It's got some kind of tough words.  I finally made it to exactly Alpha Bee, husband wanted to move on, so we compared and got to QB.  I cannot believe I missed a particular word, ironically, again.  But, at least that's conquered.  There were some words we both thought should be in there.

Also resolved the crossword, thankfully, by looking at the list view and seeing where there were some things I could change.  Now onto the hard sudoku and more LB attempts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2021, 01:00:36 PM
Made it to just above Alpha Bee, but no pangram in sight, alas!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2021, 01:09:31 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 17, 2021, 01:00:36 PM
Made it to just above Alpha Bee, but no pangram in sight, alas!

Wow!! That is a lot of points to get without the pangram.  For a while, I had suspected there could be two, but there ended up just being the one.  I was lucky to see it pretty much right off the bat.  Good luck if you keep trying to find it, but yay for Alpha Bee in the meantime!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 17, 2021, 01:39:29 PM
Alpha Bee!  That is impressive, Langue_doc!  I am a good bit away from that, although I made genius and did find the pangram.  Maybe I'll get back to this later.

LB was more of a struggle today, but I finally did find a solution.  Yesterday I got extreme-evaluating.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2021, 01:57:46 PM
2fer in LB.

Found the panagram in SB but still stuck at "amazing." Then I find a few easy words... and still "amazing." GAH!

ETA - a hint and a few reminders from the Comments board, and "genius" is achieved,
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2021, 03:11:43 PM
Congrats, all. I'm still stuck at Alpha Bee and no pangram, but tomorrow's crosswords are out, so goodbye LB and SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2021, 07:49:02 PM
The panagram on SB... I was just playing around. I didn't think it was a word and then boom.

Well, not boom, because that doesn't happen on the tame world of SB. I didn't even get a happy bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 17, 2021, 07:55:32 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 17, 2021, 07:49:02 PM
The panagram on SB... I was just playing around. I didn't think it was a word and then boom.

Well, not boom, because that doesn't happen on the tame world of SB. I didn't even get a happy bee.


Weirdly, SB doesn't accept the variant of the pangram that you can spell with one letter less.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 18, 2021, 07:37:27 AM
Morning, all.

Missed the pangram and 'atop' yesterday. Grrr! I'm missing the pangram today as well, but made it to genius.

Gave up on LB last night, and might probably do the same with today's puzzle. But I got the crossword and sudokus as usual, and also vertex.

Happy solving y'all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 18, 2021, 07:56:41 AM
Good morning!

I had some struggles with the bee today but finally managed to get to about 91% for Alpha Bee.  Not sure if I'll make it to QB, we'll see.  Took forever and a day to figure out the pangram at a good bit past genius, and then there were a bunch of pretty obvious words that I finally found.  Good luck! There are a couple words I think should be in there given other accepted answers, as usual.  Yesterday I thought allopath should have been included.

Never got the LB 2fer from yesterday.  I thought I had some good contenders with EMPHASIS and ESOPHAGUS.  Oh well.  Maybe today.  I had to start a new notebook for it.

I did the mini crossword last night to get it out of the way since husband doesn't do that one anyway.  Main crossword was pretty easy.  Still have today's hard sudoku to attempt.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 18, 2021, 08:28:19 AM
Today's LB doesn't give us a lot of room to maneuver. A few good contenders that eat up a lot of letters, but can't quite pair them up.

SB - going okay. Not taking a few words it seems it should. Stuck at "great" for now but I'll pick it up later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 18, 2021, 11:22:02 AM
Hit "genius" and accidentally tripped over the LB solution while on the NYT Crosswords Board looking for hints on the SB.

The 2fer solution is a weird one, IMHO. Not sure I would have gotten it on my own - another one of those compound words that you don't think of as being a word.

LB lately it seems to set up single 2fers as the solution instead of multiples, which is kind of fun as people find different ones. Today's didn't leave much to work with - lots of B4SS issues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 18, 2021, 03:10:50 PM
I almost gave up on LB, but found a solution.  I'll be curious to see what the official solution is.  As ciao_yall said, one of the words doesn't seem like a real word. 

I made genius in SB and got the pangram, but probably will not try for more.  It's not one of those days when words just pop out at me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 18, 2021, 05:44:07 PM
QuoteI almost gave up on LB, but found a solution.  I'll be curious to see what the official solution is.  As ciao_yall said, one of the words doesn't seem like a real word.

I made genius in SB and got the pangram, but probably will not try for more.  It's not one of those days when words just pop out at me.

Yes, they were saying the same thing on the comments thread about SB.

You have a gift for LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 07:55:12 AM
Good job on the LB 2fers! You're right, taxiway is not a word I would have thought of.  Not close to fragment, either.  Hopefully today's will be better.

Didn't do much in the way of puzzling yet, but I did get a pangram at least.  Time to get the crossword and trivia league out of the way momentarily, thankfully with coffee!!

Still no luck on the hard sudoku from yesterday.  I asked it for a hint, and it highlighted a cell that it thinks is the next most logical to work on.  I have no idea yet why it thinks yet, but I will have another go at it today after I try today's puzzles.  I have only entered three numbers so far! And I think I have carefully gone through every row, column, and container.  I am obviously missing something.  Luckily in previous puzzles I eventually got it, even if it took days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2021, 08:10:25 AM
The LB word is rather specialized, as it is a term that would be familiar to only certain airport employees such as pilots and maintenance people who have been cleared to taxi a plane on the runway.
The FAA notes the safety issues associated with using runways as taxiways by pilots:

"A common Air Traffic Control (ATC) practice lately is to utilize an active or inactive runway as a taxiway due to airport geometry, construction, congestion, or taxiway restrictions which can increase risk as signage is spread further apart and sometimes difficult to read from the cockpit. An additional hazard is the intersections of runway-to-runway crossing points are frequently missing many of the visual cues present on taxiways such as signs, markings, and lighting. Find out about this Safety Alert and the recommendations to mitigate at your facility."

SB--I'm at Alpha Bee today. Crosswords, sudokus, and vertex have been successfully tackled. I'm not sure if I want to deal with LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 19, 2021, 08:36:07 AM
Yesterday, got FRAGMENT and noticed TAXI then thought what am I going to do with the W and Y... When I did see the solution I remembered oh yeah, on planes, they are always announcing that "we will be waiting in line on the taxiway before getting on the runway..."

Today's LB - an N would come in handy, and what is up with putting the X with a vowel and the H with an I? Grr...




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 19, 2021, 08:46:22 AM
Yes, I thought taxiway was just a tad specialized.  I was sure it would be rejected, and was rather surprised when it wasn't.  Thanks for the information on taxiways, Langue_doc!

Did anyone get a solution different from the official one? 

For today's LB, I found a wonderful word that uses all letters...B4SS!   I did get a 2-fer, though. 

I made genius on SB and a little beyond, but QB is probably not in my future.  Tomorrow I'll probably be banging my head when I see the words that I missed.

I screwed up royally on the hard sudoku (so much for razor-sharp reasoning) and had to backtrack, but finally solved it.  The crossword awaits,  but not until after I've done some actual work.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 19, 2021, 09:14:29 AM
Quote from: cathwen on January 19, 2021, 08:46:22 AM
Yes, I thought taxiway was just a tad specialized.  I was sure it would be rejected, and was rather surprised when it wasn't.  Thanks for the information on taxiways, Langue_doc!

Did anyone get a solution different from the official one? 

For today's LB, I found a wonderful word that uses all letters...B4SS!   I did get a 2-fer, though. 


Given that the only solution found by the commenters on the Crosswords board was the official one, I think that was the only one.

Already a 2fer?  You have a knack!

ETA: 2fer B4SS. Gah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 09:29:20 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 19, 2021, 09:14:29 AM
Already a 2fer?  You have a knack!

Agreed! Good job, cathwen! No luck for me so far.  As for the sudoku today, I managed to screw up the easy one! I think I need to wake up a little more.

Congrats on the Alpha Bee, Langue_doc! I just got there myself.  I don't think husband had gotten to genius yet, so not sure if we will compare anytime soon, and he has a meeting coming up that will keep him busy.  I still have about 14 points to QB, but that may not happen today.

Good luck to us on the LB, ciao_yall! (and Langue_doc, if that ends up on the agenda)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2021, 10:32:56 AM
Looks like you're all making progress. No luck so far on LB. I too want an 'n'! All the promising letters are on the same side.

ETA: I don't usually get to look at the comments on the crosswords board as there are a mere handful when I complete the puzzle at night. Last night though, I wanted to object to the clue for 1A, but it turned out that the clue was indeed correct, according to several comments there when I checked this morning. I did see, for the first time, the SB hints that ciao_yall often refers to.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 11:06:49 AM
Husband got to genius, and we decided to compare lists since I was at Alpha Bee and he didn't feel like continuing.  He added a word to my list, and we still had some room to QB.  Glad we finally looked at the answers, because I do not think we would have gotten the final few points.  Oh well, on to other things.

Still no LB luck for me, either.  Lots of OH... no, darnit moments. 

I don't tend to read the crossword comments anymore unless the puzzle has elements that I think will cause controversy, because now that I play the bee and letterboxed I want to avoid seeing anything I don't want to see.

Didn't get to the medium or hard sudokus, yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 01:31:55 PM
In case anyone here does not follow Sam Ezersky (bee creator), he tweeted that we should leave more time for Friday's bee (https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1351624915749924864):

Quote
Leave yourselves TIME for this Friday's Bee. To those of you who must reach a certain tier before starting the day: adjust that alarm accordingly.

Wouldn't run a challenge if I didn't think it came with a fun factor ... but let's find out.

I'll add that there is NO "s" ... nor is the word count any higher than a normal "hard" day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2021, 02:10:27 PM
Thanks, ab_grp. I'm too old school to follow tweets on Twitter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 19, 2021, 03:13:45 PM
Genius on SB. 2fer on LB. Also found a word (I think same as cathwen's) that uses up all the letters in one go, B4SS.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 03:32:18 PM
Yay, ciao_yall! I just got a 2fer as well.  And congrats on genius!

Langue_doc, I hope the warning helps us all if we can remember come Friday.  I'm interested to see what kind of challenge he's cooked up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 19, 2021, 05:40:24 PM
Quote from: cathwen on January 19, 2021, 08:46:22 AM

For today's LB, I found a wonderful word that uses all letters...B4SS! 


Whoa, what?! Wow!

I found one that uses 11 letters, but it rejected it.


Quote from: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 01:31:55 PM
In case anyone here does not follow Sam Ezersky (bee creator), he tweeted that we should leave more time for Friday's bee (https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1351624915749924864):

Quote
Leave yourselves TIME for this Friday's Bee. To those of you who must reach a certain tier before starting the day: adjust that alarm accordingly.

Wouldn't run a challenge if I didn't think it came with a fun factor ... but let's find out.

I'll add that there is NO "s" ... nor is the word count any higher than a normal "hard" day.

Oh! That's exciting! I'll have to try harder Friday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 06:37:35 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 19, 2021, 05:40:24 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 19, 2021, 01:31:55 PM
In case anyone here does not follow Sam Ezersky (bee creator), he tweeted that we should leave more time for Friday's bee (https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1351624915749924864):

Quote
Leave yourselves TIME for this Friday's Bee. To those of you who must reach a certain tier before starting the day: adjust that alarm accordingly.

Wouldn't run a challenge if I didn't think it came with a fun factor ... but let's find out.

I'll add that there is NO "s" ... nor is the word count any higher than a normal "hard" day.



Oh! That's exciting! I'll have to try harder Friday.

I put it on my calendar just in case I forget, but I doubt it, because I am excited too! I am really curious about what kind of challenge it is.  Hopefully it won't disappoint.

And an 11-letter word rejected? Sorry, I'm sure it would probably have been accepted in other contexts.  That's really close to all the letters, especially if you avoided the b4ss issue!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2021, 09:04:49 PM
I think I  know the word cathwen' s referring to.

No luck on LB, but tomorrow's crosswords are done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 06:39:35 AM
Above genius on SB. It's going to be a long day, so I don't think I'll have much time for puzzling.

Happy solving, all.

The long word was 'lexicography'; if it hadn't been for the B4SS, I'd have been a double genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 20, 2021, 07:27:25 AM
LB yesterday - Got the official solution which was EXPO-OLIGARGHY. And, yeah, major bummer about LEXICOGRAPHY!!!!! Do we think they did that on purpose just to taunt us?

Lately there seem to be just single solutions. Yesterday I didn't even get a 3fer before finding lexicography.

Off to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 07:40:47 AM
24 words, 101 points; this made my day!

ETA: There was just one unfamiliar word-- I'm familiar with this word as a proper noun.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 09:56:41 AM
Yeah! Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! I'm a couple points away and am not sure if I will figure it out, but at least I got to Alpha Bee.  Maybe the unfamiliar word is the one holding me up...

I also got the official LB solution yesterday.  Today I have a nice, long word that only left two letters, but I can't figure out what to do with them. 

Finished the hard sudoku yesterday more quickly than usual and without errors.  I haven't tried today's medium or hard yet, because it's been a bit distracting today (in a good way!).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 20, 2021, 10:22:00 AM
ab-grp Yeah, some nice long words, and some 2fer B4SS. Did finally make a 2fer with a nice long word and a short oddball.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2021, 11:10:15 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 06:39:35 AM
Above genius on SB. It's going to be a long day, so I don't think I'll have much time for puzzling.

Happy solving, all.

The long word was 'lexicography'; if it hadn't been for the B4SS, I'd have been a double genius!

Oh, lexicography! Nice! My long (but not accepted, and ultimately not useful anyway) one was 'axiological'.

I, too, had an easy Bee today.


By the by, I think I missed the discussion where these first came up: what are you guys calling 'alpha bee', and what does 'b4ss' stand for (I gather it's having letters stuck on the same side  but...)?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 11:28:47 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2021, 11:10:15 AM
By the by, I think I missed the discussion where these first came up: what are you guys calling 'alpha bee', and what does 'b4ss' stand for (I gather it's having letters stuck on the same side  but...)?

We kind of came up with a draft naming convention for the 80% and 90% of total points.  I had proposed that 80% be a B, so Bee or Baby Bee or something like that.  I don't know if we came to agreement on that one, but I think we have agreed to 90% being an A, so Alpha Bee.   Did you get to QB?

Ciao_yall came up with b4ss, which is in LB "but for the same side" (correct me if I'm wrong!).  So yep, your interpretation was correct, I think, that a 2fer could have been had if certain letters had not been on the same side.

I am still determined to try to get my long word to work in LB today! Still haven't found the final bee word, but at least I know how long it is.  Managed to get the medium sudoku done in a reasonable time without errors, so I will try for hard now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2021, 12:44:36 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 11:28:47 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2021, 11:10:15 AM
By the by, I think I missed the discussion where these first came up: what are you guys calling 'alpha bee', and what does 'b4ss' stand for (I gather it's having letters stuck on the same side  but...)?

We kind of came up with a draft naming convention for the 80% and 90% of total points.  I had proposed that 80% be a B, so Bee or Baby Bee or something like that.  I don't know if we came to agreement on that one, but I think we have agreed to 90% being an A, so Alpha Bee.   Did you get to QB?

Ciao_yall came up with b4ss, which is in LB "but for the same side" (correct me if I'm wrong!).  So yep, your interpretation was correct, I think, that a 2fer could have been had if certain letters had not been on the same side.


Ah! Perfect, thanks!

No QB for me yet, but I can't be far off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 12:51:41 PM
You're very welcome! It's nice to have those checkpoints to shoot for between genius and QB.  I finally did make it to QB, thankfully, after happening on the correct final word by trying every possible combination of letters.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 20, 2021, 01:21:49 PM
Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on another QB!  QB is still elusive for me.  I did get today's pangram, but I'm barely above genius.  C-Bee?

But...I did get a 2-fer for LB today.  I don't like the second word--it's apparently a variant spelling, and one I would never choose.  But it was accepted, so who am I to argue? 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 02:07:32 PM
Quote from: cathwen on January 20, 2021, 01:21:49 PM
Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on another QB!  QB is still elusive for me.  I did get today's pangram, but I'm barely above genius.  C-Bee?

But...I did get a 2-fer for LB today.  I don't like the second word--it's apparently a variant spelling, and one I would never choose.  But it was accepted, so who am I to argue?

Other than the proper noun-y word, the meaning of which I still haven't looked up, the words aren't too difficult. Shuffling the letters helps.

Congrats all on LB. I haven't gotten beyond the three or four long words I found this morning. Today's vertex was appropriate. I have my book group coming up tonight, and then have to work on course stuff, so I'm all puzzled out for today, probably with the exception of tomorrow's crosswords.

C sounds depressing, at least in the opinion of some --rather, several--of my students. Genius implies scores above B!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 02:24:29 PM
Thanks, cathwen! Just keep in mind that genius is the official top score.  And as Langue_doc said, shuffling really can help.  For what it's worth, the final word I found was not really obscure in retrospect.  And, I agree also that none of the words were very difficult or obscure.  Whether or not they pop out is another thing entirely, of course.  Congrats on the 2fer! I still haven't found a mate for my long word.  Maybe it's just not the right word.  Just so tempting with so few letters left!

I am curious what the proper noun-y word was...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 06:13:11 PM
Dang, the proper noun-y word is actually a part of the anatomy, one that I know. For some strange reason, I kept thinking of the Trojan War, especially the quote from Dr. Faustus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 06:26:31 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 06:13:11 PM
Dang, the proper noun-y word is actually a part of the anatomy, one that I know. For some strange reason, I kept thinking of the Trojan War, especially the quote from Dr. Faustus.

That was my final word! I realized I am more familiar with other versions of it but will have to keep an eye out for that one in the future.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 07:05:30 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 20, 2021, 06:26:31 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 20, 2021, 06:13:11 PM
Dang, the proper noun-y word is actually a part of the anatomy, one that I know. For some strange reason, I kept thinking of the Trojan War, especially the quote from Dr. Faustus.

That was my final word! I realized I am more familiar with other versions of it but will have to keep an eye out for that one in the future.

I think that was my final word as well. Crosswords are out--I mean published, so onward and upward. No LB for me tonight, unless inspiration strikes, which I think is quite unlikely.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 21, 2021, 07:50:11 AM
Morning!

LB Yesterday I got dug-glorification. My b4ss were fluctuatinng-ground, conflagration-nudging. There were some good 3fers: acidic-conflagration which left a "u" hanging, and tunic-conflagration which left a "d" hanging.

Official solution was "guardian-nonficitional" -  "fictional" is in one of my saved 3fers, as is "fornication."

Onward...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 21, 2021, 07:57:53 AM
Morning all. Today's SB was rather difficult even though the words I found so far are ones that we would consider familiar/current. It took me a lot of shuffling to get to above genius.

Crosswords and sudokus are done--I didn't care too much for today's puzzle.

I've given up on LB mainly due to time constraints. Vertex looks a bit complicated today as I've had to erase numerous incorrect links.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2021, 08:31:59 AM
Good morning!

Just got right to Alpha Bee this morning so far.  But I am bugged... I swear there is a word that used to be accepted that isn't today? Husband agrees.  WTF, bee?!

Still working on the crossword.  I have something wrong, but given that it's a tricky Thursday I'm not sure if it's an answer I have wrong or a technical foul.  I'll work on it more later.

I thought for sure conflagration would lead to a solution yesterday but just could not make the remaining letters work without -ing being available.  Seems like the same woes that ciao_yall was beset by.  I also thought clarification or gratification might work, but same issue.

Good luck all around!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 21, 2021, 08:50:22 AM
Is it a six-letter word, perchance?

I've been struggling with this Bee, but that's not unusual of a morning. We'll see what the rest of the day brings!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2021, 09:14:10 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 21, 2021, 08:50:22 AM
Is it a six-letter word, perchance?

I've been struggling with this Bee, but that's not unusual of a morning. We'll see what the rest of the day brings!

Mine is a 5-letter word.  So maybe more than one word has disappeared as others have been added to the "acceptable" list.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2021, 11:16:57 AM
Finally made it to QB after recalling a couple words we have missed in the past.  Whew.  After, I looked at my database, and that word I mentioned has definitely been in there at least 6 times since I started the database. 

Also finally got the crossword sorted out and finished the medium sudoku.  I'm having the same experience today with the hard one that I did yesterday.  I think "is it just me, or is this a lot easier than usual?", and then you can probably guess what happens eventually.   A mistake, a loud sigh, backtracking, trying again.  Still no real luck with LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 21, 2021, 12:25:00 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 21, 2021, 11:16:57 AM
Finally made it to QB after recalling a couple words we have missed in the past.  Whew.  After, I looked at my database, and that word I mentioned has definitely been in there at least 6 times since I started the database. 

Also finally got the crossword sorted out and finished the medium sudoku.  I'm having the same experience today with the hard one that I did yesterday.  I think "is it just me, or is this a lot easier than usual?", and then you can probably guess what happens eventually.   A mistake, a loud sigh, backtracking, trying again.  Still no real luck with LB.

Congrats on your QB! Is one of the words a four-letter one? That was my last word today, and it's a word that keeps recurring just like the word 'acai' which I've seen in numerous SBs. I don't think of this word as an independent word though.

I'm stuck on the vertex. It's almost complete, but I don't know how to undo the mistakes so I'll have to reset the puzzle and start all over again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2021, 12:38:34 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! My final word was a 4-letter word that has popped up somewhat recently and that I had to look up.  And there was another word of similar sort that I found very close to the end.  I'm guessing one of those is the one you're referring to.  Does this mean you also got QB? If so, congrats to you as well!  Good luck rectifying your vertex puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 21, 2021, 01:32:58 PM
Genius in SB, but nowhere in LB so far...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on January 21, 2021, 04:01:05 PM
Worst day ever for me. I blame the red wine from celebrating yesterday. Stuck at nice in the bee, no pangram. It's just not happening. And I gave up halfway through the crossword. Really don't know what they are getting at.

On the plus side I did good work on an article and edited a student's thesis chapter and had a meeting, so all is not totally lost.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 21, 2021, 06:06:07 PM
A few weak 3fers and finally went up to the Crossword Comments crowd. Apparently there is only one solution today, so there we go. So many great words b4ss, which seemed to make it hard to get moving to play with words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2021, 07:10:29 PM
No luck for me in LB today, either, and not really any great contender words that left few remaining letters.  If there is only one solution, I guess it's a lot harder to find.

Reener06, I definitely have days like that.  And I didn't get what to do with the crossword completely for a while, so I had a mistake that was easier to fix once I knew.  But I also hear you on the red wine.  For me, that was yesterday, because I was up way too late (and had too much red wine) Tuesday night being both excited and fearful about what might transpire.  There's always more puzzling out there, for us, luckily! Tomorrow is another day.  If you didn't see the earlier note, tomorrow's bee will apparently be a challenge, so hopefully that is something to look forward to! And you got some real things accomplished!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 21, 2021, 08:28:42 PM
Tomorrow's crossword wasn't too bad, especially when compared to today's, so that's out of the way. It was relatively easy and rather entertaining for a Friday. I might get to the sudokus, at least the easy one.

reneer06, the crossword was the teeth-grinding kind. I got the weird (not logical) long words only because I'd found the other words first, so just filled in the letters without really knowing what I was doing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 21, 2021, 10:28:21 PM
As usual, made it to genius while brushing my teeth before bed. Tough one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2021, 04:27:39 AM
Did you see today's? It's a pain in the behind. 376 to genius! What in the world were the editors thinking? That we belong to the leisurely class of yore?

I'm at nice with 158 points and one pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 07:43:10 AM
Yep, a whopping 537 points total?! Or about that?! But remember he said the word list wouldn't necessarily be longer, so I guess the words are longer.  I managed to get to about 235 and 2 pangrams while getting ready.   Luckily there are a lot of big (but not difficult) words.  But I wouldn't necessarily call it a challenge, unfortunately.  Maybe the letters start to disappear or the device starts sparking at some point.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 22, 2021, 08:02:41 AM
I have six pangrams and 296 points (amazing) so far.

Edit: 333 now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on January 22, 2021, 08:11:08 AM
So many pangrams today! I definitely don't have the attention span to make it all the way through that many points, but for those who will find all the words, I salute you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 22, 2021, 08:37:37 AM
Yeah, today's SB is what I call a "grinder." Lost count of panagrams. At amazing and 304 points, hope to hit genius soon.

Yesterday's LB was bungalow-witch. I found witch, but I think the tricky thing about bungalow was that "witch" was easy to find, but left a lot of blank letters on the same side. Intuitively one avoids that situation due to the b4ss issue. And I was stuck not finding a lot of words that ended with "w."

Found a very odd 3fer today so far. If nothing else, LB is making me open to crazy possibilities! So that's good for my brain.

Happy solving today, y'all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 08:43:35 AM
Well, I'm up to 428 points and a bunch of pangrams, but Alpha Bee is about 484 points! Yikes.  Probably sudoku for a bit and get back to it and hope to hit Alpha, at least.  I had made my way to about 305 points and decided to look back at my list to see what obvious ones I had forgotten that were related to ones I already had and made it quickly up to almost 390.  Lots of bookkeeping.

Crossword wasn't bad at all for a Friday, though like others in the comments I had a few thoughts on the "football powerhouse" of the Big 10. 

I thought of "witch" for LB yesterday but figured it would leave too many letters leftover.  Also tried glitch, wagon, unlatch, and antilog, and a compound word that they apparently don't accept as they did not accept the first "naughty" (?) part of it.  Oh well, maybe today's will be easy, though it doesn't sound like it from what ciao_yall has reported.

Good luck, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2021, 12:15:09 PM
Made it to above genius with several pangrams. I think I need a stiff drink but it's too early for that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 22, 2021, 01:05:18 PM
I guess I'm on a roll with LB.  I got yesterday's official answer, and after some gnashing of teeth, found a 2-fer today as well.

I am just one point beyond genius in SB.  I may get back to it, although I have some actual work to do, so maybe not!   Langue-doc, if you're pouring stiff drinks, I'll have one, too.  SB is a real grind today.

Ab_grp, 428 points is awesome! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 01:59:39 PM
Wow, cathwen, you really are on a LB roll! I still haven't had much luck but had a 2-hr call with a friendly colleague take up some time.

Langue_doc, I could use one as well if you're pouring.  I managed to get to 508 points or so, so finally past Alpha Bee, but still 30 some points left to go? Yeek. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2021, 02:20:49 PM
Cheers all. I inched up to 440 or so. I was gone most of the morning, and then had course work, so haven't even looked at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 22, 2021, 02:32:02 PM
508 points!  Egad, ab_grp, that is astounding!  I'm only up to 425. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 02:33:52 PM
Thanks, cathwen! I am now at 521 points.  This bee is taking a long time, but I'm trying to tell myself it is an unusual day and to go with it.  I don't want to give up.  Husband and I had the same number of words and different number of points, so we have some disparity in our lists but won't compare for a bit if at all.  I am still hoping for QB and am still finding words I should have found before, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope.  No real tough words so far, so I think it is more persistence than anything.  I could be wrong.  More good luck vibes all around!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 22, 2021, 03:09:36 PM
Genius, 381 points, over it. Tackling LB. A few 3fers and almost 2fers but for an odd letter or two, so hope I'm close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2021, 03:24:33 PM
The words are all familiar ones. If you play around with the endings, you can find more words and pangrams. Think prefixes and suffixes!

Just over 500 now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 04:05:14 PM
Ciao_yall, I hope you get the 2fer!

And Langue_doc, I am rooting for you for QB! I am definitely flagging at this point.  Will try to keep at it given how close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2021, 05:47:09 PM
ab_grp, hope you made it to QB. There were only a couple of words that I found by playing around with the letters. All the other words are ones we know or have seen on SB. Whew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 07:26:06 PM
Did you make it QB, Langue_doc?  I hope so!! I think from the comments here that you are our best hope.  We gave up.  I gave husband 3 words, and he gave me two, but we got to QB as a team and Alpha + as individuals, so enough was enough.  My two missing words included one I have missed before, and I should have gotten both given that they were variants of words we had.  Only one word in the whole list was what I would consider a "spelling bee only" word that I have never used in real life.  I hope you got to QB!!!!! We should all be pretty happy with our efforts, though.  I'm glad I saw that tweet, because I think I would have just about fallen on the floor if I saw genius at 376 points without warning.  Anyway, my eyes were getting blurry, shoulders hurt.  Tough day.  Wowweewow.  Just think, hopefully no other bee will be this arduous...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 22, 2021, 10:01:54 PM
Made it to genius and 380 in the end. That may have to do it for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 23, 2021, 06:34:06 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 22, 2021, 07:26:06 PM
Did you make it QB, Langue_doc?  I hope so!! I think from the comments here that you are our best hope.  We gave up.  I gave husband 3 words, and he gave me two, but we got to QB as a team and Alpha + as individuals, so enough was enough.  My two missing words included one I have missed before, and I should have gotten both given that they were variants of words we had.  Only one word in the whole list was what I would consider a "spelling bee only" word that I have never used in real life.  I hope you got to QB!!!!! We should all be pretty happy with our efforts, though.  I'm glad I saw that tweet, because I think I would have just about fallen on the floor if I saw genius at 376 points without warning.  Anyway, my eyes were getting blurry, shoulders hurt.  Tough day.  Wowweewow.  Just think, hopefully no other bee will be this arduous...

Yeehaw, yes I did! My last word was concoction--don't know how I missed this one-- and the penultimate one, ovine. The latter and toonie were the only two words that I had to guess. Once I started getting words such as convenient, inconvenient, convenience, inconvenience, and so on, I kept at it, as I thought that given the number of points needed for genius, the words would be relatively easy. It was the most tedious puzzle though.

Congrats on getting to QB as a team. That does count. And a big thanks for the warning about the challenging SB.

As for today, I'm above genius.

I wouldn't have guessed the two words in LB, not even if I had spent all day on the puzzle.

Quote
Posted by: Parasaurolophus
« on: January 22, 2021, 10:01:54 PM »Insert Quote
Made it to genius and 380 in the end. That may have to do it for me.

Congrats on making it to genius. As I mentioned above, it was a tedious puzzle.
Congrats too to cathwen and ciao_yall.

Happy solving all.

ETA 138 points so far, familiar words with one exception.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2021, 07:52:03 AM
Wow, QB on yesterday's has to be some other title.  I haven't had coffee yet.  Ultimate Bee? Congratulations, Langue_doc! I am so happy one of our group got to QB!!  It's funny what one finally gets or ends up missing sometimes.  I missed innocence (though I had innocent!) and evictee (though I had evict and invitee).  Argh.  I was just too tired to go on.   Husband was peeved to miss cocci, and I know he missed votive, but I forget what the third word was. 

Congrats to you as well, Parasaurolophus!! It was a long haul.  At least today's feels sprightly in comparison. 

Oh the word I mentioned the other day that was suddenly no longer acceptable was "iliad".  Anyone else notice that? It's in my database at least 6 times, but I guess it is no longer allowed.

Didn't really start today's yet, so time for coffee and crosswords and then puzzles.  Oh yeah, absolutely no way on the LB puzzle yesterday! What solution did the solvers get?

Happy solving to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2021, 08:10:55 AM
LB The official solution was "hijinks-superb." I didn't even get close, though had a very close 3fer with "jibing-gherkins-sup." It also took "bejesus" and "jujubes" so I declared both a b4ss and Yiddish 2fer with jujubes-shprinking. 

Oddly enough, I recall it not taking "jinks" so I figured it was only taking the "jinx" variation.

On to todays...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 23, 2021, 10:37:05 AM
Today's Bee seemed so much easier by comparison!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2021, 10:56:41 AM
Yay, did you get to QB today, Parasaurolophus? I think I have about 9 points to go to QB, but at least I got to Alpha.  Definitely a better ride than yesterday overall.   I really wish yesterday's had some more interesting words. 

Good luck on LB, ciao_yall! I'm hoping for a 2fer for you.  I have a couple seemingly good contenders but haven't been able to make mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2021, 12:16:52 PM
Genius on SB.

LB - some 3fers, a 2fer b4ss. So hope I'm getting close.

NYT and WSJ crosswords done. Almost done on the WSJ variety puzzle but stuck.

I need a:

7 letter word for for "benevolent and sweet natured." Has a C in it. ETA: "angelic"
7-letter, 2-word solution for "Take a risky position on a board." Has an A and a G in it. ETA ^2 "hang ten"

I can't really tell you the positions because it's a circular puzzle and I'm not sure where the words start and end.

DONE!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 23, 2021, 01:30:04 PM
Well, I finally made QB today!  This is a first for me. 

But Langue_doc, getting QB on yesterday's--which was so much longer and more arduous--is a stupendous achievement!  Congratulations! 

And I got yesterday's LB (the official solution), but today's is just not happening.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2021, 02:02:40 PM
cathwen, sent you a pm.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2021, 02:17:29 PM
Congratulations on your QB today, cathwen! A fantastic first to celebrate! And good luck to you and ciao_yall on the LB. 

We decided to compare bee lists since we were both at Alpha +.  I was missing one word which, naturally, I should have gotten.  But I am not sure I would have.  Husband was missing a couple that he also feels he should have gotten.  Oh well, we gave a lot to yesterday's, so better to take it easier today.   At least I had success on all three sudokus! Looking forward to the next set and will continue on with LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 23, 2021, 02:39:52 PM
Quote from: cathwen on January 23, 2021, 01:30:04 PM
Well, I finally made QB today!  This is a first for me. 




Wow, congratulations! Once you break the ice, you start getting it more often.

(And congratulations to everyone who made it yesterday, too!)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 23, 2021, 03:37:31 PM
QB today; my last word was a past tense. Tomorrow's crosswords and sudokus are out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2021, 05:53:50 PM
A rash of 3fers... still no 2fer.

ETA - 2FER!!!!!!!!!

And totes legit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2021, 06:51:08 AM
Hooray! I got a 2fer too yesterday before closing up shop.  Not the official one, though: EPONYMOUS-SEAWARD.  What solution did you find? Apparently WRAP-PSEUDONYM was official.

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 24, 2021, 06:58:30 AM
Congratulations on all the 2-fers for yesterday!  I didn't make it yesterday, but found a 2-fer today.  Yay!

I'm a bit beyond genius in SB, which apparently has a maximum of 241 points.  QB seems unlikely today, but I"ll keep coming back to it and see what happens. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2021, 08:59:08 AM
I found "eponymous-seaward" as well.

Made QB yesterday with help from the comments board. Rather anticlimactic. Usually I just stop at "genius."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2021, 10:46:59 AM
QB today; several weird four letter words. The couple of uncommon longer words have appeared on earlier puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2021, 10:57:38 AM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! I am at 233, so Alpha Bee +, but I'm not sure if I will get the remaining word(s).  Seems like they were a bit picky today about particular options that would be accepted.

Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! I think I have a good contender but need to find a mate.  Good luck if you go for the QB title again!

And congrats on yours yesterday, ciao_yall! Great minds and all.

ETA: got a 2fer.  I ended up trying a different word, and the remaining letters made sense for a mate.  Not sure if I could get another with my original contender...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 24, 2021, 11:09:32 AM
Wow, QB again, Langue_doc!  I'm at 211 points, so I have a good way to go, and probably won't make it today.  I'll look for those weird 4-letter words, though. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2021, 11:23:04 AM
Good luck, ab_grp and cathwen. I would play around with the letters to find four letter words. There are also a few words ending in -able.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2021, 11:31:27 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I will probably need the luck.  I have a couple weird four-letter words that have been in there before, but I will check for some more.  And the -able acceptability was the pickiness I was referring to.  If it helps, cathwen, there are two pangrams (if you haven't found them both already).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 24, 2021, 12:12:09 PM
I have found the two pangrams, have entered a number of -able words, and am currently playing around with four letter words.  I'll probably once again be bonking myself on the head with my dictionary when I see what I missed! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2021, 12:53:22 PM
SB - stuck at "amazing." Will look for more "-able" words. ETA - got "genius."

LB - messy 2fer - I'll keep it. May look for others. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2021, 01:22:47 PM
25 four-letter words and five -able words. Occasionally I find that a word that I typed wasn't entered by the system, so now I double-check my word list just to make sure that all my words have been accepted. I've found a missing word on at least three occasions this week. As for the other words, these are all words we know or words that have appeared more than once in SB. There was just one unfamiliar compound, but the components were familiar everyday ones. I tried polebean, thinking that it was a single word like crabapple, but discovered that it was in fact two words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2021, 03:03:33 PM
We finally gave up on the bee.  I was missing three words, two of which were four letters (argh!!), one of which I'd seen before in the bee but tend to forget and one of which I hadn't, and another word I usually get.  At least I made it to Alpha.  Almost QB!

Glad you got a 2fer, ciao_yall, even if it isn't so elegant.  I am guessing mine might be the official one but am not sure.

I'm also glad I was able to get my computer (which had frozen, again, while I was away from it) rebooted and today's hard sudoku reloaded with my progress intact before tomorrow's came out.  I think I made it with about a minute to spare.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2021, 04:31:03 PM
I have some great words, just can't quite squeeze them into a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2021, 04:34:48 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on September 15, 2020, 09:24:55 AM
Lede and clitic aren't on the list of acceptable (English) words, but raita and baobab are OK. I'm still struggling with today's pangram.

It wouldn't take BAOBOB today. GAH! (Wow, this thread has been going a while. Ended up on page 1.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2021, 04:38:58 PM
It did; I had to check the spelling-- please do so.

ETA I also had to check the spelling of the animal. Google is your friend.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2021, 04:50:11 PM
Oops, hope I didn't ruin it for anyone.

I did check it on Google but didn't notice it wasn't spelled correctly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2021, 05:02:09 PM
I spellchecked an animal in the bee as well today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2021, 07:50:41 AM
Good morning!

Just came by to check the LB answers, but it looks like they still have the ones from two days ago (wrap-pseudonym), even though the new puzzle is out.  I even tried on a different browser that I hadn't logged into NYT from before.  Is it just me? I will check later.

Just started making my way through the bee but no pangram yet and have to get coffee and crossword out of the way.  I got through all today's sudokus but still have yesterday's hard to finish.  Oh yeah, I am glad we got to QB as a team yesterday, but he donated "bonbon" (which I usually get), and then I found "boba" (which I have seen but tend to miss) and "pleb" (which I don't think I would have gotten despite having gotten "plebe").  Oh well, trying random letters works out sometimes! I am going to try for a solo QB today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2021, 07:52:43 AM
Weird about LB. I got UNRAZED-DIVORCES.

Found a word today that eats up a lot of letters but leaves weird ones behind, so maybe I'll get a 2fer early. Or flail along all day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2021, 08:59:04 AM
Well, maybe I'll find out what the official solution was at some point.  I had CREDENZAS-SURVIVOR, which seemed like a good candidate for it.  I'll try today's here in a minute.  I hope you can get that 2fer, ciao_yall. 

Husband's android app is acting wonky for the bee today, starting him at 227 points and keeping all the words from yesterday, no matter that he killed and restarted the app several times and even rebooted his phone.  Even weirder is that he did enter the final words for QB yesterday as I came across them, so why not start at 241? Maybe something's up with the tech today.

ETA: Well, I got lucky and found a LB 2fer on my first try! Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 25, 2021, 09:11:51 AM
SB tech was fine this morning. ab_grp, hope the tech problems have been resolved.

Made it to above genius earlier today. Is there a second pangram?

I'm also seeing wrap and pseudonym for LB.

boba was a new word for me. I got pleb and then plebe. I also know to look for bonbon and booboo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 25, 2021, 09:32:22 AM
My answer for yesterday's LB was DIVORCES-SUZERAIN.  Last I checked, the answers for the other day were still up.  I'm curious as to what the "official" answers were!  Apparently, once again, there are at least three possible solutions, as ab_grp and ciao_yall found different pairs.  It's fun to see what others came up with!

Yesterday on SB, I missed baobab (annoying, as I usually get this!), nabob, bola, and boba.

I am working on today's SB--I've gotten a bit beyond genius--and found a 2-fer for LB.  Sudokus are finished.  Now on to the crossword!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2021, 09:38:38 AM
Yes, it will be interesting to see what the official solution was, given our three different ones! I had originally started with ZODIAC(S), which I thought might be a good contender, but I couldn't get anywhere with the remaining letters and same side issue.

I still have about 20 points to go for Alpha Bee and also hope that whatever's going on with husband's app gets resolved so we don't have to keep track of two different sets of check point numbers! I only found one pangram so far, but there could be others.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2021, 10:31:39 AM
Found a really weird 2-fer today.

Yesterday I also found DENIZEN, UNCONVINCED, UNRAZORED, VIZORED, SCRIVENER, AZURE, NERVOUS, EVIDENCE...

SB is still at "amazing" but should get to "genius" soon.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2021, 02:59:45 PM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall!

I got up to 229 points in the bee, so Alpha, but I am stymied now.  Husband and I compared, and he couldn't add any to my list, so I guess I could still get QB, but I doubt it at this point.   I've spent all day trying to figure out what's making my computer freeze and have to be rebooted constantly, trying and failing to install updates, etc.  Blergh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 25, 2021, 03:02:58 PM
They're all words we've seen in previous puzzles or ones we know. Let me know if you'd like a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2021, 04:28:52 PM
Made genius on SB, so I'm out of steam on that one. Went online and there were a few short words I had overlooked but we good now. QB is a bit anticlimactic so if it happens, fine.

Still no news on yesterday's official LB solutions. Today, it's mostly been the "G" that I can't do much with though, as mentioned earlier, I did get a weird 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 26, 2021, 05:07:48 AM
It's a difficult one today. If I make it to amazing, I'd consider that to be a success.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2021, 07:24:11 AM
Thanks for the hint offer! My computer was going through 12 hours of testing, still no answers as to why it keeps freezing.  Looks like I just missed "midair".  Oh well.  Doing okay today so far, but haven't had coffee or done crosswords and didn't sleep too well.  Probably more computer problem solving (or not) today.

At least I did get the official LB solution yesterday, BODEGA-ANTIQUITY.  I poked around on social media and didn't see anything about the solution from 2 days ago, but I might look again because that is a little odd that no one else appeared to mention it.

Good morning and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 26, 2021, 08:00:18 AM
Yesterday's LB - I got DAGNAB-BOUTIQUEY. Told you it was a strange one. Lots of Q words - ANTIQUE (and variations) BOUTIQUE, QUOTIDIAN. The hard one was the darn G.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2021, 08:22:49 AM
That is an interesting 2fer, ciao_yall! I was lucky to see ANTIQUITY and then had ODGBE, and BODEGA popped right out.  Haven't tried today's yet, or the sudokus.

On the bee front, I got to a bit above Alpha (160, currently), so if I can help anyone, please let me know the best way to do so.  I immediately saw a pangram that it didn't take, but I did get another one.  There are actually a few words that they don't accept that I think should be in there.  Not sure if I'll get to QB, but it's early, so who knows.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 26, 2021, 08:28:01 AM
Yeah, I think I have only heard the word DAGNAB maybe 2 or 3 times in my life. I was playing with the LB, got irritated, said dagnab it and then wondered if it was a word.

Today's is plugging along.

SB wouldn't take POPTOP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 26, 2021, 08:55:22 AM
SB wouldn't accept pegleg or egyptology--I know, I know that it's a proper noun, but a solid pangram all the same. Just above genius, so that's probably it for today. Crosswords, vertex, and sudokus are done.

I try pegleg whenever I see the letters, but am always rejected.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 26, 2021, 08:59:49 AM
I am also at Alpha on SB today.  Not sure if I'll make QB, but I'll keep coming back to it as the day goes on.  I didn't get much beyond genius yesterday.  (Gamma Bee?)

As for LB, I got the "official" solution yesterday BODEGA-ANTIQUITY.  I had also found BOUTIQUEY (and was surprised that it was accepted), but couldn't find anything to go with it—so congratulations on DAGNAB, ciao_yall!  I didn't see that.

After a little hair-tearing, I found a solution for today's LB.  Now I can get on with my day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2021, 09:07:47 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 26, 2021, 08:55:22 AM
SB wouldn't accept pegleg or egyptology--I know, I know that it's a proper noun, but a solid pangram all the same. Just above genius, so that's probably it for today. Crosswords, vertex, and sudokus are done.

I try pegleg whenever I see the letters, but am always rejected.

Yep, that was the pangram I tried (several times, just in case).  I was sure that was it.  Is it only a proper noun? It's a study of something... if they accept geology, they should accept that as well, I think.  I also tried pegleg and poptop.

Congrats on the 2fer, cathwen! I have a moderate contender but don't think it's a winner, so I'll keep at it.  And congrats on Alpha Bee, and good luck going for QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2021, 11:10:44 AM
We finally gave up and compared after each of us had gotten to Alpha Bee.  We were each missing pretty easy words and had a couple points remaining to QB.  Had to look at the answers.  It's a word we have missed in the past, not super common.  Close!

At least I got the medium sudoku done without errors in just under 13 minutes, which is my new record! Onto the hard one and then back to LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 26, 2021, 11:16:57 AM
Congrats on the Alpha Bee, ab_grp!

Got a painless two-fer on LB. Still stuck at almost Alpha.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2021, 02:39:52 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Congrats on your 2fer.  I just found one myself, but it didn't come as easily as yesterday's.  Anyway, still a victory.  Good luck on the bee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 26, 2021, 03:36:16 PM
Genius, 2fer.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2021, 08:07:03 AM
Morning! Where is everyone?

LB - I got the official solution SKIRMISH-HANDFUL. Anyone else?

Off to today's puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2021, 08:09:47 AM
Yesterday's SB: missed epee and teepee--dang! Also missed lollop--don't think I would have found it.

Today, just squeaked to genius after much teeth gnashing.

LB: I have the official solution. Found a nice long word today, but can't get the remaining letters to form a word.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2021, 08:33:20 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your 2fer and genius yesterday, ciao_yall.  I also got SKIRMISH-HANDFUL.  Got skirmish first and finally figured out how to use the remaining letters.

We also missed lollop yesterday on the bee, Langue_doc! Argh.  I had just mentioned lollypop, which it didn't take, but I forgot about lollop.  That was the only word we missed.  Glad to see topology in there since they never take boolean, but no polytope apparently.  And congrats on your 2fer!

For today's bee, I am just shy of Alpha at 114 pts so hope to get there but am currently stumped.  I'll go take a look at today's LB letters and try some sudoku and see if that helps loosen my brain.

Have fun solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 27, 2021, 09:37:04 AM
Hello, everyone.  I also got SKIRMISH-HANDFUL for LB yesterday.  I got a 2-fer today, too. 

I also missed lollpop yesterday as well as épée.  I also missed glop and gloppy!  And that after getting gloop, gloopy, goop, and goopy.

Today I'm just a tad beyond genius at 99 points.  I don't see getting much beyond that today, as like Langue_doc, I have also been gnashing my teeth just to get that far.  But apparently there are 10 more words and 34 more points in there somewhere! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2021, 09:50:12 AM
cathwen you are a natural!

I have a 2fer B4SS, a few 3fers and a couple of words that really eat up a lot of letters but leave oddball letters. That ED on the same side closes up a lot of avenues!

SB: Stuck at "great."

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2021, 10:52:31 AM
Congrats, cathwen! You are a natural! And I think I had missed gloop yesterday, although I had gloopy.  That's one that husband donated from his list.  I have to remember to look back at what I already have.  Argh.

We finally compared, as I had gotten to Alpha, at least.  I was missing 12 points, husband donated one word, and we had to look one up that we probably should have gotten given another in our list.  Argh again! Tough day today.

Got medium sudoku done but haven't tried the hard one yet.  I have a contender for LB but am not sure it will work so will go back to that as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2021, 01:18:45 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 27, 2021, 09:50:12 AM
cathwen you are a natural!

That ED on the same side closes up a lot of avenues!



Agree with both of the above.

Finally got a two-fer; Alpha bee on SB.

Good luck on LB ab_grp and ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2021, 02:54:38 PM
At "genius" which is usually as far as I go.

LB - lots of 3fers and B4SS but just not getting that *click."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2021, 03:12:02 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 27, 2021, 02:54:38 PM
At "genius" which is usually as far as I go.


I used to be quite content with genius. Then I found this thread. Oh, well...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2021, 07:46:46 AM
LB yesterday - I found BAND and WIDTH but somehow never made the connection to put them together to get BANDWIDTH-HACKER. Argh. How did everyone else do?

SB and LB for today await, along with teaching 2 classes and a board meeting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2021, 08:26:38 AM
Good day!

I didn't come up with anything close for LB yesterday.  I thought CHICKENWIRE might work because it only left DBAT, but I couldn't make it work starting with E or ending with C.  Oh dang I just realized I did have WHACKER.  Maybe if I hadn't had the W in that group I might have seen BANDWIDTH in the remaining letters.  We'll see what today brings.

The bee is a long one again today.  I'm at a bit over genius (213) but still a ways to go to Alpha, let alone QB.  I found some good words, and there's a bunch of bookkeeping, but I am stuck for now. There are a few compound words and others that I would like it to accept.  Yesterday we missed amebae! Argh.  We had ameba.  Hate that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2021, 09:16:16 AM
ab_grp, great word! Early on I found WHITENER and BETWICH, but needed the ED to make 2fers out of them.

Already found a weird 3fer.

SB - at amazing. Lots of gerunds. "Bookeeping." Yeah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2021, 10:11:27 AM
Afternoon!

Got to genius on SB, but don't think I'm going to find more words. Yesterday, I missed begem, yegg, and amebae. I should have found the last one though.

LB: the official solution. Found some three-fers today, but no two-fer so far.

Crosswords and sudokus were done last night; vertex also completed.

Happy solving and two-fers, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 28, 2021, 10:17:28 AM
I got BANDWIDTH-HACKER yesterday and found a 2-fer today.  But oh my, the SB!  It is killing me.  I'm stuck at great.  Ab_grp and Langue_doc, congratulations on making genius!  And ciao_yall, congrats on amazing. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2021, 10:35:49 AM
Now I have managed to just cross over the threshold to Alpha (at 248 pts).  Yikes, not sure what could be remaining at this point, but maybe I will find some more.  I've run across two pangrams so far, by the way.  Good luck on it. 

Still no real luck on LB.  Congrats on the 2fer yesterday Langue_doc! And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2021, 12:46:04 PM
Too bad LB won't take swear words or I'd have a 2fer.

cathwen - I would love to watch you do LB because you crush it every day. How does your brain work so fast? What is your strategy?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2021, 01:48:15 PM
ab_grp, thanks for the information about the second pangram. SB didn't accept candida which I didn't think was a proper noun. It's a wearisome one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2021, 02:00:21 PM
You're welcome! I'm glad if the second pangram info helped.  I am really bugged about a few words not being accepted.  We eventually gave up after we both got to Alpha and compared and had a couple remaining points.  Naturally, the remaining word is one we probably could have gotten if we had remembered it, given what we had already.  Argh again.  Although the bookkeeping part was tedious today, at least there were a fair number of interesting words mixed in, unlike the challenge from last week.

Ciao_yall, I hear you on the swear words.  I keep hoping and trying, but no.  I thought I had a good contender today, but it wouldn't accept the word I made out of the remaining letters.  I guess it is considered a proper noun, so just like the cussing it is not acceptable.  Boo.

But I did set a new record for myself on hard sudoku at ~ 20 mins with no errors.  I guess it was a pretty easy one!

Hopefully I'll have time to get back to LB after my call.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 28, 2021, 02:45:15 PM
Just made it to genius, but what a struggle.  I can't imagine what's left, but apparently the maximum score is 273.  I only found one pangram. Ab_grp, congratulations on Alpha!  Wow!  I thought this was a very difficult one.

Ciao_yall, I don't know why I've been getting LB so consistently.  I just play around with words, but then everyone does that.  You all are much better at SB than I am. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2021, 03:51:21 PM
Got a 2fer. Also would have had another one but it said it wasn't a word, though another solution had a word in the same theme. So, I dunno. And lots of B4SS solutions.

Yes, also crabby about "candida"
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2021, 04:18:11 PM
Cathwen, I really think a lot of my bee success comes from having played it every day for months and always looking up any words we miss.  Sure, a good vocabulary helps or a sense of what letter patterns are likely or not, but so many of these words are pretty esoteric.  And there's the getting bitten by not remembering particular prefixes or suffixes (especially -ee, -i, -ae for me) that makes those of us who are very stubborn vow never again.   Of course I do forget again.  Some days are just easier than others for whatever reason.  Or at some point you might happen upon a pattern you hadn't considered.  Believe it or not, what I would consider to be a primary pattern in today's puzzle that was in MANY words is one that my dear husband did not happen upon for quite a long while.  Obviously, getting to genius was tough until he did...  Anyway, you've made QB already, so clearly you have a pretty good knack for it.  Maybe you just need to become more obsessed.  ;-) Today there were a lot of words and word groups that I just remembered from previous puzzles.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! And nearly a second 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2021, 06:28:24 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 28, 2021, 04:18:11 PM
Cathwen, I really think a lot of my bee success comes from having played it every day for months and always looking up any words we miss.  Sure, a good vocabulary helps or a sense of what letter patterns are likely or not, but so many of these words are pretty esoteric.  And there's the getting bitten by not remembering particular prefixes or suffixes (especially -ee, -i, -ae for me) that makes those of us who are very stubborn vow never again.   Of course I do forget again.  Some days are just easier than others for whatever reason.  Or at some point you might happen upon a pattern you hadn't considered.  Believe it or not, what I would consider to be a primary pattern in today's puzzle that was in MANY words is one that my dear husband did not happen upon for quite a long while.  Obviously, getting to genius was tough until he did...  Anyway, you've made QB already, so clearly you have a pretty good knack for it.  Maybe you just need to become more obsessed.  ;-) Today there were a lot of words and word groups that I just remembered from previous puzzles.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! And nearly a second 2fer!

I too find solutions because I'm keeping track of words that I've seen in previous puzzles. There were a few words in today's puzzle that I knew to look for because I'd seen them recently. I knew that candida wouldn't be accepted based on past experience, but I try these words anyway just out of orneriness. I also pay attention to suffixes. Today, for example I looked for three-letter verbs and also for verbs that ended in -e so that I could enter the participial forms. -ic, -ical, -al, -ion, etc are other possibilities. Very often, the letters have to be aligned in a certain configuration to see words which was how I found the second pangram a few minutes ago. I also miss words that I'd seen before as was the case with epee and teepee in a recent puzzle.

Cathwen, I hope this helps.

Made it to Alpha Bee. Some of the words were quite obvious, not at the beginning though, but much later in the day. Got a two-fer in LB, both words we all know.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2021, 07:36:53 PM
Yeah on Alpha, Langue_doc! Congrats!! I also felt like some of the words took a while to see today, even ones that are normally more obvious.  I think that bookkeeping patterns that show up a lot in a particular bee day (plus lots of points to attain) can make it hard to see other, more common words or to rearrange letters into unusual patterns that are also common words.  It's like they block me from seeing normal words.  The tip you gave about suffixes is a really good one.  There are puzzles in which you can't make a four-letter word, for example, but you can make three letters + an ending.  Or two letters + an ending.  So the base bunch of letters (root?) is not acceptable, but some form of it with a suffix is.  But I would also keep trying words that were previously not accepted, given that the "dictionary" or word list they use seems not to be static and that they add and delete acceptable words at times, especially if people complain.  Quantity of complaints, or quality of arguments, I don't know. 

I do feel like LB has kind of similar underlying skills in some ways.  But it's more like if you want a 2fer in LB you have to find the pangram (not the actual term) as the solution, whereas in the bee you could probably (on most days) not get the pangram and still score a good deal of points, at least enough for genius.   We have had several LB days on which there was purportedly only really one solution.  There are others, of course, on which multiple solutions work.  I feel as though they are related skills, but one is more exhaustive, and one is more sophisticated? That is not the right description, but maybe someone knows what I'm getting at.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 29, 2021, 07:55:24 AM
SB - I sometimes remember words from previous puzzles but I don't keep track. When I run out of steam (either Amazing or just into Genius) I might go to the Comments board where they jog a few memories. Usually it's words I should have gotten but overlooked or didn't cross my mind while moving letters around (yesterday... canning, cringing, cardigan). They do a good job with hints that start off subtle and build up a little steam.

Arcadia and Arcadian? Those aren't proper nouns? Really?

LB - I got UNTOWARD-DISHPAN, so nowhere near the official solution. Not sure I would have guessed either word. First got UNTOWARD-DIPSH*T.  Also got UPWARDS-SHINTO but it wouldn't take SHINTO even though it took that Christian gospel that started with a K that I can't recall from a few weeks ago.  I really wanted to do something with DINOSAUR but was not to be.

For strategy, I start looking for combos that eat up a lot of letters. I take screenshots of 3fers and B4SS solutions so I can stare at them between fooling with letters.

The Comments board goes right into giving away the solution so I don't like to go there. Wish they would ease into it a bit.

Anyway, on to today's!

ETA:

SB: In the long sludge of Amazing, slowly finding odd words, waiting for it to flash GENIUS!

LB: Got some 3fers and a 2fer B4SS solution so think I'm going to finish my coffee and take a shower.

Will poke around during the day and see if anything shakes loose.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2021, 09:01:49 AM
I also tried UPWARDS-SHINTO yesterday, ciao_yall.  And I like your first solution, even if they didn't take it! I would never, ever have come up with the official solution.  I've been taking the approach of writing down the "hard" letters on the side of my notepad and trying to work with them first, noting combos of letters that might work in a solution.  At least writing my attempts down has helped me get my handwriting back into some sort of legible form.

Also was surprised about arcadia and arcadian in the bee yesterday.  I really wanted raindancing, dragracing, arancini, or radicand to work!! Husband donated cadging to my list, and we both missed indicia despite finally remembering indica.  Argggghhh.

Today I'm at 169 points, so a bit shy of Alpha (about 178?) but am hoping to get there at some point.

Good luck on today's puzzles, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 29, 2021, 10:17:08 AM
I remembered arcadia and arcadian from previous puzzles so didn't even bother to see if they were proper nouns or not. I thought that I'd entered narc, but sometimes the words don't get through when I type them on the kindle. I should have found cigar and cirri--I recall seeing the latter not too long ago.

Spoiler alert: made it to genius with a slinky underwear word.

As for LB, puritans and shadow, much less esoteric than the official solution. But three vowels on the same side--aarrgh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2021, 10:31:37 AM
Hurrah, Langue_doc! I had to look through my list to figure out what slinky underwear you were talking about.  I think that is the word I got just before I got the word that finally got me to Alpha Bee.  I like your LB 2fer better than the official solution from yesterday. 

Since we both got to Alpha, we compared and got to QB.  I had missed two words that I am pretty sure I have missed before, naturally.

I have a mediocre contender so far in LB and have to go back to the medium sudoku, which I managed to screw up and had to delete some entries.  Had a bagel, will try again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 29, 2021, 12:12:07 PM
Several solutions for yesterday's LB!  I got PATDOWN-NOURISH.  I found a 2-fer for today's as well. 

I missed a number of words on yesterday's SB that I should've gotten.  And thanks for the suggestions, too, everyone.  I made genius today, plus a few points, and will get back to that later.  I did find the pangram, which jumped out at me right away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 29, 2021, 01:00:34 PM
2fer and genius.

So diem was carpe'd or however you say it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2021, 03:53:44 PM
Congrats on your unique 2fer yesterday, cathwen, and your 2fer and genius + today!

And yay for ciao_yall and the carpe'd diem of genius and 2fer.

I am still trying the LB, but I'm still slowly working on problem solving my computer.  Ughhh. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 29, 2021, 04:37:28 PM
If only SB would accept huguenot, I'd have15 more points.

Found an interesting two_fer, interesting because two separate words are possible from the remaining letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2021, 04:48:44 PM
I tried huguenot, too.  No luck.  Congrats on your 2fer 2fer! That's neat.

I will come back to LB briefly later but think I will probably not find a 2fer today.  I will be interested to hear what you all found!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 30, 2021, 06:09:14 AM
Congrats on the QB, ab_grp.

I missed ghetto, which I should have found as I was looking for gh-initial words, tent and tote both of which I had entered but apparently didn't get through, and tenon and nonet.

Made it to genius today, but no pangram yet, alas.

LB words were memorials and sticky/stocky.

ETA Woohoo, just got a two- fer on my first attempt. Both common words, the second, one that we academics use on a regular basis.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2021, 08:53:01 AM
LB - I got ALTIMETERS-STOCKY

This morning, SB is at "genius" but no panagram. LB - lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet.

I did the Saturday mini in 38 seconds which I think is a record for me. I usually try to get the regular minis in under 30 seconds but Saturday is it's own thing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2021, 09:25:46 AM
I somehow managed to get to QB before finishing my coffee today.  I think that's a first! It was weird... I was at Alpha + and husband mentioned that he hadn't found the pangram yet, and I realized I hadn't either.  That plus a couple four-letter words got me to the QB.  So good luck everyone.  Nothing super tricky in there, but there was at least one word that I have missed in the past.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, Langue_doc! And for yours yesterday, ciao_yall.  I was nowhere near the official solution.  Again with some weird words there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 30, 2021, 09:55:19 AM
Eight past genius this morning, but haven't found the pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on January 30, 2021, 12:13:33 PM
Got to Genius and then finally got the pangram. Still 3 or 4 words short of QB and may just give up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2021, 02:00:35 PM
2fer in LB,

Well into genius in SB and still no panagram. Heading to the comments board to see if anything shakes loose with their hints. I like them because they start off slow instead of giving too much away too soon.

ETA: Okay, got the panagram. 2 odd words I can't deduce, even from the hints from the Comments board. QB is sooooo overrated.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2021, 02:30:16 PM
I guess I must have just gotten lucky with the word list today to get to QB.  Still wishing everyone luck!

No real progress on LB, yet, and I still have to try to finish today's hard sudoku before tomorrow's come out.  Too many things on the non-puzzle to-do list today.

ETA: Meant to say congrats on the LB 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2021, 02:50:50 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 30, 2021, 02:30:16 PM
I guess I must have just gotten lucky with the word list today to get to QB. Still wishing everyone luck!

No real progress on LB, yet, and I still have to try to finish today's hard sudoku before tomorrow's come out.  Too many things on the non-puzzle to-do list today.

ETA: Meant to say congrats on the LB 2fer, ciao_yall!

There is no luck, only talent.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2021, 04:48:51 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 30, 2021, 02:50:50 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 30, 2021, 02:30:16 PM
I guess I must have just gotten lucky with the word list today to get to QB. Still wishing everyone luck!

No real progress on LB, yet, and I still have to try to finish today's hard sudoku before tomorrow's come out.  Too many things on the non-puzzle to-do list today.

ETA: Meant to say congrats on the LB 2fer, ciao_yall!

There is no luck, only talent.

Thanks, but I will trade you some bee talent for some LB talent!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 30, 2021, 04:52:18 PM
I can PM you a hint, ab_grp, if you'd like one.

QB today, on the crossword now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2021, 08:58:20 AM
Sorry I didn't see your offer of a hint, Langue_doc! And congrats on QB!  Crossword wasn't too bad, though from the comments it didn't seem as though it was too well received.  There were a couple iffy clues/answers, in my opinion.

I managed to get to QB before we finished our coffee again.  I'm sure that streak will not continue.  But, hopefully it leaves more time for LB today.  And I have to do all the sudokus.  Yesterday was too busy.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 31, 2021, 09:25:41 AM
SB - yesterday I missed CICHLID which is apparently a type of fish. Well, now I know.

LB - my words were ABJURES-STALAGMITE. Not the official solution but I did find JUGULAR and words similar to RESUBMIT (REMIT, REBATES, REGULARITIES, SUBMERGE, SUBJUGATE, SEBUM.)

Hard copy papers today so won't get to the electronic versions for a while.

Happy Sunday! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 31, 2021, 09:38:28 AM
Easy Bee today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2021, 10:45:25 AM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus! I actually thought yesterday's was easier.  Today's was, but it also had a bunch of what I would consider bee or crossword words. 

Ciao_yall, cichlid is the one my husband missed yesterday, too.  Your LB 2fer from yesterday seems more sophisticated than the official solution.

At least I managed to get a 2fer today! If I hadn't messed up the medium sudoku, today would have been a victorious puzzle day.  Oh well, I'll see how hard the hard one is later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 31, 2021, 11:53:01 AM
Genius, 2fer, and husband hasn't even started the Sunday crossword puzzle yet.

Time for a post-brunch nap.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2021, 01:06:47 PM
Greetings, all. Decided to take a nap after a spurt of activity in the morning.

SB yesterday: got hilled because I was trying out the past tense suffix with all the words--didn't even think that hilled would be accepted. I remembered cichlid from an earlier puzzle--had to try out several spellings before finding the right one.

Today's SB was more difficult. Although I found the pangram early on, it took me a while to get to genius. I'm probably around Alpha Bee, and have given up for now. SB wouldn't take brolly or boro, the latter a perfectly good NYC word. Surprising that the NYT doesn't allow it--not surprising after all as the NYT publishes local news only after seeing it on the Post and the Daily News.

LB yesterday--jugular just jumped out at me, and then resubmit. I'd been using the latter word last week, asking students to resubmit assignments that weren't properly formatted or didn't follow the directions. I'm not sure if I'll get to today's as I'm behind with course work.

The crossword dragged, but I completed it, the mini, and the sudokus last night.

Congrats on the QB ab_grp, and the two-fers ab_grp and ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 31, 2021, 02:40:32 PM
Queen for a day!  For the second time ever, I got to QB today.  Congratulations to ab_grp and Langue_doc for making QB yesterday.  I made Beta Bee yesterday and then gave up.

My LB yesterday was different from the official solution--I got materials-subjugate.  I did see jugular, but did not figure out resubmit.  I got a 2-fer today, too. 

I though the hard sudoku was more difficult than usual today.  I got it eventually, but it took a good while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2021, 04:12:31 PM
Lots of accomplishments and naps all around!

Congratulations on 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen.  Way to go on QB, cathwen! Langue_doc, congrats on Alpha (or more...)! Congrats on genius to ciao_yall, and I hope you enjoyed the crossword when your husband finished his role in it.

Regarding "hilled", I have learned the hard way to pretty much try every available prefix and suffix with ever possible root, though I forget at times. 

Oh yeah! I keep forgetting to mention... seems like Android users may now have some other puzzles (vertex, tiles, sudoku, but not LB) in their apps? Husband does.  Not me on my iOS, unfortunately, though I would only do LB on there.    I also noticed on the website puzzle page where I do LB and sudoku that there is a monthly bonus crossword? I don't think I've ever noticed that before.  I will give that one a try tomorrow to see what kind of difficulty level it's aimed at.  I don't see that one in my app, either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2021, 04:33:47 PM
ab_grp, the monthly bonus crossword is out. I usually do the puzzles on my Kindle. I can also access them on my Android phone. I'll have to get back to you later about the monthly bonus on my droid and your other questions/comments.

Crosswords are calling.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2021, 08:22:30 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 31, 2021, 04:12:31 PM


Oh yeah! I keep forgetting to mention... seems like Android users may now have some other puzzles (vertex, tiles, sudoku, but not LB) in their apps? Husband does.  Not me on my iOS, unfortunately, though I would only do LB on there.    I also noticed on the website puzzle page where I do LB and sudoku that there is a monthly bonus crossword? I don't think I've ever noticed that before.  I will give that one a try tomorrow to see what kind of difficulty level it's aimed at.  I don't see that one in my app, either.

I've had access to the crosswords, SB, LB, vertex, tiles, and sudoku for over a year (much longer than that) now on my android phone. The monthly crossword however doesn't show up on the android, but on the kindle, and I'm assuming on the computers as well. I've been doing the monthly as soon as it's released. Not sure if you can access the old monthlies but it wouldn't hurt to contact the Games person at NYT.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 01, 2021, 08:20:47 AM
I have all of the puzzles you listed on my Android phone. I do the Mini, SB and LB. Occasionally Tiles. My screen is a bit small for the Crossword but I sometimes do the Friday or Saturday. My regular crossword is the WSJ.

LB yesterday - FRIGHTEN-NOVELS. Close to the official solution - I even got VISION at one point.

On to today's... happy solving, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2021, 08:35:37 AM
Interesting that the different apps have different games! I've checked for an update, but it doesn't look as though there is one, so I don't know when they might appear in my app.  And I had no idea there was a monthly crossword.  I will give it a try a bit later.

Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall.  I had FRIGHT-TELEVISION, which I guess was the official one.

Quick crossword today, long bee.  Whew.  I am at 313 with 2 pangrams, so about 83%, long way to go yet even to Alpha.

I don't usually read the crossword blog anymore, but I didn't recognize the constructor's name so read the constructor notes.  Pretty impressive! The youngest female constructor to date, a high school student from my old neck of the woods.  Her debut NYT puzzle, and she just started constructing them in August!! Wow.  I also see they have some new games editorial group.

Good luck and have fun, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 01, 2021, 10:14:11 AM
Made it to genius. That's it for today's SB. Haven't looked at LB. Crosswords are done though, including the monthly bonus.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 01, 2021, 10:27:27 AM
Oof, long one today. I'm about halfway there so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2021, 10:28:42 AM
Still not at Alpha, though I've gained a few points (331).  Husband reports existence of a third pangram, which I have not yet found.  Congrats on genius, Langue_doc!

I tried the monthly bonus crossword.  I would maybe put it at a Wednesday or Thursday level?

Some weak contenders in LB, but that's it so far.

ETA:  Good luck, Parasaurolophus! It is really long.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 01, 2021, 11:38:31 AM
I almost gave up as I had found three pangrams before reaching genius. It was mostly playing around with the endings. I won't be grappling with it till the bitter end.

As for the monthly bonus, agree that it's at a midweek difficulty level. It seems that the crosswords are getting easier, but that could be my imagination.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2021, 11:49:15 AM
I just took another look at the bee because I really wanted to get to Alpha, and I finally figured out the third pangram and got past the Alpha threshold! At least now I feel like maybe it's okay to compare lists. But I need to look back at what I have now that the pangram has suggested something to me.  And I kind of don't want to quit at this point! Although I just realized I still have something like 30 points left to QB somehow.  Geez louise.  Maybe giving up would be a kind thing to do for myself.

As for the crossword difficulty, I am slowly making my way through the archives and would definitely say that it seems that the older ones are harder.  I'm back in 1999 right now, and though I can usually do any of the days of the week with little trouble these days, Saturdays (and a lot of Fridays) just seemed a lot tougher back then.  I guess some of it could be currency of pop culture or political references? But I think it's more than that. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 01, 2021, 02:01:38 PM
Ab_grp, congratulations for making Alpha!  That is impressive! 

I finally made genius on today's SB, and am now at Beta, but I don't think I have the wherewithal to persist further.  I found two pangrams, and now that you've mentioned a third, I may pop in and out during the day to see if it occurs to me. 

On yesterday's LB, I got the same as ciao_yall:  FRIGHTEN-NOVELS. 

Today, I got a very strange 2-fer, one of which was overspecialized, and another slangy—even thought LB accepted them—so I looked again and found two more normal words.  I'll be curious to see what others got.

On to the crossword! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2021, 03:23:04 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and congrats on your 2fers and Beta! We eventually gave up, which is good because I don't think we would have found the final three words.  I hope you find the third pangram if you take another look or two at it.

Still no real luck with LB, but I got other stuff done so will go try on that again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 01, 2021, 06:10:39 PM
Trailing back here - SB is still at Amazing, and LB still at 3fers and B4SS. Good candidate words that eat up a lot of letters but don't match up.

Of course, as soon as I post I'll probably find the solution...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: johnr on February 01, 2021, 08:57:57 PM
Excuse my semi-laziness.  What is the Alpha and Beta level to which you all refer?  In my defense, I did a search for the term here and found its use, but not its definition.  I'm semi-lazy because I did not plow through all 60 something pages of posts on this thread. I gather that it is something higher than genius, but less than QB? 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 06:23:25 AM
Greetings, johnr!  To explain the terms:  To get to Genius, you have to get 70% of all possible words.  So Beta Bee is 80%, and Alpha Bee is 90%.  These last two terms were invented in the group (I can't remember offhand who first proposed them).  How to find the maximum number of words?  I use nytbee.com.  There may be other sources as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 02, 2021, 06:30:10 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 01, 2021, 11:49:15 AM


As for the crossword difficulty, I am slowly making my way through the archives and would definitely say that it seems that the older ones are harder.  I'm back in 1999 right now, and though I can usually do any of the days of the week with little trouble these days, Saturdays (and a lot of Fridays) just seemed a lot tougher back then.  I guess some of it could be currency of pop culture or political references? But I think it's more than that.

I distinctly remember being often stumped on Fridays in the good old days before the online editions, when I had to do them manually (pencil on paper). I don't think I spent much time on the Saturday ones, but would check the answers the following day. They were definitely more difficult.

Got to genius on SB. As for yesterday, there were a couple of words that I wouldn't have guessed, but the frustrating part was that a handful of words that I typed on the kindle are missing from my solution--analog, yogi, oily, and a couple more. I don't think I'm going to be spending much more time on today's puzzle.

LB--I wouldn't have thought of the first word in the official solution--I tried rejoin, joint, enjoin, and so on, and had to give up on getting the rest of the letters to form a single word.

Crosswords and sudokus are done, as is vertex.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 02, 2021, 07:56:55 AM
Morning!

I got INCUBATOR yesterday so kudos to all of those who figured out EMOJI! My brain couldn't think of any words that ended with "I" so I stayed on the "R" side of that word in trying to find solutions.

On to today's...

ETA: Already got a 2fer with one of my first words. So maybe there are a few more 2fers in there?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2021, 09:21:08 AM
Welcome, Johnr! The Alpha and Beta levels just give us some interim benchmark goals between Genius and QB, as cathwen described.

I'm at 148 on the bee today (~76%), so a ways to go.  No pangram yet, though husband found one.  It would help to have those points! We missed yogini, longan, and onlay yesterday.  Ugh.  Seems to be picky again today about which words to accept with particular endings.

I never would have gotten the official LB solution yesterday, especially the J word, so echoing kudos to those who have.

Congrats on your 2fer today, ciao_yall! I'll give it a try in a bit, but my computer is doing its random freezing business again. 

Congrats on genius, Langue_doc!

Happy solving, and good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: johnr on February 02, 2021, 10:07:06 AM
Quote from: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 06:23:25 AM
Greetings, johnr!  To explain the terms:  To get to Genius, you have to get 70% of all possible words.  So Beta Bee is 80%, and Alpha Bee is 90%.  These last two terms were invented in the group (I can't remember offhand who first proposed them).  How to find the maximum number of words?  I use nytbee.com.  There may be other sources as well.

Happy solving!

Thanks!  I did not know that Genius = 70% of words! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 11:12:05 AM
Congratulations on genius, Langue_doc, and congrats also to ciao_yall for the 2-fer on LB!

I'm still stuck at Amazing on SB today (Delta Bee?), with only a few points to go until genius, so I'll keep at it.  I have not found the pangram yet.

I found a 2-fer fairly quickly on LB, and I wonder if it's the same as ciao_yall's!  Yesterday I got the official solution (EMOJI-INCUBATOR). 

Now on to the crossword, and then I must finish writing a quiz! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 02, 2021, 11:23:24 AM
Quote from: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 11:12:05 AM
Congratulations on genius, Langue_doc, and congrats also to ciao_yall for the 2-fer on LB!

I'm still stuck at Amazing on SB today (Delta Bee?), with only a few points to go until genius, so I'll keep at it.  I have not found the pangram yet.

I found a 2-fer fairly quickly on LB, and I wonder if it's the same as ciao_yall's!  Yesterday I got the official solution (EMOJI-INCUBATOR). 

Now on to the crossword, and then I must finish writing a quiz!

Maybe. I felt like cathwen when the 2fer came so fast.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2021, 11:34:08 AM
Congrats on the 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen! I have a couple reasonable contenders, but no mates yet.

Made a little more progress on the bee, 163 pts (~83%), and still no pangram! Hope we can find it, cathwen.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 02, 2021, 12:23:36 PM
Got the two-fer.

Spoiler alert for SB. Look at your list of words and see if you can add something before or after one of them.

Haven't made much progress though. Have to update three sections of a module and do some grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 12:49:19 PM
I'm at 150 points on SB, and still no pangram for me, either.  But at least I made genius.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all got for LB!  Congratulations on your 2-fer, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2021, 12:51:53 PM
Just came here to report that I got to Alpha and then finally got the pangram! Take heed of Langue_doc's tip.  I just happened to try it and was surprised.  I'm at ~96% now, but I think I will just give up, with medium sudoku to finish, hard to do, and LB to keep at, among other non-puzzle stuff.

Congrats on genius, cathwen! And congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 03:04:28 PM
Ab_grp, same here!  I'm at Alpha and I did find the pangram.  Oddly, though, it was a word I had already tried--or thought I'd tried--before, but was rejected.  I must have mistyped it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2021, 03:44:30 PM
Quote from: cathwen on February 02, 2021, 03:04:28 PM
Ab_grp, same here!  I'm at Alpha and I did find the pangram.  Oddly, though, it was a word I had already tried--or thought I'd tried--before, but was rejected.  I must have mistyped it.

Hooray!! It is not fun thinking you already tried something that ends up working, but congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2021, 07:24:56 AM
Greetings, all!

SB--stuck at amazing, but found the pangram early. Haven't looked at yesterday's solutions yet.

LB--official solution, but only after several attempts.

Crosswords and sudokus are done.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 03, 2021, 07:41:52 AM
Good morning!  I'm just a few points beyond genius on SB, and not sure I'll pursue it any further, as I have to get some real work done today. 

Congratulations, Langue_doc, on LB!  My solution yesterday was similar to the official one—I had CHAMPIONING-GALAXY.  Of course, the official answer, CHOMPING, is a more efficient use of letters. 

I got today's LB, after a bit of hair-pulling.  I kept wanting an R or an N.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2021, 07:57:16 AM
LB - CHOMPING-GALAXY. I found GALAXY first and after a little playing around with "ING" it came together.

SB - Thanks Langue_doc for the tip - finally found the panagram.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 08:26:45 AM
Good morning, all!

I'm at about 79% on the bee today and found the pangram right away but am struggling at this point.  Seems like some words that are not too recent, so I guess the familiarity does help on other days.

Congrats on all the 2fers yesterday in LB.  Wow, I was not near the solutions despite having a better contender list than usual.  I kept trying to make PHALANX work in the beginning, but no luck.  Congrats on already getting a 2fer, cathwen!

Time to start sudokus...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2021, 08:27:48 AM
Just popped in to say that this is my most favoritest thread ever.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2021, 08:44:15 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 03, 2021, 08:27:48 AM
Just popped in to say that this is my most favoritest thread ever.

Awww. You are so positive.

I just popped in to say that SB won't take PHTHALATE which is about to ruin my day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 08:53:36 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 03, 2021, 08:27:48 AM
Just popped in to say that this is my most favoritest thread ever.

Totally agree!!

Ciao_yall, that is quite a word.  Sorry it wouldn't take it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2021, 09:34:34 AM
2fer! Not sure if it's official but I'll keep it.

In the sludge of "Amazing" and finding odd little words I missed... but haven't tipped into "Genius" yet." Did find the panagram.

ETA: Genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 11:04:54 AM
Hurrah on genius and a 2fer, ciao_yall!

I found a couple more words, at 152 now (84%), but still a ways to go.  Tough one! Only one contender for LB so far, but I did get the medium sudoku done.  I have to do a bunch of Duolingos (and real work) or risk slipping out of Diamond league, which would be tough to get back into.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2021, 11:19:38 AM
Good luck with your projects, ab_grp, and congratulations on scoring 152 on a difficult puzzle. I made it to genius and 138.

Congrats on the two-fer, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 12:57:36 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I hope you have good luck if you continue with the bee.  We finally gave up and compared, short of my goal, but I was totally stumped.  Husband had no words to donate, and I had to look up the answers.  We were close, but as I suspected we haven't had these letters in quite a while, so a host of words were not in my database. 

I think I have a good contender for LB but need to try to make a mate.  Still working on the hard sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 03, 2021, 01:09:47 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 08:53:36 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 03, 2021, 08:27:48 AM
Just popped in to say that this is my most favoritest thread ever.

Totally agree!!

Ciao_yall, that is quite a word.  Sorry it wouldn't take it.

This is also my favorite thread!  It is so positive and encouraging--rejoicing in each other's successes.

I'm finding SB kind of difficult.  I have the pangram, and I have gone a little beyond genius with 140 points.  But apparently there are 180 possible points and 43 words, and my reaction is...are you kidding me?  But then, that is usually my reaction.  Now, if the Bee were accepting archaic verb forms in -eth, I'd be all set.  Ab_grp, I am impressed by your 152!

OK, back to work.  Hoping for inspiration!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 03:06:44 PM
Good luck with the bee, cathwen! I also tried all the -eths I could think of and probably invented some new ones.  I am dismayed at how close we were to the remaining words, but I guess they were not in the cards today.  I definitely know the feeling of having gotten what seems like really far and exhausted so many avenues and seeing that there are so many points or words left.  Sending bee juju to you and anyone else still working at it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2021, 03:27:35 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 03, 2021, 03:06:44 PM
Good luck with the bee, cathwen! I also tried all the -eths I could think of and probably invented some new ones.  I am dismayed at how close we were to the remaining words, but I guess they were not in the cards today.  I definitely know the feeling of having gotten what seems like really far and exhausted so many avenues and seeing that there are so many points or words left.  Sending bee juju to you and anyone else still working at it!

Hint for LB - it accepts both JUJUBE and BEJESUS. I sooooo wanted to have solutions that included those words the other day...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2021, 05:13:11 AM
Greetings, all.

Congrats on yall's successes yesterday.

LB: found several long words yesterday, but no second word. I wouldn't have thought of coming up with a short first word as in the official solution.

SB: above genius, but not much fun. I might look for more words.

More than halfway through the crossword, and stuck on the mini. I've always completed the mini, so this is a first for me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 04, 2021, 07:48:02 AM
LB today was more difficult than usual, I thought.  I finally found a 2-fer, but it took a while.  Having ER on one side and ING on the other made it quite challenging.

I'm at genius on SB, but just.  I'll probably pop in and out throughout the day to see if I can scrape together any more points. 

I missed a couple of obvious compounds yesterday.  I saw eye, and had teeth, but did not put together eyeteeth! <bonks self on head>

Good luck with the mini, Langue_doc! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 04, 2021, 07:57:44 AM
LB yesterday - FELTS-SUBATOMIC. At first I found  a b4ss solution SUBATOMIC-CLEFT. But a little rearranging and boom.

SB - It took PHAT and HEPTATHLETE but not PHTHALATE? Oh well, I made genius so meh.

On to today's!

Quote from: cathwen on February 04, 2021, 07:48:02 AM
LB today was more difficult than usual, I thought.  I finally found a 2-fer, but it took a while.  Having ER on one side and ING on the other made it quite challenging.


And the Z and the Y? SMDH. I worship you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2021, 08:12:45 AM
Good morning!

Got to alpha today at 122 pts (~95%) but still 8 or so points from QB. 

We missed heptathlete, despite trying hepta everything.  And telehealth, despite trying telehelp, eyehealth, etc.  Heeltap is one we've missed before and will probably miss again.  Cathwen, eyeteeth is one of those I have missed before (and will probably miss again) but got yesterday out of spite. 

I also would not have thought there would be such a short mate word in LB.  I thought umbilicals might get me somewhere, but no.  So congrats on those 2fers yesterday! And congrats to cathwen for already getting one today!

Langue_doc, I usually skate through minis but have had a couple that really confounded me for some reason.  Good luck on it.

At least I have now reinstalled Windows, so hopefully I will not have to deal with all these computer issues and delays.  Fingers crossed.

Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 04, 2021, 08:41:39 AM
SB - hit genius.

LB - Not even a 3fer yet but a few candidate words that eat up a lot of letters. The one letter that keeps hanging me up is a vowel.

Why do I adore this thread?

I enjoy everyone's nerdy energy and solving strategies.

I like being the group laggard. By the time I've hit the thread in the morning you all have given me something to strive for. I get there by the afternoon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2021, 08:46:16 AM
You the group laggard!? Hah!  You're the one who gets the two-fer on a regular basis. As for getting on the thread late, perhaps you're in a different time zone? It's almost noon here.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 04, 2021, 09:22:00 AM
I'm in the Pacific time zone, so I'm sure that's part of it.

Still, I like to imagine us all in our jammies around the kitchen table with our coffee, all of you yelling "2fer! Genius! Alpha" while I flail around grumbling because the site won't take HELLA or PHTHALATE or they put the ING on the same side.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2021, 10:45:52 AM
Yay, I made it to QB! Barely.  Last word was not one I would have thought would be in there given others that weren't, so keep on trying whatever is the motto, I guess.

Ciao_yall, I meant to say thanks for the LB tip yesterday afternoon.  I worked on it on my laptop while Windows was doing its long thing on this computer, but I just couldn't get a solution.  And you definitely bring a lot of LB energy! It is fun being in different time zones.  But I'm not a morning person, so even if it were noon here I'd probably essentially be in the jammies mindset and needing coffee.

I have a contender for LB that I think has potential but am afraid I'm going to focus too much on it to the exclusion of other possibilities that actually lead to success.

Got medium sudoku done, will try hard and then back to LB.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 04, 2021, 12:08:22 PM
Wow, ab_grp, congratulations on QB!  I've made it to Alpha and am running out of ideas, so I'll be amazed if I make QB. 

Ciao_yall, laggard is the last word that comes to mind in your regard! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2021, 01:39:04 PM
While I have internet again, thanks, cathwen! Congrats on Alpha, and I wish you good luck in finding the remaining word(s).  Just keep trying combinations of stuff (as long as you feel like it, obviously!).  Wasn't a super satisfying puzzle, in my opinion. 

Now I've got three pretty good contenders in LB, sans mates.  Still struggling with hard sudoku.  Fortunately, neither need an internet connection once they get going, I guess. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2021, 01:54:56 PM
Congrats, Queen ab_grp. Congrats on the Alpha, cathwen. I'm at Alpha and am trying to make it to QB.

Yesterday--eyeteeth, which I should have found as I've seen it before and also found, but heeltap, heptathlete?? I found telemedicine as I saw the word in some documents that my insurance carrier had sent me.

Gave up on LB--B4SS issues. i--n-g, r-a-e, and y-o-u? Sounds sadistic.

I'm stuck on the crossword. The program tells me that I'm almost there, but all the squares seem to properly filled. I'll have to take another look later as I don't want to lose my streak.

ciao_yall, I like the image of us in our jammies, all of us yelling out our successes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2021, 02:27:02 PM
Congrats on Alpha, Langue_doc! Good luck toward QB! And good luck with the crossword.  Maybe an issue with a person's name (or song name)? There are a couple in there that could be unfamiliar.  Hopefully the crosses will help you figure out the issue.  I would offer assistance but am not sure how to help.  Let me know if there is something I can do.  Sounds like probably not a technical foul, as that aspect is pretty straightforward, and it sounds like you are aware of the deal there.  It's frustrating when the error is elusive.

I agree that the b4ss BS today is something else. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 04, 2021, 03:21:39 PM
Woo-hoo!  QB at last! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2021, 03:53:57 PM
Quote from: cathwen on February 04, 2021, 03:21:39 PM
Woo-hoo!  QB at last!

HOORAY! Congratulations, cathwen! I'll be interested to hear tomorrow if the words that gave us trouble were the same.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 04, 2021, 04:50:35 PM
Got a 2fer!

Sent hints to Langue-doc and ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2021, 04:59:46 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! And thanks for the hint!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2021, 06:26:50 PM
Congrats, cathwen and ciao_yall, and thanks for the hints.

ab_grp, thanks for the offer to help with the crossword. I had all the squares filled, and was still getting the error message, so finally checked the puzzle. it turned out that I had typed a zero instead of 'o'. Headbang! Now I can work on SB and LB.

Woohoo! Got it. Thanks, ciao_yall. There's an alternative solution where the plural form of the second word comes first. So I have two solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2021, 05:18:19 AM
Greetings all.

Genius but no pangram yet. QB yesterday.

LB--found the official solution thanks to ciao_yall's hints. Then I tried 'memorizes' as the first word and the remaining words neatly arranged themselves into 'synagogue'.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2021, 08:03:45 AM
SB - Oh I could have made QB had I stuck with it... all words I knew, but I got all hot and heavy into LB.

LB - Also played with ORGANZA, NOSEGAY but just couldn't connect them.

Congrats to everyone on already giving me a goal for today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2021, 08:38:04 AM
Good morning, all!

Langue_doc, I'm sorry I didn't even think of the 0 versus O issue.  It hasn't happened to me, but I've seen it in the comments numerous times.  I hope you got to keep your streak! Congrats on your QB and 2fers! And yay on genius.    Good luck with the pangram and further progress.

I got to 188 today so far (78%) with one pangram, but it's been interrupt-driven so will spend more time on it later and start on sudokus and LB.  Crossword went pretty quickly, at least.

I still didn't figure out the second word for LB but had the first one.  Oh wait, I still have the puzzle up and think I figured it out.  Yep, that was it.  Well, the first word was my first contender, but I don't think I would have gotten the second one without ciao_yall's hint, so thanks, and I'll sort of take a 2fer win on that one.  Also tried the plural of the first word, plus enzymes and mesozoan.

Have fun!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2021, 09:55:38 AM
Yesterday, found ---SAUR and started researching dinosaur names. Some worked but the LB wouldn't take them so I think we found our limit.

Slow start this morning. Back and forth between grading and puzzles, then long walk and woohoo, lunch outdoors!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2021, 10:18:42 AM
Got to QB, finally! A bunch of points came from filling in blanks by looking at my word list and seeing things I was somehow missing, and then I managed to get the remaining words.  I can report one pangram and no really weird words that I can think of.

Enjoy the outdoors, ciao_yall!

Back to work on the other puzzles...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 05, 2021, 11:27:07 AM
Today, I'm a pangram short of genius. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2021, 11:33:11 AM
Congrats on QB, ab_grp. Found the panagram and finally sneaked into genius. Now I am going to see if I can hit QB without going to the Comments board. I could have done it yesterday, and if you say it's possible without any weird words,  then it's a quest.

Parasaurolophus I feel your pain. I was in "amazing" found the panagram and was still stuck in "amazing" for a few more words! I call it the "amazing tar pit" because it seems like once you are in there it takes forever to get out.

LB is challenging today. I at least got a 4fer which is the official "great job" but you all have me striving for more.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 05, 2021, 11:43:32 AM
Just passed genius, but still pangramless!

Edit: got it as I posted. Phew. On to QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2021, 12:06:37 PM
Congrats on genius and pangrams, Parasaurolophus and ciao_yall! No, I don't think there were any very unusual words (personally, based on previous puzzles), like anything that would make me say "what on earth is that?!".  There is a lot of bookkeeping, which I think I will start calling beekeeping!

No real luck on LB yet, but sudokus are done.

Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 05, 2021, 02:42:15 PM
Congratulations on all the successes!

I got the official solution to LB yesterday, but today's LB has me flummoxed.

In SB, I'm at genius, and probably will stay there.  No pangram yet!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2021, 03:13:47 PM
Congrats all! Just made it to QB. Got stuck on finding the last word which turned out to be a variant of one I'd found early on.

ab_grp, crossword statistics reports my streak as 1. I had to keep telling myself last night that life doesn't revolve around arbitrary streaks.

I've yet to look at LB. It's been a long day. There's still paperwork for two cheaters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2021, 03:19:26 PM
Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I'm sorry about the crossword streak, but yep it's just arbitrary.  Sorry you have to deal with cheaters.

Congrats on genius, cathwen! I forgot to ask what your final word was yesterday.  Mine was "outworn", which I finally just stumbled upon.  Not a great word, I think? I have a couple LB contenders, but no luck yet.  Good luck to you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2021, 04:34:19 PM
Good luck with LB, ab_grp. Got the two-fer. I stumbled on the first word and decided that I liked it so much that I kept trying to get the other letters to form a word.

My final word in yesterday's SB was outro. I got it because I mistyped what I thought was s word.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2021, 04:59:27 PM
Langue_doc awesome! I have a 3fer but no 2fer yet.

For SB I'm at Beta (204 points, 85%) so it's gonna a be a while. Beekeeping, LOL ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2021, 05:49:55 PM
ciao_yall, messaging the hint to you and ab_grp. Read only if you want to.

SB words are mostly familiar ones.

Spoiler alert--one of the words (not the exact word) reminded me of Bugs Bunny's nemesis--rather Bugs Bunny was this character's nemesis. See if you can play around with this word.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2021, 08:43:03 PM
LB - Got it! Thanks Langue_doc! I had already found the first word earlier but couldn't do much with it. Then the reminder of yesterday's bee put me over the edge.

SB - Hit the Comments thread to see if I could polish off the Bee. Got close then stared at Langue_doc!'s hint and Whee! QB!

I can sleep easy now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 06, 2021, 07:08:14 AM
Woohoo, ciao_yall.

Morning, everyone.

Two pangrams in SB, familiar words so far. Not sure what to expect after genius.

Aside: just got home from the liquor store. Nobody drinks sherry anymore. Oh for a smooth amontillado.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2021, 07:56:57 AM
Good morning!

Thanks for the LB hint, Langue_doc! I saw it while on my phone and didn't get back to my computer this morning but took another look and figured out the answer from your clues.  I definitely would not have found that solution on my own! Thanks! I can't seem to look at LB even in a browser on my phone, so I will have to try to take a pic before shutting down for the day in case hints come in.

Congrats on getting the 2fer as well, ciao_yall, and for getting to QB!

I think I am right at the cusp of Alpha today, 118 pts (~89.7%) but I thought I had only found one pangram and don't have enough points left for another, so I will have to go back and look again.  It was pretty quick going for a while, but then I got stuck until I remembered some bee words that have bitten me in the past.  Not sure what's remaining but will try for QB later.

Enjoy the sherry when you get to it, Langue_doc.  I am mostly a red wine person, but husband and his bud had a huge sherry tasting a couple years ago and had picked their favorite.  I think we have a bottle and will go check at some point.  I know pretty much nothing about sherries.

Crossword today was not too hard but had a bit of literature in there, better for those of you with those backgrounds.  On to sudokus.

Good luck!

ETA: Managed to get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 06, 2021, 08:03:12 AM
Oops, only one pangram. I thought I had found one before coffee, but now that I'm checking the letters against my list, I see that there's only one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2021, 08:32:17 AM
LB yesterday - AKIMBO-OUTDREW. I got AKIMBO early on, but couldn't figure out a pairing. OUTDREW feels like a word that SB would not have taken (inter-puzzulality). Yesterday I got 3fers with various combinations of DRUMBEAT, TAIKO, REWORK.

On to today's solving! Plus the WSJ puzzles and a LOR for a student.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 06, 2021, 09:00:05 AM
Congratulations to those who got yesterday's LB!  I never did get that one.  I had a bunch of good words—roadwork, motorbike, iridium, browbeat, but could not find words with the remaining letters.  I did not see AKIMBO!

I did find a 2-fer today, but it might not be the official answer. 

I just got to Beta on SB and will try for more.  Langue_doc, I'm glad you confirmed that there is only one pangram!  I had the pangram, but was twisting and turning letters looking for another. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2021, 09:01:32 AM
Quote from: cathwen on February 06, 2021, 09:00:05 AM
Congratulations to those who got yesterday's LB!  I never did get that one.  I had a bunch of good words—roadwork, motorbike, iridium, browbeat, but could not find words with the remaining letters.  I did not see AKIMBO!

I did find a 2-fer today, but it might not be the official answer. 

I just got to Beta on SB and will try for more.  Langue_doc, I'm glad you confirmed that there is only one pangram!  I had the pangram, but was twisting and turning letters looking for another.

It counts! Congratulations!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2021, 09:13:07 AM
Congrats, cathwen! I will look forward to seeing if we have the same 2fer.  Mine is not super weird, so might be official? Could be more elegant, I guess.  And congrats on Beta!

Got medium sudoku done but working on hard now and then back to the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2021, 09:19:14 AM
I got a super weird 2fer so definitely not official or elegant. But it worked.

Back to SB. Funny how it takes some words that one would think are just a prefix, but not others.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2021, 02:41:35 PM
Well, since we were both up to Alpha (I finally got to 119, so felt more safely in that territory), we decided to compare.  We each donated a word to the other, and I happened to guess the remaining word for a team QB.  In my opinion, definitely could be a tough day because I think there are a lot of bee words in there that will get you if you don't remember them.

Ciao_yall, I am guessing that we have different solutions.  Good luck on the bee.  They definitely are inconsistent about what they accept. 

Still working on hard sudoku, and the next round is due out in 20 minutes! ack.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 06, 2021, 03:38:05 PM
 Congratulations on your QB, ab_grp!

I came to a grinding halt with only two words to go before QB.  In frustration, I checked the answers; one was a word I had never heard before and must have been the only combination of letters that I didn't try!  The other word I had heard, but rarely.  So I'm not kicking myself too hard.

I'll look forward to comparing LB answers tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2021, 04:54:24 PM
Found a cleaner 2fer that is probably the official solution.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 06, 2021, 09:00:51 PM
Congrats all. There's no such thing as an "official" solution, IMHO. Any two words accepted by LB is the correct solution.

Made it to QB. The unusual 4 letter words have appeared in previous puzzles. The only new word was what appears to be a proper noun. I tried the combination and wad surprised that it was accepted.

LB has more than one solution as you can get different sets depending on whether or not you have a plural as the first word.

I'm one square amiss on the crossword. Winter storm warning tomorrow, so will drown my sorrows and worries by tackling the puzzles in the print edition.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2021, 07:17:10 AM
Good morning, all.

Stuck at amazing on the bee. At this point I'm despairing of getting to genius. I keep finding words with 'm'. Aaargh!!!

LB: NYT's solution, noted as "our solution" is jubilation-nexus. I first had several long words that contained either a J or a Z, but couldn't get the two-fer. Then I found the NYT solution, and soon after that, jubilations-sex, and then, jinxes-subtotal. LB today--holy sh$t!

Repeat after me, "There's no such thing as an official solution. LB accepted my words so I have the correct solution."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2021, 08:38:10 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc! And several 2fers, wow! Hope you figured out your crossword issue.  And stay warm and safe in your new round of winter weather.

I got to 148 on the bee so far today, not even to genius yet.  Crossword was not difficult but long as usual for Sunday.  Was going strong on the bee for a while, got a pangram quickly, but now suffering.  I will get back to it later.  Luckily, some letters we have had recently.  And a banner day, as what is probably the most challenged not-accepted word has made its way back in and is accepted.  Whee!

My guess is that "opah" was a tough one yesterday on the bee.  To me, that's a crossword word.  The final word that I happened to guess, which I think was in there before, was pompano.

As for LB, I got JOINS-SUBTEXTUAL.  I got subtext right away and realized I could add some more letters, and then joins was easy with the remaining letters.  I agree, any accepted solution is a victory! I am always just curious about what they come up with.  And, of course, what everyone here comes up with his even more interesting to me. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 07, 2021, 08:50:30 AM
I like the way you think Langue_doc!  My not-official-but-correct LB solution yesterday was SUBJOINS-SEXTAL.

I am tearing my hair out over today's LB.  I have some good words, but they just don't work together!

I just made it to genius on SB, but will be amazed if I get beyond that. 

Maybe I'll turn to the crossword for a while then turn back to LB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 07, 2021, 08:54:15 AM
I'm at 93 on SB, but flagging.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2021, 09:08:48 AM
LB yesterday - my first 2fer was JUBILATES-SEXTON. My second was JUBILATION-NEXUS which was official.

Today's - found a 3fer so we'll see.

SB yesterday - I hit 125 points and, according to the little checkbox thingie, managed to find all the words (with help from the Comments board), but I never got a QB signal. Hmph.

cathwen A 2fer is a 2fer! Sometimes I think mine have been cleaner than the official solution in that I used fewer letters. I still marvel that you found EMOJI.

Parasaurolophus Yeah, I will take a break and do other things. I'm also at 93 points and found the panagram. Sometimes I cruise up to the Wordplay column on the NYT as there is a crowd that sets up hints and tips to finish it off. They start off slow and then get more detailed so it's not like you just give up completely. That's how I found the last few words yesterday.

Plus the NYT Sunday, variety puzzles and so much more!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2021, 09:18:25 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 07, 2021, 07:17:10 AM
LB today--holy sh$t!

After looking at the LB, this made me laugh! Works on several levels.  No real luck on that yet today, but a few mediocre contenders.

Neat that we found so many different 2fers yesterday.

Ciao_yall, sorry you did not get the QB signal! Maybe the app was being wonky.  Uncool, bee!

I got the hard sudoku done, yay! But I am still totally at a loss on yesterday's.  I cannot find a foothold past where I had gotten to, and the cell it lights up as a hint does nothing for me.  I'll keep at it until the new ones come out later.  I feel like I'm getting better at them but am still missing some reasoning approaches.  I was able to use more distant reasoning to capitalize on the hint cell it lit up a couple days ago, but no luck with that so far on yesterday's.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2021, 09:22:57 AM
Good to hear from y'all. Too discombobulated to respond other than to admit defeat with SB--am not a genius. Have to get breakfast so that I can clear my brain.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2021, 10:29:29 AM
Well, I got to 182 pts in the bee (~83%), still a long ways to go.  I think the banana and coffee helped, and now I have had a bagel, so that may help further.  I hope your breakfast helps you, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2021, 12:09:27 PM
Okay, now I'm at 205 on the bee, so got to Alpha but not sure if I will get the remaining 14 or so points for QB.  I think we can safely say there is only one pangram given not enough points left for a second? I have a chance to win the diamond league in Duolingo, so I might spend time on that for a bit but will try again on bee and LB intermittently.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 07, 2021, 12:51:16 PM
Alpha!  That's great, ab_grp.  I'm at 155 points, and don't see myself getting much further. 

Also, LB continues to confound me!  I have spent an outrageous amount of time on it and still have not solved it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2021, 03:46:50 PM
Good luck on Duolingo and congrats on Alpha, ab_grp.

I made it to genius and refuse to torture myself further.

ciao_yall and cathwen, I too like to see what others come up in LB. As for today's puzzle, it's sadistic, so have decided not to put myself in harm's way. Besides, tomorrow's crosswords and sudokus should be out, so onward and upward. Dinner first, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2021, 04:06:21 PM
SB - hit genius. Yay. So just into genius is... Gamma?

LB - Several 3fers, including some close ones. And some good words that eat up a lot of letters but don't leave much to work with. Not there yet.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2021, 04:42:27 PM
Cathwen, there were numerous times during the bee today that I thought that was it, and then I found a bunch of words I should have gotten.  Not sure what it is with the letter arrangement today that lends itself to that kind of nonsense.   Hope you get some more bee or LB success if you continue!

Langue_doc, I made a similar decision with Duolingo that you did with the bee, but more because the guy I dethroned started pulling some BS, and I was going to waste no further time trying to win legitimately.  I hope you enjoy your dinner and tomorrow's puzzles!

I did get a little further in the bee, to 212.  So, 7 or so more points to QB, and I am about out of ideas.  We will probably compare lists next time we take a break.  No real luck on LB, still trying to work on that occasionally.  At least I did conquer tomorrow's medium sudoku and will wait until tomorrow for the hard one before my eyes fall out from too much screen time.

Time for some wine!   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2021, 05:19:16 PM
I sent out my 3fers for you to take a look at. Not all my finds, just the ones I could make 3fers out of.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2021, 08:51:15 PM
I found an online LB puzzle solver and said, WTH, I'll just see what they come up with.

3fers - yeah, we got those.
2fers - WTF? I mean srsly these are words I didn't know were words!

So now I can rest easy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2021, 09:08:25 PM
ciao_yall, I saw your message, but got tied up with long phone calls and prep. I don't have any three-fers alas, as I got into the habit of two or nothing after posting on this thread. The perils of peer pressure!

Glad you got the two-fer. Dare I ask about the solver?

ab_grp, hope you got the crown.

The crossword was easy. One of the clues was about a Queens (NYC) neighborhood, and another a long word that I used here today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2021, 05:42:56 AM
SB: WTF?

LB solution: a toned down WTF?

Pardon the foul language.

Happy solving, all.

ETA Got to amazing with the pangram. Now I need a mere 3 points to reach 44 and genius. That will have to wait until my next break.

ETA2 Two-fer on my first attempt, and genius. Get back to work!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 08, 2021, 06:15:14 AM
Congratulations, Langue_doc!

After much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth yesterday, I gave up on LB.  But today, I got a 2-fer in the second try! 

I'm at genius on SB.  Now I can relax and get some real  work done! (=work for which I am being paid)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 07:57:05 AM
Thanks for the message, ciao_yall! Sometimes I think 3fers can lead to 2fers, but like Langue_doc I have started just going for 2fer or nothing after being motivated here.  I hope today's is easier.  At least I finally figured out how to do LB on my phone, though it's kind of a pain without the keyboard.  I tried it a bit last night, but no luck.  Never would have gotten those words!

Got to QB today after finally identifying the remaining word.  It's so short today! And not any obscure words, that I can recall.  Weird bee.  But alas, no QB on my own yesterday.  We did both get to Alpha, and the one I was missing was "neocon", which I am pretty sure I have missed before.  Oh well, a good run.

Congrats on your 2fers and genius levels, cathwen and Langue_doc!

Regarding the crossword, I saw last evening that Rex Parker had tweeted that it was more like a W or Th in difficulty and took him a minute more than his Monday average, so I was interested to try it out.  I didn't think it was difficult at all (sounds like Langue_doc thought the same) and came in 30 seconds under my Monday average, but I think it just goes to show that each puzzle has a unique interaction with each puzzle solver, no matter what skill level or experience. 

Will work on today's hard sudoku and LB after I get pizza dough made... yes, should probably do some real work too at some point, unfortunately!

Happy Monday solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 08, 2021, 08:08:00 AM
Easy genius this morning; on to the QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 08:44:04 AM
Slowish start, but managed to hit Genius and a 2fer (oops it was a b4ss) on my first cup of coffee.

(Was feeling the pressure when I opened the thread this morning). (Still am)

ETA # 3: Okay, NOW a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 08:51:24 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 07:57:05 AM
Thanks for the message, ciao_yall! Sometimes I think 3fers can lead to 2fers, but like Langue_doc I have started just going for 2fer or nothing after being motivated here.  I hope today's is easier.  At least I finally figured out how to do LB on my phone, though it's kind of a pain without the keyboard.  I tried it a bit last night, but no luck.  Never would have gotten those words!


I screen shot my 3fers and B4SS as I get them so I can keep words that lead to others.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 08:55:00 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 08:51:24 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 07:57:05 AM
Thanks for the message, ciao_yall! Sometimes I think 3fers can lead to 2fers, but like Langue_doc I have started just going for 2fer or nothing after being motivated here.  I hope today's is easier.  At least I finally figured out how to do LB on my phone, though it's kind of a pain without the keyboard.  I tried it a bit last night, but no luck.  Never would have gotten those words!


I screen shot my 3fers and B4SS as I get them so I can keep words that lead to others.

That is a good idea.  I usually just write my contenders and the remaining letters down and hope that the remnants will spark something.  But you are usually more successful than I am at LB, so it seems like you have an approach that works! Congrats on the 2fer!! Oh yeah, that day when ER were on the same side and ING were on the same side, of course ZINGER kept popping into my head. :-(

Congrats on genius, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 08:57:54 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 08:55:00 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 08:51:24 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 07:57:05 AM
Thanks for the message, ciao_yall! Sometimes I think 3fers can lead to 2fers, but like Langue_doc I have started just going for 2fer or nothing after being motivated here.  I hope today's is easier.  At least I finally figured out how to do LB on my phone, though it's kind of a pain without the keyboard.  I tried it a bit last night, but no luck.  Never would have gotten those words!


I screen shot my 3fers and B4SS as I get them so I can keep words that lead to others.

That is a good idea.  I usually just write my contenders and the remaining letters down and hope that the remnants will spark something.  But you are usually more successful than I am at LB, so it seems like you have an approach that works! Congrats on the 2fer!! Oh yeah, that day when ER were on the same side and ING were on the same side, of course ZINGER kept popping into my head. :-(

Congrats on genius, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus!

Yeah, then I stare at them in between rounds to see if I can find some patterns. I know I'm getting warm when my 3fers include weird little words like KIR, GAP, etc to use up a final letter or transition between two longer ones.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 08, 2021, 09:10:42 AM
Whew, made it to QB! It's been a little while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 09:28:04 AM
Congrats on the QB, Parasaurolophus!!

Ciao_yall, I also tend to notice that there are common letters in the ones remaining from my contenders, so I know I need to try to make use of particular ones.  It obviously doesn't always or often lead to success, but sometimes it does. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2021, 02:17:27 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 07:57:05 AM

Regarding the crossword, I saw last evening that Rex Parker had tweeted that it was more like a W or Th in difficulty and took him a minute more than his Monday average, so I was interested to try it out.  I didn't think it was difficult at all (sounds like Langue_doc thought the same) and came in 30 seconds under my Monday average, but I think it just goes to show that each puzzle has a unique interaction with each puzzle solver, no matter what skill level or experience. 


The crossword was most definitely not a W/Th level. Standards are getting lower everywhere.

Congrats all on QBs and two-fers.

Yesterday I missed the eco-words and a few others. Tepee somehow didn't get entered despite it being my first word. LB wasn't too bad given the -ing and -er configurations today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 03:32:55 PM
Oops, I had a mistake in my recollection that I found when I just went back to see if he said more about his issues with it.  Rex Parker said today's was more like a T or W.  https://twitter.com/rexparker/status/1358562490972520451 Sorry about that.  Still, I didn't think it was difficult, not W level (and certainly not Th... again, my mistake!). 

I finally got a 2fer! And my initial word used all except one letter, so it was very, very easy to find a mate! Whee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2021, 03:56:32 PM
Woohoo ab_grp. There are probably several solutions today.

Rex Parker seems to be overly optimistic about the difficulty levels as this crossword (CW) was a very easy one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 04:06:03 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I wonder if it's ever been possible to get a pangram 1fer.  Rex P. often gripes about the Shortz-era puzzles, but I was surprised that he thought this one was harder than a typical Monday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 05:05:13 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 04:06:03 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I wonder if it's ever been possible to get a pangram 1fer.  Rex P. often gripes about the Shortz-era puzzles, but I was surprised that he thought this one was harder than a typical Monday.

I recall we had a 1fer, B4SS maybe a month ago. LEXICOGRAPHY would have been the word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2021, 06:14:13 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 05:05:13 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 04:06:03 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I wonder if it's ever been possible to get a pangram 1fer.  Rex P. often gripes about the Shortz-era puzzles, but I was surprised that he thought this one was harder than a typical Monday.

I recall we had a 1fer, B4SS maybe a month ago. LEXICOGRAPHY would have been the word.
I remember that one  Just got my second two-fer.

The crosswords used to be much more difficult in the Will Shortz era, and even more challenging when Eugene Maleska was the editor. The clues were also different--I remember struggling with anagrams.

ETA The young'uns should take a look at those.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2021, 06:24:44 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 08, 2021, 03:32:55 PM
Oops, I had a mistake in my recollection that I found when I just went back to see if he said more about his issues with it.  Rex Parker said today's was more like a T or W.  https://twitter.com/rexparker/status/1358562490972520451 Sorry about that.  Still, I didn't think it was difficult, not W level (and certainly not Th... again, my mistake!). 

I finally got a 2fer! And my initial word used all except one letter, so it was very, very easy to find a mate! Whee.

You have me curious right now! Can't wait for the big reveal tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 09, 2021, 06:36:18 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Ab_grp, I am also dying to see your 2-fer! 

My LB yesterday was PROWLING-GRACKLE.  I'm curious to see what everyone else got, especially Langue_doc, who got two 2-fers!

Today's LB was a bit challenging, but I finally found a 2-fer.

I missed QB yesterday by one word—googol.  I would never have guessed that in a million years.  Today's SB apparently has three pangrams, but I've only found two. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2021, 07:34:28 AM
cathwen, congrats on your two-fer.

My first pair was packing-growler, and then I found prowling-grackle (lots of grackles in some local parks). I haven't had a chance to look at today's puzzle.

The three pangrams aren't too difficult--more like variations on the same theme. As for googol, I remember seeing it on an earlier puzzle, but I still don't know what it means.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 07:43:53 AM
Good morning!

Wow, cathwen, you already found a 2fer?! Congrats! Mine was COP-POWERWALKING.  I had been trying a ton of -ing including cowering, tried powering and something clicked.  I still want to see if it's ever possible to get a true 1fer!

Sounds like cathwen and Langue_doc both had solutions similar to the official one.  I would prefer the growler (of beer) Langue_doc found than a glower.

As for googol, I am familiar but still got it pretty late in the game.  Just started into todays but got 2 pangrams.  I will keep my out for a third, thanks! First crosswords and definitely coffee.

Happy Tuesday solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 07:47:43 AM
Yesterday managed to get QB, woohoo. Last word was LULU.

My LB was PACKING-GLOWER which was the official solution but I like ab_grp's much better!

On to today's.

ETA: Genius, 3fer. Hope the 2fer comes soon. cathwen whatever vitamins you are taking every morning, I need some.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 08:42:37 AM
Congrats on your QB, ciao_yall! Lulu is one of those that tends to escape me.  I think of it as somewhat a bee/crossword word.  And yay on your official 2fer yesterday and genius today! I'm sure you will get your 2fer.  I could also use some of cathwen's vitamins.  Looks like some tough letters to deal with today.

It helped to know that there was a third pangram, so thanks, Langue_doc! I got to 132, so Alpha with 7 or so points to go, but I am stuck again for now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 09:59:40 AM
Can't modify, but I finally got QB!

Still working on medium sudoku, and only one contender so far for LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 09, 2021, 10:07:13 AM
QB!  Congratulations, ab_grp! 

I am stuck with one long word to go (1 word, 9 points. Ugh!). I have the three pangrams, though.  But at least I made Alpha, so that is some consolation.  I'll keep spinning those letters...


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 10:50:57 AM
Quote from: cathwen on February 09, 2021, 10:07:13 AM
QB!  Congratulations, ab_grp! 

I am stuck with one long word to go (1 word, 9 points. Ugh!). I have the three pangrams, though.  But at least I made Alpha, so that is some consolation.  I'll keep spinning those letters...

Congrats on Alpha! And I know which word you mean.  Not difficult, but one of those inconsistencies, like why accept that and not other similar things.  Good luck.  You've got this!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 12:49:39 PM
Can't modify again, but I managed to get a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2021, 01:09:09 PM
Congrats on QBs and two-fers.

SB wasn't too bad, but I still get frustrated because the program keeps rejecting 'kine'.

There was only one word that gave me trouble, but I managed to chase it down.

Other than noting the q and z, I haven't made any progress on LB. But the other puzzles are done.

cathwen, I think I know the elusive word; it's something that would come to mind if you're an outdoors person.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 02:55:11 PM
If anyone would like a hint about anything, let me know, and if I'm still around I will be happy to provide one.

Sounds like you got QB, Langue_doc, so congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2021, 03:41:30 PM
Thanks, ab_grp, I'll take you up on your offer.

Yes, I did get to QB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 03:58:44 PM
Hooray! Hope the hints help.

I'm trying a new strategy with the sudokus I can't complete.  Tell it to give me a hint so it highlights a cell, figure out possibilities for cell, print as many copies of puzzle filled in with all my entries and candidates as there are possibilities, and follow each possibility to completion or a conflict.  I am hoping it will help me see what I am missing when I can't get any further.  Anyway, it's an experiment.  Luckily, my first case involved only two possibilities.  One led to a solution, the other eventually led to needing two numbers to fit into one cell.  But it took a long path to get there! I was going to try that with today's hard puzzle, and asked it for the hint cell, but I ended up solving it myself by going back through diligently row by row, column by column, container by container, etc. and finding that I had not noticed particular restrictional information. 

I honestly do not know how you consistent sudoku solvers (I think of Langue_doc and cathwen, here) do it.  Kudos!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:17:48 PM
Lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet. Lots of tricky letters and I haven't found the one that gobbles up enough of them to make a 2fer.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 04:50:55 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:17:48 PM
Lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet. Lots of tricky letters and I haven't found the one that gobbles up enough of them to make a 2fer.

I'll send you my hints (with space in case).  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:55:58 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 04:50:55 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:17:48 PM
Lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet. Lots of tricky letters and I haven't found the one that gobbles up enough of them to make a 2fer.

I'll send you my hints (with space in case).  Good luck!

Thanks! Once you pointed out the first word, I had already found the second word. Woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 05:02:32 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:55:58 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 04:50:55 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:17:48 PM
Lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet. Lots of tricky letters and I haven't found the one that gobbles up enough of them to make a 2fer.

I'll send you my hints (with space in case).  Good luck!

Thanks! Once you pointed out the first word, I had already found the second word. Woohoo!

Hooray! Glad to help! Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2021, 06:36:17 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:55:58 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 04:50:55 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:17:48 PM
Lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet. Lots of tricky letters and I haven't found the one that gobbles up enough of them to make a 2fer.

I'll send you my hints (with space in case).  Good luck!

Thanks! Once you pointed out the first word, I had already found the second word. Woohoo!

I too had the second word along with others containing the q. Thanks for the hint ab_grp, as it helped me get the first word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 07:15:17 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 09, 2021, 06:36:17 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:55:58 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 09, 2021, 04:50:55 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 09, 2021, 04:17:48 PM
Lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet. Lots of tricky letters and I haven't found the one that gobbles up enough of them to make a 2fer.

I'll send you my hints (with space in case).  Good luck!

Thanks! Once you pointed out the first word, I had already found the second word. Woohoo!

I too had the second word along with others containing the q. Thanks for the hint ab_grp, as it helped me get the first word.

Yay and congrats! Sounds like you were both headed in the right direction anyway.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 10, 2021, 05:54:34 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 09, 2021, 01:09:09 PM

cathwen, I think I know the elusive word; it's something that would come to mind if you're an outdoors person.

I remembered this hint when I woke up in the middle of the night and said "Oh, sh$t". My apologies, cathwen. I still can't figure out how I confused 'hike' with 'hitchhike'--probably because I haven't been on any hikes with any of the outdoors groups in such a long time.

Made it to genius today, and have yet to look at LB.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 10, 2021, 06:37:38 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc, even if it wasn't the hint you meant to send.  I did not find hitchhike, but I am happy enough just to have come within one point of QB for the second day in a row—an improvement over past performance.  Not sure how today will go!  I've gotten to Amazing so far.  Congratulations on Genius!

I got the official solution to LB yesterday—HAZARDOUS-SQUEAKY—and found a 2-fer today on my first try, which almost never happens. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 10, 2021, 08:17:18 AM
Quote from: cathwen on February 10, 2021, 06:37:38 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc, even if it wasn't the hint you meant to send.  I did not find hitchhike, but I am happy enough just to have come within one point of QB for the second day in a row—an improvement over past performance.  Not sure how today will go!  I've gotten to Amazing so far.  Congratulations on Genius!

I got the official solution to LB yesterday—HAZARDOUS-SQUEAKY—and found a 2-fer today on my first try, which almost never happens.

You nearly always have a 2fer before I have poured my first cup of coffee!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2021, 08:31:00 AM
Good morning!

I thought hitchhike was pretty tough.  There are so many compound or compound-ish words they don't accept, and it's unusual to have HH back to back.  My final word was kinetic, but I think hitchhike was probably penultimate.

Got to 182 today, still 6 or so points from Alpha, and am stumped so will do other stuff for a bit and hope something comes to me.  Got some sudokus and LB to do, or at least try.

Congrats on your quick 2fer, cathwen! You certainly have a knack for LB!

And congrats on genius so far, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2021, 09:37:57 AM
Well, I got a 2fer! Guessing it is probably not the official solution, but who knows.  Victory!

Got medium sudoku done, now time for a break and another attempt at the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 10, 2021, 10:14:00 AM
2fer counts, ab_grp! Official, schmofficial.

Genius on SB.

Still fooling with LB today, will play some more later.

Thanks to ab_grp I got the 2fer. SQUEAKY came early, but I was stuck on RAZOR for my Z word and somehow HAZARD never popped out. Funny because I had a boss whose last name was Hazard, many years ago.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2021, 10:51:27 AM
Yeah, I am always happy to get a 2fer, but when it seems to possibly be unofficial I figure it might be worth mentioning so in case that indicates there could be several solutions/opportunities.  Thanks!! Also very welcome on the help.  Usually I am on the receiving end!

And congrats on genius, ciao_yall!

I did manage to get to Alpha + (194), but I am really stumped on what else could be in the bee.  I found a couple words that I probably should have already gotten, so maybe there are others like that, but I am having a hard time figuring it out.

Still struggling with the hard sudoku, naturally.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2021, 02:05:33 PM
And finally got to QB.  I had gotten up to 199, then had to have a meeting I foolishly set up with my co-author (taking time away from puzzles!), went to have a break after, and bam.  Saw the final word.  Still totally flummoxed on hard sudoku, however.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 10, 2021, 02:07:55 PM
2-fer, yay. Messy but I'll keep it.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 10, 2021, 02:50:47 PM
Finally made it to QB. The words were all familiar ones. I don't think I'll be able to tackle LB as I'm getting ready for a long Zoom session and tomorrow's crosswords soon after that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2021, 04:41:15 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! Looking forward to seeing the assorted LB solutions tomorrow and which is considered schmofficial.

Congrats on QB, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 11, 2021, 07:27:31 AM
Good morning! 

So what did everyone get for yesterday's LB?  The "official" solution was POETIC-CAULDRON, but I got PLATONIC-CURDLE. 

I found a 2-fer on today's after some hair-pulling.  I hate it when E and R are on the same side! 

I missed inclining and clinician on yesterday's SB, which is annoying, because I should have seen them.  Today's SB is...coming along.  I'm at amazing.  Not so sure I'll make genius today, but who knows! 

Congratulations on yesterday's QBs, Langue_doc and ab_grp! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 11, 2021, 07:49:06 AM
LB - I got PONE-ELUCIDATOR.

Yesterday's New Yorker came with a crossword puzzle so plenty of diversions for today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2021, 08:42:00 AM
Good morning!

I got PERITONEAL-LUCID on the LB yesterday.  Lots of solutions!

Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen!

Inclining was my final word yesterday! I had even tried clin and cline and out of desperation, but it just hit me when I looked at it some time later.  Clinician I try to keep in my clinic-clinical-clinician group, but I think my husband also missed that one despite him being the one who usually finds the trio.

Today's bee is very long!! Several pangrams so far.  I'm at 304 points, so genius but not even near Alpha yet.  Wow.  Time to check out the other puzzles from today.  I thought the crossword was clever in retrospect.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 11, 2021, 09:33:16 AM
I'm at 240 in the bee, and many pangrams (three or four). Time for a break.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 11, 2021, 09:58:41 AM
Made it to genius this morning, and lost count of the pangrams along the way. I think this is it for today.

My last word yesterday was 'clinic'. Took me a long time to find this one. I found clinical and clinician early on, so don't know why this one didn't even occur to me until I started looking for the missing word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2021, 10:47:13 AM
I made it to Alpha plus a bit after another pattern popped out at me.  So 373 so far.  Still nearly 20 points to QB! Yikes. 

Computer had an error and restarted, so I lost the weird hard sudoku yesterday and can't seem to find any archived puzzles or solutions online.  I might write to ask if they are available or could be made available, because I also lost the one from a couple days ago that I was working on, but at least I have that printed.  Ugh.  In any case, off to the medium and hard for today and then back to LB and the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 11, 2021, 12:11:16 PM
SB is a slog today.  I'm at 316 points so far, so I just made Beta.  I didn't think I'd spend so much time on it, but I'm now doing my Webex office student hour; of course no one is showing up, so I have to find some way to amuse myself!

Ab_grp, congrats on Alpha! 

I'm also enjoying all the different solutions to LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 11, 2021, 04:22:47 PM
Genius, lost count of panagrams!

And, a 2fer. Kind of a disappointing 2fer because I had some fun words that ultimately were didn't fit the 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2021, 04:48:11 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and congrats on Beta! I hope you had some additional luck, too.  We finally quit at 375 pts.  I guess we could have gotten the remaining words, but I doubt it would have happened any time soon.  I guess this long puzzle was to balance out that really short one from a few days ago.

Congrats on genius and your 2fer, ciao_yall! A solution is a solution.  Maybe one with a fun word will pop into your mind later!

ETA: finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 11, 2021, 05:53:47 PM
I haven't had any time for SB, but miracle of miracles, found a two-fer. I think I'm just over 300 in SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 11, 2021, 10:45:32 PM
Whew, made it! Had a look just before bed and found another pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 12, 2021, 07:44:12 AM
I got the official solution which was JILTED-DOWNPOUR. Really wanted to do something with JULEP.

On to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2021, 08:12:43 AM
Congrats, Langue_doc and Parasaurolophus!

Ciao_yall, I got that solution as well.  I had had JILTED as one of my few J possibilities, and luckily looking at it on my phone later on helped me find DOWNPOUR.  I'll go check out today's in a sec.

Got to 174 so far today on the bee, so not Alpha yet.  Currently stumped.  Only one pangram so far.  Yesterday's was just loooong and a lot of beekeeping.  We missed indie, edenic, and coifed (though we got coiffed! argh).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 12, 2021, 09:24:16 AM
Mine too was jilted-downpour. Got to amazing this morning before my 60+ mile round trip, mostly on the parkways. Now I have to complete vertex, then SB, and only then LB. Priorities, priorities (can't get the schm- to work on this word). There's also the coursework and grading.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 12, 2021, 09:51:37 AM
I also got JILTED-DOWNPOUR.  I found a 2-fer today, but I have a feeling that when we compare tomorrow, we'll have a variety of answers. 

I've reached genius in SB with 161 points so far.  I'll keep coming back to it throughout the day.  Not sure Beta, much less Alpha or QB, are in the cards today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 12, 2021, 09:57:19 AM
2fer on LB already.

SB is a bit of a slog. Won't take OLLA (crossword-prejudice!) or HELLA (anti-California-itis.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2021, 11:31:22 AM
Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall! I am still working on it but have some good contenders at least.

Not much more luck on the bee, now stuck at 185.  I am not sure I'll even get to Alpha today.  I am really stumped.

Good luck to us all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 12, 2021, 12:37:02 PM
Well, ab_grp, you're ahead of me.  I'm at 178, so at least I made Beta.  But I agree with ciao_yall, it's a slog.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2021, 12:40:21 PM
I think we should celebrate Beta every day, but today for sure.  I just took another crack at it for 15 or so minutes straight and got nowhere.  Still something like 35 points left to QB! I was complaining that yesterday's didn't have enough interesting words, but this one's words might be too interesting for me to find.  I have no idea.  Husband and I may just end up comparing lists at the next break at this rate.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 12, 2021, 03:39:44 PM
Made it to 186. I just looked at yesterday's solution--deice? Now that I'm typing, I get it. It's still pronounced as a bisyllabic word? I kept saying it with the pronunciation for 'dice' to see if it reminded me of any words and only then did I hit on de-ice.

Tried a few words with LB, but no solutions yet.

Did anyone get the crown--QB?

ETA Congrats on your combined scores, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2021, 03:48:16 PM
Congrats on 186, Langue_doc! We stopped when I had 185, compared, and got to 195 I think after donating back and forth (still not Alpha!).  I finally ran the program and had to supplement with answers from the answer site.  Good gravy.  We have missed some of these before but probably would not have found them.  Ugh!

Will get back to LB and hard sudoku. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 12, 2021, 07:11:16 PM
SB - gave up when I tipped into genius (YAY!) Then got re-inspired when the WSJ crossword puzzle suggested another word. It worked, so I hit the comments board and hit 210 so Alpha. Yes, it's a tricky one today. Still won't see Queen Bee as even the super clues weren't enough to Google.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 13, 2021, 06:29:54 AM
Yesterday's SB: enhalo? agelong? galena? The Kindle keeps correcting all three.  I often miss naan, nana, gala, gaga, and gonna, so can't blame Kindle for these omissions.

Genius today with the pangram.

LB was whimper/recreation and cowcatcher/repairman. I'd been trying to find a compound with 'cow' for most of the evening--well, not quite 'most', but I did make an effort. I like my second pair as it reminds me of trains, and because I've always tried to imagine cows getting scooped up by cowcatchers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 13, 2021, 08:14:02 AM
Well, I quit at 178 yesterday on SB.  I can't believe I missed naan, allele, and haggle.  But enhalo?  And, it accepted gonna, but not hella.   I kept seeing Ganelon, the evil villain of La Chanson de Roland, but of course could not use it. 

I got to genius on today's SB, but have not yet found the pangram. 

Langue_doc, I love cowcatcher/repairman!  And I've always wondered if cowcatchers did, in fact, catch cows (or were effective in coaxing them off the tracks).

My LB answer yesterday was WHOMP-PRECANTATION.  I tried precantation after getting whomp--I'd never heard the word before, and thought it was iffy--but was surprised when LB accepted it.  I found a 2-fer today that seems a lot more 'normal'.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2021, 08:25:50 AM
Yes, enhalo was the word in the WSJ puzzle that made me decide to restart.  In the end I missed gage and nonagonal. One of the hints on the comments board was essentially the Wikipedia entry for longan. I think the SB writers are kicking it up a notch.

Yesterday's LB was whimper-recreation. Not as clean as the official solution (and I love cowcatcher-repairman, Langue_doc). I need to think about more compound words when doing LB.

On to today's...
 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 13, 2021, 08:45:14 AM
Good morning!

Sounds like we had a lot of similar issues with yesterday's bee.  We also missed naan, despite usually getting that one.  The program had to give me that one and gonna (argh!), the database gave me longan (argh, just missed that one recently!) and agelong (also recently missed), and the answer site gave me enhalo and edenic.  Oh well! It burns my bucket that they will take enhalo but not so many of the other en- words, let alone non- words.

Good job all around on LB yesterday, too! Lots of solutions! I was trying to make WHAMP work so I could go with my contender PRECONCEPTION. No go, and I forgot to get back to it.  Langue_doc, you made me realize I don't really know what happened to the cows that were caught with cow catchers. 

I'm at 149 on bee today, so just about at Alpha? About 17 points left, so I guess there could be another pangram and that's it, or a few words. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2021, 09:06:55 AM
I think a cowcatcher was designed to scoop the critter off the tracks rather than have it hit by the train and block all that commerce. Not sure people were too concerned about the state of the cow as long as the trains could keep running.

Today's LB is a snarl of B4SS blocks! Managed to get a "congrats you solved in 6 words" but puh-leeze. They don't know what a fast crowd I'm running with these days.

ETA: SB wouldn't take (decided to remove it in case people don't like the fact that it might suggest other words).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2021, 03:19:37 PM
Update - genius on SB.

2fer on LB but not official as the magic system says it's not a word, even if it is a word. So I'm keeping it for now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 13, 2021, 05:28:12 PM
Congrats on genius, ciao_yall! And if you have even an unaccepted solution, you are further than I am on LB.  I have what I think is a good contender but need to find a mate.  I'll try to work on it a bit on and off tonight on my phone.

I don't know how the rest of the crowd is feeling, but I'm not feeling too fast today! We got derailed when husband had to go into work for something quick that ended up being 10+ hours, poor guy is still not home yet and won't be for a while.  I haven't looked at the bee since out of consideration for my bee buddy, so hopefully we can take a look at some point or just give up at rounded to Alpha.

Did get today's and tomorrow's sudokus done, plus some real work and chores.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 13, 2021, 05:52:28 PM
Today's puzzles are a drag. 140 points on SB and no progress on LB. It's two-fer or bust, so it's going to be a bust.

Sudokus are done; I'll deal with the crossword tomorrow.

Goodnight all, and Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2021, 07:08:45 PM
Went to the cheat site for LB and... headdesk. I had the first word but not the second. Surprisingly close to my illegal 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2021, 08:55:57 AM
Good morning, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Ciao_yall, it's great if you had even one of the words.  I got stuck trying to make MAHARAJA work. 

I saw a note on the crossword that it might not render well in iOS14, but I figured I could skip over to the website version if need be.  Seemed to work out similarly to husband's on Android, though I didn't understand why some of the theme stuff was done that way. 

Oh yeah, when things finally settled last night, we compared bee lists and figured we each had one word the other didn't have given # points and # words.  It ended up that we complemented each other and got to QB! Today I'm at 159, so not even at Beta yet.  One pangram so far.

My valentine may have to go into work again, in the building snowstorm, so I guess I'll do Duolingos and real work until the next sudokus come out in the afternoon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 14, 2021, 09:05:48 AM
Morning!

Today's LB is appropriate for today's theme. Got the two-fer without much effort.

Stuck on genius.

ab_grp, hope the roads aren't too treacherous for your valentine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2021, 09:17:15 AM
Thanks for the good thoughts, Langue_doc.  I am really crossing my fingers that he doesn't have to go.  And thank you for the hint! I was wondering if it would be day-appropriate, and your hint easily led me to a 2fer!  I had been chasing down several contenders in the wrong direction, so yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 14, 2021, 09:27:23 AM
SB yesterday wouldn't take "boffin."

LB - My illegal solution was JEWEL-LITHOGRAM. Lithogram is a thing per Google but the puzzle wouldn't take it, and it isn't in the dictionary. I also spent a lot of time playing with MAHARAJA. 

On to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 14, 2021, 10:01:37 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 14, 2021, 09:27:23 AM

LB - My illegal solution was JEWEL-LITHOGRAM.


Mine, too! Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 14, 2021, 10:14:31 AM
Genius, 2fer, achieved.

"Logarithm" was a tricky one with the 3 consonants in a row. At one point logjam was a contender, b4ss.

Okay, time to fetch the old-school papers and get my puzzles on!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2021, 10:29:41 AM
I think the illegal solution should be accepted.  Congrats! Yep, the ones with consonants in a row like that can definitely be hard to spot.

Finally got to Alpha, barely, at 189.  It would be nice to have an E.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 14, 2021, 12:30:04 PM
Happy Valentine's Day, fellow word puzzle lovers!

I clawed my way to Beta yesterday on SB before giving up.  Although I got belief, oddly, I missed nonbelief, the one pangram! 

Today's SB is at genius, with dim hopes of getting further.  We'll see.  I did, at least, get the pangram.  Ab_grp, congratulations on Alpha!

As for LB, I got yesterday's "official" solution.  But I also vote to make LITHOGRAM acceptable!  Phooey on the LB judges! 

Yesterday, I got  LOGARITHM first, and then JEWEL popped out at me.  I got today's LB with its season-appropriate theme. 


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2021, 02:28:02 PM
Cathwen, Beta is great, and they are so inconsistent about what non- and en- words they will take, as well as what suffixes are acceptable with which roots.  It is quite irksome.  Husband and I were just talking recently about which non- words they tend to take, and they seem usually to be words in which the non- is required (e.g., nonchalant, nonillion, nonagaon, nonagonal).  Now nonbelief? I am in disbelief. ;-)

We finally gave up and compared lists so we could move on, and we still had a couple words to look up.  Missed a couple easy ones that we usually get, as well as one that is slightly more obscure, but definitely not unknown or too, too unfamiliar. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 15, 2021, 08:08:44 AM
This morning: Bee - genius. LB - 3fer. But ouch.

cath_wen, thinking about your approach from yesterday. I tend to attack the hard letters like J and W and see what emerges. You went the opposite route. So today with an X and a Z maybe that will work better?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2021, 08:49:34 AM
Good morning!

Bee has gone pretty quickly, but I still have one four-letter word left until QB! Argh!! Husband caught up and only has one five-letter word left, so we each have each other's words but won't compare just yet.  I figure we should each be able to figure out the remaining word.  Maybe!

Rex P. again said that the crossword was harder than a typical Monday.  This time I might agree due to some of the crosses.  I think it probably took about a minute more than average Monday.  Not too bad, though once some things became evident.

Looks like some fun letters on LB, and I still have today's hard sudoku to start.

Have fun!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 15, 2021, 08:58:44 AM
Easy Bee fr me, too. Now to try LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 15, 2021, 09:07:02 AM
Got a 2fer just now. That was faster than expected.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 15, 2021, 09:09:03 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 15, 2021, 08:49:34 AM
Rex P. again said that the crossword was harder than a typical Monday.  This time I might agree due to some of the crosses.  I think it probably took about a minute more than average Monday.  Not too bad, though once some things became evident.


I got thru the puzzle pretty quickly except had one wrong letter. Darn Hawaiians...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 15, 2021, 09:20:16 AM
I'm one point from Alpha on SB, but LB came pretty easily in spite of the X and Z.   

Yesterday, I actually got BUTCHER-ROMANTIC first, and then saw ROMANTIC-CHERUB, more in keeping with the Valentine's Day theme!

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your 2-fer, and also to those who are near QB!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 15, 2021, 10:13:57 AM
Morning!

Genius, crossword and vertex done.

Back to grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2021, 10:46:53 AM
Congrats on all the bee progress.  Sounds like you got to QB, Parasaurolophus! I finally got my remaining word after trying all possible combos I could think of.  None of them worked, then I looked at it again and saw the pretty obvious word.  Husband also managed to get his remaining word.  Yay!

Cathwen, congrats on already getting a 2fer today and two 2fers yesterday! No progress on that front yet, but I finished the hard sudoku so will go give it a try.  It's great to be so close to Alpha.  I see QB in your future.

And congrats to ciao_yall on the quick 2fer as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2021, 06:26:59 AM
Morning!

Missed gavage and uvea yesterday. As for today's puzzle, made it to 211.

LB: hazelnut and toxic; today's doesn't look too bad, but haven't spent much time on it.

Happy solving, everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 16, 2021, 07:15:06 AM
Morning! Also got hazelnut and toxic as well. Hit QB yesterday with some help from the comments board.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 16, 2021, 07:48:36 AM
Good morning!  So, did we all get the official answer yesterday for LB?  I did, too.  I found an answer for today's LB, but the second word seems iffy to me--however, LB accepted it, so who am I to complain. 

Ciao_yall, congratulations on QB!  I missed gavage, uvea, and uveal.  Today I'm at amazing, but have a good way to go until genius.  It's beginning to feel a little sloggy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2021, 08:36:37 AM
Good morning!

I didn't get any solution yesterday, though I did have hazel.  That was my only z contender, most focused on x, but not toxic.  Congrats on all the 2fers yesterday and to cathwen for already getting one today!  I will take a look later.

Yesterday my final word was eave.  Geez louise.  Haven't really started today's.  You are kicking but already, Langue_doc! And congrats on being so close yesterday.  Congrats to ciao_yall as well!

Time for coffee crossword.   Hopefully I can wake up and learn to spell again.  I think I spelled 'good' wrong about 12 times above.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2021, 03:55:56 PM
I finally gave up on the bee after having gotten to 226 (~87%) and no pangram.  Husband had struggled early on, then passed me and kept on going all the way to QB hours ago.  He had to tell me the first letter of the pangram, and then I finally got it.  And I still have two words left, but he told me the first letters and how many letters each.  Not sure I will come up with them! Today is obviously not my bee day! Hopefully everyone else had better luck.

At least I did rock the sudokus with no errors and in record times for me, but they were probably easy.

I feel very close to a solution on LB so will try a little more on that.

ETA: Okay, finally got a 2fer on my 80th contender, and not the one that I thought was going to lead me to a victory.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2021, 04:48:06 PM
ab_grp, don't give up yet. Three are some compounds, and only one difficult word. We've seen most of the words in other puzzles.

Just made it to QB; the last word was a familiar one--I often miss very obvious words.

At some point I have to look at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2021, 04:51:35 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! Wow.  And thanks for the encouragement.  I will keep trying on the remaining two words.  Apparently one is a challenge, and husband found it by mistake (trying to type something else).  Yeek.  That might be the difficult one you're referring to.  Guess we can see tomorrow.  My hat is off to you! Good luck on the LB when you get to it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2021, 05:20:35 PM
A couple of the compounds are irregular plurals, if that's of any help. Are the missing words long, short, or medium?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 16, 2021, 05:21:50 PM
Today:

Genius, no pangram. The official word is pangram? All this time I have been saying panagram.

2fer, but probably not official but at least some fun words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2021, 07:23:09 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on February 16, 2021, 05:20:35 PM
A couple of the compounds are irregular plurals, if that's of any help. Are the missing words long, short, or medium?

I ended up figuring them out, finally! All the help really helped! Thanks!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 17, 2021, 06:12:57 AM
Morning!

Genius on SB; didn't get around to LB last night, as I got distracted by a show on TV and then the sudokus and crosswords.

Haven't looked at LB yet. There's the crossword to complete and more words on SB.

ciao_yall, I too would alternate between panagram and pangram.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 17, 2021, 07:22:08 AM
Wow, congratulations on the QB yesterday, Langue_doc and ab_grp!  I am impressed.  I got to amazing, and then got distracted by other things.  When I looked at the solution, I could see a lot of obvious words that I should have seen right away.

I'm at genius in today's SB so far, so at least there's that!

My solution for LB yesterday was LANGUOROUS-STOMPY.  Yes, I know--LB accepted stompy, but rejected lithogram?  I much prefer the "official" solution of PLUG-GASTRONOMY.  I wish I'd seen gastronomy!

My LB solution today is much more normal. 

All other puzzles are done except for the crossword.  Onward and upward...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2021, 08:11:33 AM
Good morning!

I wouldn't consider mine a pure QB yesterday, but at least I finally got linnet and beltline.  I am sure I tried them before.  Oh well.  I'm at 102 now, so four points from Alpha.  Tough puzzle again.  Definite congrats to Langue_doc!! And congrats on the geniuses so far today!

I had POLYAMOROUS-STRONG yesterday.  I was sure SYMPTOM(S) was the right track, but no cigar.  Gastronomy is a good one! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

Did the crosswords and have to do sudoku and look at today's LB.

Enjoy!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 17, 2021, 08:47:59 AM
SB - after hitting genius I checked in from time to time trying to come up with a pangram. Finally hit on it at 2:30 AM when it occurred to me and managed to sneak in before the puzzle changed.

LB - I got GLAMOROUS-SMARTYPANTS, which I'm sure all of us on this thread have been called from time to time. But POLYAMOROUS does sound more fun than that, even!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2021, 09:28:09 AM
SMARTYPANTS is great! I am sure I have been called a smartypants, though most likely not a glamorous one.  And congrats on getting that pangram in there in time!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 17, 2021, 11:21:05 AM
2fer and genius.

So I'm definitely a smartypants, but glamorous is more situational.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 17, 2021, 11:37:31 AM
1 point short of genius today, but it'll come!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2021, 11:43:04 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall!

I think I am one word away from QB now, so good hunting to all.  Husband managed to get to QB before heading off to work, lucky dog.

Still have to find some good contenders on LB and finish the sudokus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2021, 05:22:50 PM
Finally got a 2fer and a slightly unpure QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 17, 2021, 06:36:58 PM
Two-fer finally. Alpha, but that's it for SB.

Congrats all.

Didn't realize that there was an unpure queen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 18, 2021, 08:04:32 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on yesterday's geniuses, Alphas, and QBs, both pure and otherwise!  I missed itty, ditty, and tali.  I'm at Beta on today's SB.  I keep seeing words that do not involve the letter D.

I got the "official" solution to LB yesterday, and have a 2-fer for today's. 

I wish I'd seen ciao_yall's SMARTYPANTS the other day! And combined with GLAMOROUS?  What could be better than a glamorous smartypants?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2021, 08:22:56 AM
Morning!

Yesterday I got NICHE-EXPLICATOR. What is an "impure" QB?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2021, 08:27:48 AM
Morning!

LB: chronicle and expatriate--can't imagine how I missed expat.

Genius today on SB. Af for yesterday's I saw that I had missed lilt, despite having typed this word on the kindle. So I went back to the kindle, which still had yesterday's SB (minus lilt), entered lilt, and made it to QB this morning. Perhaps this was the unpure queen?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2021, 08:55:51 AM
Good morning!

Ha I just meant that I had some scaffolding to get to QB, in that I knew I was missing an L (lilt, me too!) and a D (daylit! argh!).  But I figured out what they were eventually.  So I got to QB, but not completely independently.  Maybe I should call it a polyamorous QB.  Langue_doc, sound like yours was purer than mine!

Lots of LB solutions yesterday! I finally came up with XENOPHILE-ENACTOR (I think that was the second word... I did on my phone, which doesn't save results, and my dumb computer restarted before I could try it out).  I had tried a ton of other contenders before xenophile came to mind, and then I really wanted xenophilia to get actor.  They wouldn't take it.  I tried expatriate but would not have figured out chronicle, I guess! B4ss could have had chlorine or choline or something.

I'm at Alpha today (128) but still 6 or 7 pts left, so we'll see.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2021, 09:35:02 AM
Well, I don't think I have ever achieved QBABM, so my QB's are always... polyamorous? swinging?

Already at genius. LB lots of 3fers and a 2fer b4ss so getting warm.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2021, 09:40:31 AM
Found a nice two-fer, but there's a dangling letter all by itself, so back to the drawing board.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2021, 12:11:23 PM
Two-fer, woohoo.

Still barely into genius. Gamma genius?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2021, 12:12:11 PM
Managed to figure out my remaining bee word, so a clean QB.  I happened upon it and was startled, didn't know what it was, but it is in the database, so I guess we've come across it at least once.

A couple contenders on the LB, no matches yet.  At least I got the sudokus completed reasonably well.  I forgot to mention yesterday that I chatted with the NYT to see if they have any sudoku archive or solutions available, but apparently not.  The puzzles are removed from their servers after 24 hours.  I didn't ask about the bee or LB because the chat was taking too long, but it might be the same for those puzzles, too.

On preview: hooray, ciao_yall!!

ETA: I totally missed cathwen's earlier 2fer.  Congratulations!! And it sounds like Langue_doc is close as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2021, 12:19:38 PM
Turns out I'm almost at Alpha, so maybe I'll join the orgy on the NYT comments board.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 19, 2021, 06:33:02 AM
Morning!

LB: contorting/gadfly; wouldn't have thought of dingo as I was looking for participles. I did find an interesting word, but can't remember what it was as I didn't write it down.

QB on SB; I remembered pandit from an earlier puzzle; found dapping by playing around with the letters--haven't a clue as to its meaning.

Crossword: NE corner is blank.

Happy solving! Stay warm and don't slip on the ice.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 19, 2021, 08:18:01 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! I like yours better than the official solution.  I was not able to come up with one myself despite a lot of effort! I though gyrator might get me somewhere, trying to keep the Y in the middle.  Nope.

From yesterday's bee, pandit was my final word.  I guess we've had it before, but it's one I wouldn't have remembered, just hit on the letters trying to mess around with pundit.  And I have no idea what dapping is, either.  Something to do with fishing? Whatever.

Today I'm at 318 with a bit to go for Alpha and a long time until QB, if that happens. 

Good luck with the crossword.  I had a hard time with it for a bit but ended up getting there eventually.

Happy solving! Yes, those of you in icy areas, please stay safe and warm!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 19, 2021, 08:44:43 AM
You're ahead of me, as usual, ab_grp. I'm up to 293, and don't think I'll get to QB. Is there more than one pangram today?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 19, 2021, 08:47:00 AM
I did find a second pangram, so if you find that you will be well on your way! There are a couple words that have dogged me in the past that I have found this time, but I'm sure there are a bunch I won't.  Who knows, there may be a third pangram with all these points left. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 19, 2021, 08:51:49 AM
SB - found everything but pandit.

Now at amazing with only one pangram so far but first cup of coffee is still hot.

LB - confidant-trilogy.

Now - 3fers with odd little words tying them together so the 2fer is close.

Happy solving, all you smartypants-es!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 19, 2021, 08:52:39 AM
Good morning, all!

So yesterday we have another LB with several solutions.  I got CONTRADICTING-GADFLY.   I found a 2-fer for today's, but it took more time than usual.

Congratulations on the QBs!  I didn't get there—I missed dapping, pandit, and something else I can't remember. 

Ab_grp, you are way ahead of me on today's SB!  I'm at 242 and will be delighted to make genius. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 19, 2021, 09:05:19 AM
Still 100 short of genius, but I think I can make it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 19, 2021, 10:21:59 AM
Genius, 2 pangrams.

LB - 3fers coming out of my ears still. Some good words but still haven't tied them all together. I screenshot all my 3fers and 2fers b4ss and review them, so maybe I'll check those and see if there is a pattern emerging.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 19, 2021, 10:36:33 AM
Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! Sounds as though it may be more of a challenge than usual.  And I hope ciao_yall is able to make the odds and ends work together!

I got past Alpha to 337 so far, still a ways to go for QB.  It is a long puzzle, but there are only a few words that are a bit obscure so far, and I think they have all been in the bee before (some recently...).  Good luck to us all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 19, 2021, 05:02:31 PM
2fer. Yay.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 19, 2021, 10:05:56 PM
Oof, got there in the end. Bit of a slog!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2021, 07:55:06 AM
SB - missed gigolo and longan (argh, after all the drama about that one from last week!)

LB - got fortieth-hydrangea. Never did find any of the words from the official solution.

On to today's...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2021, 08:01:44 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall! After about a thousand reasonable contenders, I found hydrangea in the evening but could not get a mate.  Was not near the schmofficial solution.  I am partial to yours!

Congrats, Parasarurolophus! Did you get to QB? It was a slog, for sure. 

Husband and I both got to Alpha so finally compared in the hopes that we could get a team QB.  Nope.  He gave me lain (really?!), glia, glial, and I gave him a couple longer words I forget, but we could not get galangal.  Argh.  And I was determined not to miss longan again after all the times it has bitten me.  Why do they have lanai in there but not loggia?

Today I am at 229, so still not Alpha for a bit but might get there.  Finally got a pangram!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 20, 2021, 08:28:33 AM
Glia and glial indeed. Reached genius, but no pangram yet.There's still the crossword to complete before 6.

Didn't have the time or energy to work on puzzles yesterday. The sun's out today, and it's going to be warmer which means that I'll be able to get the car out without having to shovel or extricate it from the icy street by Monday or Tuesday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2021, 08:36:44 AM
Found a great word on LB which uses almost all the letters, but alas, only yields a 3fer.

I would post this under "very exciting posts" but nobody on that thread would understand.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2021, 10:36:54 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 20, 2021, 08:36:44 AM
Found a great word on LB which uses almost all the letters, but alas, only yields a 3fer.

I would post this under "very exciting posts" but nobody on that thread would understand.

Maybe you can still make the word work! I tried a couple contenders and finally managed a 2fer (but not with one word that used up nearly all the letters).

Up to 240 now, still not at Alpha.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 20, 2021, 11:42:05 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 20, 2021, 08:36:44 AM
Found a great word on LB which uses almost all the letters, but alas, only yields a 3fer.

I would post this under "very exciting posts" but nobody on that thread would understand.

I hear you. Try posting anyway, and see what responses you get.

Quote
Maybe you can still make the word work! I tried a couple contenders and finally managed a 2fer (but not with one word that used up nearly all the letters).

Up to 240 now, still not at Alpha.


Congrats! I made it to 259 (a few compounds), but that's going to be it for SB and LB as I still have the SE corner of the crossword to complete.

ETA: That number was for another date, and on the laptop. Today's number is 248.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2021, 12:08:03 PM
Genius, still no panagram.

Lots of 3fers and b4ss 2fers so should get there soon.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2021, 12:47:03 PM
Langue_doc, I think you're just a point from Alpha! I finally got to 262, so 8 more points to QB.  I will keep trying off and on.  As for the crossword, the NW was my last get. 

Ciao_yall, it took me a while to get the pangram.  I just happened to pick up my phone and saw it at some point.  Not too long ago, the pangram was my actual primary field of research, and I did not get that one until after genius! And good luck with the LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 20, 2021, 03:01:16 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 20, 2021, 08:01:44 AM


Congrats, Parasarurolophus! Did you get to QB? It was a slog, for sure. 



Lord, no! Way beyond my puzzle grade!


Today, I'm 4 short of genius but haven't found the pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2021, 03:16:34 PM
Well, yesterday's was definitely a long haul, so congrats! And good luck with today's!

I have managed to get to one freaking point from QB.  Have now tried every single four-letter word I could think of, plus plenty of random ones pretty systematically entered, and still no luck.  I even have some obscure words that tend to emerge only in the bee.  Husband, on the other hand, is having a rough time of it today.  But, inspiration can still kick in! Maybe it's one of those things where I have to pretend not to pay attention and then quickly turn to surprise the bee and hope that the word has foolishly come out of hiding.  I might try that, though I'm not sure I want to gamble on pulling a neck muscle given that I am too old for these shenanigans.

But, I still have not come near finishing today's hard sudoku, and tomorrow's are out now!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 20, 2021, 03:57:12 PM
Congratulations on everyone's successes.  I am having a miserable time today!  SB is barely at genius, and I don't have a 2-fer for LB—although lots of good words, including one that leaves only two letters to be dealt with, but I can't find a place for them!  Groan.  Well, you win a few, you lose a few.  At least I solved the sudokus without much trouble.

Ab_grp, I hope you get your QB! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2021, 04:13:57 PM
Thanks, cathwen.  We'll see.  There aren't that many possible combos of 4 letters that are allowed, so it seems as though given the time I could eventually find it.  Good luck! Maybe you and ciao_yall have the same really long contender.  I feel as though a 2fer is around the corner for you.  And congrats on the sudokus!

I was actually just musing on this idea that there are some days I'm good at some of the puzzles, and some days others of the puzzles, but I can't recall having a day on which I got QB (or met some bee goal that felt satisfying), 2fer, and solved all the sudokus.  Today I had good luck with the bee and LB, but sudoku stumped me.  Earlier in the week, I was conquering the sudokus each day but not necessarily getting as far as I wanted to in the bee or getting 2fers. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2021, 05:33:25 PM
SB - genius, then found pangram and putting a bow on it. Looks like the Comments board has already shifted to the Sunday puzzle so I'd have to do some digging to find the hivemind for Saturday.

LB - got a 2fer. Not with my long contender that is probably the same as cathwen's (B and T)? Probably not official as it does reuse a few letters but still declaring victory.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 20, 2021, 08:58:49 PM
Found the bugger!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 21, 2021, 06:53:25 AM
Congratulations, Parasaurolophus, on finding that elusive pangram!

Today has started out better than yesterday in that I'm at genius on SB. Not sure how much further I'll get, so we'll see.

I haven't found a 2-fer for today's LB yet.  Yesterday was frustrating--I had BIOMETRICIAN, with H and W left over.  I also had WATCHMEN, but did not see RAINBOW!  Argh!

Ab_grp, I know what you mean about good and bad puzzle days.  Some days it just comes, other days not.  And I'm usually better at LB than SB.  On SB, I usually get to genius, but have trouble getting too far beyond that. You and Langue_doc seem to get QB on a regular basis!

Well, back to LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 21, 2021, 08:41:26 AM
SB - woke up in the middle of the night and achieved genius already.

LB - Got the official solution of RAINBOW-WATCHMEN. I also had CHAIRWOMEN which left the B and the T. In the past it has taken TABAC which would have completed the 2fer, alas, b4ss.

Already have some 3fers using odd little words to use up tricky letters so home to see the 2fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 21, 2021, 09:10:49 AM
Morning all, and congrats on the achievements/accomplishments.

SB--missed a few words yesterday: odea?? odeon? I usually miss donee, so this didn't surprise me. Made it to slightly above genius today; the pangram wasn't too difficult.

Found a few contenders for LB, with just one dangling letter. This gives me hope, so will work on it. Crosswords are done. I like today's tiles, so will be spending some time playing with it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 21, 2021, 09:24:41 AM
Yay, Parasaurolophus! And yay on getting to genius during the night, ciao_yall.  If I tried to do that, I'd be up all night thinking about it.  I already dream of puzzles, just random not-real ones. 

And congrats on the 2fers yesterday! I got RAINBOW-WATCHMEN.  I have noticed that some words keep popping out to me in multiple puzzles (e.g., browbeaten).  Maybe it's kind of a Rorschach test of sorts.  Get it, Watchmen? Lololol I am already on fire today with the wit.  Watch out, world.

Finally got QB just before we started dinner last night.  Odea was the odious straggler.  I got odeon earlier because it appears sometimes in the bee and crossword and always manages to elude me, so maybe odea should have occurred to me earlier, but no go.  I think the compound words were some of the last I got, so thanks to Langue_doc for mentioning that there were several.  I'm at Alpha so far today (131) but need a break from it.  Looks like only one pangram.

Good luck on all the puzzles, and happy Sunday!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 21, 2021, 12:19:22 PM
Found a two-fer after a gap of some days (or so it seems). I'm probably near Alpha, and that's it for today's puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 21, 2021, 12:27:00 PM
I finally got a 2-fer for today's LB, but it took a lot of time.   I am at Alpha on SB, with two words until QB, but I don't think I'll get there.  I cannot imagine what they could be.  I'll keep trying...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 21, 2021, 01:26:21 PM
Congrats on the Alpha and near Alpha, cathwen and Langue_doc! I was able to get 3 more words since last report but am still 6 or 7 points from QB.  I suspect my husband has the word I need given our point and word totals, so we are holding off but will likely have to just go ahead and compare lists a little later on.

And congrats to you both on the 2fers! No luck there on my end.  I have one contender so far. 

Still working on hard sudoku from yesterday, today's was a little too easy which meant a lot of backtracking and things I'll have to work forward on again, and the next ones will come out soon enough.  I've been stuck Duolingoing since it's Sunday funday (end of weekly tournament).  Still have some real work reading to do at some point.  I think puzzle solvers should get extra hours in their days.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 21, 2021, 06:50:42 PM
Finally gave up and went to the online solver helper. Didn't have either word, even in my contenders. Not sure if it's the official solution but whatever.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 22, 2021, 06:09:54 AM
Good morning, everyone!

I came close yesterday on SB—I missed biaxial (which I should have tried) and lobo, which I usually get.  QB—so near, and yet so far!  Today I'm at Beta.  It's a strange group of letters.

My LB words yesterday were  BRAVO-OUTCHARMED, official answer OUTMATCHED. (I was surprised that LB accepted outcharmed.)   It took a lot of time to find yesterday's words, but today's LB 2-fer came relatively easily, and they're normal words.

Ab_grp, did you find your remaining SB words?  And which language are you studying on Duolingo?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2021, 06:27:48 AM
Morning!

Missed bollix and bola. As for today, found the pangram and have made it to 93 points.

LB: bravado and outmatched; haven't looked at today's puzzle yet.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 22, 2021, 08:08:16 AM
Easy Bee today! Now for LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 22, 2021, 08:30:15 AM
Quick LB today. Yesterday I thought they were doing something with the O and found ORCHARD but never found a 2fer mate on either side. Did find CHARMED, MARCHED, MATCHED... played with OUT-something but somehow my brain didn't make the connection.

SB off to a quick start. Genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2021, 08:45:40 AM
Good morning!

Glad to hear today's LB is easy.  Maybe I'll have some luck with it.  BRAVADO was my first contender of a bunch, but no luck.  Congrats! I also tried ORCHARD, ciao_yall.  And tried CHATBOT since that seemed quirky enough for a solution.

We ended up comparing, and we were missing BOLLIX.  Stupid, since we discussed that we had both tried BOLLOX, and I had looked it up and found it to be a variant of bollocks.  But no mention of the accepted spelling.  Oh well, we were close and both got to Alpha, so fine.  Husband was also missing LAMB, which was funny because we just had some the day before.  Funny what you see or don't.  Sounds like we all did very well, considering!

Today I'm at 95, so close to Alpha but haven't really had time to do much more with it.  Congrats Parasaurolophus!

Cathwen, I'm in Spanish for Duolingo.  Do you use it, too?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2021, 10:29:21 AM
Well, I got to QB kind of all of a sudden.  Guess I have more time to work on LB and perhaps solve today's hard sudoku and the one I still have hanging over my head from a couple days ago.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 22, 2021, 10:49:40 AM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I am one word away from QB, and it's driving me nuts trying to find that last word.  It's a one-pointer, so it must be four letters; I've tried every combination I can think of, but apparently I have to think a little harder! 

As for Duolingo, I've sent you a PM so as not to derail this thread.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2021, 12:00:13 PM
Congrats all. Am queen for today, and also found the/a two-fer. There's just one weird word in the bee. The short words are all familiar ones.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2021, 12:39:32 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc, on QB and 2fer!

And congrats to you also, cathwen.   You're nearly there (if you haven't found it yet).  I agree with Langue_doc that there aren't too many (if any) really obscure words.  I might be able to guess which word you are missing.  Maybe.  There are a couple that could be tougher for different reasons.  Good luck!!  Hope the dissertation-length response to the PM is helpful.

Still no 2fer for me, though I have come up with a few reasonable contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 22, 2021, 03:36:48 PM
Ya-hoo!  I finally made QB!  And you were right, it was a very common word that for some reason my brain failed to put together for a good while.

Thanks for your PM, ab_grp.  Your answer was very helpful.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2021, 07:16:42 PM
Muchos congratulatos on your QB, cathwen! Glad to help, and as you can plainly see, I am just killing it in Spanish.  Interested to hear everyone's final words! Wow, that sounds more morbid than I intended.

No LB victory yet, though I will look at it a bit tonight.  I did manage to solve the hard sudoku today and took a different approach and solved the one I was dealing with from a few days ago.  Not using the cell the hint told me to focus on, again!

ETA: finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2021, 07:54:22 PM
ab_grp, spoiler alert below re LB.

Your duolingo made me think of the hint: the first word, plural, falls under this topic, and the second is a bird.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2021, 08:35:27 PM
Langue_doc, I think I got a different 2fer! Now I want to know what yours is so will try to work it out!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2021, 08:43:48 PM
Sending PM.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2021, 09:38:56 PM
Thanks for the PM! I forgot to say I was working off a different bird but hadn't gotten a first word mate from it yet so was maybe headed in a wrong direction. Also my hints for my solution were terrible and sent from my phone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 23, 2021, 05:49:32 AM
ab_grp, your words wouldn't have occurred to me.

For the record, mine were cognates and skylark, which are quite different from the words in the "solution".

As for SB, my first word was the pangram--woohoo! I'm now at 123 points.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 23, 2021, 07:25:28 AM
LB - I had LOCKS-STRANGELY yesterday. Already have a 2fer this morning.

SB - slow start. No pangram yet... wow you are a fast crowd! ETA: Panagram. Still at amazing. But I'll get there.

Looks like we all wiped the floor with the puzzles yesterday. Bring it on, NYT!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 23, 2021, 09:12:24 AM
I like COGNATES-SKYLARK the best so far, Langue_doc! Your hint about the bird led me to GRACKLE, but I didn't get further with that.  Mine was close to ciao_yall's, KNOCKS-STRANGELY.  The schmofficial solution did not occur to me at all.  I thought ROCKETRY might do something, but it didn't pan out.

Today's bee seems kind of tough so far.  I got the pangram and to a bit above genius (137), but not to Alpha yet and am now struggling.

Time to go take a look at today's LB and sudokus.  Congrats on the early 2fer, ciao_yall! Good luck, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 23, 2021, 02:34:25 PM
Still stuck on the bee at 137. But got two two-fers, all common words. There are probably other pairs today.

I did get grackle yesterday, but couldn't find a mate. There's a bird in today's puzzle too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 23, 2021, 02:43:08 PM
My LB words yesterday were GRACKLES-STONY.  My, what a variety of solutions this time!

I found today's LB harder, but finally found a 2-fer.  Langue_doc, congratulations on not one, but two 2-fers!

I'm just a few points beyond genius today on SB.  I don't think I have the energy to pursue higher goals, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 23, 2021, 02:56:59 PM
Congrats on the 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen! Langue_doc, your hint led me to a 2fer, so thanks.  I will see if I can find some more.

I haven't gotten any further with the bee, but husband had to go on site today and is back now, so we will get back to it independently and then see if comparing lists would be the best bet.  I know we have some different words, which always makes me want to try to figure out what he has that I don't, but I have made no progress! Maybe this time will be the charm.  It is kind of a draining puzzle today for whatever reason.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 23, 2021, 04:48:16 PM
Unexciting update: I am now trying for an impure Alpha.  We ended up comparing #s of words starting with each letter to see what we were each missing, and we now have the same number of points and words.  Still two points from Alpha! Gee whiz.  I think we will have to compare lists and then might have to look up the answers at some point.

I do have a couple additional LB contenders I'm working with to try for another 2fer since I am frustrated with the bee.  Not sure if any mates will come along, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2021, 06:19:02 AM
Morning!

SB was disappointing; partita? irrupt? I should have found pipit and rattrap, but didn't. Oh, well.

Made it to genius today, but no pangram.

I came up with blackboard/diagrams, blackbird/dogmas, and eventually blackbirds/smog.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 24, 2021, 06:50:50 AM
Good morning!  I also had blackboard-diagram yesterday.  I thought today's LB was more challenging than usual, but I finally found a 2-fer.

On yesterday's SB, I missed irrupt and partita, as well as pipit, rattrap apparat, and papyri. 

I just got to Alpha on today's SB, but not at all confident I'll make QB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 24, 2021, 06:56:47 AM
SB - rattrap was what put me into genius, then I went off onto other things. After a while the odd words start to feel like a guessing game.

LB - I had blackbirds-smog which was the official solution. Is this what it's like to be vibing with the NYT?

Haven't started today's yet, but happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2021, 08:46:17 AM
Good morning!

Good news first: I just got to QB.  It was a strange path.  I was really struggling even to get to genius, got there but no pangram, then stuff started coming and whammo.  Good luck! Nothing too tough or unfamiliar in there, I think. 

We ended up comparing yesterday, still no luck, and found out we had missed partita, pipit, and irrupt.  Not too sorry about that.  I concede defeat to that puzzle.

Thanks to Langue_doc, I got the BLACKBIRD-DOGMAS pair.  I found SMORGASBORD and thought that might lead somewhere but couldn't find a mate.

Congrats on all the 2fers yesterday and to cathwen for already getting one today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 24, 2021, 12:15:23 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp! 

I also made QB today!  Woo-hoo! 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2021, 12:51:07 PM
Congratulations, cathwen!!

Predictably, I am now suffering at the hands of the other daily puzzles.  At least I have a few LB contenders and managed to (eventually) solve the medium sudoku.  Haven't tried hard yet.  Wish I didn't have a 1.5 hr call scheduled this afternoon.  Priorities!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2021, 03:37:47 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 24, 2021, 08:46:17 AM
Good morning!

Good news first: I just got to QB.  It was a strange path.  I was really struggling even to get to genius, got there but no pangram, then stuff started coming and whammo.  Good luck! Nothing too tough or unfamiliar in there, I think. 


Thanks, ab_grp, for the above. I persevered, making it to QB. I kept trying archillian, but no luck.

Congrats y'all QBs and two-fers. I'm still stuck in LB.

Aargh for autocorrect. Just saw that Sarah (damn autocorrect--that was 'aargh', not Sarah or earth). I give up, it's beyond frustrating typing on the Kindle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2021, 03:53:22 PM
Woohoo! Congrats, Langue_doc.  I had to play around for a while to get the pangram.  I thought I was on the right track with two different roots, and it ended up that I was with the one, but I needed a little more work on it.  My final word was kind of dumb, considering, but that's the way the bee buzzes.  And I get the frustration with the Kindle typing.  It's why I don't post much in the evenings when I'm on my phone!

No luck for me in LB yet either, and my call has delayed my starting the hard sudoku, plus I still need to Duolingo.  I will probably alternate between LB and Spanish and save the sudoku for tomorrow when I can take my time and enjoy it more.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 25, 2021, 04:55:09 AM
Morning!

113 today on the bee, all familiar words. My last word yesterday was 'archaic', a word I should have found earlier as I've been using all week. LB--misjudge and exact.

ab_grp, you got me interested in Duolingo. Progress so far: I know the list of languages on their website. The part I hate most in any program: coming up with a username and a password.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 25, 2021, 07:15:43 AM
Morning! Looks like everyone is off to a running start!

Yesterday wasn't coming together for me, so with a little help I achieved genius and a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 25, 2021, 08:47:24 AM
Congratulations on getting so far on today's SB, Langue_doc!  I'm a little beyond genius but below Beta. 

But today's LB is not coming along very well at all!  Yesterday I got the "official" answer, but today I am flummoxed. At least, so far!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 09:12:26 AM
Good morning!

I'm at 133 today, so I'm close to Alpha but not there yet.  Chai was my last word yesterday.  I kept thinking maybe there was something with arachn- but no.  But anarch- finally worked out. 

Congrats on the 2fers yesterday! I was not close.  I thought about JUDGE later in the evening but didn't get further with it.  I am not optimistic about today's if cathwen is having trouble with it!

Hope you enjoy Duolingo, Langue_doc.  I picked my username five years ago and cannot remember why I chose it. 

Still have to do hard sudoku from yesterday and then today's.

Have fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 12:35:11 PM
Just an update to say that I have not found even one more word since this morning.  Still two points from Alpha! Husband came from behind and passed me and is now at 140, so there is hope.  Has any one else had any luck?

Still making feeble attempts at the LB, but no success there yet.  All the b4ss issues...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 25, 2021, 01:28:38 PM
Sorry to hear that you are stuck, ab_grp. There are three or so compound-type words (one, a medical term), one that looks like a proper noun, but is a music-related common noun, and one that is a variation, spelling-wise of another word. It's a solid 150 points today. Good luck, hope you've found a few more words by now.

I don't think I'll make the LB today--a three-fer, bah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 01:48:34 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! And thanks for the tips.  I will keep at it! I only have one compound word so far.  Hopefully your clues will help! And good luck if you stay with LB.  Wondering if anyone has any luck there...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 02:58:26 PM
Update: success! Thank you, Langue_doc! It turned out that I just needed two longish words, and one of your hints got me to the longer of the two.  The other one had a similarity to that one, and I worked out from another of your hints and knowing the first letter after husband and I compared # of words with same first letter.  So you helped us both to get to QB, though impurely.  Still, yay! Thanks again!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 25, 2021, 03:07:15 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 02:58:26 PM
Update: success! Thank you, Langue_doc! It turned out that I just needed two longish words, and one of your hints got me to the longer of the two.  The other one had a similarity to that one, and I worked out from another of your hints and knowing the first letter after husband and I compared # of words with same first letter.  So you helped us both to get to QB, though impurely.  Still, yay! Thanks again!

Woohoo! Congrats. I'm on the Kindle, so have to be frugal with words because of autocorrect.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 25, 2021, 03:47:36 PM
SB - Just barely tipped into genius. Kept wanting to try and abbreviated word and finally got a hint from the Crossword Orgy to try the full word. Oy.

LB - Got it. PM if you want a hint. Am watching the Zoom of our Board of Trustees meeting and trying to get a COVID vaccine appointment so not going anywhere.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 05:20:15 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! Thanks for the very helpful hints!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 25, 2021, 05:51:27 PM
Congratulations on the QBs!  I ended up just a little beyond Beta and then lost patience.

But I finally found a 2-fer for today's LB.  Not an easy one today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2021, 07:14:58 PM
Congrats on the 2fer, cathwen! My bee level was Beta as well.  Without help, I wouldn't have gotten to Alpha and then QB, and I wouldn't have gotten a 2fer.  Some days, I tell ya.  Tomorrow has the potential to be a different one, at least! Of course, I could be kicking myself in the future for having said that.  Different is not always better...!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2021, 03:50:41 AM
Morning!

Pure or impure, they're all victories.

LB words: gauzes/sunflower. As for today, I found the two-fer almost an hour ago. I've been up early for no particular reason, so got cracking on the puzzles.

SB: 90 points; last word yesterday was 'largo' which I remembered from an earlier puzzle. I found 'logogram' by playing with the letters. Today's words are ones that are used frequently--even more frequently than some of the words in yesterday's puzzle.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 26, 2021, 07:00:26 AM
I can never remember 'aurora'.

Easy Bee today, though. On to LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2021, 07:21:42 AM
Morning!

SB - went back up into the Crossword Orgy and achieved alpha. Despite their best hints I still missed largo and logogram or would have had QB.

LB - gazes-sunflower. Kind of a boring one. I had some fun words - wrangle, zealous, but twas not to be. Alas.

Last night our college Board meeting ran late, so at midnight the new SB came up and I'm already at genius. LB I have a 3fer. Now I'm up early for a hiring committee so while I wait for everyone to drone on I'll have puzzle time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 26, 2021, 07:24:45 AM
Whelp, got the 2fer in LB almost immediately, then immediately saw a variant 2fer. Easy-peasy!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 26, 2021, 07:31:32 AM
Parasaurolophus, I also missed aurora yesterday.  I have on several occasions mentioned bonking myself on the head with a dictionary, and this was one of them.  The one comfort is that the freedom of the world does not rest on our ability to solve word puzzles!  : )

Congratulations on Alpha, ciao-yall! 

Today I'm at Beta on SB (90 points).  I'm in my usual quandary of wondering what other words there could possibly be!  18 points until QB, and doubtful I'll get there.

Yesterday I had gauzes-sunflower for LB.  And I found a 2-fer today. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2021, 07:55:52 AM
2fer. Woohoo. Guess I'll have to pay attention in my hiring committee after all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 08:53:28 AM
Good morning!

Wow, lots of success already! Congrats on all the 2fers!  And congrats to Parasaurolophus on QB?

I was missing mammogram and logogram yesterday.  Langue_doc's hints helped me to get both.  Thanks again!

Today I think I might be one word from QB, at 103.  Hopefully more coffee and a banana will help.  I suspect husband and I have what each other needs given total words achieved, but it's way too early in the day to compare.  So far no tough words that I can recall, except one that has been in the bee a bit and another that I tried that I wasn't quite sure was a word.  Suffixes are helpful.

Still have to finish crossword, try LB, sudokus... lots of fun ahead.  Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 26, 2021, 08:57:15 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 08:53:28 AM
Wow, lots of success already! Congrats on all the 2fers!  And congrats to Parasaurolophus on QB?



Oh no, just the Beta for me! Sorry I was unclear. I meant that I got to genius quickly and easily. But getting to QB looks like it'll be tough for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 09:15:00 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on February 26, 2021, 08:57:15 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 08:53:28 AM
Wow, lots of success already! Congrats on all the 2fers!  And congrats to Parasaurolophus on QB?



Oh no, just the Beta for me! Sorry I was unclear. I meant that I got to genius quickly and easily. But getting to QB looks like it'll be tough for me.

Well, that's still awesome.  I will consider it a prophecy: I see QB in your future today.  You are on a roll with the bee and kicking butt on LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2021, 11:16:44 AM
'baobab', the nemesis of my SB, has gone mainstream. Last night I saw the word in large letters on a TV commercial, probably for a lotion or something similar (I usually mute commercials). The commercial, and the word, appeared at least twice during the show, which was sort of a cop/crime show.

Now I have to decompress from the trips to grocery stores (three separate ones--25 miles apart, the joys of ethnic neighborhoods and stores. There's usually at least one person breathing down my neck while I'm at the register at the regular grocery store, who I have to loudly and pointedly ask to step back. The cashier was sympathetic, but couldn't do anything. The woman did step back once I confronted her.

I think I made it to 98 or 99 this morning.

Sounds as though everyone has something to celebrate puzzle-wise.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 01:00:06 PM
That's funny about baobab! I recently realized it is in some of my hair goo.  Not sure if that will help me remember it in the future, though.  Hope you can recover from your shopping trips.  That sounds un-fun and anxiety-inducing.

Husband and I realized that we probably had the same list after he acquired two more four-letter words that I had, and we had no idea on going forward, so we gave up.  Missed a five-letter that I'm not too sorry about but that we may have gotten eventually.  At least it gave me a chance to update my database, remove duplicates, and alphabetize to make the program run a little faster in the future.

Victorious on sudokus, loads of seemingly good contenders on the LB but no mate so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2021, 02:47:36 PM
Thanks for letting me vent, ab_grp. I managed to find a parking spot (metered street parking) after the long drive, and also found what I needed in the usual grocery store, so can't complain, especially if Ben & Jerry's is on sale.

I think I need just one more word for SB, but don't have any energy to continue.

I am sending you a hint for LB; please check your PM.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 03:04:03 PM
Thanks for the hints, Langue_doc! Success! I included some hints in my reply for what I thought your missing bee word might be (it was ours, at least), in case you are interested.  Beeware! ha.  Enjoy your Ben & Jerry's! I haven't had that in a while but liked Chubby Hubby a lot.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2021, 04:14:12 PM
Thanks, ab_grp for your hint. I am now a pure Alpha and an impure Queen. Hah! What a word--I might not have found it tonight, but vaguely recall having seen it on an earlier puzzle.

As for baobab, I think it was in a Pantene commercial. I still have to look up the spelling for this word and also for bonobo.

On to tomorrow's crosswords which come out at 10 tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 04:34:36 PM
You're welcome! I figured that word was a reasonable guess.  As for the baobab, I don't recall hearing much about that as an ingredient before, so maybe there is some sort of trend.  It's the meyer lemon, fiddlehead fern, or ramps of haircare.   I guess birria tacos are more the "it" food these days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 26, 2021, 04:55:53 PM
I'm still two words short of QB, but probably unfocusing my eyes at the end of the day will yield them. There's a four-letter word (how?!) and a five-letter (probably the same as yours, ab_grp).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2021, 07:27:21 PM
Some stuff headed in your direction...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2021, 06:21:32 AM
Morning!

Made it to genius today. There's probably a second pangram lurking somewhere.

LB preamble/equality.

Happy solving.

ETA two-fer today, an easy one
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2021, 07:15:48 AM
Good morning!

Just got into the bee while brushing teeth, so I'm at 140 with coffee on the way.  One pangram down, but I will keep an eye out for possible others.  Especially with the number of points!

Thanks again for the LB help, Langue_doc! And congrats on your 2fer today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2021, 08:08:17 AM
LB - preamble-equity. Why do it sometimes seem that the LB folks are sending messages? 3fers but 2fer is close I can feel it.

SB - Genius this morning already. Yesterday I thought I got "glug" but it wasn't checked.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2021, 08:13:16 AM
It did kind of seem like a message! I was also hoping to get somewhere with reliquary yesterday.  Good luck with the 2fer! I think husband initially missed glug.  Our final missing word was butyl.

Coffee seemed to help a bit.  I'm at 227 now, so Alpha, but not sure about QB.  Still sudokus to do and LB to try.

ETA: I have not found a second pangram and only have about 19 points left.  There could be one, still.  I thought I had found one, but it wasn't accepted.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 27, 2021, 09:23:08 AM
Grr, 'butyl'. It was all I had left for QB.

Made it to genius today, will try to work up to QB again. Haven't looked at LB yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2021, 10:44:23 AM
Sorry butyl managed to elude you, Parasaurolophus! Good luck on the bee today!

I made a little more progress, now at 239.  So 6 or 7 points left? No additional pangrams were identified.  Did get all the sudokus completed successfully.  No LB contenders yet, but I will work on that for a bit now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2021, 12:36:27 PM
Update: Got to QB! Husband still has one word to go.  Good luck!

I still have to try to make some headway on LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 27, 2021, 12:44:42 PM
I missed butyl and tutti yesterday.  I tried glug, but it didn't "take" at first—maybe I mistyped?  Then later I tried again, and it was accepted. 

I'm at genius on today's SB.  I'll keep trying for more.  According to nytbee.com, there is only one pangram despite the high point value—maximum 245!!  Congratulations to those who are already at Alpha!  And a special congratulations to ab_grp for making QB!  Woo-hoo!

LB:  Yesterday I got preamble-equality.  And I found a 2-fer today. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2021, 01:34:37 PM
They're all easily recognizable words today--no butyl, baobab, or similar torture-inducing words. As ciao_yall and cathwen mentioned, often words that you thought were accepted turned out not to have been entered by the program. I had to spend almost half an hour to track the last three missing words which turned out to be words that I had entered on the kindle, but had disappeared. It was only after I went through the list on my computer that I realized that these words didn't show up and that I had actually found all the words. I found the puzzle a bit difficult as it took me a long time to find today's words despite their familiarity.

Congrats on the two-fers and  QB, and good luck getting to be Queen. It's only 47 words.

ab_grp, thanks for the pangram information. It helped me plod on. LB words are easy ones, easier than yesterday's 'preamble'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2021, 01:35:29 PM
I have a 2fer today but I don't think it's the official one. Oh well, it counts and I'm keeping it. Strange compound word, but it only reuses the "E" so it's pretty clean.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2021, 01:39:43 PM
Who gets to decide that grackles/stony is more official than locks/strangely or cognates/skylark? Not the NYT, in mho.

Quote from: ciao_yall on February 27, 2021, 01:35:29 PM
I have a 2fer today but I don't think it's the official one. Oh well, it counts and I'm keeping it. Strange compound word, but it only reuses the "E" so it's pretty clean.

Mine's a different word--a very common compound word, one that we're all familiar with.

ETA Responding to ciao_yall

Quote
I don't even know what a "grackle" is.

It's a rather noisy unprepossessing bird, quite common in Central Park and other parks in NYC. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/id
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2021, 01:42:13 PM
I don't even know what a "grackle" is.

Today I was annoyed with the Bee because it took certain foreign words that I never use. But not another that is, while maybe not an everyday word, actually shows up on restaurant menus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 27, 2021, 03:06:15 PM
Based on what ciao_yall wrote, I think I may have the same LB solution.

I'm at Alpha on SB, with three words and 8 points to go until QB.  Probably won't make it, as I'm running out of time and patience.  But I'm happy enough with Alpha.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2021, 03:20:01 PM
I can't wait until tomorrow's big reveal!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2021, 03:23:40 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! I agree, no real difficult words.  One is a word I have often missed in the past, and then I had a good string of times when I didn't, but I almost missed it today.  I will send bee energy to all those still working in case it helps! Sounds like cathwen just needs a 6 and two 4s? Maybe the 6 is my final word (or could be the one I just referred to).  I am a little miffed that a possible pangram was denied despite being in the dictionary but will hold off on shaming it here today because it is related to another word in the puzzle.  Good luck!

Congrats on the 2fers to all three of you! Now please send me your LB energy or brainpower. 

Also think we had grackles growing up in PA and that my mother found them to be quite annoying.  From the map in Langue_doc's link, it doesn't look like they bother folks out on the west coast, though.

ETA: Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 27, 2021, 04:34:09 PM
Quote from: cathwen on February 27, 2021, 12:44:42 PM
I tried glug, but it didn't "take" at first—maybe I mistyped?  Then later I tried again, and it was accepted. 


I had exactly the same experience, although I'm convinced I tried 'glug' at least seven times before it was accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 28, 2021, 08:14:59 AM
LB yesterday was pitcher-ropewalk. I overlooked that I reused the "p" as well as the "e." I found cakewalk, then started playing with other words with "walk" and thought of a tightrope. The rest is history.

Slow start this morning on both LB and SB but will get there. Also have the Sunday papers so those will keep me busy.

Have a nice solving day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2021, 08:43:03 AM
Difficult bee today, but just made it to 82 points. Interesting pangram.

LB, workplace/either.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2021, 10:04:12 AM
Good afternoon? Still morning here, though!

For LB yesterday, I got PHOTOCOPIER-RACEWALK, so three different solutions so far.  So many b4ss.

Today's bee is tough but short! I think I'm only at 76.  The pangram did take me a bit, and there are a few that might be overlooked.  Yesterday my final word was incant, and husband's was vivacity. 

I forgot to mention that I think husband had a similar issue with words disappearing or not being registered.  It was maybe early last week when I had gotten to QB and was helping him figure out what he had left.  He figured a few of them out, and when we went back to it he had fewer points than before, and some of the words were no longer in the list.  Very odd.  I saw him enter them myself!

I got so wrapped up in trying to solve LB (and look at office furniture... woohoo) that I totally forgot about the sudokus coming out yesterday afternoon, so I still have to work on those.

Happy Sunday solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 28, 2021, 10:13:46 AM
Amazing (no pangram yet) and a 3fer. Plus we got 2 Sunday NYT magazines because last week's was held up due to the storms, so lots of puzzles for today.

Went out to dinner with some friends and sat on a back patio which felt almost normal! But now I really need a long walk to work off the food, wine and bit of a hangover.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 28, 2021, 11:03:55 AM
Wow!  Lots of different answers for yesterday's LB!  I had wartlike-epoch—so ciao_yall, not the same solution at all!  I also had powerwalker, and then a few letters left over which I could not form into a word.  Just playing around haphazardly, I typed raitch, which LB accepted!  What does that mean, I wondered?  It's not in my dictionary, so I decided that even if LB accepted it, I could not.  Thus the search for a better solution.  Maybe someday I'll try the word in SB and see if they take it!

I don't yet have a solution for today's LB, though. 

As for yesterday's SB, I missed two words I should have gotten:  acai and acacia (which I usually get!). I also missed attaint. 

Today's SB is going slowly.  I'm at amazing.  No pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2021, 01:09:58 PM
Cathwen, I had powerwalker and thought I had tried raitch just for the heck of it, because it was getting to me that I couldn't figure out how to use the few remaining letters! I guess I thought about it but didn't actually make the attempt.  In any case, I kind of feel the same way when I get one of those "solutions" that just don't sit right.   And I will go ahead and guess that SB won't accept it!

Seems like a slow bee day.  I picked up a few more points, now at 83.  Still no alpha.  Egad.  I have a couple okay contenders for LB, but nothing too promising yet.  At least I got the sudokus done and my Duolingos for end of tournament.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2021, 01:57:40 PM
No queen, no two-fer, no regrets.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2021, 02:09:48 PM
Well, I finally got to 95, so still 5 more points to QB.  And it won't take a 5-letter word that I thought of that is in the dictionary.  Blerg.  Yesterday I thought it might accept ANTICAVITY as a pangram, but no.  And that is also in the dictionary, unhyphenated.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 28, 2021, 03:20:28 PM
SB is not coming along well at all, but at least I finally found a 2-fer for LB. 

Ab_grp, I hope you get to QB!  I haven't made it past amazing. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 28, 2021, 03:28:54 PM
With help from the crossword column I achieved genius and 99 points. There is one J-word I can't get.

Got stuck on LB so sought help as well. I had found the first word and variations of the second word, just hadn't quite put them together.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2021, 03:33:23 PM
ciao_yall, and everybody else, I can send you the hint for the j word, if you like.

I'm grading, so have to be content with my 90. Besides, tomorrow's crosswords are probably out, so no more LB or SB for me tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 28, 2021, 03:58:38 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 28, 2021, 02:09:48 PM
Well, I finally got to 95, so still 5 more points to QB.  And it won't take a 5-letter word that I thought of that is in the dictionary.  Blerg.  Yesterday I thought it might accept ANTICAVITY as a pangram, but no.  And that is also in the dictionary, unhyphenated.

I have a seven-letter word it won't accept, to my chagrin.

I'm finding today's Bee very tough indeed. I'm still stuck at 32 points. =p But I'll probably make it to genius just before bedtime. That's usually how it goes.


Well done to all of you who've solved it or gone past genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2021, 04:11:56 PM
Today's bee was really like pulling teeth for me.  I should say "is" because I didn't figure out the final word yet but also haven't been back to it.  Maybe it will be like earlier in that I will switch to that app and suddenly see a word.  If you are still working at it, don't give up! There are some sort-of obscure words, or at least ones that might not come right to mind.   If anyone would like any sort of hints, please let me know.  I'll be happy to help (unless it's the word that's haunting me).  Ciao_yall, I'm not sure if I have the specific one you were looking for, but I also have a j word that might fit your needs.  Husband is also having a rough time of it today.  We will compare later, but not for a while.  Too close.

Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall! Good luck grading, Langue_doc, and enjoy your crosswords.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2021, 07:44:58 PM
Got a 2fer! But gave up on the bee.  Husband did not have my missing word.  And f that word!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2021, 05:16:12 AM
Good morning!

Vent: inurn? jinni? whatever these mean...

Made it to genius today. The pangram wasn't too bad, but a bit time-consuming.

LB embowel/legitimacy. Why was I thinking of embowel and disembowel? Haven't a clue, other than I confused embowel with disembowel--didn't realize until this morning that there was probably no such word as embowel and that I was thinking of disembowel when I entered the former. However, LB accepted the word, so who am I to complain?

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 01, 2021, 06:09:15 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Well, I gave up on SB yesterday, not even having made it past amazing.  I did get one of the j-words, thanks to a dimly remembered poem by Victor Hugo, "Les Djinns," that I read in a 19th c. French lit class as an undergrad.    I did not get the plural, jinni.  And I completely missed marijuana, the pangram!

I share Langue_doc's reaction to inurn.  Whaaat...?

Today's SB is coming along better.  I'm at genius and will keep checking back for more words. 

For yesterday's LB, I got bowel-legitimacy. So I was thinking along the same lines as Langue_doc, although not quite as luridly!  : )   As for embowel, I'm remembering La Chanson de Guillaume, in which the hero hews and hacks his way through battle, only to be slashed in the abdomen, such that his intestines fall out.  But since he's the hero of a medieval epic poem, he merely slings them over his arm and keeps on fighting.  I suppose he could have stuffed them back inside, thus emboweling himself.  Perhaps he did; it's been a very long time since I've read that poem.

I found a 2-fer for today's LB, but it seems like the kind of arrangement of letters that will yield several solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 01, 2021, 06:57:29 AM
I guess 'jinni' is a plural of 'jinn'.

For my part, I eventually found the pangram but was nowhere near genius. Also, it rejected 'murrain'
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 01, 2021, 07:22:35 AM
SB - missed jinn. Learned a new word, and a new spelling of a word.

LB - With a little help, got bowl-legitimacy which is the official solution. I had been playing with ambit-towel-legacy and gambit-towel-lacy and eventually gave up.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2021, 07:37:28 AM
Good morning!

Yep, inurn was the word I missed on the bee.  I was hoping it would take mirin.  Oh well.  It's a long puzzle today but a lot of letters from recent puzzles, so I at least got to 158 (no pangram yet) while brushing teeth.  Now coffee, crosswords, and further work on the bee.  Congrats on genius today, cathwen and Langue_doc!

For LB, I managed to get the official solution while playing around with it on my phone last night.  Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen!

Have a good puzzle Monday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 01, 2021, 08:32:19 AM
Made it past genius, but no pangram yet. I did find three rejected words, though: 5, 8, and 11 letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2021, 10:33:24 AM
I thought the pangram was pretty tough.  I'm at 324 now, so 9 points to QB? But the pangram was my third-to-last word found.  I'm hoping to get the final word(s) and not have another inurn situation.  In any case, only one pangram out of all those points!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2021, 11:26:48 AM
That's an impressive score, ab_grp. I think I'm at 299 or thereabouts, and don't see how I'm going to find more words.

I remembered the various spellings of 'jinn' from the Arabian Nights stories. Never came across 'jinni' though--probably a variant of 'genie'. I have to stop speculating and look up the meaning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2021, 12:15:46 PM
Got to QB! The final word was sort of ironic.   Good luck if you persist.  I don't think this list is nearly as obscure as yesterday's.  It's a lot of words, though.

Hopefully I'll get somewhere with the hard sudoku, which I'm struggling with, and LB.  A couple contenders for the latter, but no mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2021, 12:42:52 PM
Congrats on your QB, ab_grp!

Got my two-fer, but still stuck on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 01, 2021, 12:44:51 PM
Ab_grp, congratulations on making QB!  I'm at 307, so at least Alpha.  Honestly, I don't see any other combinations possible--but I know they must be there somewhere! 

When I saw 'jinni,' I thought that it must be the plural of 'jinn'--a knee-jerk reaction based on Latin and Italian plurals, which of course is not the language group to which 'jinni' belongs, and it is not a plural. Actually, the opposite is true--according to Britannica, 'jinn' is the plural of 'jinni'.  We get 'genie' from that, as Langue_doc said.

And congrats on the 2-fer, Langue_doc!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2021, 02:22:24 PM
Thanks! I will send bee juju. 

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

And thanks for the explanation of jinn/jinni, cathwen! I had also thought that jinni could be the plural.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 01, 2021, 06:12:07 PM
Hola,

Finally gave up and joined the Comments Orgy - squeaked into Genius. No pangram.

For LB, went to the online solver. I had gotten the first word which was rather unusual, and then the second word was a compound I hadn't thought of.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2021, 06:23:31 PM
Thanks for the explanation of jinni, cathwen. Since I have no recollection of encountering this word, I didn't think it was related to jinn.

Thanks for the bee juju, ab_grp. It worked.

ciao_yall and ab_grp, I'm sending hints for the pangram and my LB solution, and my LB solution respectively. Open your PMs at your peril.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2021, 07:01:40 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc!! I'm glad the juju helped.

And thanks for the hint! I opened it before reading this, but I am ready for peril if it leads me eventually to a LB solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2021, 07:36:23 PM
Since it's an unfamiliar comic series, think someone from the boonies.a century ago, getting excited about something (adjective).

ETA Tomorrow's crossword is done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2021, 08:33:14 PM
I think I might have found a different 2fer? But I am going to keep looking and am interested in the answer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 02, 2021, 05:42:06 AM
Good morning!

bodacious/shrink; (shrank and shrunk as well)

Made it to genius on SB. That's about it for today I think.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2021, 07:13:00 AM
Good morning!

Just a note that my final word in the bee yesterday was "ciao" of all things! It was also my husband's.

Thanks again for the LB hints, Langue_doc! Although I didn't find that solution, I think the solving power helped me to get KIRSCH-HANDBOUND.  I got "kirsch" later in the evening and had "hand" lying around to play with and came to this solution, which I am not thrilled with (but I'll take it!).  I also tried kibosh and bushido along the way to no avail.  Just looking for unusual words.  The comic strip reminds me a bit of a part of my family (exaggerated). 

Today I just had tooth-brushing time so far but found the pangram right away.  Just at 58 but will work more on it after crosswords and coffee.  It looks like it could be a tough one even though it's short.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 02, 2021, 07:45:42 AM
My LB yesterday was burdocks-sharkskin. I had gotten pretty close to that with my 3fers (burdocks-shank-kin) but didn't tip over the edge.

Today is all-college meetings on Zoom (oh joy) so I'll have lots of puzzle time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 02, 2021, 09:42:03 AM
I was going to say good morning, but it's already afternoon—so good afternoon!

As always, I'm enjoying the various solutions to yesterday's LB.  I had chicks-soundboard. 

Yesterday's SB was more successful than usual for me, as I got to Alpha, but I just couldn't see the remaining words.  I also missed 'ciao', as well as 'coact' and 'coati'. 

Today, I've gotten to genius, and that may be it for the day.  And I've found a 2-fer for LB. 

Ciao_yall, saving puzzles for boring blah-blah-blah meetings (which college meetings tend to be) on Zoom is an excellent use of time! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 02, 2021, 09:49:21 AM
Got to genius pretty quickly this morning, and saw the pangram right away for once.

Among yesterday's rejected Bee words:

canto
nootic
coition
zoonotic
nictitation
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 02, 2021, 11:33:58 AM
Genius and several really close 3fers.

The meeting today was torture. Ended up hate-listening and snarking with friends over text.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2021, 11:53:10 AM
Well, managed to get to QB despite not a lot of initial optimism.  I had gotten right up to the border of Alpha, and husband was struggling, then he caught up almost to me.  When we came back to it just now, he passed me to a clean Alpha, then I passed him, and then he hit QB about a minute before I did.  He has been having a hard time with it recently, so I am very happy that he got there first! It was fun trying to keep passing each other.  Some obscure words, but not too bad.  Good luck if you're still in it!

Congrats on the 2fer, cathwen, and it sounds as though ciao_yall is nearly there.  I have a couple contenders, one of which I feel could be the trick, but no mate yet.  I wonder if there will be as many solutions found as yesterday.  Hope the snark and puzzle solving helped with the meeting torture, ciao_yall.

ETA: Just got a 2fer! I was right about which contender would get to a solution.  Will happily try to provide helpful hints to anyone interested!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 02, 2021, 12:22:13 PM
Congrats QBs and two-fers.

Made it to QB--there's only one unfamiliar word. I had 96 points this morning, so it wasn't too taxing.

I won't be able to get to LB as I have a book discussion session later this evening. Unlike ciao_yall, I won't be able to play with puzzles as this is a group that requires your undivided attention.

I knew from experience that SB wouldn't accept coition, but tried it anyway, Yesterday I found ciao early on, and assumed that everybody else in this group would have found it too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 02, 2021, 12:41:23 PM
Congrats on QB, Langue_doc and ab_grp!

I have just one word to go until QB.  I need to go away and come back to it.  What can it be?  I am wracking my brain, such as it is.

As for yesterday's rejected words:  I tried coition, too.  And canto, which I always try, and which is always rejected.

Ciao_yall, your meeting sounded hideous, but you had a good coping strategy. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2021, 02:18:15 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc! Hope you enjoy your book discussion!

And good luck, cathwen.  You are so close! I hope the time away helps.  As Langue_doc noted, there's really only one sort of tough word that I sort of had to guess at.  Both husband and I found it late in the puzzle.  Sending bee juju your way!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 02, 2021, 02:30:33 PM
Thanks for the SB juju, ab_grp! I finally got to QB.  Yippee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2021, 04:21:43 PM
Hooray, cathwen! Yay! Congrats! I am guessing we might all have had the same word haunting us, but I guess we'll see tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 02, 2021, 07:21:19 PM
Argh. So close on a 2fer but so far away...

I went to the online solver and none of their words even took!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2021, 04:33:30 AM
Morning!

Last word yesterday was venule, which I found by rearranging the letters ad infinitum--still don't know what it means.
Made it to genius today, with an easy pangram.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 03, 2021, 04:55:06 AM
Good morning, all! 

Oddly, on yesterday's SB, I had gotten venule early on by rearranging the letters kind of randomly.  I didn't know that word, either, but apparently it is a small blood vessel.  My last word was levee, which for some reason had not popped out at me, as it is not an unusual word. 

Yesterday's LB:  I had the "official" answer, viewership-plumb.. What did everyone else get?

Today, I was up unusually early, and so started the puzzles earlier than usual.  I'm at Beta on SB and have found a 2-fer on LB.  But now I have to get to work.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2021, 05:01:38 AM
Congrats on the two-fer! There are probably several possibilities today, as I just found a couple of two-fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 03, 2021, 06:45:08 AM
Thanks to  ab_grp telling me to relook at one of my 3fers I ended up with viewership-plumb which I don't think was the direction s/he was pointing me, but hey, official solution.

LB - woke up at 4 am, already have a few b2ss 2fers so hope a little coffee will knock things loose. ETA: 2fer!

Happy solving, y'all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 09:09:52 AM
Good morning!

My LB was VIEWERSHIPS-SUBLIME.  Sorry about the hints sent from my phone last night, ciao_yall, but I'm glad you got to a solution, and it was the official one!

Congrats on your 2fers today, all of you! I will take a look at today's later and will hopefully also have some success.

My last word yesterday was venue, with venule right before it.  Today I'm at Alpha, barely, 87 points.  Took a while to find the pangram.  Husband is a point from genius with no pangram, so he should catch up quickly once he gets it.  Glad to hear the bee is going in the right direction for everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 03, 2021, 09:56:40 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 09:09:52 AM
Good morning!

My LB was VIEWERSHIPS-SUBLIME.  Sorry about the hints sent from my phone last night, ciao_yall, but I'm glad you got to a solution, and it was the official one!

Congrats on your 2fers today, all of you! I will take a look at today's later and will hopefully also have some success.

My last word yesterday was venue, with venule right before it.  Today I'm at Alpha, barely, 87 points.  Took a while to find the pangram.  Husband is a point from genius with no pangram, so he should catch up quickly once he gets it.  Glad to hear the bee is going in the right direction for everyone!

I didn't understand you were trying to hint "sublime" when you were talking about going from a solid to a gas? I was like vaporize, steam, melt...

Oh well. At genius, found a few 2fers so off to get my first COVID-19 vaccine!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2021, 10:31:28 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 03, 2021, 09:56:40 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 09:09:52 AM
Good morning!

My LB was VIEWERSHIPS-SUBLIME.  Sorry about the hints sent from my phone last night, ciao_yall, but I'm glad you got to a solution, and it was the official one!

Congrats on your 2fers today, all of you! I will take a look at today's later and will hopefully also have some success.

My last word yesterday was venue, with venule right before it.  Today I'm at Alpha, barely, 87 points.  Took a while to find the pangram.  Husband is a point from genius with no pangram, so he should catch up quickly once he gets it.  Glad to hear the bee is going in the right direction for everyone!

I didn't understand you were trying to hint "sublime" when you were talking about going from a solid to a gas? I was like vaporize, steam, melt...

Oh well. At genius, found a few 2fers so off to get my first COVID-19 vaccine!

The first one has no after effects, but I would suggest scheduling the second one on a Friday in case you need to recuperate.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 10:53:18 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 03, 2021, 09:56:40 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 09:09:52 AM
Good morning!

My LB was VIEWERSHIPS-SUBLIME.  Sorry about the hints sent from my phone last night, ciao_yall, but I'm glad you got to a solution, and it was the official one!

Congrats on your 2fers today, all of you! I will take a look at today's later and will hopefully also have some success.

My last word yesterday was venue, with venule right before it.  Today I'm at Alpha, barely, 87 points.  Took a while to find the pangram.  Husband is a point from genius with no pangram, so he should catch up quickly once he gets it.  Glad to hear the bee is going in the right direction for everyone!

I didn't understand you were trying to hint "sublime" when you were talking about going from a solid to a gas? I was like vaporize, steam, melt...

Oh well. At genius, found a few 2fers so off to get my first COVID-19 vaccine!

Sorry about that! I first thought of the band Sublime but then thought of sublimate.  Good luck with your vaccine! Do you know which one you're getting? Husband has had a strange set of coincidental luck getting one scheduled this week (tomorrow).   I have heard of some folks having side effects from the first one, but mostly painful arm and heavy fatigue.  As Langue_doc noted, the second one seems to take some more recovery.  Hope it goes well!

Oh yeah I got to QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2021, 01:43:29 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 09:09:52 AM
Good morning!

My LB was VIEWERSHIPS-SUBLIME.  Sorry about the hints sent from my phone last night, ciao_yall, but I'm glad you got to a solution, and it was the official one!



Oh well. At genius, found a few 2fers so off to get my first COVID-19 vaccine!

ETA: quote didn't work--this is ab_grp's post

Good luck with your vaccine! Do you know which one you're getting? Husband has had a strange set of coincidental luck getting one scheduled this week (tomorrow).   I have heard of some folks having side effects from the first one, but mostly painful arm and heavy fatigue.  As Langue_doc noted, the second one seems to take some more recovery.  Hope it goes well!

Oh yeah I got to QB!
[/quote]

This is mine:
Congrats on getting to QB, ab_grp.

Today's puzzle wasn't too bad. I was stuck on the last 7 points and couldn't decide if I should look for a 5 or 6 letter word and one or two short ones as I didn't think there could be more than a few 4-letter words. Found the word eventually. SB wouldn't accept logoff or feal--the latter probably archaic.

As for the vaccine, I had no effects from the first one other than some soreness on the site. During the second one, the nurse gave me a list of after-effects to watch for and also informed me that she and the others administering the vaccines were required to give patients this information. This time I had no symptoms for at least 24 hours following the vaccine, but then had a high fever, fatigue, and other symptoms of the flu. My physician's practice is affiliated with a large medical provider downstate, so the practice sent the patients who qualified for the vaccine a link to the website where you could choose your site and the date/time. On both occasions I got the shot as soon as I walked in which was before my scheduled time. We could also choose between Moderna and Pfizer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 02:40:32 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! It sounds as if you and I might have had the same final word.

I have a good LB contender but need to find a mate.  Or ditch this one given that it sounds as though there are multiple solutions.

I think husband is getting Pfizer tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.  We will probably order some delivery tonight to have an easy dinner ready for tomorrow just in case.  Mainly for me so I don't have to have a sad PBJ if he gets the fatigue and goes to bed early. ;-)

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2021, 03:25:40 PM
Good idea to be prepared not to cook. I got the Pfizer because of the recommendation of a virologist friend, but the doctor's office didn't think that one was better than the other.

Sending hint in a few minutes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 03, 2021, 03:31:19 PM
Finally made QB!  The last two words were not terribly common.   

I get my first vaccine tomorrow—I think it's Moderna.  Since I usually have a mild reaction to flu shots, I imagine I'll have one to this one, too.  My husband got his first shot last week—Pfizer.  His arm was sore for a couple of days,  but that was all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2021, 03:57:55 PM
Thanks for the hints, Langue_doc! Got a 2fer from them.  The second part of the first clue gave me a mate I needed for my contender, which I think was what you were referring to in the second part of your second clue.  But I chuckled because the answer to the first part of the first clue was that I nearly threw it across the room a few minutes ago (ok I exaggerate a bit) and then heavily did the first part of your second clue.  The freaking restaurant we were trying to order from.  Aargh!!!!

Congrats on your QB, cathwen! One of the words was not my final one but was one that I had to sort of remember was in there.  Not even a common uncommon bee word.  Tough one! I'm glad you were triumphant! And I hope your vaccination goes well tomorrow and that you get to relax and/or celebrate after. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2021, 06:01:48 AM
Good morning all! Hurrah to those of you who are getting/have just got the vaccine--this also applies to hubs.

Just made it to amazing with two pangrams. It's a wordy one today.

My last word yesterday was leafage. Didn't realize that this was a word. I tried leafpeep, but no luck. I remembered the meanings of flagella from my high school science class and pelf as either medieval or biblical. I was surprised that the latter was accepted.

SB: charge/exhalation and rationale/exchange. NY Times has charge/exaltation.

ab_grp, I can visualize your frustration with ordering your dinner. Sometimes it's just a matter of clueless employees.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 04, 2021, 07:18:39 AM
Good morning! 

Pelf, indeed.  I found that by randomly entering letter combinations—I was at the desperation point where I knew I needed two four-letter words, and I had exhausted all the other combinations.  The next-to-last word was gaff, which I hadn't tried because I already had gaffe.  And yes, Langue_doc, what's up with leafage?  I didn't know that was a word, either. 

Like Langue_doc, I got the same answer for LB:  charge-exhalation.  I did not pursue other combinations. 

Today I'm at genius on SB and have a 2-fer for LB. 

Thanks for the good vaccination wishes, Langue_doc! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 04, 2021, 07:48:18 AM
Morning! 

SB had "fella" another one of those words I don't think is a word but should try. ETA: And of course, it still won't take "hella." Grr. Those New Yorkers are just jealous of our fabulous California weather.

LB - cringe-exhalation and changer-relaxation. ETA: 2fer already. Now I know what it feels like to be cathwen!

Coffee maker just beeped so will start on today's puzzles.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2021, 08:13:57 AM
Good morning!

Pelf was a hard one, I thought.  That's the one I vaguely remembered being in there but couldn't remember what it meant.  My last one was flagella.  I think I tried just about every compound word I could think of.  Today I'm almost to genius (163) with two pangrams, but husband will be heading off for his appointment soon, so I'll get back to it later.  Still have a problem with my crossword I need to find. 

Thanks to Langue_doc's superb hints, I got RATIONALE to go with my EXCHANGE.  Lots of solutions again! Hopefully similar luck today.  Congrats on already getting a 2fer, cathwen! Hope your vaccination appointment goes well! As you can probably tell, trying to order a nice, handy meal for this evening did not work out, so we made cheesesteaks and have the leftovers for tonight.  We will try again on ordering the nicer, healthier meal again tomorrow night, hopefully.

Happy Thursday solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2021, 11:05:48 AM
I managed to get to Alpha (215), still with two pangrams.  But there are enough points left that there could be a third, I guess.

Husband's appointment was extremely efficient despite the number of cars and people that made him less than optimistic at first.  Very strong presence of National Guard, police, fire, ambulance, etc.  Social distancing was enforced and adhered to, and a guy was sanitizing the waiting area chairs as soon as people got up to leave.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2021, 11:20:39 AM
I have 210 points and only two pangrams so far. Got a two-fer in LB.

I'm not going to have time or energy for more words as I have a meeting coming up and lots of grading.

Glad to hear that the vaccine appointment was efficient. BTW, when I read about your dinner preparations, I thought you were making cheesecakes and was wondering why you needed to make more than one and why that would be a good substitute for dinner! As someone mentioned about juries, people hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe. I guess people also read what they want to read!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 04, 2021, 12:21:57 PM
I'm at high Beta (205).  Not sure if I'll get back to the puzzles—I am determined to finish grading the first major assignment today, if it kills me.

Congrats on all the LB 2-fers!  And ciao_yall, the only reasons I usually get LB early is that (1) I am a very early riser because I'm old, and (2) I am in New England, not California, so three hours ahead of you. 

Speaking of old, the vaccine appointment went smoothly today.  I didn't see anyone sanitizing chairs, and that shocked me a little, as the site was the city Health Department!  So far, I have no ill effects, not even a sore arm.  (Yet.)

And ab_grp, your mention of cheesesteaks made me homesick for my hometown (a little south of Philly). 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2021, 12:46:09 PM
I got one measly four-letter word, so 216 now.  Tough figuring out what's left.

Langue_doc, cheesecakes for dinner would be a little weird, though I have had cheesesteaks for breakfast, so to each one's own.  I guess if you're going to go through the trouble to make one cheesecake, you might as well make several.  Congrats on your 2fer!

Cathwen, I grew up a little NE of Philly, so I am all about cheesesteaks! I'm glad your appointment went well and that you are feeling well, too.  I hope that continues.  Maybe the sanitizers were just a little less obvious than where husband went.  He said when his time was about up for waiting, the guy had sprayer in hand and was eyeing him. 

Good luck with all the grading!

ETA: Just got a 2fer.  I think it was all the cheesesteak talk that put my brain in a happy place.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2021, 02:08:19 PM
cathwen and ab_grp, are you familiar with the Pie Lady in the Reading Terminal Market? She was there until around 2000. I've been back a couple of times in the early 00's, but her stall had closed. She had the most delectable pies and cakes.

Congrats on the alphas, betas, and two-fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2021, 03:27:09 PM
Langue_doc, I didn't do much shopping there, but my mother is huge fan and sends me Mueller Chocolate nonpareils from there each Christmas.  I'll have to see what she knows about the Pie Lady and her wares!

I crept up to 222 on the bee, but there are apparently a couple longish words yet to find (or, more likely, not).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 05, 2021, 06:22:14 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius, but no pangram yet. Yesterday, I missed luteal and ululate. The program failed to acknowledge fate, late, and heal, all of which I had found and entered early on.

LB: earthlings/silkily; I prefer my pair to that of the NYT.

One of the words in today's crossword is a longish one that was in a recent bee--the one that didn't accept leafpeep.

ab_grp, do let me know if your mother remembers The Pie Lady.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 05, 2021, 08:06:29 AM
SB - I did manage to get ululate, then tipped into genius and got distracted. Long day of Zoom meetings.

LB - Yesterday - shrinkage-eyelet.

Happy solving everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2021, 08:58:51 AM
Good morning!

Well I got to within 10 points of the QB yesterday and couldn't figure out the final 10-letter word.  Freaking telehealth, again! I went down the wrong road of trying to get something -athlete, and I think heptathlete was another I had missed in the telehealth puzzle before.  But although I tried tele- stuff, I could not get it, again.  Argh!

Today I'm at 228, so still 12 or so points from Alpha.  Hopefully coffee will kick in.  One pangram so far. 

For LB yesterday, I got GATHERINGS-SLINKILY, so another day of lots of solutions!

Langue_doc, I thought about that crossword answer as well! Will let you know about the Pie Lady.

Wishing you all a happy solving day! It is one of the best days on the calendar, so hopefully lots of solving magic in the air.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 05, 2021, 10:20:29 AM
Good afternoon, all! 

Yesterday I got ululate, but missed that!  Doh...  I didn't get beyond 205.

I'm off to a slow start on SB today, but I did get a 2-fer on LB.

Yesterday's LB:  I got retaking-garishly..

I haven't tackled the crossword yet, but will be on the lookout for that longish word in a recent bee.

Langue_doc:  I haven't been shopping in Philly for decades, so I am not familiar with the Pie Lady.  But I think I like her already!




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2021, 11:15:19 AM
Cathwen, that was one of my last words!

I got one more word on the bee, so 234, still not at Alpha.  Husband has now passed me and is at 237 with one fewer word.  So I guess we have something different!

Congrats on the 2fer, cathwen! I have some contenders that I'm working with.

Langue_doc, Mom does not know of (or remember, at least) the Pie Lady but mentioned some Amish bakers and said she usually shops at Famous Fourth St Cookies and Termini.  Sounds as though she may have missed out on some great pies and cakes back in the day!

I managed to get personal best times on the sudokus, so I feel like that will jinx my word games...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 05, 2021, 01:02:19 PM
I have 51 words and 236 points. I'll keep working on it as I'm finding today's puzzle to be challenging in a stimulating kind of way.

As for LB, it's interesting that we all came up with different solutions. Today's doesn't look too difficult (I've probably jinxed myself).

ab_grp, thank you for asking your mom about the Pie Lady. She was at the Terminal Market during the late '90s.

I would be very surprised to hear that cathwen didn't find a two-fer first thing in the morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2021, 01:24:00 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 05, 2021, 01:02:19 PM
I would be very surprised to hear that cathwen didn't find a two-fer first thing in the morning.

Too true!

I am thinking that you must also have something different than husband and I, Langue_doc.  I'm at 234/51, he's at 237/50, and you said you are at 236/51.  I am going to keep working on it, too.  There are still a bunch of points left, though I am currently unclear as to what the words could be. 

And the LB does not seem too tough, but I don't know.  The contenders I have seem to use up hard letters and also just leave few remaining, but we shall see.

Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 05, 2021, 05:07:05 PM
Oof.  I'm at 238/50.  Six more words to go, but I can't imagine what they could be, either.  I think that's it for me tonight, but I wish you all well in getting to QB! 

As for LB, I did find an early solution, but I'm not happy with it.  The second word seems iffy to me, but it was accepted.  You'll all probably find more sensible solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2021, 07:21:18 PM
I think the bee today was pretty tough.  I got to 259/55 and had to give up.  I'm glad I did, because the final word was a doozy (at least in my estimation).  I will send my leftover juju to anyone still trying.

But I did get a 2fer! I can say with near 100% certainty that it is not the official solution because it is slightly dirty.  Okay, maybe that is just how it read to me.  But it was accepted! If I get time, I might try with some of the other contenders, but likely not with delivered dinner and spouse-made choco chip cookies awaiting.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 05, 2021, 07:44:34 PM
It's a shame that you had to give up when you were so close to the finish line, ab_grp. I found the last couple of words by trying consonant/vowel combinations so there are a few words that don't quite look English but were accepted.

Congrats on the two-fer. Is your second word clothing-related? My first word sounds legal, and the second, exhibitionist.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2021, 09:03:31 PM
I'm so glad you got to QB, Langue_doc! Maybe you can guess which unusual word was beyond me.  And I think we might have two different, interesting LB solutions!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2021, 05:23:08 AM
Good morning!

LB: deports/skintight; should have come up with desports and skintight, as they go together. I have no idea what hotdesking means--perhaps something the younguns at the NY Times do when the grown-ups aren't looking?

SB: still don't know what maraca and matcha mean; I've encountered the other unusual words in recent puzzles. As for today, found the pangram and reached genius.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2021, 08:21:05 AM
Good morning!

For LB, I got PORKING-GHOSTED, or what I thought of as Acts I and II of a play about modern dating.  I like our solutions better than the official one.  I think hotdesking means not having one particular assigned desk, but your intuition may be correct, Langue_doc.

As for SB yesterday, I missed catarrh.  WTF is that! We looked it up, and I guess it sounds like what it is, having phlegm? Or speaking like a pirate about a Middle Eastern nation.  I knew maraca because my backyard neighbor had a set when I was little, and I was fascinated with them.  She let me take them home with me one night, and of course we were very careful with them! I think matcha is some sort of tea or tea flavor or something.  I guess we must have had catarrh before, but I'm sure I won't remember it next time, either.

For today, somehow I got to 123, so I guess maybe one or two 4-letter words left.  I was struggling for a bit, and there are some sort of tough words in there.

Good luck and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2021, 10:04:20 AM
Morning!

LB Yesterday I got knighted-deports and prinking-ghosted. Prinking was a typo but it turns out to be an old word for primping. Who knew?

SB I thought of catarrh and went to check the spelling. In my head it was some sort of Middle Eastern spice, like frankincense or myrrh.

Just starting today, so still at Amazing with no pangram (keep seeing chopstick) and for LB, a pretty clean 3fer. That WH on the same side is super annoying.

Happy solving all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 06, 2021, 11:55:06 AM
Good afternoon!

It's not a good puzzle day for me!  I do not have a 2-fer for LB yet, and SB is limping along; I'm only at amazing.

For yesterday's LB, I got deport-thinkings.  I was surprised that thinkings was accepted, but there you go. 

Yesterday's SB I missed cami, chai (should have gotten those!), chitchat (odd, since I had both chit and chat), circa, matcha, and tramcar.  So now I know that matcha is a word—I would never have thought of that.  I knew maraca because we had them in our elementary school music classroom.  And I don't know why catarrh came to me, but it did.  I think that matcha is that annoying prove-you're-not-a-robot image-matching procedure that some sites use.

Langue_doc, congratulations on making QB yesterday!  Ab_grp, with 123 points today, you are sure to make QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2021, 12:33:32 PM
Thanks, cathwen! I did finally make it to QB a few minutes ago! It also took me until nearly the end yesterday to get chitchat, and I am impressed with those of you who got catarrh.  I just don't think that set of letters would have occurred to me.

No LB 2fer yet, though I have a couple reasonable contenders.

Of course, this all means that I am tanking on the medium and hard sudokus.  Whatevs.

Hope the recent vaccinnatees are feeling well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2021, 01:08:34 PM
Congrats, ab_grp. Sending good wishes to all for two-fers.

I'm at 26/104, and probably not getting any further. I know catarrh-- it's a familiar word for those with allergies.

I'm grading assignments that demonstrate unfamiliarity with the course materials, feedback on previous assignments, and total disregard of feedback from peer reviews. I'll be heading to the teaching thread soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2021, 03:22:21 PM
SB - Genius but no pangram. I keep seeing chopsticks and pickpocket.

LB - lots of 3fers, hope the 2fer appears soon.

Vaccine - got my first shot Wednesday and no side effects as far as I could tell. I felt a little off but that was probably because I didn't get my usual post-lunch nap.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 06, 2021, 04:03:53 PM
I made genius, finally, but like ciao_yall, no pangram!  Still no 2-fer for LB.  Lots of good words, but I can't make them fit together. 

Ciao_yall, I'm glad you're not having side effects from the vaccine.  I got my first shot Thursday; the only side effect was a slightly sore arm on Friday, but only if I moved it in a certain way.

Langue_doc, good luck with the grading.  It sounds frustrating.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2021, 04:34:42 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I have allergies but maybe not as robust a vocabulary. ;-) Or maybe the allergies are not bad enough, which I will be thankful for.  Good luck with the assignments.  Sounds pretty yuck.  I am trying to look at the teaching thread but am having a hard time getting particular pages to load on this site for some reason.

Sorry to hear there are still struggles with the pangram! If a hint would help, let me know.  Good luck!

Still working on LB.  I also finally finished today's medium sudoku and tried to move back to the hard one, only to find out it had switched to tomorrow's. :-(

Glad you are both feeling well, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2021, 04:55:19 PM
Spoiler alert.


The pangram is a compound, familiar word. I tried hiphop, but no luck.

Glad to hear that there were no side effects. Be warned, though, that there are going to be side effects after the next shot.

Crosswords and sudokus do come out early on weekends.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2021, 07:10:24 PM
Finally gave up on the LB and went to the online solver for a hint. /headsmack Let me know if you want a hint.

Thanks for the tip on SB, will stare at compounds and see what comes up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2021, 07:36:26 PM
Just sent you a hint, ciao_yall.

Gave up on LB eons ago, and also my attempts to reach QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 07, 2021, 07:07:12 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Yesterday was not a successful puzzle day for me.  I did get to genius, st least, on SB, but even with Langue_doc's hint, did not find toothpick!  Oh well.

And I did not get LB, either.  Funny that tequila did not occur to me—that is my daughter's cat's name (my grandcat). But I did find a 2-fer today, after a bit of frustration.

SB is coming along slowly.  I'm at great, but will keep working on it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2021, 07:37:24 AM
Morning!

Sorry to hear about your puzzle woes, cathwen, but on the bright side, you did get a two-fer today, which is quite an accomplishment.

I made it to genius, but no pangram yet. Lots of similar ending words today. Pangram looks as unattainable as something on the moon.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 07, 2021, 08:18:24 AM
I just made it to genius, too, and no pangram.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2021, 08:43:48 AM
Good morning!

I'm at about 138 today with one pangram.  I'm sure you will figure it out!

Congrats on the 2fer today, cathwen! I had no luck with yesterday's, despite lots of contenders.  I could not figure out what to do with the W and H.  Lots of interesting letters in there today.

Gotta try to get the hard sudoku done so I don't run into the same problem as yesterday, as I will be trapped in a call when the puzzles turn over.  I just lost track of it yesterday.

Have fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 07, 2021, 08:55:04 AM
SB - Thanks Langue_doc for the hint yesterday! Getting started this morning. Slow... more coffee.

LB - With a little hint from the solver app I got tequila-anyhow which was the official solution. Were there any others? Today's looks tricky. Getting some within-6-words solutions using lots of short words so maybe I'm getting somewhere.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 07, 2021, 09:37:34 AM
Fun fact - TEQUILA was a pangram for the newspaper version of the Bee some time ago. I didn't get it then, either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2021, 02:37:06 PM
Anyone having any luck with the bee? I got to Alpha a couple hours ago (151) but have made absolutely no further progress.  Still 16 or 17 more points to go? Husband hasn't found the pangram yet.

Still no LB progress either, nor a solution to today's hard sudoku.  Ugh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 07, 2021, 03:01:55 PM
I've done very poorly these last few days--haven't even made it to genius, although I've been just a point or two shy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2021, 03:54:14 PM
No progress since morning. I haven't been around much, so haven't had any time to figure out the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 07, 2021, 07:32:03 PM
SB - Genius, no pangram. And I'm cranky because it wouldn't take a bunch of words that it seems it should have.

LB - Finally hit a 2fer. Went to the letterboxed site and once I realized I already had the first word, the second word popped out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 07, 2021, 09:28:57 PM
Finally made it to genius today. Got the pangram early on, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2021, 06:23:38 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 07, 2021, 09:28:57 PM
Finally made it to genius today. Got the pangram early on, though.

Congrats! Great feeling, isn't it? I never did get the pangram. And I was crabby because it wouldn't take a bunch of words it seemed it should have - annatto, natto, titian...

LB got fugitive-empower which was the official solution. Didn't seem to have any other paths - did any of you come up with anything else?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 08, 2021, 06:41:54 AM
Good morning!

You're up early, ciao_yall.

Nationhood!!! As for today, got the pangram and got to genius. Haven't looked at LB yet.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2021, 06:53:49 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 08, 2021, 06:41:54 AM
Good morning!

You're up early, ciao_yall.

Nationhood!!! As for today, got the pangram and got to genius. Haven't looked at LB yet.

Happy solving, all.

A bit. They are doing water testing in our building so I need to be showered early, before I run my pre-class errands.

SB - 2 pangrams and genius.

LB - quick 3fer, so 2fer should be close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 08, 2021, 07:10:00 AM
Had an easy time of it this morning. Am a bit past genius with the two pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 08, 2021, 07:34:56 AM
I've been frantically looking for the second pangram--turns out that I found it early on. The things you miss when you do the puzzles on the Kindle without turning on the light or putting on your glasses!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 08, 2021, 08:29:54 AM
Good morning, and congratulations on the various successes!

I got to Alpha yesterday--found the pangram late, but missed (once again!!!) attaint, plus a couple of other words. 

Today's SB is at genius, with both pangrams. 

I also got fugitive-empower for yesterday's LB.  I've found a 2-fer today as well.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2021, 08:53:12 AM
Good morning!

I missed initiation and tahini yesterday.  Sorry attaint got you again, cathwen! Am at 212 today, so Alpha so far.  I had overlooked having gotten a second pangram as well until husband mentioned he had two but was a good bit behind me on points.  One was more obvious, I guess.

Congrats on the 2fers yesterday, ciao_yall and cathwen.  I had no luck with it, and husband even looked at it but also could not figure anything out.  And congrats on yours today, cathwen! Ciao_yall, I'm sure you will get one as well.

A word from a recent puzzle was in the crossword today.  Not sure why Rex P. hated this one so much, though it is a little cutesy without much payoff.  Trying too hard, maybe.

Have fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2021, 10:29:22 AM
Too late to edit, but I did get to QB.  Not too tough today.  Just the two pangrams.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2021, 11:06:56 AM
Still stuck at 3fers and 2fer b4ss so hope something will pop soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2021, 04:36:15 PM
Did you have any luck getting a 2fer, ciao_yall? I have about a thousand pretty good contenders but cannot make a match! However, there is a b4ss that may not actually be a word but that has now put an earworm in my head.  It's from a TV show I do not remember at all from the 80s but for which I apparently know all the words to the theme song.  It has been playing in my head all afternoon, and I have caught myself singing it aloud.  ARGH.  I admit that it's pretty catchy, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 08, 2021, 05:21:56 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I am at 212 points, Alpha, but not at all sure where the other 18 points will come from.  I am dying to know what tune from which 80s TV show has been playing in your head!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 08, 2021, 06:20:04 PM
Congrats QBs and two-fers.

Just made it to QB. As ab_grp noted, they're all familiar words. In case you're having trouble finding words, there's a bird, not American, and a medical condition.

Just finished the crossword. Not sure if I'll get to LB before tomorrow's crosswords come out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2021, 06:37:10 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 08, 2021, 04:36:15 PM
Did you have any luck getting a 2fer, ciao_yall? I have about a thousand pretty good contenders but cannot make a match! However, there is a b4ss that may not actually be a word but that has now put an earworm in my head.  It's from a TV show I do not remember at all from the 80s but for which I apparently know all the words to the theme song.  It has been playing in my head all afternoon, and I have caught myself singing it aloud.  ARGH.  I admit that it's pretty catchy, though.

Ugh, after a million easy 3fers and 2fer b4ss I finally went to the online solver. Clearly they had a problem because there was only one solution that even seemed reasonable and it was a weird one. Send me an email if you want a hint.

Quote from: Langue_doc on March 08, 2021, 06:20:04 PM
Congrats QBs and two-fers.

Just made it to QB. As ab_grp noted, they're all familiar words. In case you're having trouble finding words, there's a bird, not American, and a medical condition.

Just finished the crossword. Not sure if I'll get to LB before tomorrow's crosswords come out.
.

Yeah, no good here with fauna or medical stuff. Ooh, just tried two of each and they worked! A ways away from QB though. Still crabby because it wouldn't take papain.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2021, 05:55:30 AM
Morning!

Two pangrams and genius. Getting to QB would be a challenge unless there are a couple more pangrams.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 07:46:04 AM
Morning!

SB - off to a start. My first two were pangrams so I'm feeling saucy today.

LB - The online solver suggested cadre-elopements which is just weird. Elopements? Not as weird as the official solution clement-teardrops. What is a clement?

Here are all my 2fer b4ss: nomads-spectral, placemats-snored, motel-landscaper, monster-replaced.

Let's see how today goes.

Happy solving, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 08:30:28 AM
Good morning!

Also off to a good start on the bee with two pangrams but not quite to Alpha yet (183).  Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc, and on Alpha, cathwen!

For LB yesterday, I got a 2fer later in the evening: CAMELOPARDS-SENT.  Obviously not the schmofficial solution, but yay.  I had CLEMENT earlier on (like clement weather? clemency? not sure) but didn't find a mate.  I had nearly a full notebook page of contenders so glad I finally got something that worked! I agree, ciao_yall, the "solutions" are not great.

As for the 80s show, I should clarify that it's not a cool TV show but rather a kids show.  I had tried SPACEMONSTER and SPACELORD and thought SPACECOASTER! I asked husband wasn't there some show about a great space coaster? He was unfamiliar, but I started singing the theme, and he knew all the words as well! After he went into work, I looked it up and did not recognize it at all.  Something about singers transported to an asteroid? I am wondering if there was some brainwashing of children going on in the 80s since neither of us remember the show a bit but know the theme song by heart.   Here's the song, if you dare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dddm5bQeKvg   Which I am now singing along to, again.  It is quite the jam.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 08:36:01 AM
The online solver also suggested camelopard which I thought was some sort of cross-breed between a camel and a leopard.

Done by test tube, obvi...

Turns out, it's a thing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 09, 2021, 10:16:44 AM
My LB solution yesterday was dreamscapes-stolen.

I haven't found a 2-fer for LB yet today, although I have come frustratingly close (with all but one letter used). 

SB:  I never did progress beyond Alpha yesterday, despite Langue_doc's hints.  I already had peahen, but missed apnea!  I've gotten a little beyond genius today, with two pangrams, but not quite at beta. 

Ab_grp, I had never heard of Spacecoaster!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 11:53:26 AM
I wasn't sure what a camelopard was, but I see that there is a constellation with a similar name, so maybe that's where I pulled it from.  When I shouted with glee at finally getting the 2fer, I related it to husband, and he had not heard of a camelopard.  Thank goodness they are a thing, because I was going crazy.

As for the spacecoaster, same thing... I guess I dug it up from somewhere! If it was brainwashing meant to trigger some sort of behavior, I don't think it has succeeded in either of us (I hope). ;-)

Cathwen, I limped across the line to Alpha and am now about 10 points from QB, but it has not been easy.  Not enough points remaining for a third pangram, though, if that helps. 

Good luck getting those 2fers! I am have a few contenders, but not nearly as many as yesterday's ridiculous list.  One seems sort of promising, but I'm not sure.  It uses up a couple of the hard letters, at least.  Sounds like you are close, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2021, 01:30:56 PM
I'm probably around alpha, and most likely not getting any further.

I'm learning new words from your discussions about LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 09, 2021, 03:24:37 PM
No pangram yet, and I'm not at genius yet, either. But I'm still hunting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 03:24:58 PM
Genius and a 2fer. PM me if you want a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 03:44:42 PM
I finally gave up on the bee.  Decided to use the scaffolded approach and found that I had one lengthy word left.  Tried in vain.  Checked with husband to see how many words of that length he had; we each had one.  He was also missing another word.  Tried again in vain.  Checked the first letter of our lengthy words, and it was the same.  Gave him a hint on his other word, which he got.  We discussed our previous approaches, prefixes, suffixes, etc.  We then just kept trying stuff, and he got QB! So a very impure team QB.  Yuck.  Not feeling too badly about missing the final word.  Now more time for LB.  And I still have to try to finish today's hard sudoku.  I think this is the fourth one that I still have to solve.  I think I have lost the knack for solving them or am just getting lazy.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

Good luck to the hunters! I think this collection of letters was kind of a pain even though most of the words are not that tough or obscure themselves.  If you get one of the pangrams, there's a good chance that you will get the other!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 04:23:00 PM
I like to go to the Crossword Puzzle comments thread. They have some really good scaffolded hints that help bring one over the finish line.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 04:37:13 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 04:23:00 PM
I like to go to the Crossword Puzzle comments thread. They have some really good scaffolded hints that help bring one over the finish line.

Maybe we'll try that next time we're both stumped! Luckily, he was able to guess the final word today, but there are days when we just look at the answers.   I usually avoid the comments anymore because now I play multiple games that get discussed there and don't want to see something for one puzzle while looking for a hint for or comment about another.  But that is a good idea.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2021, 05:18:08 PM
Two-fer, finally, but no progress on the bee. They're probably obscure words, so I won't be agonizing over them (sour grapes?).

Parasaurolophus, the pangrams are easy as they are both 7-letter words, and if the letters are in the right configuration, they just jump out at you. The pangrams were my first two words.

Incidentally, today's crossword includes a word that we often use on this thread.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 05:35:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 04:37:13 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 04:23:00 PM
I like to go to the Crossword Puzzle comments thread. They have some really good scaffolded hints that help bring one over the finish line.

Maybe we'll try that next time we're both stumped! Luckily, he was able to guess the final word today, but there are days when we just look at the answers.   I usually avoid the comments anymore because now I play multiple games that get discussed there and don't want to see something for one puzzle while looking for a hint for or comment about another.  But that is a good idea.

If you sort by "most liked" you will see the Bee ones first. And they are all threaded together as replies.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 07:23:45 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 05:35:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 09, 2021, 04:37:13 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 09, 2021, 04:23:00 PM
I like to go to the Crossword Puzzle comments thread. They have some really good scaffolded hints that help bring one over the finish line.

Maybe we'll try that next time we're both stumped! Luckily, he was able to guess the final word today, but there are days when we just look at the answers.   I usually avoid the comments anymore because now I play multiple games that get discussed there and don't want to see something for one puzzle while looking for a hint for or comment about another.  But that is a good idea.

If you sort by "most liked" you will see the Bee ones first. And they are all threaded together as replies.

I wish they would make separate threads or fora for the bee and LB and get them out of the crossword thread.  I had no idea that sorting that way could help find the bee comments, though!

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

I still have to submit my trivial league stuff and then try on LB again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2021, 05:42:46 AM
Good morning!

Missed mondo, monodrama, and nonrandom. Didn't realize that these were actual words. As for today, found the pangram, and made it to slightly above genius.

LB: clockwise/etagere.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 10, 2021, 06:16:48 AM
Good morning, and congratulations on everyone's successes!

I was at beta on yesterday's SB.  I missed nonrandom, maybe because SB rejects so many words with non- that I give up before trying.  I also missed monodrama, having never heard of it.  And I missed monad and nomad.  Sigh...

Today, like Langue_doc, I have found the pangram and am just slightly above genius.  But I'm out of ideas.  We'll see how it goes.

I never did find a 2-fer for yesterday's LB.  I did find one for today, though!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2021, 08:12:28 AM
Good morning!

We also missed monodrama yesterday until husband just tried stuff and guessed it.  I also agree that they are very inconsistent about accepting non- words.  I guess good to try them when you have run out of options just in case, but it is frustrating.

Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc! Etagere sounds very elegant.  I was close to the solution, at least.  I had tragic and kept trying things with clock, but no cigar.  Congrats on your 2fer for today, cathwen!

I'm right at Alpha today (83) but am pretty tired and having a hard time getting into it.  I guess only one pangram given the remaining points available.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 10, 2021, 08:20:31 AM
SB - My last word was tandoor then I moved on since I had achieved genius. Missed the usual weird ones - doodad, monodrama - and a few easy ones like nomad, tornado. Got mondo though.

LB - yesterday I got cowgirl-latkes.

Happy solving! Coffee is poured!

ETA - Genius, pangram. Am I a bad person for wanting to have a J in there?

LB is going to be tricky. Must channel my inner cathwen.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2021, 10:34:52 AM
Agh! I also had cowgirl but couldn't find a mate.  Good one!

I only got one more four-letter word, so 184.  Husband has the same number of words but different points, so I guess we have at least something each other needs.  LOL about the J!

A couple LB contenders so far, but no luck yet.  Somehow I did manage to complete all of today's sudokus, though.  That is a first in a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 10, 2021, 10:49:13 AM
Latkes!  Of course!  I had cowgirl, but did not think to make latkes out of the remaining letters.  Well done, ciao_yall!  And good luck today. 

Ab_grp, congratulations on Alpha!  I'm stuck at 76 points, so at least that's Beta; and I have the pangram.  And yes, ciao_yall, a J would be nice.  But alas...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2021, 12:53:26 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and good luck! I did get to QB, though I checked to see how many words and points were left, which helped, and husband had the word I needed and reminded me that the bee does some annoying stuff at times.  That helped me figure out some things to try.  He had two words left but got to QB with a little help as well.

Still more LB contenders, still no luck yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 10, 2021, 02:34:02 PM
I made QB!  Then last word was an alternate spelling of a word I already had. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2021, 03:02:56 PM
Quote from: cathwen on March 10, 2021, 02:34:02 PM
I made QB!  Then last word was an alternate spelling of a word I already had.

Congrats!! Sounds like we ended with the same word.  Darned bee! Hooray!

ETA: Okay, finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2021, 03:48:28 PM
QB here too. No luck with LB.

Congrats on QBs and two-fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 10, 2021, 04:56:08 PM
Found a 2fer in LB, ping if you want a hint.

Just barely into genius on SB. Let's see how I do. Alternate spelling, eh?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2021, 05:20:03 PM
One of the longer words has an alternative spelling as well, as I learned from a previous SB puzzle.

Thanks for the hint offer, but I'm going to pass as  I'm done with puzzles for today. Let me know if you'd like a hint for the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 10, 2021, 08:53:14 PM
Went to the comments board and hit QB. Not too bad, actually. One alternative spelling (2 n's, who knew?) Some of the words I thought I had gotten already, and realized I was remembering them from having done a similar puzzle a few days back.

Very bummed it didn't take badonkadonk. One would think...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 10, 2021, 09:38:13 PM
Finally got to genius. Dunno why I struggled today. Found the pangram easily enough.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 11, 2021, 05:44:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius, but still no pangram.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 11, 2021, 06:58:56 AM
Good morning!  I also got to genius; the pangram was the first word I saw.  But now I'm stuck.  I think I need to do something else and come back to it.  Parasaurolophus, some days those SBs really are a struggle.  I'm usually just happy to make genius, and anything else is icing on the cake.

For yesterday's LB, I got rejecting-godly.  But I like the "official" solution better—inject-troglodyte.  I found a 2-fer for today's LB, too, but nothing as interesting as troglodyte.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 11, 2021, 08:12:22 AM
Morning! Amazing and 3fer so far. They wouldn't take a word I think is pretty common so maybe I'm already a genius in my own mind?

Yes, I also got rejecting-godly. I remembered thinking about the word troglodyte but didn't actually make it into a word for some reason. Maybe my brain never made the connection to my fingers, maybe I was still too broken up over not getting "trilogy" to work, maybe I found the 2fer and was over it?

ETA: Genius, 2fer bfss. So getting warm.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2021, 08:48:17 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the QB yesterday, Langue_doc! And we have to keep remembering that genius is the official top title, so certainly something to celebrate, Parasaurolophus! Each bee is a new opportunity.  Guessing the bandanna spelling took others a while, too? I got to 108 today, so still not Alpha and am stuck. 

As for the LB yesterday, I got the same solution as cathwen and ciao_yall.  Didn't even think of troglodyte or anything near that.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen.  Ciao_yall, you sound like you are heading right towards one.

I feel way better than yesterday, so hopefully I can crack the sudokus again and get some other successes, but that seems unpredictable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on March 11, 2021, 10:12:30 AM
I thought the pangram perfectly summed up my feelings on today (at least in one definition of it)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2021, 10:33:43 AM
Thank you for your indefatigable encouragement, ab_grp!

I'm only halfway there so far today, but I expect words will start leaping out at me in the evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2021, 12:47:02 PM
Quote from: OneMoreYear on March 11, 2021, 10:12:30 AM
I thought the pangram perfectly summed up my feelings on today (at least in one definition of it)

Yep! I finally got over the hump to Alpha (116), but I don't have a lot of confidence in getting to QB today.

Some good contenders for LB, so we'll see.  And I did manage to get the sudokus solved, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 11, 2021, 01:39:35 PM
2fer (YAY), but in that sticky slow part of SB. There are words that are probably easy but just not coming to mind. And I get crabby when what I think is a real word doesn't go through.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 11, 2021, 01:57:57 PM
I am within *one word* of QB--and eight points--so it's a long one.  For the life of me, I can't imagine what it is. The pangram is now seeming especially relevant. 

Congratulations on your 2-fer, ciao_yall! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2021, 03:16:33 PM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall! There were a couple words that the bee didn't accept today that I thought it should have.

And cathwen, maybe we need the same one darned 8-letter word! Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 11, 2021, 04:57:06 PM
If anyone wants a hint for the eight letter word, let me know.

Congrats on the two-fers. Am on the Kindle, so have to be brief.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 11, 2021, 06:54:53 PM
I'm missing one word, the first one alphabetically that starts with a T.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 11, 2021, 07:08:32 PM
How many letters?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2021, 09:29:12 PM
Got there (beta, including pangram) in the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 12, 2021, 05:09:07 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2021, 09:29:12 PM
Got there (beta, including pangram) in the end.

That's quite an accomplishment!

ab_grp, did you make it to QB? Were you, cathwen and ciao_yall looking for the same word? I found teletext by trying different configurations. My last word was elite; I found tipple and tittle early on.

Made it to genius; the pangram was my second word.

LB: checklist/tardy

Good morning and happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 12, 2021, 06:58:43 AM
Made it to genius easily this morning, pangram and all. Further heights await!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 12, 2021, 07:02:14 AM
Good morning! 

I never did find that last word yesterday—it was expellee.  I thought I had tried that, but perhaps I did not double the l.  Oh well!  Was that the word others were looking for?  I made genius on today's. 

My LB yesterday was threads-sickly.  I have found a solution for today's LB.  Now I can get on with my life!

Congratulations on beta, Parasaurolophus!  And congratulations on genius today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 12, 2021, 07:21:48 AM
SB - even with hints from the comments, could not figure out "teletext." Didn't know that was a thing. Already at genius on today's puzzle - a short one.

LB - threads-slickly or threads-sickly. This morning I have a 2fer but it wouldn't take my second word, probably because some would find it offensive. Already have plenty of tight 3fers so should get there soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 12, 2021, 07:47:56 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 12, 2021, 06:58:43 AM
Made it to genius easily this morning, pangram and all. Further heights await!

Woohoo! Isn't that just the best feeling? Now that you are hooked on the gateway drug... Have you tried letter boxed yet?

ETA: 2fer! And non-offensive AFAIK.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 12, 2021, 08:37:41 AM
Good morning!

I didn't quite make it to QB yesterday.  Like cathwen, I missed expellee.  I thought I had tried it, but I guess I typed it wrong (maybe I also didn't double the l)? Anyway, husband found it, so I guess sort of a team QB.  Oh well! I did manage to find teletext (my final word).  I am going to do my best not to miss those tele words.  It didn't take vittle or lexile or a couple others, though.  Seems like everyone had a good amount of success yesterday! And congrats, Langue_doc.  Sounds like you got to QB!

Today I am at Alpha (94), so we shall see.  I am stuck for now. 

And I actually got the schmofficial LB 2fer last night, KITSCH-HERALDRY.  Finally.  A bunch of solutions for that one, apparently!

Congrats on the 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 12, 2021, 10:59:46 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 12, 2021, 07:47:56 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 12, 2021, 06:58:43 AM
Made it to genius easily this morning, pangram and all. Further heights await!

Woohoo! Isn't that just the best feeling? Now that you are hooked on the gateway drug... Have you tried letter boxed yet?


You're running with the wrong crowd, Parasaurolophus. Run, before you're addicted to the point of no return.

cathwen and ciao_yall, congrats on the two-fers.

Sorry about expellee, ab_grp and ciao_yall. Very often the letters don't register, or sometimes if your finger stays on a key a tad bit too long, a double letter gets entered, which I don't catch unless I'm going over the list later in the day. I got carried away with finding expellee which I didn't think was a word, so tried exilee, which is obviously not an acceptable word.

No further progress on SB. LB looks promising, but haven't had time to play with the words.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 12, 2021, 11:57:43 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 12, 2021, 07:47:56 AM


Woohoo! Isn't that just the best feeling? Now that you are hooked on the gateway drug... Have you tried letter boxed yet?


I check it out most days already, although I'm not very good at it yet. Only occasional 2fers. Today, I've got what must be half of the 2fer, but am struggling with the second half.

Quote from: Langue_doc on March 12, 2021, 10:59:46 AM

You're running with the wrong crowd, Parasaurolophus. Run, before you're addicted to the point of no return.


Unless you're planning an intervention...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 12, 2021, 02:03:28 PM
<looks around>  Nope, no interventions coming your way, Parasaurolophus!  We've got you!  : )

Good luck finding the second part of the 2fer! 

On SB, I find myself in the same situation as yesterday:  One word left, six points.  What can it possibly be?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 12, 2021, 02:46:58 PM
Langue_doc, I thought I had tried every -ee I could think of yesterday when I got stumped, sigh (exilee included).  You're right, too, that sometimes we might think we typed something, but either it just didn't register or who knows.  I will blame the technology!

I finally got to QB today, but husband had gotten there first and gave me a hint because I was stuck with yet another long final word to figure out.  Good enough for me for today.  Cathwen, it sounds as though you are looking for a different word than I had apparently overlooked.  It being a 6-letter word definitely narrows it down, and I can guess it's between two.  I will guess which one (to myself) and see tomorrow if my guess was correct! But if there are any hints that you would like, please let me/us know.  Good luck!

Parasaurolophus, they hooked me into LB.  I was on the straight and narrow, and now look at me.  I have also fallen into other games because of them.  Achtung!

Alas, I am also not that great at 2fers, but I have a good contender today, too.  I am convinced it will lead me to a solution because only a few letters are left.  This may be a bad assumption to make, of course.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 12, 2021, 04:44:14 PM
cathwen, there is a six letter rhyming pair.

ab_grp, congrats on QB.

Got the two-fer and QB. I scrolled through the comments that ciao_yall often mentions, and saw a hint for a two-fer, which is close to my solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 12, 2021, 04:55:03 PM
Ha!  Got it.  Thanks for the hint, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 12, 2021, 06:51:54 PM
QB! Have to admit I went to the Comments Board for a little "aided recall" but I didn't need definitions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 12, 2021, 07:04:44 PM
Congrats to all three of you on the QBs! And congrats, Langue_doc, for picking up the 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2021, 06:07:02 AM
Good morning!

Genius, pangram, and 42 words. It was a long and difficult slog.

LB penumbrae/equity.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2021, 08:10:45 AM
I got the official solution - penumbra-antiquity. But Langue_doc's penumbrae-equity is definitely a cleaner solution in that it uses fewer letters. Really wanted to do something with equanimity which used up most of the letters but didn't leave me much to play with.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2021, 08:38:44 AM
Good morning!

I got the schmofficial solution after checking the Wordplay comments.  The hint was very helpful (something like shadowy figure from yesteryear).  I, too, wanted to do something with equanimity!! I was determined to make it work but just could not come up with anything.

Today I got to Alpha (196) after a lot of stopping and starting.  I think there are only about 10 more points, so only one pangram.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2021, 10:17:36 AM
Made it to QB, not too, too tough.  Hope everyone is having luck with it!

Time to get back to the hard sudoku and try to get some more contenders for LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2021, 10:45:21 AM
Congrats on QB, ab_grp.

I also struggled with equanimity. I felt that I just had to come up with a way to use it so that the letters didn't get wasted. I was looking for a -e final first word, hence penumbrae

SB 52/195. No unusual words so far, so it's good to know that the remaining words are "normal", thanks to ab_grp.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2021, 10:46:20 AM
Genius and rather unbalanced 2fer, but I'll keep it.

ab_grp congrats on QBABYS! (Queen Bee All By Yourself!) I have yet to achieve this feat. I always need to peek into the Wordplay crowd.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2021, 01:27:56 PM
Thanks! And a new term, QBABYS, on top of it.  I'm glad I got to it because I feel like I have been flagging at the end.  There's just something about finding out I just have one more word that's eight letters that just makes me want to give up for some reason.  I had been helping husband set up his Nextdoor account because he's been having FOMO about all the wacky arguments going on there, flipped back to the bee and saw the final word.  Which I would have kicked myself if I had missed!

Anyway, now I am stuck on the hard sudoku still, got a few more contenders on LB but no joy yet, and have to decide between getting tax forms together and starting the precalculations or working more on a journal article review.  Hmm.

You're close to QB, Langue_doc! Congrats on Alpha! No, I didn't think the list was too hard.  There are a couple that I might consider bee words, one I thought was a proper noun (but I guess the proper noun was named after it?), the one I would have kicked myself about.   Nothing that I thought "what in the world is that!" If you get stuck and want a hint, let me know.  As for LB yesterday, I guess PENUMBRAE-EQUANIMITY would also have worked, but you went the extra mile to make a cleaner solution out of it.  Huzzah!

Congrats on your 2fer today, ciao_yall! You will get to be QBABYS soon!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 13, 2021, 01:39:01 PM
Congratulations on the QB, ab_grp!

I got the "official" solution yesterday on LB.  I had been hoping to do something with quarantine, since it's so topical, but couldn't find a word to make with the remaining letters. 

Today's SB is at 159, so genius with the pangram.  More work to do, obviously!  And I have found a 2-fer for today's LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2021, 02:12:14 PM
Congrats on the two-fers ciao_yall and cathwen. I'm still stuck.

As for the proper nouny word you are thinking of, ab_grp, I missed the word on one of the earlier puzzles, thinking that it was a proper noun. I remembered to enter it today. Finally made it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2021, 03:17:15 PM
Congrats on the 2fer today, cathwen! I didn't even see quarantine yesterday.  Good luck with the bee.

Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! Glad you remembered the word! I just try everything that comes to mind anymore.  Hopefully we can achieve success on the LB, too, though I know the new sudokus are out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 13, 2021, 03:30:19 PM
Well done, everyone!

I just made it to genius (with the pangram). Not sure I have what it takes to get much further, but we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2021, 04:15:24 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 13, 2021, 03:30:19 PM
Well done, everyone!

I just made it to genius (with the pangram). Not sure I have what it takes to get much further, but we'll see.

If you go to the Crossword puzzle column and look at Comments / Reader Picks the SB crowd does a great job of setting up hints, from vague to fairly direct.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2021-03-13.html#commentsContainer

ab_grp and Langue_doc were kind enough to send a few hints, so I found a few more words but still not there. I bet I'm missing some really easy ones.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2021, 04:26:36 PM
Several words with double consonants in the middle...

Thanks for the link!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2021, 04:39:02 PM
Yes, thanks, ciao_yall! I found a LB clue in it again and got a 2fer nothing like what I had been exploring.  I swear this morning when I took my post-crossword look at the comments to see what people had thought of it, there was an LB post right at the top, but I didn't want to see any giveaways at that point. 

Good luck, Parasaurolophus! The bee clues are easy to find there and do seem well thought out. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2021, 07:02:19 PM
Thanks to ab_grp and langue-doc I finally hit QB! Would never have gotten those last two on my own.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2021, 07:14:05 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 13, 2021, 04:39:02 PM
Yes, thanks, ciao_yall! I found a LB clue in it again and got a 2fer nothing like what I had been exploring.  I swear this morning when I took my post-crossword look at the comments to see what people had thought of it, there was an LB post right at the top, but I didn't want to see any giveaways at that point. 

Good luck, Parasaurolophus! The bee clues are easy to find there and do seem well thought out.

Yeah, there are a few LB clues here and there but that crowd is hard to find. Bee is always at the top of "Reader Picks," so if I haven't found my 2fer yet I sort of look away until I'm on the safe panel.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 14, 2021, 09:45:23 AM
Good afternoon!  (Good grief, is it afternoon already?)

Lots of QBs yesterday—congratulations to Langue_doc, ciao_yall, and ab_grp!  I came close—I missed lollpop and tentpole, words I've missed before.  One of these days I'll learn!

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on genius!  That is nothing to sneeze at, as my mother would have said. 

Today's SB is at Beta (184), and now I'm running out of steam.  Time to go away and then come back later.

Yesterday's LB had a more efficient "official" answer than mine—I got refresh-hyperbolic.  I have an 2fer for today as well—normal words, although the second is on the slangy side.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2021, 10:04:59 AM
Good whatever!

Luckily the change of time didn't change our waking up, but I am confused.  Not sure when to do what at this point.   Losing an hour puts a kink in things!

Glad the hints helped, ciao_yall! Congrats on the QB!

I'm at Alpha (206), so I don't think there are enough points left for a second pangram.  Good luck when you return to the bee, cathwen! You are well on your way.

Got the official 2fer yesterday with help from the Wordplay comments, but I'll try to get a 2fer today. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2021, 10:32:02 AM
Morning!

Just above genius; used the hint from the comments for the two-fer.

Aarrgghh! Windows, don't upgrade without my permission. Now I have to reset everything on the desktop and the laptop.

Happy solving!

ETA: Eek! Ain't morning no more.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2021, 11:03:15 AM
With lots of help from ab_grp and Langue_doc, finally got lollop and poppet to achieve QB. Never would have found those on my own. Lollop is an archaic word related to trot or gallop. Poppet is an archaic word for doll.

Parasaurolophus Normally I just declare victory at "genius." I might poke in and out during the day, but there are too many weird words that one learns by doing the Bee. Though over time, I have been learning them... then I get cranky because it won't take words I think it should.

LB - Yesterday got fish-hyperbolic which looks like the official solution. Anyone get anything else?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2021, 11:33:50 AM
Lots of exciting stuff since my last post:
-got first dose scheduled.  Luckily I was going through emails when one came in about availability, so I jumped on it!
-found a 2fer!
-got QB!

Still have about 36 sudokus to try to solve, plus paperwork to do. 

Sorry to hear about your Windows update stuff, Langue_doc.  Definitely an argh! Can you change the update settings to ask you when to do so? I feel like I have been constantly updating my computers lately.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2021, 11:55:44 AM
So far...

SB: Genius, at least one word that is an unusual plural so without it I'd probably still be at amazing.

LB: 3fers and a sort of 2fer b4ss. So a 2fer is nigh.

LB is my jam.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2021, 02:25:59 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 14, 2021, 11:33:50 AM
Lots of exciting stuff since my last post:
-got first dose scheduled.  Luckily I was going through emails when one came in about availability, so I jumped on it!
-found a 2fer!
-got QB!

Still have about 36 sudokus to try to solve, plus paperwork to do. 

Sorry to hear about your Windows update stuff, Langue_doc.  Definitely an argh! Can you change the update settings to ask you when to do so? I feel like I have been constantly updating my computers lately.

Woohoo on scheduling your first shot. Which one are you getting?

And congrats on your other accomplishments. Congrats to cathwen and ciao_yall.

As for Windows, my computer has a mind of its own, as some mornings it starts updating as soon as I press any key. It seems to have upgraded sometime last night as I had to enter my PIN this morning. I knew the laptop had also mysteriously upgraded as I now have to locate the password for the Adobe account. Aaargh!!!

Don't think I'm going to make any progress on the puzzles as I have to complete the crossword before 6. It's just an odd letter or two, but it's driving me nuts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2021, 04:24:41 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! It's Pfizer.  Hopefully the process will be as smooth as when husband got his first dose.  I guess we'll see how it goes! (Friday)

I hope you had good luck with the crossword.  I had a problem as well and had to put it aside and work on the bee a bit.  I had to edit because I just realized that if you're talking about 6PM your time, I guess that has come and gone, so wishing you luck won't help! I have a flag on this thread so that I get an email when someone posts, but it seems to take forever for them to come through.  It's been nearly two hours since you posted! So, I hope that you worked out your crossword business in time for the new puzzles to roll out.  Which reminds me that now I have three more sudokus to solve.  Zoinks! I think my eyes are going to fall out from working on taxes.

Did you get your 2fer, ciao_yall? You sounded pretty close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2021, 04:34:34 PM
ab_grp, I too got the Pfizer. Keeping fingers crossed for a smooth shot and no waiting.

As for the crossword, I just got off the phone talking to an old friend for over an hour and a half. So, friendship and a nice chat trump the streak. Among other things, we were talking about taxes, and of course, politics.

Good luck with the sudokus.

I had good intentions of catching up on the grading but was sidelined by a nap earlier this afternoon. I'm glad for the nap as it's going to be a long night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2021, 04:40:22 PM
Yep, achieved a 2fer.

Still barely into genius on SB with pretty basic words, so if anyone feels like creatively hinting some weird ones, pm away.

Grading, making dinner, catching up on TV.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 14, 2021, 05:06:22 PM
Congrats on your QB, ab_grp, and on your 2-fer, ciao_yall! 

I'm at 204 on SB, but doubt that I will make QB tonight. 

Ab_grp, I'm glad that you have your vaccine scheduled!  My second dose is April 7 (Moderna).  My husband just had his second shot, and has not had anything more than a sore arm—and that lasted only a day.  I know this country has a good way to go, but I am feeling optimistic as the vaccination count climbs.

Langue_doc, my husband just went through a s-l-oooooo-w upgrade to Windows.  He came up from the basement office to vent at some length while it was going on.  And good luck with the crossword!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 14, 2021, 10:07:29 PM
Fell 4 points short today, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 04:34:33 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday and genius today.

I hate DST.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 15, 2021, 06:17:55 AM
Good morning, all! 

Congratulations on making QB yesterday, Langue_doc!  I was three words short—I missed genii (which I've missed before), hieing, and innie (also missed previously). 

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on getting so far! 

I've made Beta today so far, but will stop for now and come back later to look at SB with fresh eyes. 

As for LB, I got the "official" solution yesterday, and have a 2-fer for today. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2021, 08:30:23 AM
Morning!

SB - already at genius. Yesterday I tipped into genius. It wouldn't take eeling. I was glad it took weenie, but wienie?

LB - yesterday thumbing-granola. Already at a 3fer so 2fer should come soon. Gotta keep up with cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2021, 09:17:14 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc, and the close to QBs, cathwen and Parasaurolophus! I think hieing was one of my final words.  The last one, eight letters of course!, was negligee.  I remembered the weenie/wienie thing because it bit me in the past.

I'm at 144 today, not Alpha yet, one pangram so far.

Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen, and ciao_yall sounds close! I got the schmofficial solution yesterday.

As for the vaccine, I am relieved to be scheduled because I missed the first opportunity (full by the time I tried to get the appt).  I wish it were at the well run site husband went to, rather than the small drugstore I will be going to that has had mixed vaccination reviews with respect to social distancing and wait time, but I will give it a shot (ha!).  Very glad to hear that your husband's second dose didn't have major consequences, cathwen.  Mine has his next Wednesday.  I hope his and yours both go smoothly!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2021, 01:47:12 PM
2fer, yay.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 02:02:12 PM
Everybody's getting two-fers. Not me, sigh.

Yesterday I found negligee early on and was tempted to give a hint, but resisted. Several of the other words were familiar because I'd seen them in previous puzzles.

My last word today was a four-letter word that I thought I had entered when I first started working on the puzzle.

The crossword was ridiculously easy--not complaining though as it didn't take up much time.

One of these days I'll beat cathwen and ciao_yall to a two-fer. ab_grp, hope you made it to QB, and the rest of you too, including Parasaurolophus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2021, 02:29:12 PM
Well, I haven't gotten a 2fer (yet?), but I do have a couple possible contenders to work with.  Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

As for the bee, I did get to Alpha (161) but still have 11 or so points left (so I guess just one pangram).  Sounds like you got to QB, Langue_doc? Congrats!! And good luck with a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 02:38:48 PM
There's only one weird word (5 letters). There's a chemical word that I've seen in a previous puzzle, and that I remembered from my high school chemistry class. Let me know if you need a hint, ab_grp. 47/172.

Free hints today, available to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2021, 03:39:09 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I'm at 45/161, so I will hope it's a 5 and a 6 and not the other option.  Maybe you can tell me if there is a 10-letter word in there (please, no!)? I have a 7-letter that's definitely chemistry that I thought was a little tough but happened to get early on for whatever reason, and I have a 5-letter that's science but not sure about chem.  Does anyone else sometimes have to count on their fingers rather than trying to count the letters on your screen? Probably just me. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 15, 2021, 04:02:06 PM
Just hit genius, now for the rest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 04:11:22 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 15, 2021, 04:02:06 PM
Just hit genius, now for the rest.

Woohoo! Congrats on the genius.

ab_grp, no ten letter words, alas. I always, always count on my fingers. The two longest words are eight letters each. Now that I think about it, the weird word isn't so weird.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2021, 04:36:55 PM
Thanks again, Langue_doc! Looks like I have an eight, but I think the other long one I have is a nine.  I am just glad there are no 10s! Maybe that would be easier, who knows.  We are about to have a quick bee break, so I will try some more. 

Congrats, Parasaurolophus! And continued good bee luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 05:03:43 PM
My apologies, it's an eight and a nine, the latter the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2021, 07:17:33 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 02:02:12 PM
Everybody's getting two-fers. Not me, sigh.

Yesterday I found negligee early on and was tempted to give a hint, but resisted. Several of the other words were familiar because I'd seen them in previous puzzles.


What is driving me batty is yesterday I thought "lingerie oh no r, never mind" and didn't flash on negligee."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2021, 07:19:48 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 15, 2021, 02:38:48 PM
There's only one weird word (5 letters). There's a chemical word that I've seen in a previous puzzle, and that I remembered from my high school chemistry class. Let me know if you need a hint, ab_grp. 47/172.

Free hints today, available to all!

Wooohoo, got another one! Any other weird ones?

Maybe we need a rule that after a certain time, say 8 pm Eastern, hints are fair game for the thread?

I have a 2fer and will share hints but don't want to ruin it for anyone so if you want to PM, fine, otherwise I would put them in the thread.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 16, 2021, 07:31:00 AM
Good morning!

Well, if I had sat here until Doomsday, I would never have found toluene, in spite of Langue_doc's hint about a chemical substance—but if it has appeared in a previous puzzle, it will surely appear again, so I'll try to remember it.  I also missed lento and (annoyingly) oleo.

Congratulations on genius, Parasaurolophus!  Ab_grp and ciao_yall, did you reach QB?  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc!  You are surely the queen of QBs!

Ciao_yall, I agree to the hints after 8pm rule. 

Today's SB is at genius.  Once again, I need to walk away from it and come back with (hopefully) fresh eyes.

As for LB, I got the "official" solution yesterday, and I found one for today as well.  I kind of like the idea of a magical leftover—what is rejected and tossed aside turns out to be powerful—or something like that.  Aren't there at least a thousand variations on that theme in literature? 

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2021, 07:46:30 AM
Morning! Yesterday's SB wouldn't take lotte.

I also got magical-leftover for LB. Like a mystery tour and the best part of Thanksgiving?

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 16, 2021, 08:14:05 AM
Good morning!

Today's SB isn't too bad as I made it to genius without pausing. The rest of the words are another matter, though.
As for toluene, I remember it as one of the component words in TNT. I could spell it then and I can still spell it without having to look it up.

LB: magical/leftover

Posting hints after 8 sounds like a good idea. East Coast time or West Coast time?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2021, 08:19:22 AM
8 PM East Coast time is fine by me. I'm on the West Coast but if I haven't gotten it by 5 PM I'll appreciate a few hints. Earlier is good as well.

Made it to genius as well. Not sure what you mean by "not pausing." I did refill my coffee and do a few reviews of what I had already, but I didn't feel a need to leave and come back.

Now to start LB. Already got what I call a "tight 3fer" where I had a weird little word to use up a last letter or make a transition between two contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 16, 2021, 08:42:34 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on all the 2fers yesterday! I got magic but apparently never thought to add to it.  And congrats on yours already today, cathwen! And a promising 3fer for ciao_yall!

And congrats again on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc! I agree, you are the queen of the QBs.  We missed tootle and unlet.  I don't think I ever would have gotten unlet.  Toluene came pretty easily for me, though I did not recall what it was.  I actually thought it was in one of my facial cleansers, but that is apparently a sub-brand (?) toleriane.  I guess one wouldn't want to use toluene on one's face.

At 98 today, so Alpha but stuck for now.  One pangram, not enough points left for a second.  This is a busy week with deadlines, and husband has to go into work today for however long, so we'll see what we get to.

Have fun, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 16, 2021, 09:46:51 AM
Had an easy time to genius this morning. Now for the rest!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 16, 2021, 10:04:24 AM
Good luck, Parasaurolophus!

I got to QB, not too bad overall.  It took me a bit to find the final two words I was missing.

A couple LB contenders, but nothing great so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 16, 2021, 11:23:09 AM
Wow, ab_grp, QB already?  Congratulations!

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on genius!  And may you continue to rack up points!

I've just finished grading midterm exams and entering midterm grades into the university system—so feeling s bit bleary-eyed.  Nevertheless, I did find enough more points on SB to just make Beta.  Onward...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2021, 04:44:54 PM
After a day of 3fers and b4ss solutions I finally went to the online solver for a hint. So got a 2fer but wow, none of my contenders were it!

Anyway, we are a bit early but if ab_grp feels like sharing a few odd words to help us out on the bee, I'm game!

cathwen, if you hint your 2fer I'll hint mine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 16, 2021, 05:54:56 PM
Made it to QB and the two-fer.

I might not be checking in tonight as I'm still dealing with my body's reaction to DST (never a good one) and also have to deal with massive plagiarism.

Congrats to all for all levels of accomplishment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 16, 2021, 06:01:07 PM
Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!  I'm still stuck at Beta, although I haven't looked at SB since this afternoon. 

Ciao_yall, here's my 2-fer hint:  1.  Always wins; 2.  Use of a certain weapon.  Think of Zorro!  (Okay, if you're not as ancient as I am, Zorro might be an obscure reference.  But when I was a kid, it was one of my favorite shows, and I had a mad crush on Guy Williams, who played Zorro.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2021, 06:19:54 PM
cathwen, I think we have the same second word. My first word is a dangerous material, ironically installed for safety. Let me see if I can figure out your first.

ETA: Found it! I bet it's the official one because it uses fewer letters than mine.

For the Bee, I'm just into genius so my words are pretty plain. The only odd-ish one so far is a style of hat popular in the 1920's.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 17, 2021, 05:19:16 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams so far, and genius. Common everyday words.

LB debts/swordplay. From the Zorro analogy, I guess cathwen's second word is the same as mine. Douglas Fairbanks, anyone? The Prisoner of Zenda?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2021, 08:12:55 AM
Good morning!

Sounds like you got some different 2fers than the schmofficial solution.  Congrats! I was set on using storyboards but couldn't get the remaining letters to work.  And congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc! And on beta, cathwen!

I got to Alpha today (154) and think I have three pangrams.  Not enough points left for another.  I have a deadline today but hope to be able to get some success during breaks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2021, 08:14:52 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Yes, my second word was swordplay.  My first was bests.  I saw wordplay first—but failed to see bestow out of the remaining letters.  But what works, works!  Debts, bests, and whatever ciao_yall has found!  I'm eager to see what the 'dangerous material' is.  (Having missed toluene in a recent SB, I clearly do not have a good grasp of dangerous materials.)

I found a 2-fer today without much trouble.

SB is currently at genius, with two pangrams.  Apparently, there is a third, with 165 points necessary for QB.  Yesterday's SB stayed stalled at Beta; I missed hellhole and a few others.

Congratulations on Alpha, ab_grp! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2021, 08:18:11 AM
Thanks, cathwen! I think hellhole was my third-to-last word, and I found it because husband said he had an 8-letter word, and I didn't (of course... what is it with 8-letter words?!).  My final two were mohel and kohl.

Congrats on your 2fer already today, too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2021, 08:43:41 AM
Mohel was another word that I missed.  On the list for next time...

I'm at Alpha/151 on SB, with the third pangram finally found.  14 points and three words to go.  We'll see.

Edited to add:  SB really doesn't like words that begin with un-.  Grr!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2021, 09:24:03 AM
LB - After finally getting some hints from the online solver, got asbestos-swordplay. Darn those compounds! I probably found sword and play at different times but they didn't set anything up. I was quite proud of several b4ss solutions: eyebrowed-desperately, plods-strawberry, bylaws-sported.

SB - after lots of hints, still missed coho /headsmack and hoke (just learned a new word!)

Onward!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2021, 10:20:06 AM
Stuck at amazing, even with a pangram. Thought my first word was a pangram but I guess it's a trademark.

But already found a 2fer. Even before my first 3fer! Thought it would be a slow one but it came together. Wonder if cathwen and I found the same thing?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2021, 10:29:36 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! As for coho, husband was missing that one, and I was trying to give him a clue using the hand mnemonic for types of salmon but couldn't remember it.  Does anyone else use that? All I could remember for it was the "oh no!" finger.

Cathwen, I just made it to QB, so good luck!! You are close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 17, 2021, 11:31:34 AM
Genius with two pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2021, 11:33:01 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 17, 2021, 11:31:34 AM
Genius with two pangrams.

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm still stuck at amazing... probably the next pangram will get me over the hump. Found only one. Grr. Just found a few more words, not pangrams, and still in amazing. Like the La Brea Tar Pits.

ETA: 2nd pangram, just tipped into genius. Pretty much all obvious words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 17, 2021, 12:11:23 PM
Words are all obvious ones.

I'm going to take a break from posting as I think I've come down with a bug. I'm officially sick for the rest of the day--canceled the Zoom.

Congrats overachievers and good luck getting there if you haven't done so.

Got to be QB, but can't keep my eyes open much longer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2021, 12:25:28 PM
Hooray, Parasaurolophus!  And ciao_yall, for the second pangram! 

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc! And I hope you feel better soon.

And I just made it to QB, after having been stuck for a good while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2021, 12:29:30 PM
Yay! Congrats, Langue_doc, and cathwen! And continued good luck to Parasaurolophus and ciao_yall!

I managed to get a 2fer on my phone while taking a break just now.  One word just popped out at me, despite my not seeing it or any real contenders on my PC.

Langue_doc, I hope you feel better and that the rest helps!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2021, 05:04:11 PM
SB - Still barely into genius but it's 8PM Eastern.

Anyone have any fun hints for odd words? I'll share one: A watery plant, insect or goddess.

How about LB 2fers? I have a 2fer but I suspect we all have the same one as there only seems to be one combo of letters that works, and we all found it pretty quickly. I shall refrain from being a spoiler unless someone wants one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2021, 05:16:39 AM
Good morning!

One pangram and genius. There's probably another pangram lurking somewhere.

After seeing ab_grp's post about LB, I felt encouraged to look for words and found subjective. I couldn't find a word with the remaining letters when all of a sudden, I realized that these letters would work as the first word, which gave me maps/subjective.

Thank you for your good thoughts, cathwen and ab_grp. The rest definitely helped.

The crossword was difficult--had to take a peek at the solution.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 18, 2021, 07:16:20 AM
Good morning, all!

Langue_doc, I'm glad you're feeling better now. 

I also got maps-subjective for yesterday's LB.  Amps would have worked, too.  Were there other solutions?  I found a solution today, too.

I'm at genius with one pangram today on SB.  According to nytbee.com, there is only one pangram and a maximum of 222 points.  Ugh!  That seems unreachable. 


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2021, 08:21:59 AM
SB - went to the comments board and hit QB, whee. No weird words. 3 pangrams, as it turned out.

This morning, slow-ish start. Won't take olla.

LB - spams-subjective. Seems that was the only choice. Really wanted to do something with the word juice. in the past it has taken jujube and bejesus which weren't going to work.

Yesterday I went to the online solver, and subjective was pretty much it. I don't like them when they won't take a variety of solutions.

cathwen you are a natural!

ETA: Got a 2fer almost on the first try. Well, back to the bee to try to keep up with ab_grp and langue-doc
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2021, 08:40:25 AM
And now, for something completely different...(channeling Monty Python)

Quote from: Langue_doc on March 18, 2021, 08:05:52 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 18, 2021, 08:03:09 AM
The hatchling hatched this morning at 00h33. It was a very difficult hatching, but ended well.

Congrats! Be well, both of you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2021, 08:44:56 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better.  And that you took a crack at LB and found a 2fer! I also got maps-subjective (subjective first, as well).   And I thought the crossword was definitely tricky, technical-wise, just knowing what to do.  I'm glad I got the gold star before looking at the blog, because I think those instructions were incorrect, at least in my case.  When I finished and opened the comments, there were 429 of them, which is definitely a sign that there were some feelings about the puzzle.

Got to Alpha today, 201.  Lots of the old familiar words in there from previous puzzles with these letters.  It took me a while to find the (?) pangram, which got me to genius.  I kept finding more of the previous words, but we'll see about QB later.

Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall! And congrats on QB yesterday as well, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

On preview: ayeeeeeee!! Thanks for posting that here, Langue_doc!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2021, 09:56:41 AM
Genius, but only one pangram. You all say there is at least one more? Okay, back in for some more searching. Yes, all the usual Bee trope words in there. And the ones it won't take. Grr...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2021, 10:52:01 AM
Ciao_yall, I have only found one pangram. Looking back, I think cathwen posted that there is only one today.  Hopefully that will curtail needless searching!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2021, 11:33:11 AM
Thanks. I haven't even hit Beta yet. Still in Gamma genius, which reminds one of Brave New World.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2021, 01:08:37 PM
I got a few more words and am at 209, but still apparently two more to go.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 18, 2021, 01:53:36 PM
I've clawed my way to Alpha (202).  Six words, 20 points to go.  I don't see where they are hiding! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2021, 03:59:39 PM
Finally got to QB! Good luck, cathwen.  I don't think any are unfamiliar, though that does not mean they are always easy to spot! Of course my final word was 8 letters. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2021, 04:16:45 PM
Good to know that, ab_grp, as I need eight more points. I'm in a state of shock as I just found a two-fer, the first word that some of you probably found, but the second, a short one, is unfamiliar to me. I tried it as a joke, not thinking that it was a real word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2021, 04:44:45 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! I have a few contenders, but no luck yet.  As for the bee, my final word was one that I would consider dumb.  I'm sure it may have been in there, but it's not one of the more frequent flyers, at least.  Not sure if you need that same word or not, though.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2021, 04:48:22 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 18, 2021, 04:16:45 PM
Good to know that, ab_grp, as I need eight more points. I'm in a state of shock as I just found a two-fer, the first word that some of you probably found, but the second, a short one, is unfamiliar to me. I tried it as a joke, not thinking that it was a real word.

Mine were both pretty evenly balanced and not unusual. Curious to hear what you found... if you are on in the next 12 minutes!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 18, 2021, 05:45:18 PM
Most of the way to genius (with pangram) while the hatchling dozes in my arms. I'm surprisingly bee-spry for someone creeping up on 48 hours without more than one ten-minute nap!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2021, 07:09:05 PM
Congrats again, Parasaurolophus! So happy for you.  It sounds like you are doing more than great, considering that much lack of sleep! Good luck to you and your bee partner!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2021, 04:47:19 AM
Good morning!

ab_grp, I think we had the same final word. It looked familiar once I had found it, but as you note, it isn't one of the often-seen words such as baobab, acai, and acacia.

Made it to amazing and no pangram. It's a tricky one today.

LB quintuples/swob. I didn't think that the latter was a word, so entered the pair again just to make sure that the first acceptance wasn't a fluke. ciao_yall, I couldn't think of a hint as I still don't know the meaning of the word.

cathwen, did you get the crown?

Parasaurolophus, I hope you get some much-needed sleep and TLC.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 19, 2021, 06:59:38 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on your SB success, and even more so on the little one!  Where is the heart emoji?

I never made it beyond Beta yesterday.  I am very annoyed that I missed baobab yet again.  Congratulations to sb_grp and Langue_doc on QB!

Today, I'm at genius with the pangram in SB.  I have also found a 2fer in LB.

Yesterday, I had quintuple-elbows, which is the "official" solution.  Langue_doc, a victory is a victory, even with a weird word!  If LB accepts it, that is that.  Apparently swob is an archaic variant of swab.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 08:13:58 AM
Good morning!

Boogaloo was my final word.  Was it yours, Langue_doc? I also got ciao late in the game, again.  Today I'm closing in on Alpha (at 95 now) with 1 pangram.  I didn't sleep very well and have my first dose in a little over an hour, so I'm not sure what today will bring for puzzles. 

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday! I just couldn't get there.  I thought maybe quotients would work, but I kept having p, b, w leftover.

Happy solving!

ETA: Sorry, cathwen! Congrats on your 2fer today as well! I swear my brain is like mush this morning, but I just opened LB and was reminded.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2021, 08:48:44 AM
I also had quintuple-elbows for LB. Already have a 3fer this morning.

SB is a slog today. Yesterday, with help from the Wordplay crowd I got everything but bilabial.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2021, 10:31:54 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 08:13:58 AM
Good morning!

Boogaloo was my final word.  Was it yours, Langue_doc? I also got ciao late in the game, again.  Today I'm closing in on Alpha (at 95 now) with 1 pangram.  I didn't sleep very well and have my first dose in a little over an hour, so I'm not sure what today will bring for puzzles. 


Glad you're getting the vaccine! Yes, that was my final word--took me a long time to find it.

I made it to well above genius and found the pangram earlier this morning. I'm not sure how the puzzles will get done today and tomorrow as I have to be up at the crack of dawn to go on a birding trip--my first one with a group since the pandemic. The event is limited to 10 participants, so I'm not too concerned about the people, but only with the early morning schedule and the lack of bathrooms in public places.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2021, 11:22:46 AM
Morning!

2fer on LB, so yay.

SB is a slog. Found the pangram and still at amazing. Are there a lot of weird words or do I just need more coffee? Wouldn't take orlon though it usually takes nylon even though both are proprietary eponyms (fancy word for generic trademark).

Off to yoga class today, double yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 11:59:16 AM
Yep, the vaccination was not nearly as smooth as husband's, but it is over with, and I met my big deadlines earlier in the week, so I am taking it easy and puzzling! Hope you enjoy your birding outing, Langue_doc, though the early morning schedule and bathroom availability would not be my cup of tea.   For as disorganized the pharmacy was this morning, you'd think they'd have the bathrooms open there, but nope.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I don't think there were weird words, mostly ones from previous puzzles, as far as I recall.  I got no more words while waiting in line for the vaccine but did get to Alpha when I got home (105) and apparently have one more word to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 19, 2021, 12:07:29 PM
I'm also finding SB a bit of a slog. I'm a little beyond genius at 84 points. 

Ciao_yall, I am also annoyed about the rejection of orlon.  But you're going to yoga class!  That is great news!  After my second vaccine injection, I will be looking for a new gym (my old one closed in December) and looking forward to getting back to yoga and Zumba. 

Congratulations on your 2fer!

And Langue_doc, enjoy your birding trip! 

Ab_grp, congratulations on Alpha!  You are sure to make QB.  And I'm glad the vaccination is over (this is the second shot, if I recall). 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 12:15:25 PM
Thanks, cathwen! This was just my first dose, which I guess is why I was a little more anxious about it.  Also, this was my first time inside a building other than my house since medical tests last March, so I was nervous about that and whether people would be social distancing correctly (a mixed bag, as it turned out).  I know I am probably in the minority on that (having not been in another building in so long).  Fortunate to be able to do so, but there are consequences.  At least I will know the procedure better for the next dose.  I am curious if this is the case for those of you who have been vaccinated: our group this morning got a card with 4/9 as the next date but the follow up DOH text/email with 4/8.  We were told to follow the DOH, but is that weird?

Also, I love Zumba! I thought I wouldn't because it's a group thing (which also makes me anxious that I'll mess up, despite being a total dancing dynamo, ha!), but one of the finance ladies at work gave a class on campus after work hours, and it was so much fun.  I miss it! Hope you get back to yoga and Zumba soon and that ciao_yall enjoys the yoga class today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2021, 02:09:13 PM
Glad I went.

Glad it's over.

Still stuck at amazing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 03:06:58 PM
Maybe the yoga will help loosen your mind. :-) Good luck!

I got to QB, but I will consider it partial.  We compared # words by letter, he caught up to me and then got QB.  I knew the starting letter but had to get a hint.  Should have found the word but, I am completely tired. 

Thought I had a 2fer, but b4ss issue.  I'll keep at it now and again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2021, 04:13:56 PM
Okay, someone give me a hint for a weird word. I would like to achieve "genius" without going to the Wordplay column.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2021, 04:29:13 PM
Base of your fingernail? Part of speech?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 04:30:52 PM
I'll send a PM with some ideas other than the word Langue_doc is hinting at.

I feel a bit more alert now.  I think it was the slider and fries comfort food for a late lunch.  Still no 2fer, but I did finish the sudokus and was working on an old one when my computer decided to freeze and need to be rebooted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2021, 05:15:28 PM
Those are two words, folks.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2021, 06:43:39 PM
Woohoo! Between ab_grp and langue_doc I achieved genius.

I don't think I have the official 2fer but it's after 8 PM Eastern if anyone wants a hint.

grows annoyed
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2021, 07:05:48 PM
Sorry Langue_doc! I told you my brain is having an issue, and now you have proof.   I seriously just saw the first part of your hint and not the second sentence.  Egad! Hopefully I didn't confuse anyone.

Thanks for the LB hint, ciao_yall.  I'll work on it on breaks later.  I'm glad the hints helped!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 20, 2021, 03:07:08 AM
Good morning!

Almost genius with one pangram.

LB: longboat/treasury.

ab_grp, getting the shot is stressful, as the long-term effects are still unknown. Also, not knowing how people would behave and whether or not there would be bathrooms is equally stressful. I have to get into bed as soon as I get home from my weekly grocery store trips because I'm so anxious when I'm in the store, and with good reason.

Happy solving!

ETA: Genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 20, 2021, 06:53:27 AM
Good morning! 

I sailed into Beta this morning in SB, but LB has me flummoxed.  No solution yet.  I have one very good word, but can't twist the remaining letters into anything sensible.

Yesterday I had the same answer as Langue_doc for LB:  longboat-treasury. For SB yesterday, I missed lunula, ulna, ulnar, and nonpolar.

Back to the puzzles!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2021, 08:15:11 AM
Good morning!

Thanks for the kind words, Langue_doc! I'm glad (but also sorry) that I'm not alone in some of these stresses.    It didn't help that although I had filled out the required medical form online the morning of, we were still handed clipboards to fill out with the same (plus more) info, having to look stuff up while standing and moving forward once in a while, and I could barely see the small print.  Getting older is no fun. :-(  As my dad would have said, it beats the alternative! Hope your birding outing went well!

Got to Alpha today (194) but stuck for now.  I believe that I have two pangrams.

Despite ciao_yall's hint, I couldn't figure out LB.  I thought maybe surly was the second word (annoyed), but I couldn't figure out something for grows.  I came up with abnegates but couldn't get anywhere from there.  My only other contender was gluteus.  Congrats on your 2fers, and a different one than the schmofficial one.  Interested to hear what ciao_yall came up with.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 20, 2021, 08:21:47 AM
SB - I thought I tried variations of annular but it never took. Oh well. Missed a number of easy ones yesterday.

LB - burgeons-salty. Uses fewer letters than the official solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2021, 08:59:51 AM
Yay, I got a 2fer!!

Ciao_yall, that's a good solution! One of the things I was mulling over while I was awake in the middle of the night was whether I had counted wrong when I gave you that A hint of 7 letters.  I was going over all the words and forgot about annular.  Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 20, 2021, 09:10:39 AM
Congratulations on your 2fer, ab-grp!  I just found one, too.  I had a much harder time than usual.

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your 2fer yesterday! 

For SB, I'm at Alpha, stuck at 192 points.  I have both pangrams.  I need 14 points and 3 words to get to QB.  Argh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2021, 09:17:55 AM
Congrats, cathwen! Maybe we have the same solution.  My first word left very few letters, but it took a minute to see what the mate could be.  And good luck on the bee! I think I have two words and 12 points left.  May the QB juju flow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 20, 2021, 10:33:16 AM
Got to beta with two pangrams in the night, although I was pretty cozy while I was doing it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2021, 12:41:05 PM
Got to QB! And finished all the sudokus.  I think this might be the first time I have managed to solve all of the day's puzzles. 

Congrats, Parasaurolophus! And it's great that you were pretty cozy while accomplishing that!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 20, 2021, 12:51:50 PM
Ha! I meant 'dozy', but cozy is true too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 20, 2021, 01:49:22 PM
Wow!  Congratulations on QB, ab_grp.  I am still stuck at Alpha.

And congratulations to you, too, cozy and dozy  Parasaurolophus! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2021, 02:19:58 PM
Good luck, cathwen! It took me a while to get the final few words.  I don't think there were any unfamiliar ones, though.

And that's even more of an accomplishment if your were dozy, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 20, 2021, 04:40:42 PM
Genius, 2 pangrams.

LB - lots of 3fers. Oddly enough it's the "S" that leaves me hanging.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2021, 08:32:03 AM
Good morning!

Am I really the first one here? Got to genius so far (165?) with one pangram, but it's a slow going today, though the crossword took some time. 

For the LB yesterday, I got WONDERFUL-LYNXES. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2021, 08:54:39 AM
Good morning, everyone! 

Ab_grp,  I got the same words for LB.  I'm wondering if there were other combinations.

I have found a 2fer for today's LB.

I'm at genius on SB today at 148 points, with the pangram.   Yesterday I missed three words (baaing, baht, binning), so did not make QB, in spite of your wishes for good luck!  But I was happy enough at Alpha.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 21, 2021, 08:56:28 AM
Morning!

SB: missed baba and bight which is a new word I will try to use today.

LB: I was stuck on wonderful-luxury-yes, and various 3fer combinations with the word reflux before I gave up and went to the online solver. Gah. It was the only one the online solver came up with, cathwen so I think it was the only solution.

On to today's - happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 21, 2021, 10:02:33 AM
baht! baaing!? What will they think of next, all the while banning proper English words that they think are obscure?

Above genius with one pangram.

I seem to have made some wrong links on Vertex. They can usually be erased, but today they are permanently set on the kindle. I don't have the energy to reset the puzzle and start all over again. Also, today's the only day when the crossword hasn't even been looked at. Considering that the next one will open at 6 PM, I have to get cracking on today's puzzle.

ab_grp, your experience at the vaccination place sounds exhausting. How do they expect the elderly who are using canes or walkers to fill out the forms while standing in line?

Happy solving. It's another nice day--too nice to stay indoors.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2021, 11:20:45 AM
Baaing was my final word.  And I had to help husband get that one.  I agree, too many words not accepted to accept some that they do.  There are a couple again today that I think should be in there but aren't.  Grrr.

I have inched up a little but am still not at Alpha (180).  What the heck! I took a look at Ezersky's twitter feed to see if I missed that this is some crazy sort of puzzle, but I didn't see anything about that.  Rex P. was not happy with the crossword (surprise), but I thought it was ok. 

Langue_doc, I agree that this is a real issue for accessibility.  They do ask us on the DOH site if we have mobility issues, so I wonder if those who say they do get different appointment sites.  They do have some drive-throughs, but I have heard that you have to be the driver.  I'm sure there is more to the story.  But there were no seating areas at my site.  And no one waited the 15 minutes before leaving, which I also thought was a little odd.  They didn't even tell us to do so.  I got the notification that my 15-minute wait time was up when I was at the bank.  I also wonder that husband's site had National guard, medical/ambulance, etc. and no such thing at the pharmacy, so I'm not sure what the reasoning is for how they're rolling some of this out.  I've also wondered how they assist folks who are not native speakers, as we have many, many here who are not (plus may be elderly, etc.)

Cathwen, I think what you said about the LB yesterday helped me get the 2fer, so thanks! I figured we might have the same one.  And congrats on getting one today! I have no contenders yet but am still struggling with the hard sudoku.  What a difference a day or different puzzles makes.  Sorry the QB wishes didn't help, but Alpha is great!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 21, 2021, 11:52:46 AM
At genius plus a 2fer, b4ss. Husband started the NYT crossword so now I'll finish it.


Agree ab_grp. Would like to have used lotte and elote.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2021, 12:12:55 PM
Ciao_yall, congratulations on genius!  And that 2fer will happen.  You're so close!

I've also just reached 180 on SB, and don't see where to go from here. Apparently I have 31 points and 7 words to go.  Ugh!  And apparently there's only one pangram.

Ab_grp, your experience getting your vaccine sounded disorganized and difficult, especially for those with mobility problems.  Experiences where I live seem to be mixed.  I thought the local health department, where I got my shot, was quite well organized (no long lines; chairs in the waiting room; careful monitoring for 15 minutes afterwards), but I've heard that the CVS--at least when it first started offering the vaccine--was a nightmare.  I guess there is little guidance on protocols. 

Now to have a crack at the crossword!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2021, 01:16:16 PM
Cathwen, sounds like you and I are around the same bee spot.  I just got one more word, so now 186, still not Alpha, and 5 more words to go.  I am really stumped! Good luck! And I hope that our dose group's slightly later appointment time for the second dose will mean things are more sorted out by the time we arrive, but there will also be more people there, so who knows.

I hope you get your 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 21, 2021, 01:21:45 PM
Haven't made much progress since morning--don't think I'm going to get much further. Grading calls.

ab_grp, not having any seating is outrageous. Hope you have a better experience when you get your second shot. While I have strong feelings about conglomerates, I have to acknowledge how efficient the hospital conglomerate that took over my PCP's practice has been during both my appointments. There was no wait; as soon as we punched in our names and probably the dob on the screens in the reception area, we were ushered into the vaccination room which had around 6 little cubicles. The vaccination was prompt--no longer than 5 minutes, and then we were asked to wait in a large hall just off the vaccination area. I was early for both appointments but was promptly told to enter my information on the screen. The hospital presumably had all the necessary information from the PCP's office. Even so, I was amazed at how effortless the procedure was.

Congrats to all who have victories to report.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2021, 03:16:47 PM
Ugh, sorry you have a pile of grading to do, Langue_doc! I hope you were able to get outside in the nice weather for a bit.  And it sounds like your appointment site was also very well run, which helps with the anxiety portion.  I'll report back on dose two.

No real victory here, although I managed to squeeze just over into Alpha (192).  Still three words left, apparently.  Holy cow! I'm pretty ready to concede defeat to this puzzle.  Gotta try LB again and start on new sudokus, too.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2021, 03:36:46 PM
I'm now at 187, and it's been a struggle.  But at least I have found two words that I missed on previous puzzles—so that's a small victory. 

I hope the grading goes smoothly, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 21, 2021, 03:45:51 PM
Thanks for the good wishes ab_grp and cathwen. Finished today's crossword with15 minutes to spare, and just completed tomorrow's while taking a break from the computer.

I've given up on the bee and haven't even looked at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2021, 04:04:55 PM
Ooh, good that you got today's crossword in on time.  Luckily husband had mentioned that he still had to complete it, and I recalled the earlier turnover time on the weekend, so he managed to get it done in time as well. 

Cathwen, good luck! I also seem to keep finding words that I have missed before.  I am still hoping to find the remaining words, but, unfortunately, I am not becoming more alert as the day goes on.  Quite the opposite. 

I did get a 2fer, though!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 21, 2021, 07:52:14 PM
Really struggling today. Stuck at 66, no pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2021, 04:28:48 AM
Hope you found more words, Parasaurolophus.

Genius today, with one pangram. There's probably another one, given the number of points to get to genius (183). I haven't looked at yesterday's solutions yet--saving that for later in the day.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 22, 2021, 05:46:16 AM
Good morning!

I gave up on SB last night and looked at the answers.  While I remembered tentpole and lollop from previous puzzles, I failed to recognize lento and toluene!  I wonder what I'm not seeing today.  I have made it to genius (187), one pangram.  According nytbee.com, there is only one pangram, even though the maximum number of points is 261!  (53 words)

As for LB, I got the "official" solution yesterday.  Ab_grp, congratulations on your 2fer!  I wonder if it's the same?

I found a 2fer for today as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2021, 05:53:42 AM
Morning! SB - I remembered toluene and lollop from last time.

LB - gave up and went to the online solver. blackout-thyme /headsmack I had black, I remembered thinking "oh, too bad there isn't an s or I would have had thymus." My 2fer b4ss was thumbtack-keyhole.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2021, 06:56:49 AM
Found a two-fer without much difficulty. I got the second word first, and liked it so much that I played with the remaining letters to get the first word.

SB--missed loupe, lunette, poult, and outpoll. 225 today. What with the effortless two-fer, and the easy crossword, I think I'm happy with my accomplishments for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2021, 07:16:51 AM
Good morning!

We ended up giving up on QB and just comparing lists and made it to a team QB.  I was missing two words, he was missing three I think.  Glad we compared, because I don't think I would have gotten them.  Outpoll and penult (which, sadly, became my final word rather than second to last!).  I'm sure I have missed penult before.  At least I got tootle and unlet! And lollop! I completely guessed tupelo and poult. 

Cathwen, congrats on your 2fer already today! Yep, I had the same solution.

Congrats on your early 2fer as well, Langue_doc!

We just got up and haven't had any coffee yet, so I will see how things go once we sit down to puzzle.  Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2021, 08:57:29 AM
Genius, 2fer, now a full day of Zoom meetings.

Living the dream.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2021, 10:26:49 AM
Congrats, ciao_yall! Hope you get to do other stuff during the meetings.

I got to Alpha (242) but am stuck again.  We had to air out the house after using the self-cleaning function on the oven, and I hope this headache goes away!

I think I have a good contender for LB, but still a bunch of tough letters to use.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 22, 2021, 03:39:33 PM
 Congratulations on genius and the 2fer, ciao_yall!  And ab_grp, congratulations on Alpha! 

I am at 228 points/48 words, so firmly in the Beta range.  I need five words and 33 more points for QB.  Prospects are looking dim, because I am really stuck.  But I'm happy enough with what I've got. 

Ab_grp, I bet you make QB!  And I hope that the house is well aired now, and that your headache has gone away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2021, 04:38:21 PM
Thanks, and good luck to you, cathwen.  I also feel that prospects are dim and am really stuck but am also okay where I am.  I haven't found any new words since this morning.  They are really throwing some tough bees at us lately! I just always hope I'm not missing obvious words.   And the house is much better now, thanks.  Thankfully (?) it was another very windy day, so we just opened everything up for a couple minutes at a time, and it blew everything out. 

More contenders for LB, but still no winners.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2021, 06:04:04 PM
Hope you're feeling better, ab_grp.Glad to hear that you were able to open the windows and get the smells out.

I've been at 233/48 since afternoon, and have given up as the crosswords and sudokus will be out soon.

As for LB, I'm sending you a hint. Read your message only if you want to.

cathwen and ciao_yall, did you make it to QB? Inquiring minds want to know.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2021, 07:04:49 PM
QB? Moi? Not unless I go play on the Wordplay column. On my own I rarely make Beta, much less Alpha. I came on here just barely into "genius" to crab that it won't take titian. I'm at 43 words and 214 right now.

LB - yes, I have a 2fer. I guess we are sticking to PMs instead of sharing on the thread after a certain time? Not sure if it's official but it only reuses one vowel so it's pretty clean but not balanced in that the words aren't the same length and it relies on a rather easy transition. What, I'm a snob about LB?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2021, 07:06:50 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Doing much, much better.  I felt like my head was in a vice.  I am really sensitive, apparently, to some particular odors.  Not all, but this definitely bothered me a lot more than husband, but it is also very allergy and very windy.  Who knows.  Thank you so much for the hint! I will work on it during puzzle break in a few!

In any case, I was not able to get to QB myself, nor with husband.  He had a word I needed, and I had one or some he did, but we still needed two more.   I'm glad we threw in the towel, because I don't think we would have gotten them.

On preview: ciao_yall, I always try titian just in case.  Nancy Drew's hair was titian colored, or something like that, from what I recall.  You never know, they might accept it sometime.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2021, 07:41:53 PM
Finished the crossword. Hope you get the solution to LB, ab_grp.

ciao_yall, does your second word make you feel aggressive?

Goodnight all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2021, 08:22:35 PM
Got it! Thank you!! And have a good night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2021, 08:39:00 PM
Yes, ab_grp! That is always my first association with titian.

Langue_doc my second word makes me feel like someone patient and creative. Maybe my first word would make me feel aggressive if I were actually fighting something.

Oooh, big reveal tomorrow. Clearly we have different solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2021, 05:35:54 AM
Good morning, all.

Stuck at amazing with one pangram. I don't think I'm going to spend much time on the bee today, trying to chase down words to get to 239 for genius, and probably @342 for QB. Haven't looked at the solutions yet.

LB knits/shadowbox

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 23, 2021, 06:26:49 AM
Good morning, all!

Like Langue_doc, I also got knits/shadowbox for yesterday's LB.    Ciao_yall, it sounds as though you have something different!  And ab_grp, what did you get?

I also have a solution for today's LB. 

I gave up on SB yesterday.  I did not remember attaint from a previous puzzle.  I also missed catmint, probably because I always call it catnip.  Inanity and intact were words I should have gotten.  I also missed minyan

Today's SB is going to be a slog.  If I get to genius, I'll be delighted; I'm currently at amazing.   But I have grading to do and errands to run, so I doubt I'll have much time to spend on it anyway.

Ab_grp, I'm glad you're feeling better and that the house is now odor-free.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2021, 07:16:46 AM
SB - See, I could swear I put in anti but it wasn't checked. All the other words I missed were ones I probably would never have gotten: attaint, catmint, cayman, minicam, minyan, myna, natant. Writing them down might help the muscle memory next time. Oh well, on to today's.

ETA Stuck at amazing but got the pangram. Should get a flash of insight soon to tip into genius.

LB - I also got knits-shadowbox. For some reason in my brain last night I was thinking shadowbox-knits. Sorry for building up such anticipation for a different solution.

ETA 2fer, yay. Very bummed because the first word I found was really cool, b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2021, 08:33:45 AM
Two pangrams, and still two points short of genius. Aaarrrgh!

The puzzle-makers definitely belong to the leisure class that has unlimited free time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2021, 08:52:20 AM
Good morning!

I'm at 275, so still not Alpha, but I believe I have three pangrams.  It is a slog.  There have been a lot of stops and starts and "oh yeah! that one!" going on.  Still lots and lots of points left.  My guess is that the puzzlemakers don't really have a whole lot to do.  They can probably generate these pretty easily and automatically and then just have to go through the possible words list to see if there are any new ones to mark as accept.  So, I guess they do probably live a life of leisure!

On yesterday's, we missed minyan and caiman (but got cayman! argh!).  Husband had to give me catmint.  I always forget that one. 

Thanks to Langue_doc, I also got knits-shadowbox.  Excellent clueing!

Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Good luck, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2021, 08:54:05 AM
Me too - 2 pangrams, still not at genius. Then I find another easy-ish one. Still mired in the La Brea Tar Pits of Amazing...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2021, 10:01:30 AM
Made it to Alpha (316), still a ways to go.  Geez louise.  I'll go try LB and the sudokus for a bit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 23, 2021, 11:03:01 AM
Just got to Beta/275. 

If ever there was an SB targeting chronic procrastinators, this is it!  Now I *really* have to get to work.  I've graded the quiz, but I need to do some reorganizing of the material for next week. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2021, 11:08:03 AM
3 pangrams, hit genius. 43 words, 242 points. That were a slog.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2021, 01:20:44 PM
Seems like good progress! It is quite a long list.  I got one more word, so three more to go.

But I did get a 2fer! The words go together well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 23, 2021, 02:36:58 PM
Great progress, ciao_yall!  And ab_grp, you're sure to hit QB!  And I bet you have the same LB solution as I do, because, as you say, the words go together.

I'm still at Beta (281), 11 words to go, and really running out of steam. I think I can confidently predict no QB for me today! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2021, 03:42:33 PM
Only two pangrams, but 296/53. This is it for today.

Have a two-fer, probably the same one, as the words do "go together".

Back to grading, rather, comparing assignments to see if revisions, if any, have been made. It's going to be a long night.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 23, 2021, 03:44:10 PM
I fell just short of genius yesterday, and am well short of even 100 so far today. I dunno, I think I've lost the thread. But I'll keep at it, since it's an easy one-handed distraction!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2021, 05:18:00 PM
Yes on LB and related words. My b4ss was kind of a combination of the 2 words.

SB is at 47 words and 265 points with no going to the Wordplay column. 3 pangrams. The first one I found is probably the trickiest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2021, 05:44:01 PM
I haven't made any progress, too busy with chores and office rearranging.  But I am also not confident that I would have gotten any further.  Congrats on all the progress! Husband will likely be stuck at work well into the night, so I might work on it a bit here and there, and I still have to try to solve the hard sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on March 24, 2021, 04:26:40 AM
Spelling Bee has a server error for me and can't be accessed! AAAAHHH! What am I supposed to do, get on with my day? I'm not ready for this.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 24, 2021, 04:45:27 AM
I hope that server starts responding!  Reener06, I am screaming right along with you!

Based on what others have written, I suppose that we all got burlesque-exotic for yesterday's LB?  And I guess we all found SB a bit tedious and had varying degrees of success, but no QBs.

Now to find some incantations and magical spells to get that server up and running!  How can I begin to work if I haven't at least taken a crack at the puzzles first?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2021, 06:55:57 AM
Morning all!

Genius and a pangram; haven't looked at yesterday's word list.

LB I think we have the same results.

Happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on March 24, 2021, 07:03:53 AM
Whew, back up (although NYTBee not updated yet). Got to genius. My day can proceed now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 07:30:28 AM
Good morning!

I am thankful to have missed the server mishap!

I also got burlesque-exotic.  And when we finally compared bee lists, I was missing tacet, husband was missing calcite, and we were both missing lacteal and ciabatta.  Oh well! He didn't get home from work until 10, so we were both pretty beat by that time, and we still had to have dinner and etc.  Ugh.  He's off for dose two in a bit, but coffee and puzzles starting... now!

Good luck and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 24, 2021, 07:35:04 AM
SB - missed acetal, cabala, cabbie, calcite, cattail, celeb, ciabatta, electee, italic, lactate, lacteal, tacet. I underlined the ones I probably should have guessed. The rest? Okay. New words, or ones with alternate spellings.

LB - yep, burlesque-exotic. I really wanted to do something with quixotic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 24, 2021, 07:41:45 AM
So glad the server is up and running again!

I made genius and found a 2fer for LB.  I missed a whole bunch of words yesterday.  Today's SB seems less tedious...I think.

Now to attack the crossword while waiting for the call to come pick my husband up at the ophthalmologist's.  I hope he remembered his sunglssses!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 24, 2021, 08:00:12 AM
SB - Genius, but it wouldn't take orlon or funroom.

LB - 2fer already! Either they are getting easier or I am getting better at these. Of course tomorrow will probably be a stumper.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 24, 2021, 08:10:18 AM
Made it to amazing and one pangram yesterday. Easy genius and pangram today. Whew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 08:34:15 AM
Ciao_yall, I also wanted quixotic yesterday on LB.  Congrats on your 2fer!

And congrats to you on your 2fer, cathwen!

I made some bee progress, at 156, so Alpha, but the nytbee site seems incorrect today, saying a max of 132 points and 29 words, and that is clearly not right.  I wonder if that was created when the server was messed up.  I would like to know how many total words there are, but guessing the total points is easy enough.  One pangram so far and not enough points left for another.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2021, 08:44:27 AM
ab_grp, I got to QB with 132 points and 29 words.

Amazing is 66 points, so 132 for QB sounds right.

ETA  two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 09:17:31 AM
Wait, what! I was just coming here to say I just got to QB with 166 points and 33 words.   Are we doing different puzzles?! My letters are (I)OUNTCF.

Congrats on your QB and 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 24, 2021, 09:30:04 AM
ab_grp I just came on to note that I went to add a few more words and boom, there was a new puzzle. The first one had F-L-M-N-O-R-U can't recall the required letter off the top of my head. Now it's the one you just named. Wouldn't take cunic. Grr.

Now I have 2 geniuses on my accomplishments for the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2021, 09:39:02 AM
There are two versions--the one that I completed had F L N M O R U. Now I have a new puzzle with the letters mentioned by ab_grp.

The bee is really messed up today.

ETA1 Perhaps the one I completed is tomorrow's puzzle?

Will try for a double QB, ab_grp.

ETA2 Genius on the second puzzle and a pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 09:39:59 AM
That is SO wacky, ciao_yall!! So I guess you all get another puzzle to do! I was kind of hoping it would reset to a different one for me, but I probably started it later.  I will tell you, I thought the one I did was pretty easy.  I had been confused when you said it wouldn't take funroom or orlon but didn't think too much of it.  Weirdness.

Good luck, Langue_doc, if you do the second puzzle.  You could get a double QB today! This might be your only chance!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on March 24, 2021, 11:02:44 AM
What is going on? Where did my genius go? Dammit. Starting all over. Heads will roll.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 11:21:19 AM
Just think, those of you doing both puzzles get double the accomplishments!

Langue_doc, I'm so glad you're trying for the double QB.  I kind of feel like I'm essentially encouraging you to "chug! chug! chug!", but in a less fratty and more nerdy way.  I will be so, so excited if you get it, which I'm sure you will! I am excited either way. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on March 24, 2021, 11:46:08 AM
Double genius. The second one was easier to get than the first. Not QB on either. NYTBee has a big message about the error and how they can't provide answers on the second one until after work.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 04:42:34 PM
It's great that you get to be genius^2 today, reener06!

I have had no success on LB today.  I have a couple contenders, including one that only leaves 2 letters, which I have been too focused on finding a mate for.  I guess I'll have to abandon that and work on some of the other contenders.  Sigh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2021, 05:14:38 PM
Double Queen! ab_grp, I decided to chug along since you had solved the puzzle around noon. Thank you for the encouragement. I took pictures of both puzzles as I kept the first window open, and did the second puzzle on a new one.

I saw a complaint on Twitter about the bee disallowing "consummated intimacy". This has been a pet peeve of mine too.

Sending you a hint for LB ab_grp.

Hope everyone is making progress on the bee--all familiar words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 24, 2021, 05:34:32 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 24, 2021, 09:30:04 AM
ab_grp I just came on to note that I went to add a few more words and boom, there was a new puzzle. The first one had F-L-M-N-O-R-U can't recall the required letter off the top of my head. Now it's the one you just named. Wouldn't take cunic. Grr.

Now I have 2 geniuses on my accomplishments for the day.

Same here! Off to try puzzle 2 now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2021, 07:19:33 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 24, 2021, 05:14:38 PM
Double Queen! ab_grp, I decided to chug along since you had solved the puzzle around noon. Thank you for the encouragement. I took pictures of both puzzles as I kept the first window open, and did the second puzzle on a new one.

I saw a complaint on Twitter about the bee disallowing "consummated intimacy". This has been a pet peeve of mine too.

Sending you a hint for LB ab_grp.

Hope everyone is making progress on the bee--all familiar words today.

HooooooooooooooooooRAY! Langue_doc, you are 2Q2B.  Like 2 Fast 2 Furious.  Congratulations!!!!!!!! I'm glad you went with it, because I definitely thought you could get it.  You may be the only one to ever achieve that extremely awesome achievement!

And thank you so much for the hint! I got the 2fer! Husband has been trying with my long contender but still hasn't had success.  I don't know that it's possible, sadly.

Good luck, Parasaurolophus! I agree with Langue_doc, that this one was pretty familiar, so not bad at all compared to some recent ones.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 24, 2021, 10:08:44 PM
Got number two! Whew!

And super well done, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 25, 2021, 04:27:59 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and genius today. The last word in yesterday's first puzzle was moonroof and in the second one, coffin. I got finito and tinct early on. I suspect I was able to complete both puzzles because of the timing. I must have seen the first one when it was finally published and saw the second one because ab_grp was referring to quite a different puzzle in terms of the points required for QB.

For LB my first attempt resulted in fountain/nephew with the d left over, so I tried to find another n-ending word. This gave me foundation/nephew.

Happy solving!

ETA This headline reminded me of a recent LB: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/25/nyregion/nightlife-burlesque-nyc.html
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 25, 2021, 06:35:40 AM
Good morning!  Congratulations on all successes yesterday, but especially to Langue_doc for the double QB!  Wow and double wow!

I was a double genius yesterday.  I missed coif and intuit on the second puzzle.  And I even had intuition!  I like to flatter myself that I would have found both words if I had returned to the puzzle after dinner.  But who knows.  Sometimes I can be unbelievably word blind. 

Today, I reached genius with three pangrams.  Apparently I have 11 words to go until QB...so we'll see. Today I have to buckle down and get some serious work done, but this afternoon I have an online "office student hour" during which no one will come—so I'll save some of the puzzling fun for then. 

Like Langue_doc, I had foundation-nephew for LB yesterday.  And I have found a 2fer for today.  Did anyone find a different combination yesterday?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 25, 2021, 07:48:19 AM
Yep, foundation-nephew yesterday. Found a 3fer pretty quickly so hope a 2fer will come soon.

Double genius yesterday. Genius and 2 pangrams this morning so far.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 25, 2021, 08:13:45 AM
Good morning!

I'm at 188 today, so not Alpha and have apparently run out of the easier words.  Three pangrams that luckily came pretty quickly.  My last word yesterday was concoction, which I thought of as I was packing the truck up for husband to go for his shot.  I'm still very excited about Langue_doc's double QB!

For LB, Langue_doc's clueing got me to the official solution.  I was trying so hard with fountainhead since it only left P and W, but I couldn't make it work starting with D or ending with F. :-(  That was a pretty timely article, Langue_doc!

Good luck, and happy solving.  I have a two-hour call later and have to look through 100 articles or so, so I'm not sure what timing will be like for puzzling.

ETA: Forgot to say congrats to cathwen on the 2fer today, and I know ciao_yall's will come soon!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 25, 2021, 08:22:54 AM
Had an easy time to genius and the three pangrams this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 25, 2021, 11:25:09 AM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

I got to a little over Alpha (205), but apparently 16 points and two words left.  Whee.  No LB mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 25, 2021, 11:25:47 AM
Me too, Parasaurolophus.

I made it to 191--found a weird word but don't think I can find any more words.

cathwen and ciao_yall always, always, find the LB solution. I have an 11-letter word. I should look for other solutions instead of trying to find a mate.

ab_grp, I'm sure you'll get to QB! I don't think I'll have much time today as I have a meeting coming up and also have to give written feedback on assignments.

ETA ab_grp, I think we posted at the same time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 25, 2021, 11:45:41 AM
Congratulations on all the successes! 

I'm sitting here during my as always unattended office hour; nothing to do but turn back to the puzzles.  I'm up to 200 on SB—11 points, three words yet to find.  But whatever can they be? 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 25, 2021, 04:19:10 PM
SB - Seem to have topped off at 183 points / 34 words / 3 pangrams.

LB - finally went up to the solver site. I had the second word but for some reason the first word wasn't jumping out at me, even though similar ones did. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 26, 2021, 05:42:46 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, but stuck at amazing today with no pangram in sight. I need 12 points to get to genius. I still don't know how I found wigwag, but it was accepted. I have no idea what it means. I was probably thinking of wigwam when I entered the letters.

I found philosophic, but couldn't get a second word; the same result with shrimp. I considered the former to be an accomplishment, so didn't spend too much time trying to find a mate for the latter.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 26, 2021, 05:56:16 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, congratulations on making QB!

I got to 206 points yesterday, but missed wanna and wigwagging.  Oddly, I got wigwag—like Langue_doc, probably thinking of wigwam.  So—are words like wanna and gonna now proper English words?  In conversation, sure, but in writing?  I'm not usually a language crank.  I admit that I've seen these two words in informal writing, but my brow always furrows when I do.  I suppose I should relax.  How many times have I told my students that language is a living thing, always evolving? 

Today, I got to genius with the pangram and found my 2fer.  My solution for yesterday's LB was the same as the "official" one—unlocks-shrimp. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 26, 2021, 06:04:10 AM
cathwen, wanna and gonna have been two of my pet peeves on the bee. I'm surprised that these are accepted, but not aint or dont. I remembered wanna from a previous puzzle.

Now, why am I not surprised that you've already found the two-fer?

ETA: pangram and genius.

ETA: two-fer, probably not the official one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 26, 2021, 08:34:06 AM
SB: wigwag? Okay. Another new word. Hit genius this morning.

LB: had uplink, unlink, clocks... got shrimp early on. I had a 2fer it wouldn't take - columns-shprink - sometimes they take Yiddish-isms. Kept trying to do things with philosoph, cushion, column, oh well. Slow-ish start this morning. Would have a great word, b4ss, which sounds like a nice chaser to my morning coffee. ETA: 2fer!

@Langue_doc,
they are all official 2fers. We celebrate 2fer diversity and equity here.

Zoom call with student, phone call with a few college activists, then grading a bunch of papers and midterms that I may just procrastinate until next week when it's spring break anyway.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 26, 2021, 09:23:00 AM
Good morning!

We missed wigwag and wigwagging, though I tried wigwan just because at one point.  I agree about wanna and etc.  And phat! But real words aren't accepted.  I don't think they took pluot, pentuple, pentuplet, among many others.  For today, I'm at 126 and stuck, so not Alpha.  We got a little later start because husband was dead tired, probably from the shot, so we got a little more sleep.  Hopefully that will help with puzzle solving!

I got shrimp on the LB and played around with lock but couldn't get the solution.  Congrats on your 2fers already, cathwen, Langue_doc, and ciao_yall! Langue_doc, philosophic is an accomplishment all on its own, in my book.  It's painful to get such a good word and not be able to find a mate for it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 26, 2021, 12:16:13 PM
I got to Alpha just now (138), but it has been slow going. 

And I feel like I have a good contender for LB but might have to abandon it if I can't find a mate.  But at least sudokus are done, so aside from actual work I might have time to figure this out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 26, 2021, 01:06:40 PM
I stalled at 'great'. I know we've had this puzzle relatively recently, however (I remember the pangram).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 26, 2021, 01:10:31 PM
That's impressive, ab_grp, as I've been stuck at 118 and don't see any signs of making any more progress. So many proper nouns going to waste--Bangor, Zabar, Gaza, Rangoon, and a few others. I keep trying to enter gazebo, but no e alas!

As for LB, I'll send you a hint after 8 PM if you are still stuck. One of my words is quite wacky though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 26, 2021, 02:17:55 PM
Well, thanks, Langue_doc, but it is really a struggle at this point.  I did get one more word, so one to go.  I know how many letters it is but not what it starts with.    I try all the proper nouns anyway, in case they are accepted like panama is.  I also just enter words with misspellings that sound like other words just in case. 

As for LB, sure, a hint would be great.  And I like wacky words! I have a couple more contenders, but no triumph yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 26, 2021, 03:06:16 PM
I am stuck at Beta/127.  Ab_grp, I am in awe of your 138! 

I know there must be other words in there, but darned if I can find them.  But on the brighter side, I did find a word that I've missed two or three times in the past.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 26, 2021, 06:08:26 PM
Phew! Got to genius in the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2021, 05:30:32 AM
Phew indeed. Missed nonagon and boba--I've seen the former in more than one puzzle.

Stuck at amazing with one pangram which was my first word.

clouds and squeakier

Lucky you, ciao_yall. We don't have Spring Break this year.

Good morning, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2021, 06:41:05 AM
Good morning!

Nonagon and boba were among the words I missed yesterday, too.  Also agar, agog, brogan, ragbag, and razz.  But I got baobab, which I have missed two or three times in the past, so at least there's that.

Congratulations on genius, Parasaurolophus! 

Today's puzzle is quite challenging!  I just made genius (one pangram), but I'll be amazed if I make it to Beta or beyond.

Yesterday's LB:  recoils-squeaked.. I have found a 2fer today as well.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 07:58:20 AM
I sort of made it to QB yesterday but knew I had a six and a seven letter word left, that one started with N (nonagon), and then the final one started with R (ragbag), so not really a pure one.  I am fine with it! Some of those were tough.  I can't believe I missed nonagon.  But what the heck is a ragbag? And I'm sure I tried that, along with every other kind of bag I could think of. 

Just got up today, so no real progress on the bee yet.  I did find the pangram but still have a couple points to genius.  Hopefully coffee will help! But have to do the crossword first.

Thanks to Langue_doc, I also got the clouds-squeakier 2fer.  I did have squeak but didn't think of squeakier, which would have made clouds probably pretty obvious, and now I see I could have just gone with squeak and had ridiculous! Looking back at my notes, I had written LRODIC S, so I had tried crocodiles, but that was not allowed.  Oh well.   I also had querulous (first contender that I thought might work), curlicues, cirques, caduceus, liqueurs, aqueous... no luck.

Congrats on the 2fer already, cathwen!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 27, 2021, 08:34:37 AM
I always forget nonagon.

SB didn't like 'brang' yesterday--guess it's too dialectical. I'm a few points shy of genius this morning, but did get a 2fer on LB so that's something!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 08:55:11 AM
I also tried brang yesterday, Parasaurolopus! Given other things they accept, I thought that might be in there.  Congrats on your 2fer!

Got to 102, so Alpha with one dang word left to QB.  Crossword done, LB letters logged to work on, time to work on sudokus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2021, 08:58:31 AM
Morning!

SB - yeah, missed a few odds and ends yesterday. Thought I had agog and groan but they weren't checked, so must have had them recently. Brains do that, don't they? Also agog, agora, angora, nonagon, orang, ragbag, razz. Already at "genius" this morning with a pangram.

LB - recoils-squeaked. Great minds, think alike, cathwen! Really wanted to do something with dacquiri, b4ss, but we went out for drinks yesterday to an outdoor bar and I had a lemon drop.

ab_grp Wouldn't take crocodiles?

Already have a 2fer today.

Parasaurolophus Congrats! Just love that "snap" when they come together. I wish the system would do something cool when we get a 2fer, but all it does is congratulate us for getting it within a certain number of words. Don't they know what a fast crowd we run with?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2021, 09:00:29 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 08:55:11 AM
I also tried brang yesterday, Parasaurolopus! Given other things they accept, I thought that might be in there.  Congrats on your 2fer!

Got to 102, so Alpha with one dang word left to QB.  Crossword done, LB letters logged to work on, time to work on sudokus.

ab_grp, what is your solving strategy? Where do you write down your letters and words? I just take screen shots of 3fers and 2fer b4ss solutions, then go back and stare at them from time to time looking for anagrams or words that might go together in a different combo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2021, 09:32:23 AM
Congrats on the two-fers cathwen and ciao_yall, and the QB, ab_grp. Rooting for you, Parasaurolophus

I missed brogan, but am familiar with ragbag--British English expression?

Yes, I think the NYT should keep track of the two-fers and QBs just as they keep track of the crossword successes.

Made it to QB and got a two-fer. Three of the words in the bee are unfamiliar, one I got by mistyping a word, another by playing around with the letters, and the third by typing a word that I've assumed was a proper noun, just for the heck of it. I'm too lazy to look up the meanings.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 09:46:25 AM
Ciao_yall, the R and O were on the same side, so I couldn't do crocodiles.  I still have yesterday's up on my phone and just checked.  L and E were also on the same side.  That's just the word that I saw when I looked at what I had left.  As for my strategy, which clearly isn't that successful, I still have a ton of notepads with some empty pages from when I managed people and had one notebook each.  So I've been using those.  I just first write down the "tough" letters of the day to keep track of them.  Then I write each contender on a line, then its last letter, the remaining letters, and the first letter of the contender, so I can try to either start or end with the contender letter.  Sometimes when I have a couple of those lines I can see which I could put together, or it suggests something to me, like which letters I am having trouble getting into words at all.  I kind of like having the notebooks full of historical records, plus I never hand-write anything anymore, so it's good practice.  But you guys always get the 2fers, so don't listen to me! And congrats on your 2fer!

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I hope I can get the final word.  Congrats on your 2fer!

I sometimes wonder if the NYT folks will ever happen upon this thread and put our achievement levels into practice...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 11:36:27 AM
I'm back, and I got a 2fer.

Perhaps more importantly, I just listened to a podcast episode featuring Sam Ezersky (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/couple-of-geniuses/id1542545100#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-8218074  it's the March 26 episode, the 100th one).  This podcast focuses on the bee (hence "Geniuses", I suppose)! The current day's is available to subscribers only, but past ones are open.  If you want to listen to Sam talk about the bee, I would skip to 15 minutes in.  The part before that is what I guess they usually do, reading off their word lists to see what each other has.  I would avoid that the day of, personally, but it was kind of interesting to hear what they missed.  Here are some Sam highlights that I thought were interesting:

- He never syncs the pangram up to current events.  It has happened once with furlong the day of the Kentucky Derby, but that was an accident.  He has vetoed pangrams if they are too hot topic or might cause solvers to wince.

- There has never been an S because it would make word lists too long, but there could be someday.  There is also never ER in the puzzle, because which RE- and -ER words would be accepted would be arbitrary [well, I think we all agree some of it is arbitrary anyway, including NON-].

- ING is a recent addition

- He is looking at adding DORADO.  He noted that he doesn't want to have too many of anything from one category or background that would be an advantage or disadvantage, like every fish or every bird.

- And maybe most exciting, he can see the data on solving and can see the QBs and said it's a very, very small number!! Eeee!!! I wonder if he saw our own Langue_doc's double QB!

Just thought some of this might be of interest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2021, 11:42:13 AM
Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!  And you, ab_grp, on Alpha+!  That is super impressive, because I think this is a very difficult Bee.  At least, it is for me.  I am one point short of Beta.  Grrr!

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on your 2fer! 

Ab_grp, I just saw your message about the podcast!  Thanks so much for alerting us to that. 


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 12:23:05 PM
Cathwen, I agree that this is a tough puzzle! Husband just managed to stumble onto QB, so at least I know the first letter of the word I'm missing, but no luck so far.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2021, 04:54:24 PM
Thanks for the info and the link, ab_grp. Good luck to you and cathwen on the bee which is a tricky one today. I happened to find the last three words by finding that the sequence of letters I entered were in fact words accepted by SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2021, 05:37:56 PM
They wouldn't take ginko today which is, I think, a rather common type of tree. In fact, I can identify a ginko but not an acacia.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 06:14:53 PM
Check the spelling...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2021, 06:45:49 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 27, 2021, 06:14:53 PM
Check the spelling...

Woohoo!

Still just a genius.

Listened to the podcast - it was fun listening to Sam Ezersky. The hosts weren't all that interesting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2021, 06:59:54 PM
Think of a pig (2 words); think of words for head.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 27, 2021, 10:00:15 PM
I finally hit genius. That was a toughie!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2021, 08:00:34 AM
Good morning!

Difficult bee today, even though the words so far are all familiar ones. Made it to genius with one pangram. Given the number of points for genius, there's probably another pangram.

LB: mantras/sexploit. Pleonasm?!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 28, 2021, 08:03:27 AM
Morning!

SB - missed enoki, kook (thought I tried that?), neon, ogee, and ogive. A new word - whaddaya know.

LB - tramp-pixelations. Great 2fer with trampoline-exist, b4ss, alas. And another new word: pleonasm.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2021, 08:09:17 AM
Good morning!

Sorry for that really quick post last night, but I was on my phone.  I initially spelled ginkgo wrong too, so I wanted to make sure you didn't miss the points and satisfaction, ciao_yall! Also, I agree with you that Sam was fun to listen to, but the podcast hosts... not so much.  I wouldn't add this to my too-long podcast rotation, though I will keep an eye on it for other helpful episodes.

For LB I got EXPLOIT-TRANSOM.  Different solutions! I got matrix but would never, never have gotten pleonasm.  What!

For bee yesterday, I got to QB, but I knew what the final word started with, so that doesn't really count.  Just got up today but not to genius yet, have to do coffee and crossword first.  It does seem as though there might be another pangram, pointswise.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2021, 08:10:20 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 28, 2021, 08:03:27 AM
Morning!

SB - missed enoki, kook (thought I tried that?), neon, ogee, and ogive. A new word - whaddaya know[/b].

LB - tramp-pixelations. Great 2fer with trampoline-exist, b4ss, alas. And another new word: pleonasm.

Happy solving!

O(h) give me a home...

(couldn't resist)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 28, 2021, 08:46:05 AM
Good morning, and congratulations on making QB yesterday, ab_grp!  I got to Beta, finally, but missed eggnog, enoki, and ogive..

Today's SB has 268 points, 65 words, but only one pangram!  I'm at Beta/216, but running out of steam.  As Langue_doc says, the words are familiar so far, but there are just so many of them!  Ugh! 

Yesterday's LB is yielding all kinds of different solutions, so here's mine:  implantations-sexier.

I have a solution for today's LB, but it took a bit of time to find it.  I'm not 100% satisfied with the second word, but LB accepted it, so I won't complain.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2021, 09:13:22 AM
I'm also still stuck at Beta now (222).  I had to go back and find some four-letter ones that I had missed, but they are not getting me anywhere quickly.  And only one pangram? Yeek!

Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen, and on yet another solution to yesterday's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 28, 2021, 10:20:57 AM
LB was ample-expirations for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 28, 2021, 10:37:00 AM
Just tipped into genius this morning - what a slog! And a messy 2fer, along with a 2fer b4ss so have completed my morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2021, 11:58:32 AM
Congrats on another different LB solution from yesterday, Parasaurolophus!

And congrats on your 2fer and 2fer b4ss today, ciao_yall!

I got a 2fer that seems pretty normal and actually uses one of my recent contenders, so it's great to be able to capitalize on previous lists.

Still not at Alpha!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2021, 02:39:14 PM
Update: got to Alpha (247) and decided to compare hashes.   I was missing two words starting with a particular letter, found one.  He's missing three that I have, and then I think we are both missing the final word.  Whew, what a puzzle.  I am fine with Alpha! Not sure if I will get the remaining ones, but I will work on it later.  Gotta Duolingo and get the new sudokus out of the way when they come out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2021, 03:12:15 PM
Congrats on the Alpha! I have 238 points and have no energy to track down the remaining words and points. Tomorrow's crosswords are probably out, so I've mentally checked out of SB.

Found an interesting two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 28, 2021, 03:20:12 PM
I'm at 245 in SB and completely out of steam.  I'm fine with this, as it's farther than I usually get.  What a puzzle!

I found a second LB 2fer that I like a little better than my first one.  Looking forward to comparing notes tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2021, 04:35:00 PM
Congrats on the bee progress, and the interesting Langue_doc 2fer and a second cathwen 2fer! Maybe I'll look at my contenders to see if any of them could have made a mate after all besides the one I have.  Very interested to hear what everyone came up with! As for the bee, it is putting me to sleep.  I will probably keep taking a crack at it now and again, but I think it has defeated me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2021, 05:09:06 PM
All I need is just one word. It must be an unfamiliar word, so have given up.

Crossword and mini are done. The song that's been running through my head because of a word in a recent Bee turned up in the mini--go figure.

Looking forward to hearIng about the multiple solutions to LB tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 28, 2021, 08:00:07 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 28, 2021, 05:09:06 PM
All I need is just one word. It must be an unfamiliar word, so have given up.

Crossword and mini are done. The song that's been running through my head because of a word in a recent Bee turned up in the mini--go figure.

Looking forward to hearIng about the multiple solutions to LB tomorrow.

LOL saw that and thought of you instantly!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2021, 05:55:09 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 28, 2021, 08:00:07 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 28, 2021, 05:09:06 PM
All I need is just one word. It must be an unfamiliar word, so have given up.

Crossword and mini are done. The song that's been running through my head because of a word in a recent Bee turned up in the mini--go figure.

Looking forward to hearIng about the multiple solutions to LB tomorrow.

LOL saw that and thought of you instantly!

I thought of you too as you were the one whose ogive reminded me of the song.

Good morning, all.

maillot!? That's a French word if I'm not mistaken.

Got to amazing with one pangram. It isn't a "fun" puzzle today.

I tried very hard to find a mate for unicorn. I suspect mythical creatures don't associate with the likes of us. My first pair was curlicues/showdown, and the second, churlish/hoedown. My preference is for the first pair.

Happy solving, all.

ETA: Genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 07:38:25 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, I got the same set of pairs! First curclicues-showdown, and I was excited to be able to use curlicues since it was one of my contenders a couple days ago.  Then just playing around with it later at night, I got churlish-hoedown.  And I really wanted to use unicorn(s), too! Or eschewed.   I guess I was on your wavelength yesterday!

I was aware of maillot swimsuits because I think they were a prominent topic at some point in one of my teen girl magazines.  I can't remember exactly what the context was, but I guess though French they have wormed their way in.

Oh yeah, we finally gave up and compared the bee and got a team QB.  I missed mortar and armorial (which I am positive I tried... I think I tried every possible combo of roots and embellishments).  Oh well! Didn't really start today's yet, but it has been pretty quick so far.  Agreed that it's not too fun.  Too much beekeeping.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 08:17:05 AM
Morning!

SB - a few I probably should have gotten, and a few new words. I did get maillot because it's a fancy word for a one-piece swimsuit. Tomtit? Meanwhile it didn't take amaro.

LB - curlicues-snowshoed. ab_grp got me thinking about crocodile, and later found cornichon which took.

Spring break and my birthday today, but also a big stack of grading awaits.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 29, 2021, 08:30:03 AM
Good morning! 

In a reversal of my usual pattern, I sailed to Alpha in SB today, but have not yet found a solution for LB! 

Yesterday, I missed imam, maillot, moratoria, and tomtit.  Maillot!  I know this word both because of the teen magazines that ab_grp mentioned, and also because I speak French.  I didn't see it, frankly, but in previous puzzles I have seen French, Italian, and Spanish words that have been borrowed into English, but SB has rejected.  You just never know which borrowings will be accepted, and which not!

My first solution for yesterday's LB was lurches-snowslide.  I thought that snowslide seemed iffy, so played with it again later and found the "official" churlish-hoedown

Congratulations on all successes yesterday!

Happy birthday, ciao_yall!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 29, 2021, 08:59:59 AM
Got to genius in SB, but haven't found the pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2021, 09:03:18 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 08:17:05 AM

Spring break and my birthday today, but also a big stack of grading awaits.


Happy Birthday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykHAwUhjjGE
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 09:07:54 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 29, 2021, 09:03:18 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 08:17:05 AM

Spring break and my birthday today, but also a big stack of grading awaits.


Happy Birthday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykHAwUhjjGE

Thank you!

Genius with pangram, 3fer and 2fer b4ss.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 09:27:05 AM
Happy birthday, ciao_yall! Hope the grading doesn't take away from it too much.  Sounds like you are rolling on the puzzles! I got catarrhed out of QB on mine, but I hope you have an awesome solving day and enjoy your birthday and spring break.

Good luck, Parasaurolophus! The pangram will likely occur to you soon enough if you have enough words for genius without it.

Congrats on Alpha, cathwen! Isn't it funny how the puzzles can treat you? I'm sure you will get a 2fer, though. 

I also got to Alpha (146), but I apparently have two words left and no idea.  A couple LB contenders, but no luck so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 09:57:13 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 09:27:05 AM
Happy birthday, ciao_yall! Hope the grading doesn't take away from it too much.  Sounds like you are rolling on the puzzles! I got catarrhed out of QB on mine, but I hope you have an awesome solving day and enjoy your birthday and spring break.

Good luck, Parasaurolophus! The pangram will likely occur to you soon enough if you have enough words for genius without it.

Congrats on Alpha, cathwen! Isn't it funny how the puzzles can treat you? I'm sure you will get a 2fer, though. 

I also got to Alpha (146), but I apparently have two words left and no idea.  A couple LB contenders, but no luck so far.

Oh, I'm at 31 words / 152 points and no QB gizmo yet. So maybe I just have one word left? Huh. Maybe I will achieve the elusive QBABM?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 29, 2021, 09:58:46 AM
Amazingly, I got to QB! 

LB is still defeating me. I have some wonderful words, but can't do anything with the remaining letters.  I'll keep tinkering.

Congratulations on Alpha, with two words until QB, ab_grp!  And congratulations on genius, Parasaurolophus!  And ciao_yall, you have one word to go--you'll get there!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 10:02:08 AM
QBABM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All pretty easy words. Once is slightly obscure-ish but not one that only regular SBers would know. Like tomtit. SMDH.

Meanwhile, doing fine on 3fers and 2fer b4ss solutions. But the 2fer eludes me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 10:41:06 AM
Congratulations, ciao_yall! Your birthday QBABM/Y! That is exciting and worthy of extra celebrating! Here's hoping for a 2fer!

And congrats on your QB, cathwen! And I'm hoping for a 2fer for you as well!

I also got to QB and still haven't gotten anywhere major with LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2021, 10:53:35 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 07:38:25 AM

Langue_doc, I got the same set of pairs! First curclicues-showdown, and I was excited to be able to use curlicues since it was one of my contenders a couple days ago.  Then just playing around with it later at night, I got churlish-hoedown.  And I really wanted to use unicorn(s), too! Or eschewed.   I guess I was on your wavelength yesterday!

I was aware of maillot swimsuits because I think they were a prominent topic at some point in one of my teen girl magazines.  I can't remember exactly what the context was, but I guess though French they have wormed their way in.

Oh yeah, we finally gave up and compared the bee and got a team QB.  I missed mortar and armorial (which I am positive I tried... I think I tried every possible combo of roots and embellishments).  Oh well! Didn't really start today's yet, but it has been pretty quick so far.  Agreed that it's not too fun.  Too much beekeeping.


Great minds think alike, and all that...

As for the bee, I know maillot from my French classes long ago, but didn't think that it would figure in the bee. Tomtit is a bird, so that wasn't too difficult.

Parasaurolophus, the pangram isn't too difficult, just a past tense of one of the words.

Congrats on the QB cathwen and ab_grp. It wasn't too difficult, was it? Common words for the most part. Rooting for you, ciao_yall in case you haven't made it to QB yet.

Here's to the successes. You can skip the first two minutes as the climax is after the second minute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSmYAdiXb5M#:~:text=%22Gonna%20fly%20now%22%20or%20%22,by%20DeEtta%20and%20Nelson%20Pigford.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 01:55:19 PM
SB - screen-shot the QB to commemorate the event.

LB - 3fers and 2fers b4ss are coming out of my ears. Well if cathwen isn't there yet I don't feel so bad. Either it will jump out at me or I'll pop over to the online solver for a hint.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 02:45:22 PM
Definitely screenshot, ciao_yall! And good luck.  I hope you get your 2fer.  I've got 20 contenders, but a solution ain't one (unless I'm missing it).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 04:56:43 PM
Okay, I'm ready to send out via PM my 3fers and 2fer b4ss solutions.

Or I could post them here?

Let's see if we can do this without going to the nytimes solver.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 05:07:41 PM
Okay, now I'm getting server errors in the message feature. The LB gods are not letting us make this easy, are they?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 05:26:54 PM
I think I sent it, but it's not in my outbox so I can't be sure.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2021, 05:35:15 PM
Got it, thanks.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 29, 2021, 05:52:11 PM
I am admitting defeat.  This LB has me completely flummoxed.  Good luck to those still working on it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2021, 07:35:23 PM
I got to 27 contenders and will try also with ciao_yalll's PM words I hadn't tried.  Husband trying too. On my phone so will report if I get something.  A tough LB! Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2021, 08:09:40 PM
I gave up on LB, but crosswords are done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2021, 08:50:12 PM
Went to the solver site. http://letterboxed.aliceyliang.com/

None of the words I sent you, nor any of cathwen's contenders, worked.

That said, there was only one solution which was rather unbalanced, which might be why we had so much trouble.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 30, 2021, 04:50:42 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with one pangram.

I'm not surprised that none of us found the LB words.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 30, 2021, 06:04:49 AM
Good morning!

So none of us got LB yesterday!  Wow.  When has that ever happened?

I'm back to my usual pattern—stuck at amazing on SB with the pangram, and a 2fer for LB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 30, 2021, 08:10:42 AM
Congrats on your two-fer, cathwen.

Slightly above genius and a two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 30, 2021, 08:39:39 AM
Good morning!

Wow, I think I broke my brain on LB yesterday.  Crazy not to get a solution! I had so many good contenders! Argh.  I think skip was one I went back to later in the evening after seeing ciao_yall's note about the solution being unbalanced, but to no avail.

Today's bee is going very slowly.  Just past genius (147) but no pangram yet.  Husband got it, so I will try again later after some sudokus and a look at today's LB.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and Langue_doc! Hopefully that bodes well for a 2fer for me, but who knows.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first contender! Whee! A nice balance to yesterday's puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 30, 2021, 10:24:10 AM
I also just passed genius (149) but without the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 30, 2021, 10:28:02 AM
Genius already, just started playing with LB.

Yesterday, one would think with all the versions of polyamorous, paramours, etc somehow pulmonary would have popped out... alas, did not. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 30, 2021, 11:13:04 AM
I agree, ciao_yall!  I had polynomial(s), propulsion, and pluralism, but for some reason, pulmonary escaped me.  Oh well!

I've gotten to 160 on SB, so still not Beta, and I'm now stymied.  I am annoyed that SB is rejecting a nice Italian red wine. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 30, 2021, 11:14:38 AM
The pangram just did not pop out at me for a while, but I've got it now.  Not at Alpha yet, 182. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 30, 2021, 11:22:31 AM
Genius with pangram, plus 2fer!

Papers downloaded and rubric set up. Now to start grading...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 30, 2021, 02:17:01 PM
SB: 43/51 words, 163/208 78% so just short of Beta. A few odd words but nothing too surprising.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 30, 2021, 07:57:51 PM
193 points, but crosswords are done.

Took the quiz for one of my birding courses and failed. I can retake it, but am thoroughly demoralized.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 31, 2021, 05:12:30 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with one pangram. Missed banc, barbacoa, bronc, and noob.

LB projection/nobly

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 31, 2021, 05:59:14 AM
Good morning! 

I had the same solution for yesterday's LB as Langue_doc (projection-nobly).And I have a 2fer today as well.

SB:  Yesterday I missed barbacoa, bronc, carbonara, and carob..

Today, I am also at amazing with the pangram, but 27 points to go until genius! I'll be lucky to get there, never mind Beta, Alpha, and QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 31, 2021, 07:36:26 AM
SB - missed banc (didn't know that was an English word). The rest were ones I probably should have gotten as well - bloc, bronc, bronco, carbonara, rollbar. I was surprised it took barbacoa but was quite proud of that.

At genius this morning with pangram.

LB - also got projection-nobly. Great minds think alike! Well, I'm still at a tight 3fer so maybe I shall aspire to be as great minded as you are with your 2fers soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 31, 2021, 08:20:58 AM
Finally got to genius.  Oof!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2021, 08:32:57 AM
Good morning!

I also got the same LB solution.  It seemed so obvious, and it sounds like we all got the same one, that I was surprised to find that it was not the official solution.  Hopefully I will have good luck again today with it.  Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen!

I also missed carbonara yesterday.  I think husband gave me that one and bronco? I gave him a couple, and we both missed bronc! I went to undergrad for a while at a school with that as the mascot.  Argh.   It took me forever to find cornball.

Today I'm at 182, so not Alpha yet.  Positive thinking!

Hope you are feeling less demoralized this morning, Langue_doc, and that the retake goes well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2021, 01:21:05 PM
Got to 190, still not Alpha, though husband is there.  I have not seen any new words the past couple times I've taken a look.

But I did get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 31, 2021, 01:47:57 PM
I'm around 180, and have a two-fer.

Quote
Hope you are feeling less demoralized this morning, Langue_doc, and that the retake goes well.


ab_grp, I'm not too worried about the scores but I do need to know how to recognize birds that most of the birders seem to know because I've signed up for a couple of birding trips. One group lugs what I think of heavy equipment around, so I don't want to come across as an ignoramus. I also like the challenge of learning to identify birds. The year before last, I recall going on trips during the migratory seasons where the trip report listed sightings of more than 60 species in a two-hour period. I'll be reviewing this course and also trying to complete another one before my Saturday outing.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2021, 02:46:20 PM
I wish you all the best with your studying up and lots of successful identifying on Saturday! And you know, it's not the size of the equipment that matters. ;-)

Husband and I gave up on the bee, and I am glad to have done so.  There were probably three words I wouldn't have gotten.  There were two others that I was able to find or should have found.  Oh well, close enough.  He was much closer, only needing one word before we compared, and he probably could have gotten his final word. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 31, 2021, 03:15:06 PM
Congratulations, Langue_doc and ab_grp on your 2fers!  And for your SB scores.  I'm not nearly as far along.

Langue_doc, are you taking the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology course?  Good luck on the test, the studying, and the outing!  (Your mention of a test reminded me of when I signed up for Project Feeder Watch.  I had to take a test that asked me to identify a variety of similar-looking brown birds--a variety of sparrows and some house finches.  It was kind of nerve-racking.).

Anyway, the Bee...I am limping along at 168 points, so not even Beta.  I doubt that I'll be able to put in much more time on it tonight.  But at least I made genius, which I did not think would happen for a while!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2021, 03:58:18 PM
Oops, I forgot to say congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

And congrats on your bee progress, cathwen! Some days are just uck.  I wonder if they're throwing some harder ones in there. 

I salute you both for being able to identify different birds.  I'm okay at identifying different types of things through taxonomies, but visual stuff is definitely not my forte, and I wouldn't be able to do it from memory!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 31, 2021, 04:12:07 PM
Tight 3fers and 2fer b4ss... but the 2fer is just not busting loose. I'm sure when I find out what it is, if I don't find it on my own, it will be a headsmacker.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 31, 2021, 04:29:47 PM
ciao_yall, it's a lopsided two-fer, if that helps. I think the first word was much shorter than the second.

ab_grp, good point about size. The group was quite welcoming on my first outing with them a couple of weeks ago, and three or four of that group have signed up for the one on Saturday. They did let me look through their scopes as they didn't think my binoculars would be enough. I don't see myself lugging one of these and a stand around on trips though. As for the identifying, the group identified several species of ducks in one location. A couple of them, I was told, were migratory ducks and would not stay in this area much longer, They also identified several species of songbirds.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2021, 04:36:22 PM
Langue_doc, hopefully they will lug their equipment along this weekend (as long as they let you use it again)!

Good luck, ciao_yall.  Like Langue_doc's (maybe the same pair), mine is lopsided, and the word that comes first is much shorter.  I actually found the shorter word earlier on and made a note but usually try to find longer ones and had abandoned it due to too many letters remaining.  But, maybe once you find the first word the second will pop out at you.  I think my longer one was initially a more moderate length, but I was able to add to it to use up more letters.  Maybe you have something in your current word list that you can add to and make a longer word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 31, 2021, 05:20:03 PM
Got it with a little hint from the LB solver. As it turns out, the second word appeared to have been an alternative spelling of a word. I found it with the "regular" spelling but not the alternative spelling... so now I don't feel so bad. I think.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 01, 2021, 05:32:33 AM
Good morning!

Got a twofer on my first attempt! I must have channeled cathwen. word/dysfunction yesterday.

Missed alkane, alkene, and nankeen. I'm at amazing with one pangram today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 01, 2021, 06:57:35 AM
Good morning! 

I had dysfunctions-sworn for LB yesterday.  I found a solution today, too, but on the third try, not the first!  Congratulations, Langue_doc!

With a score of 168 points yesterday, I clearly missed a lot of words.  Ah, well...  Today I am at amazing with the pangram.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 01, 2021, 07:17:26 AM
Morning!

SB - At amazing already with one pangram, so hope the genius will tip soon.

ETA: Found a second pangram but it wouldn't take! Grr.

ETA^2: Genius with a word I thought I already tried.

LB - Already have a 2fer this morning. Yesterday got crowd-dysfunction. I had 3fers with disfunction where I was trying to figure out what to do with the y. Thought I tried dysfunction and it didn't take, but maybe I had a typo in there... or maybe I thought disfunction was the proper spelling? Anyway, can't win 'em all.

Grading. Grading. Grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2021, 08:40:09 AM
Good morning!

I also had word-dysfunction yesterday. 

And I missed the exact same words as Langue_doc, alkane, alkene, nankeen.  Like I said, glad I gave up when I did.  Husband somehow managed to get them, but he is also more science-oriented.  Weirdly, the word he was missing was kneel.  As a nice kick in the pants from the universe, I was doing an archive NYT crossword last night from 2003 with a clue "Alkene series hydrocarbon."  Not sure if seeing that first would have helped in the bee, but I thought it was kind of funny, as I don't think I had ever heard the word before yesterday.  Maybe it has been in the puzzle before and I just didn't remember it.

Today I'm a point short of Alpha (167).  Need some more coffee and will try to continue and take a look at LB and sudokus.  I completed the crossword successfully but had to read the blog about 10 times afterward to understand the theme.  Clever? I clearly wasn't awake enough, in any case.

Congrats Langue_doc, cathwen, and ciao_yall on your 2fers today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2021, 10:34:12 AM
Argh! One word away from QB! At least I know how long it is, so hopefully I will find it.

A couple contenders for LB, but no luck just yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 01, 2021, 10:41:43 AM
Way to go, ab_grp!  You'll surely get there! 

I'm at 171/Alpha, which is farther than I thought I'd get! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2021, 10:59:05 AM
Thanks, cathwen, but I could get catarrhed out of it again.  We'll see.  And you are super close, too! Congrats on Alpha! I had previously just had the one point to go to get to Alpha but ended up finding a long word, so that definitely motivated me to keep trying.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 01, 2021, 04:35:57 PM
A few words left on the bee, but that's probably it for today.

ab_grp, there are no repeating letters in the LB pair that I found, with the exception of the last letter of the first word. I can send you a hint if you are still stuck. Hope you found all the words in the bee.

cathwen, yes, these are the Cornell Lab courses. I gave up on the ebird essentials test. I got some courses a couple of years ago, but what with being online for work and the zoom sessions, didn't have the energy to sit at the computer to do the courses. I've learned not to let myself be intimidated by the birders who are mostly experts as they can identify birds that all look alike, at least to me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2021, 04:39:40 PM
Thanks for the LB info, Langue_doc! That is helpful.  Sure, if you feel like sending a hint, I will continue to work on it here and there this evening.  I feel as though one of my contenders will work, but I haven't had any luck mating it yet. 

As for the bee, I gave up on the last word, though I got it with some hints from husband (who had stumbled on it and had gotten to QB).  We may have had it before, but I don't think I would have gotten it without just guessing it.  So, I am okay with Alpha! I don't mind so much as long as what's left isn't something I should have gotten for sure.  Good luck to anyone still pursuing QB!

ETA: got a 2fer so no hints needed.  Thank you, though!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 01, 2021, 05:33:28 PM
Congrats! Ignore my PM.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 02, 2021, 05:29:51 AM
Good morning!

Not sure how I made it to QB late last night, but I did. Still not sure how I found photog, opah, and prat. I vaguely recall seeing the two short words in earlier puzzles,

Amazing today, with two pangrams.

LB joking/grumble

As for the crosswords, I'm not seeing the themes this week, but managing to get the solutions.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 02, 2021, 07:27:21 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!  I did not progress since my last posting—I missed aport, opah, photog, and taproot.

I had the same LB solution, which was also the "official" one.  After some tearing out of hair, I found a solution for today's LB. 

As for SB, I just squeaked into genius with two pangrams.  Too bad the nytbee site is down!  I hope we aren't  suddenly faced with a different puzzle, as happened last time the site went down.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 02, 2021, 07:41:53 AM
Morning!

SB - they wouldn't take topograph yesterday. There seems to be a new interface so I can't check yesterday's words, but I remember getting all the ones you have mentioned, so maybe I was closer to QB than I thought.

LB - joking-grumble as well.

Happy solving! Dentist, then husband gets his J&J this afternoon. Finished grading - woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 02, 2021, 08:59:51 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, thanks for the LB hints.  Sorry, I tried to modify as quickly as possible to spare your time, but your clues were, as always, spot on! I got the same solution.  Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen!

For the bee yesterday, I missed paratha.  Well, I got it, but not without hints, so I'm not counting it.  Big congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

For today's, the nytbee site was working for me, but it would be interesting to end up with different puzzles again! For the record, I have (A)CEIHMN.  And I'm at 214 with two out of two pangrams, but now things are going much more slowly.

Hope your husband's shot goes well, ciao_yall! And the dentist appointment.  Congrats on finishing grading! I also wanted topograph yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 02, 2021, 09:08:13 AM
Made it to genius with both pangrams after missing te mark these last couple days.

Weirdly, yesterday it rejected 'tophat'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 02, 2021, 09:32:16 AM
Found yesterday's SB answers. Okay, I thought I tried apparat and it didn't take. Paratha? Okay. Paragraph? /headsmack. Propogator, I would have thought it had an "e." Oh well, at genius.

LB - lots of long words that leave odds and ends, so hope to get there soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 02, 2021, 09:45:57 AM
I remembered paratha from an earlier puzzle. Indian food terms that I remember from earlier puzzles are naan, paratha, and raita. There are probably a couple more, but I can't recall them offhand. SB rejected topograph and orthograph. As for propagator with an e, I always, always, check spellings on google. I had to check the spelling of today's long word before entering it.

Very often words that I type don't get entered, so if I'm feeling motivated (competitive), I double-check my entries on the desktop just to make sure that all the words that I entered have been credited.

51 words and 223 points so far.

Congrats on your successes, all.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 02, 2021, 10:48:58 AM
I always try tophat, poptop, and others, but I guess they are two words or hyphenated or some such excuse.  There are a couple that do not appear to be in today's, either.  I think I might be missing the long word.  Husband also found a long word that he had to look up the spelling for.  He recently passed me to 227 (I'm at 226).  Still no Alpha!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 02, 2021, 12:34:46 PM
Well, I got to Alpha +, one word from QB, again.  And here I will probably stay.  I will try again later!

And I have what I think is a pretty good contender for LB, but no luck on a mate yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 02, 2021, 01:13:41 PM
Ab_grp, I hope you get your final word! 

I'm at 250 points, with two words to go.  And I'm tired of looking!  I'll take a peek later. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 02, 2021, 01:34:10 PM
QB! No difficult words.

Let me know if anyone needs a hint.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 02, 2021, 02:35:16 PM
QB for me, too!  I really did not expect to get there. 

Congratulations, Langue_doc, on your QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 02, 2021, 03:19:31 PM
Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen! No luck for me yet on that final word, but I was on a call for a while.  Thanks for the hint offer, Langue_doc.  I might PM you for a tailored one since I know how many letters it is.

Still no luck getting my contenders to work in LB yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 02, 2021, 05:10:02 PM
SB - thought there was third pangram but it seems to be a proper name. ETA Went to the crossword puzzle site. QB!

LB - some good words that eat up a lot of letters. 3fers and a 2fer b4ss but no official 2fer yet. ETA Went to the solver site and all the words are totally weird. So if cathwen got one of them, then she wins LB for the year.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2021, 07:35:18 AM
Good morning!

Thanks to Langue_doc, I got the final bee word.  Ugh! Mahimahi.  I had to look at the crossword blog to figure out LB.  I thought for sure gymnastic (or a variant) and uvula would work out if I could connect them. 

Just got up, so no coffee or much puzzle progress, but I wanted to wish Langue_doc a good bird outing!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 03, 2021, 08:23:59 AM
Genius, 3fer, getting ready to go for a long hike with a friend.

SB - I think for me it's more of a time limit thing. So many darn words! On my own I got the tricky ones like echinacea. I really wanted manichean to be a word but alas. I tend to have one long session over coffee which usually gets me to genius. Then I pop in during the day and if another word appears, fine. The crossword blog is good for aided recall to get me over the edge. Once I get a hint it's pretty easy.

LB - yesterday - whatever. Even the solver site didn't get magi which I would have assumed to be a proper noun but oh well. 3fers were vinyls-sagacity-yum and alumna-activity-yags. 2fer b4ss was vaginismus-scantily. Lots of contenders which ate up a lot of letters but no mates, alas.

Happy solving day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 03, 2021, 10:37:44 AM
Good afternoon!

Genius and 2fer today. 

For yesterday's LB, I had the "official" magi-inclusivity.  I thought it was a really hard puzzle; I tried all kinds of combinations before stumbling over that one.

Ciao-yall, enjoy your hike!  And Langue_doc, enjoy your bird outing!  It's a gorgeous day.  Ab_grp, congratulations on QB! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2021, 10:51:41 AM
Thanks, cathwen, though I wish I had been able to find that myself.  I just don't think I would have thought of it.  I got to Alpha today (256) but still have a ways to go.  I was stumped for a while but got a bunch of words last time I took a break to look at it, so hopefully that will happen again next time!

Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen!

Ciao_yall, have a fun hike! I was trying to get chiminea or one of its variants to work, but it wouldn't take it. :-(  Hope you get your 2fer later on!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 03, 2021, 12:13:31 PM
Finally clawed up the last few points to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2021, 12:21:21 PM
Good going, Parasaurolophus, and good luck! I think the words have all been pretty familiar from life or from the bee.

That being said, I am AGAIN one word away from QB, so who knows if the last one is a doozy or just escaping me right now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 03, 2021, 12:26:37 PM
Congratulations, Parasaurolophus!  And ab_grp, you are sure to get to QB again! 

I am only a little past genius.  I am running out of imagination and will not have time to work on this much longer, so if I get to Beta, I will be delirious with joy. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 03, 2021, 12:28:01 PM
Thanks, ab_grp, it was a nice outing to three different nature preserves/parks in one of the boroughs. It was an interesting group of people; we also saw several interesting species of birds, mostly shorebirds and songbirds. The downside was that I had to leave at 7, for an 8 AM trip, and was on my feet until 2.30. I just got home, sore feet and all.

I recall getting a pangram and making it to almost genius before I left. I think I need to crash first before getting back to the puzzles.

As for mahimahi, it was one of the first words that I found yesterday. I gave up on LB yesterday as it seemed to be a case of diminishing returns given the letter and the B4SS BS.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2021, 03:11:48 PM
Well, I actually made it to QB today, so thanks for the magical words, cathwen!

Langue_doc, I'm glad to hear you had such a nice outing! But it sounds like rest and recovery would be a good thing after rising early and spending that much time on your feet.  Hope you get to do so and enjoy whichever puzzles or other fun you are looking forward to!

I have a couple LB contenders, but nothing yet on that front.  New puzzles should be out now, but I am in a tough and very competitive Duolingo league this week, so I need to attend to that first just to stay safe from demotion.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 03, 2021, 04:45:49 PM
2fer - not sure it's official because it's kind of weird, but if they took magi, who knows?

Great hike, now I'm bushed but need to fix dinner for husband who is having mild side effects from his vaccine yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 04, 2021, 07:00:08 AM
Good morning!

It sounds like we got some different LB solutions, and different from the official one? I had gotten CATERWAUL-LIBIDO but am not sure if that's what ciao_yall got.  It definitely sounds different from Langue_doc's given the clues (thanks!), but I didn't see those until later and couldn't figure it out.  Very curious!

Didn't get coffee or start much of anything yet.  Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2021, 07:53:17 AM
Good morning!

Genius, with one pangram.

LB bower/reticulated.

Crossword has to be completed.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 04, 2021, 08:12:34 AM
Aha! I get reticulated now.  I kept thinking it was something with constrictor, but that didn't work and wasn't the first word of the snake, in any case.  I wonder what other solutions folks found.

I got to 142 with one pangram so far.  Will try some sudokus and get back to it.  I did get one LB contender so far.

Ciao_yall, I'm glad you enjoyed your hike and hope your husband is feeling better today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 04, 2021, 08:29:44 AM
Morning!

SB - A few odd misses. Off to start today's.

LB - bower-reticulated as well. For some reason I was thinking of the endoplasmic reticulum which we learned about in junior high biology class. I can't remember without googling what it is, but it was our playful insult to one another for a while. "Stop being such an endoplasmic reticulum!" So, you see, that broad education came in handy.

Husband took a few ibuprofen-PMs last night and slept it off.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2021, 09:09:32 AM
Two pangrams so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 04, 2021, 09:30:10 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on April 04, 2021, 09:09:32 AM
Two pangrams so far.

Wow! Still stuck on "great," no pangrams yet. Came here to brag about a 3fer.

There's a "Split Decisions" in the old-school paper today so I'll be busy!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2021, 09:32:35 AM
Think prefixes and suffixes; commonly used words so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 04, 2021, 10:07:36 AM
Good afternoon!

I also got bower-reticulated for yesterday's LB. 

I gave up, though, on SB.  I would love to cite my lack of time, but I don't think it's just that!  Words I should have gotten:  toot, tooted (how did I miss those?), and intentioned.  As for tontine donee, and toonie, well...

Today I am at amazing with one pangram.  But I have a 2fer for LB.

Langue_doc, your birding expedition sounded exhausting but fun!  I'm on the lookout for the first of the warblers, which should be showing up sometime in the next week or so. 

Ciao_yall, Split Decisions is one of my favorite alternate puzzles!  Have fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 04, 2021, 10:32:55 AM
Genius and 2 pangrams.

3fer, 2fer b4ss so hope the 2fer comes soon. Channeling cathwen...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 04, 2021, 10:39:23 AM
I'm now two words away from QB.  And one of them is four letters, which is unusual for me.  Oh well, will try more later.

It's funny that I got a different LB solution from all of you, and that none of us got the official one!

Cathwen, toonie was my final word, and toot(ed) came along pretty late, I think.  Tontine is one of those bee words I just always look for.  And congrats on your 2fer! I have a couple more contenders now.

Good luck with your 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 04, 2021, 02:06:05 PM
Got to QB! Whew.  No solution for LB yet, though.  Gotta do some real work for a bit and then get back to it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 04, 2021, 04:26:35 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!

I am two words away from QB!  Argh! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2021, 05:12:51 PM
You'll get there, cathwen. There are no exotic words. Congrats, ab_grp.

Found some interesting words for LB, but no mates yet. The crosswords are out, and there's grading to be done, so LB is on the back burner for now.

As for yesterday's LB, the word reticulated for me occurs in one and only one context--reticulated python.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 04, 2021, 07:00:47 PM
Since everyone else was having trouble with LB I decided to hit the solver. Gah. Not that hard.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 05, 2021, 04:59:18 AM
Good morning, all.

Genius with two pangrams.

LB jungles/stablish. I didn't think that the latter was a word, but tried it anyway.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 05, 2021, 06:30:51 AM
Morning!

Through the online solver I got jungle-establish or jubilate-enlightens. What is driving me batty is one of my 3fers was jungle-stab-bish SO CLOSE! 2fer b4ss was bluejeans-sight.

About 60% through the Split Decisions puzzle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 05, 2021, 08:39:19 AM
Good morning!

I also got jungle-establish.  Maybe I can continue my unusual LB-solving streak today.

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I hope you got QB as well, cathwen!

I am at 167 today with two pangrams but have hit a wall for now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 05, 2021, 08:57:22 AM
Genius and two pangrams this morning. Will try to get further later.

Well done, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 05, 2021, 10:38:57 AM
Thanks, Parasaurolophus.  It sounds like you are on a roll!

I made it to Alpha (barely, exactly 177) and have not had any luck finding the remaining three words yet.  There wasn't anything too tough so far, a couple bee words that are somewhat familiar.

But I have a couple contenders for LB that are promising if I can put them together somehow.  So close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 05, 2021, 10:54:32 AM
Congratulations on all the geniuses!  I am a few points short, but I have both pangrams.

LB:  Yesterday I got jungle-establish, but I still haven't found anything yet today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 06, 2021, 06:08:06 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was pinny--I don't know what it means though. I had to look up the spellings of a couple of words.

Amazing, no pangram yet.

Late night, late morning, and a long day with work and zooms so I don't think I'll be puzzling much today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 06, 2021, 06:33:11 AM
Yesterday I was mid-Beta in SB.  Today I'm at Amazing with no pangram.

Langue_doc, I remembered pinny because in high school gym class, we wore vests of different colors to distinguish teams.  Our gym teacher called them pinnies.

Ab_grp,did you get your final three words yesterday? 

I failed to find a 2fer for yesterday's LB, but when I looked at the answer, I reached for that heavy dictionary for a good head bonk!  I had pacific, specific, and monkey, but somehow didn't put it together for pacifism-monkey.  But, I did find a 2fer today.

Good luck puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 06, 2021, 07:36:34 AM
Morning!

Finished the Split Decisions puzzle.

SB - found both pangrams yesterday - haven't looked at today's. ETA: Found the pangram early on. Not a hard one.

LB - cathwen, me too! Found pacific, monkey, specific... went to the online solver site and argh! But for an "ism" I would have had it.

On to today's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 06, 2021, 08:19:18 AM
Good morning!

Cathwen, I got to one word left, and then we mistakenly decided to compare lists since we each were missing one 6-letter word and figured it was the same word.  It wasn't, so husband donated picnic (ugh) to me, and I donated pippin to him.  Oh well! Close enough, team QB.  I have the same recollection about pinny, a light pull over vest thingy to distinguish teams in gym class.  Husband had never heard of it.

I actually got a 2fer yesterday! I had monkey as my first out of like 20 contenders, but I couldn't make it work.  Then playing with it last night on my phone, I finally tried pacific after having pacify all day as another contender, and figured I'd stick -ism on it, and it accepted pacificism-monkeys, so not the official solution but fine with me.  Hopefully my streak will continue!

Today I'm at Alpha (163) with two words to go, again. 

Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Good luck with your zooming, Langue_doc, and I hope you get to enjoy some puzzling, too.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 06, 2021, 09:19:00 AM
Amazing with pangram, no genius yet.

3fers coming out of my ears, 2fer feels nigh.

How is everyone else doing?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: reener06 on April 06, 2021, 09:49:57 AM
Just got to genius, with 40 words. For some common letters, it's surprisingly hard, esp. for the longer words. I keep wanting to make words with an 'r' but there is no 'r'.

But I'm outside enjoying the spring weather, with sudafed making me more comfortable, so I can't complain.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 06, 2021, 09:54:25 AM
Enjoy the out of doors, reener06!

I'm still stuck with two words left to QB.  For LB, I have what seems like a really promising contender, so I'll try to work with that.  Unfortunately, it's been a busy morning, as the septic guy came way early (not enjoying the aromas right now), just as husband was leaving for a doctor's appointment, so there were moving truck shenanigans and so forth.  My garage door also appears to want to star in the next Final Destination movie.  Exciting times.  Hopefully things will settle down a tad.

ETA: Yay! Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 06, 2021, 05:55:28 PM
Genius with pangram.

Boost from solver site to get a 2fer. Had words, and variations of words, but they weren't coming together.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 07, 2021, 05:00:47 AM
Good morning, all!

A few words short yesterday, but megahit!?

Amazing with one pangram.

It's going to be another long day, so not many puzzling opportunities.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 07, 2021, 06:43:00 AM
Good morning!

I threw in the towel at Beta yesterday.  Oddly, I had gotten megahit in one of those desperation moves where you're just throwing letters and word fragments together to see what happens.  But I missed gimme again.  I guess I have trouble recognizing that as a word, although of course it shows up in informal writing from time to time.

Today's SB stands at amazing with the pangram.  What will be amazing today is if I reach genius!  I am already running out of inspiration.

For LB yesterday,I got acquiescent-typhus.  And I found a 2fer for today's. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 07, 2021, 07:30:41 AM
SB - I found megahit early on but not much after that. Did tip into genius, though.

LB - Another day of "close but no cigar." I found acquiescent-thy-yes, acquiescent-thy-yup, and others combos as 3fers. Needed a boost from the online solver to realize "acquiescent-typhus" was out there. Same with physics-sequent-tan which was so close to physiques-scant. Argh.

2fer b4ss solutions were acquiescence-eyepatch and quiches-synaptic.

Happy solving - hoping for a more focused day!

ETA: Genius with pangram, 2fer. Okay, I was afraid I was losing my touch.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 07, 2021, 08:49:06 AM
Good morning!

Cathwen, I found the same 2fer as you yesterday, not the schmofficial one, but a good one, I think!  Luckily, acquiescent was my first contender.

Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

As for the bee, I gave up with one word to go, which was hamate.  Husband had stumbled upon it but hadn't heard of it, so I figured I was not going to get it either.  For today, I got to a bit past genius (152), but I am really tired and husband has to go in to work, so I'm not sure what progress I might make.  That Y in the middle is not fun.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 07, 2021, 08:58:21 AM
Congratulations on the 2fers and geniuses (genii?)

I finally limped over the genius line and a tad beyond to 152.  I agree, the center Y does not make for an easy puzzle!

Ab_grp, I like our LB solutions better than the "schmofficial" one! 

Now I have to get some real work done, and I have to go get my second vaccine dose this afternoon.  SB will have to go on the back burner for a while.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 07, 2021, 09:18:48 AM
Cathwen, I like ours better, too! And best wishes on a smooth second vaccination dose and recovery.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 07, 2021, 09:31:42 AM
Yes, good luck with your recovery. I was lucky and had no side effects, but who knows? Plan on soup, rest and maybe SB to entertain you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 07, 2021, 10:56:19 AM
I missed some easy ones yesterday, but am nearly at genius today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 07, 2021, 11:06:32 AM
cathwen, best wishes for the post-vaccine recovery. Symptoms are a good sign. Hope you are planning to get some rest.

I keep seeing words with n--I feel like the child who kept saying "I see dead people".
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2021, 05:12:47 AM
Good morning!

Found words yesterday that my tongue is still tripping over, such as mammalogy. Then there were the two lolly words, one of which I remembered from an earlier puzzle.

15 words today, pangram and genius. Familiar words so far, but I am stumped.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 08, 2021, 06:58:59 AM
Morning!

SB: Yesterday, Langue_doc, I had the same problem but with the letter R.

LB: Got poufs-starlight.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2021, 06:59:35 AM
Good morning!

I missed lollygag and lallygag (husband also missed the latter).  Ugh.  Had the same issue as you with words that need an n, Langue_doc!

I got a 2fer, but I am not surprised to see it's not the official solution (rapist-thoughtful).  I guess mine is technically more elegant, as it doesn't reuse the h, but I wish I had found harpist.  Obviously, I found thoughtful first.

For today, we just got up, but I managed to get to Alpha during the getting ready stage (94).  Almost time for coffee/crossword, but a little later on I have to head out for my second dose, so hopefully that's not as much of a mess as it was the first time.  Hopefully I can get the final 10 or so points, for gosh sake.

Happy solving!

On preview: I like ciao_yall's solution!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2021, 07:50:38 AM
Good luck with the vaccination site being better organized this time, ab_grp.

I think we've all had our shots. As I recall, ciao_yall got the second one recently, and cathwen, yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 08, 2021, 07:54:14 AM
SB - Yesterday with some aided recall I got everything but gloomy, /headsmack; ones I thought I tried gloopy, logy; and learned a new word lallygag.

Today, Genius, 2fer so far.

ETA, yes, got the second last week. No side effects at all. Husband got the J&J and felt knocked out the next day but is now fine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2021, 08:01:22 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Hopefully it will go smoothly.  I'm glad it worked out well for everyone here thus far.

I got to QB, at least, no real tough words in it.  And I have two contenders for LB that use up all the letters, though I can't figure out how to put them together or whether I will have to abandon one or the other.  Maybe I can also get the sudokus done just in case.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 08, 2021, 08:03:57 AM
Ab_grp, I got my 2fer with word I didn't think was a word but tried just in case... if that helps?

ETA: My favorite part of the morning is seeing what other 2fers everyone came up with.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 08, 2021, 09:43:50 AM
Easy genius today, now for the rest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2021, 11:19:39 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall, and thanks for the tip! I guess I was distracted earlier and didn't see that you already got one.  I will try some variations on what I have! I like seeing all the 2fers, too.

Congrats, Parasaurolophus! I thought today's was pretty easy overall, especially compared to some of the recent ones.  Good luck!

Happy to say that this appointment, though it took about the same amount of time, felt much less stressful.  I still had to fill out the danged form, but the check-in lady let me do it at the counter, so it was much quicker, and I had already looked up my doctor's info.  I did have the opportunity to be behind a person throughout the process who I will only describe as very chatty.  Now to order some burgers for lunch and something healthier for dinner!

I hope cathwen is feeling well today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2021, 11:33:26 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on April 08, 2021, 11:19:39 AM

Happy to say that this appointment, though it took about the same amount of time, felt much less stressful.  I still had to fill out the danged form, but the check-in lady let me do it at the counter, so it was much quicker, and I had already looked up my doctor's info.  I did have the opportunity to be behind a person throughout the process who I will only describe as very chatty.  Now to order some burgers for lunch and something healthier for dinner!

I hope cathwen is feeling well today!

Glad to hear that you made it, despite having to fill out the form again. You'd think that people who get their second shots would be in the system.

Cathwen, I've been thinking of you too.
Quote
Posted by: ciao_yall
« on: Today at 08:03:57 AM »Insert Quote

ETA: My favorite part of the morning is seeing what other 2fers everyone came up with.

Mine too, even on the days when I don't complete the puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 08, 2021, 03:24:20 PM
Thank you, everyone, for the good wishes for a mild reaction to the vaccine! 

Unfortunately, I had a pretty severe reaction (fever 103, every muscle and joint in my body painful, nausea, chills, dizziness...) and have spent all day in bed. And wouldn't you know, this is the day that my husband had to be on campus!   I'm feeling a little better this evening, but not great.  And he is on his way home. All will be well.

I haven't even had the energy to work much on SB and LB today!  I have 12 whole words/57 points/amazing in SB at this point.  And an LB solution is still eluding me.  That may be as far as I get today.  Mañana!

Yesterday, though I got ploughs-starfish for LB and I got to Beta in SB.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2021, 03:58:31 PM
Noooo...  I'm so sorry that you had a bad reaction and went through all that, cathwen, but I am very glad that you are feeling a bit better.  The puzzles are here for you every day! Just take care.  Hoping you feel so much better tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 08, 2021, 04:27:55 PM
Quote from: cathwen on April 08, 2021, 03:24:20 PM
Thank you, everyone, for the good wishes for a mild reaction to the vaccine! 

Unfortunately, I had a pretty severe reaction (fever 103, every muscle and joint in my body painful, nausea, chills, dizziness...) and have spent all day in bed. And wouldn't you know, this is the day that my husband had to be on campus!   I'm feeling a little better this evening, but not great.  And he is on his way home. All will be well.

Well, they say that means you have a strong immune system!

I haven't had any reaction to the COVID vaccine, nor to the Shingrix vaccine which is also supposed to be a rough one. So, does that mean I don't have an immune system and I'm already dead?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2021, 06:47:56 PM
I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a bad reaction to the vaccine, cathwen. Feel better soon.

ab_grp, I hope you're getting plenty of rest and minimal reactions to your shot.

QB and a two-fer today.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 09, 2021, 05:18:18 AM
Good morning, all!

Genius, but no pangram yet.

LB euphemistic/claw

Happy solving.

cathwen and ab_grp, hope you're feeling better today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 09, 2021, 06:50:27 AM
I am feeling at least functional today—thank you everyone for the good wishes!  Ab_grp, I hope you don't
have the reaction that I had! 

I was happy to finally get to genius yesterday, but no LB solution.

Today, I'm at amazing with the pangram, and I have a 2fer for LB. 

Congratulations on yesterday's QBs and 2fers!  Ciao_yall, I agree—seeing others' solutions to LB is one of my favorite parts of the morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 09, 2021, 07:59:31 AM
Morning!

LB yesterday was whimsical-letup which I am surprised to see was the schmofficial solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2021, 08:04:08 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your QB and 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc!

And cathwen, I'm really glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better.  I hope the side effects continue to abate.  Congrats on your 2fer today!

Thanks for the good wishes for me as well! I am doing pretty well, just was feeling pretty dull last night, like I was sedated, and that seems to be sticking with me this morning.  At least no fever that I know of, though one of my bio trackers shows a slightly higher temp last night than my baseline.  And I am upright if a bit slow.  We'll see how it goes.  I think husband felt the afternoon after his second dose as though he really needed to take a nap, so I'll try to get some stuff done ahead of that just in case.  We had an interesting time last night trying to figure out why our garage suddenly smelled overwhelmingly of rubber cement, but it seems to be gone today.  Very weird.  I had a headache last night, but that could be related to whatever was happening out there.  And then this morning we had a very confusing conversation about Prince Philip, by which he thought I meant Rex Parker.  ?! I hope we both get a bit more clearheaded as the day goes on.

Never got a 2fer yesterday, despite a thousand attempts, and I wasn't near the official solution at all (nor Langue_doc's, though a little closer).  Today I'm just barely above genius with a pangram (137) , which I will take as a victory for now.

Happy solving!

ETA: yay on getting the official solution, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 09, 2021, 08:22:11 AM
Take it easy today, ab_grp!  And I hope you're feeling better tomorrow.

I just made Beta on SB.  Taking a break for now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 09, 2021, 08:49:00 AM
Morning!

Slow SB this morning. At "nice" and no pangram, though I thought I had it at one point.

But quick 2fer in LB.

Grading and watching a Zoom hearing on the state of our College.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 09, 2021, 09:03:54 AM
Amazing with pangram. Strangely enough I thought I had it early, but it didn't take. Meanwhile this was a wild guess and it worked.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2021, 09:10:55 AM
Thanks, cathwen! Counting myself lucky so far, though I don't think I should be doing a lot of counting today given the brain fog. ;-)

At least I managed to get a 2fer!

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! And there are a few pangrams that I tried today that the bee wouldn't take.  I'm glad you got the approved pangram after all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2021, 11:44:24 AM
Yay, I got to Alpha (175), though I am definitely dragging.  Got the sudokus done and Duolingos.  My colleague friends are having a Zoom game night tonight, but I don't think that's in the cards.  Still feeling pretty well, just tired, a little skin sensitivity, feeling a little chilly.  Not sure what might be in my head, though, with sort of expecting some side effects.  Just focusing on getting little tasks done and taking it easy but trying to move around a bit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 09, 2021, 12:01:31 PM
Finally slogged into Genius. I think I need to learn more Bee words before I will achieve Alpha and QB like you all regularly do.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 09, 2021, 02:05:22 PM
Congratulations on Alpha, ab_grp

I'm still at Beta/161/36 words, with six to go.  I know that when I look at the answers tonight, I will wonder why I didn't see the words I missed.  But for now, I can't imagine what they are!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2021, 02:12:42 PM
I only have one more word left, but husband got QB so I hope I can.  I just have no idea what it is (obviously!).  There are a number of tricky words in the list, so I don't think this was a particularly easy day, even taking my issues into account.  So congrats on your progress, ciao_yall and cathwen, and I hope you get your words! It has really been a fits and starts kind of day for me, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 09, 2021, 03:38:11 PM
Sounds as though everyone has made a lot of progress with the puzzles. I know that I made it to above genius this morning, but haven't had a chance to look at any of the puzzles since then. I had to go to the grocery store (I save this for Friday mornings) which always leaves me exhausted.

Hope you have recovered, cathwen, and that your symptoms are mild, ab_grp. I was fine for 24 hours after the shot, and then got all the flu-related symptoms including a high temperature.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2021, 04:18:24 PM
Hope you can recover from your grocery trip, Langue_doc.  And thanks for mentioning the delay in the some of the worse side effects! I have just been going back and forth between extremely worn out (but not bedridden) and more alert, but still feeling tired and like my skin hurts, and I am chilly.  I guess we'll see what transpires.  In any case, if you do get a chance, I hope the puzzles are enjoyable and help with your recovery.

I finally staggered across the line to QB.  It wasn't a pure one, because I knew what it started with and the number of letters (and it was still hard to figure out, for some reason), but fine enough.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2021, 06:00:42 AM
Good morning! Made it to QB last night. Still don't know how I found the pangram, which was my last word.

Genius today, with one pangram. Just completed the vertex. Crosswords and sudokus were done last night.

LB: friendly/youth

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 10, 2021, 07:58:23 AM
Good morning! 

Langue_doc, congratulations on QB!  I never got beyond Beta.  I'm still kicking myself for missing marinara.  Not that it was the only one I missed!  Oddly, I got the pangram early on, playing with 'mid-' plus other words on the list, but I thought it was weird. When does anyone ever use the term 'midbrain'? 

And congratulations on QB to you, too, ab_grp!  I hope you're feeling okay today.

I also got friendly-youth yesterday, which was the schmofficial solution.

I'm at amazing on today's SB, and no solution yet for LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 10, 2021, 07:59:59 AM
Morning!

SB was odd yesterday - midbrain? Really? But it would not take birdman. Okay then.

LB: thou-unfriendly. I like Langue-doc's better.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 10, 2021, 08:01:21 AM
Art thou a friendly or unfriendly youth?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2021, 08:25:35 AM
I kept trying birdman. Obviously the young'uns at the NYT aren't familiar with the Alcatraz lore.

How about an uncouth youth?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2021, 08:26:48 AM
Good morning!

Thanks! Doing much better today after a mild fever yesterday afternoon/evening.  A bath and a fair bit of sweating overnight seemed to help.  Hopefully that's it.  And cathwen, I hope you are fully out of it now?

My final bee word yesterday was midrib, which I guess I should have tried after eventually getting the pangram.  Ciao_yall, I also tried birdman! And congrats on the QB, Langue_doc!

I got a different LB solution yesterday, unfelt-thyroid.  Maybe I can get another one today, but I am less optimistic if cathwen has not found one yet.

Almost to Alpha today (235), but lots of beekeeping.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 10, 2021, 11:37:17 AM
Genius with pangram.

3fers but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2021, 01:09:35 PM
Good luck, ciao_yall! I have a bunch of contenders, but no 2fer yet.  I am again one word away from QB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 10, 2021, 02:42:49 PM
I've gotten to Beta on SB, but still no solution to LB!  Argh!

Ab_grp, good luck getting to QB!  And glad you're feeling better.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 10, 2021, 03:04:27 PM
Struggled a titch at the end, but made it to genius with a pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2021, 04:54:51 PM
I think I'm somewhere near Alpha. Not sure if I'll get any further as I'm struggling with tomorrow's crossword.

ab_grp, glad to hear that you're feeling better.

Looks like everyone has the pangram and made it to genius. I found a couple of nice long words for LB, but can't recall them as I didn't bother to write them down.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 10, 2021, 05:28:19 PM
Yeah I tipped into genius with an alternate spelling of a word.

LB - a few 3fers. No 2fer. May cruise over to the online solver. LMK if you want a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 11, 2021, 05:57:31 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Did no one get a solution to yesterday's LB?  I didn't, either.  I did not see meadowland, although I did see divulge.  Oh well!  I did find a 2fer today, though.

I did not progress beyond Beta yesterday in SB.  Today, I am at amazing with one pangram.  Apparently there are two! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 11, 2021, 07:06:04 AM
Good morning!

cathwen, I wouldn't have thought of meadowland either. Even if the word had occurred to me, I would have dismissed it as a proper noun because of Meadowlands in nearby NJ.

Genius today with two pangrams. Although today's words are familiar ones, they are difficult to spot which makes the puzzle interesting.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 11, 2021, 08:16:59 AM
Morning!

SB yesterday - missed a few obvious ones but learned a new word: nankeen. Just barely started playing with this morning's.

LB yesterday - gah. That W was a tough one, wasn't it? I did get a few good 3fers including woman-novel-languid. Sounds like today's is easier.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2021, 08:18:19 AM
Good morning!

I actually did get a 2fer last night on my phone, which appears to be the schmofficial one.  I thought of meadow and had tried movieland earlier (among many others), and I already had variants of divulge in my list, so luckily it worked out. 

And I made it to QB yesterday, but I can't remember what my final word was.  A 6-letter A.  Struggling today, though, just past genius with two pangrams (126).  It is a tough one. 

Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 11, 2021, 10:32:55 AM
Twofer, although I didn't think the second word was a real word.

Haven't made much progress on the bee since morning, but I'm happy with my LB. I liked my first word so much that I had to try very hard to find a mate with the remaining letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2021, 11:05:26 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! Especially since you found a word you liked so much and were able to find a mate for it!

I got over the Alpha hump, barely (150) but still have two long words left, I guess.  Definitely stumped right now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 11, 2021, 11:09:03 AM
Genius with two pangrams.

Lots of 3fers and some good words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 11, 2021, 01:42:22 PM
Congratulations on being so close to QB, ab_grp!  I'm stuck at 140/Beta with two pangrams.  I probably won't progress much beyond that.

Langue_doc, I'll be eager to see what your LB solution is!  Both my words are "real words," so I'm curious about the word you didn't think was a real word, and very curious about the word you like so much! 




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 11, 2021, 03:09:25 PM
Sending you a PM...

Can do the same for other inquiring minds who need to know.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2021, 04:11:57 PM
I got a 2fer! Very interested to hear all the solutions tomorrow!

We ended up comparing lists, thinking we had the same words, but we each had a word the other needed that had the same first letter and number of letters.  So, if anything it will be a team QB.  One more word left, and we are stumped.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 11, 2021, 04:32:23 PM
I am awash in 3fers and contenders but nothing is matching up. ARGH!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 11, 2021, 08:48:14 PM
Finally went to the solver site. None of my awesome words made it into the solutions they suggested.

However, I am quite proud of my 2fer b4ss: numbnuts-showered.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 12, 2021, 05:13:48 AM
Good morning!

Missed coulee and feculence. I think I've seen the former in previous puzzles, but would most certainly not found the latter, however hard I'd tried yesterday.

Almost genius today with one pangram.

thromboses/sundew; see pictures of the latter here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=sundew&rlz=1C2CHZL_enUS684US684&sxsrf=ALeKk01djDKzdTlJ530rxDjHdkbH4JLWWg%3A1618203203069&source=hp&ei=Q9JzYJO2Ac2l_QbMqYCAAw&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYHPgUxLkDI0si-BmS-scmHf3Cm4Thfx_&gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwNKoqLzdg9GIrLs1LSS0HADbiBfE&oq=sundew&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIFCC4QkwIyAggAMgIIADIFCAAQyQMyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAA6BwgjEOoCECc6BAgjECc6CgguEMcBEKMCEEM6CAguEMcBEKMCOgUIABCRAjoCCC46BAgAEEM6CwguEMcBEKMCEJECOgUILhCRAjoECC4QQzoFCAAQkgM6BQgAEIsDOgsILhDHARCvARCLAzoICAAQyQMQiwM6BQguEIsDOgcIABAKEIsDOhEILhDHARCvARCLAxCoAxCmA1DVG1joOWCyX2gBcAB4AIABzAGIAZYGkgEFMS40LjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6sAEKuAEC&sclient=gws-wiz

I like the word numbnuts, not sure what it means.

Happy solving!

ETA: genius and a second pangram
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 12, 2021, 07:13:30 AM
Good morning!

I had never heard the term 'sundew' before, and I never realized that there was such a variety of carnivorous plants!

My solution to LB was the more humdrum schmofficial one, southwestern-numbed.  I have a 2fer for today's as well.

Ciao_yall, I wish LB accepted colorful insults like numbnuts

As for SB, I never got beyond Beta yesterday (missed words I have gotten before, like colonel and colleen), but today I am at Alpha with the two pangrams.  Two words until QB, so we'll see if I make it or not. 

Colorful insults and carnivorous plants—I wonder what today's words will turn up?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 12, 2021, 07:58:23 AM
Morning!

ETA: Genius and 2 pangrams on SB so far today.

LB: Actually a lot of great solutions came from the online solver. The most straightforward was dumbest-thrown. I had dumb and thrown and lots of other great contenders. It's those darn prefixes and suffixes!

All day interview panel - ugh. So plenty of time for puzzling today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 12, 2021, 08:28:12 AM
Easily made it to genius with both pangrams this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 12, 2021, 08:58:42 AM
Good morning!

I got the same as Langue_doc, thromboses-sundew.  I thought that would be the shmofficial solution because the puzzles folks seem to like things like sundew, moonbeam, etc.  I like the other solutions as well!

For bee yesterday, we gave up and missed feculence.  Husband had given me colleen, which I guess I never think of because it's also a name, and I had given him cellule, which is unusual because he is typically handier with the science terms.

We each got independently to QB today, so keep at it! None of the words were very difficult.  Good luck!

And congrats on the 2fer, cathwen!

Hope you get lots of puzzle time today, ciao_yall.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 12, 2021, 09:20:54 AM
Wahoo!  I just got to QB.  Congratulations on your QB, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 12, 2021, 09:36:53 AM
The word of the day is feculence. Everyone has to try and use it at least once.

In the 3fer slog now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 12, 2021, 09:42:52 AM
I am not using that word! I haven't even tried to look up the meaning as it doesn't sound like a word that I want to know.

One more word to go for QB.

ETA: QB! That was easy, probably my fastest QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 12, 2021, 10:30:56 AM
Congrats on your QBs, cathwen and Langue_doc!  I agree, it was a very quick puzzle.

As far as the word of the day goes, I think you should try to use it at least once during the interview panel, ciao_yall! Let us know how it goes. ;-)  We looked it up, but I had already suspected what it was related to.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 12, 2021, 07:17:58 PM
Today's candidates' speeches were so full of feculence I did not have time to get a 2fer in LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 12, 2021, 08:10:03 PM
Quite appropriate. You get an A+.

Since I didn't have to listen to sh!t, I had time to find a twofer.

Tomorrow's crossword is done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 13, 2021, 06:41:05 AM
Good morning!

Genius with one pangram. The puzzle hasn't been too difficult so far as I reached genius before finding the pangram.

LB cymbal/languish. Wasted a lot of time trying to find a mate for cymbals.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 13, 2021, 07:22:31 AM
Morning!

Genius and pangram already.

Yesterday found cymbal and the other day found languid so why didn't it come together? I blame the feculence. 3fers already this morning so maybe today will be less feculent.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 13, 2021, 08:18:59 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the 2fer, Langue_doc! I also pursued cymbals for way too long but couldn't convert to a 2fer.  I was going back and forth between trying to use that and malignancy, primarily.

Got to QB, so again keep at it.  No obscure words.

And I do have one LB contender so far, so we'll see.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 13, 2021, 08:26:23 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QB already, ab_grp!

Today I am at Alpha, with three words to go.  I kind of sailed to that point, but now I am becalmed, and not at all confident of making QB today.  Two days in a row would be almost unheard of for me.  But the day is young!

LB:  I got cymbal-languid, too, yesterday.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 13, 2021, 10:20:09 AM
Made it to genius easily this morning. We'll see whether there's any more in the cards for today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 13, 2021, 12:01:40 PM
Good luck with the bee! I know you can do it! And cathwen, I was at the same-ish point, got to Alpha and then had two words to go.  When the list is shorter, it doesn't feel like there's much of a stepping stone from Alpha to QB.

And congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! I just got one, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 14, 2021, 06:39:26 AM
Good morning!

My last word was belle--should have found this much earlier as I've seen it in several recent puzzles.

Today's is a slog. Made it to amazing.

LB: my first solution was explainer/reformable. After some editing, I got formable/explain.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2021, 07:18:10 AM
Morning!

Parasaurolophus Yeah I pretty much stop when I get to "genius." I can get to QB if I go to the Wordplay blog but once I achieved QBABM which was quite a thrill.

At "nice" and agreed, Langue-doc, it's been a bit of a slog so far.

Never made a 2fer yesterday. Got very close to the schmofficial solution with inflexible-emperor-rap and a few other good words but oh well. Tricky these days!

ETA: 2fer!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 14, 2021, 07:31:51 AM
Good morning!

Only two words until QB yesterday--and I did not make it.  I missed babel and heehaw

As Langue_doc remarked, today's SB is a real slog!  I'm at amazing; no pangram.  I'll keep working on it at various points throughout the day, but doubt that I'll be persistent enough to get beyond genius.  326 points for QB!!!

For LB, I got the schmofficial solution yesterday (inflexible-emporia).  Langue_doc's solution was different--are there others?

I have a 2fer today as well. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2021, 07:59:08 AM
Good morning!

I got the schmofficial LB solution yesterday, too.  I had tried for a long time with paranormal but couldn't get anywhere but thought the remaining letters kind of looked like flexible, so I tried that, then tried inflexible, and after a while those remaining letters led to emporia.  Congrats on getting two different 2fers, Langue_doc! And congrats on your 2fer already today, cathwen!

Almost to Alpha today (285) with 60 freaking words so far.  Whew doggie, it's a long puzzle.  At least there are some interesting words and not a total beekeeping ordeal.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc! I wonder if any of us will get it today (or if there are enough hours in the day to do so).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2021, 08:12:01 AM
Yeah, quite a slog today! I've been in "nice" forever.

ETA: Tipped into "great' with 10 letter word. So it's gonna be a long one.

Did get a 2fer though so glad about that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 14, 2021, 09:52:35 AM
While avoiding grading, I just slid into genius with the pangram.  Congratulations on almost-alpha, ab_grp!  Ciao_yall, congratulations on great and your 2fer!

Now to get to that grading...sigh...



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2021, 10:17:24 AM
I'm in amazing now. No pangram but lots of long words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2021, 10:18:42 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! The puzzle does seem to have more words that are longer than usual. 

Well, I got past Alpha and now have three more words to go for QB (307), but of course after finding 64 words, I'm not sure what's left in there.   I'll try more later but have sudokus to do and only have one contender for LB so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2021, 12:40:23 PM
No luck yet on the final three bee words, but I did get a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 14, 2021, 02:19:49 PM
61 words so far. I've spent far too much time on this already.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2021, 02:55:46 PM
Genius no pangram.

2fer - a bit messy but it's nice to have one again finally!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2021, 03:24:08 PM
I did make it to QB.  There was only one word that I guessed, but it could have been in there before.  Lots of bee "favorites".  Still struggling with the hard sudoku, because there always has to be one grocery cart wheel that refuses to go straight.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 14, 2021, 06:05:29 PM
Stuck at amazing with 42 words and no pangram. *scratches head*
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 14, 2021, 06:12:05 PM
Try prefixes and suffixes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2021, 07:16:59 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on April 14, 2021, 06:12:05 PM
Try prefixes and suffixes.

Got it!

Still a ways away from QB but finally...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 15, 2021, 06:16:44 AM
Good morning, everyone, and congratulations on QB, ab_grp! 

I got to Beta yesterday and then just got tired of it.  I can't believe I missed calico, as I have had a number of calico cats over the years!  And chocoholic.  And a few others. 

I'm at genius on today's SB, 23 words.  I saw the pangram right away.  But now I'm stuck!  How can there be eight more words in this odd group of letters?

Turning to LB:  My solution yesterday was a bit different from the schmofficial one—I had frightful-libation.  I have found a 2fer for today's, too.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 15, 2021, 07:11:26 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was the pangram. I think I need just five or six more words today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 15, 2021, 07:35:07 AM
My last word was also the pangram, and I also got frightful-libation.

Just getting started this morning. How is life 3 hours in the future?

ETA: Genius, 2fer for today's puzzles. Cathwen, wonder if we found the same one again?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2021, 08:07:17 AM
Got to genius and the pangram easily enough. Will proceed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 15, 2021, 08:23:14 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2021, 08:07:17 AM
Got to genius and the pangram easily enough. Will proceed.

Love that little dopamine jolt when the screen flashes "genius!"
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2021, 08:26:45 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday had a ton of bee words that I tend to forget so felt a thrill each time I got them.  Colcannon, callaloo, and the dumb chocoholic, just to name a few.  Husband missed challah (which he tends to do, though he had tried it without the final h this time so is getting closer) and loach (which is the one I guessed by trying letters).  It was a long haul, so good progress all around.

For LB yesterday, I got a different solution: furlough-habitation.  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

I'm at Alpha (180) with just two more words to QB.  I had made it to genius and then got stuck, but a couple more words came loose.  Luckily, it's not a long list, but we'll see about the remaining words.  Nothing too hard today so far, just gotta try combos.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2021, 09:39:13 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on April 15, 2021, 08:23:14 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2021, 08:07:17 AM
Got to genius and the pangram easily enough. Will proceed.

Love that little dopamine jolt when the screen flashes "genius!"

Extra, unexpected dopamine hit: found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2021, 10:26:56 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, Parasaurolophus!

I did make it to QB.  Still nothing too tough.  It can be hard to break out of the pattern at times.  I guess now that I've solved all the other puzzles, I will be stymied by hard sudoku again.

Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 15, 2021, 11:56:55 AM
Congratulations on your 2fer, Parasaurolophus!  It will be fun to compare answers tomorrow. 

And congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I am one word away from QB right now, and as usual, stymied.  I'll keep peering at the letters throughout the day, hoping for the SB Muse to come inspire me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 15, 2021, 11:57:11 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2021, 09:39:13 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on April 15, 2021, 08:23:14 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2021, 08:07:17 AM
Got to genius and the pangram easily enough. Will proceed.

Love that little dopamine jolt when the screen flashes "genius!"

Extra, unexpected dopamine hit: found a 2fer!

Yahoo!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2021, 12:13:20 PM
Quote from: cathwen on April 15, 2021, 11:56:55 AM
Congratulations on your 2fer, Parasaurolophus!  It will be fun to compare answers tomorrow. 

And congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I am one word away from QB right now, and as usual, stymied.  I'll keep peering at the letters throughout the day, hoping for the SB Muse to come inspire me.

Good luck, cathwen! I hope the muse comes through for you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 15, 2021, 12:14:38 PM
Congrats all. QB and two-fer. There were three unfamiliar words, but as long as they were accepted, they count.

Back to grading hell.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2021, 12:44:29 PM
Congrats on the QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! Sorry to hear that your reward is grading hell. :-(
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 15, 2021, 01:00:48 PM
Congratulations, Langue_doc!  Two victories!  I hope the grading isn't too awful.

I'm down to one word.  Ugh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2021, 01:43:22 PM
Sending you bee juju, cathwen! I will speculate as to which one, but the juju is across all of them just in case.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 16, 2021, 05:13:18 AM
Good morning!

Hope everyone made it to QB or almost QB. I have no idea what doxing, doxxing, and noodging mean. As I'm typing this, the spell checker tells me that the second word is an "unknown word".

20/82 today, with the pangram.

LB byelaw/wracking; spell check tells me that the first word should have a hyphen in the middle. Oh, well!

Happy solving, and ignore spell check!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 16, 2021, 07:22:49 AM
Good morning!

I missed QB by one word yesterday--noodging.  I did not know that was even a word, but I guess now I know!

My LB solution for yesterday was the same as the official one--bylaw-wrecking.

Today, I am at amazing in SB and as yet have no solution for LB.  Will it be one of those bad puzzle days?  I have a heap of grading to do, so will not be able to spend a lot of time on this. 

Congratulations on yesterday's SB and LB successes! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 16, 2021, 07:40:19 AM
All you have to do is type letter combos to see if they are accepted. I've stopped looking for actual words--that's how I found the three weird words yesterday.

"Normal" words so far; haven't had a chance to look for more words as I too (like cathwen) have a ton of grading to do.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 16, 2021, 07:43:00 AM
SB - Slow start this morning but at amazing with no pangram and haven't poured the coffee yet.

LB - bylaw-wrecking. This morning have a 2fer b4ss so hope something breaks through.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 16, 2021, 08:54:07 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB today, so good luck! Yesterday, I figured that noodging might be an issue.  It was my final word, and husband missed it.  I think noodge might have been in there before and I had missed it then.  I have a colleague/friend who says things like "sorry to be a noodge", but it's not something I would use everyday.  I had doxxing before doxing, just figured I'd try it without the extra x.  I think doxx was in there before.

Got the schmofficial 2fer yesterday as well.  One contender so far for today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 16, 2021, 08:55:22 AM
Genius and pangram.

No more progress yet on LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 16, 2021, 09:17:50 AM
Genius without pangram this morning. Official 2fer yesterday. No luck with LB yet
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 16, 2021, 10:28:41 AM
Parasaurolophus, if you get the pangram and all its points, you will be at or near Alpha! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 16, 2021, 11:26:27 AM
Congrats on the QB, ab_grp! QB isn't too difficult today as there was just one word that was unusual, and which I found by stringing letters together.

Pangram is easy--combine words if you are stuck.

Found a nice incendiary word for LB, but no mate, alas.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 16, 2021, 11:28:33 AM
Genius with pangram, two words to go.  I've seen this movie before. 

Congre to Langue_doc and ab_grp on making QB!

Still no LB solution!

But my grading is finished, so hooray.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 16, 2021, 12:07:46 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! And good luck, cathwen (and congrats on finishing grading!).  My final word might have been the one Langue_doc referred to.

I've got a couple more contenders for LB, but still no mates.  I would have had one with the first contender b4ss.  Good luck to us all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 16, 2021, 06:11:06 PM
Got a 2fer. I thought it looked familiar but I just checked our records and it was similar to another solution we got some time ago.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 17, 2021, 02:50:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, 14 words, and genius. Hoodoo was my last word yesterday.

Long day today, so won't be checking in until late.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 07:54:10 AM
Good morning!

Hoodoo was also my final word yesterday, Langue_doc.  Have a good day!

I am one word away from QB again.  Hopefully I'll get it later.

No luck on the LB yesterday.  I even tried some shorter x words like crux.  Oh well.  I thought paradoxy might get me somewhere.  Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2021, 08:26:02 AM
Morning!

New word: hoodoo.

LB I got procedural-lynx. Had thought it was a repeat but apparently lynx was a solution sometime back. ab_grp my 2fer b4ss was cleanup-paradoxy.

Just getting started this morning so no status worth reporting yet.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 17, 2021, 09:09:37 AM
Good afternoon!

Congratulations, ciao_yall, on your 2fer yesterday!  I did not find a solution.  However, I did find a 2fer today. 

And I never did find those two missing words for yesterday's SB.  One of them was hoodoo.  I can't remember what the other was. 

Today, I am one word away from QB!  Hoping to break the almost-there cycle!  Ab_grp, I wonder if we're missing the same word?

Anyway, happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2021, 09:14:09 AM
cathwen you were the one who found lynxes last time. Not that I post stalk you, but I remembered seeing lynx before and was trying to see if it had been the same solution.

And congrats on your 2fer! Not there yet. Solved with 4 which is within their target of 5 but geez, people, do they know what a fast crowd this is?

Amazing with pangram so hope to tip into genius soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 17, 2021, 09:20:50 AM
I know!  When I saw lynx, I remembered having found that before.  But I am not sure that I would have found procedural, even so.

My second word in LB today was one that I tried in desperation, thinking, "That's not a word"—but then, voilà, LB accepted it.

Before this forum thread, I was always happy to find an LB solution that was under the number indicated.  Solve in five?  Ha!  I got it in four!  Now I'm not happy unless I get a 2-fer.  Yes, this is a fast crowd! : )
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 09:26:41 AM
Ciao_yall, cleanup-paradoxy was my b4ss as well! Argh.

Cathwen, I think my penultimate word yesterday was dildo.  As for today, we may very well have the same word left! Husband and I are each missing one that's 6 letters, but we are avoiding comparing in case we have each other's words.  Is yours also 6?  Congrats on your 2fer!

I agree, I don't always or often find a 2fer, but I don't even try for wordier solutions anymore, knowing that there is always a 2fer in there somewhere. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2021, 09:32:48 AM
SB: Still stuck at amazing and in the slog before I tip into "genius." I find a word and then... gah... still amazing!

There was a study of gamblers that found that addicts were most satisfied when they *almost* won. And junk food companies find that if a snack is *just not quite sweet or salty enough* they can get people to binge on it trying to achieve satisfaction.

Today's LB has lots of b4ss issues. Or wishing there was a common letter like "E." I can't decide if I appreciate them because at least it keeps me from going down the wrong track... but just enough to drive one batty.

Cheers to dopamine...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 17, 2021, 01:03:14 PM
Ab_grp, yes, I am also missing a 6-letter word!  I wonder if we're missing the same one? 

Ciao_yall, that is interesting about the study of gamblers and addicts!  It rings true. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2021, 01:08:28 PM
Genius finally.

Oodles of 3fers and a few 2fer b4ss, but it just isn't coming together. I did take a page from cathwen's book and managed a 3fer with something that didn't seem like it would be a word but there you go.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 01:09:05 PM
Cathwen, husband and I compared # words 6 letters long starting with each letter and were equal.  Then later after still being stumped, we decided to compare the second letters of each of those words, and we still appear to have the same ones.  So I wouldn't doubt that you might be missing the same one we are.  I am completely stumped.  I feel as though I have tried every combo I can think of!

Ciao_yall, that is an interesting study.  I still feel that I would be more satisfied if I could figure out the final bee word or get an LB solution, though! You sound like you're getting closer!

I have a bunch of contenders, but no mates.  Do we have a word for when you have two words that together use up all the letters but can't be linked because they don't start or end with the right letters? I have one of those again.  Maybe I will call them ships, like ships passing in the night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2021, 01:11:28 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 01:09:05 PM
Cathwen, husband and I compared # words 6 letters long starting with each letter and were equal.  Then later after still being stumped, we decided to compare the second letters of each of those words, and we still appear to have the same ones.  So I wouldn't doubt that you might be missing the same one we are.  I am completely stumped.  I feel as though I have tried every combo I can think of!

Ciao_yall, that is an interesting study.  I still feel that I would be more satisfied if I could figure out the final bee word or get an LB solution, though! You sound like you're getting closer!

I have a bunch of contenders, but no mates.  Do we have a word for when you have two words that together use up all the letters but can't be linked because they don't start or end with the right letters? I have one of those again.  Maybe I will call them ships, like ships passing in the night.

Maybe "feel most satisfied" isn't the right term. They get the strongest dopamine jolt when they *almost* win, which encourages them to keep playing. I mean yeah, winning is great, but do the casinos want you to win? Or keep playing and losing?

Same with junk food. Why stop at one potato chip?

After "genius" or my 2fer I'm pretty much mentally done. I sometimes take a peek and see if there is more, but the dopamine levels seem to peak.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 17, 2021, 02:15:33 PM
Ab_grp, I bet we are missing the same word.  I, too, have tried arranging the letters every which way and I just can't find it! 

I like the idea of "ships." 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 17, 2021, 02:57:56 PM
Race against time to finish the crosswords and sudokus before 6. Also twofer.

Got a few more words on the bee, but that's probably it for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 03:58:18 PM
Cathwen, we probably are.  Husband and I have now compared our 6-letter words and, sure enough, we are missing the same one.  I am curious to check the answers, but there is no rush, so maybe something will occur to any of us at some point.  I like the name "ships", but the idea drives me a little nuts.  ;-) Get one contender, and it leaves another word perfectly that works and everything! But not with the contender and no real way to force it (as far as I can see).   We have a growing set of terms here!

Congrats on your 2fer and for hustling through the puzzles before the puzzle shift change, Langue_doc! I was interested to see if you had gotten to QB, but I understand leaving well enough alone. 

Ciao_yall, I wonder if the dopamine jolts differ by motivation profile.  Though if the study was specifically about gamblers, that might also say something about the personalities involved.  Intriguing!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 17, 2021, 04:38:06 PM
Let me know if either of you need a hint for LB.

I had to get up even before the crack of dawn to get to the meeting place for the outing. Didn't see too many critters today, unlike on outings in the past. The trees were looking green, and the bushes even greener, which was soothing. Part of the outing was along the shoreline, which was even more soothing. It was also a good workout.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 05:08:11 PM
Sure, I will take a hint if you are not too tuckered out!

Sounds like another early day with a lot of being on your feet, but nice that it was partly along the shoreline and the greenery was also soothing, even if not too many critters were spotted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 17, 2021, 05:52:02 PM
ab_grp and ciao_yall, look for hints in your PM.

I took a peek at the bee answers; one of the six-letter words which I found very early into the puzzle has cropped up at least twice in the last two weeks or so. The other one looks foreign enough that playing with letters wouldn't have helped me if I had persisted in finding more words. I didn't go through the list, so don't remember what the other six-letter words were.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2021, 06:24:41 PM
Got it! Perfect clueing as usual. Thanks!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 17, 2021, 07:23:56 PM
Found my way to genius and the pangram earlier.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 18, 2021, 06:27:13 AM
Good morning!

Journo!  Nope, I did not get it.  But now it's on my list of words to watch out for.  Ab_grp, was that your missing word, too?

Today I am at amazing with one of the two pangrams.

My LB solution for yesterday was chivalric-cobnut.  I had found bivouac, but had not thought to make charlatan out of the remaining letters.

I have not yet found a solution for today's LB. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 18, 2021, 08:10:14 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams, 32 words.

My LB solution is the same as the one in the NYT. Gah!

Happy solving, everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2021, 08:24:04 AM
Good morning!

We also missed journo, cathwen.  Ugh!!! I will try to keep it in mind for the future.  And congrats on a different LB solution yesterday!

Langue_doc's excellent hints gave me the bivouac-charlatan solution.  I would never have come up with that.  Thanks again!

I got just past genius (138) with both pangrams so far.  It seems slow going, but the crossword also took a long time, as usual.  30 words at this point.  Congrats on genius + pangram yesterday, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2021, 08:51:28 AM
Morning!

SB: Another new word - journo.

Slower start this morning - "great" with one pangram.

LB: Thanks to Langue-doc got the solution right away. I hadn't gotten either word, though I had 3fers coming out of my ears (including volcanic-crutch-hob, tuna-archival-lob); 2fer b4ss solutions (including launchboat-trivia); and had they switched the V for an S (brunch-halitoSiS.) Anyone else see the nod to bee with nonalcoholic?

This morning, 3fer and a 2fer b4ss so who knows?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 18, 2021, 08:56:52 AM
I just found a solution for LB, but like yesterday, the second word is a desperation attempt that turned out to be a real word. 

I haven't made much progress on SB—still at amazing, only one pangram, but it's at least closer to genius than before.

Time to vacuum and dust—ugh! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 18, 2021, 09:15:56 AM
I used to be quite happy with threefers and fourfers, but now it's two or nothing. Fast crowd I'm running with!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2021, 09:28:41 AM
Yes, it's very motivating to be among finders of 2fers! Speaking of which, I have a couple good contenders.  One seems promising, as it leaves just a few letters, but no luck yet.

Haven't gotten back to the bee yet, as I am stumped on the hard sudoku.  But it's almost time for bee break, so maybe the time away and coffee will have helped.  Luckily, I do not have dusting or vacuuming in my plans, but I did find some flower identification apps that might help me figure out what roses we have.  I took some good pictures yesterday ahead of the cold front that was coming in that might cause some rose issues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2021, 10:09:13 AM
I like the idea of "ships."

I call those 3 letter words that create transitions or use up odd letters "plugs."

This morning's 3fer is two ships with a transitional plug. So it's ship-plug-ship.

If this thread ever grows will we need a lexicon?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2021, 10:26:11 AM
Plugs is a good one, too! With all our self-coined terms, we may need a dictionary of some sort.

I'm at 160/34 now, still not at Alpha.  It not so smooth going today. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2021, 11:16:21 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on April 18, 2021, 10:26:11 AM
Plugs is a good one, too! With all our self-coined terms, we may need a dictionary of some sort.

I'm at 160/34 now, still not at Alpha.  It not so smooth going today.

Yeah, not moving too fast here either. 2 pangrams and still at amazing. It's like after I hit genius I want to take a nap!

Finding more 3fers using plugs so probably close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2021, 12:09:23 PM
I hope your plugs lead you to an LB victory!

Finally made it to Alpha with two words left.  It is very tiring!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 18, 2021, 12:20:32 PM
I finally saw the second pangram and made genius.  I'm at 146/32 words.  Congratulations on Alpha, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2021, 01:21:48 PM
Genius. Finally.

LB - feels like a repeat of yesterday. Oddly enough I have a ton of 2fer b4ss, and just a few legit 3fers. Getting ready to go for a long hike with a few friends so not sure I will get much more done.

Anyone feel like sending a hint?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 18, 2021, 02:16:16 PM
No LB, found a couple of words that are partnerless. Won't be looking at the puzzles until later tonight.

Just finished the crossword. Got stuck because of a typo--aargh. I'll have to miss the sudokus as they're going to disappear in less than an hour.

Enjoy the hike!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2021, 03:04:55 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and good luck! We decided to go ahead and try to figure out whether we were missing the same words.  In doing letter counts, we figured out that I have husbands's four words, and we has my two.  Well, now I'm down to one, and he's down to two.  We each know what they start with and how long they are.  And yet, still no unpure QB.  Maybe next break.

Enjoy your hike, ciao_yall!

Sorry to hear about the puzzle issues, Langue_doc.  I finally had to ask the hard sudoku to give me a hint and then just go ahead and reveal that cell so I could get on with it and finish before the next ones came out.  I'm trying to avoid a backlog and just do the best I can on each one.  Time to start the next ones, I guess!

Still no LB joy with nearly 20 contenders.  I somehow came up with a word that had something like 12 C's in it (more or a lot less), and of course there is no C in the freaking puzzle, so I have no idea how I got off in that direction.  Yeek.  That NT combo is killing me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2021, 08:58:58 PM
Went to the online solver. Okay there then... only one reasonable solution and I wasn't even close. All shall be revealed in the morning...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 18, 2021, 09:05:27 PM
All the puzzles have gone poorly today where I'm concerned. Tomorrow's another day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 19, 2021, 05:37:28 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday's puzzles were difficult. Missed nonpaid (!?) and podia. I should have found the latter as I've used it in at least a couple of bees.

Two pangrams, 21 words, and genius.

Megabit!? Can't the NYT come up with normal words?

Happy solving, all!

ab_grp, what was the word with plenty of Cs?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 19, 2021, 06:17:14 AM
Good morning! 

Yesterday's SB was not an easy one!  RiparianApiarian?  Okay, I got apiary, but still...  I'll have to remember those for another time.  But if Langue_doc and ap_grp didn't get to QB, what hope was there for me?  : )

Today's SB stands at Beta with two pangrams.  As usual when I get to this point, I'm running out of steam. 

I'm almost embarrassed to reveal my solution for yesterday's LB, because it is so weird and involves a word I had no idea existed, and which I found by just using up the remaining letters in what I thought was a nonsense word.  Anyway, my solution was unfairest - tumbaga.  What the heck is that, you ask?  It's an alloy of gold and copper.  I looked it up when LB unexpectedly accepted it.  What annoys me is that I had transfuse, but did not see megabit, a word I've actually heard of!

I found a more normal solution for today's LB.  Words I've actually heard before. 

Good luck with today's puzzles!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 19, 2021, 08:44:49 AM
Good morning!

I actually got an LB solution last night, but not the schmofficial one: misnumber-regraft.  I had megabits as a contender and thought of a ton of trans- words, but not that one.  I definitely had not heard of tumbaga, so a new word! The C word that for some reason came to mind was caricature.  Okay, it only has two Cs.  I think I ended up with (and this is not hyperbole, unlike the C word) 40 contenders.  I started classifying new ones into sort of subset classes, like fugue is in the subset class of fumigate or fatigue, in that I had already tried them, and they had all the letters of fugue plus some, plus it started and ended with the same letter as them, so it wasn't worth pursuing.  Oh yeah! It took numbnuts but not barfbag or faustian.  Hmm.

As for the bee, I got apiarian second to last with the help of knowing it was an 8-letter A.  Husband was laughing at me about my final word because it is a word I use a lot, prior.  I tried prion, but it wouldn't take that.  Didn't even think about prior! Anyway, not a QB, but close enough for a cheap cigar, I guess.

For today, I juuuuust got to Alpha (148).  Three words left, 13 points.  Good luck to us all.

Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! I hope today does not require several pages of contenders.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 19, 2021, 08:50:22 AM
Morning!

SB yesterday - missed a few easy words and a lot of new and tricky words.

This morning - genius and 2 pangrams.

LB yesterday - I wasn't even close. And the only reasonable solution on the online solver was the official one. But I had lots of 2fer b4ss solutions: grafters-submarine, gamifies-sunburnt, mains-subterfuge, faints-submerge, fumigates-suburban, and some 3fers. Seems like they use the same side thing to make it harder, which is fine, but then we don't all come up with cool different answers.

This morning already have a couple a 3fers, which normally is a sign that I'm off to a good start. But you can see from yesterday that isn't always the case.

ETA: Well, it looks like people did come up with solutions to LB at long last!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 19, 2021, 09:26:19 AM
QB, only one weird word which I remembered from an earlier puzzle. The four letter words gave me some trouble. Weird word was one of the long ones.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 19, 2021, 09:27:33 AM
Got to genius and two pangrams pretty easily today. LB eludes me, however.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 19, 2021, 11:02:10 AM
I finally got to QB as well, and the weird long one missed in a somewhat recent puzzle was my final one.  Some of the four-letter words also eluded me for a long while, which is odd because I can usually spot those pretty well.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

I forgot that yesterday I really wanted subterfuge to be a solution word, but there were b4ss issues as ciao_yall mentioned.  Would have been nice to have sub- for many reasons.

A couple contenders on LB so far, but no mates yet.  Busy morning with husband having to go with minor (soon to be 17 yo) daughter to get her first dose, as apparently that is required.  It was in a grocery store (one that had been closed down due to COVID a couple months ago...) but was seemingly very well organized.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 19, 2021, 05:24:07 PM
Yeah, 3fers coming out of my ears and I keep finding new words... alas, all end up as 3fers. The dopamine jolt of "hey there's another word" coupled with... argh... still have a stray B or K I don't know what to do with...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 19, 2021, 07:26:44 PM
Little hint from the online solver. I was soooooo close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 20, 2021, 05:13:10 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was lallygag, which I remembered from a previous puzzle that also had lollygag, if I'm not mistaken.

Genius today with one pangram.

I found skimped and other words that contained either a c or a k, but gave up early on.

ab_grp, glad to hear that your teen has been vaccinated. She'll have a lot more freedom to get out and about after the second shot.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 20, 2021, 07:53:24 AM
I need one four letter word for QB. Familiar words so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 20, 2021, 08:15:17 AM
Good morning!

I also had lallygag as my final word.  Barely remembered missing that one before.  At least I got to QB today.  Good luck, Langue_doc!

For LB, I had a bunch of good contenders and thought skeptical might work, but no dice. 

Thanks about our youngest! She works, so though her school is remote for this semester it will be good to have more peace of mind about her employment, at least. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 20, 2021, 08:36:26 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations to Langue_doc and ab_grp for yesterday's QBs!  I missed lallygag, although I now remember it from a previous puzzle.  I also missed eely.  Today I'm at genius with one pangram.

Yesterday's LB:  I had debacles-skimpiest.  I have not yet found one today, though! 

Ab_grp, congratulations on QB already on today's SB!  And what a relief that your daughter is now vaccinated.

My daughter, son-in-law, and grandson (age 12) are arriving today.  All except grandson are vaccinated, but because of him, we'll be doing mostly outdoor stuff.  Walks in parks.  Mini-golf.  That sort of thing.  I haven't seen my daughter and grandson since August (they came down when both our states were at very low infection rates) and I haven't seen my son-in-law since Thanksgiving 2019.  Therefore, I will not be spending much time on puzzles this week!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 20, 2021, 08:54:06 AM
I hope you have a splendid visit and week, cathwen! And congrats on your LB yesterday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 20, 2021, 09:58:57 AM
Quote from: cathwen on April 20, 2021, 08:36:26 AM

Ab_grp, congratulations on QB already on today's SB!  And what a relief that your daughter is now vaccinated.

My daughter, son-in-law, and grandson (age 12) are arriving today.  All except grandson are vaccinated, but because of him, we'll be doing mostly outdoor stuff.  Walks in parks.  Mini-golf.  That sort of thing.  I haven't seen my daughter and grandson since August (they came down when both our states were at very low infection rates) and I haven't seen my son-in-law since Thanksgiving 2019.  Therefore, I will not be spending much time on puzzles this week!

Seconding ab_grp's wishes for a lovely visit with your family. Not seeing one's family for such a long time must be very difficult. I hope that the pandemic subsides soon so that we can all resume spending time with family and friends.

QB! LB is last on my list of priorities for the puzzles--vertex takes precedence, so gets completed before I even look at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 20, 2021, 12:23:07 PM
Fun on the visits! We are having our first dinner party in ages this coming Saturday. I am so nervous.

Slow start this morning so amazing with pangram; 2fer b4ss.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 20, 2021, 01:15:51 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc!

I hope your dinner party is fun, ciao_yall! I feel like it's going to take me a while to get back into group social activities, but I do miss them.

Still no luck from my few LB contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 20, 2021, 04:41:01 PM
Nowhere with LB. And I went to the online solver - guess what? None there, either! There are 3fer solutions, but who cares?

So now I don't feel so bad and am very proud of my b4ss solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 20, 2021, 06:00:25 PM
Just checking in quickly to say that although I did have time to work on LB, I could not find a solution.  Having I and C on the same side is extremely annoying,  also E on the same side as U, which blocks -QUE words. 

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

And thank you all for the good wishes for the visit!  We are having such a good time! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 20, 2021, 06:09:17 PM
My sentiments exactly, cathwen. As I recall there were three vowels on the same side.

Hope you have a fun dinner party, ciao_yall.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 20, 2021, 10:14:26 PM
I have fallen four short of genius, I'm afraid.

Also, yesterday it rejected 'gaily'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 21, 2021, 06:08:31 AM
Good morning!

Genius with one pangram.
Sorry to hear that you missed genius, Parasaurolophus.

Ragequit shows up as a compound, so there, NYT LB.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2021, 08:54:11 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the schmofficial solution last night just before bed after much trying.  I had boxcar-requite as the closest thing I could get for so long, but what about the stupid G? Maybe rage drove me to try ragequit, but when it worked I was pretty happy. 

Today I'm one word away from QB, again.  But it's early, so we'll see.

I also tried gaily the other day, Parasaurolophus.  I don't understand why it doesn't take some words.  Good luck today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 21, 2021, 09:15:57 AM
Morning!

Already at genius with one pangram.

LB yesterday I had a 2fer b4ss quixotic-cribbage and just barely getting started this morning. Have two 3fers (each with a plug.) Impressed with the legit 2fer, ab_grp!

Local fancy meat store isn't carrying veal right now so I have to rethink my dinner party concept. First world problems, I know...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2021, 10:28:29 AM
I was also hoping for quixotic, ciao_yall! Could use up the Q and X together.  Dumb b4ss.  And thanks! I hope your 3fers and plugs transform into a 2fer! First world problem or not, I am sure you will envision a wonderful new meal.  What were you going to do with the veal?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 21, 2021, 11:32:54 AM
Now I have a 2fer b4ss, so hopefully I'm getting warm. A few good J words but no matches yet.

I was going to roast it with lemon, capers and parseley. The butcher suggested lamb instead, or maybe pork. I dunno.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2021, 12:00:39 PM
I have what seems like a really good contender but can't figure out what to do with the remaining few letters.  I have another that would complete a solution with it, but I can't connect them (yet?).

Finally figured out my final word and got to QB.  I wasn't sure it was a word but kept trying to do things with words like it.

The veal dish sounds really good.  Actually the combo kind of reminds me of something like a piccata sauce, which is maybe what you were planning.  Could just do chicken with it? But if you want lamb dishes, I know a few of us here are fans and might have some recipes for you.  Same with pork.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 21, 2021, 01:01:03 PM
From the NYTimes Food email entitled "How to Feel Better" courtesy of Sam Sifton:

"Or you could cook off my simple prompt, what we call a no-recipe recipe, and riff your way to dinner, the culinary equivalent of playing Spelling Bee."

Haven't made much progress as I have to review my readings for the book discussion later today.

I've found interesting recipes for lamb in the NYTimes.

Congrats on the QB, ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 21, 2021, 01:32:17 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!

I'm at genius on SB, but no solution for LB yet.  So close, though!  I got my grandson involved in LB for a while this morning, and he really got into it—together we got a 3-fer! 

Yesterday I had boxcar, but did not figure out ragequit.  When I exclaimed over it this morning, my son-in-law—who is really into gaming—said that ragequit is a real word for players who are on the verge of losing but quit before they get there.  They then get banned if the game is a serious one.  I am not into gaming myself, so this was a revelation.

Langue_doc, I saw that NYT article!  Ha!

Have fun, everyone!  Not sure whether I'll get back to the puzzles or not.  Now I'm off to make some ricotta cheese for our lasagna tonight
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2021, 02:20:45 PM
Thanks, and enjoy that homemade ricotta and lasagna, cathwen! Sounds quite delicious.

I couldn't recall what exactly ragequit meant, and neither could husband, so thanks for the explanation.  I have no idea about gaming.  We just thought recalled it having been a crossword somewhat recently. 

That's funny about the NYT food email! Although I am wondering how he does on the bee given that take.  I've been deleting those emails recently without reading them due to the volume I get, but maybe I should start reading them more carefully!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 21, 2021, 03:08:30 PM
I have no idea how riffing one's way to dinner with a no-recipe recipe is the equivalent of SB.

Two-fer, but with a stranded l.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2021, 03:58:54 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on April 21, 2021, 03:08:30 PM
I have no idea how riffing one's way to dinner with a no-recipe recipe is the equivalent of SB.

Two-fer, but with a stranded l.

That's what I thought, Langue_doc! Like, does he just randomly guess letters, or start with a word in mind whether or not the letters are in the puzzle and just see where he gets from there? I wonder if he got any emails about that from bee lovers.

Good luck with getting a 2fer! I finally let go of my favorite contender for now and am trying to get some others, but I still feel like I want that one to work.  Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 21, 2021, 09:03:31 PM
Made it to genius and one pangram today. Phew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2021, 07:08:38 AM
Good morning!

Stuck at almost genius, no pangram yet.

But surprise, surprise, got a two-fer.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 22, 2021, 07:29:31 AM
Good morning!

Wow, never would have gotten the LB solution yesterday.  I was sure flashlight might work, and then I thought lungfish would also be a possibility.  Congrats on your 2fer today, Langue_doc!

Just got up and around, so not much progress on the bee yet.  I did find a pangram.  First some coffee and a Thursday crossword.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 22, 2021, 08:10:28 AM
Huh. Yesterday I had a 2fer b4ss which was jihadi-insightful. One of my 3fers was haji-insightful-lad and I wasin't even sure what a haji was but since it usually takes haj I figured I would try it.

Did any of us get the 2fer yesterday?

Okay, starting this morning's puzzles. Will report back.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 22, 2021, 08:27:49 AM
Good morning!

No, I didn't get the 2fer yesterday, either.  It was a toughie! 

I have a solution today, though. 

As for SB, I did make genius yesterday, but didn't get much beyond that.  Today I'm at genius, but no pangram. 

My daughter & family just left for home—so now I am behind in my work, and must spend the day catching up.  It was worth it to see them, though!  I'll peek in on SB from time to time—but I have a feeling this is not going to be a QB day, and maybe not even a Beta day. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 22, 2021, 10:29:24 AM
Got to QB! There were a couple I missed in previous puzzles that I remembered this time, but I don't recall any really obscure words.  Good luck!

Ciao_yall, you were so close yesterday! I hope you have better luck today. 

Cathwen, glad to see you! I hope your visit was great and that catching up on work goes smoothly.  Congrats on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2021, 11:16:44 AM
Congrats on your QB, ab_grp. I made it to genius and above, but haven't found the pangram.

Yesterday, I found a couple of words with one dangling letter. Then I found adjusting/ghastful. Needless to say, the latter wasn't accepted by LB, but I overrode their decision and decided that I had found a twofer. This morning, after seeing the "solution" I decided that my "word" was much better as it was more intuitive than that of the NYT. So, in response to ciao_yall, I did get a twofer.

cathwen, glad that you had a good visit with your family. Like you, I'm behind at work, but unlike you, don't have any excuses, good or otherwise. I'll probably not get to QB today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 22, 2021, 12:45:09 PM
I support your 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc! There are plenty of words they don't seem to accept in LB.  I think ghastful is a good "word".  Congrats! As far as the pangram goes, let me know if you need or want a hint.

I forgot that I have a long conference call this afternoon, but I will be trying to work on LB during it.  A couple contenders so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2021, 02:43:15 PM
I'll send you a PM after 8 if I'm still stuck, ab_grp. I can also send you a hint for LB if you haven't found a solution by then.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 22, 2021, 03:00:09 PM
Thanks! I might have to send a preemptive PM for you not to look at unless you want to, because I am generally not around my computer that late unless it's trivia season.  I will hold off until I log off, though! It's just hard for me to see the web interface on my phone well enough to type stuff correctly (but is not as bad to read).  I usually head off around 7:30 (sometimes closer to 7:45) your time.  The conference call ended up being a lot more interesting than I had planned for, so I didn't get a chance to look at LB during it but will give it some time now.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 22, 2021, 04:38:27 PM
Genius no pangram.

3fers, ships and plugs abound, but no 2fer.

Sign me up for the hints!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 22, 2021, 07:34:23 PM
Thanks to ab_grp I learned about a new word that is a compound, and Langue_doc for tipping me over the edge. I was piled up in plugs.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 22, 2021, 09:46:26 PM
Today was a no-go for me. Marking fried my brain, I think.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 23, 2021, 05:41:37 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I got to Beta.  If I had sat here from now until Doomsday, I would never have found bootee or eyebolt. 

My LB solution yesterday was weird (again).  I had halfsies-strown, an archaic version of strewn.  I had meant to go back and find a better 2fer, but just didn't have time.  LB is so strange—sometimes it accepts archaic words, other times not. 

Today:  SB is at amazing with the pangram, and I have a 2fer for LB that involves normal words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 23, 2021, 07:09:18 AM
Good morning!

Didn't get to complete the bee as I was distracted by the crosswords. Haven't looked at the solutions yet. Thanks, ab_grp, for the hints.

Today, genius and a pangram.

LB: airflows/shorten

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 23, 2021, 08:35:32 AM
Morning! I did get eyebolt yesterday but not much more after genius.

cathwen I think you win at the coolest LB finds: emoji, halfsies, etc. Meanwhile I'm trying to find matches for horniest.

Had to restart the gizmo so haven't started puzzles yet. Will check in throughout the day.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2021, 09:02:46 AM
Good morning!

Got a 2fer thanks to Langue_doc! I have no idea what the official solution word hawthorn is so will look that up.  Congrats to cathwen on a totally different 2fer (agreed, more interesting than the schmofficial one)! I was not really on track for any of the three solutions we've seen.  I was pretty close with wharfs and sentinel bur had an O out of place.  I think I had ships with finales and throw but couldn't connect them.

Got to near Alpha today (187), but I am struggling.  I barely got to genius and then got stuck for a while and got some more words, so I hope another flow of words comes at some point.  Some old "favorites" in there today.

Yesterday's did have some dumb words in it like bootee, which I remembered because I didn't like it in the past.  I guessed eyebolt.  I think my final one was poppet.  Oh yeah, I think two days ago my final one was abbacy, which I also didn't know was a word.

Happy solving!

ETA: Meant to say congrats on the 2fer today, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 23, 2021, 10:05:04 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on April 23, 2021, 09:02:46 AM
Good morning!

I have no idea what the official solution word hawthorn is so will look that up.



It's a bush or shrub that appears frequently in British literature. I've always associated it with Shakespeare and was therefore pleasantly surprised when the trip leader on one of the hikes or bird trips a few years ago drew our attention to hawthorn bushes along the paths in one of the state parks. Until then, I didn't realize that the plant could be found in the US
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2021, 10:30:58 AM
Thanks for the explanation, Langue_doc! I had looked it up and had seen what sort of entity it was, but I didn't know there was a Shakespeare connection.  And I think today is the anniversary of his death, so almost perfectly timely. 

I edged just into Alpha (197) but still have three reasonably long words left.  And another call this afternoon.  A couple LB contenders, but not much going on there, yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 23, 2021, 11:11:24 AM
TFW...

You're at amazing. You find the pangram. And you are still at amazing.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 23, 2021, 01:23:16 PM
Genius and 3fers...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 23, 2021, 01:39:11 PM
Plenty of difficult words today. I remembered some unfamiliar ones from previous puzzles. There's the long word with only c's and l's for consonants.

Got a twofer!

I have a crack-of-dawn drive to an outing tomorrow, so won't be spending much time on the puzzles today or tomorrow. The outing won't be strenuous, but I have to budget two hours on the way out and probably 2-3 for the return trip.

Have fun with your dinner, ciao_yall. I'll send you and ab_grp the LB hints later tonight, just in case you're still looking for a twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2021, 02:20:40 PM
Did you get QB then, Langue_doc? If so, congrats! I got an impure one, had to narrow down the final two words.  Oh well.  Sadly, I got the harder words from previous puzzles and missed two I probably should  have found.

Have fun on your outing! Strenuous or not, that kind of travel time and a drive at that time can take it out of you.  I hope you get to come back and relax.  And thanks for hints! I will post if I do get it at some point, but I am always happy to get the PM.  Congrats on your 2fer!

Still have to finish hard sudoku and do Duolingos, but call is done and lunch has been eaten.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 23, 2021, 02:57:08 PM
Nowhere near QB, alas!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 23, 2021, 03:07:57 PM
Hints for LB welcome... soooooo close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 23, 2021, 03:15:12 PM
I don't think I have it in me today to slog through the finish for SB today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2021, 04:50:58 PM
Got a 2fer, thanks to Langue_doc! I actually had the second word but didn't get there with the first and am not sure I would have.  Thanks again!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 24, 2021, 07:00:39 AM
Good morning! 

Langue_doc, enjoy your outing today!  It's a beautiful day for it.

I did not get much beyond genius in SB yesterday.  When I looked at the answers, I saw many words that I've found in previous puzzles; why they seemed invisible yesterday is one of life's mysteries, I guess.  (Looking at you, allele.)

Today, I am at Beta with the pangram, and, as is usual at this point, running out of steam.

For yesterday's LB, I got exponents-swirled.  I have a solution today, too, again with normal words.  No "cool" ones today, ciao_yall!  No archaic forms that are surprisingly accepted.  No weird alloys!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2021, 08:16:15 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on yesterday's 2fer, cathwen! I tried exponents for a while but did not get anywhere with it.  I'm glad you found a mate for it! And congrats on your 2fer today! It is weird which words suddenly can't be seen in the bee despite having seen them many times before.  I know that I get stuck in patterns sometimes depending on the letters, and it's hard to see anything outside of the patterns.  Who knows.  I was just thrilled to get colleen this time, but I missed conceal and nonlocal.  Probably should have found the former, but I don't try as hard as I should with non-s because it's so hard to know what will even be accepted.

Today's bee seems really difficult for some reason.  It took me forever to get to genius, and now I am 4 words from QB, but they are all pretty long, so I am not really even near Alpha yet!

At least no calls today, so hopefully I can get more puzzling in.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 24, 2021, 08:24:36 AM
Morning!

Thanks again to Langue_doc for excellent LB hinting. I had some good words but it wasn't coming together.

Agreed, ab_grp, on a slow start to SB.

First dinner party tonight in over a year. Everything is planned. Just need to pre-potch, pick up the fancy meat, help husband clean up and relax.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2021, 09:06:33 AM
Hope your dinner party goes well, ciao_yall! I'm curious about what you ended up deciding on for dinner.

I have a few contenders for LB so far that use some of the tough letters of the day but are pretty short.  Haven't gotten back to the bee yet, still working on sudokus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 24, 2021, 09:28:26 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on April 24, 2021, 09:06:33 AM
Hope your dinner party goes well, ciao_yall! I'm curious about what you ended up deciding on for dinner.

I have a few contenders for LB so far that use some of the tough letters of the day but are pretty short.  Haven't gotten back to the bee yet, still working on sudokus.

One couple is bringing bruschetta as a starter.

I am making
- fennel-orange salad
- roast veal with lemon, capers and sun-dried tomatoes
- duck fat potatoes

The other couple is bringing dessert.

Still at amazing on SB but still finding easy words so genius is nigh. A few contenders for LB but no obvious start/end letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2021, 10:29:14 AM
Well, even if you are stuck at amazing (for now), ciao_yall, that is an apt description of your dinner party menu! So you did manage to get your hands on some veal.  Yay! What time should we be over? yuk yuk yuk

I got one more bee word after husband and I compared hashes, and he still had to give me a hint as to the word I was missing that he had.  Boy howdy.  Still three longish ones to go with no ideas.  It doesn't seem to like most of the compound words I try.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 24, 2021, 02:11:20 PM
Ciao_yall, your dinner menu sounds amazing!  Enjoy this special occasion! 

I have two words to go until QB--one is six letters, the other nine.  I cannot begin to imagine what they might be.  I've twisted the letters around every which way--or so it seems--and have tried a variety of questionable compounds, none of which (unsurprisingly) were accepted.  QB is probably not in my future, but at least I've come close!  I'm happy enough with that.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2021, 02:40:00 PM
Cathwen, I was just coming to update that out of sheer spite I found one of my three remaining words (8 letters) due to trying things like the 9-letter word I already had, still didn't get to Alpha, and then completely guessed the 9-letter word which is (I'm guessing) the one you're missing.  I was at the point where I was just putting in words that are like other words but missing a letter, and it took that one.  I am actually very familiar with the term, but I had no idea it was spelled that way! It is in the same vein as a four-letter word not in this puzzle that is also in a particular foreign language, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised it is accepted.  If you want any hints, let me know.  I guess I have your 6-letter word, and you have my 7!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2021, 03:54:17 PM
Update: we finally straggled across the finish line to QB.  We were discussing possibilities, and I said I had tried X, he had tried a variation on that theme.  I figured I'd try to spell his variation differently, and bam.  Whew!!! Now to tomorrow's medium sudoku and trying to get a 2fer.  And a complicated tax form here and there in between.  Blech.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 24, 2021, 09:31:07 PM
A guess took me to beta, and I think I give up now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 25, 2021, 06:17:53 AM
Good morning!

Battement!? I have not idea what that means. However, made it to above genius today, sans pangram.

LB: lump/productivity

Dinner menu sounds elegant and fun.

Trip was worth the hassle. The drive isn't bad on weekend mornings, even in the city. Once you're out of the city, some of the stretches are along rivers, with the last one along the Hudson. The area was by the river, almost across from West Point, so you get not only clean air but also nice views of the rolling hills. I made it in just over two hours on the return trip as most of the traffic was going in the opposite direction, presumably to hiking trails in the hills. Getting up early and trying to clear my brain at that time of the day was the hard part.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 25, 2021, 07:04:07 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, my reaction was the same:  battement?!  I also missed mentee, which is at least a word I know.

Your outing sounds lovely!  The Hudson River valley is beautiful. 

Ab_grp, congratulations on QB! 

Today, SB stands at genius with no pangram.  It's a long one today.

My LB solution yesterday was dump-proclivity, the same as the "official" one.  I found a 2fer today as well. 

It's a dreary, rainy day today, so I will probably spend most some of it tweaking the final exam.  And reading discussion postings and chiming in from time to time with my 2¢.

Ciao_yall, we want to hear about that dinner party!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2021, 09:16:05 AM
Good morning!

My final three words were abetment, battement, emanant (which we were spelling incorrectly).  I just tried battement because I thought maybe I had misheard the word for some type of fortification (battlements?), but when I looked it up after it was accepted I realized it is a ballet move that I have done a thousand times in my youth.  I had no idea it was spelled that way.  Hmm! I think they also accept plie but not barre for whatever reason.

Today I'm at Alpha (274) with five words to go.  Took a while for the pangram, though, which is sort of ironic.

Congrats on the beta, Parasaurolophus.  That was a tough puzzle.

And congrats on your 2fer yesterday and today, cathwen! I could not figure it out yesterday.  Hopefully I'll have better luck today.

Sounds like a wonderful outing, Langue_doc! I've spent a fair amount of time in the Hudson River valley on hikes and at an annual conference that used to be held there (in the fall, which was beautiful!).  It's great that you avoided most of the city traffic issues.  Timing is everything.  I am with you on the early morning brain fog clearing challenges, though.  My ex and I used to have to get up pretty early to do day hiking up in NY or further out in PA or to head out for noon college football games at 4 AM. :-(  Luckily, he drove. It can definitely be worth the effort, though.  I'm so glad you enjoyed it.  And congrats on your 2fer as well!

Yes, a dinner party report would be very much of interest.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 25, 2021, 10:41:08 AM
Morning!

Dinner party was fun. I'm definitely a little out of practice with my cooking skills but it all turned out fine, though I can think of things to do differently next time. Drank a lot of wine.

SB yesterday - barely tipped into genius, but lots of unfamiliar words. Abetment, ameba, amebae, battement... At genius today, with no pangram.

LB yesterday - just didn't get anywhere. Did manage to solve it in 4 but really? This morning - just solved in 4. ETA: 3fer! Hope the 2fer is nigh. It's been a while since I've gotten one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2021, 11:05:35 AM
Great to hear that you had a fun time, ciao_yall! It's not easy in any case to do anything other than basic cooking while also trying to throw a dinner party, so it's great that it turned out well.  And the wine sounds good!

I finally looked at LB and ended up with a 2fer right off the bat, which is definitely unusual for me.  I didn't realize one of the words could be spelled that way, so I'm glad I tried it.  Good luck with the 2fer, ciao_ayll!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 25, 2021, 11:08:16 AM
Got a 2fer! Didn't think it was a word but I took a page from cathwen and tried it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 25, 2021, 12:06:03 PM
I'll be curious to see what you got for your 2fers!  A word with an odd spelling?  A word that didn't seem like a word?  Mine are normal words, for a change!  It will be fun to compare.

SB is at Beta with eight words to go.  Not sure I'll get all that much further.  I do have the pangram, though, which is a word I've missed in the past. 

Ciao_yall, that must have been fun last night.  I'm sure everyone enjoyed the dinner and that it was delicious, even if you felt out of practice.

My husband just left to sing with a quartet (a subset of the chorus he sings with)—all are fully vaccinated and have not sung together in person for over a year.  Singing is one of those things he must do to be happy, so this is a special day for him. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2021, 12:27:59 PM
Cathwen, to be fair, I just may not know how my word is actually spelled. ;-) It is normal, but I just thought it had another letter in there.  Congrats on beta and the pangram! And I'm glad your husband is getting to do something he has been looking forward to for a while!

Got to QB, though! It was impure, because I knew how long the final word was and what it started with since husband had it.  I will call it team QB again.

And congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall.  Maybe we have the same one!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 25, 2021, 01:54:34 PM
QB!  Wow and congratulations, ab_grp!  I've just clawed my way to Alpha.  Six words, thirty points to go.  Argh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2021, 02:42:41 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and good luck (and congrats on Alpha!)! I don't think there were any tough words today, just a lot of beekeeping.  And trying various suffixes and combos, etc.  I guess there are a couple that might be considered bee or crossword words, but they show up now and again, so hopefully they won't cause you trouble.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 25, 2021, 03:15:55 PM
The crossword took a long time to complete but made it just before 6. Still behind on the other puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 25, 2021, 04:54:21 PM
I've hit genius, but no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 25, 2021, 05:29:11 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 25, 2021, 04:54:21 PM
I've hit genius, but no pangram yet.

Ditto. If anyone feels like sending a hint on the pangram, pm me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 26, 2021, 05:55:58 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday. Genius and a pangram today.

LB: thankful/libations; can't wait to hear the "not quite a word" solutions.

ciao_yall, I hope you understood that I was trying to explain lollygag with the two consonants; after sending you the PM I realized that there was also a y! I couldn't be more specific as the kindle keeps autocorrecting.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 26, 2021, 06:22:38 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!  I missed dogleg, doglegged, and odea.  But at least I remembered lollygag/lollygagged from a previous puzzle!

I also got thankful-libations on yesterday's LB.  I am also eager to see what other people got!

Today's SB:  genius with pangram.  LB:  2fer with normal words.

Now for sudoku!  Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2021, 08:16:39 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I think my final word was doggedly.  Gotta keep adding suffixes.

Today I'm at 135, so still not Alpha, with three words left.  Of course they are longer words, per usual.

My LB solution was oboist-thankful.  I thought oboist had an e in it, so I almost didn't try it, but they took it.  Fine with me! I like libations better, though.

Congrats on your 2fer already today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 26, 2021, 08:45:36 AM
SB - Oh well, I hit genius anyway. I never did find lollygag before finding genius so probably would have found the pangram. One of those weird words.

LB - I had boast-thinkful. Didn't think it would take, but there you go!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2021, 09:04:20 AM
Hey, if they takes it, they takes it.

I got a 2fer! I originally thought I could have had a more interesting 2fer, b4ss.  Kind of glad that initial mate didn't work out!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 26, 2021, 09:08:08 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on April 26, 2021, 08:45:36 AM
SB - Oh well, I hit genius anyway. I never did find lollygag before finding genius so probably would have found the pangram. One of those weird words.


Same here. I never find lollygag.


Today's Bee seems tough, unless it's just me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 26, 2021, 09:14:54 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 26, 2021, 09:08:08 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on April 26, 2021, 08:45:36 AM
SB - Oh well, I hit genius anyway. I never did find lollygag before finding genius so probably would have found the pangram. One of those weird words.


Same here. I never find lollygag.


Today's Bee seems tough, unless it's just me.

Sometimes I get them quickly, sometimes I don't. I have the pangram and stuck at amazing. It didn't take mirin which always annoys me, because I use that in real life. More often than callaloo or colcannon!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 26, 2021, 09:32:56 AM
Genius and 3fer.

Found a great word, b4ss, which I so wanted to use. Oh well.

ETA: 2fer! Another cathwen inspired "might as well try it..."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 26, 2021, 09:50:38 AM
Stuck on the bee, but found myself a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 26, 2021, 10:33:40 AM
Congratulations, ab_grp, Parasaurolophus, and ciao_yall, on your 2fers!  I am intrigued by the "might as well try it" solution. 

I love thinkful!  I would have hesitated on that one, too, but I will not argue with LB, especially when it's a word that applies so very well to our endeavors! 

SB:  I'm now at Alpha (146) with two words to go, one short and one long.  Argh!  What can they be?  I am mystified.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2021, 10:37:51 AM
Congrats on the 2fers, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus! It sounds as though we might have several solutions again.  Lollygag/lollygagged never come quickly to me, if they ever do come.  And there are so many they don't accept like mirin, nori. tamari.  I guess some foods or condiments are more of interest than others. 

I am down to one word left, but husband also doesn't have it.  If we do make it across the QB line, it will be a team effort.  I think we're getting too stuck on prefixes, but that might be the key.  Argh.  Or arghh or whichever spelling the bee accepts.

On preview: maybe one of the words you are missing is the one that we are missing, cathwen! A five-letter word is the last one I got, a seven before that, and we are missing the eight.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 26, 2021, 01:28:08 PM
QB and twofer.

The long word is one I've seen in a recent bee. It's a compound.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2021, 02:25:29 PM
Congrats on the QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! We eventually got the final word, but it's an impure win.  I can't believe we missed that one. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 27, 2021, 05:50:15 AM
Pure or not, it's still a win.

Good morning! moonroof was my last word.

Pangram and amazing today. It's a tedious one, so I'll have to put it away for now.

Prankster/rejoice.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2021, 07:26:49 AM
Good morning!

Thanks! We also got moonroof last.  I have a sunroof in my car. :-(

I ended up with 2.5 LB solutions.  First was jockstrap-poisoner.  After the first word was entered, the remaining letters were suggestive of a related word which thankfully didn't work out due to b4ss issues.  But I found poisoner so was happy.  Later in the day I figured others must have a different solution since they talked about having normal words, so I kept at it and found the schmofficial solution.  Then figured I'd try jockstrap-prisoner, which also worked.

Didn't really get started on puzzles yet, waiting for coffee.  I do have a pangram and a bunch of words but am not to genius yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 27, 2021, 07:42:45 AM
Morning!

SB - probably could have gotten QB - missed words I know. Noncom was my last word. I did get moonroof.

LB - jockstrap-pianet. I was thinking some kind of small piano, maybe, but it is another word for magpie. ETA: @ab_grp I notice they seem to always block certain body parts b4ss.

Happy solving - literally all day Zoom meetings so either lots of puzzle time or very little.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 27, 2021, 07:45:41 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on finding moonroof and getting to QB, ab_grp and Langue_doc!  That was my last word, and I did not find it.  Alas!

For LB, I also had prankster-rejoice.  Ab_grp, I like both your solutions!  And ciao_yall, we've all learned a new word—pianet.   

Today's SB is a slog.  I am at amazing with the pangram and will probably call it a day if I ever get to genius. 

LB: I have a 2-fer, but one word is one of those weird words that I tried and happened to be accepted.  If I have time, I may try for a "cleaner" (=more normal) one later. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 27, 2021, 07:50:58 AM
I found jockstrap, but couldn't find a mate. Gah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 27, 2021, 08:00:41 AM
I had jockstrap-prisoner. Tried stricken, but couldn't find a second word for it.

Now that I see the Bee answers, I don't know what happened to my brain yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 27, 2021, 08:32:07 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 27, 2021, 08:00:41 AM
I had jockstrap-prisoner. Tried stricken, but couldn't find a second word for it.

Now that I see the Bee answers, I don't know what happened to my brain yesterday.

Ditto. Sometimes I just drop off at genius because there are so many weird words I figure it's not worth chasing them down. At times I go to the wordplay blog where the commenters leave a lot of hints.  Just click on "reader picks" and they pop right to the top.

LB - SET and CUK on the same side?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2021, 08:32:31 AM
I'm glad I'm not the only one who found jockstrap! It seemed to use up all of the difficult letters, but I figured it might not be part of the schmofficial solution.  It did take effort to find a mate for it, though.  Ciao_yall, I think you're right that they intentionally block certain words.  I've found some interesting ones along the way b4ss.   I have not head of a pianet, but it makes sense.  I thought it said planet at first and was wondering why cathwen thought that was a new word.  Need more coffee.

Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! Sounds like it might be a tough one.

The bee today is definitely tough, in my opinion.  I got to genius + (202), but still a ways from Alpha, let alone QB.  Not sure why it is so challenging? I have found a bunch of bee words, but I guess there is something else in there.  I don't see any particular patterns to try to exploit.  Maybe I need to wake up a little more.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 27, 2021, 08:43:40 AM
I'm not far on today's bee, but found an LB word that only leaves three letters unused. Same-sidedness makes it hard to see how to use them, however.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 27, 2021, 09:25:41 AM
I have just limped to genius, and I think that will be the pinnacle of achievement for today. 

Parasaurolophus, good luck finding a use for those three letters! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2021, 11:31:03 AM
I just, just made it to Alpha (231) with five words to go.  This is a real struggle.  And genius is the official victory level!

Only one contender for LB so far, but it uses a fair number of the letters.  No idea what to do with the remainders (4), though, so I will keep looking.  Good luck on yours, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2021, 01:11:17 PM
Okay, I got two more words in the bee! But they were only four letters each, so not much points progress.  Three more longish ones to go.

And I got a 2fer, but like cathwen I was not sure one of them was an actual word.  I just tried to use the remaining letters in a reasonable way, and it accepted it.  Fine for now!  Wonder if it's the same solution or not.  The other day we had several such solutions that differed.  I will try for a more normal one as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 27, 2021, 03:02:49 PM
I've given up on the bee, but have a twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on April 27, 2021, 03:12:10 PM
I was convinced that there had to be some words with a specific suffix and spent time playing around trying to figure it out. Turns out, I was wrong, and there were no words that ended that way. I found today's bee to be a slog, but could be because I was trying to find words that did not exist.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2021, 03:55:11 PM
It is a tough bee day! I am curious about what the specific suffix was that wasn't.  We finally started our scaffolded comparisons, and I was able to figure out the two longer words that I was missing, he was able to figure out the words he was missing, but we each are still missing the same final word.  We know how long it is and what it starts with but are not having any luck.  I have a few complaints about what was not accepted in light of what was and has been accepted.

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 27, 2021, 05:18:25 PM
Genius on the SB, and a 3fer on LB but not sure how a 2fer will emerge.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 27, 2021, 07:22:35 PM
2fer! Kind of a strange one but okay, I'll keep it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2021, 05:18:16 AM
Good morning!

Missed lipoma, papilloma, and maillot. I should have seen the latter as I recall a discussion on this word a few weeks ago.

Today's is tedious--amazing and no pangram.

Intoxicant/tusker

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2021, 08:04:32 AM
Morning!

SB - Tricky one yesterday. Today, at "nice" with pangram. So far it wouldn't take mach or mache so I think it's gonna be a slow one.

LN - extractors-skinsuit. Didn't we find skinsuit once and have a discussion about it? I was trying it to see if it would work, thinking "Silence of the Lambs" but it turns out, it's a thing.

Today's looks like a b4ss mess with the way the letters are grouped. Okay, I shall don a skinsuit, dive on in, and seek an optimal solution.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 28, 2021, 08:11:03 AM
Good morning! 

I just did not have the energy or imagination to progress beyond genius on yesterday's SB.  I missed words I should have seen—I got omicron, but not iota!—and missed ones I would probably not have found anyway, like lipoma.  It was a long one.

Today's SB is not as long, but I'm now at amazing with the pangram and kind of stalled.  I'll just be happy to get to genius today.  Ciao_yall, I share your annoyance about the rejection of mach and mache.

I have not yet found a 2fer for today's LB, but yesterday I had corkie-extraneous.  What the heck does corkie mean?  Well, as I learned after LB surprisingly accepted it, it is a dog breed that crosses a cocker spaniel and a yorkie.  (I warned you that one of my words was odd!).  The pictures of these animals are really cute.

Skinsuit and tusker!  More words to tuck away for the future.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2021, 08:27:28 AM
cathwen, I hear ya. Lots of tough words yesterday. Yesterday I was at "amazing," found the pangram, and was still at "amazing." Now I'm at "great" with pangram and already running out of steam.

Did find a 3fer but this may be a slow one. Or not. Sometimes they come so fast!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2021, 08:42:28 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB just now, so hopefully good luck to everyone! There were definitely a couple words that I have previously missed, some in the recent past.  I tried a new approach today.  Not sure if I will stick with it, because it felt a little unfamiliar to do it that way, but I guess it worked.  Yesterday we missed palopa.  I thought I had tried everything like it! Oh well, we gave it our best shot.

I had the same LB solution as Langue_doc yesterday, but didn't think of tusker as a word.  I feel like I have heard skinsuit, but I'm not sure where. Definitely reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs! Lots of solutions yesterday.  I tried for some others but couldn't get there.  Keratinous only left two letters, but they were tough ones to work into a mate.  Never heard of corkie either.  I guess the message is to just try and see!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2021, 08:48:03 AM
Hit genius - yay.

Tusker reminds me Tusker Boyle in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 28, 2021, 09:03:35 AM
Wow, ab_grp—QB already!  Congratulations!  I just got to genius. 

Still no LB solution. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2021, 09:07:14 AM
I've always thought of tuskers as adult male elephants.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2021, 09:31:58 AM
Thanks, cathwen! Good luck!

Langue_doc, that's what the online dictionary said about tuskers.  It makes sense, but I guess I just hadn't heard the term before.  But if you managed to get palapa yesterday in the bee, there are probably a lot of terms you know that I don't! And yep, we talked about maillot a few weeks ago, swimsuits often seen in teen/young adult fashion mags a few (or more) years ago.  I haven't really seen that used so frequently in recent years.

I have a good contender for LB, but it won't take any of the mates I've tried.  I guess I'll work on finding some new contenders.  Given that six was part of the schmofficial solution yesterday, I guess not fixating on long words would help, though I would guess one might find cantankerous first and then make the mate from the leftovers, rather than the other way around.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 28, 2021, 10:44:28 AM
Yesterday I kept seeing pili-pala, the Welsh word for butterfly.  Unfortunately, SB does not accept Welsh!

I have found some really good words in LB, but as yet, cannot do anything with the remaining letters.  This might not be my best puzzle day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2021, 10:58:57 AM
Cathwen, I would still try it.  You never know what they will accept, it seems.  Plenty of foreign words.  I was unhappy that taillamp was in there but not oillamp.  And why not lamplit when they allow daylit? I'm sure there is some distinction, but it is beyond me.

I also have a bunch more good contenders, but no luck.  I keep seeing the same couple letters in my remainders, so I guess I should work on those.  Having TH next to each other is unfortunate.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 28, 2021, 12:26:03 PM
Thanks for the pep talk, ab_grp!  I'll take another crack at SB. 

I just found a 2fer for LB—normal words.

I agree that TH on the same side is irksome.  Also OU. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2021, 01:54:47 PM
Congrats on the QB ab_grp, and the twofer, cathwen.

Just found a twofer after finding many, many long words. Also QB.

ab_grp, I too found it frustrating that some of the lamp words weren't accepted yesterday. Today it wouldn't accept malacca; I would have made it to super QB if it had accepted Michael, Michaela, Himmel as in "Gott in Himmel", and a few other words ;).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2021, 03:10:05 PM
Langue_doc, congrats on the QB+! I have thought about proposing a sort of super QB and counting other words we've found, but I didn't have a good framework for it.  I always try names, though.  My PhD advisor's last name was in one puzzle, and the full name of one of my colleagues was in another (these are all uncommon names, so I guess I couldn't really post them, but I just think it's mildly interesting)! But there are also all the not-accepted words that I think we should get credit for.  Also Heimlich today! I think that should be able to stand on its own without capitalization now, like calling a copy a xerox.

And congrats on your 2fers to you and to cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2021, 04:40:52 PM
Huzzah! I finally got a 2fer after changing my approach to be a little more grounded.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2021, 04:51:54 PM
I tried heimlich as well.

Lots of tight 3fers but no 2fer... hope it appears soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2021, 05:45:55 PM
ab_grp, I also tried Heimlich. I even looked up the spelling, just in case.

I'm getting off the computer now as I've been in a stimulating book discussion meeting the last couple of hours.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2021, 08:57:08 PM
Finally hit the online solver. Got it! Had a bunch of great words and 3fers but alas, was not to be.

Will check in tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 28, 2021, 09:51:55 PM
I'm ten short of genius but found a second pangram, which it inexplicably rejected.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 29, 2021, 03:39:11 AM
Greetings from the nightly water-bathroom-puzzles loop!

SB yesterday - new word - lamella. Means a gill, like on a bivalve or mushroom. Parasaurolophus what was your second pangram?

Genius, 2 pangrams for today.

LB yesterday - a little poke from the online solver and I got font-triumphal. I had humph and trump and a 3fer frontal-lump-phi which got pretty close. Lots of good 3fers but just didn't bring it together - hafnium-mortal-lap, flair-ruminant-tophat, morph-half-fruition.

Poked at it a bit this morning but I think I'll go back to bed. ETA: 2fer already! Very easy one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 29, 2021, 05:08:50 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and slightly above genius.

Phantom/multiflora

Seems to be a very late night or early morning, ciao_yall.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 29, 2021, 05:32:35 AM
Good morning!

One pangram and genius this morning.  Yesterday, I got a bit beyond genius, but not as far as Beta.  I also missed lamella/lamellae, ciao_yall!  Congratulations to Langue_doc and ab_grp for making QB yesterday.

Parsaurolophus, I, too, am curious to know what your second pangram was.

LB:  yesterday, I had the "official" solution—font-triumphal.  I like phantom-multifora better!  I had phantom, but did not see multiflora.   I have a 2fer today as well. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 29, 2021, 07:02:24 AM
Missed a lot of easy words yesterday, but I can't believe it wouldn't take alchemical.

As for today, I'm halfway there and found another omission.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 29, 2021, 07:32:50 AM
I also tried alchemical!  And I missed some easy words, too. 

I have just gotten to Alpha with three words left to find.  There are certain words that SB does not take, even though they are real words.  I wonder if you're thinking of the one I'm thinking of (and its compound)?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 29, 2021, 07:57:51 AM
WHOOPEE!  I just got to QB! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 29, 2021, 08:05:04 AM
Quote from: cathwen on April 29, 2021, 07:57:51 AM
WHOOPEE!  I just got to QB!

Congrats!

Yes, I also tried alchemical as well as alchemic. Oh well... onward.

I woke up at 3 AM and decided to flip on the gizmo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 29, 2021, 08:25:55 AM
Good morning!

Wow, you are all up and at 'em way earlier than me! Big congrats on your QB, cathwen! And your 2fer! And ciao_yall's 2fer!

I am at Alpha (252) but three words to go.  I also tried alchemical yesterday.  Last words were mahimahi (thanks from a while back, Langue_doc!) and heme, which I know I have missed before.

Yesterday's LB I got morph-hifalutin.  I tried to give a not-too-obvious clue with change and be more grounded, but I couldn't think of a good way to say it without just saying it.

Still trying to finish the crossword.  One area left, and if I could just remember a particular thing... argh.  I'll get back to it.  Will go try LB and sudokus for a bit.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 29, 2021, 11:43:51 AM
Congrats on all the victories!

Not too difficult bee today--I think I've seen all these words in recent puzzles.

Twofer and QB, in that order.

I got stuck on the crossword last night, so I'll have to remember to complete it before the next one comes out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 29, 2021, 12:02:37 PM
Congrats on the 2fer and QB, Langue_doc! Good luck on the crossword.  I finally remembered the answer I was trying to remember and was able to finish.

I also got a 2fer, very lopsided.  And a team QB, as we were down to one word left independently, it ended up being the same word, and husband stumbled onto it first.  I don't think I would have found it myself.  At least I don't remember it from before but will try to remember it going forward.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 29, 2021, 12:15:17 PM
If you're thinking of the 10-letter word, I don't think I've seen it on the bee either. I tried the word, and much to my surprise, it worked.

Lopsided or not, a twofer is a twofer, as long as it's accepted. Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 29, 2021, 12:56:07 PM
Thanks! I actually got the 10, though I'm not sure I remembered it being in there before, either.   We were missing a 6-letter word that I don't think I've ever head of before, but I am not very well versed in that particular area of endeavor.   I have now seen a picture, though.  I hope that helps with remembering.

Sounds like you might not have a lopsided solution, so now I have another to look for! Since LB is not my strong suit, I figure if it seems like others here have found something different it gives me some practice to try to find another solution, if that makes any sense.  I have a bunch of pocket contenders that might go together somehow. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 29, 2021, 01:16:52 PM
ab_grp, are you thinking of the harbinger of spring? It's a common word up here and further northeast.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 29, 2021, 01:23:59 PM
After looking it up again with those words, I guess I am! I always think of a robin as the harbinger of spring, probably because that was the sentence used in whatever grade when we learned the word harbinger.  I guess there are other harbingers of spring! In any case, I don't remember them from PA, though there was something at my house that apparently had them, and I didn't know what they were called at the time.   New word for me! Thanks for mentioning that, because I hadn't seen my house thing in the list of things associated with this word when I first looked it up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 30, 2021, 05:28:38 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with a pangram. It's going to be a long one today, so I might not have the time or inclination to look for more words.

ostrich/hangup; took me a long time to find the mate for the former.

ab_grp, I'm used to the plural, catkins, but found the word right away, I don't think I've ever used the singular form of this word just because of the context.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 30, 2021, 06:27:15 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Like Langue_doc, I am at amazing with the pangram.  I'll just be happy to make genius today.

Yesterday's LB:  catchup-purposing.  I was a little surprised that LB accepted catchup as a single word rather than as a hyphenated one.  But then, the "official" answer was purchasing-gotcha, and I never think of gotcha as a possibility.  I wish I'd seen ostrich—I like Langue_doc's answer!

I have a 2fer today that consists of standard words (and is a little boring). 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 30, 2021, 08:10:10 AM
Yesterday it rejected nictitating and actinic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 30, 2021, 08:15:50 AM
Genius at last and a twofer! That's it for today.

cathwen, we probably have the same words. Your description of the words as standard and boring encouraged me to look for easy words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 30, 2021, 09:07:17 AM
Just got to genius.  I think I'm done for the day, too—I may fiddle with SB later, but do not have QB aspirations today.

Langue_doc, I bet you're right about the LB words!

Parasaurolophus, I am still fuming over the rejection of intinct and intinction.  I keep trying them in the hopes that someday they will be accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 30, 2021, 09:11:28 AM
Morning!

SB - new word - catkin. I'll add to my list of bee trees with acacia.

LB - courts-shaping. Found almost instantly.

Just poured the coffee so getting started.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 30, 2021, 09:35:29 AM
Amazing no pangram, 2fer b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 30, 2021, 10:14:52 AM
Good morning!

I had purchasing-got yesterday, so kind of the schmofficial solution but more "elegant"? It didn't seem very graceful.  I couldn't find any others, though, despite all the solutions you folks got! I thought siphoning might work out, and it would have with curtains b4ss.

Not at Alpha (238), very slow going today despite feeling like I've gotten a lot of words and some good ones.   At least no calls to take up time today.  Husband has passed me, so I know there are a couple more out there I could possibly get, though he has some specific knowledge that I don't. 

As Langue_doc suspected, catkin was the word I missed yesterday.  I had not heard of it, but we had a pussy willow tree in my yard that I absolutely loved.  Had no idea that's what the little guys were called!

Still have to get on the sudokus and LB, but we got a pretty late start today for whatever reason. 

Happy solving (for those who are still at it)! Or enjoy your day if you're done!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 30, 2021, 02:41:02 PM
SB - Genius with pangram (had that moment when I was in amazing, found the pangram and was still at amazing.)

LB - 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 30, 2021, 05:37:56 PM
Whew, busy day! Finally got a 2fer!

Congrats ciao_yall!

We were one word from a very impure team QB but husband just found it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 01, 2021, 04:43:23 AM
Good morning!

Only 10 more points for QB.

judge/employment

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 01, 2021, 06:10:27 AM
Good morning, everyone!

I also had judge-employment for yesterday's LB.  I have not yet found a 2fer for today's.  Having ION and ER on the same sides is especially vexing!

As for SB, I am ten points/two words from QB, but at the point where I have to go do something else and then come back.

Yesterday, I got to Beta, which is more than I had hoped for. 

Congratulations to yesterday's QBs and 2fers!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 01, 2021, 08:03:53 AM
Morning!

SB - at least one new word - lateen (a sailing term); lunula (base of a fingernail) and some other oddballs. Impressed with the QB-ers!

LB - judge-employment as well. Sounds like there weren't a lot of choices. I love it when you all come up with fun words like ostrich, multiflora, emoji...  My first 2fer b4ss was judgement-topology.

Just getting started this morning. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 01, 2021, 08:32:18 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB.  No really tough words, all things from previous puzzles, I think.  Good luck!

I had the same LB solution as everyone else.  We'll see what today brings.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 01, 2021, 08:40:29 AM
Quick genius this morning. LB will be another story. Oof.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 01, 2021, 05:10:24 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 01, 2021, 05:56:43 PM
3fers, 2fer b4ss. Gah. If you feel like PMing a hint, go ahead.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 01, 2021, 07:01:29 PM
Tiny poke from the online solver and I got it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 01, 2021, 07:22:09 PM
Sorry just saw this but congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 02, 2021, 03:58:07 AM
Good morning!

yente was my last word yesterday; I found yenta much earlier, as I had seen that word before. Pangram and genius today.

LB: circumvent/thorny

I'm going to be out and about today, so won't be checking in.

Happy solving, all!

ETA two pangrams



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 02, 2021, 06:10:55 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations to those who found 2fers yesterday!  I was utterly defeated.  Today, however, I found a 2fer.

And congratulations to the QBs yesterday.  I was so close!  One word!  It was payee, and why I didn't see that mystifies me.  Today, I am within two words of QB and hope to get there.  We'll see. I can be amazingly word blind sometimes.

On to sudoku.  Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2021, 08:04:53 AM
Good morning!

I also had circumvent-thorny, though it took forever and a lot of contenders.

I think payee was my last word, and yenta was definitely one of the last ones.

Also only two words from QB today, but one is long, of course.  Hopefully the day is also long enough to find them.  Not at Alpha yet (123), thanks to that long guy (I do have both pangrams).  Maybe cathwen and I are missing the same words...

Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen, and enjoy your day out and about, Langue_doc!

Also onto sudoku for me! Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 02, 2021, 08:52:05 AM
Morning!

SB - I thought I tried yenta? Oh well.

LB - Online solver gave me circ... and I quickly got circumvent-thorny.. I had environment-touchy as an early 2fer b4ss but somehow never got any further.

Just getting started this morning so we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2021, 10:21:21 AM
Well, thankfully the final two words popped out at me when I went back to the bee, so QB.

A bunch of contenders for LB, but no mates so far.  It's funny that we all got thorny instead of theory, but I guess the former is easier to see.

Done sudoku, now tax review.  Whee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 02, 2021, 10:30:27 AM
Amazing no pangrams, 3fer. Wouldn't take pincho but it takes tapa, taco, and salsa?

Big Sunday crossword puzzle tradition awaits! Husband starts it and I finish it.

So I'll go back to the online puzzles later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 02, 2021, 12:04:31 PM
Genius with one pangram - you say there are two? Okay, will dive back in.

2fer - yay! Along with some of what ab_grp called "ships" - words that use up all the letters but don't connect. Like ships that pass in the night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2021, 12:09:50 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall, along with some ships!

I also managed to get a 2fer.  Yay!

And yes, there are two pangrams, so if you find the other should should get some good points!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 02, 2021, 01:41:02 PM
 Congratulations on the 2fers, ciao_yall, and on the 2fer and QB, ab_grp! 

I just made QB! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2021, 02:09:36 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and congrats on QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 02, 2021, 05:40:18 PM
QB with a little help from the wordplay blog.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 03, 2021, 05:14:54 AM
Good morning!

Easy bee yesterday; my last word was cioppino, which I had seen in an earlier puzzle. Today, however, I'm stuck at amazing despite two pangrams.

LB chump/periwinkle. My initial first word was the latter, but couldn't find a word with the remaining letters.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 03, 2021, 06:04:10 AM
Good morning!

I also had chump-periwinkle yesterday.  I have a 2fer for today as well.

I'm at amazing with two pangrams, and an astonishing number of points to go before I even hit genius.  This is a sloggy one!   

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 03, 2021, 07:58:59 AM
Good morning!

Same LB solution here.  Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen!

Congrats on your QBs yesterday, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! I think my final words were picnic, which I missed before, and nincompoop (perhaps appropriately).

Today I just managed to get to genius with a guess word and then mistyped a word to get a little past (183), but I do have both pangrams.  I am really struggling!! Pretty sure if we get to QB it will be from a team effort.  But, maybe more coffee and a banana will help, and I will suddenly see 10 more words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2021, 08:08:49 AM
Morning!

SB: Couldn't figure out the second pangram so went to the Wordplay blog where I got monophonic as well as cioppino and nincompoop. QB!

LB: chump-periwinkle as well.

Just getting started - happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 03, 2021, 08:16:26 AM
I finally made genius, and I'm happy with that.  I have no QB aspirations today—but I'll check back from time to time and play with it a little more.  There are allegedly 11 more words hiding there! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2021, 08:55:03 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 03, 2021, 08:16:26 AM
I finally made genius, and I'm happy with that.  I have no QB aspirations today—but I'll check back from time to time and play with it a little more.  There are allegedly 11 more words hiding there!

Ditto. At "great" ETA: "Amazing" with 2 pangrams. Did get a 2fer pretty quickly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 03, 2021, 10:39:55 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall.  I have a couple contenders, including some words that the bee didn't take today!

As for the bee, we have already moved on to comparing hashes and have identified that I need at least one C and one T, and he needs at least one V, and we may need others.  Not sure how long they are, as we haven't moved to that level yet.  But based on the initial hash comparison, we each got a few words, so I am at 211 now with 6 to go (including the C and T).  Still not Alpha, but at least we are slowly getting somewhere, albeit impurely.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2021, 10:40:58 AM
Ugh, I'm in the slog. Amazing, 2 pangrams, made up a word and it took. STILL IN AMAZING!!!! Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 03, 2021, 10:49:25 AM
Above genius, but will have to stay there as I have grading and a couple of other commitments today and tomorrow.

Easy twofer, so I'm satisfied with my progress.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 03, 2021, 11:07:27 AM
Woohoo! Got a 2fer, and I like my solution set. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 03, 2021, 11:51:13 AM
Congratulations on the 2fers, everyone!  It sounds as though we all found solutions relatively easily, so I'll be looking forward to comparing tomorrow. 

SB:  I got to Beta (after swearing off SB for the day—hah!) and also had the experience of inventing a word that turned out to be accepted.  Ciao_yall, I wonder if we "invented" the same word?  Six words to go.  Argh...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 03, 2021, 03:33:45 PM
Congrats on getting to Beta (or beyond), cathwen! We got down to one word left and finally gave up.  I swear I tried it along with every other possible combination, but oh well.  Good enough for me for this slog of a day.

And congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2021, 05:42:08 PM
Genius! Finally.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 03, 2021, 09:10:05 PM
I've been in a weird slump this last week. I keep getting close to genius but missing the mark.

I have two pangrams today but am still a ways away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 04, 2021, 04:23:49 AM
Good morning!

Missed appetitive and titivate; these don't sound like English words, so I'm not too concerned about missing them. Genius today, with a pangram.

Letup/provocation; found the latter first, then tried putting together the remaining letters to form the first word which, much to my surprise, was accepted.

Another long day, so might look in but not post.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 04, 2021, 06:57:21 AM
Good morning!

Today's SB is at amazing with the pangram. 

Yesterday, I missed tacet, pepita, tippet, acetate, evictee, and titivate on yesterday's SB.  I'm annoyed about acetate, because I had acetic!  Oh well.  Titivate is a new word for me; I would never have guessed it in a million years.  The word I "invented"—and I wonder if ciao_yall "invented" the same one?—was appetitive.  I mean, really? 

Parasaurolophus, the darned thing about these really high scoring SBs is that you can be at amazing for an awfully long time, even with the pangram(s). 

As for LB, my 2fer yesterday was crepe-evolutional. I do not yet have a 2fer today—it's a hard one!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 04, 2021, 07:02:12 AM
Morning:

SB - cathwen, I invented vitiate and it turned out to be a thing. Lots of new words yesterday, including ones I couldn't get even with the blog hints. So QBAM will elude me for a while.

LB - crepe-evaluation. Interesting with the X in today's.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 04, 2021, 08:00:55 AM
Found a 2fer! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 04, 2021, 08:07:51 AM
SB - in the endless "amazing" slog. I find a tricky word and boom, still "amazing."

LB - yay found a 3fer! So cathwen gives me hope that I may eventually find a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2021, 08:10:56 AM
Good morning!

My LB was preternatural-locative.  Hadn't heard of the second word, but it took it! Another group of different solutions, which is always fun.

We missed titivate as well.  Vitiate is the word I meant to type something else for but got accepted, and I guessed appetitive (which is the one that got me to genius).

Doing pretty well today, only 3 words left to QB, but not at Alpha because two of them are long (of course)!

Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 04, 2021, 08:33:32 AM
Just made genius. I worship you QB-ers.

2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2021, 09:02:25 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

I just got a 2fer as well, though I swear one of the words was just part of a solution recently.  At least it primed me, I guess!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 04, 2021, 09:06:19 AM
Congratulations on your 2fers, ciao_yall and ab_grp! 

I am at Alpha, with three words to go.  Ugh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2021, 10:16:17 AM
Good luck, cathwen! I did get to QB and am sending you juju!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 04, 2021, 12:20:25 PM
Congratulations, ab_grp, and thanks for the juju!  I'm now two words from QB, 6 and 7 letters. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2021, 08:44:57 PM
I hope you got to QB, cathwen! But congrats regardless!

Just reporting that according to sam ezersky tomorrow's bee may be a "doozy".... Interested to see!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 04, 2021, 08:56:58 PM
Thanks for the heads up, ab_grp. It's going to be another long day tomorrow, but I did make it to QB, and also solved tomorrow's crosswords.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 04, 2021, 09:26:58 PM
Got some help from the Wordplay blog. Missing one sailing term.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 04, 2021, 10:10:35 PM
Broke my streak and made it to genius. Phew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 05, 2021, 05:43:46 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius; lost count of the pangrams.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 05, 2021, 06:50:26 AM
Good morning!

Doozy is right!  Today's SB is really something.  I'm at amazing with four pangrams (there are six).  I will be more than happy with genius today.

I missed QB yesterday by one word—ragtag. I don't know why that didn't occur to me—it should have been obvious.  Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on QB!  And Parasaurolophus, congratulations on breaking your streak and getting to genius! 

My LB solution was the same as the "official" one—fabulist-toxicity.  Did anyone get anything different?

I have found a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on May 05, 2021, 07:11:57 AM
I don't foresee getting through today's. 6 pangrams!
Yesterday, did not get ratatat, which I think I've missed before. How is this word an acceptable one in the bee? Isn't it usually spelled with hyphens? I am not a good speller, so I may be confused here.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 08:02:14 AM
Morning!

SB - Learned a new word - taiga. The Wordplay blog said there was a sailing term but I went to different sailing glossary sites and didn't find it. Then I Googled it and it turns out it is another term for "snow forest" or "boreal forest." That was the one word that kept me from an aided-recall QB.

LB - fabulist-toxicity as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2021, 08:12:58 AM
Good morning!

I had the same LB solution.  I swear fabulist was just part of a solution not too long ago.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Yeah, Sam wasn't kidding about today's bee.  I'm at 302, so only 89 more points to go (ha... so easy!).  Hey, only 49 little points to Alpha.  I have no idea how many pangrams I have now, maybe four at least, but not six.  I may have to write a program to figure that out.  But two more pangrams would definitely help with the points.  I need a break, though.

As for yesterday's, I remembered taiga from social studies class in middle school, but I rarely ever see it anymore for whatever reason, so probably easy to miss.  Ragtag is at least better than ragbag, but it and ratatat are both still annoying entries.  As far as what they accept, it is so inconsistent that it's hard to figure out why one word is in and another is not.

Congrats on breaking your streak, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 08:13:31 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on May 04, 2021, 10:10:35 PM
Broke my streak and made it to genius. Phew!

Here's an extra shot of dopamine for you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 05, 2021, 08:21:09 AM
OneMoreYear, what SB accepts and rejects is sometimes frustrating.  I also would expect ratatat to by hypenated; I only got it because I missed it a few days ago. 

I finally made genius, but still "only" four pangrams.  I do not have higher aspirations today (and I do have some grading to get to), although I'll probably get back to it from time to time to see if I can eke out any more words.  But I'm happy with genius, which was enough of a slog.

Ciao_yall, I don't know why I got taiga but not ragtag!  I remembered the word from a sixth grade (!!) geography lesson that involved taiga and tundra.  Funny the things that pop back into your mind—things you hadn't thought about in decades and decades.

I wonder if there were other LB answers?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 08:28:55 AM
SB - That's gonna be a slog. I think I have 2 pangrams and am still at "nice." Yeah, yeah...  It wouldn't take natto.

LB- Already have a 3fer so hope a 2fer is nigh. @cathwen,there is a letterboxed solver online (http://letterboxed.aliceyliang.com/) which I pop into from time to time when I get really stuck. It doesn't take everything the official puzzle takes, and vice versa, but it shows a lot of possible solutions.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 05, 2021, 08:50:17 AM
All familiar words so far. Try combinations and permutations.

309 so far, but have to "work" on real work.

Ratatat keeps occurring quite frequently on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2021, 09:32:37 AM
Got a 2fer!

We haven't gotten back to the bee yet (in a few, probably), but at least there is no E! I agree, no unfamiliar words so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 05, 2021, 10:02:40 AM
Halfway there with one pangram. It's gonna be a slog, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 10:38:45 AM
2fer!

Bee is a slog. I think I have 3 pangrams so far. Still at "great." Still bitter about natto.

ETA: 4 pangrams, "amazing." Gonna be a while.

ETA^2: 6 pangrams, still "amazing." Beyond this point, there be dragons.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2021, 11:30:18 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

Last break, I got to 323 points, 8 more words to go.  When the lists are really long and have long words, I copy my found words out of the web interface and put them in Excel to count the numbers of letters per word, which helps somewhat.  This morning I wrote a dumb little program that takes that word list and counts the number of pangrams I have.  Getting lazy I guess? So I do have four, currently.  I figured I'd better find out rather than continuing to hunt down pangrams that weren't there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 12:44:47 PM
Tipped into "genius" with a few easy words.

Done for now.

@ab_grp I have 51 words, 273 points and I think 6 pangrams. How do you have 323 points and only 4 pangrams? Must be a lot more non-pangram words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2021, 01:09:58 PM
Ciao_yall, congrats on getting all the pangrams! I am up to 336 points and 61 words.  So, 5 words left, but 2 are pangrams, 2 are fairly short.  Five words and 54 points! Husband has found all six pangrams but has 10 words to go.  He's at 334 points.  It is kind of a crazy mix.  We should be taking another break soon, so hopefully I can figure out the pangrams I'm missing.  Argh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 05, 2021, 01:24:26 PM
I've made it to four pangrams and 222 points. I've slowed down a fair bit at this point, however.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 05, 2021, 01:26:25 PM
 Ciao_yall, congratulations on finding the six pangrams!

307 points, 55 words, just found a fifth pangram.   Argh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2021, 02:36:46 PM
Finally found the other two pangrams.  I thought I already had one of them, but it is so hard to keep track of such a long list.  Now I'm at 369 with three words and 21 points left to go.  Congrats on all the progress! This is a long one!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 05, 2021, 02:57:10 PM
If I'm stuck after getting to genius, I take a look at this site https://www.nytbee.com/. I found all 20 4-letter words, but am still missing several 5 and 6-letter ones.

If you scroll down to Haven't I seen these words before?, you'll see ratatat listed.

ETA twofer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 05, 2021, 03:16:50 PM
The nytbee.com site is really helpful.  I usually look at it early in SB to see how many total points, how many pangrams, etc.  Then I scroll down and I look at the lists later when I get stuck. 

Ab_grp, you're so close!  You'll get there!

I just found the sixth pangram.  325 points (solid Beta), 56 words ("only" ten to go). 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 03:20:25 PM
I like the Wordplay Blog comments. (https://www.nytimes.com/column/wordplay) If you click on Comments/Reader Picks somebody makes a grid, and commenters give additional hints and definitions.

It starts off with vague hints (how many words start with A, D, et) then stronger (AD words = X number) and the definitions are very clever. So it gives a bit of a poke before giving the whole schebang away.

6 pangrams (I was miscounting earlier) and 317 points.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2021, 05:50:29 PM
Apparently wordplay blog isn't working so I went to the nytbee puzzle solver.

I did have all the pangrams, and learned a few new words. Gah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 05, 2021, 06:20:41 PM
Two twofers, oh my!

The pangram weren't difficult.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 05, 2021, 10:08:45 PM
259 and four pangrams, in the end. I just can't see anything else.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 06, 2021, 04:43:46 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today; it's a rather boring puzzle, so I might not look for more words. I think I've found all possible combinations, including a couple that I didn't think were real words.
QB yesterday, after a very long haul. I tried all kinds of permutations which gave me words that I didn't know existed.

unintended/drowsily, and then unworldly/yetis; I prefer the latter pair.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 06, 2021, 07:02:48 AM
Good morning!

I stalled at Beta yesterday, but I did find the six pangrams.  Annoyingly, I was sure I'd entered initiation, but apparently had not.  Oh well...    I'm at Beta today with the pangram. 

LB:  Yesterday I had endows-sturdily.  I guess there were a number of solutions!  Congratulations on having found not one, but two solutions, Langue_doc!   

I have found a 2fer for today as well.

Now I have no excuse...it's time to grade an assignment I regret having assigned.  Sigh...

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 06, 2021, 07:57:52 AM
I must be channeling you, cathwen, as I found a twofer effortlessly.

I encountered the same  problem with initiation; I entered it when typing on the Kindle, but noticed that it had disappeared later in the afternoon when I checked my list on the computer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 06, 2021, 07:58:02 AM
SB - Two new words - diatom and monad. Two itty bitty creatures. I realize to be a regular QB I will need some discipline for a while in learning those little oddball words.

This morning it wouldn't take two words that are sooooo in today's lingo! Argh. Genius, no pangram.

LB - unlisted-drowsy.

This morning, two "ships" on the first try. Almost had a 2fer b4ss but missing one letter. No 2fer yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 06, 2021, 09:01:38 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB today already, so not a tough puzzle.  Nice to have an easy and quick one after yesterday! On yesterday's we got a team QB.  I was missing diatom, amino, initiation, and he was missing monomania and mammon.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc! That was a tough one.

I had a different LB yesterday: wildest-tourney.  Always cool to see different solutions! And none the schmofficial one, I guess?

Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and Langue_doc! Sounds like you are almost there too, ciao_yall.  I just started so have a few contenders but no luck yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 06, 2021, 09:22:21 AM
Messy 2fer. /whew.

Well into genius, still no pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 06, 2021, 12:35:28 PM
Yippee!  QB! 

And congratulations on QB today and yesterday, ab_grp, and on your 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 06, 2021, 01:21:54 PM
Yay! Congrats on your QB, cathwen!

And congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!  I still have to get back to that and see if I can find a mate.

I forgot to add to the discussion from last night about hints for the bee.  If husband and I get very stumped, we will compare hashes (# words starting w/ each letter) and try to help each other narrow down what we could be missing.  But when we are both missing the same words and stumped and just trying for impure team QB, we first look at the nytbee site mentioned earlier to see how many words there are of each length.  Then, we move on to https://www.shunn.net/bee/latest (https://www.shunn.net/bee/latest) to try to get some more scaffolded help if we need it.

WARNING: there are several settings you can choose on Shunn's site.  I usually choose "hide solution set" (which was selected already when I went to the link just now), "show 2-letter tally" and and "show compound distribution" (not currently selected when I looked at the link I included above), and then just only look at whichever is the next step in scaffolding (like how many words start with each letter) and ignore the rest until I need more help.  From top to bottom, the selections I mentioned should give you:


As you can see, this can give you a little more control over which kinds of hints you want to see.  You could start out by not allowing it to show much of all and then rerun it with other options selected.  I had heard of this site often but finally just took a look at it last week and like that kind of control, personally.  I think some of the above is posted in the Wordplay blog, but I don't want to stumble across anything I don't want to see, so I tend to avoid that.

If you have made QB already, definitely go ahead and check it out and play around with the options, and you won't risk giving yourself any info that would have spoiled it.  If not and you want to check it out, of course please do!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 06, 2021, 01:48:30 PM
Thanks! That's usually what they post on the Wordplay blog, so this works better for me.

I am missing 3 words, one of which is the pangram.

I
MI
MU


ETA: Went to the wordplay blog for the definitions hints. Gahh, those were easy. So still stuck on the I which I assume is the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 06, 2021, 02:58:18 PM
Try rearranging the letters--you'll see the word.

I had decided not to pursue the bee to the bitter end, but once I saw the QBs on this thread, decided to forge ahead, and got to QB. I found the unrecognizable words early on, so finding the remaining four words didn't take up much time.

I'm curious about the "ship" words, ciao_yall. Let us know tomorrow.

ab_grp, let me know if you need a hint for LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 06, 2021, 03:31:44 PM
Ciao_yall, yep I think the Wordplay blog is sometimes a little too much help.  I'm glad if the Shunn site is better for you as well.  And there is a word that is not in the puzzle today (missing the M) that is pretty similar to the pangram.   At least, that's how husband happened upon it.  It's more used in my line of work than his, so I was more familiar with it or maybe more primed to see it.

Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! It wasn't that bitter of an end, though, right? :-)  And sure, if you are around and want to send some LB hints, that would be great.  I keep finding more contenders but need to figure out what to do with a couple letters that keep ending up in my remainders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 07, 2021, 05:41:33 AM
Good morning!

Stuck at amazing today with a pangram. But, much to my surprise, found a twofer.

coxing/graceful; ab_grp, I don't think my hints were useful as I couldn't explain either word.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 07, 2021, 06:16:52 AM
Good morning, everyone!

I am also stuck at amazing with the pangram.  I think that SB will be slow today, in spite of not having a huge number of points.

LB:  graceful-lexicon, so a combination of the "official" solution and Langue_doc's solution.   I have a 2fer today, too, but it's probably not very "efficient," as both words are long.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 07, 2021, 08:30:57 AM
SB - imputing? Gah! What an easy word!

LB - ungraceful-lexicon. My "ships" were courage and flexing which I was able to "plug" with elf.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2021, 09:00:33 AM
Good morning!

Thanks very much for the hints, Langue_doc! I don't think I would have gotten coxing, but once I saw that word in your follow up I was able to get graceful.  They are difficult words to hint at! I ended up getting the schmofficial solution, seeing lexicon first.

Not at Alpha (almost! 127), despite only having two dumb words left that are obviously a little long.  Waah.  There are a couple (in my opinion) sort of obscure words that I either remembered or happened upon.

Congrats on your 2fers today already, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer! Yeah!! Sounds like a different one than cathwen, as mine is more lopsided.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 07, 2021, 09:52:33 AM
Status... Amazing with pangram; messy 2fer but keeping it.

Thanks for the tip on the bee solver site! You are right, it doesn't give too much away. If I get really stuck I can go to the Wordplay blog to see the definitions.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 07, 2021, 10:35:13 AM
Well, I'm at Beta, with three words to go.  The solver site is really helpful, as it has narrowed down the letters the missing words begin with.  Also their length.  You would think that I would be sailing to QB with that kind of help, but nope.  But at least I know to concentrate on words beginning with only certain letters.  So some of the words are obscure, eh?  Hmmm. 

Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  I'm enjoying reading all the variations from yesterday.  It appears that we'll have some variety tomorrow, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2021, 10:48:16 AM
I got to a team QB a bit ago after asking husband how many 8 letter words he had and what they started with.  Strangely, I had the one he usually gets, but knowing what the other two started with helped me figure them out.

He still has 3 four-letter words to go, I think, and it is some of the four-letter words that I thought were maybe a little harder to get, so I have a suspicion about at least two of them.  But that doesn't meant they will be obscure for everyone! Good luck with the final three, cathwen!

I am really glad the solver site helps narrow things down as you wish to do! I should have tried that out long ago.  It didn't help us get titivate the other day, despite knowing the remaining word was 8 letters, started with T, and was not a compound.  So it doesn't always help with sailing to QB, but it gives a bit of a boost.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall, messy or not.  That sounds like yet another solution!

Gotta get on the hard sudoku so I can finish all puzzles before my call this afternoon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 07, 2021, 03:13:09 PM
Just missed genius yesterday, got there today with the pangram and without too much trouble.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2021, 05:05:36 PM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus! I was glad that the pangram popped out pretty easily, because I think if it hadn't it could have taken me a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 07, 2021, 07:21:51 PM
Achieved soon after I posted, but wasn't near my computer by then.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 08, 2021, 05:52:43 AM
Good morning! Missed ocotillo; glad I didn't spend much time trying to find this word as I wouldn't have guessed it.

Past genius today with a pangram, which I found three words into the puzzle. Easy so far.

reverberation/nicely

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 08, 2021, 06:49:17 AM
Good morning! 

I also missed ocotillo.  I'd never heard the word before, but my husband, who spent his teen years in Arizona, knew exactly what it was and brought up a picture on his iPhone.  I also missed torii. 

Today I am at genius with the pangram. 

LB:  I had inviolable-electricity.  I found a 2fer today without much trouble. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 08, 2021, 08:06:52 AM
SB accepted coir yesterday. This is a word that has been consistently rejected in the past and which I keep trying just out of orneriness.

ETA Twofer!

Stuck at 200, so will put it away for now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2021, 08:26:41 AM
Good morning!

I got ocotillo because that's one that husband always gets (but missed), as there are some either in or near our yard.  I cannot keep track of the flora here.  I thought it had an A for some reason but am glad I tried it. Tricolor and rototill were my final two.

Today I'm at 195 but running out of steam.  Hopefully more words will come later.

My LB was celebration-navy.  Lots of solutions again! And all different than the schmofficial one.  Interested to see what ciao_yall found.  I thought it was funny that yesterday's pangram vitriolic was in the LB and meant to go back and try to find a mate for it but forgot to.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 08, 2021, 08:35:13 AM
Morning! SB wouldn't take otic yesterday, which is odd because it usually takes certain medical and scientific terms. ototillic? New word...

ETA: Amazing with pangram, genius should tip soon. ETA^2: Genius! Now for the quest for QB.

LB - nonverbal-licitly Haven't looked yet this morning.

ETA: Quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2021, 09:08:02 AM
Congrats on the 2fers today, cathwen, Langue_doc, and ciao_yall! And yet another different solution to yesterday's contributed by ciao_yall.

Langue_doc, I meant to mention that I had also thought coir hadn't previously been accepted, and I think I tried it because I recalled you had mentioned that much earlier in the thread.  I could be wrong about that, but either way you are to thank for me coming up with it yesterday!

ETA: Yay, got a 2fer! And sudokus done (until new ones come out this afternoon).  Back to the bee shortly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2021, 10:56:00 AM
Got to QB! I don't think there were any weird words, just hard to figure out what to do with the Y at times.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 08, 2021, 11:23:31 AM
One 8-point word away from QB, and I am stumped.  Congratulations on your success, ab_grp!

ETA:  Woo-hoo!  Got it! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2021, 12:04:02 PM
Yahoo! Congrats, cathwen! I was stumped for a bit at the end there, too, but with different words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 08, 2021, 01:49:37 PM
Congrats, all. Finally made it to QB. Finally, because I've been stuck on Vertex and so didn't get to continue on the bee until now. Not only have I not made any progress beyond about 10 connections, but this is the first time I've been stuck as I've always managed to complete Vertex soon after tackling the bee.

ab_grp, I might have complained about coir not being accepted on this thread. The letters appear quite frequently in the puzzles, but the word has never been accepted until today. There might have been several complaints, hence the change.

Looking forward to seeing our LB solutions tomorrow. I hope we have different solutions as these are much more interesting than the ones in the NYT.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2021, 02:05:15 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! I appreciate any complaining you did here that prompted my remembering that word! Good luck with Vertex, and I agree that our solution group typically beats the schmofficial one.   I kind of wish it would tell me if I found the schmofficial solution so I would know to try to work on finding another one. ;-)  Well, I guess I should be happy if I get one at all.  Mine came too easily, so I might need to look for a second (more interesting) one.   

ETA: Okay, I've found two more, totally different, solutions for LB and am going to try to find more.  At least two are not the schmofficial one! Ha, LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 08, 2021, 03:53:41 PM
Made it to genius with the pangram, and found an easy LB 2er. Whew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 09, 2021, 06:36:36 AM
Good morning, everyone!

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on genius and the easy 2fer!  And ab_grp—I can't wait to see what you got for LB.  Several solutions—wow!

Today's SB is one of those high-points one, but most of the words are easy ones.  I have gotten to Alpha with seven words to go.  I'm stumped at the moment, but will keep going back to it.

LB:  Yesterday I had voice-equestrian.  I have also found one for today.

Langue_doc, I agree that yesterday's Vertex was really hard!  It took me an age to get all the connections right.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 09, 2021, 08:02:44 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on genius and the 2fer, Parasaurolophus!

I'm at 353/67 today, so one more word to QB! Hopefully that one will make itself evident.  Good luck, cathwen! I know you will get to QB! I agree, easy words so far, just some beekeeping.

For LB, I ended up with 5 solutions, though none were schmofficial.  I should have gotten that one! I got the same as cathwen, plus conquest-trivia, avaricious-sequent, quartic-conserve, and contrivances-square.  Can't wait to see what everyone else found! And congrats on getting a 2fer already today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 09, 2021, 08:17:57 AM
Good morning!

Above 300 on the bee.

equestrian/novice

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 09, 2021, 09:17:33 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on May 08, 2021, 03:53:41 PM
Made it to genius with the pangram, and found an easy LB 2er. Whew!

Congrats!

SB - yesterday could have made QB but petered out somewhere along the way. All words I could have and should have gotten, except maybe nonmayoral.

LB - conquest-trivia and while I rarely go back for seconds, came back to convictions-square.

Happy solving, everyone. Just barely getting started so no much excitement to report.

ETA: Genius, 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 09, 2021, 10:02:35 AM
My LB was quartic-covens.

I have three pangrams today and am about 30 shy of genius. I think I'll see if a break dislodges anything. And I suppose I should take a stab at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 09, 2021, 10:53:23 AM
Wow, lots of solutions yesterday! And congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

Made it to QB, so good luck out there.  No luck on LB so far, and still struggling with hard sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 09, 2021, 01:47:31 PM
Yippee!  QB! 

Congratulations, ab_grp, on your QB. 

There sure were a lot of answers to yesterday's LB!  I wonder how much variety there will be with today's?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 09, 2021, 01:59:51 PM
Congrats on your QB, cathwen!

I finally got a 2fer today, but I doubt I will find any more.  I guess I used up that luck yesterday! But it was good practice.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 09, 2021, 09:52:33 PM
Found a fourth pangram and got to genius. That's it for me fr today, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 10, 2021, 05:05:18 AM
Good morning!

Genius with a pangram today. Easy words so far. QB yesterday.

Crosswords and sudokus are done, and also vertex.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 06:32:04 AM
Morning!

SB - new words: longbow, blin. The rest I should have gotten, including ogling which I got when I woke up in the middle of the night, but alas, the Bee had switched to the new one.

I have a question - what are your strategies when you start to peter out to find new words? Mine include:


LB - hubs-skyjacking which was the official solution. Okay.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 10, 2021, 06:36:08 AM
Good morning, and congratulations on the various successes yesterday!

My LB was also the same as the "official" solution—hubs-skyjacking.  I have not yet found a 2fer today, though!

I'm at Alpha on today's SB, so we'll see what happens.  Three days of QB in a row is a little too much to hope for.  Most of the words so far are easy ones, but those last words are sometimes fairly obscure (at least, to me). 

Ciao_yall, when I hit a roadblock, I just play with the letters, typing in all kinds of combinations (which is how I got blin yesterday).  I don't really have a coherent strategy.  Looking at words backwards is something I haven't tried.

Well, back to LB to see if I can find a 2fer!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 07:03:00 AM
Quick genius, but 2fer looks like it may be tricky. Of course I'll probably find it as soon as I click off.

Another question - what is everyone's academic discipline? Are you all in English or Linguistics or something? Because you all have a knack for this!

Mine is business. So I'm quite happy with genius but now my competitive streak is awakened with the discovery of QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 10, 2021, 08:09:17 AM
Quick genius with pangram here, too. I think the QB potential is high, but we'll see.

Quote from: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 07:03:00 AM
Quick genius, but 2fer looks like it may be tricky. Of course I'll probably find it as soon as I click off.

Another question - what is everyone's academic discipline? Are you all in English or Linguistics or something? Because you all have a knack for this!

Mine is business. So I'm quite happy with genius but now my competitive streak is awakened with the discovery of QB.

Philosophy, but I'm behind the curve when it comes to the other solvers here! I stand in awe of you all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 10, 2021, 08:53:59 AM
Good morning!

Just got to QB not too long ago.  Any difficult-ish words have been in recent puzzles, I think.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc!

I got the schmofficial solution for LB yesterday as well. 

Ciao_yall, my background is math and stats, but I have been doing crosswords and cryptograms/cryptoquips since I was a wee kid (dad got me into them).  I think that helps.  As for approaches, I look back at my list to see if there are endings I can add or remove (though, ironically, today my final word was one I thought I had but didn't and luckily just tried it).  Then I type in words (usually compounds) that amuse me.  Then I try spelling normal words with the letters that are available (something like "pagoba" instead of pagoda) or see if maybe there is a variant.  Then the any letters that work together (can be collocated) approach, which sometimes actually works.  I often sound words out in my head, too, while doing other things... just play around with the letters, and sometimes that brings a word to mind.  I don't know... every puzzle is different.  I try to remember the harder or more obscure words that I miss and try not to miss them again, though that does not always work.  Who knows! I am interested to hear strategies, though!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 10, 2021, 08:58:16 AM
Those are my strategies as well, although I always feel a bit embarrassed when I'm deliberately misspelling something or substituting available letters. =p
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 10, 2021, 09:16:35 AM
Yeah, I get that and feel it too, but sometimes it works! I guess sometimes I am more embarrassed to enter some of the amusing compounds I come up with, especially knowing they can see some data (hopefully not that!).  If they ever find a way to remotely delete one's app, I am guessing I might be on that list.  Ha! I feel that it demonstrates creativity.

I forgot to mention that I got ships yesterday with jacking-bushy, but I think that's the closest I got until the schmofficial solution.  A couple contenders today, but the b4ss stuff is arggghh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 10:06:30 AM
Okay, just got a 3fer. Yeah the b4ss stuff is making me batty as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 10, 2021, 10:43:44 AM
After much frustration, I took a break and then went back to the puzzles.  QB!  2fer!  Now what am I going to do for the rest of the afternoon?  (I guess I really do have to clean the bathroom.)

My last word for SB was what I was sure was a misspelling, but I tried it just to see.  And voilà!

Congrats, Langue_doc and ab_grp, on your QBs! 

Ciao_yall asked what our disciplines are.  I am in linguistics, specifically French.  I've studied a bunch of other languages, but although I read Spanish and Italian passably well, I really don't speak them well at all.  I had just enough Latin to be able to do Romance linguistics.  I know a very little bit of German, Romanian, and Welsh as well.  ("cathwen" means "white cat" in Welsh.  White animals were thought to have magical powers in medieval Celtic legends. And I love cats.). 




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 10, 2021, 11:00:28 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 10, 2021, 10:43:44 AM
("cathwen" means "white cat" in Welsh.  White animals were thought to have magical powers in medieval Celtic legends. And I love cats.).

Oh, that's lovely!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 10, 2021, 11:04:55 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on May 10, 2021, 11:00:28 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 10, 2021, 10:43:44 AM
("cathwen" means "white cat" in Welsh.  White animals were thought to have magical powers in medieval Celtic legends. And I love cats.).

Oh, that's lovely!

+1, and I love cats, too.  Congrats on your QB and 2fer, white cat! Now I can say I speak Welsh.  Ta-da! ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 12:40:57 PM
Quote from: cathwen on May 10, 2021, 10:43:44 AM
After much frustration, I took a break and then went back to the puzzles.  QB!  2fer!  Now what am I going to do for the rest of the afternoon?  (I guess I really do have to clean the bathroom.)

My last word for SB was what I was sure was a misspelling, but I tried it just to see.  And voilà!

Congrats, Langue_doc and ab_grp, on your QBs! 

Ciao_yall asked what our disciplines are.  I am in linguistics, specifically French.  I've studied a bunch of other languages, but although I read Spanish and Italian passably well, I really don't speak them well at all.  I had just enough Latin to be able to do Romance linguistics.  I know a very little bit of German, Romanian, and Welsh as well.  ("cathwen" means "white cat" in Welsh.  White animals were thought to have magical powers in medieval Celtic legends. And I love cats.).

No wonder you get the 2fers so fast! I was surprised the first time you did LB and got a 2fer on the first try! I had a mild case of LB-envy.

Still stuck on variations of the same 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 10, 2021, 01:34:15 PM
Got a 2fer! So many b4ss, but finally a contender and mate.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 03:30:00 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on May 10, 2021, 01:34:15 PM
Got a 2fer! So many b4ss, but finally a contender and mate.

Congratulations! I can't get the b, v, and/or z in one word without running into b4ss issues.

I do have b and z in one word. Woohoo.

If anyone feels like sending hints, I'm about to go on a long Zoom call to observe our Board meeting and could use some entertainment. And i don't want to go to the solver site. Not yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2021, 05:08:27 PM
2fer b4ss. I looked up scientific terms. Not there yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 11, 2021, 05:28:00 AM
QB yesterday; almost genius with a pangram.

vandalized/doubt

I don't use any strategies other than trying to remember words that I encountered in previous puzzles. I recall oolong and muumuu in recent puzzles; although these are words that I don't use, I knew that I should try them out as I had encountered them in previous bees. I also grew up reading whatever I could get my hands on and playing word games. The schools I went to insisted on correct spellings, which also helps with the puzzles. Knowing bird-words such as tomtit and pippit also helps as does trying suffixes and prefixes. I recently found a correct word because I remembered missing the same word (prefix non-) not too long ago. I resort to the NYT bee website if I'm stuck after getting to genius. Yesterday, for instance, I knew that I had found all the 4-letter words for the day, and also the long one (bumblebee) which I recall was a word that I missed in a previous puzzle because I had thought that this was a compound.

Happy solving, all!

ETA genius
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 11, 2021, 07:49:50 AM
Morning!

SB - Missed a few I should have gotten. Oh well. Goal is QBAM.

LB - Combo of hints from ab_grp and the online solver and finally got the 2fer vandalized-doubt. Early on I found analize which didn't take, so I figured it wasn't taking alternative spelling -ize endings but now that I look at it, I realize i should have kept playing. 2fer b4ss was benzidine-evaluation.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2021, 08:22:48 AM
Good morning!

So far, it sounds as though we all got the schmofficial solution, but cathwen hasn't come by the thread yet.  Ciao_yall, I'm glad the hints helped.  Trying to send from my phone + wine = who knows! I thought nebulized might work but couldn't get a mate for it.

Today I'm at 161 in the bee with 4 words left, but it feels tough! Langue_doc, I agree that reading a lot from a young age also helps a lot with these puzzles (I'll thank my dad for that as well).  I think my last words yesterday were dumbbell and mull.  Usually I can get all the 4 letters pretty easy, but I guess I thought I already had that one since I had mulled.  Glad I finally just started typing every 4-letter I could think of.  And congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 11, 2021, 08:40:55 AM
Morning!

SB - At genius now. I think for me it's the words being top of mind. I hit genius, then peter out. Come back and add a few more here and there. The ones I missed were words I easily knew, and probably with a nudge from the wordplay blog I could have gotten them.

LB - 3fers abound, hope a 2fer is nigh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 11, 2021, 08:41:50 AM
Good morning!

LB:  I also got the "official" solution yesterday.  I don't yet have one for today.

SB:  I am at Alpha with two words left.  Yesterday, my last word was dumdum, which I tried in desperation; I was surprised when SB accepted it, as I thought it might be hyphenated or not even counted as a "real" word (too slangy).  I guess it just goes to show that one should not hesitate to try anything.

Well, now I'm off to see if I can find a solution to LB!

Happy puzzling!  And congratulations on all yesterday's successes!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 11, 2021, 08:46:05 AM
Cathwen: IIRC 'dumdum' is the official name for soft-nosed bullets. Even though it sounds dumb-dumb.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2021, 09:51:41 AM
Now I'm also at Alpha with two words left! Good luck, cathwen! Maybe we are missing the same words.  I agree, just try anything.  As usual, they are inconsistent today about which words they will accept. 

For LB, no luck yet aside from a contender or two.  Edited because I thought I had ships, but they were sunk by a b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2021, 12:00:45 PM
Just got to team QB.  The Shunn site doesn't seem to be producing the full list (at least when I ran it), so I will say make sure to try other spellings.

Time to get on a Zoom seminar and work on LB and the hard sudoku...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 11, 2021, 01:48:43 PM
SB - well into genius. Every time I get on I find another word or two but the pace is slowing.

LB - 2fer and a pretty clean one - only reuses one letter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 11, 2021, 01:54:10 PM
Parasaurolophus:  Now that you mention it, I have a very dim memory of having heard of dumdums.   But I would never have been able to answer the question, "What do you call soft-nosed bullets?"

I'm down to one 7-letter word in SB.  I am mystified.  Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!

And still no LB solution!  Lots of good words, though.  But no 2fers.  Ciao_yall, congratulations on yours!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2021, 02:00:33 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I got a bunch of contenders during the seminar, but nothing yet.

Good luck on your final bee word, cathwen! A 7-letter was my penultimate word, maybe the same one.  I hope you find whichever one it is!

ETA: Yay, got a 2fer.  Also pretty clean, one letter reused, and I'm glad I got a mate for this particular contender. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 11, 2021, 03:22:31 PM
Congrats, all.

I found a couple of interesting words, one of them derogatory, but couldn't find mates. Then I found two two-fers. Also QB.

I've been taking a break from the computer which means that my posts are limited to phrases and one-liners. Typing on the kindle is a pain as it takes me ages to correct autocorrect.

cathwen, hope you found the last word; if not, try suffixes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2021, 03:25:26 PM
Congrats on two 2fers and QB, Langue_doc! Maybe I will go try to look for another 2fer for practice.  I also tried a couple more interesting words that were not accepted.  Sounds like you might be suspecting the same word that I am that cathwen might be missing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 11, 2021, 03:40:50 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on May 11, 2021, 03:25:26 PM
Sounds like you might be suspecting the same word that I am that cathwen might be missing.

I think so too, ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 11, 2021, 05:32:30 PM
I did get the pangram, which caused me to add a suffix to many words, some of which actually took!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 11, 2021, 10:07:24 PM
Couldn't hack it today, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 12, 2021, 03:34:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Found a two-fer already.

homburgs/sacrist; tugboats/smirch; I didn't think sacrist was a word, but LB accepted it, so who am I to complain?

Couldn't find mates for scumbag(s) and sugarcoat(s).

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 12, 2021, 06:06:32 AM
Good morning, and congratulations on all the successes!

Yesterday was not a great puzzle day for me.  I never did succeed in finding a 2fer for LB, so I am especially impressed by the multiple solutions Langue_doc found!

As for yesterday's SB, I missed a abettal.  I could have sworn that I tried it once as one of those words I didn't think was a word and that SB might accept.  But apparently I either remembered wrong and never tried it in the first place, or mistyped it.  Oh well!

Today I am at genius with the pangram, and I have an LB solution.  I don't know how much more I'll be working on SB, since I have to grade final exams today and, barring difficult cases, report course grades to the university system. 

I will curious to see if anyone manages to get to QB today.  I find this particular puzzle difficult, even if low scoring.  I'm amazed I got to genius.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2021, 06:20:11 AM
Morning!

SB - 2 new words: abettal, tabla, and one I thought I had tried babel but it didn't take. This morning just barely getting started but found the pangram.

LB - butch-histogram which is the official solution. Langue_doc impressive! ETA: 2fer.

Happy solving today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2021, 08:26:28 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB this morning, no real tough words.  I think everything has been in the puzzle before.  Cathwen, I figured abettal was your missing word... it's a tough one to guess the ending on.

For LB yesterday, I also got butch-histogram, which I was happy with due to my use of the latter.  Congrats on your unique 2fers, Langue_doc, and don't worry! I got rimshots-scumbag.  I tried mightily for something with sugarcoat(s) because it seemed too unlikely to just be in there, but to no avail.

Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

ETA: 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2021, 11:28:29 AM
Not getting anywhere on the Bee. Stuck on "great" and have a major mental block.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 12, 2021, 11:34:39 AM
Just got to QB! 

I guess grading the exams and turning in grades gave me energy or something. 

Congratulations on your 2fer and QB, ab_grp!  And your 2fer, ciao_yall!  Sending positive vibes for getting unstuck on SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2021, 12:09:30 PM
Yay! Congrats on the QB, cathwen! I will add my bee juju to your positive vibes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2021, 12:17:06 PM
One more word, now at Amazing. Thanks to shunn I know what I'm missing. Maybe I'll head over to the wordplay blog to see if their hints shake something loose.

ETA: A new word, and one I thought was hyphenated, so Genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 12, 2021, 02:25:48 PM
Hooray, ciao-yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2021, 02:30:58 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! I got really stuck for a while before words started coming to me again.  I hope more and more start coming your way! It is a short puzzle, though, so you could be nearly done if already at genius.  Good luck!

Got another 2fer, but it's kind of related to my first one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 12, 2021, 02:57:20 PM
Looking for a second two-fer.

Weird puzzling day today as I made it to genius and found a two-fer by 6 AM. Made it to QB.

Autocorrect, it's "two-fer", not " Twitter ", you nitwit!

ETA. Second two-fer!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2021, 03:39:05 PM
Missing one word that starts with CO. The Wordplay crowd hasn't hinted the C's so I R stuck.

ETA: QB! Didn't think it was a word but it took. Woohoo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2021, 04:18:45 PM
Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! Ciao_yall, my final word was also a CO.  I'm glad you found it!

And congrats on your second 2fer, Langue_doc! Speaking of autocorrect, my phone has helpfully corrected several texts to my husband today.  First, I asked if he was ready to be *sheared* [hair, beard trimmed], and it dropped the first E, changing the meaning quite a bit!  And just now, it decided to go ahead and correct "husband" to "has been".  Yep, my handsome has been.   I have sent some interesting ones to my daughter as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2021, 04:45:34 PM
I also got a very quick second 2fer. Seems to be easy these days. Usually I don't bother once I have the first 2fer but this one happened on the first try.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 12, 2021, 07:16:55 PM
Close today, but still struggling with the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2021, 07:35:17 PM
Hope you get a big win soon, Parasaurolophus! Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 12, 2021, 09:59:14 PM
Whoops. I actually found the pangram this morning--it's the last few points I'm struggling with.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 13, 2021, 05:28:03 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I'm not sure if I'm going to get any more words.

judgement/sawing, and then adjustment/twig

ciao_yall, I couldn't give you any hints because when I'm on the kindle, I can only type basic sentences as it takes me forever just to type a sentence, and then even longer to correct autocorrect. ab_grp, sorry to hear that autocorrect practically eliminated your husband! I have to be on the computer for longer sentences, punctuation, copy and paste, and even for italics and boldface.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 13, 2021, 06:54:46 AM
Good morning!

My LB yesterday was judgements-sawing.   Today I found a 2fer as well.  Congratulations, Langue_doc and ab_grp, on finding not one, but two  2fers!

Parasaurolophus, I hope you got your last few points on SB yesterday!  Congratulations on QB, ciao_yall! 

Today's SB is at genius with the pangram, and that last point to genius was a struggle.  I don't think this will be a QB day. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 13, 2021, 07:43:05 AM
Good morning!

I am one dumb 4-letter word from QB! I usually get the 4-letter ones, and I am a little worried because my penultimate (5-letter) is something I have never heard of (as far as I know), and I was just typing stuff and found it.  But other than that, all the other words have been in the puzzle, as far as I can recall.  This one may have been as well, who knows.

For LB, I got adjudgements-swing and then judgements-swami, so I am not sure if they count as two or a little less.  Congrats on all your 2fers! And congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

Thanks about my nearly has been husband, Langue_doc.  I have a bad habit of dictating texts because I hate typing on my phone (similar reason for why I almost never engage here once I'm off the computer), and I sometimes don't look at it before sending.  Especially if it's normal words that I say often! Maybe I talk funny at times.  Or it just likes to screw around with me.  Half the time when texting my daughter, I don't notice it's on the Spanish keyboard and trying to parse my English as Spanish, which often sounds very strange and ridiculous.  But, we get a laugh out of it.

There is a spelling bee group on Facebook that is very active with about 5K members (NYTimes Spelling Bee).  The guidelines don't allow for posting spoilers the day of, but some do by accident (e.g., by saying word X isn't in there, but they may not have noticed that a part of word X is in there), so I tend to avoid it during the day.  But someone mentioned something there the other day: I had felt smart by realizing that genius is about 70% of total points and then calculating the total, but duh... we also knew that amazing is about 50%, so it's even easier to just double amazing to get an idea of total points, not requiring a calculator at all.  Of course there are rounding errors, and we mostly use the nytbee site now for exact totals.  I mentioned this to husband this morning, and he had never thought of just doubling amazing either, so I guess we probably have to turn in our math degrees.  Anyway, thought that might give someone a chuckle, and I wanted to mention that FB group as well in case it is of interest.  Sometimes folks post their general strategies, and there is plenty of complaining about what's included or not.   

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2021, 08:06:44 AM
Morning!

I don't have any social media on my phone, but I do have the puzzles and email on there. So I can't check the fora either.

SB - last word was coact which was kind of a wild guess. New words was toccata. Mostly others I got with subtle hints from the Wordplay blog. Maybe I'll achieve QBAM? Achieved it once!

I got adjustment-twig almost on the first try. Then later went back and almost instantly got judgements-swain.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2021, 09:19:26 AM
Pangram, genius. I found those FB groups - kind of a fun group!

Barely any progress on LB. Quite the snarl of b4ss options, eh? Did achieve a 3fer.

No LB groups online! But it's a hard one to play as a group.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 13, 2021, 10:15:57 AM
Finally got to QB.  Final word has been in the puzzle several times, but I just missed it for a while.  Whew.

I have a couple contenders for LB so far, but no luck yet.  Another seminar this afternoon, so more time to try for it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 13, 2021, 01:13:58 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  My hat is off to you.  Maybe in this season I should say mortarboard (or squashy velvet tam)! 

I admit that I am stumped, even with help from the Shunn site.  My remaining three words all begin with L, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what they are.  I keep seeing words that require an N, but of course there is no N.

I haven't checked out the Facebook group yet—sounds like a good group! 

And what a revelation about doubling amazing to get the number of total points (give or take)!  I never thought of that, although it had once occurred to me to see what percentage each category was.  Then the idea floated out of my mind. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2021, 01:56:10 PM
SB - not much new progress yet. The FB group gets all excited when they hit "genius" and I'm like geez, that's a Participation Trophy with the crowd I run with!

LB - 2fer b4ss. Tangly one today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 13, 2021, 02:20:55 PM
The l-words have appeared in recent puzzles. As for the doubling, this is how I've been calculating the scores needed for QB--must have read this somewhere.

QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 13, 2021, 02:47:15 PM
Congrats on QB, Langue_doc!

Cathwen, if you just have Ls left, then you already got the one I didn't know was a word, since it starts with a different letter.  Yep, the Ls have all been in there before.  If you use Shunn's two-letter frequency, you can definitely spot a couple of them based on their first two letters.   Assuming you got those, I have a guess at ones you might be missing and can give you a hint if you would like.  They are not necessarily easy words, but they have been in the puzzle several times and not too long ago, as Langue_doc noted.  Good luck!!

I am thinking that a bunch of the FB group folks are just newer to the puzzle, because there tends to be complaints about the same unaccepted words over and over, and a number of folks seem not to have heard of words that have been in the puzzle many, many, many times.  I guess with that many members, there's bound to be a good bit of variation.  It's got some good info now and again, but I definitely prefer this group's company!

Still no luck on LB yet, but the seminar I was in was too good to be distracted from (which is definitely a good thing).  I have a couple more contenders, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2021, 04:49:12 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on May 13, 2021, 02:47:15 PM
Congrats on QB, Langue_doc!

Cathwen, if you just have Ls left, then you already got the one I didn't know was a word, since it starts with a different letter.  Yep, the Ls have all been in there before.  If you use Shunn's two-letter frequency, you can definitely spot a couple of them based on their first two letters.   Assuming you got those, I have a guess at ones you might be missing and can give you a hint if you would like.  They are not necessarily easy words, but they have been in the puzzle several times and not too long ago, as Langue_doc noted.  Good luck!!

I am thinking that a bunch of the FB group folks are just newer to the puzzle, because there tends to be complaints about the same unaccepted words over and over, and a number of folks seem not to have heard of words that have been in the puzzle many, many, many times.  I guess with that many members, there's bound to be a good bit of variation.  It's got some good info now and again, but I definitely prefer this group's company!

Still no luck on LB yet, but the seminar I was in was too good to be distracted from (which is definitely a good thing).  I have a couple more contenders, though.

SB - hit the shunn site. Found two with aided recall through the first two letters. Still missing two LA and two MA words.  We'll see if they are new words for me or brain farts.

Yeah I've had a good run of 3fers and 2fer b4ss solutions, so it will either come soon or be a real head-smacker.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2021, 07:40:26 PM
Okay, threw it in.

SB - 2 new words, 2 I can't guess even with hints from the bee.

LB - solver site - doable, but I didn't have either word even in a 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 13, 2021, 08:38:59 PM
I got nothing in this jawn despite numerous good contenders and am looking forward to learning what solutions there are!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 13, 2021, 10:07:21 PM
Pangram short of genius today, and I'm done for the night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 14, 2021, 05:47:52 AM
Good morning!

chyme got me to genius yesterday. I don't know why I typed the word, other than orneriness and also thinking of chime, but it worked. This was the only new word in the puzzle. I knew to look for lamella and lamellae as these were in a recent puzzle. I missed these words on a much earlier puzzle remembered to try them a few days (or weeks) ago.

Got to genius, but no pangram.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 14, 2021, 06:32:40 AM
Morning!

SB - New words: chyme, lamella, lamellae. Missed mayhem /headsmack.

LB - Help from the online solver and got anguish-honeydew. Found words that were close yang, guise, hoedown, howdy and several 2fer b4ss sideways-shogun and guideways-snowshoe.

Just getting started this morning so happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 14, 2021, 06:49:05 AM
Good morning! 

I threw in the towel last night and checked SB answers.  I missed lamella, lamellae, and lemma, even with help from the Shunn site (I knew I needed two LA words and one LE word).  Now I remember having seen them before, so I hope I don't miss them again!  I don't know why I got chyme.  Just random combos out of desperation, I suppose.

Today I am at genius with the pangram.

As for LB, I got the "official" solution for yesterday's, and I have a 2fer for today's. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 14, 2021, 08:17:59 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday, chyme was penultimate and I think was also orneriness similar to Langue_doc's, as I was missing a four letter word and just typing stuff like chym and ended up typing the actual word.  Definitely surprised, never heard of it as far as I know.  Final was amyl, which I should have gotten earlier, but at least I finally figured that out.

Argh on LB!! I had anguish and a bunch of others like hoedown, howdy, showdown, and it even took designy (if it had taken hoedowny or showdowny it would have been a dang 2fer).  Oh well! Hopefully today is easier.  Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen! I was super impressed yesterday too since the rest of us could not seem to get anywhere.

We are way behind on puzzles, as I woke up too early, took a decongestant, and then slept too late.  Now we have a busy morning, but hopefully the sleep helped.  Just got crossword done and started on the bee but may not be able to get back to it until afternoon and need coffee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 14, 2021, 09:41:09 AM
SB - hit genius.

LB - 2fer b4ss. ETA: 2fer!

We'll see how the rest of the day goes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 14, 2021, 10:55:30 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall! I have some contenders, but nothing yet.

Finally got to do some puzzling after husband got back early and my seminar ended early, but we are not at Alpha (yet?).  This puzzle seems to be a struggle.  I feel like I've gotten quite a few bee words, but I am obviously missing something.  Still have to start on sudokus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 14, 2021, 11:18:52 AM
Yippee!  QB! 

The last two words were hard, and I found them just by playing around.  And some help from Shunn, so I knew which letter the words began with. 

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 14, 2021, 11:56:59 AM
Yeehaw! Congrats, cathwen!  I am hoping to get back to it in a bit, but I still have a couple words to go (5, looks like).

ETA: Finally got to an impure team QB.  Ugh, a lot of bee words in there today! The final two were tough.  One I happened on, and the other I finally remembered from a previous puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 14, 2021, 04:08:44 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on May 14, 2021, 11:56:59 AM
Yeehaw! Congrats, cathwen!  I am hoping to get back to it in a bit, but I still have a couple words to go (5, looks like).

ETA: Finally got to an impure team QB.  Ugh, a lot of bee words in there today! The final two were tough.  One I happened on, and the other I finally remembered from a previous puzzle.

Congrats! After being stuck at just-into-Genius I went to the shunn site. Only 33 words out of 42! Even the starting letter count isn't triggering anything. Did already have all the N-words, so yay me.

Did find a few more 3fers and 2fer b4ss but still just the one 2fer which I cling to like a faded Prom Queen sash from the pinnacle of my accomplishments... if I had even been prom queen, which I wasn't. So, it's just sad.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 14, 2021, 04:18:50 PM
Just realized that it's Friday and not Saturday. Staying off electronic devices so that I can clear my brain. Found a two-fer; haven't looked at the bee since morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 14, 2021, 04:27:36 PM
Up to 37... one just playing with letters, 3 that I remembered after looking at the 2-letter grid. 6 left to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 14, 2021, 04:35:43 PM
You'll get there, ciao_yall! 

By the way, I was never a Prom Queen, either.  Heck, I wasn't even a contender! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 14, 2021, 05:03:25 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Good luck on the bee, ciao_yall! I wasn't in the running for prom queen, but one of the contenders wore the same dress as me.  Model and now actress! It was grand. /s
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 15, 2021, 07:16:30 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  What did you get?  Mine was champagnes-saliva

SB:  genius with pangram.  I might be out most of the day, and if so, will probably not get back to it. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 15, 2021, 08:21:44 AM
Morning!

SB - new words: adamancy, canid and the rest I should have known.

LB - champagne-evils which was official. Someone was feeling a bit Puritan when they created this puzzle? Also had two 2fss mavens-schlepping and pavings-schlemiel.

Happy solving! Going for a hike for the first time in over a year (fires, then pandemic) with a group of nice people I lost touch with. So looking forward to seeing everyone again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2021, 08:24:28 AM
Good morning!

Didn't get to complete the bee last night; haven't looked at the solutions yet.

Late morning, got to genius and a pangram.

champagne/evils

Crosswords and sudokus were done last night and just completed vertex.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2021, 09:01:54 AM
Good morning!

I got the schmofficial solution too, champagne-evils.  It took a while to figure out how to use up so many tough letters.  I tried for other solutions, but no luck.  I'm glad you got a different one than the rest of us, cathwen! And congrats on your 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc! Sorry I missed mentioning that while on my phone last night.

Struggling with the bee, lots of beekeeping.  I'm at 228, so not at Alpha, but I'll try more later.  My final words yesterday were canid and minyan.

Have a great hike with your friends, ciao_yall!

Off to do sudokus and see what LB has in store.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 15, 2021, 09:37:07 AM
So far...

SB - Amazing with pangram and a few SB specials. So it will be a slow one today.

LB - lots of 3fers and one 2fer b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2021, 09:50:33 AM
Try prefixes and suffixes. Also archaic plurals.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2021, 10:38:02 AM
Now I have three words left in the bee (260).  As usual, I am unhappy with the inconsistency of what is accepted or not.  Will try more later! Yep, lots of prefix and/or suffixes to try.

Still have hard sudoku and haven't looked at LB yet...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2021, 11:27:32 AM
Lopsided twofer, but was accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2021, 11:45:16 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, Langue_doc!

I just got a 2fer as well, not lopsided, so maybe I'll try for others as practice later, since it sounds as though there is more than one.

Haven't gotten back to the bee yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2021, 12:01:19 PM
Congrats to you too, ab_grp. There are probably more twofers lurking around, given the possible endings. I didn't need the ending though.

I think I need four more words for the bee. Almost all the words so far have appeared on previous puzzles.

ETA QB! I needed only three words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2021, 12:47:34 PM
Thanks, and good luck on the bee, Langue_doc! I have one more word left, which husband has found (he made it to QB), but I am still struggling with it.  It's kind of a tiring puzzle trying to figure out what to try with the prefixes and suffixes.  But I think all the words I have so far have been in there before or are words that are not too obscure.

ETA: I was going to mention that I also did not use the ending that I thought I would have needed to solve LB (maybe the ending you're referring to), so I might try for some with that one.  But when I looked back at the puzzle, I swear the font is different.  Is it just me? I just looked at my phone, which has yesterday's and that is sans serif font (same as when I just reloaded it to today's puzzle), whereas when I just reloaded on my computer the font had serifs.  Hmm.  Maybe they have always been different fonts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 15, 2021, 04:49:13 PM
SB - genius but a slog at this point. May check the shunn site. ETA: shunn site points out that I am wayyyyyyy off. ab-grp I may check again if you say they are not too obscure.

LB - 2fer and a few b4ss solutions. Langue_Doc, my 2fer was pretty evenly balanced.

Great city walk/hike today, but I R bushed!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 15, 2021, 09:22:48 PM
Blah, haven't been able to devote enough time to the bee today. Found the pangram but will end 40 short.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 16, 2021, 06:52:00 AM
Good morning!

33 words and 155 points so far. It took some effort to find the pangram.

stewardship/ping

ab_grp, I have the same fonts for LB on all the devices. I recall noticing a few months ago that one of the puzzles had different fonts on different devices, but am not too sure of the details. I do all the puzzling on the kindle, but checked the computer and the phone yesterday after seeing your post.

Happy solving, all!

ETA. QB! Easy words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 16, 2021, 07:46:07 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on May 15, 2021, 09:22:48 PM
Blah, haven't been able to devote enough time to the bee today. Found the pangram but will end 40 short.

I had a last look as I was bedding down and made it. Phew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 16, 2021, 07:58:36 AM
Morning!

SB: Yesterday - missed a bunch I should have gotten, although I recognized landau but may never have guessed it. At genius pretty quickly this morning.

LB - dearths-swiping which may be a commentary on Sam's luck these days with Tinder? This morning - some progress but no 3fers yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 16, 2021, 09:05:59 AM
Good afternoon!

I was one word short of QB yesterday, and I am almost embarrassed to say what it was:  unladed.  I had unladen and unlade, and laded—and I thought I had put in unladed.  But no.  Oh well!

Today I am at genius with the pangram. 

We have quite a variety of LBs from yesterday!  Mine was twinges-sharped..  After a lot of fiddling, I found a 2fer today. 

Congratulations, Parasaurolophus, on your success yesterday!  And Langue_doc, on making QB already today!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 16, 2021, 09:34:17 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 16, 2021, 09:05:59 AM
Good afternoon!

I was one word short of QB yesterday, and I am almost embarrassed to say what it was:  unladed.  I had unladen and unlade, and laded—and I thought I had put in unladed.  But no.  Oh well!

Today I am at genius with the pangram. 

We have quite a variety of LBs from yesterday!  Mine was twinges-sharped..  After a lot of fiddling, I found a 2fer today. 

Congratulations, Parasaurolophus, on your success yesterday!  And Langue_doc, on making QB already today!

Congrats on your LB-fu. I have a 3fer and a few words that use up tricky letters but hasn't come together yet.

ETA: 2fer! Now waiting for husband to pass over the crossword so I can finish it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 16, 2021, 09:56:43 AM
Whew, easy genius and pangram today. Now for LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 16, 2021, 10:01:58 AM
Just got to QB! 

Hooray for the 2fer, ciao_yall, and for genius, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 16, 2021, 10:42:57 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Well, husband decided to wake me up at 3 AM to take him on a date to Ye Olde Emergency Room.  So as not to bury the lede, he has walking pneumonia (fortunately not a blood clot!), so we were finally sent home after 6 hours with some prescriptions and are both pretty danged tired.  But, since the ER is really not that exciting (if you're lucky, and I am grateful that our trip wasn't due to a more exciting issue), and since the puzzles had come out, I got to spend a fair amount of time on them while trying not to fall asleep.  SO, to the report:

Got to QB after finally remembering three dumb words.  The crossword today was an awful pain and took nearly an hour, but I don't know how much the situation and sleepiness had to do with that.  Congrats on QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen, and on geniuses, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus! Cathwen, I think husband's final two yesterday were unlade and unladed, despite having unladen.  I forget what mine were.

I found 3 solutions yesterday on LB: prawns-sighted, pageants-wardship, and digraphs-stewing.  Haven't really looked at it today, yet.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall!

As for the font, when I reloaded it on my computer again, it was back to sans serif.  If it happens again, I will try to remember to take a screenshot.

Now trying to catch up on water, food, coffeeeeeeeeeeeeee.  Unfortunately, we have to go back out (or I do) to pick up husband's antibiotic and painkiller later.   And hard sudoku.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 16, 2021, 10:53:57 AM
Agree on today's Sunday crossword. Plus it's inconsistent.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 16, 2021, 12:23:41 PM
I just finished the crossword.  I agree—it is extremely annoying.  Will Shortz, what were you thinking?

Ab_grp, I send healing vibes to your husband (glad it wasn't as serious as you thought it might be).  And I hope that you are able to get some rest! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 16, 2021, 12:28:51 PM
Sorry to hear about husband's illness, but glad you're both home. Sending healing thoughts and wishes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 16, 2021, 02:04:50 PM
Thank you for the kind wishes, cathwen and Langue_doc.  We are both trying to stay awake and to time meds appropriately, etc.  Will be an earlier bedtime than usual, and I hope he can sleep.  It's been too painful for him to lie down, so hopefully the painkillers will at least let him rest in the recliner.  I know he is happy to have the brain-scraping covid test in the rearview among the million tests he had today.  All things considered, could have been worse, and it was much better than the last trip (heart attack).  Truly, truly thankful not to have to stay overnight again.  Just not much to do but take the meds and wait it out.

Finally swung a 2fer! I had come up with what I thought were a couple good contenders but ended up with a solution in a different direction.  Maybe I will try more later with the other contenders.

And I finally finished today's hard sudoku in time for tomorrow's.  It took a very long while.

As for the crossword, I had seen Rex P's tweet decrying it last night, but he is often grouchy about the NYT crossword.  But I was not a fan, and it sounds as though I am not alone on that in this group.  And whew... last time I checked several hours ago, there were nearly 500 Wordplay blog comments.  That is not usually a good sign, and some of them were pretty harsh! Not really undeserved, though, I thought.  Sundays are usually long enough hauls without those kinds of shenanigans.  I didn't even know what the theme stuff meant until I had totally solved it.   Not worth it, in my opinion.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 16, 2021, 06:29:03 PM
ab_grp, glad he is doing better and it isn't serious. A few years ago my DH and I did a few trips to the hospital/emergency room for him. Just one thing after another. Became very grateful for health insurance, a reliable car, and some disposable income to afford paying for parking in the garage.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 17, 2021, 06:32:34 AM
Morning! Up early to go to the gym. It's right around the corner so I'm not that dedicated. Don't hate me cuz I'm buff.

SB - new word gaff (thought it was spelled gaffe) and a few bee specials I should remember by now - gaga, wanna, wigwag, wigwagging.  Starting this morning fresh!

LB - got the official solution polemic-chintzy. Anyone get anything else?

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 17, 2021, 07:15:11 AM
Good morning!

wigwag and wigwagging appeared in a puzzle not too long ago; I think I got both words then by playing around with words. I also remembered to look for wanna as I had missed wanna and gonna when I first started on the bee. I had assumed that gaff was one of the people in the movie industry and was listed in the credits.

Above genius, but no pangram yet.

hemophilic/chintzy

Sunday's crossword was a pain in the behind, so I took a peek at the solution. I like challenges, but not puzzles that are out to get you or show off the "cleverness" of the puzzle setter.

ab_grp, hope your husband is feeling better and you both have had some sleep.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2021, 09:19:23 AM
Good morning!

Thanks again for the good wishes! We went to bed early and slept pretty well, definitely much better than the previous night! He's still in a bunch of pain, but hopefully the antibiotics will continue to work at it and the painkillers will take some of the edge off.  I wish there were more to do about it.  Ciao_yall, I'm sorry that you and your husband had a bunch of dates to the ER as well.  Definitely glad for the things you mentioned, though at least parking is free at our hospital.  Health insurance is definitely a plus! When we went last time, which was very obviously an emergency, we found out after that though the hospital is in network the ER docs rotate, and the one who saw him was not in network.  What are you supposed to do, just disconnect him from all the equipment and call around to find another emergency doc to treat a heart attack in progress? It was a whole thing of paperwork for most of the year.  And fun for a heart attack survivor to have to deal with.  But, we are definitely fortunate.  And good on you for getting to the gym and being buff!

I was so happy to find wigwag and wigwagging after missing them before! Those and then wanna were my final words yesterday.  Just got to genius today so far (106), moving slowly, but I did see the pangram right away, luckily. 

My LB yesterday was chipotle-enzyme.  I had polemicize as one of my contenders, but I couldn't figure out what to do with it and didn't want to give up the ending.  Should have!

Sorry the crossword was a slog for you too yesterday, Langue_doc.  It does seem as though some puzzles might be more fun for the creator than the solvers, unfortunately.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 17, 2021, 09:29:36 AM
Genius with pangram and 2fer.

A gaffer works in the movie industry, but it didn't take gaffing. Didn't even think of "to gaff" in its infinitive form.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2021, 10:30:27 AM
Congrats on your bee progress and 2fer, ciao_yall!

After breakfast, I was able to get to one word away from QB (141).  I will try again later.  Still haven't looked at LB or done the hard sudoku yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 17, 2021, 10:42:47 AM
Good afternoon!

I only got wigwag/wigwagging and wanna because I remembered them from previous puzzles.  I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten them otherwise.  I tried gaff, thinking it would be rejected (I knew gaffe and gaffer), but was suprised when it wasn't.

My LB solution was polemic-chintzy, the same as the "official" one.    I have a 2fer today, too.

Today's SB stands at Alpha (two words to go), but I'm out of steam.  I need to go away and come back. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2021, 02:09:29 PM
Still stuck on the final bee word.  I now know what two letters it starts with, and I know how long it is, but I haven't found it yet! Good luck, cathwen!

No bee luck yet, but contenders continue to be amassed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 17, 2021, 04:49:14 PM
Ditto. Went to the shunn site which inspired me to try a few strange ones. ONE LEFT!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2021, 05:16:47 PM
I am wondering if we all have the same word left.  And if so, is it going to be something obvious or a totally new word, or a word that is known but hasn't been in the puzzle, or a word that has been in the puzzle that we have forgotten? I am so stumped.  Husband is down to the same word as me, and I swear we have each tried every possibility, but I guess that isn't true.  We'll probably try again for a bit and then give up.   Good luck!

Still no LB luck yet, but I will work on it on my phone on and off this evening.  I haven't had time to really give it a fair try yet today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 17, 2021, 05:24:23 PM
I'm also missing a six letter word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2021, 05:37:15 PM
Got a weirdish 2fer and looked up our final bee word. Sort of makes sense as a word, and I swear I tried it, but I guess I didn't spell it right. Darn it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 17, 2021, 10:35:20 PM
I'm afraid the bee has the better of me again.

But best wishes, ab_grp and husband! May the recovery be speedy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 18, 2021, 06:05:41 AM
QB late at night. The missing word was abbacy, which I've seen in at least one puzzle.

3 points short of genius and a pangram.

Often, words that I know I typed don't show up. I usually double-check on the computer just to make sure that the words that I entered have been recorded.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 18, 2021, 06:15:13 AM
Good morning!

Well, I missed two words in yesterday's SB:  yecch and clayeyClayey???  That's a word?  I now remember having seen yecch in previous puzzles. 

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc! 

Genius and pangram today.  I think it's going to be a toughie. 

Yesterday's LB was births-stockman.  I don't have a 2fer yet for today.  I have a great word, but can't figure out what to do with the remaining letters!  Isn't that so often the case?

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 18, 2021, 07:35:14 AM
SB - missed abbacy. New word. I guessed at clayey and cabby after looking at shunn.

ab_grp, I see what you mean about the near-spoilers in the NYT Facebook group. Someone posted a Genius screenshot that included yech and yecch but I was already at Genius myself when I saw them, and I might have found them later. So I may drop out, but not sure yet.

LB - brinks-stomach which was the official solution. Anyone else?

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 18, 2021, 08:02:33 AM
QB and a 2fer! 

The 2fer isn't very "economical" in terms of letters used—two long words.  I'll try for a more efficient one if I have time later.  But it's a 2fer, so I'm happy.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 18, 2021, 08:05:28 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 18, 2021, 08:02:33 AM
QB and a 2fer! 

The 2fer isn't very "economical" in terms of letters used—two long words.  I'll try for a more efficient one if I have time later.  But it's a 2fer, so I'm happy.

It counts!

Genius with pangram, and ETA: plenty of 3fers so far. wild guess at a 2fer which worked. Yay.

Will I achieve QBAM? We shall see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2021, 08:48:21 AM
Good morning!

I got to Alpha today, only two words left.  We'll see! Yesterday we missed clayey, which I agree... what!?! I tried to sort of hint about it in case anyone was missing that one as well.  I really think I thought of that word but just didn't spell it right because it just looks odd, and even knowing it was a 6-letter CL did not end up getting us to the finish line.  I was lucky to pick up abbacy earlier on since I missed that a bit ago.  Congrats on getting to QB, Langue_doc!

For LB, I got brackish-histrionism.  A strange one, but it was accepted.  Sounds like a number of different solutions again yesterday! And congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall! I'll go look at that shortly and hope that I also find success.  It sounds as if your solutions might be different ones!

Ciao_yall, they are usually fairly careful to avoid spoilers in the FB group, but sometimes it does happen, and I don't particularly find that group very interesting or helpful.  It's nice to have what seems like another resource, but I prefer our discussions here.  I do like reading some of the commentary on words that weren't accepted or words that people find offensive, as I have learned some things.   Good luck on the QBABY!

Thank you, Parasaurolophus! He is getting better day by day, slowly, but seemingly surely.  Looking forward to sleeping more normally again at some point!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2021, 10:26:57 AM
Got to QB! I think they have all been in the puzzle before or are familiar words.  Couple seemingly good LB contenders, but nothing yet...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 18, 2021, 01:42:29 PM
Congrats on all the victories.

clayey is a familiar word, going back to one of my high school classes where we learned about clayey soils. I also remembered to try yech and yecch as I had missed one of them on an earlier puzzle.

QB and two twofers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2021, 02:03:25 PM
Wow, congrats on the QB and two 2fers, Langue_doc! And clayey makes sense but is just weird, in my opinion.  I am glad that you weren't tripped up by it, though.

I got one 2fer that seems legit, not especially balanced but doesn't reuse too many letters so could be schmofficial.  I'll try to find a more interesting one.  I found a few contenders after my 2fer and have a bunch of others to work with. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 18, 2021, 04:38:10 PM
SB - went to the shunn site and missing a few odd words. Probably bee specials. So getting there...

LB - another 2fer. Yay.

Okay, back to grading final papers. Woot.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2021, 07:04:48 PM
Good luck on your final bee words, ciao_yall, and congrats on your 2fer! Good luck with grading, too.

I got two more 2fers, but they are somewhat related (not same words, but same vibe), so I'll say 2.75 total.  I like one part of one a lot.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 19, 2021, 06:19:50 AM
Good morning!

Almost genius; my first word was the pangram. Two-fer already.

moustache/evil and vouches/stimulate

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 19, 2021, 06:23:54 AM
Good morning!

All those multiple LBs from yesterday!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you all got.  As for me, I started off with mathematical-lascivious, then found volumes-schematic, which is less repetitious.  Langue_doc, your posting came in just as I was about to post—your answers are are very different!  I wonder how many variations there are this time?

I have a 2fer for today. 

As for SB, I am at genius with the pangram, and having trouble believing that there are really 200 points in this puzzle.  But I bet that Langue_doc and ab_grp will find them!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 19, 2021, 06:27:31 AM
Morning!

SB - new word arco and missed a few bee specials auroral and corolla. Am getting there! May at least achieve QBwS (Queen Bee with Shunn) someday.

So far I don't mind the accidental trigger/hint from the FB group because I can get to genius pretty easily on my own, and it's fun to trade kvetches with that crowd. If it ever tips me into QB it might be another conversation. QBwFB?

LB - volumes-schematic and mouches-salivate. Looks like the schmofficial solution was a bit unbalanced so maybe ab_grp had it?

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 19, 2021, 08:45:22 AM
Good morning!

Yep, I got the schmofficial solution as my first one, cumulative-ethos.  It seemed too pretty to not be schmofficial.  Later, I got ovulum-mathematics and ovlues-schematic.  I kept trying with volume for a while early on but abandoned it.  I'm glad we got so many different solutions again! Congrats on already getting 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Not quite at Alpha today (176).  Definitely some words that are a little tough to find, though not unheard of.  But I have a couple left and no idea right now.  There was one I was surprised was accepted and a couple that I was surprised weren't in there.  Thanks for the confidence, cathwen.  I guess we shall see.  Good luck all around!

I remembered corolla because it's been in the crossword before and I hadn't realized at that time that it was anything other than a car.  Remembered arco from kids playing stringed instruments.  I think my final word was caul, but corolla and callaloo (sadly) were definitely at the end.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 19, 2021, 05:37:09 PM
QB and a second 2fer.

Lots of LB answers for yesterday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 19, 2021, 07:37:53 PM
Congrats on the QB and two 2fers, cathwen! I don't know if Langue_doc also got to QB, but you got there yourself!!

Husband had to go on site today despite still recovering (though today he is somewhere around 85% I would say), so we had to cut our bee time short.  We both got to Alpha with the same words left and eventually got to an impure team QB with the help of Shunn.

I got one 2fer earlier, but now I will look for another! Mine is pretty clean, so it may be schmofficial.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 19, 2021, 08:09:39 PM
No progress as I had to prepare for a book discussion. Now I'm clearing my brain by rereading a Sherlock Holmes novel. I don't even have the energy for the crosswords.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 19, 2021, 08:21:20 PM
Genius but ran out of steam. Shunn was a bit of help but not gonna get there.

Messy 2fer but I'll keep it.

Back to grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 19, 2021, 10:09:53 PM
Only made it halfway, though I got the pangram quite easily. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 20, 2021, 04:51:06 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today; however, missed anoxia and ataxia yesterday.

winters/squeaky

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 20, 2021, 06:01:46 AM
Good morning!

Genius with the two pangrams.

Yesterday's LB:  winters-squeaky and runways-squeakiest.

I'm having a dreadful time with today's LB!  I'm finding good words, but no way to use the leftovers.  I hope others are having better luck!

Happy puzzling! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 20, 2021, 06:10:53 AM
Just looked for and found the second pangram, thanks to you, cathwen. I didn't realize that there were two of them. Today's LB is a pain, but I got the crosswords and sudokus last night, and the vertex this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 20, 2021, 06:31:30 AM
Morning!

SB - New words yesterday - affiant, anoxia, infix I tried antifa, finito and they didn't take! Missed fontina.

LB - yawners-squeakiest. Love the official solution! I had really wanted to do something with inquiry but didn't pursue it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 20, 2021, 08:06:26 AM
Good morning!

I also got winters-squeaky yesterday but never got back to it to try to find another.  Will try to work on it during conference presessions today.  Always glad to see varied solutions!

Our final words yesterday were fontina, ataxia. and anoxia.  The latter two were especially hard.  Today, it looks like I'm at Alpha (118), got the two pangrams (and was surprised that there were two with a seemingly short list). 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 20, 2021, 09:37:12 AM
Genius and one pangram. You say there is a second one lurking around? Okay, back to it in a bit.

Little progress on LB - b4ss is a tough one today. Of course as soon as I click off I'll probably find a bunch of contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 20, 2021, 10:46:29 AM
Made it to QB! I don't think there were any really tough words, though at least one bee word (in my opinion).  Good luck!

I have ships on LB.  I also think I found a good contender that uses most of the letters, but of course I haven't yet found a mate. 

A little behind on puzzles due to sessions, and I still need to start sudokus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 20, 2021, 11:08:07 AM
QB some time ago. Agree with ab_grp that there was only one "unusual" word. Try variant spellings for this one.

Gave up on LB as I have to get ready for two outings this weekend (directions, maps, nearby restaurants, etc) and also file tons of papers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 20, 2021, 11:17:12 AM
Congratulations, ab_grp and Langue_doc!  I also made it to QB. One word was unknown to me and I got it only by typing in combinations.

I found a 2fer for LB, but only after about a billion attempts. I won't be trying for a second 2fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 20, 2021, 11:47:09 AM
Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen! And congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! This session is not as exciting as the morning's, so I hope to eventually get a 2fer.  Hope your outing planning goes well, Langue_doc.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 20, 2021, 04:50:43 PM
Genius but not QB, and still stuck.

LB solver site to get an answer which was pretty esoteric. I was getting 5fer solutions but not much farther...

So while I didn't achieve, I'm okay with it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 20, 2021, 08:17:06 PM
Got there today. Phew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 21, 2021, 05:42:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; not sure if there's a second pangram lurking somewhere, given the number of points and the j not really helping with words.

The crossword wasn't too difficult for a Friday.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 21, 2021, 06:28:23 AM
Morning! Congrats Parasaurolophus!

SB- New words holt, tilth. Missed moonlit. But hey, I remembered tomtit!

LB - Solver site thumb-benefactor. I found thumb and bene- but somehow -factor didn't jump out. Maybe I gave up too fast because there were so many b4ss issues I never really could get a "flow."

Oh well, can't win 'em all. Grading and prepping for another dinner party Saturday, where the menu will be a little more manageable and my husband will make sure I won't drink as much.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 21, 2021, 06:58:38 AM
Good morning!

Tomtit was my last word on yesterday's SB.  I got tilth just by playing around; I would never have found it otherwise. 

Today I'm at genius with the pangram.  Langue_doc, nytbee says there is only one (whew!).

LB:  Yesterday I got benefactor-rheum, but wow, was that ever a hard one.  I had thumb, but didn't put it together with benefactor!   Today I found a 2fer with much less effort. 

Ciao_yall, I am in awe of your hostessing skills!  Enjoy your dinner party!  And good luck with the grading.  My semester ended last week, so I am mercifully free of all that until fall.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2021, 09:20:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to 146 today so far, but we have to go do some errands.  Yay on getting tomtit, ciao_yall.  That one takes me a while to remember.  I thought tilth was a tough one.  I forget what my final words were.  Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

Husband helped me finish off a LB contender, adding the first word: abutment-thenceforth.  I then came up with benefactor-rhumba.  My ships were behemoth-furnace, and I was trying to make something work there because the former is the name of a ship in a book we're reading.  Oh well.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! And yay on multiple solutions again.

And now a wrench in the plans has arisen: Toyota did not get the recall part in that was needed for the truck.  So, sounds like we are not dropping it off and will not be doing a donut/bagel/burrito run.  Guess I will have more time to get back to the bee! And sudokus. 

Hope your dinner party planning goes well, ciao_yall.  Let us know what you prepare this time!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2021, 12:43:00 PM
Got to QB with some help from Shunn for the final two words.  Husband got there a while ago.  I really should have found my final two words given others I had! Argh.

Couple LB contenders, but no luck yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 21, 2021, 01:15:35 PM
Just got home all bleary-eyed from a visit to the eye doctor. cathwen, I found several more familiar words for the bee soon after I had posted about the possibility of a second pangram, so realized that there was just one. Got a twofer.

I have an early morning tomorrow and might also be gone on Sunday, so if I don't post here, it would be a combination of being out and not having my computer with me.

Sorry to hear about having to cancel the food run, ab_grp. Enjoy your dinner, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2021, 04:04:17 PM
Congrats on the 2fer, Langue_doc! Hope your eyes clear up and you enjoy your outings! The food run was mostly a bribe to myself, but we decided to use the extra time to get groceries that we meant to get last weekend.  We will try to do the fun food run when the truck does go in. 

Still no real luck on LB, but I haven't put too much time in yet and will work on it this evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 21, 2021, 07:13:13 PM
SB - At QB -2, according to shunn I need one MA word. Did get some aided recall to note some familiar words.

LB - tight 3fer, but 2fer has not emerged. Well, with my luck I'll get it as soon as I click off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2021, 07:26:18 PM
Good luck, ciao_yall!

Got a 2fer, finally.  Time for an unhealthy dinner and funny television.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 21, 2021, 10:31:02 PM
Went to the solver site and ouch, my tight 3fer was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 22, 2021, 04:55:58 AM
Good morning! 

Congratulations on the successes yesterday—QBs and 2fers.  I also got to QB!

Today:  I am at Alpha on SB and have a 2fer for LB.  Yes, I was up before dawn, as my husband had to get to commencement early.  I cannot stay in bed while he's milling around! 

LB:  I got the "official" answer, mockup-pluralize.  I was expecting mockup to be rejected as a hyphenated word (and in fact, autocorrect keeps inserting a hyphen).

Langue_doc, enjoy your outings!  And ciao_yall, we're all looking forward to hearing about that dinner party! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 22, 2021, 07:06:54 AM
Gah.

Missed mamma on the SB yesterday. GAAAAAAHHHHH.

My 3fer was lam-mockup-prize so very close to the official solution. Yay I solved within 6 which was the target. Meh.

Oh well. Grading, potching and looking forward to a nice evening.

Happy solving!

ETA: Quick genius and 3fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2021, 08:56:30 AM
Good morning!

I also got the schmofficial solution and was surprised (and happy) that mockup was accepted.  Congrats on your 2fer already today and your QB yesterday, cathwen!

For the bee, I "just" have two words to go to QB.  Of course, those won't be as easy as the earlier ones, I guess.  It's nice that it's kind of a do-over puzzle.  Cathwen, you are almost there! And I totally understand not being able to stay in bed while milling around is occurring.  Hope commencement goes well.  It must be a different experience.

Sounds like you are also well on your way, ciao_yall.  I am sure the dinner party will be great!

We have to do some cleaning but will try to take it pretty easy.  Luckily, husband managed through the night for the first time horizontally and in bed.  He is doing quite a heck of a lot better.  But, I will take any excuse not to have to put too much on the agenda. ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 22, 2021, 12:47:26 PM
With a bit of help from Shunn for my last two words, I got to QB.  My last word was one I thought I'd tried twice—but I was at my wits' end, tried it again...and voilà.  You'll undoubtedly get there, ab_grp.  And I'm glad to hear that your husband is doing so much better! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2021, 01:08:12 PM
Thanks, cathwen! I did get to QB, with some help from Shunn.  Kind of ironic which word I was missing.  Congrats on your QB.  I'm glad you were able to figure it out! It often helps me to try to run through words of whatever length again just in case.  Thanks for the kind thoughts! He is pretty much off the painkillers now and just has a few days of the antibiotic left. 

Still have to get back to LB but am tuckered out from cleaning and need some lunch first.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 22, 2021, 01:57:09 PM
Made short work of today's Bee, am now closing slowly on QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2021, 03:25:49 PM
Yeah, Parasaurolophus! Sending good bee juju your way!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 22, 2021, 03:31:30 PM
Evening!

Mockup/pluralize (I think).

Past genius, but lost my streak as I didn't have the time for the crossword.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2021, 04:00:17 PM
Good evening, and thanks for coming by during your busy weekend, Langue_doc! If you do decide to go for QB, I think it will be pretty easy for you other than beekeeping.  Sorry to hear about the crossword streak, but hopefully you are enjoying your activities!

Got one more LB contender, but I'm trying to get the sudokus done for tomorrow (busy day).  I'll work on it more tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2021, 08:35:08 AM
Good morning!

Hope everyone's events went well! We are having a guest over for pizza this afternoon.  First time anyone has been here in almost 15 months. 

I never did get an LB solution yesterday, and the schmofficial one wouldn't have occurred to me.  What did you come up with, cathwen?

I'm at 186 on the bee today.  Yikes, took me 47 words until I finally got the pangram.  Husband struggled similarly.  Hope everyone else is having better luck with it! Luckily, the crossword wasn't too hard.  My final word yesterday was wining, which is ironic because I like wining a lot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 23, 2021, 09:31:14 AM
SB - Yesterday I got QBAM!!!! Didn't even go to the shunn site. I took a page from you all and started combining words - last one as indrawn.

LB - kempt-transfix which is a weird one. Also me just trying words - unkempt is a word, so why not kempt?

Genius and 3fers today.

Dinner party went well, but I have a TON of leftovers. And some cleaning to finish. And papers to grade and puzzles and...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 23, 2021, 11:36:11 AM
Good afternoon!

I'm at genius with the pangram today.  I have a feeling this is not going to be a QB day!  I have 46 words with 15 to go, and I have no idea where they're coming from.  Maybe it's time to take a peek at letter distributions on Shunn.

My LB answer for yesterday was the same as the "official" solution—kempt-transfix.  It took me a while, but I found a 2fer today. 

Ciao-yall, what is QBAM?  Unaided QB?  Congratulations in any case!  And I guess you don't have to cook tonight, with all those leftovers—lucky you!

Ab_grp, enjoy pizza with friends! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2021, 12:01:37 PM
Congrats on your QBABY (all by yourself, for cathwen), especially with a dinner party to throw, ciao_yall! And congrats on your 2fer yesterday and having leftovers.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, and today, cathwen! Good luck on the bee.  We finally got to QB and will call it an impure team QB to get it out of the way before our visitor arrives.  It will be really weird having someone else inside the house again.  And we had quite a lot of cleaning to do because we are very lazy about it when it's just us.  Just keeping it easy with food delivery, though, so hopefully less stress and more fun.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 23, 2021, 12:55:56 PM
QBAM = Queen Bee All by Myself. Not even a peek at shunn.

Today, genius with pangram, 3fers coming out of my ears. We'll see how it goes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 23, 2021, 08:17:11 PM
Evening!

Thanks to ab_grp's tip about the bee words, made it to QB last night. Got to above genius tonight, pangram was my third word.

Good trip so far, decided on another jaunt, so won't be getting back until mid week

Couldn't get to the crosswords, but not really a sacrifice, considering that I'm spending time with people, seeing places old and new,  and doing activities that I enjoy,, even mundane ones such as sharing meals with friends.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 23, 2021, 08:39:29 PM
One word short to QB with help from all sources. Gah.

Lots of 3fers but no 2fer. I don't like the solver site much - maybe I'll see if there is another one whose layout I like better. I'm sure I have the words, just need them to fit togther. "Ships" in ab_grp parlance.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 23, 2021, 10:51:08 PM
Haven't quite made it today, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 06:25:57 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on May 23, 2021, 08:17:11 PM
Evening!

Thanks to ab_grp's tip about the bee words, made it to QB last night. Got to above genius tonight, pangram was my third word.

Good trip so far, decided on another jaunt, so won't be getting back until mid week

Couldn't get to the crosswords, but not really a sacrifice, considering that I'm spending time with people, seeing places old and new,  and doing activities that I enjoy,, even mundane ones such as sharing meals with friends.

Priorities, Langue_doc! Priorities!

SB - Despite all the help and hints from all sources, I missed... drumroll... oleo. Gah.

LB - Did not get a 2fer, but was in the neighborhood with 3fers coming out of my ears. Key ones: feta-antioxidant-turbo, fixation-burned-nib, fibered-dioxin-nature, boxer-refined-daunt, fixation-natured-dab, unrefined-dub-beatbox, fixture-ebon-naiad, before-extend-durian, boxed-drift-tuna.  With the variety I'm sure there are lots of solutions roundabout (groan.)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 24, 2021, 06:53:22 AM
Good morning!

I did not make it to QB yesterday, stuck at Beta.  I missed some words I should have gotten, and have (once again) filed away botnet as an accepted word. 

Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on your QBs!  And on your QB-1, ciao_yall—you got farther than I did.

Oh, but today!  What a slog it will be!  406 points, and six pangrams.  In spite of having five of them, I am only at amazing.  Anyone who makes QB today deserves a ticker tape parade!

For yesterday's LB, I had outfoxed-debonair.  I found a 2fer today, too.  Ciao_yall, you had some great words—isn't it maddening when they just don't come together?

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 07:09:05 AM
More pangrams than I can count but still at amazing. Just found a 3fer, but now it's time for yoga.

Congrats cathwen on your LB-fu!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 24, 2021, 07:30:42 AM
Morning!

I think I got all the pangrams, but am still at 46 words/255 points. Oh, well.
Saw a deer just outside the window, which elicited a "Oh, God" response from friend--seems to be the usual response in this area as the deer eat everything.

Going to be out and about, with lots of greenery, birds, and fresh air.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 07:35:40 AM
And... my yoga class was cancelled at the last minute. So more time to puzzle and grade I guess.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2021, 08:12:33 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying your outings and extending your activities to do more of the things that make you happy!! Congrats on QB yesterday! Deer are a pain when they eat everything, but better than the times of year when they end up unpredictably in the roadways.

I got to 358/67 so far today, was hoping to make it to Alpha during coffee but will try again later.  I *think* I have all six pangrams, but there are so many freaking words.  Sorry to hear about oleo, ciao_yall.  You were very close, though!! Hopefully your extra time today will help.  Definitely a loooong puzzle.  And cathwen, my final word was botnet, but I had some help as far as how long and what letter, and it still took a while.  Ugh.

For LB, I had bounder-refixation, which is a pretty dumb solution but worked.  I like cathwen's better than mine and better than the schmofficial one.  And congrats on already getting one today!

I've got today's sudokus ahead but luckily not a huge amount on the agenda compared to previous and future days. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 10:59:06 AM
Finally tipped into genius. What a slog! Yes, 6 panagrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2021, 11:03:52 AM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

I have one more danged word to QB.  Definitely relying on Shunn's help toward the end, here.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 24, 2021, 11:12:09 AM
Wow, ab_grp, QB-1!  You'll get there!

I have five words to go, all seven and eight letters.  Shunn has been very helpful, but although I know the first two letters of all the remaining words, they're just not coming to me.  Ugh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2021, 04:09:53 PM
Thanks, cathwen! Your support worked, and I finally figured out the final word! Whew! I hope you figure(d) yours out! There were two eight-letters in my final three.  Yuck, my nemesis word length!

Haven't found a solution on LB yet, but I feel like I'm close.

ETA: Okay, I found a nice contender that only leaves two danged, letters.  This has to work. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 04:55:43 PM
Well into genius, and a 2fer as well.

Big stack of grading and  my reward will be to go to the shunn site. Living la vida nerdy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 24, 2021, 05:01:34 PM
Found 5 pangrams but am still 50 short of genius  0_o
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 24, 2021, 05:02:56 PM
Ab_grp, I'm preparing the confetti and hiring the brass band for that ticker tape parade!  And good luck on LB!

I'm two words short of QB now, and I just can't figure them out.  They are both 8 letters, and I even know the first two letters, thanks to Shunn.  I don't think I'll be joining that parade, but at least I've gotten close, and way closer than I imagined I would.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 05:50:47 PM
Still short, even with shunn and a little aided recall. More grading and then I'll go to the big guns - the Wordplay column with the reader-posted definitions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2021, 06:23:16 PM
Still 7 points short from QB and even with hints and Google, can't figure it out. Okay, fine.

I shall bask in my very clean 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2021, 07:13:48 PM
Quote from: cathwen on May 24, 2021, 05:02:56 PM
Ab_grp, I'm preparing the confetti and hiring the brass band for that ticker tape parade!  And good luck on LB!

I'm two words short of QB now, and I just can't figure them out.  They are both 8 letters, and I even know the first two letters, thanks to Shunn.  I don't think I'll be joining that parade, but at least I've gotten close, and way closer than I imagined I would.


Thanks, cathwen.  I will have to get my parade gear out and shined.  ;-) Did you enable Shunn to show # compound words? Some of the 8s are in that category, and it can show you the distribution by first letter.  If not, both my final 8s were members of a broad category of stuff, a category often featured in weird words in the bee (though what isn't?).  I guess that may not be helpful, but if you are not missing the compounds, maybe you are missing those.  Good luck and sending bee juju!

Also, thanks for the luck on LB.  I finally found a solution that is reasonably nice after adjusting my preferred word.  But I might still try to find one with the original contender, because it bugs me when so few letters are left!

Good luck to you as well, ciao_yall.   I wonder which 7-letter, or which 7 total you might need! Sending you bee juju, too! And congrats on your very clean 2fer!

Parasaurolophus, good luck getting the final pangram.   It is so many points to genius today and frustrating when finding so many pangrams doesn't necessarily get you there.  I'm sending you bee juju as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 24, 2021, 08:05:12 PM
Congrats on the QBs and two-fers.

Made it to past genius, and that was it, puzzle-wise.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 24, 2021, 10:40:26 PM
Found the sixth pangram and limped over the genius line. Oof.

Well done on those QBs!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 25, 2021, 05:05:36 AM
Good morning!

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on getting to genius with the six pangrams!  I think we can all relate to the frustration of getting the pangram(s) and still coming in short of genius—and how victorious it feels to get there.

Ab_grp, cue the marching music! <throws confetti>  I am in awe of your QB.  I missed two words—ocotillo and tailcoat.. I now remember having seen both of them before—so I will file them away in some recess of my brain and hope that I remember them the next time.  I did not enable the compound words on Shunn—so that's another thing to remember when the puzzle gets sticky.

LB:  I had bascule-expunging. I got expunging first, then saw bascule, which I recognized from French, and wondered if it had been borrowed into English...and yes, apparently so.

I got a 2fer today on my first try! 

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 25, 2021, 07:34:50 AM
Morning!

SB - I must have miscounted - only had 5 pangrams. Learned some new words occipital, ocotillo, pipit, tali and missed a few bee specials lipo, tailcoat, tiptop.

LB - pliable-excusing. I also found expunging but could only make a 2fer b4ss out of it with scalable-expunging.

Onward to today's - a few final classes, lots of grading and puzzles for a break.

Happy solving!

ETA: Amazing no pangram, but got a 2fer. Had a great word that almost used all the letters but alas, could only make a 3fer out of it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 25, 2021, 08:45:23 AM
Genius, pangram. Will see how the rest of the day unfolds.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2021, 09:16:25 AM
Good morning!

There were some tough words yesterday on the bee.  I don't think of tailcoat as a word, so the compound distribution definitely helped with that one, as I knew there was an 8-letter T that was a compound.  But my final ones were lollipop and capicola, which I kept thinking about but always hear "gabagool" in my head and couldn't figure out how to spell it.  I have finally started to get ocotillo on a more regular basis after missing it a lot, because I think we have some in our yard or there is one across the street or something.  Thanks for the parade! Only missing a few yesterday also deserves a parade!! And congrats on finding all the pangrams and sailing into genius, Parasaurolophus!!

It took me to genius + to find the pangram today.  Then, of course, it was obvious. ;-) I don't think husband has found it yet.  Not quite at Alpha yet.

I got the same LB as ciao_yall.  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen (on your first try!) and ciao_yall!

Today is another conference day, plus my stupid desktop keeps freezing and/or restarting with error codes, so I have to figure that out.  Didn't even get to sudokus yet, haven't looked at LB.  Ugh.  Time for breakfast!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 25, 2021, 10:31:23 AM
Woohoo, ab_grp! I missed ocotillo not too long ago, and recall looking up the word.

Almost genius today, and that's going to be it, I think. Lots of fun activities already and more to come later today. The highlight of my day though was going to the laser car wash.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2021, 10:44:11 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc!

I looked up what a laser car wash is but would love to hear what it was like (when you get a chance).  Enjoy your activities! It sounds like you are having a lot of fun!!

Finally made it to Alpha, but there are three words left.  At least I remembered the one that kept me from QB on my birthday.  I will never forget!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 25, 2021, 12:21:27 PM
Woo-hoo!  QB, with a little help from Shunn. The last word was one I'd never heard of before; I was just playing around with combinations in desperation.

Langue_doc, it sounds as though you've been having several great days in a row!  The laser car wash also intrigues me.  Enjoy the rest of your day!

Ciao_yall and ab_grp, I like your LB solutions a lot better than mine.  At least they're normal words!  However, my solution did give me a word for the part of a drawbridge that goes up (which I previously called "the part of the drawbridge that goes up").  I must work it into a conversation sometime.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2021, 12:31:40 PM
Congratulations, cathwen!!! We haven't gone to Shunn yet, but I can see that trip on the horizon.  Good to know that there is a tough word that might still be out there.  Hoping to take a break when this session winds up in a few and get back to it.

If you manage to work the drawbridge part into conversation, please do share! I forgot to say that the word I was trying to force yesterday was inexcusable, leaving only P and G, and I even "encouraged" husband to help me try to find a mate, but no luck.  It's hard to give up on a word sometimes.  I had expunging earlier on but never would have found the mate you found!

ETA: Oh I totally forgot to say I have a 2fer! And also ships.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2021, 02:09:12 PM
And finally got to an impure team QB with the help of Shunn for first letters.  Two of my final three were ones I probably should have gotten.  The other, well... glad I finally remembered that one from looking it up before.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 25, 2021, 07:22:04 PM
Made it to genius! Congrats on all the achievements.

As for the laser car wash, a friend got me hooked on this. The downside is that only the exterior gets washed. You sit in your car, select one of four options, and wait for the green signal to pull into the bay. First, your car is sprayed with water, then detergent, then the rinses. Watching the grime get washed out is quite therapeutic. After the washing and rinsing, your car gets air-dried. What I like about this wash is that nothing touches your car except for the water, detergent, and air. I couldn't find anything like this within 100 miles of where I live because what is listed as a laser car wash often has brushes that touch your car and can also have people dry your car. The quality of the rinsing and drying seems to have deteriorated as today I had to use paper towels to dry the windows and other parts of the car. There were other drivers manually drying their cars as well. I have been taking my car to the laser wash place whenever I'm visiting here for the past several years and will most likely continue to do so as I haven't found one like it near where I live or work. It's no more expensive than getting a regular wash.
https://www.detailxperts.net/blog/2016/12/26/need-know-laser-car-wash/
https://www.opwglobal.com/pdq-vehicle-wash-systems/products/touchless/laser-wash-360-plus
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 25, 2021, 08:27:53 PM
ab_grp congrats! Even with Wordplay definitions I'm still a few short. Some new words.

Langue_doc very cool. I had my pits and bikini line lasered which changed my life. If I stick a leg out of the car will it do those as well?

Looking forward to seeing everyone's solutions tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 26, 2021, 07:01:55 AM
Morning!

SB - Yesterday finally hit the Wordplay blog. A new word arhat, missed a few easy bee specials tutti, cacti, hatha, hath, but never could get to QB despite all the hints with easy ones chitchat, circuit, tiara. Gah. Amazing with pangram so far.

LB - watching-grody. Looks tricky today with b4ss issues and no e. A few good contenders but no 3fer yet. Finishing up coffee then off to yoga. And a stack of grading, Academic Senate, and my last class before summer! WOOOT!

Happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2021, 07:54:37 AM
Good morning!

I got the same LB as you, ciao_yall, and it wasn't schmofficial! Wonder what others got.  Also got a couple sets of ships: drowning-catchy and coward-thingy.  I was hoping it would take crowdwatching, but no.  Enjoy your yoga and final class!

Today I just have just one more 5-letter word until QB.  Hoping to find it without Shunn, but it took me forever to get the penultimate one, and I am out of ideas right now.  Will have banana and coffee and think about it later.  Yesterday's bee did have some tough words.  I managed to recall arhat and will never forget catarrh!

Thanks for the more detailed description of the laser car wash, Langue_doc.  I kind of like those big soapy noodles, though honestly I am not sure I have ever washed my car in the 16 years I've had it.  It used to be fun to be at the car wash! I might owe my car a trip to one at some point and will see if they have the laser option around here when I do.  I'm glad you were able to do that on your trip!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 26, 2021, 08:15:56 AM
Good morning!

I also got watching-grody for yesterday's LB.  That makes three of us!

I have a 2fer for today, but it did not come easily!

SB:  arhat was new to me, too.  That was my last word, found only by combining letters in desperation, hoping that some weird combination would actually be a word.

Against all odds, I made QB today with only minimal help from Shunn to check on the initial letters of the last two words.  I didn't find anything that was weird or impossibly arcane this time.  (Yes, I have been up a long time.  Late dinner...had trouble sleeping.)

Ciao_yall, enjoy yoga and your last class! 

Ab_grp, congratulations on your "impure" QB!

Langue_doc, the next town over from mine has something very much like what you're describing—it's called Buggy Car Wash.  They have one bay that is touch-free that sounds exactly like your laser car wash (although they don't mention lasers), one bay that has the traditional brushes, and one bay with hoses for people to wash their own cars.  Inexplicably, it also has two rooms for dog washing, equipped with towels and shampoo!  We don't have a dog, but we do have cars, and we usually choose the touch-free unless the line is very long.  Today I plan to go to a different car wash, one where you leave your car and wait in a waiting room until it's done.  These people will vacuum the interior, and it's time to have that done.

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2021, 09:28:57 AM
Congrats on the QB, cathwen! Woohoo!! I may have to go with the initial-letter scaffold if I can't figure it out on the next break.  Too much to catch up on today.  Eating dinner late disrupts my sleep, too.  But, at least you put it to good use! And congrats on your 2fer, too! I will go take a look at LB and see what's up there since it sounds as though it could be difficult.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 26, 2021, 09:30:15 AM
Genius, 3fer so far.

cathwen congrats on the 2fer! Funny that we all got the same one yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2021, 10:52:34 AM
Got to a team QB after comparing hashes! Didn't have to look at Shunn since we each had each other's missing word, and the first letter helped.  Yeah! Wish I could have just gotten the final word without the first letter help, though.

Good luck, ciao_yall! I need to get back to LB.  Only one contender so far...

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 26, 2021, 01:51:14 PM
Made it to genius with three or four pangrams (I don't recall, exactly, but I think four).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 26, 2021, 03:07:16 PM
Well into genius, and 2fer b4ss so I continue to underachieve.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 26, 2021, 07:56:40 PM
Okay, I gave up.

SB - still a few words I can't figure out from the Wordplay blog, so yay, new words.

LB - hit the solver site and there weren't too many ways to use the Z. I did have plenty of 3fers and "ships" and got pretty close to the few Z options, but alas.

Did button up one class though so yay. 3 more to go!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 27, 2021, 05:41:48 AM
Morning!

QB; horizontals/scam

Pangram and genius so far.

ciao_yall, if you could get a dermatologist and a laser car wash engineer to collaborate on your idea, you would be set for life.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 27, 2021, 06:42:00 AM
Morning!

SB - missed a new word codon. Is that a new one for the bee?

LB - The solver site didn't have many uses for the Z. Langue_doc, the solver site didn't even find horizontals! I had gotten really close to the official solution - it took schnoz and I remembered thinking "oh, if there was a u I would have schmutz.

Notable close-but-no-cigar 3fers sit-almanac-chorizos, clamors-schnoz-zit, morals-sac-chintz, trichinosis-slam-matzo, slim-matzohs-scorn and a 2fer b4ss alarmists-schnoz.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 27, 2021, 06:52:06 AM
I think I've seen codon before. I found the word because I mistyped. As for LB, I found horizon first, and then decided on the plural, then horizontal, and finally tried horizontals, which I didn't think was a word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 27, 2021, 06:57:56 AM
Genius with pangram on SB; and a 3fer. So I have my participation trophy and "hardest tryer" sticker for the day.

Langue_doc, I had zonal at one point. It wouldn't take trizonal or zonals. So close, but yet so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2021, 08:01:19 AM
Good morning!

I had horizontal-macintosh, which worked but was not as elegant as Langue_doc's solution! Definitely would not have found the schmofficial solution.  I had a bunch of other reasonable contenders that didn't work out, including chorizos and matzohs, like ciao_yall.

Only two more words to QB today, but I'm not at Alpha because it's such a short puzzle and I am missing the relatively longer words, I guess.  I think I stumbled on codon yesterday just trying stuff.

More sessions today, so I have to get to that now and hopefully puzzling here and there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 27, 2021, 08:51:11 AM
Good morning!

I got the "official" solution for LB yesterday—schmaltz-zircon.  Lots of good words in that puzzle!   

I have a 2fer today, too.

I'm at Alpha this morning on SB, but the last two words are eluding me.  I'm determined to hold off on Shunn for a while! Thanks to nytbee, I do know that one word is 4 letters, and the other is 7. 

Yesterday I got codon thanks to an online course on genetics that I took a few years ago, just for fun. I stumbled on udon and remembered that I had some udon noodles in the pantry, bought eons ago for some dish that I never made.

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2021, 08:55:25 AM
Good luck, cathwen, and congrats on Alpha! My final two are a 6 and a 7.  Maybe the same 7? Hope you find them! And congrats on your 2fer! I've been looking at it while listening to presenters but haven't had too much luck yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 27, 2021, 09:38:34 AM
Thanks for the good vibes, ab_grp, and they must have worked, because I just made QB without Shunn this time!  The two remaining words weren't difficult or strange—I just didn't see them.

Good luck on LB—I had a hard time with it. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2021, 11:00:40 AM
Yay, hooray, cathwen! Congrats on the Shunnless QB! I found the final two with Shunn's help.   The 7-letter was not difficult, but the 6... yeek.  Never heard of it, as far as I can tell.  I ended up just guessing letters.  It was also husband's final word.

I have a couple more contenders now for LB (some of which I think are pretty good!), so hopefully in the upcoming session I can work a little more on that.  Thanks for the good luck wishes! I definitely need them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2021, 07:23:48 PM
Well, still haven't found a LB solution.  I have found ships, and I have found a word that seems like it should be accepted and would have made for a mate for a good contender but is not accepted.  Back to the drawing board!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 27, 2021, 07:37:46 PM
QB! With help from Wordplay definitions. Shunn told me I was missing 2 words and when I read the wordplay definitions there was one word I would not have thought of, and one I should have gotten. So a bit anticlimactic but woohoo!

Found a 2fer using compound, prefix, and suffix. All the word tricks.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 27, 2021, 08:15:42 PM
Easy QB, but clunky twofer. Both words are legit, but several letters had to be reused.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 28, 2021, 06:31:59 AM
Morning!

SB - Last two words were faunal (pro tip - remember to add an L to any word ending in a vowel) and pilaf (headsmack.)

LB - rightsized-defang which is about on par with the official solution. 2fer b4ss rightsized-deafen.

Langue_doc, it counts!

Happy solving! No dinner parties this weekend. Husband is relieved but I'm a bit bummed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 28, 2021, 07:01:08 AM
Good morning!

I also got rightsized-defang!

Ab_grp, ciao_yall, and Langue_doc, congratulations on QB yesterday! 

Faunal is one of those words I tried just for the heck of it, and was surprised when it was accepted. 

Today:  SB is another sloggy one—308 points, 2 pangrams.  I am at Beta with only one of the pangrams.  Oof.

LB:  I found a 2fer right off the bat.  That doesn't happen often!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 28, 2021, 08:02:33 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the 2fers, all! My hat is off to you.  I tried and tried but couldn't get it to work.  I had digitizers, which seemed promising and would have worked if handfed had been accepted, and I also had ships and a bunch of other contenders.  Husband even tried to help me find a mate.  We failed.    Congrats on finding one so quickly today, cathwen! Hopefully it will be an easier puzzle.

I can't remember which my last words were yesterday, but I think fulfill was one, for some reason.  And I got faunal just by trying it with the L.   Today I am at Beta with both pangrams.  So if you already got to Beta without one of them, you will surely pick up a bunch of points soon, cathwen!

Thankfully, no live sessions today, but I have to catch up on some that were recorded at a time when I was already booked.  And do laundry.  Whee.  For now, sudokus!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 28, 2021, 08:43:59 AM
Morning!

Slow day today, got to amazing and a pangram earlier today. Thanks for the tip about a second pangram.

firsthand/digitize; couldn't find a mate for headfirst.

My last word yesterday was alfalfa.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 28, 2021, 10:57:14 AM
Congrats, Langue_doc! I wish I had seen firsthand.  Just didn't see first at all.

Got to QB with some help from Shunn for the final few words and a hint from husband about the one I was missing.  Never would have tried that one.  He has three left, I think, but impure team QB today.

I have a couple LB contenders but not much yet.  It definitely did not pop out at me!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 28, 2021, 03:32:42 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 28, 2021, 03:35:44 PM
QB!  I used Shunn to check letter distributions for the last two words, and then was able to figure out what they were.

Congratulations on QB, ab_grp, and on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 28, 2021, 04:58:33 PM
Thanks, and yay! Congrats on your QB, cathwen! I look forward to sharing final words and LB solutions tomorrow.

I was scrolling through Twitter and saw a thread by the creator of Letterboxed and went down a rabbit hole and found out that some people have found 1fers that were accepted! I have enough trouble with a 2fer some days, but now there is a new reach goal in sight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 28, 2021, 07:51:39 PM
QB with hints from Wordplay and a 2fer. A few new words and a few headsmackers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 29, 2021, 07:16:09 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QB, ciao_yall, and on your 2fer!

Today I'm at genius with the pangram.  Another high-points puzzle! 

For yesterday's LB, I had vengeful-lawsuit.  .  I have a 2fer for today, too.

Ab_grp, I don't know that I want to discover that Twitter thread and their talk of 1fers!  2fers take enough head-scratching!  : )

Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 29, 2021, 07:46:04 AM
Morning!

SB yesterday - schlepped to genius with one pangram: openhanded. Needed help from the wordplay board for one new word daphne; a reminder of some bee specials donee, odeon, peahen and the second panagram which was a complete headsmacker headphone. Found phone pretty early and think I even tried headon.

LB - festivals-swung which was the official solution so Sam and I are vibing. I hear 1fers have happened. Remember when we had one -  LEXICOGRAPHY? Either it was a b4SS or it didn't take.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 29, 2021, 07:49:52 AM
Morning!

Another slow day, but found the pangram and made it to genius.

QB yesterday; festivals/swung

No 1-fers for me: I'm quite happy with the 2-fers when I find them.

Happy solving, all! Hope you're having better weather than us!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 29, 2021, 08:08:14 AM
Good morning!

I had the schmofficial LB solution as well.  I think one of the 1fers I read about was overcapitalized.  I just think it's interesting to know for sure that it's possible.

I'm at 218 today, so got to genius and have the pangram, but yes... another long one! Lots of words.  I think I still have 14 to go! Gee whiz.  I feel like I've found a number of good bee words already.  Not sure what's left at this point.  My final word yesterday was daphne, which I definitely would not have tried without a hint from husband.   I think his were neap, paean, and phono.  He often misses the first two of those.

Langue_doc, I took a look at the weather out by my mom, which I would guess might be similar, cold and rainy? Ick! If so, hope you get to stay inside warm and dry and enjoy some puzzles.  Congrats on your QB yesterday!

Happy solving!

ETA: Congrats to cathwen on getting a 2fer!

ETA^2: Just saw Langue_doc's post on the weather thread.  Ugh, sounds very dreary, and I hope the gales don't cause any issues.

ETA^3: Got a 2fer on my second try after trying a variation of my first contender. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 29, 2021, 12:14:47 PM
Almost QB, but not quite there yet. Two-fer!

Thank you for your concern, ab_grp. I can't complain though as I had a lovely mini-vacation earlier this week with gorgeous views, mild temperatures, plenty of R&R, and good company. We do need the rain, all the way up north about 200+ miles or so. I also had an easy trip both ways. The choices were Option B, which was the scenic trip back, and Option A which was the extra scenic trip (with almost no civilization) out. Both options had hills and valleys, winding roads, and tons of greenery. On the way out there were stretches where I didn't see any cars going in my direction, and on the way back I could have sworn that passengers in the right lane could reach out and touch the foliage because the trees (on the slope) were so close to the road. I'm happy to stay home and away from the crowds this weekend.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 29, 2021, 12:43:24 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc, and good luck on the bee! I'm glad that your trip last week was so refreshing and can help with the rainy weekend.  It really sounds lovely.  Scenic drives can also be a big plus if you have the time.  Though I have gotten lost on more than one of those and made it home significantly later than planned.  ;-) I am definitely avoiding crowds here, too!

I finally got to QB with Shunn's help for the final few words.  There are definitely a few in there that are a little difficult or unusual, but most of the ones I had left were not that bad, including one that I always miss for whatever reason.  At least I recognized and was familiar with all the words, though, which is not always the case.  Today's bee just seemed tough overall. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 29, 2021, 01:04:57 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, Langue_doc, and on QB, ab_grp!

I am two words short of QB.  Even with Shunn's help, knowing the first two letters and the length, I am having trouble finding them.  Argh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 29, 2021, 03:00:30 PM
According to nytbee.com, "Today's score of 295 was in the 95th percentile of all puzzles. The last time there was a score this high was on May 28, 2021." So hang in there, cathwen.

I think I need two or three more words for QB. I've been pleasantly distracted by planning trips so haven't looked at the bee all afternoon or the crosswords for a week.

Congrats on QB, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 29, 2021, 03:52:42 PM
Good luck, cathwen and Langue_doc! Some of the words husband had as final ones were the same as mine, so I hope they aren't tripping you up.  It's frustrating when all of what Shunn can offer still doesn't make it so easy to figure them out.  Sending juju!

And have fun planning your trips, Langue_doc! After so long, that must be a great feeling and very enjoyable activity.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 29, 2021, 07:54:36 PM
Okay. 2fer. Finally had to go to shunn to schlep to genius, still no pangram. Just needed reminders of a few easy words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 30, 2021, 06:33:03 AM
Good morning!

I didn't make it to QB yesterday—I missed gavage and geotag.  I vaguely remember both of them from previous puzzles.  Maybe next time... 

Today I'm at Alpha.  Maybe I'll get there, but those last words are stubbornly refusing to unscramble before my eyes!

For LB yesterday, I got the "official" solution:  birthday-young.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Congratulations on your 2fer, ciao_yall! 

And happy puzzling to everyone!  If you're in the Northeast, I hope that the relentless rain isn't wrecking plans.  We didn't have any specific plans—but we'll probably go visit some brew pubs, or maybe some wineries (for which this state is justifiably not renowned) just to get out of the house and drive around.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 30, 2021, 07:55:15 AM
Good morning!

Last words were gavotte and late; I had to double-check the four-letter words on my computer to find the last word which I thought I had found earlier. Thanks for the bee juju, ab_grp.

Pangram, genius, and a measly 19 words today.

birthday/young

Much to my surprise, found a two-fer on my second attempt. I'm still in shock.

Enjoy your imbibing outings, cathwen.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 30, 2021, 08:23:19 AM
Fell 10 short of genius yesterday, but looking at the words I had left, I doubt I would have made it in the end. Today is much more promising.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 30, 2021, 08:25:18 AM
SB - Didn't miss that many, did I? It was a slog, though. Parasaurolophus I finally went to shunn to hit Genius, mainly because I was just tired. ETA: Critique on today's - so far not a lot of diversity in the starting letters, but I'm just tipped into Genius today so maybe I'll discover a whole patch of words that start with Y.

LB - birthday-young as well. Langue_doc, love those quick 2fers! ETA: Got one as well!

Hoping for a more productive day today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 30, 2021, 09:29:58 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! Glad if the juju helped.  My final ones were gotta and geotag, and husband had trouble with those as well.  The latter was kind of tough even with Shunn's help. 

I just have one word to QB, but I can't seem to find it right now.  Hopefully I'll have more luck later.  The crossword took a while as usual.  And it took me a while to find the pangram despite stuff.   Parasaurolophus, I don't think there were any obscure words today like yesterday, but maybe the last one is.  Good luck!

My LB was unbirthday-yogi.  I had thought birthday might work but didn't immediately see a mate so just tried it with the prefix.  According to Twitter, Sam's birthday might have been yesterday, so I guess the schmofficial solution was timely! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen, Langue_doc, and ciao_yall!

Enjoy your outings, cathwen! Sounds like a good way to make the most of it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 30, 2021, 10:32:37 AM
Guess I'm too late to modify, but I did make it to QB, and the final word was one I should have gotten a lot earlier.  No need to look at Shunn today, luckily!

Bunch of contenders for LB, some of which seem pretty good, so I'll try again on that after hard sudoku.

ETA: never mind, one second later I got a 2fer.  Not sure it's the schmofficial solution, but it worked!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 30, 2021, 12:17:49 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp, and also on LB—also ciao_yall and Langue_doc.  Parasaurolophus, I hope you're finding today more promising!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, seeing what everyone got on LB!

Just made QB, with a small peek at Shunn for a hint for the last word—something I should have figured out on my own. 

Our outing to the breweries (we went to two) taught me (actually, re-taught me) one thing:  I have a very low capacity for beer, as much as I like it.  Nevertheless, it was a good rainy day activity.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 30, 2021, 12:57:56 PM
QB here too; all easy words to make up for yesterday's slog.

Glad to hear that you had a good outing, cathwen. Congrats on all the twofers and QBs.

Spent the last couple of hours chatting with a friend--didn't realize that we had been talking so long until friend mentioned that we had been on the phone for two hours.

Have an interesting beer story from the weekend, but am not posting here for fear of outing myself.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 30, 2021, 02:16:26 PM
Congrats on the QBs, cathwen and Langue_doc!

I was reading the Wordplay blog comments just now to see if there were any more interesting layers to today's puzzle that I missed (not really) and happened to see that someone posted a full answer for LB.  I think the posts usually take the form of "[initial letter of first word]-[initial letter of second word]", as I saw a post above it that did so and seemed to match the full solution posted.  In any case, it is definitely not near my LB 2fer, so I guess there are multiple solutions! I may try with some others at some point if I have time just for practice (and because I hate to let go of good contenders).

Glad you enjoyed your outing, cathwen! My ex and I used to walk to a beer festival in our little town, and though (or because?) I am not a huge beer drinker, I overcommitted there a few times.  Not to any bad point, but they tend to have a lot stronger beers to try.  Good to be able to walk there and back (usually a little more circuitously on the way back). 

Langue_doc, that is quite a tease! Glad you had a good long chat with your friend.  It's nice when the time goes by without you noticing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 30, 2021, 06:03:13 PM
Geniuses easily, but am stuck pangramless in Beta.

Edit: Oh, wait. I got the pangram early on, actually!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 31, 2021, 07:13:30 AM
Curses, I was two short of QB! I could have made it! Oh well.

This morning's puzzle is fairly easy. So far, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 31, 2021, 07:25:22 AM
Good morning!

Several pangrams and genius so far. It's still a slog.

zebra/anthology

ab_grp, I looked at the comments on Wordplay after seeing your post and was dismayed to see that someone had posted the LB solution.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 31, 2021, 07:51:14 AM
Morning!

SB - missed libelee. Gotta remember those.

LB - zebra-anthology. Got it pretty quickly.

Grades are in and loaded! Except for one class I had a mistake on a spreadsheet that resulted in me noticing that students got final 1% grades in their favor after I had already told them their grades were loaded. So it's driving me batty not to fix it, even though I know in the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean much.

Had plans to go to a picnic but husband wasn't in the mood to be around a bunch of people he doesn't know so we'll probably bail and do something else. He's not depressed and he has friends, he's just very introverted.

Have a great day, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 31, 2021, 08:12:37 AM
Good morning!

I got breathalyzer-roentgen.  I was kind of surprised the first word wasn't a brand name or something.  The second I can thank for just watching Chernobyl recently, as it is said about a million times.  Langue_doc, I was also taken aback to see the actual solution posted.  I'm glad we all had our solutions before seeing that! I don't even like seeing the first letter-first letter format, so I tend not to read them.  I wish they would separate out the comments for the various games.

Two more words to QB today.  Argh! I didn't sleep too well, as youngest is with us and had to get out the door to work.  At least I got to Alpha.  We'll see.  I think my final word yesterday was belle, which took me way too long to find, so maybe the final two today are also easy and just escaping me.  Congrats on nearly getting QB yesterday, Parasaurolophus!! Several pangrams today.

Ciao_yall, count me with your husband.  And congrats on getting your grades in!

Happy solving!

ETA: Sorry I mixed up ciao_yall and cathwen, so I went back and edited! I'm used to seeing cathwen earlier in the comments! Told ya I didn't sleep so well. ;-) And congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! Hope you enjoy the movie if you go, and breakfast at a favorite diner sounds great! I'm sure you'll catch right up to me on the bee. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 31, 2021, 08:21:57 AM
Good morning!

Genius with four pangrams.  Yes, it's a sloggy one today!  210 points, and I'm not even at Beta.  Ab_grp, you're way ahead of me!  I bet you make it.

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on getting so far yesterday! QB-2 is great.   

LB:  I also had zebra-anthology.  I was blithely (to use a word from yesterday's SB) unaware of the WordPlay comments, but I'm shocked that the solution was posted.  Someone does not know puzzle etiquette!

I found a 2fer today.

Ciao_yall, enjoy whatever plans you decide to make today instead of the picnic.  My husband and I went out for breakfast at our favorite diner—first time in over a year.  And later we're going to our favorite run-down movie theater that shows mostly non-blockbuster films.  We're hoping that they took advantage of the pandemic to remodel, but they seemed on the verge of failure before the pandemic, so...we'll see. 

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 31, 2021, 08:46:24 AM
Genius with 3 pangrams and a 2fer.

I'm very extroverted and enjoy meeting new people.

I have hiked with this group I met on Meetup and they all seem very friendly and easygoing. I think my husband would have a nice time, but he has a few friends he really likes to spend time with. He's also perfectly happy alone, reading or practicing his guitar.

With the pandemic, I have become way too isolated. The only people I have been keeping up with now are through work, which is constant drama and not healthy. So it's good for me to go to the gym now that it has reopened, and these hikes have been fun as well. Meeting new people who have things to talk about is a nice reminder that all is well in (most of) the world.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 31, 2021, 10:46:35 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! It's great that you have your hiking group.

I got to QB, but husband had to tell me the first letter of my final word.  So team QB, I guess.  Not a really tough word, but I am not sure when I might have figured it out without that help.  But no Shunn needed today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 31, 2021, 03:30:00 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on May 31, 2021, 08:46:24 AM

I'm very extroverted and enjoy meeting new people.

I have hiked with this group I met on Meetup and they all seem very friendly and easygoing. I think my husband would have a nice time, but he has a few friends he really likes to spend time with. He's also perfectly happy alone, reading or practicing his guitar.



Hope you had a good time, ciao_yall. Although not an extrovert, I too have made friends in several states because I've hiked with interesting people when I've lived in those states. I was getting to know people here in a couple of groups when outings were shut down because of the pandemic.

Haven't made any progress on the puzzles as I took my life in both hands, metaphorically speaking, and took the subway to Manhattan. It's a long trek anywhere as I live in one of the outermost boroughs, but I'm glad to report that the cars were surprisingly clean, people were wearing masks, and were socially distancing by not sitting next to someone not in their group.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 31, 2021, 04:37:09 PM
Very close to QB. 4 pangrams. Haven't gone to shunn or Wordplay yet. Somehow I think they will "stick" better in the future if I see them on the solution board without the spiffy gold check mark.

Already got a quick 2fer early this morning. I already mentioned it but hey, can't help bragging a little.

We got going pretty slowly so ended up having our picnic on the roof of our building. Took naps, I graded a late-breaking paper, and now we are going to take a walk and find an open grocery store for a few odds and ends.

Yoga tomorrow. I'll keep hiking with these groups and getting to know the people.

The month of June will be pretty much work free, except for a few odd board/committee meetings happening over the summer, or, whatever flies into my inbox that needs attention.

And, of course, looking for ANOTHER JOB!   

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 31, 2021, 06:44:39 PM
QB! I was one word short, shunn told me it was a TI word so I started playing with letters and boom! Definitely a "bee special."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 01, 2021, 05:56:42 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on the QBs!  I did not quite make it yesterday.  Although I did get tilth (remembered from a recent puzzle), the ones I missed were idiotic.  I had teeth and teethed, but somehow missed teethe!  And I had tilled—I distinctly remember putting the past tense form so that I wouldn't forget to do so—but then neglected to put till.  So, QB-2.  Argh!

Today I am at Beta with the two pangrams.  QB seems unlikely, but we'll see.

As for LB, I found a 2fer today, and got the "official" one yesterday:  bucking-getaway. Were there other solutions?

Langue_doc, was this your first subway ride since the start of the pandemic?  It is heartening to know that people were being careful.  When I lived in NY, I used to love riding the subway (except when extremely crowded). 

Ciao_yall, the picnic on the roof sounds lovely!  And good luck with the job search!

And happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 01, 2021, 06:39:07 AM
Morning!

SB: tilth was the last word before QB.

LB - bucking-getaway as well, and pretty quickly. Wonder what is on Sam's mind?

There are a few other Letter Boxed fans on FB so maybe we'll start a daily thread. Look for us and join if you are interested.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2021, 07:21:13 AM
Good morning!

Made it to QB last night; I found the last two 4-letter words because I was missing a couple, and came up with words that I didn't know existed. bucking/getaway--gah! I don't like getting the same solutions as the NYT.

One pangram, which I didn't think was a real word, but who cares! Surprise, surprise, twofer before the pangram.

Quote from: cathwen on June 01, 2021, 05:56:42 AM

Langue_doc, was this your first subway ride since the start of the pandemic?  It is heartening to know that people were being careful.  When I lived in NY, I used to love riding the subway (except when extremely crowded). 


cathwen, pre-pandemic, the subways (cars and stations) were filthy to the point of being quite insanitary and also often unsafe. They used to be relatively clean during the Bloomberg years, but then things took a dramatic turn for the worse. There used to be homeless people stretched out on entire rows of seats. Sometimes the stench would be so bad that no one could get into a car. Occasionally I would see an empty car during rush hour and know why the car was empty. I once saw part of a car blocked by a makeshift tent-like structure. Elevators would reek of excrement, and occasionally people would use the subway cars as not just homes but also toilets. Fortunately, I don't have to use the subway on a regular basis, but recall being appalled by the crime and grime on the few occasions when I had to take public transportation. During the pandemic, the subways were closed for a couple of hours every night, which helped with the crime and filth. The cars are getting cleaned several times a day because of the COVID-related protocols, but crime is up, sad to say.

Back to puzzling--happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 01, 2021, 08:52:32 AM
Ah NYC subways. It was 1993, brought my then-boyfriend to meet my family. He insisted on taking the subway and despite my warnings, we went ahead. He went on about how clean they were, what was I worried about? That was back when we liked Rudy Giuliani.

2fer which was a bit of a guess but I'll keep it.

SB is a slog.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2021, 08:56:58 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the QBs! Yes, tilth came up recently, so luckily I got that one at some point.  I think my final one was eightieth, which is dumb given other words in the puzzle, but I just wouldn't have thought of it without the first letter hint.  I remember missing teethe in an earlier puzzle (I think it prevented QB), so that was on my radar.

I only have three words left on the bee today but am missing the second pangram.  It took us a while each to find a first one (mine got me to genius after something like 31 words), but husband has found the second one.  Maybe we have team QB at this point. 

No LB yesterday, as the power went out and gave us other things on our agenda.  But I am still happy with the one I got the day before, so that joy will sustain me.  Will try again today.  Congrats on your 2fers already, cathwen, Langue_doc, and ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I think I have taken the subway once in NYC and once in Philly and dreaded it each time.  I'm definitely no stranger to regional rail and Amtrak etc., but there is something about the subway that just gives me the heeby jeebies.  There is a lot of crime on the Philly lines, too.  I think we had to take it because of a random tornado that prevented my friend and I from continuing on our usual line, but it definitely wasn't our choice.  You are brave! But it sounds as though it went much better than expected.

Ciao_yall, it sounds like you had a nice day! A roof picnic does sound great.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2021, 10:16:57 AM
Figured out the final three words, thankfully! Didn't need Shunn but did need to compare # first letters w/ husband.  He also got to QB.  Team QB!  Now onto a bunch of meetings.  :-(
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2021, 10:34:10 AM
Woohoo, ab_grp!

My accomplishments are scheduling and rescheduling medical appointments and reviewing my notes for the book discussion this evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2021, 11:18:33 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! And that agenda doesn't sound like so much fun for you, unfortunately (except maybe book discussion note review?).

I also managed to get a 2fer but may try for another.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 01, 2021, 12:54:22 PM
Congratulations, ab_grp, on making QB! 

I just got to QB also, but with Shunn support for the last few words. 

Now to figure out what to make for dinner!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2021, 01:40:31 PM
QB earlier this afternoon. Don't know if either of the pangrams is a real word as I hadn't seen them in print before. But both were accepted, so there! Most of the other words are familiar ones from previous puzzles.

ab_grp, the book groups are "serious" discussions where you have to include chapter and verse instead of just shooting from the hip. If the discussants haven't read the work, they can listen, but not participate. I like these groups and also the selections, so reviewing the notes isn't onerous as I've read and reread today's selection several times over the years. It's just that one has to provide the context such as chapter, section, or page number so that the other participants can follow along.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2021, 01:48:42 PM
Congrats on the QB, cathwen! If I didn't have a bee partner who had some of the words I needed and could share first letters, I probably would have ended up going to Shunn for the same thing.   And I can't believe how long it took me to find the first pangram, let alone the second.  Just seemed difficult today.  And have fun with dinner planning.  I think our current plan is baked potatoes with chili on them, which I have never had but husband enthuses about.  We made chili yesterday because youngest loves it, so I guess it will be an easy but kind of weird dinner.  I'm sure it will taste good.

On preview: congrats on your QB too, Langue_doc! Yeah, the pangrams were not very normal today.  It sounds like a rigorous discussion effort.  Does the group choose a particular part of a work for discussion each week, and then folks plan to do the work you're doing to prepare (and then don't if they haven't prepared), or do a particular subset of group members get assigned the piece, or someone has to lead the discussion? It sounds very intellectual.  If you don't mind saying more about it, such as how you found your way into this or what kinds of texts you read, I'd be interested to hear (but obviously understand if you can't or would rather not).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2021, 02:13:29 PM
ab_grp, will send PM later tonight or tomorrow morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 01, 2021, 03:41:39 PM
Just into genius, no pangram, and you say there are two? Already needed a few "bee specials"

Did I mention I did get a quick 2fer? I'll hit shunn to see what happens.

ETA: Shunn, 2-letter list and finally Wordplay definitions. QB. Never would have gotten there on my own. A few headsmackers and a few new words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 02, 2021, 07:25:03 AM
Good morning!

It's a slog today, but found a pangram and made it to genius.

diligence/emulation--relieved that I didn't have the same solution as the NYT. Easy two-fer today!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 02, 2021, 07:33:15 AM
Good morning!

I am also at genius with one pangram; apparently, there are two. 

Yesterday I found unicolor by just playing around—I didn't think it was really a word—but lo and behold, it was one of the pangrams.  I also found inurn almost by accident. 

Langue_doc, I also feel a little disappointed when I get the same LB solution as the NYTimes, but it looks as though yesterday's puzzle is already yielding a good bit of variation.  I had cudgel-lamentation, then later found mucilage-endnote.  (I usually don't try for two solutions, but I had a period of dead time later in the afternoon, so...). That makes four different solutions so far, including the "official" one!  I wonder if there are others?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 02, 2021, 07:49:59 AM
cathwen, I didn't think that unicolor was a word either. I was also surprised to see councilor, which I don't think I'd ever seen in print.

Thanks for the information about the second pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2021, 08:55:52 AM
Good morning!

I got a slightly different solution than one of cathwen's: cudgel-legitimation (didn't really think the second word, which I found first, was a real word... but it worked).  Congrats on getting 2, cathwen, and yes, it's great that so far all are different solutions from the schmofficial one!

The pangrams seemed really tough to get yesterday.  Councilor is the one that took me longer to find, and then I almost overlooked council.  Today I'm at 245 with three words left.  Still have a 4-letter left to find! Argh.  It was helpful to know there were two pangrams.   Prefix/suffix stuff trying and beekeeping seems fairly key today so far.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 02, 2021, 09:16:48 AM
Morning!

SB: councillor is more of a British word than American English but okay. The Wordplay blog hinted unicolor as the color of the quarantine flag and I couldn't figure out how to get "yellow and black" out of the letters!

This morning, pangram and amazing genius so far.

LB: mudge-elicitation. Didn't think mudge would take but oh well.

3fers already so hope a 2fer comes soon and a messy 2fer. I started a letterboxed thread on the NYT Spelling Bee Board so jump in!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 02, 2021, 11:52:06 AM
So now we have six (count'em, six!) different answers for LB.  Cool!

I forgot to add earlier that I have a 2fer today.  I wonder how many different 2fers we'll collectively come up with?  Ciao_yall, "messy" 2fers count! 

As for SB, I'm at QB-3.  Thanks to Shunn, I know which letters the final three begin with.  But I just can't find them!  I did, however, find the second pangram.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2021, 12:08:49 PM
Yay for more LB solutions! And congrats on the 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen!

I finally made it to QB with Shunn's help and some from my husband.  Back to dragging today and looking forward to a break from this harried routine.  Ugh.  I do have a couple LB contenders but haven't made them fit together yet.  I have a call coming up and need to fit a lot of stuff in between now and then but will try to check the LB thread out later!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 02, 2021, 12:16:58 PM
Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I am now at QB-2 and struggling, even with Shunn.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2021, 01:12:26 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and good luck! I was at QB-2 when I had to get on the scaffolded help train.  Even with Shunn's help, I'm not sure I would have gotten the final two without being able to ask some pointed questions of husband.  It was definitely an impure team QB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 02, 2021, 03:57:33 PM
I'm heading to Wordplay for definitions because shunn got me nowhere. Looking at my list, it's all ordinary words so I think I need to learn a few more "bee specials" before I can officially don a black belt.

ETA: Still missing one. A few obvious ones, and a few "bee specials" but one I just can't get.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 02, 2021, 05:32:03 PM
Genius, but no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 02, 2021, 06:38:41 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on June 02, 2021, 05:32:03 PM
Genius, but no pangram yet.

Try suffixes. There are two pangrams.

QB--I found a couple of words because I kept playing with the letters. There's a compound that I found by trying various combinations with the second word.

Early morning trek to the doctor's so might not post until I get back in the afternoon.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2021, 07:16:12 PM
Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! Good luck, ciao_y'all and parasaurolopus!

I finally got a pretty solid 2fer and am looking forward to some dinner, wine, and sleep.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 03, 2021, 03:30:57 AM
Morning!

Amazing, but no pangram yet.

quarters/showdown

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 03, 2021, 07:21:49 AM
Morning!

SB - finally did some serious googling to find the last word - goby. So now I know a new word.

LB - throwdowns-square.

Will be taking a vacation and taking a computer break, so see you all next week!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 03, 2021, 07:31:25 AM
Good morning!

I was at QB-1 yesterday and gave up.  Bigeye was the word I missed!  I thought I had tried big with everything, but obviously not!  I got goby just by playing around. Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

Today I am at amazing with the pangram.  I do not anticipate QB today; I'll be happy to make genius.

I had the same LB as Langue_doc--quarters-showdown.  But ciao_yall's answer and the "official" solution are giving us some variety!

I do not yet have a 2fer for today--I'm having a hard time with it.  I've found some good words, but they just don't work together.  I'll keep trying, but today is going to be a busy day.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 03, 2021, 10:27:50 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got a late start with some needed extra sleep, but I got to QB without help from husband or Shunn! So maybe the sleep helped.  There were a couple of (what I consider to be) bee words, but not too bad.   It did feel like it took a while today to get anywhere.  Cathwen, bigeye was my final word yesterday, and I needed BI and compound and a hint from husband to find it! Congrats on QB-1! Good luck today!

I had headquarters-snow, so schmofficial, I guess.  I did take a look at the FB thread, but some people had posted answers! I don't know what it is about NYT-based forums, but that seems to happen too often. 

Still have to start sudokus and check out today's LB.

Have a good vacation and computer break, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 03, 2021, 11:07:11 AM
Well, I did make it to QB today, albeit with help from Shunn.  And I found a 2fer for today's LB, which had been driving me crazy! 

Congratulations on your unaided QB, ab_grp! 

And ciao_yall, enjoy your vacation! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 03, 2021, 11:56:21 AM
Congrats on your QB, cathwen! Aided or not! If husband had been closer to QB when I was on my final word or two, we probably would have ended up comparing, but he had a tough time today.  Luckily I found my final word (which was not a difficult one compared to others).  A win is a win! I knew you would make it! And congrats on your 2fer! Sounds like a tough one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 04, 2021, 07:06:26 AM
Good morning!

QB; couldn't find a mate for protoplasm; gave up as I wanted this as one of my words.

I think I'm past genius but no pangram. I woke up around 5:30, worked on the bee, and then went back to sleep.

ciao_yall, enjoy your vacation and time off from the computer.

Busy couple of days, and then I'm off traveling. I'll probably check in, but might not have the time to complete the puzzles.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 04, 2021, 08:26:24 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! I also gave up on LB even after enlisting husband's help, but protoplasm is a great word, and I can see why you didn't want to give it up.  Wondering what cathwen found! I was not near the schmofficial solution.  I hope your busy days go well and that you have fun out and about! Who else is planning on abandoning me?! ;-)

Got to 215 today with pangram but still not Alpha and 7 more words to go.  Jeepers! I'm about out of ideas and am still somehow missing two four-letter words, I think.  Yesterday, my final word was niece, of all things.  Not sure why it took so long to find that one.

Time for banana and sudokus and hopefully coffee setting in better.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 04, 2021, 12:35:24 PM
Good afternoon!

Langue_doc, I don't blame you for holding out for a mate to protoplasm.  Such a good word!

I had trombonists-sprawl for yesterday's LB.  I have also found a 2fer today.

As for today's SB, I just got to QB, with a small nudge from Shunn for the last word.  Now I can turn my attention to preparing for our oldest daughter's visit tomorrow!  We haven't seen her and her partner since Thanksgiving 2019.  So it will be a busy weekend, with puzzles wedged in during downtime, if at all.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 04, 2021, 12:48:59 PM
Congrats on QB and your 2fer, cathwen! We made it to QB with Shunn for the final few words, and husband beat me to it.  I am still working on LB.  Hope your visit with your daughter is excellent! Enjoy the weekend!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 05, 2021, 04:42:15 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday. Almost genius with two pangrams.

Enjoy your family time, cathwen.

Happy solving!

ETA. Genius
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 05, 2021, 09:30:40 AM
Good afternoon!

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

I'm enjoying some down time between making tonight's dessert and the cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow.  (Calories, schmalories.)

I'm at genius with the two pangrams, but no 2fer for today's LB.  I got the "official" solution to yesterday's LB.

This may be as far as I get today!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2021, 10:31:25 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc, and your 2fer yesterday, cathwen! Argh! I had dozens at one point but abandoned it because I figured it left too many letters.  Oh well!

Got to QB just now with help from Shunn for the first letters of the final couple words.  Once I had that info, it was much easier, luckily (and, probably, obviously).

We got a late start after too many calories, schmalories and festivities last night, so gotta get the sudokus in before they switch over.

Hope you're enjoying your baking and visiting, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 05, 2021, 12:58:31 PM
Congrats on your QB ab_grp, and LB cathwen.

I'm getting ready for my early morning trip (long drive) so might not be puzzling until tomorrow night.

I'm visiting close relatives I haven't seen in two years and also briefly visiting with their relatives I haven't seen since the wedding 11 years ago.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2021, 01:02:05 PM
Hope you have a safe and wonderful trip, Langue_doc, and a great visit with your relatives!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 05, 2021, 01:12:00 PM
I've been coming close and falling short for a few days. Gotta devote my attention to the Bee again!

(Also, 'centile' is still rejected, apparently.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2021, 02:31:56 PM
Good luck, Parasaurolophus! You probably also have less time to devote (at least, less than I do, whether I should or not).  I didn't even think to try centile today, though I usually try words like that.  Oh yeah... I also learned the other day that nickle is apparently not a correct spelling (though it is listed as a less preferred variant in some dictionaries).  I guess I thought that word and nickel were different words, so sometimes I'm really not sure if I am losing touch with the English language or what.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 06, 2021, 08:49:25 AM
Good morning!

Short bee today, and not too difficult.  Got to QB without husband or Shunn.  I don't think there were any difficult words, but there were a few dumb ones (in my opinion) that I just had to remember to look for. 

No luck on LB yesterday.  I feel like I am losing my way on those! Will try again today.

I realize lots of us are out and about this weekend, so just keeping the home fires burning...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 06, 2021, 05:40:14 PM
Congrats ab_grp. Thank you for keeping the home fires burning. It was reassuring to see your post on the bee thread!

I made it to well above genius with the pangram before I hit the road this morning, the result of waking up before the alarm on the mornings I need to be well rested.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 06, 2021, 10:31:42 PM
Close again, but no cigar. I really must be regressing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 07, 2021, 05:37:04 AM
Good morning!

Genius with a pangram.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 07, 2021, 08:41:02 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was a bad puzzle day.  Although I did not have much time to spend (visiting daughter), I had enough time that I should have at least made it to genius—but I did not.  Not only that, but I could not find a solution to LB.  Congratulations to those with more success!

Today, though, I got to QB fairly easily and found a 2fer for LB!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 07, 2021, 08:52:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to a team QB, as we were each missing one word and figured out they started with the same letter.  Today's seemed a little slow going in the beginning, but then more familiar words made themselves apparent.  I don't think there was anything too tough in there.

No luck on LB yesterday, again, so I think that's three days at least! I think I am regressing on that one and am also having more trouble with sudokus for some reason.

Congrats on your QB and 2fer, cathwen!

Hope your visits are going well, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 07, 2021, 12:01:55 PM
Yay, I finally got a 2fer, and I solved the hard sudoku in a reasonable time and without errors! I feel a little better now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 07, 2021, 07:52:49 PM
Got to QB.

Nice visit, ab_grp, spent some time doing puzzles with a five-year-old and being instructed on a computer game by the older sibling.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 07, 2021, 08:08:18 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! I'm so glad to hear you had a nice visit and got some puzzling and gaming in.  Tell us more about the puzzles and game if you can.  I spent a couple hours on a plane with a complete card shark who was six years old.  She boarded the plane with shades on, and I should have known I was toast at that point.  Anyway, I'm very happy to hear that you have had a nice time visiting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 07, 2021, 08:23:12 PM
Jigsaw puzzles with the youngest (this was a 100-piece puzzle) and a simulation game with the oldest where you could be a hunter and kill/devour one of the other animals. The game seemed interesting, so I'll ask for the name tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 08, 2021, 08:14:38 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, that sounds like a lovely visit with kids who are smart and fun to be with! 

Our daughter's visit was also very good, although her partner does not seem to be in good health, and we're a little worried.  Her physical condition curtailed some of the planned activities, but we had a great time anyway, talking and laughing and just enjoying each other's company.  Our home seems so merry whenever they come.

As for the puzzles:  SB is at Beta with the two pangrams.  I'm having a lot of trouble finding more words. 

My LB solution yesterday was the same as the "official" one—quantify-yokel.  I have found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 08, 2021, 08:31:53 AM
Good morning!

I have three words left today but am still shy of Alpha.  Finally noticed there was another pangram, at least!

And I had the same schmofficial solution for LB yesterday.  It was tough finding a Q word that would work with anything.

Langue_doc, the puzzling and gaming sounds like fun! Do let us know about the simulation game.  I wonder if it's one my daughter plays.  Can you send the younger youngster over to help my mom with the jigsaw she's been struggling with?

Cathwen, I'm glad to hear your visit went well and that your daughter and her partner bring merriment when they visit! Sorry to hear about her partner's health, though.  I hope it's not serious.  Best wishes in that direction.

Gotta go pick husband up from the dealership, as they finally (allegedly) have the part in to do the recall on his truck fuel pump, or whatever. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 08, 2021, 05:51:52 PM
Evening!

QB at long last!

cathwen, glad to hear that you had an enjoyable visit, but hope partner is getting medical advice. ab_grp, hope you got the right part this time.

As for the games, these are on google play. Here is the link to the Ultimate Bird Simulator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glutenfreegames.ultimatebirdsimulator&hl=en_US&gl=US

The others were Ultimate Dinosaur Simulator and Ultimate Wolf Simulator. Kid also had Minecraft and a galaxy game I was politely advised that these games were meant for kids and that these games could be played on an IPAD or a phone but probably not on a desktop. I was shown the different gestures and advised that pouncing was not a good strategy as this would expose the stomach of the animal to its prey.

Youngest watched the oldest complete the jigsaw puzzle on Sunday evening, so was able to put several pieces together yesterday. The puzzle, an atlas of the endangered species also had names of animals, countries, and oceans, so youngest found some pieces from the letters on them. Oldest came home from school took one look at the incomplete puzzle and promptly completed it. ab_grp, youngest would be happy to help your mother regardless of whether or not she could solve it and would tell your mother in a confident tone of voice where the pieces should go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 08, 2021, 07:52:33 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! Husband and I did make it to team QB earlier, but we had to consult Shunn, and then he had to give me a hint on my last word, so very impure.  I'm glad you made it!

I am not very good with games not on desktop, and these don't sound super familiar, but I will see if they are on iOS since you mentioned ipad.   I'm glad you got some good advice... I can see how pouncing might expose a soft belly to gnashing teeth. 

Youngest sounds like quite a trip.  Using the letters is a smart strategy (as is peeping the solution and working off that).  And as for her possible contributions, sounds like she would make a great puzzle partner for my mom.  They would be quite simpatico.  Seems like fun youngsters to be around. 

And I haven't had any luck on LB yet.  And I totally forgot to congratulate cathwen on the 2fer! I do have some contenders, but there are a lot of yuck letters, and I'm so close b4ss.  Will try more this evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 09, 2021, 06:33:03 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, those kids sound amazing!  What fun!

And congratulations on the QBs, Langue_doc and ab_grp!  I also got to QB yesterday, albeit with some help from Shunn.

Today I am one word away from QB.  Perhaps it will come to me as if by magic, as yesterday's last word did.  I was watching TV and all of a sudden the word catacomb came to my mind.  Aha!  That was the last word. 

I got the "official" solution for yesterday's LB—whom-marketplace.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Thanks for the good wishes for my "daughter-out-law", as I affectionately call my daughter's partner.  She is getting medical care, but I am still concerned.

Time to stop loafing!  Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 09, 2021, 08:49:54 AM
Morning! Back from vacation, with some extra wine and desserts to work off! Mostly relaxed and hiked and ate and napped. Back to reality.

Achieved genius and 3fers while gone but not much more than that. I did find quantify-yokel one morning pretty quickly. Yesterday I missed one word for QB - noncombatant. ARGH! Got a 3fer lawmaker-rap-potch before going on to other adventures.

Jobs to apply for, grades to correct, and exercise to do. Blahhhhh.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 09, 2021, 08:55:21 AM
Good morning!

Good luck, cathwen! You're almost there.  I got to QB but got a hint from husband that there was a dumb word in there (what I consider to be dumb, at least), so that helped with my final word.  I hope yours comes to you! Congrats on the QB yesterday! And congrats on your 2fer.  I had some reasonable words but no luck.  I certainly understand the concern for your daughter-in-law and will continue to send good wishes her way.

I hope to have better LB luck today but also have to fix one computer while joining multiple concurrent conference sessions on another, but luckily they are all being recorded.  And husband has to go back on site full time next week. :-( I will miss his company! It was definitely a bright part of the last year and will be an adjustment. 

On preview: welcome back, ciao_yall! It's great that you had a relaxing vacation.  Ugh about noncombatant! I had written it off because I thought there was only one pangram, but luckily husband encouraged me to recheck that assumption.   

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 09, 2021, 11:14:29 AM
Genius with pangram, 2fer.

Hope it's not some crazy "bee special" keeping me from QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 09, 2021, 06:36:03 PM
Evening!

One word short of QB.

Youngest is indeed quite a trip. When I visited a couple of years ago, youngest decided that the house was being invaded and spent the first couple of days using a blanket to shield her face from visitors as she ran in and out of the living and dining rooms. It didn't help that she was using the blanket that I had sent her for Christmas to "protect" herself from me and the other visiting relatives. In the past oldest would ask me to read to her, but now that she can read, I'm no longer asked to read.

Looks like changes and adjustments for ab_grp and ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 09, 2021, 07:44:17 PM
Langue_doc, the "logic" of children of different ages can be very entertaining (and weird).  That is so funny about the blanket you sent and that she used as her shield! Maybe you could have oldest read to you now.  Good luck with your word! I really hope everyone is not stuck on the dumb one.  The final one for me was 6 letters, if it helps.  It has been in there before, but I feel that it is very inconsistent about accepting "words" like that but not other "words" like that.  Maybe others are the issue for the rest of you.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I hope you get to QB as well.

Still no real luck on LB, but I listened to more conference sessions and cleaned my desk off a bit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 10, 2021, 06:20:05 AM
Yesterday, it didn't care for 'affine'.

I'm still on my losing streak, but maybe today is the day I break it and return to the ranks of the regular geniuses and occasional queens!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 10, 2021, 06:40:53 AM
Good morning, all!

Parasaurolophus, I'm sending you genius juju! 

Ciao_yall, welcome back!  Relaxing, hiking, drinking wine, and indulging in desserts sounds like a lovely way to spend time.  Good luck on the job search!

I made it to QB, finally, with that annoying last 6-letter word:  fanfic.  I tried it in desperation, remembering the term from a web series that our youngest daughter was in about a young woman who writes fan fiction.  To accept that, but not others...well, we've groused about that before.

Today's SB is at genius with the pangram.

My LB solution yesterday was the same as the "official" one—shift-trampling.  Did anyone get anything else?

I have a 2fer today, but it took me a while to find it.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 10, 2021, 06:47:37 AM
Morning!

One word short of QB: fanfic and it's a new one for me. Let's see what today unfolds.

Yesterday's LB was the official one shift-trampling but I really wanted to do something with gaslight.

Job I was going to apply for, which was a long shot anyway, required 3 letters of reference. So I decided not to bother.

More SB and yoga today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 10, 2021, 10:19:09 AM
Good morning!

I figured folks might be missing fanfic.  I was lucky that husband gave me a hint that there was a word I thought was dumb, which I didn't have in my list and found it for my final word.  It irked me when it appeared before (I did get it without help that time), because I don't think it accepts anything similar that I've tried.  I'm glad you found it, cathwen!

Today I just made it over the Alpha threshold and still have 5 more words, one of which is apparently four letters.  Lots of those today.  Husband is one point shy of Alpha after zooming past me earlier.

Good job on the LB yesterday, cathwen and ciao_yall! I was trying gaslighting and similar, but no luck.  Congrats on getting another one today, cathwen!

Sending juju your way as well, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 10, 2021, 03:24:07 PM
And good afternoon!

After getting no further our final words, we dove deeply into Shunn.  Only one of my final ones was what I would consider a bee word.  Oof! Oh well, busy day/week, and 70 words is pretty good.

But I also just (finally) got a (very lopsided) 2fer!

Parasaurolophus, I forgot to note earlier that husband and I were also thinking that affine should have been accepted.

And I feel like there's a word in there today that used to be accepted but isn't anymore.  I think!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 10, 2021, 06:54:02 PM
ab_grp, I think we got the same 2fer!

I'm at 69 words and 88.89% so that's what, Beta plus? Or Alpha minus? Came here to announce my status because as soon as I click off I'll find another word. Haven't checked shunn yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 10, 2021, 07:19:56 PM
Thanks, cathwen and ab_grp.

I found a pangram and got close, but I may well give up just short. It's not been a good day for it, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 11, 2021, 04:29:46 AM
Morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 11, 2021, 06:03:03 AM
Good morning!

Also pangram and genius so far. 

Yesterday I missed QB by one word—haboob.  According to the webz, it is an Arabic word for wind storm, and has been borrowed into English to describe Arizona wind storms.  My husband, who spent his teen years in Arizona, did not recognize the word, so it must be a later borrowing.  But harrumph!

My LB solution yesterday was cancerous-somberly.   I do not have a 2fer for today yet.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 11, 2021, 06:22:30 AM
SB: Another new word: haboob. Gah. Glad I didn't head over to shunn because I never would have gotten it.

LB: you-unscramble which came pretty quickly and was the official solution. cathwen hmm, there's a theme in yours?

Okay, happy solving! Quick pangram this morning. ETA: Genius, 2fer. Will today be a QBAM?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 11, 2021, 07:38:59 AM
Congratulations on finding a 2fer today, ciao_yall!  I thought this was a hard one—but I finally got a 2fer, too. 

And good luck making it to QBAY!  I just don't see a QB (and certainly not QBAM) in my future today.  I'm just below Beta and running out of ideas. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 11, 2021, 10:24:54 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We have haboobs here now and again, so I definitely got that word! They can be quite a thing.  Today got to QB with Shunn help on the last word, but lots more conference sessions and a call with my BFF, so not much time to spare.  There were a couple bee words in there today.

For LB, I had unscramblers-soy, so a couple different ones among us! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall! I will hope to join you.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 12, 2021, 09:23:23 AM
Morning!

SB - Yesterday, missed a few oddballs I should have gotten. But then... unhat? Okay. Another new word. Amazing and pangram so far. ETA: Still there. I'll be glad to get "genius."

LB - obnoxious-sprawl which came pretty quickly and was the official solution. This morning got a long word which ate up a lot of letters but no mates. ETA: Made a 2fer out of it!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 12, 2021, 10:26:21 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Unhat is dumb given all the other un-s they won't accept.  I think my final word was cantata, which I probably should have gotten earlier given all the harder ones I found.

Today we compared hashes after getting to Alpha and getting stuck.  Husband gave me three first letters, I gave him two.  I found one, so now we each have three words left.  Not sure if we have team QB or are both missing the same final word, but we'll keep at it.  Lots of beekeeping and at least one word I think was in there before but isn't one I really recognize.

No luck on LB yesterday, though I did have sprawl at one point and anxious but did not figure out the actual mate.  Congrats, ciao_yall on also getting one already today! Glad you could make your long word work.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 12, 2021, 01:11:52 PM
Genius, finally, after a slog. Took a peek at shunn and I am a ways away from QB...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 12, 2021, 03:01:14 PM
Good luck, ciao_yall! We had to look to Shunn for the first letter of a remaining word but finally each made it to impure QB.

Still no LB luck today, but I will keep at it.  I have some good contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 12, 2021, 05:48:29 PM
Good evening! 

It's been a busy day of household reorganization—moving furniture, cleaning out cabinets and drawers, vacuuming all the dust that had been lurking behind the furniture.  Oof!  Not fun, but somehow satisfying.

I haven't had much time for SB and LB,  but I did make it to genius with the pangram—and I'm almost at Beta.  I have not found a 2fer for today's LB.

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your 2fer!

Yesterday, I was three words short of QB, all of which I've seen before:  cannula, lantana, and lunula.  Sigh.... And I agree with how silly a word unhat is! 

My LB solution yesterday was blownup-praxis.  I was astounded that blownup was accepted as a single word, especially in the past form—but who am I to argue with the great LB?

I'm exhausted and doubt that I'll spend to much more time on puzzles today—but good luck to those still working on them!




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 12, 2021, 11:34:33 PM
Curse lifted! Gotta genius at the eleventh (and a half) hour!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 13, 2021, 07:23:47 AM
Morning!

Two-fer two days in a row. fornication/glibly

Pangram and above genius today; well above genius yesterday, and QB the day before.

I had to spend several hours yesterday trying to troubleshoot chrome not opening after an upgrade. Today I have to see why the computer is slow, which sometimes happens when Windows decides to upgrade. Aaargh!

I think this is it for today's puzzling.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: fornicating/glibly
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 13, 2021, 09:18:53 AM
Morning!

SB - Some new words... argh. Parasaurolophus congrats on genius yesterday! It was a long one. Slow start today but did get the pangram.

LB - Langue_doc, great minds think alike! fornicating-glibly as well, and already a 3fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2021, 10:57:11 AM
Good morning!

Today was definitely off to a slow start on the bee.  Yuck.  It took me a while to get to genius and then past that to get the pangrams.  But I have two words left, haven't compared letters or gone to Shunn yet.  Still, I think those options will be in my future.

Congrats on the 2fers! I had fornicating but couldn't figure out a mate. 

Cathwen, that sounds like a lot of work! I have to do a bunch of cleaning today and computer component removal.  I've been procrastinating but can't stand this graphics card screwing up my computer anymore.  Congrats on your 2fer with praxis.  I had tried that but couldn't find a mate for it.  I'm glad they accepted yours!

And congrats on breaking through, Parasaurolophus!

Good luck with your chrome and updates, Langue_doc.  I hope your computer gets back up to speed.  Congrats on your 2fers and bee accomplishments!

Have to start the hard sudoku and get that done by 4PM.  But it's also grocery day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 13, 2021, 11:51:05 AM
Good afternoon!

After my last posting, I did not get back to the puzzles, and so did not get a 2fer or get beyond Beta in SB yesterday.

Today I am at QB-2. 

LB is frustrating!  I have several terrific words, but cannot make them work with all the remaining letters.  To be continued!

Good luck to all puzzlers!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2021, 12:58:33 PM
Good luck, cathwen! I am now down to one word, but husband has been struggling (getting closer), so we haven't compared yet or Shunned yet.  Argh! Hopefully next break.  I would like to get to QB by myself, but I am not sure that will happen.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2021, 02:26:06 PM
Okay, husband finally got to two words, so we compared hashes, and he couldn't give me any letters.  So went to Shunn to get the first letter for final word.  No luck.  Went to first two letters, no luck.  I finally ended up guessing it by brute force, which I don't consider a very fun "win", but I guess impure QB.  I just ended up telling husband what it was, because there is no real way to hint about it since I don't think he's ever heard of it, either.

Got half my desk done, now have to do the other half with the problematic computer repair, then some new sudokus when they come out, and hopefully some LB luck.

Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 13, 2021, 07:19:06 PM
Yeah I'm finding some 2fers but the system won't take them which it seems they should. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 14, 2021, 06:02:27 AM
Morning!

Almost genius, no pangram yet.

QB yesterday; tried twee just for the heck of it, and it worked; remembered nonet from a previous puzzle.

Two medical appointments today in faraway locations, so might not get much puzzling done.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 14, 2021, 06:45:20 AM
Good morning!

Genius with the pangram this morning.  Yesterday, I missed entente (which I usually get!!), and mentee.  Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on making QB!  Ab_grp, was woot the word that was giving you and your husband so much trouble?  I don't know why I got that; I think it must have been part of a "brute force" effort (trying various letter combinations to see if something takes).  As always, I am amazed at what SB accepts and what it rejects.

As for LB, I was unable to find a 2fer yesterday, but I have found one today.  Ciao_yall, I hope that one of your 2fers took yesterday!

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2021, 07:10:29 AM
Morning!

SB - What on earth is a towhee? Well, I'm learning my critters, that's for sure.

LB - 2fer that wouldn't take was horizons-sprawler. I also tried whiplash-honorize. Did anyone get the schmofficial solution or another one?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 14, 2021, 07:48:34 AM
 Ciao_yall, I tried those LB combinations, too!  I wasn't surprised that honorize was rejected, but given what else is accepted, I was surprised that sprawler was also rejected. 

A towhee is a bird—here in the Northeast, we have rufous-sided towhees.  They like to scratch around in dead leaves and their song sounds like, "Drink your tea!" 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2021, 09:37:40 AM
Good morning!

Towhee was the word I finally guessed, just trying letter combos I hadn't tried.  No idea.  Sam likes his birds! Congrats to those that got that one! That's funny about what its song sounds like, cathwen.  There are some here that sound like they are singing "breakfast cheesesteak", but that might be wishful thinking on my part.

Still not at Alpha today, I think three words left but I guess they are long.  Husband is missing just one word, same letter as one I'm missing.  But, he heads back on site today, so I guess we will have less bee time in days to come.  There are couple not accepted today that are more or less annoying given others.  Today just seems tough again.

I had no luck on LB! I think it should have taken your solution, ciao_yall.  I surely didn't come near the schmofficial solution (though I did get plaza but, as usual, thought it left too many letters so didn't pursue it).

I managed to get all my cleaning/computer work done yesterday but now have other computer problems to deal with.  Hurrah.  Good to have more than one computer, I guess.  Still about a thousand conference sessions to watch.  Hope your appointments and trips to/fro go well, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2021, 11:05:03 AM
We leaned on Shunn to try to get the bee done before husband headed out.  There are some specific terms in there, for sure. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2021, 11:58:32 AM
LB yesterday was tricky - starting and ending with vowels.

Genius, 3fer and 2fer b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 14, 2021, 03:10:51 PM
towhee https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Towhee/overview and tomtit https://ebird.org/species/tomtit1  appear quite frequently in puzzles. There are a couple more, but I can't recall them offhand.

Thanks for your good wishes, ab_grp. The first appointment was to get things ready for the cataract surgery next week. It's a new doctor, a referral through my eye doctor, who I first saw just before my trip. I was pleasantly surprised both times by how well organized the office was. The second one was with my sleep apnea doctor who I hadn't seen for a couple of years and who always greets me like a long-lost friend. We talked about online classes and how I liked teaching online. (His wife teaches online too.) After chatting about our respective trips, we got down to business which consists of the doctor looking at my sleep habits that the office downloads from the chip and discussing the patterns and what I am not doing. It's worth traveling so far to see this doctor and my PCP in the same practice as I get the treatment I need and also there's hardly any waiting. Today I got there quite early and was seen before my scheduled time.

As for the bee, got the pangram and enough words to get me way past genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2021, 03:39:26 PM
QB WATHICG (With all the help I could get.)

And a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2021, 04:40:25 PM
I'm glad your appointments went well, Langue_doc! It's nice to have a well organized office to visit.  Hope the cataract surgery goes well and that the recovery is easy.  Are you going to have to drive all that way back for the follow ups? And it sounds as though you and your sleep apnea doctor get along well.   Husband's sleep apnea doc retired, unfortunately (as did his PCP), and the doc who took over has different perspectives on treatment that husband is not as happy with.  I definitely miss having my PCP in the same building as various labs and specialists and am still trying to find a bunch of different docs here (including vision).  It's good to have some you are comfortable with! Thanks also for the towhee info.  I really had never heard of it! But although I feel as though I know a lot of bird types just from life experience, I guess it's a very tiny number of them.  At least I find tomtit more regularly now, so I will keep an eye out for towhee in the future.  Both of the birds are pretty cute!

Congrats on your QB and 2fer, ciao_yall! I totally know what you mean about with all the help you can get.  I think I used all of what Shunn had to offer today.

I have a bunch of good contenders for LB, but no 2fer just yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2021, 07:11:33 PM
ab_grp Check your PMs (or don't).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2021, 07:32:03 PM
I was just coming to post that I got a 2fer! Thanks, ciao_yall! I think we have different ones! I am so excited to finally have one.  I found a really good word and was determined to find a mate, and it worked!! Finally!

ETA: yay, I got a second 2fer thanks to ciao_yall! I hope my hints help, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2021, 08:55:53 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on June 14, 2021, 07:32:03 PM
I was just coming to post that I got a 2fer! Thanks, ciao_yall! I think we have different ones! I am so excited to finally have one.  I found a really good word and was determined to find a mate, and it worked!! Finally!

ETA: yay, I got a second 2fer thanks to ciao_yall! I hope my hints help, too.

Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 14, 2021, 10:27:40 PM
Got to genius again, so the curse must be lifted. Whew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 15, 2021, 05:58:52 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on all the successes yesterday!  I missed QB by one word—larboard—even with Shunn.   A new word for the collection!

Today, I am at genius with the pangram.

It sounds as though we may have a variety of answers for yesterday's LB.  Mine is wolverine-embrace.  So far, I do not have a solution to today's LB.

Langue_doc, I'm sending good wishes for the cataract surgery! I have had both my eyes done, and my husband is having cataract surgery next month.  I was terrified the first time, but honestly, there is nothing to it.  And you obviously have a terrific doctor.  Your sleep apnea doctor also sounds great—you are lucky.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 15, 2021, 06:24:18 AM
Morning!

SB - Found larboard after getting a definition from Wordplay board, then lots of Googling synonyms for port and finally just a list of nautical terms. Going for the ATHICG method again. ETA: Genius but that is a tricky set of letters.

LB - microwave-enable.  ETA: Solved in 5 so woohoo, beat the target of 6. Let's see what happens.

Happy solving! Got a TDAP shot yesterday so having some side effects. Got up to go to yoga but it's not happening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 15, 2021, 08:07:17 AM
QB with help from Shunn on the last two. 

Still no 2fer!

I hope the side effects from the shot aren't too debilitating, ciao_yall.  Taking a break from yoga is probably a good decision.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2021, 08:47:54 AM
Good morning!

I think larboard was tough.  Husband said there were a couple nautical answers in there, which helped, though I had to guess a bit on those.  I guess Sam also likes nautical stuff.  Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

Today I am one dumb point away from QB.  I feel like I've tried everything, but we also stayed up too late talking to the youngest, so now I am tired.  I hope to find this word by myself at some point! But I may have to have Shunn's help.  I wonder if my last one is one that you needed help with, cathwen.  Congrats on the QB!!

I got ambivalence-earworm yesterday, and ciao_yall helped me get the microwave-enable solution.  I tried again with the additional hint that mine was close to another solution (the schmofficial one, I guess), but I ran out of steam.  I like yours, cathwen! Sounds like the title of a novel. ;-)

Hope your TDAP effects abate, ciao_yall.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2021, 09:45:12 AM
Morning (afternoon?)!

Congrats on all your QBs and the double two-fers yesterday.

Got to almost genius before I left to do errands this morning. Completed Vertex and got a two-fer on my first attempt--woohoo!

ciao_yall, listen to cathwen.

cathwen, it's reassuring to know that your surgeries went well. I've been talking to people who've had the surgery, and they have all been pleased with the results.

ab_grp, hope husband finds a good sleep apnea doctor. Mine has been terrific especially during the early stages when I couldn't tolerate the mask that clamped onto one's nose and face. He suggested the nasal pillows and told me that I could get something to put over my teeth if the nasal pillows didn't work. It was reassuring to know that he uses the teeth guards as he has apnea. I've been using the nasal pillows since and never looked back.

Now that I got an easy two-fer, I'm not too concerned about finishing the bee. Getting ready to eat dinner as I couldn't think of what to eat before leaving for my errands. I think I'm going to be discombombulated all the way through the surgery.

Happy bee-ing and two-fers, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 15, 2021, 10:27:18 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on June 15, 2021, 09:45:12 AM
Now that I got an easy two-fer, I'm not too concerned about finishing the bee. Getting ready to eat dinner as I couldn't think of what to eat before leaving for my errands. I think I'm going to be discombombulated all the way through the surgery.

Happy bee-ing and two-fers, all!

Wow - I managed to squeak in a 4fer and haven't been able to repeat it. Definitely in 5. Maybe I should take whatever you are taking?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2021, 11:14:32 AM
We got to team QB after figuring out we had each other's words.  My final one was not super tough, but I think it would have taken a long while to figure out (if I ever did).  We gave each other some clues and made it to the finish line together.

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! Wow, you are eating dinner early! Husband has the headband thing that kind of looks like headgear for braces, with a thing that goes in his nose.  I was not sure what nasal pillows are, but upon googling they look like what he has, I think.  An additional unfortunate thing is that they no longer make his preferred head attachment, so he has been trying to buy up a bunch of those supplies.  Things have come a long way since my dad had it (thankfully).  His machine was something else, and he didn't use it like he should have because it was such an awful contraption.  Husband was actually talking to a colleague yesterday about cpaps, and she mentioned an ozone cleaner, which we are going to look into since the doctor suspected the pneumonia might have resulted from or been associated with his cpap.

Have to do hard sudoku and then give LB a try!

ETA: Yay, got a 2fer! And finished the hard sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2021, 01:02:42 PM
ab_grp, this is the one I have https://www.resmed.com/en-us/healthcare-professional/products-and-support/masks/swift-fx/

SB--crawled up to genius.

The crosswords have been strange as the so-called themes don't make much sense. I've been solving them without understanding the themes until after I've completed them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2021, 01:03:25 PM
duplicate posting, deleted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 15, 2021, 01:19:01 PM
SB - QBwS2L (Queen Bee with Shunn, 2 letter hints.) Easy ones, just needed some aided recall.

LB - finally went to the online solver. That was a weird one, but okay.

Back to applying for jobs.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2021, 03:26:57 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! That does look similar.  I'll have to check on what husband has.   As for the crosswords, there were a bunch of comments on the NYT this morning due to the theme and to whom it is related given that it is June.  I was about to be more explicit, but I guess that could give away the theme? I can't remember if it was explicitly mentioned in a clue or not.

Congrats, ciao_yall! I will be interested to see what the schomifficial solution is.  Mine is not that weird, though I wasn't having much luck finding worthy contenders until I stumbled upon my first word, which easily led to the second.  Good luck with applying for a job! I hope you can find something that's perfect for you.  I probably need to do that myself at some point but am procrastinating.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 15, 2021, 10:54:04 PM
Close, but no cigar.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 16, 2021, 05:20:35 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations to those who had a 2fer for LB yesterday!  I am looking forward to seeing what you all got. I was utterly defeated.  Happily, I have a 2fer today, though.

As for SB:  I consulted Shunn for the last two words.  I probably would have gotten yuan by playing around with combinations, but I entered attaboy just for fun and was surprised when it stuck. 

Today's SB stands at genius with pangram. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 16, 2021, 05:53:31 AM
Morning!

41 words, 190 points today. Made it to QB yesterday; found the unfamiliar words including the tree word early on, but the pangram was one of the last words and the Chinese currency the last word.

As for LB I probably have an advantage over y'all as we see this fruit (whole, cut up, or kernels packed in containers) in our grocery stores. Yesterday I was dithering over going out the other entrance in our ethnic grocery store (Turkish owners, East European clientele, Spanish speaking employees stacking the shelves and arranging the produce) to the area outside the front of the store where the cut up fruit is arranged in tiers on ice to see if they had jackfruit kernels, but gave up as I would then have to backtrack all the way to the rear entrance with the parking lot. When I came home and looked at LB, the fruit popped up right away.

Here are some pictures:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/jackfruit-trees/growing-jackfruit-trees.htm

In this one, the youtube video on the right shows how to get at the fruit (I'll rely on the grocery store's expertise)
https://www.google.com/search?q=jackfruit+cut+up&rlz=1C2CHBF_enUS855US871&sxsrf=ALeKk03NnA0y9hmmpLuhbf2gMX4ltnC5Zw:1623789393256&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=WnHsnCgEiK8XRM%252CmABFduAsusGGmM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSdeb7rCrhwxrY8mfe4HL3ZLykH-g&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ6-XvvprxAhWVsDEKHYIrAgEQ9QF6BAgjEAE#imgrc=WnHsnCgEiK8XRM

I did not appreciate the NYT getting my solution.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: Good luck with the job search, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 16, 2021, 08:48:55 AM
Morning!

SB - Famous last words - going to try for a QB streak, WATHICG.

LB jackfruit-tomb was the only reasonable solution the solver site popped up. Langue_doc it's okay. You aren't basic.

I don't recall finding "fruit" at an point, or maybe I did? But the F-T wasn't giving me any final letters that set anything up using the J on either side. Once I saw it I remembered.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 16, 2021, 09:52:35 AM
Speaking of jackfruits, I discovered the existence of a Chinese grocery store in the city with a parking lot. Went thither this morning, and lo and behold, there were jackfruits (1-2ft long) at around $1.45 or so a pound, and what looked like durians (haven't eaten any) @ $16 or 16 a pound. The parking lot was huge, for the city, and was free for the first hour. Came back with a 25lb sack of jasmine rice and nothing else.

Back to the puzzling.

Good luck with your QB streak, ciao_yall and for a two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2021, 10:12:04 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, I also got the schmofficial solution and was sad that it was schmofficial, but it really did seem like the only contender that got anywhere, so I guess it makes sense.  I just kind of saw it in the grid and went ahead and typed it and voila! We saw a jackfruit in the grocery store a while back.  Huge sucker.  I'll have to check out your how-to info, because we just gawked and ran away, basically.  It's really great that you have such a variety of groceries available.  And yay on finding one with a parking lot, and a free one at that!

We got to Alpha and compared since husband has to head in.  And then had to look at Shunn.  I had three words left, he had two.  I probably should have just found mine, but we didn't have a lot of time left.  Yesterday my last word was yuan.  I am sure I've found that in previous iterations, but oh well.  I needed the extra help.  Cathwen, I had just said attaboy the night before, not something I usually say, so that one came to me!

Congrats on the 2fer, cathwen, and good luck to all on the QB hunt!

Happy solving!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 16, 2021, 10:28:16 AM
Progress...

Well into genius no pangram; but did find a 2fer. Strange but it worked.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2021, 11:09:22 AM
Yeah! Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 16, 2021, 11:38:49 AM
QB with learning a new word, thanks to the blog and Googling.

I wish they put the dates on the QB screens so I could track my streaks more officially.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 16, 2021, 12:40:18 PM
QB, with a nudge from Shunn. 

Congratulations on your QB, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, thanks for the info on jackfruit.  I had never heard of that before.  I had fruit yesterday, and of course jack, but never thought to put them together.

Ciao_yall, I wonder if we got the same odd combination for LB? 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 16, 2021, 05:03:01 PM
Easy genius today, but no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2021, 05:40:03 PM
Congrats on the QBs, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Sending good juju your way, Parasaurolophus, for the pangram and beyond!

I managed to get a 2fer! Mine is pretty lopsided.  I had a bunch of pretty good contenders before finally finding one that did the trick.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 16, 2021, 06:06:08 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on June 16, 2021, 05:03:01 PM
Easy genius today, but no pangram yet.

The pangram is a weird one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on June 16, 2021, 06:55:24 PM
It's so interesting which pangrams pop out immediately and which are a struggle. Today's popped out at me first thing.

Per the LB discussion--I love jackfruit. It makes excellent vegetarian version of "pulled pork" due to the stringy texture. We usually buy it in cans though. You can find the jackfruit in brine at Trader Joes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 16, 2021, 09:49:20 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on June 16, 2021, 06:06:08 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on June 16, 2021, 05:03:01 PM
Easy genius today, but no pangram yet.

The pangram is a weird one.

Gotst it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 17, 2021, 05:58:33 AM
Morning!

Got to genius with the pangram. I don't know how I'm going to find the remaining words.

QB yesterday; found dicta because I mistyped dictat.

hymns/somnambulist

OneMoreYear, it's weird how I find words as sometimes the letters just arrange themselves and on other days it takes a long time to find words that I've encountered before. Just the other day, I found buoy right away, but buoyant was one of my last words.

As for jackfruit, I like the ripe fruit and get the fresh kernels from our local non-chain grocery store. I've also found that canned tropical fruit and related products are less expensive in Chinese, Indian, and other ethnic stores.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 17, 2021, 08:19:20 AM
OneMoreYear welcome!

SB - My last word was diacritic. Got a definition from the wordplay blog, had no idea what those thingies were called, Googled "what are those prononciation markers called" and boom. Queen.

LB - myths-somnambulist. Wow, we weren't even close to the schmofficial solution! Did anyone else think of that old Dick Van Dyke episode when Jerry Van Dyke guest starred?

Seem to be 99% recovered from TDAP - I should make it to the gym tomorrow for the first time this week.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2021, 08:57:33 AM
Good morning!

QBABM! Woot.  Langue_doc, you will get there! No tough words today that I can recall.  I think didactic was one of my final words yesterday for whatever reason.  I had didact and tried something like didactacy... durr.  It's very true that some pangrams seem to pop out and others just take quite a while.  I have been trying to not shuffle until I hit genius, and sometimes that is not a great approach.

For LB, I had somnambulist-thy.  At some point I tried humbly but didn't see a mate.

Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

And I'm glad your arm is feeling better now, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 17, 2021, 09:33:30 AM
Good afternoon!

I also had somnambulist-thy for LB yesterday.  Sadly, I do not yet have a 2fer for today.

As for SB, I am currently at QB-2, hoping that the two remaining words unscramble in my brain.

Ab_grp, congratulations on the QBABY! (=all by yourself). 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2021, 10:23:40 AM
Thanks, cathwen! You will figure the final two out! And I'm sure a 2fer is on the way for you as well.

I have tried a couple LB words, but all have b4ss issues so far.  And struggling with medium sudoku?! Yeek.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 17, 2021, 10:39:08 AM
Ab_grp, I also struggled with the medium sudoku—and I usually get that fairly quickly! 

I haven't been back to the other puzzles yet.  For LB, I have two great words that use all the letters, but they don't fit together at all.  I haven't been back to SB yet.  To be continued!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2021, 10:48:20 AM
I'm both sorry to hear that you struggled and happy that it wasn't just me, cathwen.  Whew! Finally found a way in, and then it didn't take too long, but I just wasn't getting very far for a while.  Hopefully the hard one will be easier.  Sounds like you have ships in LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 17, 2021, 11:53:34 AM
Genius with pangram, 3fer, and 2fer b4ss. So at the usual slog point where I decide if I want to hit shunn or what.

ETA: WATHICG still missing IN5 to get to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 17, 2021, 04:08:52 PM
QB at last. ab_grp, thanks for the info about no difficult words, which helped me persevere.

No luck on SB, alas, I think it's a lost cause today.

cathwen, hope you found your twofer. ciao_yall, glad your arm's better and you got both puzzles..

Autocorrect, it isn't Cathleen, you dope, aaargh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2021, 04:26:06 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc, and I'm glad the encouragement helped!

I vacuumed my office, put together a drawer cabinet, and put stuff in it, among other things, so I've been productive but have not spent enough time on LB yet.  Will try later.  At least the hard sudoku wasn't as bad as the medium one.

Good luck, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 17, 2021, 09:03:26 PM
Phew, got to genius again. The mojo is returning!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 17, 2021, 09:12:29 PM
QB. Finally found the last word.

LB - a few 3fers but no progress so went to the solver site. Found one word but not the other, not sure if I would have found it on my own.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 18, 2021, 07:00:20 AM
Good morning!

I missed QB by one word yesterday—tingeing.  I think it was the -e + -ing that threw me off.  Congratulations to all the QB successes!

Today I am at genius with all four pangrams.  This will be a sloggy one.  Maximum score 271!

As for LB, I could not find a 2fer yesterday.  But I did find one today!

Happy puzzling, everyone!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 18, 2021, 07:11:21 AM
Morning!

Almost genius with two pangrams. Didn't realize that there are a couple more-- thanks for the info, cathwen.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 18, 2021, 07:52:09 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Alpha with four words left but am stuck for now.  The pangrams are many but are not too tough, so good luck, Langue_doc.  Congrats Parasaurolophus, ciao_yall, and cathwen! I agree, it's sometimes hard to spot the ones with -eing.  I think genii was my final word.

No LB solution for me either, though I was trying in the right direction according to the schmofficial solution.  Congrats on yours today, cathwen!

Not sure why when I can sleep in a bit my mind says it's time to get up at 6AM.  :-( More time for puzzling, but less brain available.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 18, 2021, 08:20:11 AM
Morning!

SB - last word before QB was innie. I knew I was missing an IN5 and couldn't see it. So the streak continues.

LB - According to the online solver fawns-seismology was the only (reasonable) solution. I had found fawns and maybe eventually would have found seismology but that i-not-before-e thing might have tripped me up. Did find a few 3fers but nowhere close.

The quest begins anew...

ETA: Genius, 2fer. 2 pangrams, and you say there are more? Okay. Will be a tired queen by the end of the day.

ETA^2: 4 pangrams now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 18, 2021, 09:16:14 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

Finally made it to QB with Shunn's help.  I think all the words were familiar ones, though.  Good luck!

Time to get on sudokus and try LB... then more vacuuming...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 18, 2021, 10:02:14 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on June 18, 2021, 08:20:11 AM
Morning!

SB - last word before QB was innie. I knew I was missing an IN5 and couldn't see it. So the streak continues.


The quest begins anew...

ETA: Genius, 2fer. 2 pangrams, and you say there are more? Okay. Will be a tired queen with a tiara by the end of the day.


Getting ready for Monday's appt, so have to put the puzzles on the back burner.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 18, 2021, 10:38:25 AM
Went to shunn. Still 2 words short. I know the first two letters. Really hope I don't have to hit Wordplay for definitions.

ETA: Okay, hit wordplay. One unusual spelling, one new word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 18, 2021, 11:28:19 AM
Ciso_yall, where are you finding the hints/definitions on Wordplay?  When I go there, all I find are some general articles on puzzles, no blogs or comments. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 18, 2021, 03:27:30 PM
Genius and four pangrams. Phew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 18, 2021, 03:46:45 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus! Husband just got home and still needs a few words.

Cathwen, I think ciao_yall is talking about the wordplay blog associated with the NYT crossword puzzle.  On that blog page for each day's puzzle, there is a link to the comments.  People comment on the crossword there but also on the bee and LB.  Good info, but also some spoilers to be aware of if you are trying to avoid them.  But if Shunn doesn't get you all the way, sometimes you can find info there.  It sounds as though you have found the blog's site.  You can also get to the day's write up from the crossword in the app by clicking the "i" and then "Get solving tips, comment on today's puzzle" link at the bottom.  But here is a link to today's: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2021-06-18.html and there is a link to read the comments at the bottom.  Or right under the title, the little chat-looking icon.  If this is not what you were asking or looking for, don't mind me... ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 18, 2021, 09:46:20 PM
Here you go.

https://www.nytimes.com/column/wordplay

Go to the comments, click on "Reader Picks" and the Bee crowd pops right to the top. Someone in Tokyo posts a grid and commenters post hints as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 19, 2021, 06:02:27 AM
Morning!

QB and two-fer yesterday. backbreaking/gizmo; took me a long time to find a mate for the latter.

Genius with a pangram so far.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 19, 2021, 06:33:28 AM
Good morning!

Ciao_yall and ab_grp, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.  Got it!

Langue_doc, congratulations on QB!  And Parasaurolophus, congratulations on genius with all four pangrams!

I was at QB-2 yesterday.  I should have seen martyr, and it probably should have occurred to me that rattly was a word.  Next time!

Today, SB is at Beta with both pangrams. 

My LB for yesterday was backer-romanizing. Looks like we have some variety for that one!   

I have found a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 19, 2021, 08:16:00 AM
Morning!

SB - tali was my last word and a new one for me.

LB - backcombing-gazer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 19, 2021, 08:32:26 AM
Good morning!

Broke the 200-point mark today but still a ways to go and a second pangram that I'm missing!  Found the first one right away.  I am struggling! I'm glad you found them both, cathwen.

Absolutely no luck on LB, though I think yesterday I had my longest list of really, really solid contenders.  Very long words! Lots of them! No solution.  Congrats on all of yours, which are different from each other and from the schmofficial solution! I feel sad not to have found one given the number of solutions.  Maybe I was concentrating too much on long words.  Maybe today will be more successful.  Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

And congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! Cathwen, you were very close! I think rattly was my third-to-last word, and I still had two 6-letter T words so tried tattly, to no avail.  My final two were tartly and trimly, the latter of which was also a final word for husband.  He also had trouble with tali, though that is one that has appeared before that is now lodged in my memory after having missed it a few times.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 19, 2021, 10:40:33 AM
Had some good luck before breakfast and got the second pangram, which was a bit of a "duh" in retrospect (though that often seems to be the case).  One word left to QB! At least husband doesn't have to go into work, so we can take more breaks and keep trying.  He still has the second pangram left and a couple other words.  Maybe it will be a pure QB today.  I am at a loss for the final word right now, though.

No love on LB yet...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 19, 2021, 11:18:52 AM
(1) Genius with 1 pangram; (2) lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet, and (3) cathwen has found a 2fer.

Three checks! I am allowed to go to shunn.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 19, 2021, 11:20:13 AM
I've got a 9-letter LB contender but can't make it work.

SB is close, but I'm not there yet, and have none of the pangrams.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 19, 2021, 12:31:27 PM
Eureka! Found a two-fer while taking a break from chores.

Para, I found a ten-letter word, but couldn't get a mate.

Ciao_yall, criterion (3) above doesn't count as cathwen getting a two-fer is a given. You're allowed to go to shunn all the same.

Ab_grp, waving my magic wand for your final word and a two-fer.

I'm still missing the second pangram; that's all I need for QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 19, 2021, 12:40:56 PM
Woohoo! Congrats on the 2fer, Langue_doc! And thanks for the good wishes.  We finally ended up comparing, as I realized we had team QB from the number of words and points husband had left.  Since we had the same number of words starting with the letter of the pangram he was missing, I figured out the start of my word and finally found it.  Argh.  Not a tough word! I just didn't see it.  He is still struggling with the pangram and two others but at least knows what they start with now.  Good luck with the second pangram!! Sending pangram juju!  At least you know how long it is if it's the only word left!

Also sending pangram juju to you, Parasaurolophus, and I hope you get a 2fer as well!

Ciao_yall, I hope Shunn helps and that you get a 2fer, too! I agree that cathwen getting a 2fer as a criterion pretty much leads to any outcome we wish. 

Got my sudokus done ahead of the puzzle switch and got a round of Duo in, so I will work on LB some more.  I have an eyeache from allergies or sinus stuff, so I guess I could do some chores for a bit and not look at the computer.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 19, 2021, 01:12:28 PM
Congratulations on the LB solution, Langue_doc!  I'll be curious to see what we all got, as well as the great words that wouldn't work.  Good luck, Parasaurolophus, it sounds as though you are close!

I am at QB-1.  I know (thanks to Shunn) the first two letters and the length of the missing word.  But I am not finding it!  I'll probably want to bonk myself over the head with my dictionary when I see what it is. 

Continued wishes for good luck solving!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 19, 2021, 01:29:44 PM
Good luck, cathwen! Sending you final word juju!

I have a couple more LB contenders, but no mate yet.  But I did put some files in a drawer, so that's something.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 19, 2021, 02:16:17 PM
QB - as soon as I went to the Wordplay blog I saw a few easy ones I had overlooked, plus the definition of the second pangram.

LB - no 2fer yet either, but lots of contenders. Anyone up for trading words?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 19, 2021, 02:17:25 PM
Quote from: cathwen on June 19, 2021, 01:12:28 PM
Congratulations on the LB solution, Langue_doc!  I'll be curious to see what we all got, as well as the great words that wouldn't work.  Good luck, Parasaurolophus, it sounds as though you are close!

I am at QB-1.  I know (thanks to Shunn) the first two letters and the length of the missing word.  But I am not finding it!  I'll probably want to bonk myself over the head with my dictionary when I see what it is. 

Continued wishes for good luck solving!

Yeah, this is when I hit the Wordplay blog and look for the people posting definitions.

ETA: Hit the solver site. Basically one solution. I had the first word, never would have gotten the second one on my own. But I learned a new word!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 19, 2021, 09:44:23 PM
Genius but only one pangram, and no LB to show for it (well done, cathwen!).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 20, 2021, 07:04:34 AM
Morning!

Missed the second pangram yesterday, but got to QB today. There's only one slightly unfamiliar word, but I've seen it before in more than one puzzle. Two pangrams.

LB--the NYT solution. I tried to find a mate for tourniquet.

Two-fer today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 20, 2021, 07:31:37 AM
Good morning! 

I missed mahimahi yesterday, so I remained at QB-1.  I've always seen that word hyphenated, and I would love to claim that I rejected the word because of that, but frankly, it just never occurred to me, hyphenated or not.

Today I'm at QB-1 again.  So, one slightly unfamiliar word?  All my words so far are familiar ones, so the oddball must be the missing word! 

Congratulations, Langue_doc, on QB and on your LB solution!

My LB for yesterday was also the same as the "official" solution, and I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 20, 2021, 07:52:11 AM
cathwen, the fish-word has appeared in previous bees. Another frequent one is tilapia, which should also give you tali. I missed the latter the first time it was in a bee, but then have remembered to look for it. I used to think it was an ethnic dish, but it turns out to be the plural of talus, a human bone.

As for the last word, try cons/vowel combos.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 20, 2021, 08:14:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! Good way to start the day.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! Good luck on the last word, cathwen! No tough words that I can recall.  Some beekeeping to do, though.  There was a word that I thought might be in there given others that are accepted, but no.  I think mahimahi was one of my final words, but I remembered it thanks to nearly missing it a while back and getting a hint from Langue_doc about it, I think.  Husband struggled with it and tali, which I missed at one point but now try to remember as well.  Not always successful, though!

I got nothin' on LB yesterday despite some good contenders! I was trying to make entropy work or equipment.  But it's a new day with new opportunities.  Congrats on your 2fers from yesterday and your 2fers today!

Today is busy with groceries, pizza delivery, pizza Father's Day celebration with youngest.  Gotta get the hard sudoku out of the way and get some Duo in.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 20, 2021, 10:40:52 AM
Yippee!  QB! 

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 20, 2021, 11:35:36 AM
Y'all are crushing it this morning!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 20, 2021, 04:47:30 PM
Thanks, cathwen! Congrats on your QB!

Good luck, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I think your cataract surgery is tomorrow... if so, I hope it is an easy and smooth procedure and recovery! Sending lots of good wishes! If I got that wrong, then I'm still sending you good wishes. :-)

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 20, 2021, 06:17:56 PM
QB, learned some new words.

LB with help from solver. Had some good words that used up a lot of letters and made 2fer b4ss but alas, couldn't tip over the edge. Well, tomorrow is another day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 20, 2021, 07:11:51 PM
Thanks, ab_grp, for the good wishes. The surgery is only about15 minutes, but I was warned by a friend that your body goes into shock, so I should take it easy for at least a week.

Not sure if I'll be able to do the puzzles tomorrow and the day after.

I'm getting ready for the fasting after midnight by putting away the coffee maker and the water lest I forget and inadvertently drink water or make coffee in the morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 20, 2021, 10:00:29 PM
Good luck with the surgery, and may you  be eagle-eyed thereafter!

I've fallen a little short on SB, but only because I've run out  time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 21, 2021, 03:32:08 AM
Morning!

Thanks, Parasaurolophus, for the good wishes, especially the eagle-eyed part.

Past genius with the pangram.

uplights/scram; didn't think the first one was a real word, but was accepted as such.

Happy solving, all!

Now to set up Uber on my phone for the trip back--trip's arranged, but I need to set it up all the same.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 21, 2021, 06:23:00 AM
Morning!

New words were codon and covey. I'm a ways away from QBAM but learning a lot of new words which will come in handy if I ever decide to study genetics or properly identify a group of pigeons.

Ended up in LB with some help with catharsis-sugarplum. I had lots of 2fer b4ss including pugilistic-charm, pragmatism-mulch, pragmatics-slush. Wonder if I ever would have found pharmacist on my own?

Happy healing Langue_doc and happy new vision! Friend of mine had that surgery and was amazed at the result.

Happy solving, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 21, 2021, 07:33:00 AM
Made it to genius last night after posting. Nearly there this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 21, 2021, 07:50:06 AM
Good morning!

Made it to QB but compared first letters for our final words.  We had a team QB and both found our last ones without too much trouble.  Congrats on making it over the hump, Parasaurolophus!

No luck on LB despite a bunch of good contenders.  Argh! I did not come up with the schmofficial solution components at all.  Congrats on all your 2fers!!

Wow, Langue_doc, I had no idea cataract surgery had those kinds of requirements (like fasting)! I guess I thought it was similar to lasik, which I have had.  My mom and MIL have both had cataract surgery, but I mostly knew about the after care parts (mostly eye drops and follow up visits).  Good idea to put your coffee maker away.  I also have routines that are hard to break in those circumstances without some help from my planning self.  ;-) I'm glad you have a ride in preparation.  Will be wishing you a great day, and I also hope your vision is greatly improved.  But now you will be trouncing us even more in puzzleland! That's a fine outcome, though.   Will be thinking of you and continuing to send good wishes your way!

Yesterday was so busy (with a possible electrical fire on top of it, which happily did not occur... the ozone smell caused a little panic) that I only got today's easy sudoku done, so I have the other two to take care of.   And will try LB again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 21, 2021, 08:58:50 AM
Good morning (almost afternoon)!

Late start this morning because of a doctor's appointment. 

Langue_doc, I'm adding my good wishes for the cataract surgery! 

Like Langue_doc, I also had uplights-scram for yesterday's LB.  I also was surprised that uplights was accepted as a word.  I like ciao_yall's solution! 

I made QBABM this morning for the first time ever!  But I as yet have no solution for LB.  I've come close, but always have one hanging letter that I just can't seem to fit in. 

Good luck to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 21, 2021, 09:11:24 AM
Yeah! Congrats on the QBABY, cathwen! And good luck on the LB, not that you need it. :-)

Got medium sudoku out of the way and will work on the hard one once husband shuffles off to work.  Didn't do much with LB besides write the letters down, yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 21, 2021, 09:21:07 AM
Well into Beta now. Phew!

Congrats, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 21, 2021, 11:19:25 AM
Congratulations on Beta, Parasaurolophus! 

No solution to LB yet!  Ciao_yall, maybe I do need some luck after all.  So close, and yet so far...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 21, 2021, 11:35:15 AM
QB, WALTHICG. I probably could have done it on my own because no unfamiliar or new words. Lesson learned from cathwen - keep at it!

LB - 2fer! Yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 21, 2021, 01:50:05 PM
I just got a 2fer, too!  This was a hard one.  My solution is kind of odd—so I'll be eager to see what you found.

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your QB!  A QB is a QB, help or no help. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 21, 2021, 02:00:13 PM
Hooray, Parasaurolophus!!

Congrats, ciao_yall, on your QB!

And congrats to ciao_yall and cathwen on 2fers! I still need to give that a try.  Sounds kind of tough, though.

I forgot to mention earlier that I was surprised convo wasn't in the bee yesterday given dunno, wanna, gonna, doggo, journo, fanfic...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 21, 2021, 03:20:21 PM
Correction - one word was a new word for me. So I'm not that awesome yet.

cathwen Mine is a little strange as well.

Parasaurolophus Join us at QB. We have cookies.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 22, 2021, 05:12:58 AM
Good morning!

Today I am at amazing with the pangram and already stumped!  Even genius seems far away, and QB seems highly improbable. 

As for LB, my solution yesterday had a Mexican/Spanish language theme:  chimichanga-abrazos.  The second word was tried in desperation; I was sure it would be rejected.  I found a 2fer today, too, and on the first try!  That makes my sluggish performance on SB sting a little less.

Ciao_yall, I wonder if your 2fer yesterday is the same as mine?  Or strange in a different way?

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 22, 2021, 06:16:36 AM
Morning!

SB - dryad was my new word. This morning, amazing with pangram and yeah, it's a slog.

LB - branching-gizmos which was the official solution so congrats to me on being basic. cathwen wow! Nice connection with the pangram from the other day! Congrats on your quick 2fer - I have a few quick 3fers with words that eat up a lot of letters so hope to get there soon. ETA: 2fer!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 22, 2021, 08:04:25 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 5 more words to QB but am currently stumped so will return to it later.

Congrats on your 2fers! Cathwen, it's awesome that you worked the recent pangram in!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 22, 2021, 09:27:03 AM
ab_grp I just tipped into genius. Are there any "bee specials" you have noticed so far? Trying to decide when to visit shunn... though the day is still young.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 22, 2021, 10:19:26 AM
Ciao_yall, I just got back to it and have 4 words left, but so far there are a bunch that I would consider to be bee words.  Some are in there pretty often, and several others are less frequent but have appeared fairly recently.  I feel like we had all or more of these letters in a recent puzzle, and I know some of the words were difficult for us.  There was another word that I kind of guessed at early on.  I think I will be going to Shunn soon! I wanted to try to get to Alpha before comparing with husband or Shunning, but I just barely got there so might be on my way soon...  With 61 words, I don't think there's any shame in Shunn.

I did finally get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 22, 2021, 11:49:37 AM
I hit shunn and am missing a lot of words. The 2 letter count did trigger one obvious one I was missing.

So maybe I'll hit the Wordplay definitions later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 22, 2021, 12:26:39 PM
I'm at Beta with 6 words to go, and I've been Shunning like crazy.  A number of bee words, eh?  Must look harder!

Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  And on getting to Alpha!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 22, 2021, 01:23:47 PM
Thanks about the 2fer, cathwen! I feel like it's been a while for me.  And just remember that they are bee words in my opinion only! :-)  There have been plenty of times when folks here have had no trouble with words that I have never heard of or was not super familiar with. 

When we were both finally at Alpha (with the same # words and points!), we compared first letters and each gave each other a letter (I found mine, but he hasn't found his yet).  I have two more words left, but we haven't looked at Shunn yet and won't until he's back from work since he can't take his phone in due to security (which I guess is a good thing for their work productivity but bad for my bee productivity!).

Good luck!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 22, 2021, 02:30:41 PM
QB! It took remembering a weird word from a previous puzzle, shunn, a few flashes, and slogging through the Wordplay definitions for some reminders and new words.

The streak continues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 22, 2021, 10:28:14 PM
Not today, I'm afraid. Am stumped short.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 23, 2021, 04:42:14 AM
Morning!

Genius but no pangram yet.

Two-fer already!

Taking it easy for a couple of days.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 23, 2021, 08:05:04 AM
Good morning!

Yay! Hi, Langue_doc! You've been missed.  :-) Hope your recovery is going well and that you can take the time to rest.  Glad to hear from you, though!  Congrats on your 2fer!

I have two words left today, so we'll see.  I think railbird was our final one yesterday.

My LB was necklaces-shivered, which was not schmofficial.  What did everyone else get?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 23, 2021, 08:40:43 AM
Good morning!

Welcome back, Langue_doc, and congratulations on your 2fer!  And congratulations to ciao_yall for the QB!

Yesterday's SB did not reach QB.  I should have seen libido right away, but did not; same for arborio.  I also missed railbird and that bee-word that I now remember seeing before:  larboard.  It was in a recent SB, too!  Perhaps next time I will remember it.

Today's SB is at Alpha with three words to go.  I'll be mulling those over all day, because I am stumped.

As for LB, I got varnished-deckle yesterday, similar to the "official" solution.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 23, 2021, 08:44:10 AM
Morning!

Learned some new words: railbird, biradial, bilabial and maybe I should try words I think are in Spanish like barrio or Italian proper names such as arborio.

Yesterday: knackered-devilish

Welcome back Langue_doc! Already crushing it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 23, 2021, 09:33:33 AM
Well, husband also got down to 2 words left, so we compared first letters and were both missing two of the same letter.  Looked at Shunn, both missing same first two letters.  Both missing same length words.  Compared lists, both missing same words.  Egad.  I guess we'll have to work on it more when he gets home.

That's a good LB solution, ciao_yall! I wanted to get one with knickerbocker a few days ago but couldn't find a mate for it.  It just reminded me of that.  As for the bee yesterday, I think arborio was one of my final words, though I had gotten barrio earlier.  Didn't take birria, though that is popular these days! And didn't take larb or arbol again, though I keep trying them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 23, 2021, 09:50:07 AM
Genius, 3fer, coffee pot almost empty. Now I'm up in the Facebook group where everyone tries to outsmart or out-gif each other with missing words.

Yes, I tried arbol and larb as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 23, 2021, 10:16:33 AM
Wow!  Lots of LB variety for yesterday's puzzle.

I just got to QB, with a good bit of help from Shunn.  There were some bee-words, but most words were pretty common.  Ab_grp, you're always sending me juju, so now I will return the favor!  Good luck finding those last two words! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 23, 2021, 11:11:05 AM
Thanks, cathwen! I will take all the juju I can get! Since neither he nor I have figured out these final two words yet, I am a little worried. 

Congrats on QB! I realized I totally missed your earlier post.  I'm glad that you got past being stumped on the bee, and congrats on your 2fer, too! As for yesterday, yes, larboard was in there recently along with bollard.  Luckily recently enough that I thought HAHA you will not get away from me this time.  I thought bailor was a little tough, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 23, 2021, 07:16:47 PM
Finally gave up  3 word short. Went to shunn where I could see what I was missing. Needed the wordplay blog for two head-smacking definitions and one slightly tricky word which I knew after thinking about it.

So, QB, but beyond impure. Kind of polyamorous, really.

LB - a couple of 3fers and one "ship" solution but it's not happening yet. Not quite ready to go to the solver site. Stubborn today.

ETA: Went to the solver site. Turns out I was close, but there was a word that I didn't realize was a compound. I'm a genius, at least in my own mind! And frankly, my 3fers were way more clever.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 24, 2021, 05:34:49 AM
Morning!

Need about 18 points today. QB yesterday--took me a while though. ETA: 30 words/111 points so far.

quoth/heavyweight

Thanks for the good wishes--I can read my emails without glasses although the eye is still blurry. It takes a month for the eye to be completely healed. Second eye is getting done in a few weeks.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 24, 2021, 06:19:23 AM
Morning!

SB - needed Wordplay to hint at the last words: paratha and two headsmackers - pray, troop.

LB - With help from the solver site heavyweight-toque which was official. I had found heavy, weight, toque but it's those darn compounds! Some good 3fers though - quaw-wove-eighty, quoth-heatwave-eighty, whey-yoga-aquavit.

Today is a new day! Happy solving! And Langue_doc, happy seeing!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 24, 2021, 09:02:51 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on yesterday's QBs, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! 

Ciao_yall, I don't know how I remembered paratha yesterday.  It just kind of floated into my mind, and then when it was accepted, it occurred to me that I had seen it before.  Apparat was my last word.

Today I am at QB-1.  Thanks to Shunn, I know how many letters, and the first two letters.  You would think it would be obvious—but it's more likely that I am simply oblivious.

And I do not yet have a 2fer for LB.  Lots of good words...but nothing that fits together.  Yesterday I found the "official" solution. 

Langue_doc, continued wishes for healing! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 24, 2021, 09:15:07 AM
Good morning!

We got to QB with some help from Shunn for the final word first letters but didn't have to go to first two letters today.  Yesterday we did.  Husband figured out one (poppa... argh!! I usually get all of those!), I figured out the other (paratha, which I just thought "isn't there something like...").  There were a couple bee words in there today, including one neither of us thought we had heard of.  Luckily, he's taking tomorrow off, so we should have three solid days of less restricted beeing and won't have to rush.

Good luck, cathwen! You are so so close! Thanks for the juju yesterday! I am sending some back your way today.  It's frustrating having all the Shunn info available and still having a tough time figuring it out.  I thought we would have to give up yesterday, but we got lucky.

Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc, and good luck with today's! I'm so glad to hear that your vision continues to improve (and hopefully also your quality of life)! You are making me more motivated to finally get back to an eye doctor.  I am pretty sure they will say I need glasses, but dangit... I have finally had five years free of them! My left eye is good, but my right one seems to have some trouble with distance again, and I think I need reading glasses.  :-(  Anyway, sending along more good wishes!

Congrats on all the 2fers yesterday! I had no luck despite having a lot of contenders and some pieces of the solution.  Can't believe I couldn't put it together from my list.  Maybe today will work out, though if cathwen hasn't found a solution yet then I am daunted.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 24, 2021, 09:42:53 AM
GWP and it's a short one, so I may achieve QBAM? Found a few "bee specials" already. Hope it's just a few obvious words remaining.

2fer - probably not official but a keeper anyway.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 24, 2021, 01:15:35 PM
Good luck on the bee, ciao_yall, and congrats on your 2fer! We are not picky about solutions here (least of all me).

I also got a 2fer! It is pretty clean, I think.

Struggling with the hard sudoku! I went through the other pretty quickly and seemed to be zooming along in this one, hit a snag, decided to restart.  Now I am just flummoxed and am not sure where I pulled the entries from the first time I tried it (though I guess a bunch of them could have been wrong... I didn't check what was wrong but just wiped it when I hit a possible conflict).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 24, 2021, 01:46:04 PM
I finally got a 2fer, too!

And I'm still stuck on the one remaining word on SB.  Now I'm thinking it must be a bee word.  Maybe some fish I've never heard of, or a feature of the climate in some exotic place.    My husband even got interested in finding the last word, but everything he suggested was something I'd already found.  If it is an ordinary word, I will feel really dumb. (Repeat as often as needed:  It's...just...a...game...)

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 24, 2021, 01:53:24 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! Good luck on the final word.  Like I said, there was one word (the final one) that neither of us knew but were able to guess with Shunn's help.  But folks here know a bunch of words that we aren't familiar with, so it might not be that word.  Whichever it is, I hope you figure it out! My penultimate word is one that I should have gotten earlier, so who knows. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 24, 2021, 03:13:17 PM
QB! Finally had to go to Wordplay to get the last 2 words. One is a new word, the other I thought I might have tried but oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 25, 2021, 06:47:48 AM
Good morning, and congratulations on the QBs!

I never did get the last word—coact.  It is now on my bee-word list.  I do recall having seen it before, though, in previous bees.

Today, I am at Alpha with four words to go.  I haven't consulted Shunn yet.

As for LB, my words yesterday were halibuts-swifter.  I have a solution today, too, but I don't think it's a very "clean" one.  If I have time, I may look for an alternative. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 25, 2021, 06:52:45 AM
SB - new word coxa (a hip bone) and coact which I guess is a word. Okay.

LB - cathwen I also got halibuts-swifter.

Gonna be a long bee today I can see...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2021, 08:49:34 AM
Good morning!

I'm one word away from QB! We haven't compared letters yet or looked at Shunn, and I'm hoping to figure it out but am pretty dead tired, as our A/C on our side of the house went wacky yesterday afternoon and then died.  It was pretty quick from symptoms to end.  Since we are in 100+, not great for sleeping, but we are lucky to have the other unit to help a bit.  They are supposed to come this morning.  I hope they can fix it this morning!! So much for husband's day off and plans surrounding that.

coxa was our final word yesterday.  Don't think we've ever heard of it? coact has been in there before so is one I look out for (if I remember to... the bee words list continues to grow longer!).

I got the same LB solution as both of you.  I see that filibuster was part of the schmofficial solution, and I came across that last night and remarked to husband that it seems as though it would have to be part of a solution, but I couldn't figure out a mate and was distracted by the A/C panic.  Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen! Clean or not!

I never managed to solve the hard sudoku yesterday despite resetting it several times.  But I still have it up so will work on that and the others.  I flew through the other two and just somehow forgot how to sudoku on that one, I guess.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 25, 2021, 09:08:09 AM
GWP and 3fers. ab_grp are there a lot of "bee specials" today? I hit a wall at genius. Usually I take a break and new words keep trickling in but not this time.

And this cute story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles-essay.html?smid=url-share
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2021, 09:36:30 AM
Ciao_yall, that is such a cute story! The bee brings people together.   What a journey! As for bee words, I don't recall too many.  It is more of a beekeeping exercise, for the most part.  There are a couple that are a little tougher.  Of course, I don't know what my remaining word is, so that could be a doozy! Also FYI there are 2 pangrams, in case you have just found the one so far.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 25, 2021, 10:01:27 AM
 Ciao_yall, thanks for that link!  It really is a cute story.

I, too, am now one word away from QB, and it's driving me crazy.  I've gone to Shunn, but still the word is not coming to me.  Ab_grp, I wonder if we're casting about for the same word?  I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

ETA:  QB, and yes, the last word is a strange one (at least to me--perhaps you have heard of it.). I got it just by playing around with letter combos, regardless of whether they seemed to make sense or not.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2021, 11:52:28 AM
Congrats on the QB, cathwen!! I know there's a slightly obscure short word, but mine is on the longer side (not the longest, though).  I will be curious to see if they are the same words or which one you struggled with!

We haven't gotten any further, as husband's day off continues with a spontaneous round trip of 2.5-3 hrs to Major City to pick up the A/C part that is needed but that can't be delivered until Monday.  So, he has just arrived and will hopefully return with the correct part so that the service guy can come back and fix that and the control board that shorted out.  Whee! I am here to navigate and take pictures as needed of the units.  If it didn't have to be such and out-and-back-as-fast-as-possible trip, we could have done lunch there or something.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 25, 2021, 12:05:36 PM
Well into genius - found a few more easy ones. Sounds like Shunn is in my future, regardless, if not the Wordplay blog.

Strange 2fer - found a nice long word then made a guess with the remaining letters and it took.

ETA: Shunn. One word short. 4 letters, starts with FU. I keep playing with letters and nothing is happening...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 25, 2021, 12:54:45 PM
Afternoon!

Congrats all on your victories.

QB yesterday; got to genius before leaving for the doctors appointment.

ab_grp, I'm envious of the time it takes you to get to the city as I have to budget at least a couple of hours to get to my medical appointments. Today I left at 9 (a bus and then a subway) for my 11 AM appointment. I do get into the city half an hour early, but that's pretty much how long it takes me to see my doctors.

Still tired post cataract, the trip was exhausting unlike my usual trips.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2021, 12:58:46 PM
That one's kind of tough, ciao_yall, though I had heard of it.  Good luck! You are very close if you are only two letters away!

Speaking of four-letter words starting with FU.... an update on husband's day off.  You might not be surprised to learn that... hahaha... after waiting in a long line, husband was told by the people at the store in Major City that the part the service guy called them about is not the correct part, and they don't have the one we need.  Where is it available? Take a guess! It's in Our City, just about two miles away from our house! LOLOLOLOLOL.  So, he's on his way back and will try at that place.  They assure him that it is the correct part and that they have it in stock and will hold it for him.  I will believe it's the correct part whenever it gets installed and the A/C functions after all this mess.  What a sh!tshow!!

On preview: congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc! I'm sorry to hear that you are tired and had an exhausting trip, but I hope the appointment brought good news.  It can take only about an hour to get to Major City, or it can take two or more hours, depending on construction, traffic, accidents.  Probably the same potential issues for any such trip.  Hope you are home relaxing and have good luck with the bee!

ETA: We don't have any public transportation to/from Major City that I know of, so unfortunately that is not an option in any case.  I miss the Northeast and its railways!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 25, 2021, 02:22:35 PM
I finally went to the Wordplay blog and the definition jumped out. Woohoo. The streak continues.

cathwen You have better luck than I do. I was playing with letters and nothing was working. Or maybe I wasn't hitting "enter?" Anyway, got it.

ab_grp Ugh, hate it when that happens! I live in a Major City so the challenge is figuring out which Starbucks to meet at. The one on the corner of 4th and Market? You mean the one next to Target or the one across the street...

Langue_doc, yeah, buses and public transportation can be exhausting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2021, 02:36:32 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! At least he is home and even picked up a late lunch for us (BK).  Hopefully, he can relax a bit before service guy gets back here, and that part better freaking work!

But we did both finally get to QB, a team QB I guess.  No need to look at Shunn.  Husband had trouble with the one I think you had trouble with, ciao_yall.  The one I was missing was an annoying one I should have found given other words in the puzzle but was a beekeeping issue.

And I got all of today's sudokus done so am back to struggling sleepily through yesterday's hard one. Argh.  And I still have to look at LB!

ETA: got a 2fer! I found a word that used 11 of the letters, which made it a lot easier! But I have other good contenders I might follow up on later if I have time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 25, 2021, 02:58:18 PM
Congratulations, ciao_yall!  That was the word that was driving me crazy.  I had never heard of it.

Oh, do I know that bus and subway routine!  When I lived in Major City, I took a bus, a subway, and another bus to get to work.  It could take an hour, or it could take two, depending on how things were running.  Now that I'm in a neighboring state, it takes two hours by train, and a little less if we drive to the City.  Getting to campus from here takes an extra hour, though, but fortunately I rarely have to go in. 

Langue_doc, I hope that you can get some rest this weekend!

Ab_grp, I can just imagine how your husband must have felt after his long drive to your Major City, and all for nothing!  I hope that the service guy has installed your A/C part and that you are now lounging around in cool comfort.  And congratulations on QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2021, 03:19:34 PM
Thanks, cathwen! It has definitely been a day.  Guy has not returned yet, as he had a couple other calls to go to first, but I am eagerly awaiting his arrival and successful repair.  That sounds like a lot of public transpo to have to take! And good that you don't have to go in that often now if you have an extra hour on top of that.  Yeek!

Finally got the hard sudoku from yesterday done, too! Whee! Maybe the unusual fast food infusion helped.  Now I can try to get a second 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 25, 2021, 05:54:04 PM
Made it to beta today with two pangrams. Stewing about it not accepting 'porphyry' yesterday, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 26, 2021, 05:55:21 AM
Morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Gave up on the bee yesterday as I had better luck with LB.

monarchs/submit and carnations/subhuman. Couldn't find a mate for machinations.

ab_grp, sorry to hear that you and husband had a frustrating time trying to get the parts; hope things are resolved now. As for your eyes, it's a good idea to get them tested. Eye technology has come a long way, so other than the blurriness associated with the dilation of your eyes, you won't experience any discomfort.

The transportation to the city isn't usually a problem as I schedule appointments on the day of the week/time of day when I am likely to find parking by the subway station about a couple of miles away. There are also fun things to do in the city, so I usually go to museums or parks before or after my appointments. Yesterday I was so exhausted (post-surgery exhaustion) that I didn't even check out the farmer's market around the subway station or sit in the park eating lunch while people watching, but instead, got on the subway right away as soon as I had picked up lunch from the nearby deli/grocery store, one of my favorite haunts. Having to take a bus to the subway station adds an additional hour to the round trip and is also often aggravating.

Thankfully, eye is healing properly.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 26, 2021, 07:19:08 AM
Morning!

SB - yesterday last word was fugu - I had heard of it, but didn't make the connection until I saw the hint on Wordplay. This morning, so far, genius but no pangram.

LB - broch-humanitarians. Turns out a broch is a thing. I had a few fun 3fers as well thumb-brainiac-cost, coirs-subhuman-not, actors-shim-manbun, bushtit-tarmac-con. So far, no 3fer yet.

Hiking today with a group so not sure how much more puzzle progress will be made. I did the Saturday crossword last night.

Happy Saturday!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 26, 2021, 09:21:29 AM
I never would have found fugu.

Got to genius and a pangram today. The pangram is tricky, but probably not for all you masters!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2021, 10:34:09 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We each got to QB with a little help from Shunn for the final word first letter.  The pangram was tough for both of us today, and I didn't care for it much.  fugu was tough yesterday, but I think I remembered it from a Simpson's episode.  Hurrah, Parasaurolophus! I had a similar issue with words not being accepted the other day. 

Got 3 LBs yesterday: hair-rambunctious (the latter used up everything but H so was helpful in finding a mate!), coronations-subhuman, and unambitious-starch.  So far, we've all gotten different solutions, and none the schmofficial one!

Service guy finally arrived back around 8 and was done around 11.  Whew.  I slept way better and am so thankful!! Also thankful that husband recognized that the part in Major City was wrong (I thought it was the salesguy, but husband was the hero of the day all around!) and searched out the correct part.  Otherwise, we would have been out of luck until Monday.   Looking forward to a cooler and more relaxing and productive day.

Langue_doc, I'm sorry you didn't get to enjoy the area more, but it's great that you were able to pick up lunch from a favorite place! And I'm so glad to hear that your eye is doing well.  I definitely should get mine tested (and do other doctor appts).  Still a little wary of being in other buildings, and I don't relish finding new doctors or the drive out to the other side of the city. :-(

Enjoy your hike, ciao_yall!  Today's crossword north section was tough and took me more time than I would have liked this morning.  Glad you got it out of the way last night.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 26, 2021, 02:53:18 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

Parasaurolophus, I never would have gotten fugu if not for some dumb luck with letter-shuffling.  My husband had heard the word before, but I had not.  I always seem to trip up on exotic fish!

Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  And I'm glad that the A/C is fixed and you are now comfortable again.

I got to QB today with a little nudge from Shunn, but I have not figured out a 2fer for LB yet!  And probably won't. 

Yesterday I had monarchs-substation.  I wish I had seen rambunctious!  I like that word.

Now for the crossword!  I'll look out for that north section.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2021, 04:17:36 PM
Congrats on QB, and good luck with the crossword, cathwen! Husband and I both had a tough time with the north, but you may not! Thanks for the kind thoughts about our cooler household.  And congrats on yet another different LB solution yesterday!

I have a couple LB contenders but have not had any luck yet arriving at a solution.

But I did get all of today's and tomorrow's sudokus done! More time to do other things tomorrow (until the next round comes out!). 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 26, 2021, 06:04:01 PM
Hit QB with a tiny nudge from Shunn. I was at QB-1, figured out I was missing a C-7 and voila!

After flailing around and limited success and variations on only 1 3fer, I hit the LB site. Small hint and boom, 2fer. There was only one solution on the site so not surprising y'all are having a tough time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 27, 2021, 06:32:56 AM
Good morning!

I cannot believe that I missed baptize on LB yesterday.  I even had economy!  Argh!  But, I did find a 2fer this morning.

Ciao_yall, congrats on both QB and LB!

Today I am at Beta with both pangrams.  But QB seems doubtful.  I bet there is at least one exotic fish I've never heard of in there somewhere!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 27, 2021, 08:31:59 AM
It didn't accept warcry yesterday, which is definitely a single word. And a word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 27, 2021, 08:57:35 AM
Morning!

SB: caraway was the last word to QB, just needed a nudge from Shunn. Woohoo! Let's hope my mental list of bee specials starts building up. Cracky? Kart? Ratatat? Really?

LB: As soon as I saw b-a-p on the solver site the solution came pretty quickly. I had found monetize - for some reason I didn't think of baptize, maybe because in my brain it's spelled baptise? 3fer was benzoic-company-yet and at one point I had maize-ebony which I couldn't make a 3fer out of.

Lots of puzzles for today, but first, coffee!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2021, 10:16:56 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We got to team QB today.  Husband made it there himself but had to give me the first letter of the final word.  Tough one with the U in the middle and no N.  I had a 6-letter word as final yesterday and was hoping it was warcry, but no.  I agree that I think it should have been accepted.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, ciao_yall! And keep at today's cathwen! I don't think there were any very tough words, but it is short and not too sweet in my opinion.

No luck on LB yesterday.  I had monetize as well and was hoping company or tympanic might get me somewhere.  They did not.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! Hopefully I can find one.

Crossword was long as usual and a little tricky, but not too bad.  And I'm done sudokus, so I guess I will try for LB and get some Duo in.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 27, 2021, 10:29:34 AM
Genius with 2 pangrams and a few 3fers.

ab_grp, any bee specials in there? Deciding how long before I hit Shunn.

cathwen crushing it as usual!

Parasaurolophus yeah, strange definitions of what is considered a compound. Trackway? Okay, there then.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2021, 10:43:02 AM
Ciao_yall, there are a couple words that have been in the bee more than once that are not what I would consider common words to use in real life, but they aren't the bee words that I think of as really difficult.  Of course, YMMV.  Other words are not ones I would necessarily think of with regard to what I would consider to be the main pattern of the puzzle, but if you play around with the few degrees of freedom you have, you could probably stumble upon them if they don't pop right out.  But I didn't think it was a super-easy puzzle or that Shunn should be avoided if you get stuck, because this letter arrangement can make it hard to identify all the words.  Also, trackway was terrible.

But I got a 2fer! Not with the contender(s) I thought I might get it with, so I might try for another at some point.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 27, 2021, 11:19:39 AM
QB and 2fer!

Maybe I went to Shunn and the Wordplay blog a little too soon. Still, there was one word I might not have guessed without a definition.

Still stuck on one line of yesterday's WSJ labyrinth puzzle.

Waiting for husband to start the NYT crossword so I can finish it.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 27, 2021, 11:48:56 AM
QB, with a little help from Shunn.  Congratulations, ciao_yall and ab_grp on your QBs!

I agree about warcry from yesterday.  I tried it, and was amazed when it was rejected.  It is a much better word (=more normal) than trackway

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2021, 02:06:27 PM
Yay! Congrats on your QBs, ciao_yall and cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 27, 2021, 05:31:30 PM
Evening!

QB yesterday, last word cracky,  which I found by indiscriminately attaching the y to words.

Need one more word today, but that's it. Wouldn't take the feminine counterpart of one of the words.

Crosswords are done. Got stuck on s misspelling in yesterday's, so didn't complete it until this afternoon.

Too lazy to get on the computer, hence my not engaging with today's posts, and using telegraphIc style.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2021, 05:39:17 PM
Good evening, Langue_doc! Congrats on your QB yesterday, and good luck with your final word.  I don't think it took the feminine counterpart previously, either, though I also tried it.  You deserve to be as lazy as you want to be.  Not a huge fan of cracky.  I think that might have been my final word, too? Maybe penultimate.  For some reason, we could not find tartar until getting some help from Shunn, and husband found it first.  We always get that word! Probably the pangram being so unruly threw us off.

Your post reminded me that husband and I each found out that our streaks were a lot shorter than we had thought! We had each apparently left one puzzle not totally solved (mine in April, his in May, neither the hospital day), despite us solving together each morning.  So that has taken some of the crossword streak pressure off.   It also reminded me that I misspelled "misspelled" or similar in a recent puzzle.  Wowza.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 27, 2021, 09:32:45 PM
Made it to beta, but I have another complaint to air tomorrow. If I can remember it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 28, 2021, 06:31:38 AM
Morning!

SB - last word was tutti which I got from the Wordplay blog, and I dunno, maybe I gave up too fast? This morning at Amazing with pangram, already crabby about a word it wouldn't take. Parasaurolophus maybe it's the same word?

LB - foundational-lymph which was official. Already some 3fers and a word that ate up a lot of letters but can't seem to find a mate.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 28, 2021, 07:24:06 AM
Good morning!

My last SB word was tuttedTutti was a late one.  Then I thought of Cosí Fan Tutte, and tried the feminine form tutte, but of course that was rejected.

Parasaurolophus, I'm curious about your complaint!  And congratulations for making it to Beta!

Yesterday's LB was calcification-nymph.  I found a 2fer this morning, too.

Today's SB is at genius with one of the pangrams—there are two!  And I foresee Shunn in my future.  But I'll hang in there for a little while longer before seeking his help.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 28, 2021, 07:24:19 AM
Good morning!

duetted???!!! Who on earth says "I duetted with so-and-so." or "They're going to duet soon."? I thought dudette would be more familiar than duetted.

Pangram and genius so far.

ab_grp, as for tartar, very often I find that words that I had typed on one of the devices fail to show up on the other, so if I usually double-check the entries on the computer just to make sure that they've all been properly entered. Recently the last word was port, which I knew I had entered earlier in the day.

Happy solving, all!

ETA cathwen, we must have posted almost simultaneously. Thanks for the info about the second pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 28, 2021, 07:26:20 AM
Yes!  Duetted!  I was perplexed by that one, too.  I don't know what possessed me to even try it.  No one uses duet as a verb.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 28, 2021, 08:52:48 AM
Genius with both pangrams. Still a ways away from QB. Yesterday I think I gave up a bit too early, but today it's such a long one!

2fer. Came to me in a flash while in yoga class and I couldn't wait to get the phone out and try it. Whee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 28, 2021, 10:07:13 AM
Good morning!

I have two more words left until QB today, but husband is heading in, and we haven't compared first letters or gone to Shunn yet.  I will hold off on it while he's at work and will try to find the final words later (unless they just come to me).  I guess I won't say what my final word was yesterday, as I think it's in there today.  duetted was a tough one, and I really don't see why they still don't accept dudette.

And I got the same LB solution as cathwen yesterday, so I hope that means good luck today.  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I usually just use one device, so I have no excuse. ;-)  Husband's app on Android has changed recently so that it appears like it does on the web, making it a bit harder for him to keep track of his list or count words.  Not sure why that happened.

Did anyone who did the crossword today enjoy it? I thought it was kind of clever, but some of the theme entries didn't make a lot of sense to me.  And it seemed more difficult to solve quickly than a typical Monday.  I did like the after-effect yesterday!

I ended up having time to get easy and medium sudokus done last night, so "just" the hard one to work on today.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 28, 2021, 12:09:42 PM
I'm at QB-2, and really stuck, even with Shunn.  More exotic fish, maybe?  Previous puzzles have show me me that I need to increase my ichthyological knowledge.

Ab_grp, good luck finding your final two!  As for the sudokus, I thought the medium and the hard ones were both harder than usual.  Perhaps I was not sufficiently caffeinated, but it took me a good bit longer than usual to solve them.  So good luck on those!

Ciao_yall, isn't it funny how words just float into your head at odd moments?  Congrats on your 2fer!  And good luck with SB!  It took me a while to find the second pangram.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 28, 2021, 12:57:10 PM
cathwen I have been known to look at lists of fish, birds, flowers, anything to see if I can trigger another word find.

Haven't done that yet today but maybe I will before hitting Shunn.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 28, 2021, 01:31:29 PM
I wonder if we're missing the same words, cathwen? Good luck! I definitely stink at remembering birds and fish (and flora), so maybe my remaining words are in those categories.  And thanks for the heads up about the sudokus.  I don't remember how long medium took me last night, but hard is kicking my butt, so I will keep at it, I guess!

Kind of curious to find out which pangram folks got first or struggled with.  Mine did not come back to back, and I think husband said he found them in the same order I did.

I have a couple contenders, but no luck so far on LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 28, 2021, 03:40:22 PM
Picked up a few more on Shunn but still 5 short. So to Wordplay blog it is... still short one, and it's a bird. I know the first 2 letters. Anyone want to send me a hint? I don't want to say more in case it's a spoiler for someone else.

Got it! I went through my old-school book dictionary, word by word. Who says they aren't useful?

Okay, QB WATHICG, the streak continues. And I learned a new word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 28, 2021, 04:23:44 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! Sounds like there are some tough ones in there. 

No progress for us yet, but husband is finally home, so once he is done with work emails and calling to try to get the same A/C part for our other unit (which made a scary sound yesterday), hopefully we will make some more progress.  Guessing we will be Shunning.

I did get a 2fer, finally, after a load of contenders!

And managed to finish hard sudoku with the help of a hint.  I had been missing something sort of obvious but just not thinking about it the right way.  Hopefully tomorrow's will be cleaner.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 28, 2021, 05:07:07 PM
There was a bird word, but I stopped after getting several points past 300 so I wouldn't have any information about more bird or fish words.

ab_grp, I think I can guess what your last word was yesterday. As for the pangrams, I found the noun first, early on, and the adjective soon after I knew I had to look for a second one.

Got a two-fer, so I'm not pursuing the bee. I think I'm puzzled out until 10 when the crosswords are out. Speaking of crosswords, I solved yesterday's (or is it today's?) last night without much effort even though I didn't quite understand the theme or the theme words. The cross-listings helped with finding the theme words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 28, 2021, 10:09:19 PM
It's too hot for 200+ points. My brain can't handle it today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 29, 2021, 06:02:02 AM
Good morning!

Well, I never made it to QB yesterday.  My two missing words were beltline and untune.  I was trying un- with everything, but apparently not -tune!   I did get linnet, the bird word, because one of my high school classmates was named Linnet. 

Today, I am at Beta with both pangrams.  I'll try a little longer before going to Shunn, but I do think that Shunn is in my future.

For LB yesterday, I found experimental-loyal.  I'm looking forward to seeing what others got!  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 29, 2021, 08:34:16 AM
Morning!

SB - linnet after much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Inbuilt was from filling in blanks from Shunn.

LB - trampoline-epoxy.

Will have some puzzle time this afternoon. Getting a haircut, then doing the downtown thing of museums and shopping while waiting for husband to finish his, then we are meeting for drinks.

City seems to be coming back from its Mad Max vibe during the pandemic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 29, 2021, 08:37:40 AM
Good morning!

Missed tubule; according to SB I also missed bent, bite, intent, and lent, all of which I distinctly remember entering early on. Oh, well!

Found the pangrams and made it to above 200 points. I don't have the energy to go chasing after the remaining words. Look for a bird word!

experiment/totality; found exemption, but couldn't come up with a word with the remaining letters.

Easy two-fer today, so will be resting on my laurels.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2021, 10:00:13 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am one word away from QB, but we had to look at Shunn for the final five or so.  Hope to figure out the last one eventually.  My final two yesterday were inutile and untune (which I thought I had tried).  Husband's was linnet, plus those that I missed, I think.  For the pangrams, I got bulletin first as well.

For LB, I had exemplarity-yon.  Didn't think the first was a word.  And I didn't have the schomifficial words in my long list of contenders!  Lots of solutions again here.  Congrats on your 2fers already, cathwen and Langue_doc!

Crossword was a little weird again today.  I don't feel like yesterday's or today's were the best for a Monday and Tuesday. 

Hope you have a fun outing, ciao_yall!

Time for sudokus and a look at LB with hopes of a victory there.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2021, 11:51:13 AM
Finally got to QB.  An impure team QB, I guess, because husband guessed the final word we both needed.  I'm sure it would have taken me a while! There was another of similar length that I thought might be accepted but wasn't.  So, I was excited momentarily, and then my hopes were dashed against the rocks.  Anyway, that's over with!

And finished sudokus.  No luck on LB yet, so you solvers must have seen something I haven't so far.  I will keep my eyes peeled.

And Parasaurolophus, I really hope this heat wave you're experiencing breaks soon.  It sounds terrible and very unusual.  I wish we could send some of our unusual cool rain your way.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 29, 2021, 01:22:49 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on June 29, 2021, 11:51:13 AM
Finally got to QB. 

And finished sudokus.  No luck on LB yet, so you solvers must have seen something I haven't so far.  I will keep my eyes peeled.

And Parasaurolophus, I really hope this heat wave you're experiencing breaks soon.  It sounds terrible and very unusual.  I wish we could send some of our unusual cool rain your way.

Congrats on QB. As for LB, my first word is rather long--a compound-- and the second one quite short, both familiar words.

Parasaurolophus, hang in there. Hope the weather breaks in a day or two.

Enjoy your outings and haircut, ciao_yall. Our guv and mayor think we're out of the woods--the latter actually compared the "back to normal" to a return to democracy. Our vaccination numbers are quite low, so I'm being cautious.

Hope you and cathwen got to QB. I'm happy with my two-fer so am not looking for more words on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2021, 04:31:29 PM
Thanks for the hint about your solution, Langue_doc! Today has just been too interrupt-driven to feel very satisfying, but maybe I'll get some energy up to do more.

ETA: opened LB in phone, saw it right away! Thanks again!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 29, 2021, 07:29:50 PM
Out running errands and doing fun things so...

SB - 2 new words, thanks to the Wordplay blog.

LB - went to the solver site. I would like to think I would have found it on my own had I spent more time on it today.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 30, 2021, 03:58:22 AM
Morning!

Two pangrams and QB.

background/dial

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 30, 2021, 06:03:17 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QB already, Langue_doc! 

I am at Beta with both pangrams.  I don't know how much time I'll have to spend today on this, because we have Youngest Daughter and Boyfriend arriving tomorrow, whom we haven't seen since March 2019, so today will be a cleaning blitz!

For LB, I also had background-dial.  And this morning I found a 2fer on my first try!  That doesn't happen often.

As for yesterday's SB, I fell a good bit short of QB.  I missed ninepin and tenpin, also petit/petite, which is especially annoying because I am always on the lookout for French words that have been absorbed into English.  I could swear that I tried yippie and tintype, but I must have mistyped them (or I'm remembering wrong).  Oh well!

Anyway, happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 30, 2021, 06:16:33 AM
Morning!

SB - new words pipit (another bird) and tippet (but it won't take tallit?) Genius already ETA and 2 pangrams.

LB - background-dial and ETA 3fer 2fer already.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 30, 2021, 10:05:12 AM
Good morning!

Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! Husband and I also each managed QBABM! Not too tough today.  tintype was our last word, which husband found, thankfully. 

And I got the same LB solution thanks to Langue_doc's hint!  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

I hope your cleaning blitz goes well and that you enjoy the visit, cathwen!

Will start working on sudokus and LB soon but have a couple meetings and housemates coming and going to work around. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 30, 2021, 11:04:45 AM
Woo-hoo!  I just made QB, albeit with a nudge from Shunn. I probably went to Shunn a little too soon, but I was pressed for time and wanted to speed up the process. 

As for the blitz, that is going well; I'm almost finished (to the extent that cleaning can ever be finished).

Congratulations on QB, ab_grp, and ABY to boot!  Good luck on the sudokus and LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 30, 2021, 11:38:58 AM
QB with Shunn as well! Learned a new word that I found by accident early on just by playing with letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 30, 2021, 01:28:04 PM
Congrats on the QBs, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Cathwen, I totally get speeding up the process when time is limited.  And, if you started the cleaning blitz and are making progress, sounds like quite an accomplishment to me! I always feel like I do all this cleaning because someone's coming over, but then I wish it were always that clean so that I could enjoy it myself.  Yet, I still do the same thing each time.  I guess it's like fixing up your house to sell it!

Got the sudokus out of the way without too much trouble, but I haven't had much luck at LB other than some contenders.  One more meeting that I have to actually participate in (but with friends), then back to it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 01, 2021, 05:59:25 AM
Morning!

Genius with a pangram. Might not continue as it looks like a case of diminishing returns time-wise.

checkouts/serjeant; the latter was my misspelled sergeant, but was accepted all the same.

Happy solving, all!

cathwen, hope you have a nice visit with daughter and BF.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 01, 2021, 06:44:38 AM
Good morning!

Thanks for the good wishes, Langue_doc.  They arrive this evening, and we are both eager to see them again.

I am also at genius with the pangram, but I doubt that I'll have time to try to go much further, given all the last-minute bustling around I'll be doing today. 

Yesterday's LB was carjacks-southern, which is a less "clean" solution than the "official" one.  I have a 2fer today, also.

Ab_grp, I know what you mean about cleaning.  I hate it with a passion.  I am not one of those people whose joy is sparked by removing dust and dirt—just a grim sense of satisfaction.  It might be more joyous if things would just stay clean!  But no, before long, you have to do it all over again.  One of these days I will actually break down and hire a cleaning service once or twice a month. 

Anyway—enough venting.  Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 01, 2021, 07:38:30 AM
Morning!

SB - Queen yesterday - bathtub was the last word when Shunn told me, after a process of elimination, that I was missing a 7-letter BA word that was a compound. Maybe I could have found it on my own but I was getting impatient, wondering if there was a "bee special" in there.

Genius with pangram this morning. cathwen I hear ya. There is that point when new words slow down and stop, my tricks stop working, and I wonder if I will find it on my own or am I looking for some weird bird or fish?

LB - jacks-southern, and 2fer already.

Fasting blood draw this morning then job search continues.

Cleaning - some friends of ours put on the disco music every Saturday morning and have a cleaning/dance party. Their place is spotless.

I have always been messy, and my husband is very neat. When we first started dating he would clean my place and I never really knew it. I wondered why it seemed I could go so long without cleaning.

He gave me a plant and would have to water and dust it. Well, I have other gifts, I guess.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 01, 2021, 08:22:48 AM
Good morning!

I'm 4 words from QB but not at Alpha yet.  Sounds like Langue_doc and I are thinking similarly... I feel like I am just trying various combos of prefixes and suffixes, not many interesting words in there.  And I can't remember what I've tried, and there are some words that seem like they should have been accepted but weren't while there are others that I weren't sure were words but just tried.  Husband is past me, so he may make it.  We'll see where we get.  He is working at home today, off tomorrow, and hopefully no A/C or other emergencies, so hopefully we will have time to just relax and enjoy the puzzles a bit.  bathtub was the final word for both of us yesterday.  I saw it just before we were about to end a break, after trying all sorts of weird letter combos.  Geez.

For LB, I finally got coatchecks-sojourn.  Lots of different solutions again!

As for cleaning, neither my husband nor I are big on it.  We mostly just have a lot of clutter (books, etc.).  But thinks do seem to get dusty quickly here, and since we both have allergies I guess we would do better for ourselves if we did more keeping up with that.  I do feel good when I feel like some part of cleaning is "finished", but as we've discussed that doesn't really seem to happen often.  At one point, I printed a bunch of little 5-, 10-, 15-minute clean up lists for different rooms, but even that seemed like a lot to do.  As ciao_yall says, I guess at least we have other gifts! I love the music idea.  We do that while cooking, but maybe we could try it out while doing other domestic chores.  But then I have to change the songs when I want to hear something else, so...

Have a fantastic visit, cathwen! The anticipation and last-minute running around is a fun part of it, but don't wear yourself out before they get here! :-)

And good luck with the fasting (ugh!) blood draw and job search, ciao_yall.

Congrats on your 2fers already, cathwen and ciao_yall! I hope to follow in your footsteps.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 01, 2021, 08:38:59 AM
I'm somewhere in early Beta today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 01, 2021, 08:57:51 AM
Hurrah, Parasaurolophus! Sending you cooling bee vibes!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 01, 2021, 09:56:15 AM
Getting close-ish. But it won't take words it seems it should. I suspect there are a few "bee specials" lurking around in there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 01, 2021, 10:55:12 AM
We finally compared and went to Shunn and got to impure team QB.  Ugh, not really a fun puzzle IMO.  I don't really think there were many (if any?) bee words in there, ciao_yall.  Lots of beekeeping and prefix/suffix combos.

Also realized the date, so happy Canada Day, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 01, 2021, 01:29:16 PM
Finally hit the Wordplay blog for a few nudges. No "bee specials" really except one new word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 02, 2021, 06:22:12 AM
Good morning!

No QBs for me yesterday, pure or impure.  I missed divvied and invitee.  Today I am at genius with pangram.  I did get unitive through random addition of the suffix -tive.

Yesterday's LB:  encrypt-toughie.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Youngest Daughter and Boyfriend arrived around 8:30pm last night from the West coast.  Today we head to Upstate NY to see her mother, stepfather (I am her stepmother), and stepfather's daughter, husband, and kids.  So, a large blended family gathering!  If I get any puzzling time, I'll be amazed. 

Anyway—happy puzzling, and congratulations on all victories!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 02, 2021, 08:27:27 AM
Good morning!

I got to QBABM, but the pangram was my final word! Wasn't sure I would ever find it.  Husband is still searching.  I guessed unitive yesterday but don't remember what  my final words were.

Never did get an LB solution yesterday! Congrats on yours and on already getting one today, cathwen! And good luck on the bee if you get time! Hope you have a great trip and visit with the blended family.

Husband will be going to pick up a huge amount of BBQ, and we are going to eat in our PJs and watch a movie or two if I can keep my eyes open.  Hopefully this "day off" for him goes better than last week's!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 02, 2021, 09:02:13 AM
Morning!

SB: New word -  unitive. But it wouldn't take unvetted or unvented? cathwen I also missed divvied and invitee yesterday until a nudge from Wordplay. Not quite "bee specials" but words that aren't top of mind. This morning, genius with pangram pretty quickly.

LB: Yesterday - encryption-nought and have a 2fer today with a word I guessed, but it took, so hey. Probably not the official solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 02, 2021, 10:36:10 AM
Morning/Afternoon(?)!

QB--found unitive because I was indiscriminately affixing -ive. The last word was one that I thought I had entered much earlier.

QB today--no difficult words; try compounds if you are stuck. The pangram was my second word.

cathwen, sounds like a happy family gathering, more so because of the travel and social restrictions that have been in place for over a year.

ab_grp, enjoy your lazing around in your jammies evening.

I had to get the usual oil change, inspection sticker, and have the service place attach my new registration inside the windshield. Takes an hour at least to get to the dealer/service place, and then had to wait for a couple of hours for them to decide if the car needed anything else. Traffic wasn't too bad, probably because of the forecast. So now I'm ready for my Fourth outing, where I'll have no internet, but will nevertheless have a good time with friends. I'm driving out tomorrow and will be back mid-week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for light traffic on what is usually a very heavily trafficked long drive because of the forecast and because I'm assuming that travelers might have already left for the weekend. I might get to do some of the puzzles, but might not post as I don't have my account set up on the phone.

Happy Fourth, y'all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 02, 2021, 11:16:47 AM
Thanks for the reminder about divvied, cathwen and ciao_yall! That was my last word yesterday.  I think intuitive was second-to-last for some reason.  I didn't understand why unenvied wasn't in there, and uninvite seems like common enough parlance compared to some slang they have in there.  Same with the words you mentioned.  Congrats on your 2fer!

Thanks, Langue_doc! We actually already started on BBQ in jammies with a late breakfast of various mini taco/burrito thingies and watched the opening part of the movie.  Will regroup in an hour or so to watch more and have lunch and then more for dinner later! I am so looking forward to brisket! I hope your trip goes well.  Talking about your registration/inspection stickers reminded me that I had to have my windshield replaced once after something hit my windshield like a bullet while I was driving.  Guy came to my house to do it but wouldn't move my stickers from my old windshield to new until I pretty much begged him.  Why should I have to go get new stickers? Criminy!! He obviously knows it's my windshield.  In any case, I hope your fourth outing is splendid and that you enjoy time with your friends.  Of course you will be missed!  Happy fourth!! And congrats on QB!

Got sudokus all done, so I just need to try to fit some Duo in between movie and BBQ action.  Haven't really looked at LB yet, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 02, 2021, 12:33:45 PM
QB - 2... Shunn gave a nudge for 2 and I know which ones I am missing.

ETA: Went to Wordplay blog for nudges for the last two. One I might have gotten eventually, or maybe not. The other was a headsmacker.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 02, 2021, 06:08:07 PM
Made my way into Beta again today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 03, 2021, 07:17:18 AM
Morning!

Congrats on Beta,  Parasaurolophus!

SB: Last two words from Wordplay for mononym (may never have guessed that on my own) and eggnog ARGH!

LB: crowl-liquidate. I just guessed at crowl and it took - turns out it's an Irish/Scottish term for dwarf/stunt. I would have had crewel-liquidator b4ss.

Not started yet. Long hike planned for today so not sure how much progress will be made on puzzles.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 03, 2021, 10:20:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have 6 more words left to QB but am pretty sure we will be Shunning, as we are both stumped (and husband has 11 more to go).  Not at Alpha yet, 6 points away from that.  The crossword took a while, with the top left being a sticking point for both of us.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I had a bunch of contenders but no luck.  Have fun on your hike.

Congrats on getting to beta, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 03, 2021, 11:40:16 AM
Made it again! Now for LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 03, 2021, 01:28:36 PM
Good afternoon!

Having a lovely time on the shore of one of the Finger Lakes.  I'm now sitting in an Adirondack chair on a dock by the lake and feeling very mellow. 

Yesterday's SB was at QB-1; I missed eggnog.  Today I am seven words short of QB, and doubt that I'll get them by the end of the day. 

LB yesterday was the same as the "official" answer.  I found a 2fer this afternoon, against all expectations (I thought this was a hard one!).

Congratulations to the QBs, Betas, and 2fers!  Happy puzzling, and enjoy the weekend!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 03, 2021, 01:53:04 PM
Well, now I'm one word from QB, but I haven't had any luck.  Waiting for husband to get to Alpha before comparing, and he is close.

Congrats on getting there again, Parasaurolophus!

It sounds as though you are having a lovely, restful trip, cathwen! And you have gotten pretty far on the bee given the peaceful surroundings! It has been a slog.  Good luck if you try more on it, and congrats on your 2fer! It sounds like a rough one today.

Got sudokus done.  It seemed like medium was harder than hard for some reason.  Time for Duo, some LB attempts, then back to the bee.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 04, 2021, 08:30:55 AM
Morning!

Yesterday went hiking and someone in the group turned out to be another SB-er! We compared lists but were still at Genius, and a ways away from Queen so I turned her on to Shunn and the Wordplay blog. She tsked about "cheating" but I learned a new word adenine which she helped me spell, and later after I got home I hit Queen with words I thought I had but didn't. That's what happens when the word lists get that long!

LB - cornflower-rajahs which was the schmofficial solution. I was just guessing that you could spell rajah with an h. A good reminder to be bold!

ab_grp yes that top left corner in Saturday's crossword was also the last to go. Finally had to Google the Verdi opera and was able to connect the rest of the dots.

cathwen Don't forget to enjoy the view from beyond your gizmo!

Parasaurolophus Welcome to LB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2021, 08:52:11 AM
Good morning!

Just got QBABM! I didn't think that was going to happen.  I had gotten lucky in that I saw a Nextdoor posting that I mentioned to my husband that spurred that "isn't there something like...", and I looked it up and found out that there was a similar word but it wasn't what I thought.  So I guess it's sort of impure.  I think that was the only word that was kind of tough (for me, but I would guess not for some others here...).

That's so cool that you met another SBer on your hike, ciao_yall! I guess everyone has their rules for what is allowed or what they will turn to at various points of solving.  It was a really long list, a lot of beekeeping.  We eventually compared, and I just figured out nannied (ugh!), and husband I think had only past tenses of a couple words that he was missing.  Just too long of a list.  I think he was also missing adenine, though he usually gets those kinds of words.  Congrats on QB!

Congrats on the LB solution, too! I don't think I ever would have come up with that.  Dare to be bold!

As for the crossword, I eventually had to hit the blog and saw the embankment strengthening word, which I never would have guessed! That helped with the acrosses up there.  Yeek.  I hate to do that, but I was completely stumped in that corner.  The Verdi opera answer looked like what it ended up being from the letters I had, but I didn't know there was an opera with that title. 

Have to get today's hard sudoku in before 4, and then I will try LB again...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 04, 2021, 11:07:47 AM
Good afternoon!

I stayed at QB-7 yesterday, and today am at genius with the pangram. 

Congratulations on QBABM, ab_grp!  And ciao_yall, how nice to meet another SBer on your hike!

My LB answer for yesterday was also cornflower-rajahs.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Still chilling out by the lake.  We saw a bald eagle fly by yesterday, which is always a thrill.  And the person at whose cottage we're staying has two hummingbird feeders (plus flowers that attract them), so we've seen several hummingbirds.  Loons and cormorants have been swimming by.  Home tomorrow, I think, although there is some pressure for us to stay until Tuesday morning.  We'll see....

In the meanwhile, happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2021, 01:23:26 PM
Thanks, cathwen! Good luck with the bee, and congrats on your 2fer again today! I have still had no luck there yet.

Hummingbirds are cuties! And bald eagles are definitely always a treat to see.  Enjoy all the wildlife and peacefulness, whether you stay until tomorrow or Tuesday.  I was going to say you could compromise and come home Monday, but I suppose that is tomorrow.  Clearly doing smart things over here!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 04, 2021, 02:44:16 PM
QB - 2 with Shunn, and a 2fer. Hoping the last two words (both start with B) come to mind before hitting the Wordplay blog.

Hummingbirds! We had a fuchsia plant that attracted them. Once I was pruning it and heard a squawking. There I was, eye level with a hummingbird "yelling" at me for invading its plant!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2021, 07:19:18 PM
Finally got a 2fer!!

Good luck on the remaining bee words, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 04, 2021, 08:28:40 PM
QB - 2. Wordplay, quick guess on one. Google, nada, finally busted out the dictionary.

Queen. Dammit. I'm the bloody Queen.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 05, 2021, 09:02:52 AM
Good afternoon!

QB-3 for me yesterday.  Today I am at amazing with the pangram.

No solution yet for today's LB.  Yesterday was necrotic-cheaply, which is not the official solution, so I imagine there will be some variation in our answers.

We'll be leaving for home soon.  The visit has reminded me of all the things I loved when I lived here, so it's been a little nostalgic. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 05, 2021, 09:58:39 AM
Morning!

SB - bobolink. Yet another %&^$$*^ bird. Well, another new word!

LB - hypocritical-lane. I found pyrite but never got around to pyrotechnic which was appropriate for yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 05, 2021, 11:09:46 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Just got to QB after comparing first letters for our final three.  We were each missing the same four-letter word, but the other missing ones were different.  There are 3 pangrams today.

My LB solution was licorice-enthalpy.  I had entropy recently and couldn't get a solution out of it so was glad to make one with enthalpy! All different solutions, and none the schmofficial one (yet?)! Pyrotechnic would have been a great one!

Bobolink was the one I kind of guessed and looked up.  There was a bobcat sighting in the neighborhood posted on Nextdoor, and I thought isn't there something like boblink? So I looked that up and found there was a bobolink.  Yay!

Have a safe trip home, cathwen.  It's great that you got to be back in place that you enjoy so much.

We spent way too long making a hollandaise sauce this morning, so I have to get on the hard sudoku and LB.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 05, 2021, 04:07:23 PM
Queen, with a few hints from Wordplay to find some easy ones that just weren't connecting.

2fer as well.

/phew
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 06, 2021, 06:33:32 AM
Morning!

SB - Last two words, with help from Wordplay, were mooing which I might not have guessed on my own, and gouging which is a headsmacker. Funny thing is I was looking at the hive thinking g-o-u-g... oh, gougeres, those tasty French cheese puffs and kept going.

This morning - genius, played around a bit to get the pangram.

LB - juniper-remarkable which was official. A couple of 3fers this morning and some fun words b4ss so far. ETA: 2fer!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 06, 2021, 07:07:15 AM
Fell just short the last couple of days, but I'll try harder today. It's a long one, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 06, 2021, 08:32:37 AM
Good morning!

We got home last night around 9pm, tired after a long drive.  It was a lovely weekend, though.

I was at QB-4 yesterday (gorging, gorgon, ignoring, norm), and no LB solution. 

Today I am at genius with the pangram, and a 2fer for LB.  I does look like a long, sloggy SB today.

ab_grp, you mentioned bobolink. When I lived in Upstate NY, our house was in a semi-rural area, near the dairy farm maintained by the university.  Driving by the dairy farm, I would regularly see bobolinks hanging out on the telephone wires.  I have been known to hit the brakes, exclaim, "Bobolinks!", put the car in reverse, and back up to see them.  My daughters still tease me about that to this day! They thought I was nuts.  They might not have been wrong!

Anyway--happy puzzling, everyone!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 06, 2021, 09:19:03 AM
Good morning!

I'm at three words to QB today.  There are a couple bee words, but of course I don't know what's left.  Took a while to get the pangram! Good luck, Parasaurolophus! A lot of the words are common, just kind of hard to see them today for some reason.  I'm hoping the remainder are not prefix/suffix slogs.  Not sure why they didn't take norming yesterday.

I had the schmofficial solution as well yesterday.  Congrats on already getting 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Cathwen, that is a cute story! I used to drive by a farm on the way to work and just could not with the little lambs.  They were so adorable.  I always kept an eye out to see who all was out in the pen and often wanted to just stop and stay with them for a while.  Of course, I was on my way to work, so any procrastination would have been appealing, but the little lambs seem like they would have been a good excuse! Glad you got home safely, though long drives at the ends of lovely vacations can definitely require some additional rest.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 07, 2021, 06:26:12 AM
Morning!

SB - Nudge from Shunn for 3 easy words, then went to Wordplay where I had thought I put in tote and had forgotten about entente. So I probably could have achieved QBAM but that was a long list!

Genius with pangram already.

LB - seamy-plutocrats.

A few good words this morning but no 3fer or 2fer just yet.

Lambs remind me of taking the Chunnel train through the English countryside. Bright blue skies, bright green meadows, lovely English manor, and fluffy white lambs gamboling across the verdant hillside. Such a lovely and sweet scene. Apparently it was the sight of lambs that made Paul and Linda McCartney go vegetarian. Not me, though.

That's all I got. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 07, 2021, 07:51:19 AM
QB - 2. Checked Shunn and I know the first letter and how many letters.

Any bee specials I should watch out for or do you think they will appear? ETA QB! 2 easy ones. Maybe I gave up too soon....

3fers starting to kick in.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 07, 2021, 08:02:55 AM
Good morning!

I think I'm about 5 words from QB, but we didn't get much time yet.  Congrats on QB, ciao_yall! Seems like you are up and at 'em early! Good to hear the list isn't too bad.  It's tough with just that I to work with.  I think our final word yesterday was boomlet.  Ugh! Well, impure team QB.  We'll see where we get after husband's meeting.

Congrats on the 2fer yesterday, too! I had no luck despite a huge number of contenders.  Wasn't near your solution or the schmofficial one.

I didn't know the Chunnel train even went through the countryside.  I guess I thought it just went the Chunnel route.  Though I guess maybe I have a misconception about what that even is.  Water? The Channel? It sounds like an edenic scene, but seeing my little lambkins also did not put me off lamb, let alone meat in general. 

Well, meeting has been postponed for a half hour, so back to the bee grind for a bit!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 07, 2021, 08:04:59 AM
Good morning!

QBABM!  One or two bee words, but mostly pretty common ones.

SB yesterday was at QB-4.  I missed bootee, botnet, mentee, and tonne

I don't yet have a 2fr for today's LB.  Yesterday I had plumcots-strayer.  I was surprised that plumcots was accepted; I tried it after I tried pluots, which I have seen in grocery stores for plum/apricot hybrids. 

Lambs are irresistible!  When we were in England three years ago, a couple of our hotels looked out on sheep pastures.  We loved watching the gamboling lambs and hearing the soft baaaaas.  It induced feelings of calm and joy.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 07, 2021, 08:23:56 AM
ab_grp Chunnel = Channel-Tunnel. It's the train that runs through the English Channel between England and France. It starts out in London, then cruises through the English countryside until it goes underwater. Pops out in France, takes you to Paris. Quite efficient!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 07, 2021, 08:35:34 AM
Thanks for the heads up about the easy bee list, ciao_yall.  I made it to QBABM, and husband soon followed.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

And thanks for the Chunnel info, too.  I thought it was mostly for the Channel part.  I've never been to England.  Maybe someday! Nice to have an easy way to get from London to Paris.

Cathwen, that would be so peaceful, to have the pastures outside your window.  I'm not sure I'd leave the hotels!

And congrats on a different LB solution! I have heard of pluots but not plumcots.  I guess it's always worth a try.

Time to get on sudokus and try at LB again!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 07, 2021, 02:22:28 PM
2fer! LMK if you want a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 07, 2021, 11:53:19 PM
Didn't get there yesterday, but did today. I couldn't for the life of me see the pangram until just now. D'oh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2021, 06:21:07 AM
Morning!

SB - Went to shunn, saw I was missing 2 long H-words. Boom highlight and highlighting and Queen. Road trip starting tomorrow so I will do QB WATHICG today, then go back for aiming for ABM since I'll have limited computer time.

LB - gauche-extremity which was official.

Just getting started with puzzles today so will check in later.

Parasaurolophus Yes, and I wish the pangram would flash a little more so we could enjoy it longer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 08, 2021, 06:49:02 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations, ciao_yall, ab_grp, and Parasaurolophus, on your successes!

I did not find a 2fer for LB yesterday, but I have one today.

As for SB, I am at amazing with the pangram, and already running out of ideas.  It will undoubtedly be a Shunn day for me, but I will persist a bit longer.  My goal is to at least make genius ABM.

Happy puzzling, everyone, and enjoy your road trip, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2021, 06:59:13 AM
cathwen yeah, it's a long one today. I tend to get tired after 30-ish words. Maybe that's the size of my short-term memory? At Amazing with pangram but hope to tip into Genius before the coffee runs out.

3fers are starting so hope a 2fer is nigh...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2021, 08:49:53 AM
Good morning!

I'm 5 words from QB but not at Alpha.  Husband is beating me on points (also not at Alpha), and I am beating him on words.  Maybe we have team QB, but we will try independently a bit more to see where we can get before he goes in to work.  I think my final ones yesterday were ninth and then tithing.

Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall!  I had so many contenders, and good ones! No luck.  And I don't think I came up with either of the solution components.  Oh well, maybe today will work out better.

And congrats on already getting a 2fer today, cathwen!

And congrats on getting there again, Parasaurolophus!

Hope your road trip goes well, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2021, 03:32:13 PM
Congrats on team QB, ab_grp!

Just tipped into Genius, and still lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2021, 04:14:33 PM
Thanks, ciao_yall, but I'm not sure if we have it yet or not.  Before he left, we gave up and compared first letters, and I think he gave me three and I gave him four.  But I needed 5 words, and he needed 6, so we may both be missing the same two words? He just got home, so we will resume our attempts shortly.  Maybe your thanks will seal the team QB. 

Good luck on LB! I hope a 2fer comes your way soon.  I haven't had too much luck today even with getting good contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 08, 2021, 05:52:42 PM
Got to the end of the hallway in the end. Phew! Am somewhere in beta now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2021, 06:11:14 PM
QB WATHICG, and some new words.

LB - hit the solver site for a nudge. I had one word but not the other. cathwen I wonder if we have the same one? Not many choices on the solver site so probably so.

Parasaurolophus, ab_grpand ab_spouse you all got farther than I did ABY!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 09, 2021, 06:07:25 AM
Morning!

Two pangrams and above genius today. Above genius yesterday and QB the day before. Above genius on the other days.

Haven't looked at the crosswords in a week.

As for bobolink, we saw more than twenty-five of those on one of the bird walks in May. I recognized the breeding males https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id but had to have the females pointed out to me.

Still in vacation mode. Walked, bushwalked, went canoeing, to the beach, saw several species of birds, deer, all interspersed with good food. It's good to be back though.

On the drive out, encountered a few episodes of "frog stranglers" (apologies to apl68 and ab_grp).

Happy solving all, and stay dry/cool depending on your weather.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 09, 2021, 06:47:36 AM
Morning! Welcome back, Langue_doc!

SB - new words were arcadia, cardioid and the rest were ones I overlooked. So the streak continues, but I'll be on a road trip with limited computer access, so back to GABM. Maybe I'll achieve QBABM?

LB - humpback-kitchen which was official and pretty much all the solver site had. I had gotten kitchen and some combinations of -back- and  -hump-. Oh well, onward!

Gotta finish packing and then we had off for our own road trip. Will check in from time to time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 09, 2021, 07:20:42 AM
Enjoy your road trip, ciao_yall. Sending you good vibes and wishes for safe road conditions, and good weather.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 09, 2021, 07:28:45 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, welcome back from your vacation!  It sounds so relaxing.

Ciao_yall, enjoy your road trip! 

My LB yesterday was the same as the "official" one: humpback-kitchen.  I do not yet have a 2fer today.

SB today stands at genius with two pangrams.  Yesterday, I missed cardioid and (annoyingly) carload.  I was surprised that it took arcadia, as I always thought that was a place name.  Congratulations to those who got QB, with or without help!

Now back to LB to see if I can find a 2fer.  I have a number of good words, but none that fit together. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 09, 2021, 10:15:03 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We got to team QB today without Shunn after comparing letters when we each had two words left of the same lengths.  They ended up being different words, though.  My final one was not a tough one at all! I don't think there were any real bee words in the list.  Yesterday we both ended up missing one word which I finally guessed (corrida).  So definitely an impure team QB for that one, as we exhausted all Shunn options to get to that point.  I thought we'd have to give up and look at the answers.  Good luck all around! At least it's a short one (though that does not always mean easier).  There are a couple words they never take that I keep trying.

For LB yesterday, I finally got to kitchen later in the evening but couldn't find a mate.  Congrats on your solutions, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Welcome back, Langue_doc! That sounds like a very nice trip aside from some wet weather.  I used to love canoeing! I would say your are definitely the bird master.  The breeding male has the colors of a bird I've seen around here, but apparently that would be unlikely from the maps.  So glad to hear you had a good time (and glad you're back!), and I hope post-vacation tasks aren't too arduous. 

Wishing you safe travels, ciao_yall! And I will keep an eye out for your check-ins.

Seminar got pushed to Monday, so I'll work on sudokus for a bit and try at the LB, though it sounds more difficult today.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 09, 2021, 02:53:13 PM
Did anyone see this McSweeney's today, the procedural novel written after ten hours on the bee? Kind of funny.
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-passage-from-taceipv-my-police-procedural-novel-written-after-playing-the-new-york-times-word-game-spelling-bee-for-ten-consecutive-hours

I've got a good list of LB contenders, but no successful mating yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 09, 2021, 04:19:14 PM
 Genius with 2 pangrams and just shy of Alpha, ABM. I think I'm missing 2 words but I'm being stubborn about not going to Shunn.

Also got a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 09, 2021, 09:59:18 PM
Eventually found my way to beta.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 10, 2021, 06:51:30 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday.

oxidize/electrician

Genius with two pangrams; don't think that I have the energy to find the rest of the words today.

ab_grp, thanks for the link.

Did any of you try the bonus spelling emailed to you by the NYT on July 8th? Mine is still sitting in my inbox unopened.

cathwen, I think your vacation place sounds familiar--probably the same as or close to the location of my trip a couple of months ago.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 10, 2021, 10:54:45 AM
Good afternoon!

I did not get LB yesterday, even though I had oxidize and electric/electron.  Doh!  It would have been small step to electrician.

But I found a 2fer today.

As for SB, I made QB yesterday with a small nudge from Shunn.   My last word yesterday was tomtit, one of our bee bird words.  Today I am at QB-3 and have run out of steam.  Definitely a time to put the puzzle away and come back later if I have time.

Ab_grp, thanks for that link!  I enjoyed reading it.

Langue_doc, I think we have covered similar terrain.  I used to live in NYC and also in the Finger Lakes region, where we just went for the weekend.  I would go back in a heartbeat if not for the winters, and the fact that you can't get much of anywhere from there very easily. 

Anyway—congratulations on Alphas, Betas, QBs, and LBs!  Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 10, 2021, 11:03:48 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Today's bee is a long one! Yikes.  I think I have 6 words left, and husband has a few more than that, but we are similar in points.  He is still missing a pangram, so I would guess a bunch of his remaining words are four-letter.  Neither of us have made it to Alpha.  Glad you got to beta yesterday, Parasaurolophus! I can't remember what our final words were at this point.  Looking back at the list, I am sorry to say that bloom was my final word.  Gaah.

Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and Langue_doc! Darnit.  I had oxidize and thought it was a good option because it uses X and Z, but I couldn't find a mate.  I had so many good words yesterday!! I thought centralize could work because it used up most of the letters, but not enough of them, I guess.

Langue_doc, I don't even think I saw that email! I have been diligent about deleting emails (but apparently not very accurate), so I probably just deleted it.  I'll check the trash folder.  I still haven't done the holiday puzzletacular that my husband obtained.  :-(

Did anyone else find the crossword to be more of a bear than usual even for a Saturday? Those entries that run the full width are great if you can get them.  Not so much otherwise.  I actually had to look at the blog for a hint for the top of the puzzle after not getting anywhere with it for a long time.  With the bee being long and sudokus switching over at 4, no time to play around here!

We also spent a fair amount of time this morning making a Korean bbq marinade.  It's a bit of work but pays off.  Still have to make some potato salad and collards later.

Happy solving!

On preview: congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! And you are so close to QB! Good luck!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 10, 2021, 01:07:32 PM
Straggled in to an impure team QB.  Husband beat me to the finish line.  That was a tough one.  Thank you, Shunn!

I have a bunch of LB contenders that seem promising, but no solution yet.

At least I got the sudokus done before they changed over!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 10, 2021, 04:58:33 PM
Hiya!

SB yesterday - my last word, with Shunn pointing out I was missing a 5 letter B-word, was boomy, Gah. The streak continues. Today at Genius with 2 pangrams, trying to stay out of Shunn and enjoy my vacation. Short ~ 40 points but keep finding easy words every now and then.

LB yesterday - cilantro-oxidize which was official. 2fer today as well.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 11, 2021, 12:14:35 AM
I'm afraid I don't have what it takes for today's bee. Close, but no cigar!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 11, 2021, 06:07:45 AM
Good morning!

Parasaurolophus, I probably won't make it, either.  I'm at genius with one of the two pangrams and don't think I'll get much beyond that.  Having H as the required letter makes it difficult, especially since they won't accept Elizabethan verb forms!  Harumph!

I fell short of QB yesterday, missing intuit, lantana, and nautili.  I should have gotten intuit, and I remember lantana from before.  But nautili never would have occurred to me.  Ab_grp and ciao_yall, congratulations on your QBs!

As for LB, yesterday I had blowfishes-shark.  An ichthyological theme!  Today I also have a 2fer.

Happy puzzling, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 11, 2021, 08:46:51 AM
Morning!

SB - Didn't get to QB because Shunn only went so far, and the Wordplay blog was crashed. There I was at QB - 7. So I cruised around looking for other hint sites, found a new word nautili and this morning realized I missed some I should have gotten - attaint, cacti, natant, tactual, tali, tutti. Thought I tried tactual but maybe not?

LB - belief-freakshow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 11, 2021, 09:18:10 AM
Morning/afternoon?

If you're stuck on the pangrams look closely at the letters for word endings. If you found one pangram, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the other one. There are at least four compound words, which should also help (not with the pangrams though). I'm between alpha and beta, I think.

Gave up on the bee yesterday after making it to above 250 points. Haven't looked at yesterday's solution yet to see what I missed.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 11, 2021, 10:22:21 AM
Oh, pressure is on now. Amazing with one pangram, several 3fers. On the edge of the dopamine rush...

I'm like that crazy old lady in the casino putting nickels in the slot machine with little tinkling wins, eagerly awaiting the flood of a jackpot. But, no waitress bringing me free screwdrivers.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 11, 2021, 10:54:12 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to QBABM! There is one word I stumbled upon just using combos that made sense.  Did not know what it was.  Other than that, I don't think there were tough words, it's just hard to find them with the H in the middle and not having other letters that would typically go with some endings.  Husband's got three words left and is just shy of Alpha.  Good luck! Hope you get your jackpot, ciao_yall! Nautili was my final word yesterday.  It took quite a while.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday! Whew.  I tried and tried and thought I had some good ones, but I didn't end up with any of your solutions or the schmofficial one.  And congrats on getting one today, cathwen! I will try again.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 11, 2021, 11:02:42 AM
Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I just got to QB, but not ABM.  I lost patience and went to Shunn.  There were two words that I did not know and have chalked up as bee words—although maybe they are familiar to others.

Langue_doc gives good advice.

I love the image of the crazy old lady at the slot machines, ciao_yall!  I can relate.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 11, 2021, 11:21:59 AM
Congrats on the QB, cathwen! If I hadn't just guessed the one word, I'm sure I would have been headed to Shunn. 

And I got a 2fer on my first try! Whee, finally!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 11, 2021, 05:38:59 PM
QB, needed Wordplay to point me to a final word which was a headsmacker.

And, LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 11, 2021, 10:24:34 PM
Alas, not today. Fell one letter short of a 2fer, too. Ah well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 12, 2021, 06:35:38 AM
QB - last 3 words were ghetto, hooey, hotly. Genius with 2 pangrams so far today.

LB - hulking-gravity which was official - anyone get anything else?  Parasaurolophus you are where I'm at this morning - Quick almost 2fer with a "plug" to make it a 3fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 12, 2021, 06:37:54 AM
Good morning!

thole was my penultimate word; haven't looked up the meaning yet. ghee was the final word. The other words were familiar ones but difficult to guess mainly because they did not follow the usual spelling patterns--I'm thinking of ghetto, ghee, and thee which do not rhyme with other words. The compounds were also difficult. I stumbled on hellhole while on the subway yesterday morning wondering what surprises would be in store on that trip (none, fortunately).

Two pangrams and well above genius today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 12, 2021, 07:25:59 AM
Good morning!

I'm on a roll today—QBABM and a 2fer!  QBABM is an extremely rare occurrence for me.

Yesterday, I would never have made QB without Shunn.  And even then, my last two words—thole and holt—were found simply by moving letters around.  Ghee was one of the later words I found, but at least I knew what that was.

Yesterday's LB was the same as ciao_yall's and the "official" answer:  hulking-gravity.

In a little while I will go retrieve my husband from the eye surgery center, where he's having cataract surgery.  I really hate this business of not being able to wait in the waiting room, but I understand why it has to be this way.  When I had my surgeries, he came into the recovery room and sat with me, and that was very soothing.  But I can't do the same for him.  The surgery center is 20 minutes away, so it's not a bad drive, at least.

Anyway, happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 12, 2021, 08:46:50 AM
Good morning!

Husband got to QBABH, and I got some help with first letters of my final two words since we don't have much time to work on it today, so an impure QB for me.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!! Thole was the one I just stumbled upon yesterday, something about a pin to hold an oar? My last one was ghetto.  I'm glad that finding hellhole while on the subway wasn't some kind of foreshadowing, Langue_doc!

For LB yesterday, I also had the schmofficial solution.  I figured it probably was since it came so quickly and cleanly.  Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen! You are definitely kicking puzzle butt today.

Cathwen, I hope your husband's eye surgery is going or has gone well.  It is a shame not to be able to have someone with you at these appointments.  I wonder what they think the picker-upper folks should do while waiting? I'm glad it's only a 20-minute drive, in that case.

Still have medium and hard sudokus to do and then a bunch of article and proposal reviews.  Some said that today's crossword was hard for  a Monday, but I didn't think it was too bad.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 12, 2021, 08:11:57 PM
Somewhere in beta again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 12, 2021, 09:39:21 PM
QB - 2, both start with E. If I were home with the old-school dictionary I would have found them. But I shall end with QB - 2 and my streak officially broken.

LB - even went to the solver site and some of my contenders had such weird matches that... hey. I am impressed with y'all if you found 2fers because even the solver site went all cuckoo on me.

Look forward to seeing what everyone did!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 13, 2021, 06:30:37 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was unneeded.

Genius so far.

cathwen, hope husband has recovered from surgery. Visitors are still not allowed in post-op rooms here due to Covid protocols. Medical offices are also following these protocols unless the patient has mobility or other issues. I'm getting the second eye done on Monday.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 13, 2021, 07:55:53 AM
QB. Unfamiliar words have appeared in previous bees.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 13, 2021, 08:12:33 AM
Morning!

SB - last two words were endue, endued. I thought I tried endue when playing with letters but oh well. Pangram so far this morning but it's a bit slow. Langue_doc thanks for the tip.

LB - Lots of 3fers and good contenders. Not sure why the solver site didn't pick up what seems like a pretty clear solution. 3fers which were close included elk-cupboard-dye, pucker-rob-baldy, backer-rep-proudly, and 2fer b4ss backdrop-pulley. 3fer this morning so far.

Not sure how much puzzle progress will be made - will try to enjoy our road trip without too much time with face in phone.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2021, 10:04:16 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I'm close to Alpha, but still 6 words left.  Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc, and thanks for the info! Endue, endued were two of my final ones yesterday.  I think keened was the other.  Probably shouldn't have given up since that's just beekeeping, but work days are busy.

LB was so hard! I had so many really good contenders, most of them compounds.  I tried plucky at one point and all sorts of -board, but no luck.  Well, today's another day.

Enjoy your trip, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 13, 2021, 11:11:36 AM
Good afternoon!

I had the "official" solution for yesterday's LB:  pluck-keyboard.  I agree that it was a hard one, but today's is as well!  I don't have a 2fer yet. 

SB stands at QB-3.  Bee words, eh, Langue_doc?  I'll look at the list I've been compiling for inspiration.  And thanks for the good wishes for my husband.  He had his follow-up exam today and is doing fine.  I'll be thinking of you next Monday!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2021, 11:30:20 AM
I got to QBABM after making some progress but still having one word to go.  Luckily, the final long word popped into my head! Good luck, cathwen! And I'm so glad to hear that your husband's follow-up appointment went well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2021, 05:15:24 PM
Yay! Got a 2fer!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 13, 2021, 05:36:55 PM
I think I have a Bee block today. I've found... a dozen.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 13, 2021, 06:36:50 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on July 13, 2021, 05:36:55 PM
I think I have a Bee block today. I've found... a dozen.

Look for words beginning with p, r, and t. Most of the words are familiar ones. A couple of bird words, a word associated with traveling, vegetation-related words, and an eatery.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 13, 2021, 10:09:49 PM
Found 29 more and got to genius. Thanks for the encouragement and tips!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 14, 2021, 05:30:12 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet.

Easy two-fer!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 14, 2021, 05:40:48 AM
Good morning!

I was at QB-1 yesterday; the missing word was torii, which I now remember from previous puzzles, and is now on my List of Bee Words. 

Today I am at Alpha with both pangrams, five words to go.  Shunn may be in my future, but I'll hold off for a while.

LB:  I did not find a 2fer yesterday, so congratulations, ab_grp!  I had unpacked, and was looking for a word ending in -u, but could only think of beau, which of course did not use the i. 

Congratulations on your easy two-fer, Langue_doc!  I have one as well, but it took a little fiddling.

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on getting to genius! 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 14, 2021, 07:54:54 AM
Morning!

SB - Got busy so had to be satisfied with Genius. This morning, Genius and 2 pangrams.

LB - Tricky yesterday! I had some good 3fers joined-dub-backpack, job-pined-backup but no cigar. 3fers coming fast this morning so hope a 2fer is nigh.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 14, 2021, 07:57:49 AM
Good morning!

I'm one word away from QB today.  Argh!! Congrats, Parasaurolophus! I definitely think that the encouragement here helps.

I was happy to get the schmofficial solution to LB.  After a bunch of guesses, I just tried bijou even though it seemed too short to do much, and its mate followed.  Lucky! Congrats on already getting 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 14, 2021, 08:34:19 AM
2fer for today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 14, 2021, 10:14:56 AM
QB. If you're stuck, look for spelling variations.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 14, 2021, 10:17:02 AM
Finally gave up and compared first letters of our remaining words since we had team QB and had to get to other things.  It still took me forever to find my final word, which I cannot believe I missed since I had just said it about 5 minutes prior.  Ugh!!  Oh well, team QB it is.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

And I got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall! I wonder if we all have the same one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 14, 2021, 11:04:59 AM
Got to beta quickly today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 14, 2021, 04:54:43 PM
QBWS. The streak begins again, day one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 15, 2021, 05:12:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. Don't have the inclination or motivation to chase down the remaining words.

milkshakes/stony

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 15, 2021, 07:32:37 AM
Good morning!

I missed QB by two words yesterday—eddied and tooted (!!).  Congratulations, ab_grp, Langue_doc,and ciao_yall for your QBs!  Congratulations on Beta, Parasaurolophus!

Today, like Langue_doc, I am at genius with both pangrams, and do not think I will have the energy to try for QB and 300 points.  But who knows.

Yesterday's LB:  hostilities-skyman.  I was surprised that skyman was accepted!  So now we have two solutions that differ from the "official" one.  I'm curious to see what others got! 

I also found a 2fer for today.   

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 15, 2021, 09:31:10 AM
Morning!

SB - last few words, with pointers from Shunn, were doxx, deft, foodie, texted. Today, Amazing with pangram at the moment.
.
LB - milkshakes-stony as well, so great minds think alike Langue_doc! 3fer so far this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 15, 2021, 10:16:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I've got two more words to QB but am not sure if I'll get there by myself, so hopefully husband will pick up a few more words and maybe we can compare letter counts later.  I couldn't believe my final word was texted after I had just told husband that my brother had texted me about Bastille Day.  Congrats on yesterday's QB, ciao_yall, and beta, Parasaurolophus!

For LB, I got another solution: soymilks-shanties.  I like skyman (and, when I can tolerate them, milkshakes).  Congrats on getting one already today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 15, 2021, 04:13:50 PM
GABM with 2 pangrams, but that's normal. And a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 15, 2021, 04:41:34 PM
Finally got the last two spelling bee words with Shunn's help.  They weren't really difficult, but I had a hard time seeing them, and they ended up being some of husband's final words as well.

But I also got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 15, 2021, 09:42:33 PM
QB WITHICG. The streak continues.

Would like to blame all the booze I'm drinking on this road trip (husband is driving, don't worry) for my heavy reliance on help sites.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 15, 2021, 10:35:03 PM
Phew, got there in the end. Didn't think I would.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 16, 2021, 04:40:20 AM
Morning!

Last word yesterday was lilt, which I had thought I had entered much earlier.

Pangram and genius today. Combination of errands and the lack of incentive to find the remaining words, this is all the puzzling I'm doing today. Crosswords and sudokus were completed last night.

Happy solving all, and stay cool.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 16, 2021, 05:44:55 AM
Good morning!

I was at QB-4 yesterday, and then never got back to it.  I missed electee, mentee, lenient, lenience.  Congratulations on the QBs to everyone else! 

Today I am at Beta with the pangram.

LB:  Yesterday I had dacha-ambulation.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 16, 2021, 07:04:00 AM
ETA:  QBWS.  No particularly obscure words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 16, 2021, 07:39:37 AM
Haven't subscribed so no Spelling Bed for me. But I have started doing letterboxed outside the program and using my one "free play" to enter a 2fer when I figure it out. Yesterday I got the same one as cathwen, and found one today too.

Two days ago I found mythos-snakelike, so clearly that puzzle had lots of options!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 16, 2021, 07:53:28 AM
Welcome onthefringe! I love Letter Boxed. It's what got me to subscribe. You sound like a natural!

QB - last words were timeline, linemen with help from the Wordplay blog. Just getting started this morning with an easy pangram. Hit genius.

LB - manchild-doubt was yesterday's 2fer. So far, 2fer b4ss and a 3fer.

Last day of roadtrip this morning so back to the grind!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 16, 2021, 08:52:58 AM
Welcome, onthefringe!   

I also love Letter Boxed.  I think it's fun to see all the combinations people come up with compared with the NYTimes answer.  Sometimes we all get the same thing, and other times there is some variety. 

ciao_yall, enjoy the last day of your road trip!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2021, 09:03:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM, and husband followed not too long after.  I agree there weren't any really obscure words.  Some were a little unexpected, so try suffixes with everything if you are looking for additional words.  Congrats on your QB, cathwen! Congrats ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus on your victories yesterday!

I got the schmofficial solution for LB yesterday, which I was surprised at because it seemed a little weird. Congrats on the other solutions and on getting one today, cathwen!

Still have sudokus to do and LB at some point, but I have a review deadline of a resubmission and have been procrastinating.  And I have to vacuum and put some more office furniture in.  And maybe shear my husband.

Enjoy your final roadtrip day, ciao_yall, and good luck with the errands, Langue_doc! Sounds like you need the coolness wishes more than I do, which is probably a bit unusual!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2021, 12:10:41 PM
Got a 2fer! Husband suggested a word I thought I had tried, and he and I each got different mates for it.  But I have a ton of other good contenders, so I might try more later if I ever get any work done on the article review.  At least I vacuumed!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 16, 2021, 04:43:14 PM
QBABM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the 2fer b4ss this morning? Turned out to be a real 2fer. I must have mistyped it.

Home sweet home.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2021, 06:53:27 PM
Congrats on your QBABY and 2fer, and welcome home!

Just got another 2fer with a totally new contender.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 16, 2021, 10:28:11 PM
Got there just before bed, as usual.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 17, 2021, 06:51:47 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus!  And ab_grp on your second LB solution!

SB:  My last word was gelée.  I must watch those -ee words!  The day before, I missed mentee and melee (mêlée), and before that, invitee. 

Today I am at Beta with the pangram. 

LB:  Yesterday I got overamp-patriarchal, which is different from the "official" solution of chocolatier-revamp.  I wish I'd seen chocolatier—that was my great-great-grandfather's profession in France, according to family documents.

I found a 2fer today without too much trouble.

Happy puzzling!  Looking forward to seeing all the LB solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 17, 2021, 06:54:42 AM
Good morning!

Last words were needle and needled.

Pangram and genius today.

metaphoric/clove and emphatic/clover

Happy solving, all!

ETA: cathwen, look out for tutee and electee as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 17, 2021, 07:23:31 AM
Morning!

SB - last word was gentled because I was adding random endings to words.

LB - photovoltaic-creme.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 17, 2021, 07:38:55 AM
LB yesterday got velociraptor-rematch as my 2fr. Found today's schmofficial 2fer. I did find some ... interesting things along the way that were accepted or not as "words" today, but won't comment until tomorrow to avoid contaminating the pool.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 17, 2021, 07:49:01 AM
onthefringe, that's a good one! My favorite part of this thread is seeing everyone else's 2fers.

Quick genius and 2fer this morning.

Not a lot of words, so good chance at QBABM again except I'm sure there are some "bee specials" so Sam can remind me who is boss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 17, 2021, 08:51:31 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM.  Husband is struggling and hasn't found the pangram yet, but I don't think the word list was too tough overall, even if some were a bit harder to see.  Gentled was the word I was referring to yesterday when I said try suffixes with everything! I didn't think that was a word.

For LB, I got remap-photovoltaic (husband got photovoltaic-clamper) and then vampiric-chortle.  A ton of different solutions!! Congrats on getting one today, cathwen! And a having a chocolatier in the family sounds good to me.

More computer issues and still have to finish the review.  Argh.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 17, 2021, 09:13:53 AM
Short of QB by 2 or 3 points, which means it's a few 4 letter words. Haven't gone to Shunn yet because I'm trying to do ABM, though I know from FB that I'm missing an H word according to the chatter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 17, 2021, 09:24:30 AM
ciao_yall, I sent you a hint--ignore the PM if you'd rather not see the hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 17, 2021, 04:36:07 PM
QB - hint from LD, and looked at Shunn to see which 4 letter word I was missing.

So... Voila.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 17, 2021, 05:35:33 PM
Congrats on the QB, ciao_yall! And Langue_doc, if I missed it!

Finally submitted extensive review of revised MS and haven't even looked at LB.  Time for some wine, easy tomorrow sudoku, then LB and then collapse.  Well, mindless TV first and pad Thai.  Why does mental work sometimes feel as exhausting as physical work?!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 17, 2021, 06:10:51 PM
Congrats on getting the review done, ab_grp. Yes, mental work does result in physical exhaustion. Enjoy the wine and pad Thai.

Sending you a PM for the two-fer.

Congrats also on getting to QB ab_grp and ciao_yall. And everybody's LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 17, 2021, 09:00:02 PM
Thank you so much, Langue_doc! Got the 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 18, 2021, 07:53:15 AM
Good morning!

cynic was my last word. I still don't know what chanty means but added the y indiscriminately hoping for a hit.

Pangram and above genius. Seems as though it's going to be a slog today, so I'm not sure if I want to look for more words.

gambit/soliloquy; tried to find a mate for loquat, but had to give up.

Happy to have been of help--I might be the one needing help today as that pesky q has turned up again in today's LB.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 18, 2021, 07:57:02 AM
For letterboxed, how do you find the "official" 2fer? Is it the  one listed at "letterboxedanswers dot com"?

On my way to yesterday's "gambits-soliloquy" I was amused to see that "quim" was an acceptable word, somewhat surprised to see that "bigly" was an acceptable word, and confused that squamata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamata) was not an acceptable word.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 18, 2021, 08:03:14 AM
Click on "yesterday".
https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/letter-boxed
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 18, 2021, 08:36:09 AM
Morning!

SB - last two words were hiya thanks to Langue_doc and itty with a nudge from Shunn. Genius this morning but no pangram yet.

LB - gambits-soliloquy as well, and a 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2021, 10:11:32 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Thanks again to Langue_doc for such great hints for LB.  I really like that solution, too! Good words.  It was a nice little assisted win at the end of a tough workday.  Congrats on getting one today, ciao_yall!

I got to QBABM with the pangram as my final word! I had been trying something like it over and over.  I was really struggling even to get to genius for a while.  I don't think the words were that difficult, but I just wasn't seeing them.  Husband followed shortly thereafter, though he had gotten the pangram a while before me.  I think hiya was my final word yesterday.  Dumb.  Langue_doc, I remembered chanty because there was that one day when it was in the crossword and in the bee, which is the only reason I found it that day.  I guess like a sea chanty song?

Still have the harder two sudokus today and catch up on Duo.  And get housework done! But no work work.  Yay!

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 18, 2021, 10:11:43 AM
QB and two-fer. Familiar words in both puzzles.

ETA woohoo ab_grp! The pangram was difficult.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2021, 10:12:31 AM
Congrats on QB and a 2fer, Langue_doc! I guess you bested that Q!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2021, 10:54:12 AM
Thanks. Langue_doc! I really struggled with it! Unfortunately, the very similar word I had in mind was in the dictionary, so I had trouble letting go of it and trying something else along those lines.  The whole dang puzzle I kept trying it.  :-(  Whew!

And I got a 2fer! And got sudokus done.  I was kind of afraid that today would not be a great puzzle today after how tough the bee was for a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 18, 2021, 12:13:11 PM
Good afternoon!

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

As for me, I am at QB-2.  I made QB yesterday with a couple of probably unnecessary nudges from Shunn.

My LB solution yesterday was also gambits-soliloquy.  And I have a 2fer today.   

Onthefringe, the words that LB accepts/rejects are a continual mystery.  I've gotten 2fers with words that seem sketchy to me.  Other times, words that I *know* are words are rejected.  Ah well...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2021, 04:47:51 PM
Good luck on the bee, cathwen! I hope you get your QB or got it! And congrats on your 2fer today!

Langue_doc, I think your eye day is tomorrow? If so, sending more good thoughts your way for another smooth procedure.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 18, 2021, 06:40:12 PM
Genius and one pangram. A good LB contender too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 19, 2021, 05:47:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, genius, 350 points so far.

brioche/equators

ab_grp, thank you for the good wishes. It's a little later in the day than the last time so I don't have to leave until around noon.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 19, 2021, 06:18:58 AM
Morning!

SB - last 3 words with help from Shunn aflame, mafia and the old-school dictionary malefic. I was trying to play around with maleficence or something but didn't happen.

LB - broaches-squirt.

Haven't started yet. Up early to go to the gym but might go back to bed as I'm not feeling great.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 19, 2021, 07:45:31 AM
Good morning!

I did make it to QB, finally.  I failed to find fail until almost at the end, and then, with one word to go, I lay down for a nap and flail floated into my foggy brain. 

SB:  Today I am at Beta with all three pangrams.  424 points in this one—I don't know if I'll have the energy to pursue it that far.

LB:  I had botches-squarish.  I have one today, too, but one of the words is of the "Is this really a word?" variety.

Langue_doc, I wish you well on your surgery and recovery!  And ciao-yall, I hope you start to feel better!

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2021, 10:11:34 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We got to QB today with some help from Shunn for my final 2 and husband's final 3 words.  Good enough. I kept trying malefice yesterday.  And cathwen, I think flail came very late for me, too!  Congrats on your QB!

I got chatbots-squire yesterday for LB.  Another round of different solutions! And none the schmofficial one, right? Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

We'll be thinking of you, Langue_doc!

And I hope you feel better too, ciao_yall.  Take care.

Just have hard sudoku for today and then will attempt LB.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 19, 2021, 11:14:24 AM
LB yesterday: brioches-sequestra. Loving all the alternates people saw! 2fer today as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2021, 11:16:14 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, onthefringe! I have a favorite contender I just don't want to give up on but haven't found a mate for it yet.  But I have a couple others to work with, so we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2021, 01:08:18 PM
Finally got a 2fer, and with my chosen contender.  I thought for sure I had tried the mate before, but I guess not.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 19, 2021, 03:02:01 PM
Three pangrams and somewhere in Beta.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 19, 2021, 05:01:38 PM
QB with some help from Shunn.

Congratulations on the 2fers, ab_grp and onthefringe!  And on Beta and the pangrams, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 19, 2021, 07:38:31 PM
QB because there were so many words I needed the Wordplay definitions. As soon as I saw the definition of the word I was missing I plugged it in.

Still just have 3fers for LB. May go to the solver site. Or not.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 19, 2021, 08:31:08 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on July 19, 2021, 07:38:31 PM
QB because there were so many words I needed the Wordplay definitions. As soon as I saw the definition of the word I was missing I plugged it in.

Still just have 3fers for LB. May go to the solver site. Or not.

Update - hit the solver site. That was a tricky one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 20, 2021, 06:48:48 AM
Morning! Where is everyone?

SB - Last few words were goofing, infilling, nonillion, woofing. Today, genius with pangram. Short one but I'm sure there are some "bee specials" awaiting.

LB - factotum-mingle which was official, thanks to a nudge from the solver site. Did anyone get anything else? I had a quick 3fer off the bat foe-enacting-glum and a few others but not sure I would have found factotum. A few 3fers already today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 20, 2021, 07:31:49 AM
Good morning!

SB:  My last word yesterday was fifing.  Today I am at QB-3 and cannot begin to imagine what the final three words could be!  I hope they occur to me later.

LB:  I warned you that one of the words was an eyebrow-raiser (as in, is it really a word?).  But it was accepted, so I am not complaining:  cameo-outfling.  I guess one could have a flinging contest, and that one person could fling something farther than anyone else (thereby outflinging them), but really.... I was going to go back and try for a more normal pair, but just didn't have time.

Today I have a 2fer with very normal words.  Congratulations on your 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 20, 2021, 07:46:37 AM
LB: I (finally) found factotum-mingle yesterday after a LOT of struggle. I was hoping people found others, and am impressed by cathwen! Anyone else find anything different?

Today I have actually found three different 2fers (though each pair shares a word) and I'm going to stop now and await tomorrow's reveals!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2021, 09:12:46 AM
Good morning!

Cathwen, I am also at QB-3 and shaking my head.  I think husband still has 5 words to go but is at 98 points, and I'm at 93.  Trying to get to Alpha before doing any comparisons or Shunning, but whew.  I have no idea what's left.  Good luck! I think fining was my final word yesterday.  I had to use Shunn and for some reason miscounted everything and thought I had a 7-letter fo- left, but it was a 6-letter fi-.  Durr.  That held me up for a while.

I also got the schmofficial LB solution.  Factotum was my first contender, and I didn't want to let go of it, but I don't know why mingle took so long.  I think I was trying too many -ings.  I like outfling! Congrats on already getting one today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 20, 2021, 09:33:04 AM
Easy 2fer, still cruising along on SB at 21 words/86 points. Would like to break 100 before I take a peek at Shunn.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2021, 10:08:09 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall! I think Alpha is 99, so 100 would be a good threshold.  Good luck.

Husband zoomed past me and has one word left.  I now have two.  We know what they start with and how long they are, though I'm not sure if that will help.  But we definitely have team QB, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2021, 12:15:36 PM
Finally made it to impure team QB.  Kept trying something like my final word, but it took a while.  Ugh.

Bunch of contenders for LB, but still no mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 20, 2021, 01:03:45 PM
Finally made QB, thanks to a couple of definitions on Wordplay. 

Congratulations on your QB, ab_grp!  And onthefringe, I am very impressed by your three 2fers!  Can't wait to see them tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2021, 02:08:36 PM
Yay! Congrats on the QB, cathwen!

And thanks for noting that about the 3 2fers by onthefringe! I totally missed that! Congrats on your solutions, onthefringe!

You are all having a much easier time of it with LB today.  I will try again in a bit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 20, 2021, 03:31:19 PM
For once I saw the 2fer right away, but am still working on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2021, 03:34:59 PM
Congrats on the 2fer, Parasaurolophus! Since I think everyone already has one besides me, I hope it's safe to say that I just saw your moniker in there b4ss.  So close! Maybe I will see some words that work at some point now that I have finished other stuff.  Good luck on the bee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 20, 2021, 04:50:40 PM
QB - checked definitions for Wordplay blog. An easy one, a word that I didn't realize was a word, and a "bee special."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 20, 2021, 05:26:56 PM
Evening!

Got the pangram and reached 400+ before they put in the eye drops.

cameo/outfling; tried the combo because of fling from the bee, and was surprised that it worked, unlike the kindle which keeps correcting the word to outgoing as I'm typing.
QB and two-fer.

Had follow up visit this morning. Everything looks good according to surgeon.

Did most of the crossword with one eye last night (other eye had the plastic thingummy over it). Other than slow reflexes and tiredness today, can't complain.

Good night!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 20, 2021, 09:55:01 PM
Finally got to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 21, 2021, 06:28:56 AM
Morning!

SB yesterday - final words were 2 bee specials papyri, carpi and something I didn't know was a word priapic. I thought of priapism but alas, no s or m.

LB - 2fer was wounds-sharply which, while cleaner than the schmofficial solution, isn't nearly as happy and cheerful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 21, 2021, 06:31:28 AM
Good morning!

carpi was the last word--I was trying capri, which was rejected.

wounds/sharply

Pangram and genius; it's a difficult one today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on July 21, 2021, 06:40:51 AM
Got my 1st 2-fer in today's LB! I can typically manage a 3-word solution, but am not usually patient or skilled enough to attempt 2-fers. This could mean that the puzzle is strikingly obvious to all of you, but I'm still giving myself the win.  Maybe this is a good omen for the day and my grading will go smoothly.

Glad to hear you are recovering well, Langue_doc.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 21, 2021, 06:56:24 AM
Yesterday's 2fers: wounds-sharply, wondrous-sharply, wondrous-splashy

I'm planning to coast on that because I am so far getting absolutely nowhere with today's LB. Very impressed that OneMoreYear got a 2fer — congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 21, 2021, 07:10:42 AM
Quote from: OneMoreYear on July 21, 2021, 06:40:51 AM
Got my 1st 2-fer in today's LB! I can typically manage a 3-word solution, but am not usually patient or skilled enough to attempt 2-fers. This could mean that the puzzle is strikingly obvious to all of you, but I'm still giving myself the win.  Maybe this is a good omen for the day and my grading will go smoothly.

Glad to hear you are recovering well, Langue_doc.

cathwen gets the 2fer almost instantly most days. The rest of us trail in her wake. Today, managed a 4fer so far with a word that I thought was foreign but hey, it took. You managed a 2fer already today with today's puzzle (top 3 letters FWU)? WOW!


Amazing and pangram, hoping to hit genius before the shower but maybe not.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 21, 2021, 08:19:49 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday came with some difficulty.  When Shunn wasn't helping, even with the 2-letter hints, I went to Wordplay for definitions and then got carpi and priapic.

Today I am at QB-1 and completely stymied.  The last word is probably something common that I'm not seeing for some reason (often the case).  Or, it could be one of those obscure Bee words. 

Yesterday's LB was wounds-sharply.  Onthefringe, I am impressed by your three solutions! 

I have a 2fer today, too.

Ciao_yall, I seem to get the 2fers "instantly" because I am usually up very early (darn that internal clock!) and so have a good bit of time to work on them.  My 2fers usually come after a lot of twisting and turning and brain-frying!  I agree that today's LB with FWU at the top, and a J thrown in for good measure, was not an easy one.

OneMoreYear, congratulations on finding a 2fer today!  I do think that it gets easier the more one plays.  At least, that has been true for me.  I used to be content to come up with a solution in fewer words than suggested.  Now I'm not happy until I get a two-word solution! 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 21, 2021, 08:59:29 AM
Only one weird word, but I've seen it before in a couple of bees. The others are familiar ones which have also appeared in previous puzzles.

ETA twofer,  a long word followed by a short one, both familiar words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 21, 2021, 09:11:49 AM
Genius with pangram and 2fer.

Found one weird word so far that I remembered from previous puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 21, 2021, 09:41:09 AM
Oof. Finally got to QB—the last one was indeed a Bee word.

Congratulations on your 2fers, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!  Langue_doc, based on your description, I'm thinking that your 2fer is the same as mine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 21, 2021, 09:54:19 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QB with Shunn help for the final 3 words but had to move on.  Carpi, priapic were two of my final words yesterday.  I also tried capri and was kind of surprised it wasn't accepted.

I'm glad I held off on coming here for a bit, because I finally got a 2fer for yesterday's (wondrous-sharply) after many contenders.  And I got one today, too!

Congrats on all the victories!

Langue_doc, I am so glad to hear your follow-up went well and that recovery is going smoothly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 21, 2021, 03:47:55 PM
Done with QB and LB. Final 3 words: Nudge from Shunn, definition from Wordplay, then finally... Google, asking an expert friend, and Googling again for the final word.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 22, 2021, 07:40:02 AM
Good morning!

puli was my last word; lollipop and lollop were the penultimate ones.

justifying/gawk

Genius, but no pangram yet.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 22, 2021, 08:08:29 AM
Morning!

QB - Last words were overlooked poplin, pupil and then went on a quest to find the final word pi-. Definition from Wordplay blog "motorcycle seat" - Googled, nada. Texted a friend who is into motorcycles and she didn't know, but thought it sounded like a Harley term. Googled again with the word Harley and boom, pillion.

LB - justifyng-gawk as well. Glad you are back Langue-doc! Wonder if there were other solutions.

Just getting started this morning so not much to report. Just a pangram and 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 22, 2021, 08:45:51 AM
Good morning!

Ugh, still 10 words left today and very stumped.  Pillion, poplin were some of our final ones.  Pangram is not a difficult word, so hopefully you will see it soon, Langue_doc!

Same LB solution.  Hopefully I will also have luck today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 22, 2021, 11:55:02 AM
Good afternoon!

I'm at Beta with the pangram today,  also with 10 words to go.  I think this will be a Shunn day, but I'll hold off a little longer.  Yesterday, my final word was lollop.  It's a word I've seen before in the Bee, but it took me forever to find it.

My LB answer was the same as everyone else's.  Today I do not yet have a 2fer, but hope springs eternal!

We're preparing for a weekend trip to see Middle Daughter and her family (we leave tomorrow).  I'm baking an apple-cinnamon twist bread for Saturday morning breakfast, so that has been occupying part of my day. 

Good luck to everyone!  And congratulations on yesterday's successes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 23, 2021, 06:22:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. I don't think I'm going to exert myself to find the remaining words.

Missed a couple of words yesterday; another couple of words that I distinctly remember entering didn't make it.

countryish/hew; didn't think that the first word would be accepted, but it was.

cathwen, enjoy your visit to daughter. Twist bread sounds delicious--could you send us a slice each?

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 23, 2021, 07:56:01 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, congratulations on your LB!  I saw country, but did not think to add -ish.  I never did find a 2fer yesterday. 

I do have a 2fer today, though.

As for SB, I made QBWATHICG, so a very impure QB.  It was down to catalpa and palapa.  I looked at the definitions in Wordplay, and then googled "tree with heart-shaped leaves" and "Mexican thatched hut."  Now both words are on my Bee List.

Today I am at genius with the pangram.  Like Langue_doc, I don't think I have the energy, patience, or (especially!) time to plod to 308 points.  We'll leave for Other Northeastern State in a couple of hours.  Langue_doc, I am sending everyone a virtual slice of the cinnamon-apple twist bread!  It turned out pretty well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 23, 2021, 08:25:56 AM
Good morning!

We each have the same one word left today, so we'll see.  That was with help from Shunn.  It is a long puzzle, and it's too similar to one recently to be of much interest.  Palapa was our final word yesterday, which I finally stumbled upon, so an impure team QB there.  I somehow remembered catalpa from a previous puzzle.

No LB for me, either.  I had a couple things that were close, but no cigar.  Got a couple ships as well.  Congrats on getting a solution, Langue_doc! And on getting one today, cathwen!

Cathwen, enjoy your trip and visit! And thanks for sharing the cinnamon apple twist bread!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 23, 2021, 08:43:53 AM
Morning!

SB - last few words WATHICG were also new ones - palp, catalpa.

LB - Went to the solver site for cousin-noteworthy which was the only solution they had and schmofficial, so a sign that it was a tough one. Had some 3fers including chewies-snort-touchy but whoah, not even close.

Barely started this morning - flight got in late last night.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 23, 2021, 11:33:09 AM
We finally finished the bee, as I figured out the final word after a lot of trying.  Luckily, my penultimate word helped a bit.

And I got a 2fer!  Yahoo.

Ciao_yall, hope your trip was fruitful!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 23, 2021, 04:14:32 PM
Got to genius without much difficulty. Now for the rest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 23, 2021, 04:27:55 PM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus! Good luck!

I got a second 2fer since our power went out, internet went out, and that was what was cached, so not much else to do besides read conference proposals to review them.  Back on for now, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 23, 2021, 04:50:41 PM
2fer and Beta. Trying to wait until after dinner before checking Shunn, Wordplay, etc to hit QB. Not sure why I made that rule?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 23, 2021, 06:25:02 PM
Woohoo ab_grp! I gave up on the bee a long time ago but found a two-fer. Hope your power outages are a thing of the past.

The crosswords have been underwhelming, to say the least. The "themes" are cute but don't seem to contribute to the solution. I stumbled on the solution to the recent one that had several instances of "hip" because I realized that I had the correct words (tepid comes to mind), but needed an extra letter for these words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 23, 2021, 08:53:01 PM
QB - 2. Google didn't help and no Wordplay blog hints.

The streak ends here.

ETA: Flash for one, still at QB -1 with no Wordplay blog hints.

ETA^2 Hit the dictionary. New word. QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2021, 09:06:43 AM
Good morning!

Thanks, Langue_doc! Our power did stay on after that, though others in the area were not so fortunate.  The "hip" puzzle clue for tepid is exactly the one that tipped husband off that something was awry, but once the theme was more obvious it was easier to figure out what to do.  I had a little trouble with this morning's lower west side, but luckily not too bad for a Saturday.  Congrats on your 2fer!

And congrats to ciao_yall on the QB! I think my final words were eidetic and dietetic

We haven't gotten very far yet, as husband had to head out to pick up a bunch of cases of wine (which is a fine priority, in my opinion), so we'll get back to it in a bit.  I am right at genius with the pangram.

My LBs yesterday were marigold-deputed and remortgaged-dialup.  What did everyone else get? Those were not schmofficial, so there are other solutions out there, I guess!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 24, 2021, 09:18:04 AM
Morning!

SB - Last two words were dietetic (for some reason in my brain the word has an "a" in it) and eidetic by reading the dictionary because there was no hint on the Wordplay blog. That dictionary reminds me that I took 2nd place in the junior high spelling contest. Husband wants to get rid of it but hey, that was a proud moment!

LB - rigmarole-erupted.

Genius no pangram but have a 3fer already.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 24, 2021, 10:23:50 AM
Afternoon!

I missed a couple of words but at least six words that I had typed in much earlier didn't show up in my solution this morning. I do have to double-check the list on my computer just to make sure that the words have been accounted for. Oh, well!

I got to genius early this morning when I woke up at the crack of dawn, but then went back to sleep.

marigold/depute

Happily ripping seams without my glasses, so I might be prioritizing sewing over the puzzle today.

Happy solving, and congrats to those of you who have reached royalty and doubles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2021, 10:56:19 AM
We made it to impure team QB with help from Shunn from my final 2 words and husband's final 4.  They weren't really difficult, a little bee-ish but not too bad.  Good luck!

Sorry to hear about your missing words, Langue_doc.  And our LB solutions were quite similar! It's great that you are able to rip seams now without glasses.  Enjoy!!

Ciao_yall, I like your LB solution!

Time to get back to sudokus before the next round rolls out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 24, 2021, 01:06:36 PM
Good afternoon! 

I made it to QB today with hints from Shunn for the last two words.  Congratulations, ab-grp, on your QB!

Yesterday I did not make QB—I want to say that my excuse is that I was on the road most of the afternoon, and then visiting with Middle Daughter & Co. for the evening, but in truth, I would never in a million years have found eidetic.  I might have found deice/d, eddied, and étudeDeicide would have been a stretch.

For yesterday's LB, I had plumaged-droit.  Lots of variety with this one!

No 2fer today, though!  Alas...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2021, 01:24:24 PM
Congrats on you QB today, cathwen! I think it's a pretty good excuse, in any case.  Shunn had one word as starting with ei and I could not figure it out for the life of me.  Couldn't be eight (or variants) or eider, etc.  Husband had to give me a clue.  I wonder if our final words were the same today.

And congrats on another different LB solution yesterday! I don't have one today, either, despite a fair number of promising contenders.  I'm sure you'll figure it out if it can be figured out!

Hope you are enjoying your time with the Middle Daughter crew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2021, 04:45:31 PM
Okay, finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 24, 2021, 05:52:35 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 24, 2021, 04:45:31 PM
Okay, finally got a 2fer!

Cool beans! I'm still in 3fer-land. I have some good X words but they don't set anything up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 24, 2021, 08:01:43 PM
QB WATHICG and a 2fer thanks to the solve site. I had found one of the words but took some staring to find the second.

Only one reasonable solution on the site so probably a tricky one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 24, 2021, 09:31:20 PM
Merely genius today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 25, 2021, 07:28:51 AM
Good morning!

Made it to QB yesterday--once I found the pangram, the other words weren't too difficult. cocci was the last word.

Pangram and genius today; not sure if I can get unstuck as far as the rest of the words are concerned.

waive/excursion

There's still the crossword to be completed before 6 PM.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 25, 2021, 08:05:37 AM
After a three day lull of being stuck at 3fers (though I was proud of my 3fer of coronaviruses-sew-wax yesterday), I finally found a 2fer today.

Happy Sunday Puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 25, 2021, 08:17:58 AM
Morning, and congrats on everyone's 2fers already.

I'm still in GwP (Genius with Pangram) and lots of 3fers.

SB - my last words were a few oddballs - minim, tinct, tutti. Of course I remembered tomtit.

LB - waive-excursion with help from the solver site. I had gotten warm with waive-excuses-sonorous and thought I was getting somewhere with vixens-sources-saw.

onthefringe great find with coronaviruses! Love those words that eat up a lot of letters - bummer when they leave all the odd ones. Congrats on the 2fer! If you ever get stuck there is a solver site.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2021, 11:42:34 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Husband and I each got to QB today independently without any help! We had the same final word.  Good luck! I think my final two yesterday were unction, union, and his were cocci, tutti.

I got basically the same 2fer, just wave-excursion.  Congrats on getting one already today, onthefringe, and coronaviruses is a good one!

Crossword seemed to take longer than usual today and have slightly more trickiness than a usual Sunday (which is typically just long).  Luckily the bee was short, but we took time out to make some banana pancakes and get the yogurt-marinated za'atar lamb going.  Still have hard sudoku to do before the changeover.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 25, 2021, 02:01:56 PM
Good afternoon!

Today I made QBABM (!!!) right before breakfast.

I never did find a 2fer yesterday, although I had waivers—if I had just taken off the suffixes, I might have seen excursion, but I did not.  Today I have a 2fer, although I think the second word is a little iffy. 

Congratulations on the QBs, 2fers, geniuses, and all other accomplishments! 

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 25, 2021, 02:31:24 PM
Just completed the crossword. Whew! QB earlier this morning.

Now I can think about dinner. Happy dining!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2021, 03:42:43 PM
Congrats on the QBABYs, cathwen and Langue_doc! I totally forgot that term when I posted earlier. 

Cathwen, congrats on your 2fer today! And it took me a while to get excursion.  I had excision and thought boy I wish I could use up a couple more letters, and then that came to me, and wave followed.  I have a couple good ones today but no mates.

Langue_doc, looks like you got the crossword in just a bit before rollover! Whew!! Happy dining!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 25, 2021, 03:46:06 PM
Well into beta today, but struggled mightily with the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2021, 03:55:33 PM
Good luck, Parasaurolophus! The pangram was a little tough because they are very inconsistent about this kind of thing, though I think we have had it before.  Took me a while too, though.  Sending you bee juju!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 25, 2021, 04:57:19 PM
Thanks! I meant that I found it, but after a mighty struggle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 25, 2021, 09:02:11 PM
QB with a little help from Wordplay definitions for a few odd words I probably would have found on my own. Oh well.

LB - 3fers coming out of my ears. Finally went to the solver site and the solutions were a bit odd. So now I don't feel so bad about not finding a 2fer on my own - curious what everyone else came up with!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 26, 2021, 08:42:16 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on all the successes yesterday (QBs, Betas, 2fers)!

I am at QB-1 today, and even with help, I am having trouble finding that last word.  It"s probably either something very obscure, or something very ordinary that I just don't see.  I will persist!

By the way, did everyone find the new Spelling Bee column?  I can't remember what path I took to get there, but finding wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  Here is the link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-2021-07-26.html

As for LB:  I warned you that my second word was strange:   charmers-spokewise.  I don't know what even prompted me to try it—desperation, probably.  I saw spoke, then saw wise, and thought:  what the heck, let's put them together and see what happens.    Ciao_yall, if the solver site was giving odd answers, you certainly should not feel perturbed about not finding a 2fer. 

Today's LB 2fer is much more normal, although it took me a good while to find it.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 26, 2021, 09:14:36 AM
Hi all!

QB - last few words from Wordplay were meow, melee which I probably could have gotten on my own had I stared long enough.

LB - whacks-semipro I gotta keep more words in mind. I had 3fers coming out of my ears yesterday including whacks-sip-promise, whiskers-scrap-pome, mocks-sharpie-ewers, whimper-rocks-sea, mow-whispers-shack...

Slow-ish start this morning but progressing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2021, 09:19:23 AM
Good morning!

I have 4 words to go today and am just shy of Alpha.  We haven't compared letters yet but probably will be.  Wow, cathwen! You are almost there! I hope the word pops out at you.  Good luck! And congrats on your QB yesterday, ciao_yall! I think our final word was melee for whatever reason. 

No LB solution for me yesterday.  I was trying a little this morning and got to semi- but was trying that as part of a mate.  Maybe I should have tried a little with that as the first word.  Oh well.  I don't think I would have gotten the schmofficial solution.  Had a lot of good contenders, though! Congrats on your different solution, cathwen! Definitely try and see if they'll take it.  I am sometimes very surprised at what they will accept, even if it doesn't lead to a solution in most cases for me.  And congrats on already getting one today!

Parasaurolophus, sorry for not writing very well! I figured you had found it but was just grousing about it taking me a while because they don't seem to accept -women for most things when they accept -men.  I hope you had further luck!

Cathwen, thanks for sharing the column! I forgot I had seen mention of it a few days and never got around to looking for it or following up.  I will take a look after we get as far as we can get just in case it has some spoilers. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2021, 10:20:24 AM
We each got to Alpha, compared letters, went to Shunn, and are both stuck on the same final word.  It is a long one.  Yeek.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 26, 2021, 11:43:29 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius before leaving for the follow-up eye appointment early this morning.

whimpers/peacock; surprised that the latter was accepted.

Eye doc was happy with my eyes, but the trip was so exhausting (combination of subway and heat) that I had to come home and nap even before thinking of breakfast.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 26, 2021, 12:27:44 PM
Yesterday clearly spawned some interesting 2fers. Mine was whackos- simper. I loveto see what other people tried! Lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet today.

Glad the eye is going well Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 26, 2021, 01:07:38 PM
QB!  But it was a QBWATHICG.  (=with all the help I could get).

Ab_grp, good luck finding that last word! 

Great variety of LB solutions! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2021, 02:32:13 PM
Cathwen, congrats on your QB!!! Although I had heard of my final word, I think it was really tough.  Unfortunately, there was no help that seemed to be getting us anywhere.  Husband was headed off to work but decided to run his bee program (we haven't done that in a while!) and found it. 

So it looks as though the bee forum gives a lot of the stuff that Shunn offers (but not all)? For those still working on the puzzle who might be avoiding taking a peek, it lists # words, # points, # pangrams, crosstab by first letter and length, frequencies of combos of first two letters.  So it does not tell you # compound words, or their first letters or lengths.  There does not appear to be any sort of discussion of the puzzle (perhaps in the comments, though it didn't look to be so today) or spoilers.  Not sure if they are planning any changes as it gets its feet under it.  Might be more convenient than Shunn, especially if they can get a link to it from the bee part of the app like they have for the crossword.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, Langue_doc and onthefringe!

And very glad to hear about the good report on your eye at the one-week follow-up, Langue_doc! Hope the nap helped and that you're feeling better and recovered.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2021, 04:23:15 PM
I was looking at the glossary that accompanies the new bee forum, and there are some interesting ones to try for, like genius without any four-letter words (GN4L), or exactly genius with no four-letter words (GN4L OTN).  I guess you could also go for GOTN, just genius "on the nose".  Kind of like some darts game I can't remember. 300? The one you count down? Who knows.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum-introduction.html
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 26, 2021, 07:58:51 PM
Schlepped to QB today, but saw a spoiler for LB so boo.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2021, 08:05:28 PM
Yay on QB, ciao_yall! Sorry to hear about the spoiler.

I did finally find a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 27, 2021, 06:41:40 AM
Morning!

SB - Thanks to the new Bee blog learned some new words bailee, labile, libelee.

LB - Lots of 3fers but saw a spoiler on the blog flop-picturesque. Not sure I would have found it on my own, though I did have flip-pic-croquets, clop-piquets-surf, flip-proscript-toque by then so perhaps it would have jumped out.

I often think I should go for GN4L but then the words start flying through my brain and I forget. Takes some discipline!

Anyway, happing solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 27, 2021, 08:25:44 AM
Good morning!

SB:  My last word yesterday was labile, which I failed to see even after LA-6 from Shunn, and the definition in Wordplay.  In frustration, I just started typing combinations, and voilà.  Congratulations on QB, ciao_yall and ab_grp!

Today I made QB with Shunn for the last two words. 

LB:  I got the official solution yesterday.  I have a 2fer today, but I might try for another one, as I don't like my first word.  But we'll see.  I have a lot of stuff to do today. 

Ciao_yall, how disappointing about the spoiler yesterday!  I hope that Wordplay will edit out the spoilers in the future.  Hints are one thing, but answers are another!

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 27, 2021, 10:18:41 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I tried for the GN4L and made it, but I wonder if it depends on aspects of the puzzle.  Also got to QBABM! Congrats on your QBs yesterday, ciao_yall and cathwen! The word we missed was balalaika, which I guess we'll have to put on the list to remember in the future.  And congrats on your QB today, cathwen!

For LB yesterday, I got critiques-superfluous.  I've got a bunch of contenders today but need to write them down since I've been doing it on my phone and just now got to my computer.  Congrats on getting one already today, cathwen!

Still have to do sudokus, and I am trying to do some stealth cooking for an early birthday present for husband once he heads out today.  I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I might not have one of the tools I need, though I can probably make do.  I need him to get out of here so I can nose around in our old tools area.  If not, it will just take a bit longer, and I kind of need the time.  I even got the special ingredients in behind his back! Argh.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 27, 2021, 11:58:05 AM
Got to genius, but haven't seen the pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 27, 2021, 12:05:29 PM
Afternoon!

Got to QB earlier today.

Took another nap yesterday soon after I posted here with the result that I slept for another three hours and couldn't fall asleep until quite late. Needless to say, I didn't get back to SP or LB what with chores that needed to be done and today's crosswords that had to be completed before bedtime.

Another long day because I had to leave early for a doctor's appointment. The early leaving was because the beachgoers park by the subway station so I try to get to that area before 8:30. It's either leaving home early or taking a bus to and from the subway station which adds an hour to an already long commute. The reward was getting to spend the extra hour birdwatching in Central Park. Good visit, hadn't seen the doctor in two years, so had to get bloodwork and also paperwork for all kinds of routine tests. Got home an hour ago, and just had breakfast. Now I think it's time for a nap to make up for the hours spent last night trying to sleep.

LB is way down the list of to-do things today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 27, 2021, 04:53:41 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc, and good luck, Parasaurolophus!

Sounds like a mixed bag on the day due to the early appointment, Langue_doc.  Not fun having to leave early just to get a parking spot, but it's great that you got some birdwatching time in at Central Park! I hope your sleep gets back on track.

Still no LB solution, but I spent the day like a chicken with my head cut off, cooking up this ranchero sauce for husband and getting all the dishes done before he got home so it would be a surprise sans mess.  Whew! Hopefully I will sleep better now that that feat has been accomplished.  I had to sudoku like a mad woman while he was driving to work so I could get right to it as soon as he got there.  Anyway, hopefully a contender will yield a mate at some point!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 27, 2021, 06:53:15 PM
QB WATHICG, and LB with the solver site.

Don't worry if you don't get one on your own - the solutions are a bit weird. I found a 2fer b4ss which it might not have taken anyway due to the nature of the second word. Ended up in the 3fer slog.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 27, 2021, 09:25:51 PM
Congrats on QB and 2fer!

I also finally found a 2fer, but not with any of my previous contenders.  Definitely interested in the solutions!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 28, 2021, 06:08:58 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far.

privates/somewhat

ab_grp, hope your surprise dishes turned out well and were indeed a pleasant surprise. As for the planning around parking, I'm used to it and typically plan other activities such as a museum visit, park,  or even window shopping when I go into the city. I think I'm still recovering from the surgery, hence the fatigue.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 28, 2021, 06:17:08 AM
Morning!

QB - last few words were chichi, techie and hectic /headsmack.

LB - vipers-somewhat. I just was not seeing all day somewhat. Again, 3fers abounded withers-samovar-rip, whomever-respite-eta. movers-swap-pith and a b4ss (trigger alert) whomever-rapist.

Not sure how much puzzle time I'll have today but we'll see.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 28, 2021, 06:33:46 AM
Good morning!

Genius without the pangram this morning.  I think it's going to be a Shunn day.  Ciao_yall, congratulations on QB and LB! 

LB:  Yesterday I first had whops-semiprivate,then found pivoters-shawm.  That reminded me of my friends in former BucolicTown who were music professors and specialists in early music and sometimes played their shawms.

Today I have a 2fer, but I was surprised that one of the words was accepted. 

Ab_grp, I'm sure your husband was (will be?) very pleasantly surprised by all your culinary efforts!  What are you making to go with the ranchero sauce?

Langue_doc, it's surprising how long the fatigue drags on after a simple cataract surgery.  My husband had his surgery on the 12th and felt tired for a good week after.  I hope that you start to get your energy back soon!  Birdwatching in Central Park must have been soothing, though.  It's an amazingly rich habitat—I say amazingly, because as one who moved to NYC after years in a semi-rural area, I couldn't believe how good the birding was.  Battery Park City is another good place to bird (I lived there when we first moved to NYC—joining a birding group there really helped me transition to urban life). 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 08:55:45 AM
Good morning!

Man, we are struggling today on the bee.  Not at Alpha yet (though we do have the pangram... I think it was in there recently), and though I got to GN4L again I still have a four-letter left now that I can't find.  I think that may be easier on puzzles like yesterday's.  Yesterday my final word was chide for some reason, though I had its past tense! I'm glad I just randomly typed that in and got to QB.  Hectic was definitely one of my last.

I got whomever-respirates finally yesterday.  Never saw somewhat.  Congrats on those solutions! I had some contenders that used up almost all the letters, but I guess not the right ones.  Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen!

Thanks about the cooking.  Husband loves huevos rancheros, so we will have those for breakfast.  Probably often, as I made him 3Q of it, but it freezes well.  He's more used to a different ranchero sauce, as the specific flavors are pretty regional, but he said this one tastes really good (he might just be being nice).  I don't really eat it, so I am not exactly sure what it is supposed to taste like.  I hope to also try it with enchiladas, and it is supposedly a good topping for meatloaf, which he has also mentioned an interest in recently.  We'll see.

Langue_doc, it sounds like there is quite a recovery process not related to the eyes after that type of surgery.  I hope you regain your energy but get to take it easy in the meantime.  I know what you mean about planning parking, having taken the train in to the city regularly for 15 years.  It makes a big difference! But bonus if you get to use the extra time for fun things.  Continued good thoughts for your recovery!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 28, 2021, 09:42:39 AM
mmmm- ranchero sauce (drool).

Yesterday LB 2fer of whisper-remotivate. Another good day for vaied answes! 2fer today just now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 11:02:47 AM
Onthefringe, congrats on your 2fer! And we have plenty of sauce to share! Fortunately, it was deemed a great success.  I'll have to try to make the kind he's more familiar with at some point, if I can find a good recipe for it.

We straggled to QB with Shunn's help for the final couple words.  I'm not sure I would have picked up one of them without Shunn.  Egad.  And there were a couple that weren't accepted that we thought should have been.

Not much luck on LB yet, and still have to finish hard sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 28, 2021, 12:24:14 PM
I, too, straggled to QB with help from Shunn, and also from Wordplay for a couple of definitions.  Ab_grp, I think I know the word you're talking about.  I had the first two letters from Shunn, and guessed at the rest (had I seen the word before somewhere, and just don't remember?).  Anyway, congratulations on your QB!

Congratulations on your 2fer, onthefringe!  And for adding to the variety of answers for yesterday's LB!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 28, 2021, 12:59:51 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 08:55:45 AM

I got whomever-respirates finally yesterday.  Never saw somewhat.  Congrats on those solutions! I had some contenders that used up almost all the letters, but I guess not the right ones.  Congrats on your 2fer already, cathwen!


GAH one of my 3fers was whomever-respite-eta SO BLOODY CLOSE!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 01:11:18 PM
Cathwen I bet it is the same word from your description! I also ended up guessing it because I thought it sounded familiar but definitely needed the first two letters to get anywhere near it.

Ciao_yall, ack! You were so close!! It took me until pretty late at night to stumble on whomever after many other promising contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 28, 2021, 02:33:20 PM
QB and two-fer!

ab_grp and cathwen, are you thinking about the foreign word? I tried all kinds of combinations including iona and antonio and finally the last word which I didn't think was an acceptable English word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 03:21:25 PM
Congrats on the QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! Wow! I still have no 2fer, but I think we are talking about the same word.  Very strange sometimes what is acceptable or not.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 28, 2021, 03:34:56 PM
I'll PM you a hint after dinner, ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 03:49:33 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on July 28, 2021, 03:34:56 PM
I'll PM you a hint after dinner, ab_grp.

Thanks! My brain is not working properly today anyway, so I could use any help that comes my way.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 28, 2021, 06:11:01 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 28, 2021, 01:11:18 PM
Cathwen I bet it is the same word from your description! I also ended up guessing it because I thought it sounded familiar but definitely needed the first two letters to get anywhere near it.

Ciao_yall, ack! You were so close!! It took me until pretty late at night to stumble on whomever after many other promising contenders.

I had whomever early in the day and just couldn't find a mate. Drove me batty because it used up all the hard letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 29, 2021, 05:30:33 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and in the 200+ range.

indexes/stromboli which I then revised to stromboli/index

cathwen, glad to hear that you went birding when living in the city. I've gone on birding trips in Battery Park, and also in Governors Island during the last three or so years. Other parks are Randalls Island, Van Cortland, Inwood, and Prospect Park. I wouldn't go birding by myself in the latter as there are several areas that are isolated as well as others that are used for unofficial housing. Recently three women were attacked in Inwood Park which I've always considered to be quite safe. There are also the botanic gardens in Queens and Brooklyn in addition to the main one in the Bronx. The local Audubon has a "Birding by Subway" pamphlet/map that lists other birding areas within the city.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 29, 2021, 06:18:33 AM
Good morning!

I'm currently at QB-2, and trying very hard not to consult Shunn.  I don't know how much longer my resolve will hold. 

Yesterday, I would never have solved it without Shunn!  Dhoti, for heaven's sake!  I saw DH- in Shunn and then added -OTI for who knows what reason—perhaps by analogy with roti (which has nothing to do with dhoti?).  The other stumbling block was hoodoo, which was my last word.  But at least it's a word I've heard of!

LB:  Yesterday I had trixie-emboldens.  I was surprised that trixie was accepted, but I now know that it's a British gambling term.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Langue_doc, I did not live in NYC long enough to explore all the great birding sites! I knew about them, though, but never got to them.  I was just glad, when I moved there, to discover that there are more than just pigeons and house sparrows there! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2021, 06:19:35 AM
Morning!

SB yesterday - was not a great solving day but eventually was reminded of dhoti and hoodoo.

LB - with a little help got indexes-stromboli. I did find a 3fer bombs-sext-tendrils but little progress otherwise. Did anyone find other words? I don't think there were many options on this one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2021, 06:53:39 AM
Genius but my goodness, today's LB is quite the tangle of b4ss solutions.

ab_grp Great try on trixie!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on July 29, 2021, 09:00:33 AM
LB yesterday was extends-stromboli. Glad to see someone without "stromboli" cathwen, plus I learned that "trixie" is more than just a nickname for Beatrice.

Massively struggling with today's LB as all the useful letter combos seem to be on the same side.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2021, 09:50:36 AM
Quote from: onthefringe on July 29, 2021, 09:00:33 AM
LB yesterday was extends-stromboli. Glad to see someone without "stromboli" cathwen, plus I learned that "trixie" is more than just a nickname for Beatrice.

Massively struggling with today's LB as all the useful letter combos seem to be on the same side.

Ditto. Plenty of 3fers but GAAAAHHHHH....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2021, 10:41:52 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I just have one more word to go for QB today, but I do not know what it is (obviously, I guess!).  Maybe it will come later after some other puzzling.  Yes, dhoti was a tough one.  I saw the dh- in Shunn and was glad I had looked there, because I don't think I would have thought of that letter combo, even though I think that word has been in there before.  We were each able to guess it from the first two letters pretty quickly, so I would guess we have seen it in the puzzle.

Langue_doc's help got me to the yummy stromboli solution.  Thanks again!  Trixie was cathwen's, and a good one! Congrats on getting a 2fer today, cathwen! It sounds like a tough one.

I love the idea of a birding by subway guide, btw!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 29, 2021, 11:10:45 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 29, 2021, 10:41:52 AM


I love the idea of a birding by subway guide, btw!



Here is a link to the online version, in case anyone is planning to come to the city. The print version has pictures of birds and categories on the other side.
https://www.nycaudubon.org/events-birding/birding-resources/birding-by-subway
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2021, 11:32:17 AM
That is a really nifty guide, Langue_doc! I had never heard of a wigeon, which kind of sounds like a portmanteau of water and pigeon.  They are cute, like little ducklets! Do you have any favorites?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2021, 12:39:54 PM
Woo ha! Got QBABM, finally seeing that word! Good luck!

Still have to do hard sudoku and try LB...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 29, 2021, 01:29:02 PM
Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!

I just made QB, but with Shunn for the last two words (I get impatient). 

Langue_doc, thanks for posting the birding by subway guide!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2021, 01:49:08 PM
Hooray! Congrats, cathwen! Believe me, I usually get impatient, too.  I think Shunn was coming up in the near future if I hadn't figured it out.  Since husband is off today, we had a little more time on our hands.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2021, 05:15:20 PM
QB - 4, nudge from Shunn to get to QB - 3. About to dive into Wordplay definitions but I still only have 3fers for LB and not quite sure I'm ready to see the hints for that yet....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2021, 05:46:04 PM
Flash from Shunn so QB - 2. Definitions for the final 2 so QB.

Glad I found the LB hints - 2 tricky ones today. I worship any of you who got the 2fer on your own.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 29, 2021, 07:25:45 PM
QB and two-fer. The words are ones that are familiar to us. My last three words included a couple that are used in the current context and a food word.

ab_grp, herons are some of my favorite birds. I saw a couple the other day when I was at Central Park, in one of my usual birding spots at the south end of the pond. These must have been juveniles based on their color and the fact that they were together for a short while before finding perches over the water. I've seen herons and egrets here before. Just above the other side of the pond is the Hallet Nature Sanctuary, another spot for bird watching. The herons are safe as you can't walk down the cliff from the sanctuary to the herons' fishing spots. As for ducks, we saw several migratory species on the birding trips in late March, April, and early May. I recall the trip leaders telling us to take a close look as these birds were on their way north.

I have the merlin app (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) on my phone. They just added a new feature where you can identify birds by their calls. https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 29, 2021, 09:36:27 PM
Struggled a bit but got to genius, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 30, 2021, 05:04:40 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. The last words yesterday were immunize, minimize, and finally, linguini.

farmhand/dichotomy

Tried to find a mate for chariot, but had to give up.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 30, 2021, 06:21:40 AM
Morning!

SB - Last two words were linguini, luging.

LB - Also farmhand-dichotomy Langue_doc you rock for finding it on your own - I needed multiple hints from the wordplay blog. Some of my better 3fers doh-homonymic-craft, chard-dominion-nifty, antonymic-chard-drift, conch-hominid-drafty, modify-yarn-natch but twas not to be.

Is it just me or is LB trickier this week than usual?

Anyway, happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 30, 2021, 07:44:43 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, but running out of imagination. 

Yesterday my last word was immunizing

LB:  I got the "official" solution yesterday—fandom-matriarchy.  I don't yet have a solution today, but I have several good words with remaining letters that refuse to coalesce into a recognizable word!

Ciao_yall, I do think that LB has been a little trickier this week. 

Langue_doc, that Merlin app is great!  I haven't yet tried the call identification feature.  (I have another app, BirdSong, that purports to identify birds by their songs, but it is horribly inaccurate.). Have you ever visited the Ornithology Lab?  It has walking trails through the woods and in the lab itself, a large window overlooking a pond that is thriving with bird life.  When I lived in that area, I used to go there frequently. 

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2021, 09:06:59 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have two more words to go to QB but will have to take a break and have some breakfast first.  Kind of a tough set up.  My last words yesterday were immunizing, linguini, so I guess a few of us struggled with those.

Congrats on the 2fers yesterday! I like the dichotomy solution.  I had a couple ones I thought were very good contenders, but no luck.  Oh I just saw cathwen's note.  Dangit!! I had matriarchy and kept thinking -dom but didn't get there.  Good job, cathwen! As for whether it is trickier than usual lately, it always seems to be tricky for me!

Langue_doc, herons are so majestic! I have seen a couple here and there, often just from stumbling upon them.  Well, I haven't seen them out here but have back home near the canal and lake, I think.  And one up in Canada in a park I got lost in for hours.  I guess I should say that I think they were herons, but I am realizing more and more from your posts and resources that there are some birds that look pretty similar to each other.  Maybe I can dig up the pic I took in the park and see if it does, indeed, appear to be a heron. And congrats on your QB yesterday!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 30, 2021, 10:37:21 AM
ciao_yall, it's cathwen who rocks on LB!

cathwen, I too used to live in that area and get there almost every year. I was there earlier this year and also made it last year after a week of dithering (friend and I were trying to decide if it was safe for me to visit, back and forth emails and texts--I let friend decide since I was the one in the highly contagious part of the country). I go to Sapsucker Woods with my binoculars at least twice when I'm visiting and we also do the falls and state parks. Usually one of my friends accompanies me on the bird-watching jaunt. The lab was closed this year and also last year because of the pandemic. This year the city had just relaxed the distancing protocols in restaurants so we had a nice dinner at one of the waterfront places. We had to wait for a while because we wanted an outside (overlooking the water) table.

The sound ID is quite new, so I haven't tried it yet, but a friend who tried it was quite impressed.

ETA: my last words were immunizing and minimizing (I must have been asleep when typing immunize and minimize).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2021, 11:05:19 AM
We each finally got to QB but had to compare first letters for the final couple words.  Didn't go to Shunn, though I'm sure we would have.  None of the remaining words were difficult.

The bird sound resource reminds me of a book I bought for my ex that plays bird calls.  He was really into bird feeders and such in our yard, which led to a funny mishap with an ebay purchase (I bought the whole Ellery Queen series but didn't think it ever arrived... it was packaged in a huge bird seed box that had arrived well before that I thought was for him!).  We also used a bird sound app here at one point to figure out what kind of bird we had nesting on our back patio.  I think it's a pretty neat idea for an app!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 30, 2021, 12:02:00 PM
I finally got a 2fer today OMO so yay.

Genius but no pangram. Hmmmm....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 30, 2021, 01:49:50 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, ciao_yall!  I am definitely not rocking on LB today.  I haven't been able to crack today's puzzle yet. 

SB:  I got to QB, but WATHICG:  Shunn and peeking at two definitions on Wordplay.  Ab_grp, congratulations on your QB without Shunn!

Langue_doc, what a coincidence that we have both lived in the same places at various times of our lives! 

ETA:  Finally found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2021, 02:22:45 PM
Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen! Still no luck for me, but I am keeping at it.  Tough with some letters of interest on the same side.

And congrats on your QB, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 30, 2021, 06:57:59 PM
Quote from: cathwen on July 30, 2021, 01:49:50 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, ciao_yall!  I am definitely not rocking on LB today.  I haven't been able to crack today's puzzle yet. 

SB:  I got to QB, but WATHICG:  Shunn and peeking at two definitions on Wordplay.  Ab_grp, congratulations on your QB without Shunn!

Langue_doc, what a coincidence that we have both lived in the same places at various times of our lives! 

ETA:  Finally found a 2fer!

Wonder if it's the same 2fer?

I was at QB - 4, got 3 nudges from Shunn's 2 letter grid then hit the definitions. /headsmack
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 31, 2021, 05:57:15 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday; pangram and genius today.

Easy two-fer on my second attempt--familiar words.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 31, 2021, 07:14:58 AM
Good morning! 

SB:  Genius, but no pangram yet.

LB:  Yesterday I had zodiac-chutney, which was the "official" solution.  I have a 2fer today, but it didn't come as easily as it did for Langue_doc!  It was far from my second try.

Ciao_yall, I know what you mean about definitions, then headsmack.  Me too.... Sigh.... And I have a feeling that today will be another Shunn day, but I will try to rein in my impatience.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 31, 2021, 08:29:00 AM
Morning!

Yesterday - last word was the pangram polygonal and LB was zodiac-chutney as well.

Haven't looked at today's yet but about to pour the coffee and check it out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2021, 09:52:33 AM
Good morning!

Argh, I just calculated and am at 89+% with pangram.  Well, maybe next break! I did get to GN4L, but it was tougher today.  I think nylon was my final word yesterday.  Congrats on your QBs yesterday!

And congrats on those 2fers yesterday.  I didn't get anywhere near the solution and had a few contenders, but none that seemed to use up the right letters.  Congrats on already getting solutions today, Langue_doc and cathwen! Hopefully I will have luck later on.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2021, 11:41:54 AM
We got down to one or two words each and compared first letter, finding that we had team QB.  We each found out words, so no Shunn, but impure.  Hope everyone else is having some luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2021, 01:20:10 PM
Here I am again.  Got a 2fer! And finally finished sudokus.  The medium one gave me some trouble because I didn't see something I shouldn't have seen.  Well, made it before the changeover, at least!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 31, 2021, 03:27:47 PM
Finally got to QB, but with Shunn's help. 

Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2021, 04:14:59 PM
Yay! Congrats on your QB, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 01, 2021, 05:51:51 AM
Good morning! QB yesterday; pangram and genius so far.

capitalize/elbowed

Two-fer on my second attempt--I must be channeling cathwen.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 01, 2021, 06:52:48 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, also a 2fer for LB.  Third try, though, not second—Langue_doc, you are on fire!

I also got capitalize-elbowed yesterday.

I'm running out of steam on SB—and will be out most of the day, so probably can kiss the thoughts of QB good-bye. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 01, 2021, 07:43:31 AM
Squeaked in to genius yesterday. Now to try my hand at today's.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 01, 2021, 08:01:15 AM
A quick 2fer today for LB. I look forward to seeing everyone's 2fers tomorrow.

Got the pangram, but no where near QB yet, and that's all the time for wordplay for today, as summer grades are due soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 01, 2021, 09:29:25 AM
Morning!

SB - Learned a few new words yesterday pleb (alternate spelling to plebe,) allocable (always thought it was allocatable,) and appellee to get to QB.

LB - Had a 3fer clawed-debit-topaz so with a hint from the Wordplay blog got capitalize-elbowed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2021, 09:30:02 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L again after some trying.  I think that might help me, since 4-letters seem to be my comfort zone.  We'll see if it works out.  Crossword took a while, so we haven't had that much time on the bee.

I got the same 2fer.  Langue_doc, you are on fire! And cathwen is exactly the person to channel! I will channel both of you and OneMoreYear.  Congrats on all your 2fers today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 01, 2021, 10:04:07 AM
2fer as well - cathwen's aura is strong today!

Meanwhile, no pangram yet. ab_grp I always start off thinking I'll go for GN4L but then I forget and plonk one in.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2021, 11:36:31 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I will be channeling you now, too! I have a couple reasonably good contenders but get lazy about figuring out if the remaining letters make any words if they don't immediately come to me, and then I just go off in search of other contenders.

We each got to impure QB with help from Shunn for the final few.  I think we probably had team QB before that, at least.  It is hard sometimes to remember not to put any 4s in.  Like I said, that is my comfort zone, so I automatically start going for them, but it's kind of fun to have the challenge.  I'm sure there will be days when it isn't that fun!

ETA: Got a 2fer! Maybe this channeling thing works...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 01, 2021, 01:47:17 PM
QB -- all familiar words r words I've seen in other bees with one exception which I found by typing random combinations. Ciao_yall, did you see any familiar words? ab_grp, I get hung up on certain words as happened the other day when I kept trying to find a mate for chintzy. Congrats all!

Just finished the crossword. It took me a long time to correct a mistyped letter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2021, 02:26:32 PM
Langue_doc, congrats on QB!! For LB, when it's a really, really good contender, or at least one that seems as though it's GOT to be part of the solution (like chintzy!), I don't like letting go of it to look around for other possibilities, either.  But when the contender just seems okay and doesn't automatically lead to a solution, I tend to abandon it and figure it's probably not part of the solution (though it sometimes is, unfortunately).  I just think I have a bee mind more than an LB mind.  One thing I might try to start to do is just disregard the letter arrangement and treat it like the bee... just try to think of all the words I can find from the letters and see if they work. 

Also, glad you found your crossword typo! I had one particular crossing area at which I wasn't quite sure what should be in that cell for across or down, but I had guessed the right letter and actually had something else wrong!  Looking at it in the list format rather than in the grid really helps me with typos, especially ones that can be legitimate words.  I almost volunteered to test solve a crossword for Ross Trudeau yesterday but got nervous and didn't to it (as usual).  Maybe next time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 01, 2021, 09:12:06 PM
Missing an AC and an AM, and not much help from the Wordplay blog. So... the streak ends.

ETA: Read the dictionary. Reminded of one word and learned a new one. BOOYAH!

Did get two quick 2fers this morning.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 01, 2021, 11:43:35 PM
I'm a little short on the Bee, but found a weird 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 02, 2021, 05:39:11 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius.

ciao_yall, yesterday's bee contained your name in its entirety.

frequencies/sharp

ab_grp, next time, do agree to test solve crosswords--you can do it!

I have to watch the clock today and have my fingers ready to sign up at exactly 9 AM for some outings for the next couple of months.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 02, 2021, 05:57:03 AM
My 2fer yesterday took a while and was weird. Trust me nit to see normal words and end up with picaresque-enfranchise. but they took it, so... looking forward to other solutions.

happy solving to everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 02, 2021, 06:08:54 AM
onthefringe, I also had picaresque/enfranchise yesterday! My immediate thought with the letters was to play around with "esque" words. I definitely did not see frequencies.

I'm not playing today, though I glanced at the puzzles, as I'm in a grading binge, but look forward to seeing solutions and hearing about successes. 

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 02, 2021, 06:19:14 AM
Morning!

SB - After few reminders on Wordplay (including ciao, gah) I was still 2 words short. Tried amyl which, for some reason, lives in my brain as a prefix, and then... yes, read the dictionary until I found a new word: acyclic. Boom.

LB - frequencies-shape, franchise-equip. Very creative, onthefringe! Funny what words will jump out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2021, 09:20:19 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I've got 2 more words to QB today but am running out of ideas, so hopefully next time something will occur to me.  That's kind of funny about ciao, ciao_yall! Just a tough word to see sometimes.

Also had franchise-equip yesterday.  Definitely some creative solutions!

Thanks for the encouragement, Langue_doc! I did regret not throwing my hat in the ring, but I've never done it before and am not sure what they are looking for.  I guess there's only one way to find out.  And I hope you had good luck getting your outings scheduled!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 02, 2021, 09:33:07 AM
Genius with 2 pangrams and a 2fer. Since I always seem to learn new words with each Bee, not sure I'll achieve QBABM. Still, each time I look at the screen I find another word... and each time I look at Shunn or the wordplay blog another word pops out that I forgot.

So my little brain is stretching.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 02, 2021, 09:52:37 AM
Good afternoon!

Lots of variation for yesterday's LB!  I had frequencies-sharp

Yesterday I was out all afternoon, so when I got back  I resorted to Shunn and Wordplay to get to QBWATHICG, I'm afraid.  Amyl and acyclic were my last words. 

Today I am at Beta with all three pangrams.  I do not yet have a 2fer for LB, so congratulations on yours, ciao_yall!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2021, 11:03:15 AM
We made it to QB with some help from Shunn for first letters of our final words.  Good enough!

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!  I have what I think is a very good contender but need to find a mate for it.  I hope I will.  Or that I will have the sense to let go of it and move on.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 02, 2021, 12:10:54 PM
Finally!  A 2fer for LB.

Congratulations on QB, ab_grp!  I just made QB as well, also with a nudge from Shunn for first letters.  My last word was one I thought I had typed in right at the beginning! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2021, 12:15:28 PM
Woohoo! Congrats on your 2fer and QB, cathwen!! I have a bunch more contenders but still no joy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 02, 2021, 12:16:20 PM
QB - 1. I looked at the grid so I know the first two letters and the letter count. Trying not to check the definitions...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 02, 2021, 02:03:35 PM
Checked Wordplay hints, then thesaurus.

Learned a new word (apparently hung up other people) and achieved QB. Again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2021, 03:58:04 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

I have been bugged on and off throughout the day that my favored contender has a mate that is in the urban dictionary but not the real dictionary, I guess.  I am thinking of considering it as a pseudosolution.  Hopefully I can come up with a "real" one.

ETA: Got a "real" solution with a different contender and a word I thought I had made up.  Huh! I would guess that is also not the schmofficial one, so maybe I'll keep trying.

ETA^2: Yay! I got an accepted solution with my favored contender.  So, two pseudosolutions and two accepted solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 02, 2021, 05:28:43 PM
My 2fer yesterday was, if memory serves, frats-squinches.


Haven't gotten far yet today, bit I'll keep at it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 03, 2021, 04:23:47 AM
Good morning!

QB and the official solution for LB.

Pangram and genius today; have run out of ideas for more words--I probably need just three or four.

Made it to the three outings that I wanted, ab_grp.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 03, 2021, 06:11:05 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on your QB, Langue_doc!

I am currently at QB-1.  I need a six-letter word, and I am stumped.  However, I hope to make QBABM, so I'll keep coming back to it and hope that inspiration strikes.

Yesterday, my final word was bait—which I thought I had entered at the beginning, but apparently I either mistyped it, or just thought about it and never typed it. 

As for LB, I also got the "official" solution (dwarfing-gulch), and I have found a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 03, 2021, 06:19:54 AM
Morning!

SB - Last word was labiliity. Genius with pangram so far this morning as it's a quick one. Maybe I'll achieve QBABM?

LB - dwarfing-gulch and a 2fer already.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 03, 2021, 07:31:24 AM
QB! Familiar words all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 03, 2021, 08:28:08 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM, not too tough of a set of words.  Cathwen, I also had a 6-letter word left.  Maybe the same one? I did find it, but there were a couple others I thought could have been accepted that weren't, and husband pointed out another one that could have been in there.  He is missing an 8-letter word.  Hopefully he will find it! And hopefully you will find yours!  Congrats to Langue_doc on the QB!! Lability was also my final word yesterday.

For LB, my favored contender was lawnchair.  They wouldn't take gawdawful as a mate, but that's in the urban dictionary, so I consider that a pseudosolution.  It also works with churching.  I finally got a real mate for it, though: fungicidal-lawnchair.  And I got dwarfing-glunch.  I did not know the latter was a word but tried it, and voila.  It apparently means to look sour or glum.  Sadly, I didn't see gulch! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall! Also congrats to Parasaurolophus for the additional interesting solution to the previous day's LB!

Hooray on getting your trips, Langue_doc! Your timing and diligence paid off!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 03, 2021, 10:05:14 AM
Very impressive work yesterday ab_grp! I just got the schmofficial dwarfing-gulch (and then went around the rest of the day humming "It's no sicker than your thing with Dwarves. Dwarfs. Dwarfs... Dwarfs are very upsetting" and the rest of Into the Woods, so thanks for that letterboxed).

Today I would not have accepted one of the words in my 2fer, but they did.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 03, 2021, 11:16:38 AM
Thanks, onthefringe! I was being stubborn about lawnchair and was kind of surprised they accepted it because it seems as though it might be two words.  There's a Galavant song about Giants vs. Dwarves that you've put in my head now! It's a good earworm, though, like most songs from that show.  Congrats on your 2fer today! You never know what they will accept, so might as well try.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 03, 2021, 01:36:54 PM
QB, with a hint from Shunn on the first letter of the last word, which was unfamiliar to me.  So no QBABM today!

Ab_grp, I also get stubborn about certain words!  Yesterday I was determined to use haranguing, but just could not make it work. 

Onthefringe, it is always worth trying weird words!  I have often been surprised at what LB accepts.  (By the same token, I have sometimes been surprised and annoyed by what LB does not accept!) Congratulations on your 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 03, 2021, 03:47:46 PM
QB, nudge from the grid to get 2 unfamiliar words. So, I'm learning!

2fer came quickly today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 03, 2021, 09:42:48 PM
No joy today, I'm afraid. I may also be too tired, however.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 04, 2021, 05:37:48 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

friar, friary, and naif were my last words.

The official solution for LB--gah! I thought I had an original solution.

Two-fer already. My first attempt gave me two words with one unincorporated letter. I tried the second word first, and voila, the other letters arranged themselves into a word.

Quote
Posted by: Parasaurolophus
« on: August 03, 2021, 09:42:48 PM »Insert Quote
No joy today, I'm afraid. I may also be too tired, however.


Today is another day,  Parasaurolophus. Good luck with the solutions.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 04, 2021, 06:11:12 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram.  Yesterday, my last word was affray.  A new one for me!  I was trying for QBABM, but I resorted to Shunn for the last word.  I am quite sure that today will not be a QBABM day, but we'll see. 

I also got the "official" solution to yesterday's LB:  cantankerous-six.  Langue_doc, I also thought it would be an original solution—I was very proud of cantankerous

I got a 2fer today on the first try! That doesn't happen very often. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 04, 2021, 06:16:58 AM
Morning!

SB - Last 2 words were affray, ramify. I knew from the grid which words I was missing so just started playing with letters. Then looked up definitions.

LB - excoriates-stunk.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 04, 2021, 08:18:01 AM
I aspire to someday get 2fers in even less than 20 tries.

Yesterday's was krone-excruciates. Really struggling today — too many consonants!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 04, 2021, 10:40:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We got to QB with the help from Shunn for final few words.  I think my final one yesterday was ramify.  Not totally sure why they don't take airfry or rarify, among others.

I got excoriates-sunk yesterday.  Cantankerous is a great word! Very lopsided solution.  I have a couple contenders from my phone that I need to write down and try to work with.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Good luck to you today, Parasaurolophus! We are also very tired, having been woken out of a dead sleep by panicked youngest child whose boyfriend had apparently not gotten home from work or returned her texts and calls for an hour and probably the worst had happened.  Fortunately, it had not.  But unfortunately, I am really tired today.  She just woke up and went to go swimming, so I guess she's doing just peachy! Freaking kids sometimes.  I understand the worry, but argh.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 04, 2021, 04:42:49 PM
Finally hit QB and learned a few more words from the definitions.

After a quick 3fer this morning... nada. May check the solver site later. I don't like the commenter's hints because they give away too much too soon. ETA: Okay, went there. I had the first word, didn't realize the second was actually a compound. Argh. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 04, 2021, 09:48:26 PM
Alas, I fell just short today.

EDIT: Wrote too soon. Got to genius, pangramless.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 05, 2021, 05:23:22 AM
Good morning!

QB and the official LB solution yesterday.

Today, saw the pangram right away and crawled up to genius. That's it, I think, for today.

ab_grp, hope you caught up on your sleep.

Parasaurolophus, remember Scarlett O'Hara's last sentence. Repeat as many times as necessary. Stamp your foot for additional effect.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 05, 2021, 06:24:10 AM
Morning!

SB - New word was hoke. One must hoke something to make it hokey? And dollied as a verb, but I would have thought it was dolleyed.

LB - growths-sandbank. Found growths, but didn't realize sandbank was a compound. Anyone find anything else? Other than one 3fer thanks-sword-dagnab nothing was busting loose.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 05, 2021, 06:43:34 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  I am pretty sure that this will be a Shunn day, because I am completely stuck right now.

Yesterday I was hoping for QBABM and got to QB-1.  I tried all sorts of combinations, but just could not get that final word!  I knew it was four letters.  A peek at Shunn told me that the word began with O—and when I looked back at the letters, oleo jumped out at me.  I usually see that early on—it's not as if it's an exotic word, like haboob or goby.  So, QB, but not QBABM. 

Congratulations to all the other QBs!

LB:  I also got the "official" growths-sandbank yesterday—so that makes three of us so far.  I do wonder if anyone else got something different?

I found a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 05, 2021, 09:15:03 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am struggling today with the bee.  Still have four words to go, not at Alpha yet.  Husband has two words to go, and we know we are each missing a 4-letter but haven't compared beyond that.  Congrats on the QBs yesterday and getting to your goal, Parasaurolophus!

Congrats on getting those 2fers yesterday!! I tried and tried and came up with all sorts of promising contenders, but it wouldn't take a few I wanted it to.  I don't think I would have guessed sandbank, though I think I had both components in other words.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! I hope it's kinder to me today.

Thanks for the good sleep wishes, Langue_doc.  Need to catch up some more, but I definitely feel waaaay better today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 05, 2021, 10:06:44 AM
Sending you good vibes for the bee, ab_grp. The four-letter word is probably the one that I remembered encountering in my high school physics class.

Try suffixes--even if you think they don't make sense, you'll get there.

Good luck, everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 05, 2021, 10:45:04 AM
Thank you, Langue_doc! I regret to say that we gave up and compared and checked Shunn.  We just ran out of time.  There were a couple words that I thought should be in there that weren't, as usual.  But I think the word you are referring to was in my batch of missing ones or may have been husband's final word.  If this means you made it to QB, congrats!! But thank you, regardless.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 05, 2021, 03:40:29 PM
Some odd words thanks to the definitions, and got some help from the Wordplay forum again for a word I was close to but didn't get, and would not have gotten without help...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 05, 2021, 03:49:47 PM
Found a weird 2fer today.  I look forward to seeing what others came up with.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 05, 2021, 04:03:02 PM
Onthefringe, they are all weird today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 05, 2021, 07:34:58 PM
Finally got a 2fer.  Should definitely have figured it out earlier!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 06, 2021, 05:51:47 AM
Huh, was closer to the official solution than I thought! I had journaling / graphene. I did not think it would take graphene. The official of journal / logophile was more fun. What's up with the crazy consonants for today?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 06, 2021, 06:29:25 AM
Morning!

SB - Was short 2 LE-words so finally hit the Wordplay definitions for two new words leadenly, leanly.

LB - journaling-graphene which I never would have gotten without a hint from the LB geniuses on Wordplay. Funny because I had journaling-graph-hen and my first 3fer jangling-group-phenol.

With all these new words I hope I'm expanding my vocabulary. This morning I shall trod, leadenly to the gym and eat leanly. And, the wall sconces in my living room have a graphene motif.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 06, 2021, 06:35:12 AM
Good morning!

Woke up around 3:30, and got to QB soon thereafter. Then went back to sleep. All familiar words, or words that have appeared in previous puzzles.

QB and the official solution yesterday. I spent a good chunk of time trying to get a partner for journaling.

Happy solving all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 06, 2021, 06:42:24 AM
Good morning!

This is one of my rare QBABM days!  Yesterday I got to QB, but with a nudge from Shunn.  Congratulations on your QB, Langue_doc!

LB:  I had the "official" journal-logophile yesterday.  I do not have a 2fer yet today—yes, all those crazy consonants!  I have a couple of (non-)solutions that leave one letter hanging.  I'm beginning to think I'm hung up on one word in particular.  Time for a shower and revised thinking!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 06, 2021, 07:43:01 AM
Yesterday I shared OneMoreYear's journaling-graphene. I actually found a 2fer pretty easily this morning. I think I'm better with consonant heavy ones which seem to limit the available field of possible words more.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 06, 2021, 09:03:51 AM
Pangram was the first word I found. Now 1 or 2 points short of QBAM which tells me it's a few short 4-letter words I'm missing. NO HINTS!

ETA: QBAM!

Lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet. Agreed onthefringe when it's a few tricky letters it sort of forces you to find words using those. Or ideally both in one word. But then there is no critical letter or same side issue... oh well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 06, 2021, 10:14:25 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Husband and I each made it to QBABM/H.  He got there before me.  I think I was expecting difficult words, and my final few were definitely not.  Congrats on all the QBs! I was surprised to see it was such a short puzzle and just expected it to be harder.  But I didn't get to genius without the 4-letters today.  I think that would have been possible but very tough.  Maybe I should have tried harder.

Finally arrived at the schmofficial solution for LB after trying a lot more complicated -phile words.  I was also trying to make journaling work! I think it would have worked with gopher b4ss.  Had a lot of contenders in the mix.  Sounds like a tough one today.  Congrats on the 2fers and graphene, which I do not think I would have found.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 06, 2021, 10:14:52 AM
Easy genius and pangram today, QB can't be far off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 06, 2021, 03:54:06 PM
Tiny nudge from the solver site and got a 2fer. Had one of the words, but would not have guessed the other.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 06, 2021, 05:54:41 PM
Still two short of QB. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 07, 2021, 06:12:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today.

LB--official solution. I found squib and bronzed earlier but had a dangling v. Then tried sequined and later quinze, but failed to find partners.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 07, 2021, 07:44:25 AM
Morning!

QB - last word was blob.

rendezvous-squib I had squib but didn't think of rendezvous until I saw the R-E-N-D from the solver site. Maybe in my brain it's two words? 3fer that wasn't going anywhere was squib-bronzed-dive and variations thereof.

Going for a hike today so not sure how much puzzle time there will be. There is another Bee enthusiast in the group, so maybe I'll get a team QB.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 07, 2021, 08:23:27 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far today.  Yesterday, booboo was my last word.

LB:  Congratulations to those of you who found a 2fer yesterday!  I was unsuccessful.  Today, however, I have one.

Ciao_yall, enjoy your hike!  My husband and I might go out on a new trail later today—I'm not sure you could call it 'hiking,' though; more like 'walking in the woods.'

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 07, 2021, 08:55:45 AM
Good morning!

I'm 4 words from QB and one point shy of Alpha but did manage to get to GN4L today.  Definitely stumped now! I think booboo might have been my final word yesterday. 

Congrats on the 2fers yesterday.  Whew.  I had squib but thought that was too short to get my anywhere with all the weird letters left.  Had a lot of contenders, but no luck.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen! I will wish again for a kinder puzzle.

Enjoy the hiking and walking in the woods! I think the latter is more my style these days.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 07, 2021, 10:28:58 AM
Okay, got to QBABM.  Sadly, not tough words.  They just took a while! Husband decided to cash out and get a hint on his final word so he could move on with his day.  Sudokus are done, so I will focus my energies on LB.  I have a couple contenders, but nothing exciting yet.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 07, 2021, 01:00:14 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 07, 2021, 09:00:18 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on August 07, 2021, 01:00:14 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Woohoo!

With help from the solver site, got one as well....

And with help from a hiking friend, Shunn and the Wordplay definitions, made it to QB.

Now I'm going to bed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 08, 2021, 08:15:42 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday; pangram and well above genius today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 08, 2021, 08:34:13 AM
Good morning!

I made QB yesterday, although I had to resort to Wordplay definitions for a few words. 

Today I am at genius with the pangram.  It's a long one today! 

LB:  I had the "official" mishap-provenance.  I do not yet have a 2fer today despite having found some good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 08, 2021, 09:55:01 AM
Last two words were new ones horal, moola.

Yesterday's LB was tricky and not many options. Ended up wit penmanship-provenance.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2021, 10:57:09 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 2 more words to QB but at least got to Alpha and made my GN4L goal.  Hopefully the final ones will come to me.  I think my last word yesterday was moan! Fitting enough.  Congrats on the QBs!

Got the schmofficial solution for LB yesterday after trying with microchip(s) for a while.  Congrats on getting a different one, ciao_yall! Sounds as though today's could be tough again.

Time to install updates on phones, figure out computer issues (well, try), and get those sudokus done.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2021, 12:56:06 PM
Well, I'm down to one word now, and husband got QBABH.  I am trying to hold off on counting first letter with him.  On the one hand, I got 66 words, so that's good.  On the other, I only need one word and already got 66 so don't want to give up on the QBABM possibility.

Couple LB contenders but haven't found a solution yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 08, 2021, 04:23:53 PM
QB WATHICG. A few head smackers, and 3 "bee specials." One of which I remembered before, but I won't say more.

LB - had a 2fer b4ss and some tight 3fers so hit the Wordplay Blog for some help. They were tricky so I don't feel too badly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2021, 04:36:51 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

I ended asking for a first-letter hint from husband and found my final word.  So close to QBABM, but oh well!

But i did get a 2fer! I had been trying with a particular contender forever and just started trying other words and found one that went with it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 09, 2021, 05:18:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. It doesn't look promising from here on. QB yesterday. lifeline was my last word--the others have appeared in previous puzzles.

dahlia/ambulatory

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 09, 2021, 06:24:08 AM
Morning!

QB - final words were electee (gah) and leftie (alternative spelling.) Remembered linnet though. I tried to go for GN4L but only made it as far as Amazing before putting in a 4L... and then got another flood of 5+ words. Gah.

LB - with help got dahlia-ambulatory and lambda-authority. I never think of using the a as a transition letter. Had a "ship" mailout-hybrid, tight 3fer dat-thrum-mobility, and b4ss badmouth-hilarity.

Happy solving!

ETA: Amazing with pangram, 3fer. Hoping for a better LB day today, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 09, 2021, 07:13:10 AM
Good morning! 

Genius with both pangrams so far.  It's another sloggy one today.

Yesterday, with help from Shunn, I made QB—my last words were infill and leftie.

I did not find a 2fer yesterday, so congratulations to those who did!  I haven't found one yet today, either.  I did find a good 3fer, but no 2fers so far.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 09, 2021, 09:09:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I was struggling a bit on the bee, but my Olympics of the Mind nemeses were in there (a proper name, not a word), so that got some of the old competitive juices flowing.  Now I have 5 more words to go and got both pangrams, though the second took a bit.  Managed to get GN4L again.  It's kind of nice because then once I reach genius I can just throw in a bunch more words pretty easily.  I now try the GN4L, then try to get all the 4 letter words, then carry on.  Definitely stuck a bit at this point.  Yesterday I was missing eclectic until I got the first letter hint from husband.  I kept thinking electric and trying electic.  Who knows.

I also got dahlia-ambulatory finally yesterday after trying to work with the latter a lot because it used up a lot of tough letters.  I don't think I came near the schmofficial solution in my travels.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 09, 2021, 05:09:13 PM
QB WATHICG and a tiny nudge from the Hivemind for LB. One had a strange transition. The other looks pretty clear but I haven't figured it out yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 10, 2021, 05:55:52 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius; QB yesterday.

The dog days of summer are coming to an end, alas!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 10, 2021, 06:19:20 AM
Morning!

QB - last few words which I had forgotten were coact, coactor, outro, toccata, toro. Plus a few others I had overlooked.

LB - gecko-omnivorous with a hint. Tricky with the o as transition! I had a 2fer b4ss nervous-smocking and several variations of a this 3fer gin-nervous-smock. Short word to use up the g, a nice v word, and smock.

Anyway, onward to today's!

ETA: GN4L!

ETA^2: Found a nice juicy word that uses up almost all the letters. ETA^3: Made a pretty tight 3fer out of it. 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 10, 2021, 06:56:48 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, albeit with help from Shunn and a definition from Wordplay.  Infill, rotatory, actuator, and outro were my last words.

Today I'm at Beta with the pangram.  I do not see QBABM in my future, as I am out of ideas.  Ciao_yall, congratulations on GN4L!  I have yet to try that. 

LB:  I also got gecko-omnivorous after many attempts.  Today, though, I found a 2fer relatively quickly.  Well, more quickly than yesterday.

Ah yes, the dog days of August...we're cramming in a few days away next week, then a visit from Middle Daughter and Grandson the week after.  Then we'll crash back to Earth with the start of school for all of us September 1 (Middle Daughter teaches high school English). 

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 10, 2021, 10:05:43 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Still 2 words left to QB today, but I got the GN4L.  Congrats on giving it a try and succeeding, ciao_yall!

That LB was hard yesterday! So many contenders, but no luck.  Congrats on your 2fers today, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Hope everyone gets to enjoy some fun plans before the summer ends.  Sounds as though you have some things to look forward to, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 10, 2021, 12:50:17 PM
Had to get Shunn help with the final two words.  Ugh! But I remembered that yesterday some of my final ones that I needed help with her tryout, trout.  Not sure why I didn't see them.

But I did get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 10, 2021, 03:06:33 PM
QB WATHICG - 2 words I needed definitions for. One has a different spelling in my brain, the other makes sense as a word but I didn't know it was a word.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 10, 2021, 03:28:37 PM
Also QBWATHICG.  Got to QB-4, then turned to Shunn, then Wordplay for a definition for my last word.  Argh!  And even then, I did not get it immediately.  Echoing ciao_yall's "makes sense as a word but I didn't know it was a word."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 10, 2021, 06:20:30 PM
Got to genius, but that's it for me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 10, 2021, 07:20:43 PM
QB. I think I know the word cathwen and ciao_yall are talking about--I could be mistaken but found the word because I was thinking of a song unrelated to any of the words in the puzzle.

Crosswords are probably out, so that takes precedence over LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 11, 2021, 04:15:20 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above 200 points so far.

Off to a medical appointment--hope people are wearing masks in the subway. When I've gone to this practice in the past, I would just stroll a few blocks, cross Fifth Ave, and spend time at the MET. We have a heat advisory today, besides you need to schedule appointments for museums and other cultural institutions, so it's back home after that. A good three-hour round trip.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 11, 2021, 06:33:06 AM
Morning!

QB - Last two words were gangland (wasn't everyone's?) and ladling which seems it would want to have an "e" in it.

LB - owl-lumberjack did anyone get anything else? And did anyone else get a Monty Python earworm as a result?

Going for GN4L and still at Amazing with one two pangrams. And a 3fer. But I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 11, 2021, 08:13:09 AM
Good morning!

I am also at amazing with two pangrams.  I had intended to go for GN4L, but forgot, so I have a lot of 4Ls. 

Yesterday gangland was also my last word, and ladling was not far behind.  Nada also came late—but I should have gotten that earlier. 

As for LB, I also got owl-lumberjack, and for some reason found that fairly quickly. But today is another story—I'm still struggling to find that 2fer!  Yes, I did get the Monty Python earworm!

This might not be my best puzzle day. 

Langue_doc, I hope the appointment goes well, and that people are wearing masks on the subway (and elsewhere).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 11, 2021, 08:56:14 AM
cathwen I hear ya. I'm still at Amazing N4L with 2 pangrams. I could go for GOTN (Genius On The Nose) with a few 4 letter words but at this point, where's the fun in that?



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2021, 09:21:48 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 4 more words today and am not yet to Alpha but got to GN4L and have the two pangrams.  Gangland was also my final word yesterday!

Also got the schmofficial solution plus earworm yesterday.  And enjoyed picturing an owl in a lumberjack outfit.  Sounds tough today again!

Good luck with your appointment, Langue_doc, and I hope you have travels that are not stressful and that people are wearing their masks!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2021, 10:38:10 AM
Well, I was wrong.  I had 5 words left to QB, but now I am down to 2 and finally made it to Alpha.  Husband is really struggling today, having just gotten to genius not too long ago, but he has both pangrams.  It is a tough puzzle.  Haven't compared or gone to Shunn yet, but I suspect we are on our way toward those options.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 11, 2021, 11:35:24 AM
I'm at 228 points, 52 words and 2 pangrams. So yeah, I think Shunn is nigh.

Did get a 2fer though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 11, 2021, 11:53:04 AM
Checked Shunn. A few words I thought I had, still stuck on two that I can't even get playing with numbers.

ETA: QB. Gah
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 11, 2021, 03:36:50 PM
QB earlier this afternoon--all familiar words. Two-fer after a dry spell.

I found gangland because I was thinking of Graceland, the song. The local media though describe crime and murders which are aplenty as gang-related rather than gangland or gangland related.

There were unmasked people in the subway despite the signs in the subway stations that require all riders to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status. Several young people of different ethnicities except Asian, and also older people who should know better. The reception area had a sign warning people that anyone who was seen without a mask would be asked to leave. There was an older woman with her nose exposed. When it was her turn to be called in the medical personnel motioned for her to pull her mask up over her nose. I did have to dodge bicyclists and electric scooters on the sidewalks.

cathwen, the rest of your summer sounds lovely. Hope you have good weather during your visits.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2021, 04:47:03 PM
Congrats on the QBs and 2fers, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Husband has been at work all day, so we haven't worked on the bee more but hope to soon once he finishes emails.  Gave me a chance to write out bills to services that still do not do online payment.  Ugh! Maybe the words will come to me easily now.  Ha.  As for LB, I have a bunch of fair contenders but no mate yet so will keep at it.

Langue_doc, it's a shame to hear that so many are defying the requirements, especially with all the bad news coming out about community spread and increasing cases.  I scrolled through the back-to-school pics for schools in our area, and many students did not have their masks on correctly.  But, this has happened before with seemingly no backlash for folks being caught on camera in these same situations.  And bicyclists should not be on the sidewalks! Speaking of which, when husband was driving home the other day there was some dude bicycling toward him with a case of beer on the handle bars of the bike.  That is asking for trouble for a number of reasons.  My dad was very into bike rules.  ;-)  Anyway, I hope the rest of your trip was better.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 12, 2021, 05:29:28 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on the QBs and 2fers!

Yesterday was a Bad Puzzle Day for me. I was at QB-3 and no 2fer or LB.  Looking at the words I missed on SB, they were all words I knew and should have gotten:  doodad, initiation, nonillion.  LB utterly confounded me! 

Today is better, at least for LB—I have found a 2fer.  SB stands at QB-4 with the pangram.  We'll see how far I get!

Langue_doc, seeing so many unmasked people must have been upsetting, even though you are vaccinated and were masked.  Ugh!

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 12, 2021, 06:38:05 AM
Morning!

QB - last two words were anon, annotation. Maybe I could have gotten them on my own without definitions, but I was ready to finish.

LB - lump-profanity.

Today's SB looks tricky with that I in the middle. Thought about trying again for GN4L but wasn't getting anywhere so not today. 3fer already on LB which I'm learning doesn't mean much!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 12, 2021, 07:03:56 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with the pangram, which was rather tricky.

lump/profanity

Sorry to hear about your bad puzzle day, cathwen. Once I found nonillion, I started looking for bee words such as doodad.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 12, 2021, 09:00:38 AM
Good morning!

I am trying for GN4L today again, but it's hard with so many 4 letter words.  And I don't have the pangram, so no pangram and not at genius yet... and unusual feeling after our morning coffee.  We'll see how it goes, but having only three non-4s including the pangram left... I have to get at least the pangram and one of them to get to genius without the 4s.  We eventually ran out of time last night and had to look at Shunn.  I needed help with lanolin, ditto, which I usually get.

No luck on LB and not even close to the solution despite a huge ton of contenders.  Hopefully today will be better.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 12, 2021, 09:19:12 AM
2fer... but LB is a slog. No pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 12, 2021, 10:06:21 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall!

I also got a 2fer! And I did finally find the pangram, but I am one point to genius and still not trying to use any 4s.  But there are only two words left that are not 4s.  I feel like I've tried everything.  I do know how long they are, but that's it at the moment.  But husband is working at home today, so we have a little more time to work at it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 12, 2021, 11:08:28 AM
Impressive, ab_grp!

I'm mostly 4 Ls on LB and no pangram yet, still at Amazing. I try not to hit Shunn until I'm at GWP. Maybe the lightbulb will go off? (I keep seeing illuminate when looking at the hive.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 12, 2021, 11:28:36 AM
Anatomy, ab_grp, anatomy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 12, 2021, 11:53:45 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I actually ended up getting to QBABM, but those words were my final two non-4s, so you were spot on.  That pangram was tricky and ended up being husband's final word.  In retrospect, I should have gotten it sooner.  I got one of the anatomy words to finally get to GN4L (almost gave up before that!), got the 4s, and then figured out the other one.  Whew!! Did you get to QB?

And thanks, ciao_yall! Good luck with it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 12, 2021, 03:37:38 PM
Finally, with definitions and guessing hit QB. One word I thought was hyphenated, the other is completely new to me. And a few reminders...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 13, 2021, 06:38:56 AM
Pangram and above 200. That's it for today--seems like too much effort for another slew of words.

QB yesterday; found the anatomical words because I was trying to diagnose and treat a muscle spasm.

warmth/hovering. Tried all day to find a mate for growth and a few other words that seemed promising.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 13, 2021, 06:56:47 AM
Morning!

QB - Always thought multilevel was hyphenated, and I did try many combinations of multi. And now I know what an ileum is. 2 pangrams and Amazing N4L, helps that I am starting to remember those odd bee specials.

LB - whomever-rationing. Haven't looked at it yet today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 13, 2021, 07:46:17 AM
Good morning! 

QB yesterday, but with a bit of help.  I had ilium, but not ileum!  And in spite of knowing French, I missed milieu and lieu (which I've gotten before).  Wordplay hints helped put me over the finish line.

Today's SB stands at Beta with both pangrams.  This is surely going to be a Shunn day, but I'll hang in there a bit longer.  I know that I get impatient and give in too soon.

LB:  Yesterday I had overgrowth-hitman.  And I have found two 2fers today!  (The second one is a variation on the first.).

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 13, 2021, 09:08:31 AM
GN4L and 2 pangrams. Yeah, I think I will need Shunn and Wordplay but holding off.

4fers but not even a 3fer yet!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 13, 2021, 10:27:04 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to QBABM, so try to hold off and good luck! Made it to GN4L as well.  Definitely an easier one for that than yesterday.  Those ilium, ileum words took a while.  Sorry to hear for the reason they came to mind, Langue_doc!

For LB, I got amino-overgrowth.  Lots of solutions here, and none the schmofficial one?  And wow... congrats on two 2fers today, cathwen!

I meant to ask if anyone still looks at nytbee.com before Shunn? Yesterday I swear it wasn't loading the new puzzle info, so we used the top of Shunn for the total words, pangrams, points.  Seems to be working today, though.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 13, 2021, 10:38:04 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on August 13, 2021, 10:27:04 AM

I meant to ask if anyone still looks at nytbee.com before Shunn? Yesterday I swear it wasn't loading the new puzzle info, so we used the top of Shunn for the total words, pangrams, points.  Seems to be working today, though.


I look at nytbee after getting to genius to see how many more words I need and the word-length information. I've never looked at Shunn.

They are now asking for donations. Until yesterday, when they first asked for donations I had assumed that this was a NYT site.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 13, 2021, 11:47:20 AM
That makes sense, Langue_doc.  We usually look at it when we start the bee in earnest to see what we should be aiming for.  Now it helps so I can tell if it is mathematically possible to get to GN4L (and how hard that might be to do).  Thanks for pointing out the donate button! And I see they mention that the site is occasionally down when they are not home to fix issues.  So that might explain yesterday.  Shunn also asks for donations.  And I think you must be the QB of all the QBs having never looked at Shunn! That is an impressive accomplishment.

I got a 2fer on my first try!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 13, 2021, 04:49:49 PM
Finally QB. Was at QB-5 and hit the definitions for a few reminders and a new word.

Also got a 2fer. Never did get a 3fer, but plenty of 5fers and 4fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 14, 2021, 05:55:56 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on the QBs and 2fers!

I reached QB yesterday with help from Wordplay for two final hints.  Biennia was my last word, which I only got after the hint to remove a final letter from one of the BI-8 words.  Otherwise, it would never have occurred to me.

Today I have reached genius with one of the three pangrams.  It's a sloggy one today (342 maximum)! 

As for LB, I had the "official" vulcanized-dock, but I also had vulcanize-evoked.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, you certainly are the QB Queen if you have never looked at Shunn!  That is truly impressive. 

I usually get to genius on my own, then look at nytbee.com to see what the maximum points are, and the number of pangrams.  The list of common words is sometimes helpful, but the list of excluded words sometimes more so, as they sometimes list variant spellings of words I haven't thought of yet, but are possible.  After that, when I get impatient, I look at Shunn or Wordplay (which has Shunn info at the top).  I look at Wordplay hints only after getting very frustrated, which sometimes does not take long.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 14, 2021, 07:30:03 AM
Morning!

QB with hints, also got hung up on biennia and needed a few other reminders: inalienable, biennial, plus a few headsmakers linen, innie. Langue_doc, you hit QB without Shunn? Wow.

LB - vulcanized-dock. Do people even use that word any more? Especially since now most rubber is synthetic... Oh well.

Not started yet on today's puzzles but will check in later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 14, 2021, 09:01:48 AM
Good morning!

Didn't make much progress yesterday on any of the puzzles yesterday, including today's crossword.

Shunn sounds like a lot of work. I do have to check to make sure that I have the requisite number of 4, 5, 6, 7 (and so on) words which takes up considerable time. Once you remember the bee words the rest isn't too difficult. The kindle misses words that I've typed, so invariably I find one or two when I go over the words on the computer. I think working from home and the long summer helped get to QB. Things are going to be quite different all too soon.

Stuck at amazing. My eyes are having problems, so I'm not going to be spending much time on electronic devices until I see the eye surgeon.

Happy solving, all!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 14, 2021, 10:26:48 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Managed to get to GN4L and just made it to Alpha with the three pangrams, but still 5 words left to QB and no ideas at the moment.  We might compare our first letter totals next break.  The crossword seemed to take a while despite folks in the blog saying it was a quick one for them!

I had the schmofficial solution as well yesterday.  Congrats on already getting a 2fer today, cathwen, and for your additional solution!

Langue_doc, I hope your eyes are okay and good that you rest them.  Hope you can talk to or see your eye surgeon soon about it.

We're trying to get groceries while avoiding the seemingly nonstop rain.  Yuck.  We need it, but it still makes some things a little less appealing.  Gotta get the sudokus done by 4.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 14, 2021, 10:52:10 AM
Have found all three pangrams but am 5 points short of genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 14, 2021, 10:59:53 AM
Phew! Got it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 14, 2021, 12:07:31 PM
Hurrah, Parasaurolophus!!

We haven't gotten back to the bee yet, and no luck on LB (though a bunch of contenders).  And still stuck on hard sudoku.  Eek.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 14, 2021, 04:03:54 PM
Well, we each got down to the same word based on points.  He ran his program and gave me a hint, so technically a very, very impure QB for me.  I don't know that we would have gotten it, though.  Even though I do know that word but think there's another one in there I don't know the definition of that might have been in there before.  Good luck!

Still no LB luck despite some good contenders.  Will keep at it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 14, 2021, 05:06:58 PM
GN4L and only one pangram so far. Grid isn't much help.

LB - sounds like I'm in good company - contenders and 3fers but no 2fer yet.

I would like to check the Wordplay blog but I don't want to trip over the 2fer solution.

ETA Okay I caved. Hit the dictionary for help with the Wordplay definitions and learned 2 new words, plus a few more I had overlooked. Then hit the Letterboxed solver for a nudge and solved it.

Now I can drink wine and do the WSJ crossword puzzle, which I put off to do a hike around the City. My life is so exciting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 14, 2021, 06:34:36 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Enjoy your wine and crossword, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 15, 2021, 08:19:22 AM
Morning!

QB - new words were dace, dodecagon. Plus a few I had overlooked. Today, GN4L and pangram. Schlepping to QB.

LB - With a nudge from the solver site got polygamists-. Had plenty of good 3fers polyglots-swarm-mist, plagiarism-misty-yow, swamp-pog-gristly. Today, already have a 3fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2021, 10:24:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three more words to QB, still not at Alpha, but did make it to GN4L.  Husband got QBABH.  I am at a loss but hope sudokus can help.

For LB yesterday, I finally came up with warp-polygamist.  Felt pretty dumb after having polygamy all day and trying -ism with it but not -ist until much later.  Congrats on already getting a 2fer today, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 15, 2021, 11:43:00 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on August 15, 2021, 10:24:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three more words to QB, still not at Alpha, but did make it to GN4L.  Husband got QBABH.  I am at a loss but hope sudokus can help.

For LB yesterday, I finally came up with warp-polygamist.  Felt pretty dumb after having polygamy all day and trying -ism with it but not -ist until much later.  Congrats on already getting a 2fer today, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

Just a 3fer so far... but enjoying your confidence in me!

ETA:
And 2fer b4ss
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2021, 12:01:49 PM
Oops, sorry! I guess the coffee hadn't really kicked in or... something! I am seeing the future, I'm sure.  You will earn that early congrats!

I finally decided to get some first letter totals from husband and managed to get all but the final word.  Argh! And I'm stuck on the hard sudoku.  And no luck on LB yet despite some contenders.  I hope some puzzle mojo kicks in soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 15, 2021, 01:13:17 PM
Good afternoon!

Congratulations on the QBs and QBs-to-be, as well as the 2fers!

I got to QB today, but had to go to Shunn for the first letter of the last word. 

Yesterday I also got to QB, albeit WATHICG.  Oddly, my last word was cognacDace was a wild guess, as I needed a four-letter word beginning with D.  It just points to my paucity of ichthyological knowledge.

As for LB, I also had warp-polygamist yesterday.  I have not yet found a 2fer today, and doubt that I'll have much more time to look for one—we're going to see "Respect" (the movie about Aretha Franklin) soon.  I hope everyone has better luck than I'm having with today's arrangement of letters!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 15, 2021, 01:25:41 PM
Afternoon!

I doubt I would have found the two d-initial pangrams however hard I tried, so I'm glad I didn't spend much time on the puzzles yesterday.

The crossword is giving me grief as there seems to be an oddball letter somewhere.

I think I got to well above genius with the pangram this morning. Still resting my eyes.

I had signed up for a shorebird festival for yesterday, but the high temperature (for being outside) and the threat of thunderstorms kept me at home. Temperatures are going down so I might sign up for other events.

As of tomorrow, soon after 9 AM I will be hitting the books/computer, to get ready for Fall. Sign-up for upcoming trips starts at 9. I have to call the doctor's office as well to see if they can move next Monday's appointment to this week.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2021, 02:10:05 PM
Dace was my final 4-letter yesterday and the one that I think has been in there before but I had no idea what it mean.  Same here, I just knew it started with a D and worked from there.  Might have been my final word, actually.  And we have gotten lucky with pangrams the past few days being in our educational wheelhouses!

Cathwen, hope you enjoy the movie! I haven't heard anything about it but love the topic!

Langue_doc, sorry you didn't get out on your trip yesterday, but I hope some others come along and that class prep doesn't interfere too much.  And I hope that your doctor can see you earlier than planned.  Good luck with the crossword! Usually I just find Sundays to be long but not really difficult, but this morning I felt like I could barely fill anything in for a while.  Finally figured out the theme but then was stuck in the top middle part.  Ugh! I hope you find your typo!

Had to get husband to give me another clue for my final word.  Oh well.  Still no luck on LB and still stuck on hard sudoku with under an hour to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 15, 2021, 02:36:00 PM
Found the mistake, ab_grp. I had "as a" for "like" in the SW corner. Good luck with the sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2021, 02:43:46 PM
A ha! Those kinds are tough to find.  Using the list format rather than grid format for trying to find errors often ends up helping me (especially for checking the down answers), but especially in a big old Sunday puzzle it can take a while.  I'm glad you got it figured out!  And thanks! I am making tiny inroads here and there, ruling out possibilities, but the clock is ticking.

ETA:  Whew! Finished hard sudoku just in time.  Thanks for the luck, Langue_doc.  It helped! I had to choose between two numbers for a cell and hadn't gotten anywhere solid with that previously, but this time around I figured out where a conflict would occur.  Gotta follow the right trail, I guess.  It's just hard to keep all the if-this-then-that in my head.  Sometimes I print them, but I thought I'd try to tough it out this time until the deadline and then do so if needed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 15, 2021, 04:14:35 PM
QB WATHICG. Needed definitions/reminders for 3 "bee specials" and 2 reminders.

And after finding 2fer b4ss all day, finally indulged the Wordplay blog for a 2fer. Not sure I would have gotten there on my own but hey...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 16, 2021, 06:31:29 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. There's probably another pangram lurking somewhere given the number of words/points.

QB yesterday.

ab_grp, I hear you about the if-this-then-that in one's head. That's how I deal with LB, and often give up instead of writing down the possibilities.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 16, 2021, 07:26:41 AM
Morning!

QB - needed Wordplay definitions to remember a few "bee specials" pipit, tippet and a few reminders.

LB - wings-subculture with help from the Wordplay blog. I had a number of b4ss solutions tubules-screwing, clubs-strewing, cubes-sweltering but was not coming together.

Not started yet, and first day of Zoom class. Ugh.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 16, 2021, 07:57:22 AM
Good morning!

Tippit was my last word yesterday, the one I had to go to Shunn for.  It's now on my list of Bee words.

Today I am at genius with the pangram.  Langue_doc, nytbee.com shows only one pangram, 169 points maximum.  I'm fairly sure that a Shunn consultation is in my future, but I'm holding off for now.

I also got wings-subculture yesterday.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Ciao_yall, best wishes for a good first class of the semester! 

Ab_grp, we did enjoy the movie.  I suppose that there are things that one could criticize, but mainly we really enjoyed hearing Aretha's music.  During the credits, we see Aretha herself (not Jennifer Hudson) singing "Natural Woman" at the Kennedy Center, with the Obamas and Carole King looking on.  All I can say is:  Wow.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 16, 2021, 08:16:13 AM
Major spoiler idiot on Facebook today. I'd drop out of the group but usually those people are a lot of fun. Anyway, messed up my quest for GN4L but I do have the pangram and a 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 16, 2021, 08:57:18 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Just one more word to QB! And I did get the GN4L, though I was skeptical because there are so many 4-letters.  Still, it was mathematically possible, and fortunately it worked out.  I think husband is also down to just two words or so.  Good luck! And that is really annoying about the FB group, ciao_yall! I generally avoid it for that reason.  What people don't think is a spoiler... huh?! Those same bee words mentioned for yesterday got me for a long time, too.  My final word was teletext, though.  Tele- words are not my friends, it seems.

Wow, LB congrats on the solution yesterday, cathwen! Lots of contenders and no luck for me.  And congrats on already getting one today!

Also, cathwen, I'm glad to hear that the movie was enjoyable even if not perfect.  I get chills thinking of Aretha's singing.  She had some pipes! And I love when they show the real footage.

Ciao_yall, good luck with your first Zoom class!

Langue_doc, I don't think I would have a shot in heck if I tried LB without writing down contenders.  If it occurs to me right away (really small chance of that), it works out, but otherwise I also give myself points for finding as many good contenders as I can, since solutions often don't come to me at all.  ;-) 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 16, 2021, 10:13:41 AM
Due to the workday time limits, we ended up comparing first letters since we each had just one word left.  It turned out that they started with the same first letter, so we narrowed it down by lengths and ended up finally figuring out what we were missing.  Mine was one that I often miss.  His was one he often finds.  I guess we had a team QB, at least.

Haven't tried LB yet and have to do medium and hard sudokus, but at least the bee is out of the way!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 16, 2021, 11:18:46 AM
Found a 2fer after a couple contenders.  I happened on one that left remaining letters that made it pretty obvious what the key word seemed to be.  When it pops out, it sure pops out sometimes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 16, 2021, 04:53:35 PM
Gah. Final QB word was one I should have gotten on my own. LB - ditto. Was sooooooo close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 16, 2021, 06:39:02 PM
Genius and two pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 17, 2021, 07:07:04 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, with some help from Shunn.  My last word was gelée, which I have gotten before.  Ollie was next to last. 

Today I am at Beta with both pangrams. 

As for LB, I found the "official" solution:  xylophone-embroils.  I have not yet found a 2fer today.  What an arrangement of letters, though!  It's a toughie.

Congratulations on all of yesterday's successes, and happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 07:30:24 AM
Morning!

QB - Last word, WATHICG was... liege. Gah, I usually get that one.

LB - I had xylophone- and could not find a mate! -embril? Finally got a hint. Not sure where my brain was to not see -embroil. Gah. Plenty of 3fers xylophone-emir-rib, xylophone-embryo-oil, homophone-elixir-ribeye.

Well, today is another day...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 17, 2021, 07:38:15 AM
Quick 2-fer for today. Won't get to SB, as I'm transitioning into an all day meeting, but happy got some puzzling in.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 17, 2021, 07:42:29 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday.

Schmofficial solution for LB.

Late start today, so am still at amazing.

Happy solving all!

ETA easy twofer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 07:57:32 AM
Going for GN4L. I believe it should always be mathematically possible since 4 letter words are worth only 1 point, while 5 letter words are worth 5 points, and pangrams get a bonus.

Quick 2fer with a word I thought was made up but it took.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2021, 09:54:40 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I messed up and put a 4-letter in but did get to Genius + 1 with only that one, so I might sort of count it as GN4L.  Ugh.  Still 8 words to QB, but I do have the pangrams.  We are both struggling today.  Ollie was my final word.  Not sure why I keep missing that one.

Also got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  I tried embroil, and then xylophone was obvious.  I had other -phones earlier but hadn't seen that one until then.  Congrats on all your 2fers today!

Ciao_yall, do you remember what the spoiler was that was posted (apparently several times) yesterday in the FB group? They deleted it before I could find out, but I was curious about how egregious it was.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 10:40:02 AM
ab_grp they were like "Oh, lots of great words like lollipop, hellhole..." and a few others. They got shamed.

I am 2 points away from GN4L with only one pangram. I guess I could do GOTN by putting in two 4 letter words but where is the fun in that?

ETA: Oh, I had 2 pangrams and didn't even notice. Surprise. Then I got one more word and tipped into GN4L.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2021, 11:13:26 AM
Thanks for the info, ciao_yall! That is really rude to do.  They make people read the rules before joining, so there seems to be no excuse.  I know sometimes people give away an answer inadvertently by saying that some other word that contains it is not in the list, but this definitely seems intentional.  And congrats on the GN4L!

I'm now at Alpha with 4 words to go.  Blah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 11:16:07 AM
The problem with GN4L is that once I am free to put in all the 4Ls, I put in words quickly but the points are pretty much meaningless. Woohoo, I've gone from 198 to 214 and I'm still not even at Beta....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2021, 12:56:42 PM
Yep, on the one hand, doing all the 4s at once after genius feels a little anticlimactic because of the points.  But, it also means getting a lot of words really quickly, maybe even doubling the word count!

We decided to compare first letters since we were both at Alpha.  And I still have 2 words to go, even after asking Shunn for help.  I know how long they are and what they start with (first two letters each), and no ideas.  There are a couple words that were not accepted today that would fit.  Of course!

But I did get a fast 2fer.  My first contender led to a second and a solution, thankfully.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 17, 2021, 01:05:09 PM
Argh!  Finally got a 2fer.  It now seems obvious, so I don't know why it took me so long.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2021, 02:58:11 PM
Hooray, cathwen! It's funny how they seem obvious sometimes after the fact.  ;-) I feel like yesterday's and today's, in particular, each had one specific word that was probably obviously going to be part of the schmofficial solution (we'll see, I guess), whereas some days there are a lot of good ones.

We finally straggled to team QB.  I thought we might just have to quit.  Luckily, husband found one of my two words, and I found the other that we both needed.  I did not remember having seen his word before (but could have and forgot), but my last one has been in there occasionally and is definitely a bee word, in my opinion.  Thankfully, I finally remembered it and put us out of our collective misery.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 17, 2021, 03:17:07 PM
Just saw this in the Gothamist: Maki Kaji, the creator of Sudoku, has died at 69 from cancer.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bc-as-japan-obit-maki-kaji_n_611bc70ee4b077b33b2ba4cf
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2021, 04:21:43 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I had forgotten that I had seen a NYT article about him earlier today (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/world/asia/maki-kaji-dead.html).  They have some different info between them, so check that out as well if interested.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 05:34:34 PM
QB -1 and I R stuckity stucky stuck stuck. Missing the 2nd to last PI word. Tried the Wordplay clues which didn't help, and also tried the old-school dictionary. So, any hints will be welcome! It has 8 letters.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 05:40:50 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on August 17, 2021, 05:34:34 PM
QB -1 and I R stuckity stucky stuck stuck. Missing the 2nd to last PI word. Tried the Wordplay clues which didn't help, and also tried the old-school dictionary. So, any hints will be welcome! It has 8 letters.

Got it. Gah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 18, 2021, 05:40:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost genius today. I'll stop after getting to genius today. Yesterday got the pangrams, but had trouble with plebeian as I thought the word was spelt plebian, which I entered multiple times. I did get plebe and pleb early on. A few words that I thought I had entered didn't make it to the list, which is not unusual.

The official LB solution--gah!

ab_grp, thanks for the link.

Will be slowing down on my reading/puzzling as one eye is still giving me grief. Seeing the doctor on Sat--think he's on vacation until next week.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 18, 2021, 06:49:23 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning.  Yesterday I got to QB, but not without some help from Shunn.  My last word was panini!

LB was amazingly difficult for me yesterday, but when I found the "official" quicksand-dozy I couldn't imagine why I hadn't seen that before.  I had found quick...and sandy...but somehow didn't put it together to get quicksand.  The remaining letters gave me dozy, which I didn't think was a word, but if LB says so, then it is!  I have a 2fer for today. 

But SB might not be getting much attention today, or the rest of this week, as we are leaving for a four-day mini-vacation in a few hours.  I would just as soon stay home, but my husband is jumping out of his skin with the need to get away, so...off we go.

Langue_doc, I hope that your doctor is able to clear up your eye problem! 

Happy puzzling, all!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 18, 2021, 07:18:02 AM
Morning!

QB WATHICG with a few new words palp, plena but the last word that vexed me was... pipeline.

LB - quicksand-dozy. Okay there then.

cathwen, enjoy your vacay. Langue-doc, sorry about your eye.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 18, 2021, 09:06:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have 5 words to go today and did get GN4L and the pangram.  Yesterday I got tripped up by plebeian because I thought it was spelled plebian, too.  So when I finally got that, I quickly put in plebe and pleb and then realized I had messed up going for the GN4L.  Ugh! Our final words were plena, which husband happened upon, and palapa, which I finally managed to remember.

I also got the schmofficial LB solution.  I had only found one contender, quick, which wasn't too promising, then I happened to see the sand part and tried dozy.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Also enjoy your mini-vacay, cathwen! I hope the time away ends up being enjoyable for both of you!

And it's too bad that they can't get you in sooner for your eye, Langue_doc.  I hope the rest helps and they can take care of it Saturday.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first try! Woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 18, 2021, 03:44:03 PM
QB -3, needed a few reminders.

LB - lots of 3fers, again missed a pretty easy finish. Where is dozy when I need it?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 19, 2021, 04:38:10 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday. Well above genius today with the pangram. Haven't checked to see if there's another one somewhere in there.

Easy two-fer, when I wasn't even awake!

cathwen, enjoy your vacation.

Thanks for the good wishes, all--cathwen, my eyes do need to be "cleared up" in every sense of the word/expression.

Happy solving, all!

ETA. Need a second pangram and a couple more words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 19, 2021, 07:29:58 AM
QB - newish word needed a Wordplay definition oleic, as well as a few nudges to finish. And noel which I always think of as capitalized.

LB - ambiguous- and couldn't for the life of me see survey until I got a definition. I think because the u was way on the other side of the the square, and vey isn't a common letter combination. Plenty of 3fers: ambiguous-savior-rye, gravy-yea-ambiguous, ego-obvious-smarmy, maybes-savior-rug.

Oy vey.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 19, 2021, 08:08:28 AM
GN4L with 2 pangrams, 2fer with a word I didn't think would take but it did.

Okay, now for the quest for QB...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 19, 2021, 08:31:43 AM
Good morning!

Checking in from our vacation spot...

I am at Amazing with both pangrams today.  Will I get any further?  Doubtful, but who knows—it's a gray day with the threat of rain, so if we have to stay in, perhaps I will.

Last night I got to QB, with online being my last word (with a nudge from Shunn).

LB:  Yesterday I had the "official" ambiguous-survey.  I got a 2fer today right away!  It's so odd how sometimes the answers just pop out, and sometime they just don't! 

Langue_doc, my husband's vision from his cataract surgery in July is still a little blurry.  The doctor said that he would do a "quick laser" thing in September if that was still the case (and seemed to think this was not unusual). Your problem sounds a little different, and I hope that it gets resolved! 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2021, 08:40:19 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We had a slow start today but finally got going.  I got to GN4L with one pangram and then made some more progress and finally figured out the second pangram at the end of coffee break #1 and got to Alpha.  I'm sure the remaining words will take a while.  I think some of my final words were xenon, cocoon yesterday.

Also got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  I hope today's comes as quickly! Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Still struggling a bit on the crossword.  I have the vast majority, but there are a couple crosses that are tricky for me, as I am completely unfamiliar with either entry.  Argh.

Cathwen, if you do have to deal with some rain, then hopefully the puzzles will bring some sun to your day.  :-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 19, 2021, 10:01:57 AM
Turns out that I had the second pangram all along.

QB, all familiar words.

The crossword is still giving me grief--it's just one word, I think.

cathwen, thanks for the info about your husband's eye. Mine is blurry too, which is surprising as the blurriness is recent, weeks after the surgery. The blurriness comes and goes, so I'm hoping it isn't too serious.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2021, 10:27:08 AM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! Good luck finishing up the crossword.  I had to get my husband's input on one down answer, and that cleared up the across I needed as well.  I helped him with some other entries.  And continued good wishes for your eye.  I hope that if your eye doc thought the blurriness were serious, he (I think you said he before) would have brought you in sooner rather than later.

Did get to QBABM, and so did husband, but no progress on LB so far and have failed medium sudoku twice.  :-(  Third time's a charm!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2021, 11:43:41 AM
Got a 2fer! I was being a little dumb about it at first, but then realized an alternative.  And I managed to conquer medium sudoku, finally, so maybe I can get hard suduko done before a long conference call this afternoon. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 19, 2021, 01:16:34 PM
Woohoo, ab_grp!

Found the crossword error at last--for some strange reason I had associated cedars with Nebraska! Aaargh! My brain must have been truly dead this morning.

I suspect the eye surgeon is on vacation these couple of weeks. When I checked his availability on Zocdoc last week, the earliest slot was for the week after next. At least they moved my appointment to Saturday from Monday next week.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2021, 01:26:57 PM
Langue_doc, my error was in the same area.  I didn't know the John Wayne film and also put Nebraska! Husband's help with the film solved it for me, but that was a tough region since I also didn't know who the NPR person was.  I had most of the letters for each of those answers but just had no idea.  There is only one John Wayne film I remember seeing numerous times in the crossword (Hatari), so now I have learned this one and one with a similar title from husband.  Maybe they will come in handy someday!

I guess eye surgeons are allowed to have vacations, too.  Ha.  But I'm sorry it came at the time it did, and yes at least Saturday is better than Monday.  And I had not heard of Zocdoc, but that is so cool and handy! Unfortunately, my PCP is not on there.  I did want to try to schedule an appt with him for next week.  But I will check for my other ones!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 19, 2021, 01:43:06 PM
ab_grp, I don't use Zocdoc for appointments but have used it to find providers and also to see the reviews on the physicians I consult, especially if I'm seeing them for the first time. I found my OB/GYN through Zocdoc, I think, and have been quite happy with her. The only time I tried to schedule an appointment with her through Zocdoc, the practice called the following Monday to let me know that the slot was no longer available. I think it takes a couple of days for the program to access the physician's schedules by which time the physician is fully booked. I've found it useful though as I checked out the eye surgeon there (he was a referral from my regular eye doctor).

As for John Wayne, I'm familiar with the names of several of his films, but not this one. I like the locales of his films as these are areas that I wouldn't be able to visit in person, and which probably don't exist anymore. So much gun-slinging history in the wild west!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2021, 04:04:21 PM
Langue_doc, that Zocdoc still sounds like a great resource, so thanks for sharing.  I have a couple specialists to find, and I hadn't seen the reviews there, so it may really help.  The Wild West does seem like a pretty neat place.  We have some areas around here in which some of the historical gunslinger stuff happened, which is very strange and exotic to me as an east coast native.  Of course, there we had all the Revolutionary War stuff, none of that here. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 19, 2021, 05:48:15 PM
QB with Wordplay. Those darn suffixes.

And my LB solution appears to be unique as so far I'm the only one on the Wordplay thread who has gotten it. So, probably not schmofficial. But it's mine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 19, 2021, 08:15:26 PM
No QB, but got to genius and found the pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 20, 2021, 04:13:01 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with the pangram.

excite/encouraged

I'm going to be out and about today, so might not get to the puzzles until later this afternoon.

ab_grp, try healthgrades as well--not as comprehensive as Zocdoc, but good as a backup/second opinion. Hope you managed to show Sudoku who's the boss.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 20, 2021, 05:50:43 AM
Good morning!

I made QB yesterday, although with help from Wordplay.  Darn that -ee suffix!  My last words were evictee and invitee.  Today I am at genius with two pangrams. 

For yesterday's LB, I had extradite-encourage.  It seems that we'll have a variety of solutions today! 

I have found a 2fer for today's LB. 

Now time to prod my husband into getting dressed so that we can go get breakfast!  I'm hungry!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 20, 2021, 07:31:52 AM
Ditto on evictee and invitee.

For LB gourde-extraction. A gourde is the monetary unit for Haiti.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 20, 2021, 09:15:41 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We didn't really get started yet today, as we woke up to a water outage and an early meeting suddenly appearing on husband's calendar.  So I shall report back later on the bee.  For yesterday, my final two were efficient, inefficient.  I think husband's was tiff, which was also my final 4-letter.  The -ees are tough!

I had another solution for LB: guidance-extort.  I had the first word and tried extorting but had b4ss issue and then realized I didn't need the suffix.  Glad I figured that out! Ugh.  Lots of different solutions yesterday! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen, and enjoy your breakfast!

Langue_doc, thanks for the additional resource! And yes, I finally did kick medium's butt, thanks! Hard was much easier for some reason.  We'll see about today.  Hope your outings are good!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 20, 2021, 12:38:15 PM
Just one more word to go for QB.  I am hoping to avoid comparing with husband or begging Shunn just because there's only the one diggity-dang word left, but I haven't had any luck yet finding this word.  Did get to GN4L and Alpha, at least. 

Also got a 2fer! Finally, the several gallons of coffee seem to be cutting through the fog, albeit slowly.  Did get sudokus done successfully.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 20, 2021, 03:46:57 PM
We each got to a QBABM! Not a tough word list, but some that have tripped us up here before at times. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 21, 2021, 08:25:28 AM
Good morning!

Got to above genius with a couple of pangrams before leaving for my early morning appointment (8:30) with the eye doctor.

sprinklings/somnific; didn't think the latter was a word, but who knew?

Haven't even looked at the crossword, so that's the priority today.

Eye doc thought that it was a case of dry eye--did some tests that scanned both eyes just to make sure that there were no other issues.

Nice outing yesterday, with birds and all, will update later.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 21, 2021, 08:46:02 AM
Pretty unhappy SB wouldn't take 'parthood' yesterday. But maybe it's too tied to my discipline, and not used elsewhere?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 21, 2021, 08:55:42 AM
QB - but new words parador, paradrop.

LB - Not much puzzle time which was my excuse for, after having plenty of 3fers forks-splicing-glom, flicks-spring-glom, I got help for folks-scrimping.

Dinner party today so should get in puzzle time while cake is baking and short ribs are stewing.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 21, 2021, 09:41:29 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on August 21, 2021, 08:46:02 AM
Pretty unhappy SB wouldn't take 'parthood' yesterday. But maybe it's too tied to my discipline, and not used elsewhere?

Pretty unhappy SB wouldn't take my pangram today. A word often heard (sorry, this might have been a spoiler for someone).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 21, 2021, 10:20:40 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have 4 words to go today but did get to Alpha and GN4L.  Definitely not zooming along, though.  Parasaurolophus, I tried rathood, dadhood yesterday.  Why not? Today seems like one of those in which it is unclear which prefix/suffix combos or solos will be allowed. 

Got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Hopefully today will yield another success!

Langue_doc, I'm glad you got in to see your eye doctor and that it seems as though it might just be dry eye.  Do you have to use eye drops? I use the preservative-free ones since the Lasik, but usually just in the mornings.  I hope you get to reduced blurriness! And hope your bird outing was fun.  Crossword seemed pretty easy for a Saturday, so good luck.

Ciao_yall, sounds like a great dinner party in the making! I love short ribs!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 21, 2021, 04:02:14 PM
Good evening!

What a day.  Our vacation spot was on Cape Cod, which is supposed to get a direct hit from Henri.  The governor of Massachusetts urged all tourists to get off the Cape and go home—so we complied, leaving a day earlier than planned.  It took us eight hours to make a four/five hour trip, because traffic was just crawling along much of the time.  Then once we finally got home, I had to go to the grocery store for provisions (those for if/when the power goes out, those for if it doesn't).  We don't often lose power, so my fingers are crossed.  (Yes, home is also right in the path of the hurricane.)

Anyway—I had time to work on SB this morning, and was at amazing with both pangrams.  Then at lunch my husband saw a word that pushed me (us!) into genius.  I doubt that I'll work on it further—for today, genius is enough.  I made QB yesterday, but it was late, so I went straight to Wordplay for the final words.  Hoodoo was my last word.

As for LB, I had a variation on the "official" solution—folksongs-scrimp.  I have a 2fer for today as well.

Langue_doc, it's good that the doctor didn't find issues beyond dry eye, and I hope that gets resolved.  I'm looking forward to hearing about your bird outing.

This morning, around 5:30, while I was waiting for my husband to wake up, I was sitting on the veranda overlooking a beach—and a whole family of song sparrows flew in and sat right at my feet, chirping loudly.  The young ones looked as though they had just rolled out of bed, with feathers all fluffy and in need of a good smoothing.  When they saw that I had nothing to give them, they left.  A few minutes later, a great blue heron flew by.  So it was a lovely way to start the day!

Ciao_yall, your dinner party (short ribs and cake!) sounds wonderful!  Let us know how it went!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 21, 2021, 04:11:49 PM
Cathwen, I'm sorry you had to cut your vacation short and endure a lot of traffic, but I'm glad if it keeps you safe and also hope that your Henri avoids your home area as best as possible.  Good that you have your provisions in case, though.  And definitely a lovely way to start your day! Were the song sparrows singing folksongs? ;-) Congrats on that different solution and on your 2fer today! And I figured hoodoo might trip folks up yesterday as it has in the past.  It was one of my final words, for sure.

We finally begged Shunn for help and each managed to get to an impure QB.  It was tough going at the end.  Still no 2fer, though some contenders have emerged over the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 21, 2021, 09:18:42 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on August 21, 2021, 09:41:29 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on August 21, 2021, 08:46:02 AM
Pretty unhappy SB wouldn't take 'parthood' yesterday. But maybe it's too tied to my discipline, and not used elsewhere?

Pretty unhappy SB wouldn't take my pangram today. A word often heard (sorry, this might have been a spoiler for someone).

Same.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 22, 2021, 09:57:18 AM
Good afternoon!

Genius with both pangrams so far, but I am out of ideas.  It's a sloggy one!

LB was more successful; I have a 2fer.  Yesterday I had watchful-lobes.

Parasaurolophus and ciao-yall, it's so annoying when SB doesn't accept a word that you know darn well is a word.  Especially if that word is a pangram!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 22, 2021, 10:23:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 6 words left to QB but am struggling.  Did get to GN4L, both pangrams, not at Alpha.  Husband is at around the same word/point total as me.

Congrats on already getting a 2fer today cathwen and on getting one yesterday! I had a bunch of contenders that used up a lot of difficult letters but no luck.  Hopefully today will be easier!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 22, 2021, 10:39:55 AM
Not a great puzzle day yesterday. Never did find nucleon so the QB streak ends. Only found a 2fer b4ss bashful-lowtech.

But dinner party was a success and today a new day of puzzles awaits!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 22, 2021, 11:25:32 AM
Afternoon!

Peeked at the solutions yesterday and decided that I might not have found a couple of words.

Above genius, with one pangram.

watchful/lobes. Easy two-fer today.

cathwen, glad to hear that you got back safely. That must have been a harrowing drive. I remember driving to a friend's place (90+ miles) to get out of Irene's path.

ab_grp, thanks for the saline eye drops info. Not having used eye drops before the cataract surgeries, I bought Clear Eyes from Amazon as that was going to be delivered the next day. I think the blurriness started after using those eye drops which do not appear to be preservative-free. The doctor did recommend using eye drops. I'll have to get another product.

Off-topic (flora, fauna, and aves)

Went to the Botanic Gardens https://www.nybg.org/ on Friday. It's one of my favorite places for getting away from the city/bird watching and just relaxing. Haven't been there since Dec pre-pandemic. It usually takes me two hours or more to get there, as I don't like the congested expressways but decided to drive as I didn't want to take the subway and also wanted to take advantage of the free parking for members that day.

It was just heavenly, the forest smells, the greenery, assorted glacial erratics, the streams, the conservatories, and of course the birds. I saw assorted small birds, the usual robins, bluejays, wrens, mockingbirds, nuthatches, etc. I was sitting on a bench, looking at several birds on the trees in front of me and across the path when a cardinal landed on the post next to me (I think he was used to people feeding him) and stayed there for some time. As I was getting up, a tufted titmouse landed on the post on my right and stayed there presumably hoping to be fed. I heard other birds. but didn't see any birds of prey this time. As I was walking back, a huge insect, about ten times the size of a bumblebee landed on the path much to the delight of the family on its way to the children's section. Although masks were not required outdoors several people, adults and children were masked on the paths and the outdoor gardens. I didn't get to my usual haunts such as the rose garden and other areas, as I wanted to be able to get home before rush hour. Despite leaving early, it took me about a couple of hours to get home--realized why I would normally take the subway/bus or subway to Grand Central and the train which drops you across the street from the gardens. If you are ever in the area, do visit, just for the forest smells.

The Kusuma exhibits were underwhelming.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 22, 2021, 12:03:29 PM
Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, Langue_doc! The gardens look amazing, and I'm sure they smell even better! The art is definitely interesting... It's great that you were able to visit since it appears to be closed today due to Henri.  I love cardinals! I have so many pictures of them from outside my old office.  For the eye drops, I also get mine from Amazon (Refresh Optive Lubricant drops in single-use containers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQCK52E), and preservative-free was a specific guideline after the Lasik.  But definitely check with your eye doctor about whether something like that would be what you should use.

We each finally got to Alpha and compared first letters and gave each other a few, so I'm down to 4 words, but we will likely be asking Shunn for help shortly.  I'll try LB after I get hard sudoku done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 22, 2021, 12:49:12 PM
Thanks for the eyedrop suggestion, ab_grp. Until last night when I was chatting with someone, I didn't know what a saline solution was! The doc probably assumed that I knew all about eye drops. His only suggestion was to use the drops for my dry eyes.

As for LB, try not to get bogged down with the obvious suffix-ending words. The solution is much more straightforward.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 22, 2021, 01:09:18 PM
Langue_doc, if it turns out you can use those drops, then I hope they help.  I had previously used the rewetting drops for contact lenses and some drops for other eye issues but had not had to use preservative-free before.  My eyes are apparently sensitive to the ingredients in some of the others (non-preservative-free) I've used over the years, and that is never fun to find out! And thanks for the hint about LB.  I have a set of ships and some other contenders but won't try to focus on the obvious suffixes.

We eventually went to Shunn, and figured out some words that we had forgotten and probably would not have gotten without that help. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 22, 2021, 04:52:17 PM
QB with help from the Wordplay hints, and a quick 2fer this morning.

Hangovers do wonders for one's puzzling abilities...

Langue_doc, the gardens sound wonderful. We have a few big parks in San Francisco and it's so wonderful to get to experience nature from time to time. I can't say the City melts away, but it is nice to smell the trees and fresh air.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 23, 2021, 06:19:32 AM
Good morning!

Woke up around 5, and got to QB in one fell swoop! Familiar words. Then went back to sleep.

subject/tingly

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2021, 07:26:43 AM
Morning!

QB - needed Wordplay definitions for reminders for tali, lateen.

LB - subjecting-guilty, bylines-subjecting.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 23, 2021, 07:32:31 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, but with help from Shunn; I went to Wordplay for the two last words, which were antenatal and lateen.  A new word for my nautical vocabulary!

Today I am at QB-1 (six letters), but encouraged by Langue_doc's assertion that all words are familiar, I am going for QBABM. 

LB:  subjecting-guilty.. Congratulations on not one, but two 2fers, ciao_yall!  Today:  No 2fer yet.

Langue_doc, the Botanical Gardens are truly lovely!  I haven't been for a long time.  Your time there sounds healing and refreshing.

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Woo-hoo!  QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2021, 07:56:09 AM
Wow. What are you all putting in your coffee in the mornings and can I have some?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 23, 2021, 09:35:39 AM
Congrats to yesterday's 2fers and today's morning puzzling. Yesterday I got subjecting-gley essentially by accident — found subjecting and while noodling around found "gley" thought of agley in "To a Mouse" and randomly tried "gley" in case it was a word. Apparently it is (something to do with soil?)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 23, 2021, 10:20:11 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Made it to GN4L, which was a little tough because that left only 2 words after the 4s! But then made it to QBABM, and same for husband a bit later.  Cathwen, your final words from Shunn's help were the same as mine yesterday!

I also got subjecting-guilty yesterday.  Congrats on that and other solutions! I worked out a couple contenders on break, so we'll see.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 23, 2021, 10:37:56 AM
Congratulations on your QBABY, ab_grp!  And on GN4L.  I have yet to try that. 

I just found a 2fer today.  Now I guess I can't put off dusting and vacuuming any longer.  Sigh...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2021, 10:41:15 AM
GN4L, now 9 points short of QB. So I am either missing one long word, or a combination of long and short words. ETA: 92 points. So one or two 4 letter words left to achieve a pure QBAM.

Not making much progress today on LB - lots of great words, b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 23, 2021, 10:54:42 AM
Thanks, cathwen! And congrats on your QBABY and to Langue_doc as well! Ciao_yall sounds almost there as well!

And congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! There's a particular letter that always seems to be in the remainder letters, so I am trying to focus on getting that into some words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2021, 11:03:04 AM
QBAM!

Still only at 4fers on LB. This may be one of those days where I skip the 3fers and go right to the 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 23, 2021, 04:15:46 PM
Good going, ciao_yall!

Still no 2fer here.  Lots and lots of contenders!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2021, 05:49:09 PM
Me too, ab_grp. Lots of 3fers. And a 2fer b4ss if I had one different letter. And a ships solution b4ss. That V and X, along with ER in the same row is not fun. I may hit the solver site.

Except on the FB group I have discovered a subthread of solvers with cathwen-like ability to find 2fers before I have even put milk in my coffee. So, pressure is on to keep up with the fast kids. (Some things never change.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 23, 2021, 06:56:40 PM
ab_grp and ciao_yall, think evil.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2021, 07:32:39 PM
Ooh, a minute too late! I just went to the solver site and got the answer! Tricky one...

Even the solver site only had one reasonable solution, so I don't feel so bad.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 23, 2021, 08:23:26 PM
That hint definitely goes with one of my contenders, so hopefully I can make it work! Thanks!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 23, 2021, 09:28:31 PM
Got to alpha today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 24, 2021, 05:33:53 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

monovalence/exhort and then malevolence/exhort. Couldn't find a mate for anthrax.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 24, 2021, 06:56:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far. 

LB:  malevolence-exhort.  No solution yet today—several almost-solutions that leave one letter hanging.  I'll keep at it.  We're having new window shades installed today, so there's a lot of hubbub.  I'm finding it hard to concentrate.  Yeah, that's my excuse!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 24, 2021, 07:29:02 AM
Morning!

Gave up and hit the solver site for malevolence-exhort. Lots of 3fers march-hexane-elevator, chromate-excel-leaven, cholorate-exam-maven.

Close but no cigar!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 24, 2021, 09:09:46 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Still two words from QB but one point from Alpha! Husband did hit Alpha.  At least I did make it to GN4L.  I think my final words yesterday were wonton, dimwit.  Between the latter and nitwit, idiot, I felt as though Sam was trying to say something...

Argh, did not get the LB.  The hint about evil made me think about one of my contenders, henchman, but it didn't lead anywhere.  I did have exhort and a ton of others but couldn't get the mate.  Good job on the 2fers!!

And good luck with the shades hubbub, cathwen! Sounds like a reasonable excuse to me!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 24, 2021, 10:55:40 AM
Wahoo! Got a 2fer!

Still one word from QB, but I did get to Alpha.  Husband got to QBABH, so hopefully I will figure out this word!

However, I am stuck on hard sudoku.  I swear there is some balance between these games each day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 24, 2021, 11:43:47 AM
2fer for today! Not the official, so look forward to seeing what others come up with.

That concludes my successes for today. Was nice to have a quick break and feel like I accomplished something before I wade back in to tackle teaching problem #eleventybillion for this week.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 24, 2021, 02:31:45 PM
7 points short of QB so probably one healthy word.

Lots of 3fers, but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 24, 2021, 03:50:45 PM
I got to QB, but had to look at Wordplay definitions for the very last word.  I don't feel guilty about that, because it is a weird word. 

And LB gave me a hard time today.  I finally got a 2fer, but only after seeing a hint on Wordplay while I was looking for definitions.  I might have gotten the 2fer eventually, because I had one of the words already.

Having workmen in the house was distracting this morning.  But the new shades are up, and we love them!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 24, 2021, 04:03:18 PM
Congrats on the 2fers, OneMoreYear and cathwen! I got one word that seemed like it used a lot of good letters and thankfully recognized its mate because I happened to see it somewhere recently and hadn't known what it meant.  Interested to find out solutions tomorrow!

As for the bee, I finally had to ask husband for some hints on my final word.  Ugh.  Figured it out, but not sure I would have in a timely fashion otherwise.  Congrats on QB, cathwen.  And good luck, ciao_yall! Your remaining word is not the same as mine based on length.  I am rooting for you!

Cathwen, glad you love your shades despite the earlier distraction!

And I am still struggling with hard sudoku.  Argh! I asked for a hint, tried the what-ifs from it numerous times and got nowhere so did what-ifs with other cells.  Got a few more numbers in, tried to see if it would give me a different hint.  Nope.  I am determined to conquer it but am not sure if I am just being a really big idiot, nitwit, and dimwit, or what.  ;-)

ETA: FINALLY!!! Got the danged hard sudoku done.  That hint still did not end up helping me at all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 24, 2021, 05:04:09 PM
Peeked at the solutions--there were a couple of words I wouldn't have found, so was glad that I stopped when I did. Got a twofer, so decided to call it a day.

cathwen, glad you got new shades.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 24, 2021, 05:47:22 PM
QB - Needed a nudge from Shunn to get the last (weird) word.

LB - And needed Wordplay hints to get the final 2fer. I had a few good 3fers but wasn't even warm.

Now to teach a night class.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 25, 2021, 05:22:31 AM
Good morning!

Almost genius, no pangram yet.

unclip/pitchfork

Two-fer already. Finding words in LB is similar to seeing birds. You don't "find" them, but they appear when they are ready to be seen. I put together the letters for the second word, and it worked.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 25, 2021, 07:08:20 AM
QB - Made it to QB-1, then last word with help from Shunn was abloom

LB - unclip-pitchfork with help. 3fers prolific-cit-thunk, tip-prolific-thunk, prolific-chunk-kit, lift-tropic-chunk so I wasn't even in the neighborhood.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on August 25, 2021, 07:19:46 AM
LB yesterday was pitchout / trunkful. I was surprised it accepted pitchout
I'm spending today recording asynchronous lectures, so no more puzzling for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 25, 2021, 08:58:38 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L pretty easily, had a little trouble with the 4s, and then Alpha, both pangrams.  Two words to go.  Time for a break!

For LB, I got pitchfork-knurl.  I only remembered the latter word because it was in the crossword a week or two ago, and I had never heard of it.  I was so excited! Hope to have some good bird sighting luck today! ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 25, 2021, 11:13:58 AM
Good afternoon!

I am at genius with both pangrams today.   

Congratulations on Alpha, ab_grp!  Langue_doc, I agree that finding words and bird watching are in a way similar in that words and birds just appear. 

But yesterday!  My last word was broomballBROOMBALL?  What kind of word is that?  I only got it through the definition on Wordplay which referenced Harry Potter and quidditch.

LB:  Scrolling through looking for that definition yesterday, I saw a hint on Wordplay:  u-p, p-k.  I figured that p-k had to be pitchfork so then found unclip (why didn't I see that before?).  So, not a very "pure" 2fer.

Today I have a 2fer (my own!). 

I think that will have to do it for today, as Middle Daughter and Grandson are arriving soon.  Grandson (12) has just finished a "Whales and Things" week which involved learning about whales and going out on whale watches.  He loved it—so much so that I have been warned that he will hardly be able to stop talking about it.  That's fine with me! 

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 25, 2021, 11:25:31 AM
Cathwen, broomball was my final word, too, the one I needed help with from husband.  I am with you on that one! And congrats on your 2fer and have fun with Middle Daughter and Grandson! What a great age for whales and things.  I'm sure you will be regaled with many delightful stories and facts.

A couple contenders for LB so far but no luck.  I did finish sudokus, at least, without the issues I had yesterday.

Oh oops I almost forgot that husband and I got down to 2 words each and decided to compare first letters since we had team QB based on number of points left and how many points each word we needed must have had.  So we did each end up getting to QB after that, and a team QB, but impure individual QBs.

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 25, 2021, 01:02:40 PM
QB. Other than the last word, there weren't any surprises. Kept looking for it because of the hint on Wordplay.

I would never ever have found broomball.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 25, 2021, 02:32:17 PM
Yeah! Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! For some reason, I ended up finding some what I think of as the more difficult words earlier today because I was looking for them.  My final one was definitely one I had found before and am much more familiar with.  Strange how that happens sometimes.  Husband's final word also wasn't one of the difficult ones.  Guess we'll see what everyone ended up with tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 25, 2021, 08:52:50 PM
QB -  learned 2 new words. Had gotten one of the tricky ones but not the other.

LB - was super close! Then got a little nudge from the Wordplay blog to make it work.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 26, 2021, 05:42:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. The chemical words in yesterday's puzzle were tricky. I found tritium early on, but got stuck as I kept misspelling yttrium.

quiches/skybox. I thought that my second word was original, but gah!

Effortless two-fer today.

cathwen, happy visit with daughter and grandson. Do tell us about the whale sightings.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 26, 2021, 06:37:33 AM
Good morning!

I am also at genius with the pangram.  Yesterday I was at QB-2, missing tritium and yttrium.   They are now on my list.

Quiches-skybox was also my LB solution.  I wonder if there were any variations?  I have found a 2fer today.

Grandson instructed us on how to identify whale species, and also individual whales, and the different ways they move in the water.  The whale watch was apparently a huge success, with several species appearing, some whales close to the boat.  But he was also full of information about the "Microscope Adventures" week he attended, describing in detail one bacterium devouring another, and throwing around words like "prokaryotes."  The kid keeps me on my toes! 

Annoyingly, I have to attend a department meeting this morning, so I had better get ready for that.  Then time for family activities! 

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 26, 2021, 07:16:28 AM
Morning!

QB - last two (new) words were arum and tritium. I was so proud of myself to have rememberd yttrium.

LB - with a nudge from Wordplay got quiches-skybox. I had squicky-yes-shoebox so was in the neighborhood. I guess I think of SkyBox (tm) as being a proper noun?

On to today's...

ETA One word short of GN4L, and a 2fer. Someone on another thread said today's LB contains a vulgarity and now I'm trying to find it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 26, 2021, 08:38:47 AM
GN4L, now at QB - 3 I think. Still haven't found the vulgarity. A few clinical terms but nothing to get too flustered about.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 26, 2021, 08:53:55 AM
Good morning!

Just one more word to go to QB, so did get the GN4L and Alpha.  It's a short puzzle but a little tough.  I was happy to remember yttrium after being burned on it a while back, and I guessed tritium, must have seen that before.  My final words were rutty, tamari.  I usually get the latter earlier on.

Also got the schmofficial LB solution after trying down the wrong path for a while.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen! And I am going to be looking for that vulgarity too, ciao_yall!

Cathwen, sounds as though your grandson has been having amazing scientific adventures this summer.  How wonderful! He sounds very excited and engaged, and he has lots to teach you! Enjoy your family time after the meeting.

Definitely needed some coffee for the crossword this morning but finally got it.  Typical Thursday, I guess.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 26, 2021, 12:11:11 PM
Got a 2fer! But it didn't come quickly, and I wasn't sure one of the components was a word, so maybe there are others.  Haven't found any exciting vulgarities to speak of, either (did find a clinical term, as ciao_yall mentioned, but they have had worse than that, and I wouldn't say that's any kind of vulgarity?).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 26, 2021, 12:51:00 PM
QB with Wordplay blog, last 2 words were ones everyone else was complaining about.

Still haven't found the vulgarity. Usually I find them pretty quickly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 26, 2021, 01:11:22 PM
Ciao_yall, I bet we got stuck on the same two words.  I, too, went to Wordplay and eventually found them, and they were the same two others seemed stuck on.  So, QBWATHICG.

I haven't found the vulgarity, either. 

Ab_grp, yes, he's a great kid in a lot of ways.  I am very pleased that he is intellectually curious and loves learning so much. 






Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 26, 2021, 01:29:37 PM
I forgot to note that for the bee husband and I ended up comparing somewhat for the final words we needed.  We each needed one, but they were of slightly different lengths.  I had a suspicion that they were similar in nature, so that's the comparison we did (how many of those words of which lengths), and I think his penultimate word was my final word and vice versa.  I wonder if they are the same two words others here got stuck on! I guess it will be easier to describe tomorrow.  Congrats on the QBs!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 26, 2021, 01:57:48 PM
Made it to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 26, 2021, 02:12:02 PM
One weird combo, but once I got it, realized that it's a word I've seen before, most likely in other contexts.

It's a tricky one today, Parasaurolophus. When I reached genius this morning, I had only four- and five-letter words in addition to the pangram.

ab_grp, we probably have different LB solutions as my words are of the good old kind.

Got stuck on one wrong letter in the crossword. I had to review the words by checking each one, up as well as down on my computer so that I could see the clues alongside the puzzle. Just found it--whew!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 26, 2021, 04:39:58 PM
Yeah, Parasaurolophus! I think these shorter ones can make it harder to get to G.

Langue_doc, hmm! I may keep looking around for a more obvious solution for LB just for fun, then.  And I'm glad you figured out your crossword issue! They can be so hard to spot!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 27, 2021, 04:44:26 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was nunhood. Took me a while to find an n-initial seven-letter word.

Pangram and genius today.

cravings/selfish

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 27, 2021, 06:21:51 AM
Morning!

QB - Last two words were nunhood, unhood. Both new words for me that apparently hung up a lot of other people on the Wordplay blog.

LB - farces-shelving and never did find the vulgarity. Unless the guy was freaking out over the word anal?

3 points short of GN4L already and barely into the LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 27, 2021, 06:33:18 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning.  Yesterday, my last word was nunhood—coming shortly after unhat and unhood

Ciao_yall, my hat is off to you for even attempting GN4L on this one.  I have plenty of 4Ls—all of them, actually (nytbee says there are 8 of them, and I have 8).  It took me a good while to find the pangram.  I don't think I would have reached genius without them.  I am at QB-5 and need 2 5Ls, 1 6L, and 2 8Ls.   

LB yesterday was cravings-shelf.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Congratulations on all of yesterday's successes!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 27, 2021, 09:10:23 AM
I found the pangram first off the bat - as soon as I could remember how to spell it properly. My word tipping into GN4L was a "bee special." Now I have 8 4Ls and am a ways away from QB points-wise so I think it will be a while, and a trip to Wordplay.

LB is slow today. All the vowels on one side is going to make for some multi-syllabic solutions.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 27, 2021, 09:41:57 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Four more words to QB, but I did get to GN4L, which I thought was tough today despite not that many 4s.  Still not at Alpha.  I still have a couple 5s to find and have run out of ideas on those for now.  At least the pangram was pretty easy! I think our final words were unhood, unhat.  I am not a fan of the puzzles where you could form a ton of other words with the prefixes and suffixes that are not accepted but have to try to guess which ones they might take.  I remembered nunhood from a previous puzzle since that had tripped me up.

For LB, I got chafers-shelving and never found the schmofficial one or a more obvious one.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 27, 2021, 02:45:12 PM
Finally hit QB with help from Wordplay blog. One I overlooked, one I didn't realize was a word or thought I had tried it, and 2 new ones.

LB - finally got a 3fer. Was *this close* to a 2fer but missing a key letter and b4ss which isn't really that close, but close enough that I screen shotted it. Saw a hint on the Wordplay blog but just the first/last letters and letter count. I didn't see the definitions and don't really want to. Yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 27, 2021, 04:43:03 PM
We had to get some help from Shunn after comparing first letters.  We both had the same final two words, which we eventually figured out in opposite orders from each other again.  I am mad about the final one I found and will be holding a personal grudge against Sam. ;-)

No luck on the bee.  Lots of good contenders, though! I'll work on it a bit more tonight.  Good luck, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 27, 2021, 04:54:32 PM
QB and two-fer. The latter was quite a struggle though. Look for compounds--think of a term used for some universities.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 27, 2021, 07:04:32 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc, and thanks for the hint! Will keep at it.  Given that I called LB "the bee" (obv I meant the ell bee), not thinking there might be too much luck in my future.  But, it is always worth a try.

ETA: got a 2fer but pretty sure it's a different one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 28, 2021, 05:05:13 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with more than a couple of pangrams. It's going to be a slog today--I've already lost interest in completing the bee.

flagship/pyramid

Two-fer today after several attempts.

Haven't even looked at the crossword.

ab_grp, I knew you were referring to LB and not the bee and that it was just a word slip. I was thinking of flagship universities when I typed the hint.

I had planned to take a whole bunch of clothes and books to Goodwill, but what with the heavy rain, the flood advisory, and the long drive, I might wait until next week to take care of this errand.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 28, 2021, 07:05:33 AM
400 points. Woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2021, 08:18:56 AM
Morning!

QB with 2 new words homonymy, homogamy.

LB - With help got flagship-pyramid. Those darned compounds always get me! Surprised I didn't find pyramid on my own as I remembered trying pyr... 3fers paradigms-shag-gadfly, flap-paradigm-mashy. Really wanted an N to get handspring-gadfly or a T to get flytrap-paradigms.

Oh well, today is a new day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 28, 2021, 08:46:56 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday I got to QB-1 ABM, but then got stuck on the last word, 8 letters.  Finally, I resorted to Shunn, which gave me HO.  I tried homogamy and was surprised when it took—I could have sworn that I had already tried it and that it had been rejected.  Mistyping, I suppose, or hallucinations. 

Today I am Beta with all three pangrams. 

LB:  Yesterday I had dishrags-simplify.  I have a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, deferring the trip to Goodwill sounds like a good plan!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2021, 08:56:51 AM
Update - GN4L with 2 pangrams. There's a 3rd? Yep, just got the 3rd.

Quick 3fer 2fer.

Now what am I gonna do all day?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 28, 2021, 10:09:10 AM
Congratulations, ciao_yall!  It took me a while to find the third pangram.

I just got to QB with help from Shunn on initial letters/lengths for the last five words. One word was a base word that took both suffixes, so three words from one, essentially. 

I guess I have no excuse not to vacuum now.  Blah!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2021, 11:04:06 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Whew, a long puzzle and a lot of beekeeping.  One more word to QB, argh! I did get to GN4L and made it exactly, which I think is a first.  And am at Alpha.  Hard to keep track of the pangrams!  Yesterday I think homogamy was my penultimate word.  I just figured I'd try it since there were others that took both mono- and homo-.  Hoagy was the final one and the one I am personally mad at.  That is not how you spell it! Sam deserves not to have any hoagies.  I looked it up to see if maybe it had a different meaning that might make it allowable, but I didn't see one. 

For LB yesterday, I got digraphs-simplify, similar to cathwen's.  I had pyramid but never got its mate, despite the great clue from Langue_doc.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc, cathwen, and ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I thought today's crossword was pretty rough in a couple places.  It took me a while even to get going, but the last bits were like pulling teeth.  I hope you have better luck with it than I did!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2021, 12:06:27 PM
Two pangrams and an easy genius for me this morning.

Or was it three pangrams?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2021, 12:16:55 PM
Yeah, Parasaurolophus! There were three, but like I said, hard to keep track of them!

Husband also got to one word left, and we figured out that it was probably the same word.  Asked Shunn for help, and he got it before I did.  Kind of a tough one! Glad to be done with that.

And I got a 2fer!

Hard sudoku left before the changeover...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 28, 2021, 12:49:12 PM
Ab_grp, I am so glad you mentioned the misspelling of hoagie as hoagy!  As one who grew up just south of Philly, I found this jarring. 

Congratulations, Parasaurolophus, on genius with the pangrams!  And on your 2fer, ab-grp. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2021, 01:03:26 PM
Thanks, cathwen! And I'm glad I was not the only one feeling put off by that entry.  I am truly surprised that there wasn't more outrage about it online, though maybe they are still assembling pitchforks.  Philly-area natives unite!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 28, 2021, 02:15:03 PM
Hoagy is an abomination, in terms of spelling. I found it by typing letter combinations indiscriminately, as usual. It's surprising that yoyo which is always written without a hyphen is routinely rejected by SB.

Got to QB. Such drudgery!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2021, 03:52:24 PM
Congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! It was quite a bit of drudgery.  And I'm glad you are on the right side of hoagy as well.  I also keep trying yoyo.  I think at some point it might be deemed acceptable, so better keep trying just in case.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2021, 08:21:25 PM
QB - 2, WATHICG and I am tired. Missing FI- and IN-. Definitions didn't make sense. I'm over it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2021, 10:16:29 PM
397 points and still 7 words shy of QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 29, 2021, 07:08:02 AM
Good morning!

Genius with two pangrams. That's probably it for today.

The only hoagy I'm familiar with is Hoagy Carmichael. I can't think of anyone referring to the sandwich as hoagy instead of hoagie.

project/titanium

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 29, 2021, 07:24:17 AM
Morning!

SB - last two words were fiend (gah) and indigene (what?) So, no QB yesterday.

LB - jumper-reaction.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 29, 2021, 07:35:00 AM
Good morning!

QB-1 with one 4L word to go.  This should be easy to find, but so far, it is not!  .  QBABM!  Hurray!

Surprisingly, indigene (tried in desperation) and yenning (ditto) were not my last two words yesterday.  My last words were egging and inning, words I've gotten before!  Argh.

LB:  I had jamjar-recomputation.  Unsurprisingly, this was not the "official" solution!  I was surprised that jamjar was accepted as a single word.  Langue_doc and ciao_yall, your solutions are much neater.

I have found a 2fer today which is much more normal.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 29, 2021, 10:52:10 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I still have 3 words to QB, husband has 2, and two from each have the same number of letters.  So, not sure if we have team QB.  Did get to GN4L and Alpha, at least, but I fear we might be heading Shunn's way next break.  Indigene was our final word yesterday.  Just finally guessed it but probably wouldn't have without Shunn.

Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!!

For LB, I had jumper-romantic.  I guess none of us had the schmofficial one! ? Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 29, 2021, 01:03:40 PM
Am 6 or 7 points short of QBABM and really don't want to check the grid to see if it's one word or more. Hoping it pops out at me later today.

Quick 2fer this morning.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 29, 2021, 01:16:50 PM
Good luck, ciao_yall, and congrats on the 2fer!

We ended up comparing and asking Shunn for some help for our final words.  Should have gotten two out of three, but too much to get done today.

Also have a couple good contenders in LB, but no luck yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 29, 2021, 01:51:29 PM
Another non-schmofficial 2fer of amputator-rejection. But no luck today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 29, 2021, 03:24:21 PM
That's a good one, onthefringe!

Finally got a 2fer after looking at my contenders-remainders list and realizing I just had to make a minor adjustment to get a match.  Argh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 29, 2021, 09:14:00 PM
Easy genius for me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 30, 2021, 04:22:02 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, but it did not "bring me joy" per Marie Kondo. Some puzzles are just blah.

Amazing today, no pangrams yet.

Easy two-fer, much to my surprise.

forgive/enjoyment; found the latter first, but took me forever to find an e-final word.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 30, 2021, 06:23:33 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on yesterday's geniuses, QBs, and 2fers!

Today I am at Beta with both pangrams.  It's another sloggy one today.  I foresee Shunn in my future.

As for yesterday, meze was my last word, tried in desperation by combining letters just for the heck of it.  I did not realize that it was an alternative spelling for mezze

LB:  Like Langue_doc, I had the schmofficial forgive-enjoyment.  I wonder if we'll have any variety?  It was fun to read all the different solutions for Saturday's LB!   I have found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 30, 2021, 07:20:31 AM
Morning!

QB - Last two words with help from Shunn were mezzo, meze. Both kind of wild guesses when I saw I was missing 2 me words.

LB - forgive-enjoyment. Found enjoyment first.

Happy solving and happy Monday!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 30, 2021, 08:03:38 AM
Agreed cathwen on today's being a schlep. Amazing with 2 pangrams and a ways go go, but time for a shower.

Got a quick but strange 2fer though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on August 30, 2021, 08:28:50 AM
no 2fr yesterday, but a surprisingly quick one today.

Happy Monday puzzling to everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 30, 2021, 08:37:06 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L but only have one pangram so far.  Husband has both.  We are a little behind, having had to get daughter out the door for an ortho consult (but I am also just stuck right now).  Meze was also my final word yesterday, and I don't think I would have gotten it without Shunn and playing around with combos after that.

I got the same LB solution.  Had forgiven and similar for a while, then saw what looked like enjoyment with remaining letters, and voila.  Congrats on the 2fers today! I hope to join you!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 30, 2021, 12:32:04 PM
One point away from GN4L.

One. Bloody. Point.

Hoping this post breaks the spell, like when your car stops making that weird noise when you get to the mechanic.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 30, 2021, 01:12:53 PM
Good trip to the donation center. It was a long drive, but got there in less than an hour. I could park in front, unlike the locations in the city. On the way back, stopped at Home Depot, where I was distracted by 25-30 sparrows flying around in one of the aisles, quite at home.

Got both pangrams so might persevere.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 30, 2021, 01:48:49 PM
Had to hit Shunn for the final two words.  One I got, and the other was a struggle.  Good luck, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Also got a 2fer!

And Langue_doc, great to hear that you had a successful trip to make your donations and got to be in the presence of happy sparrows enjoying Home Depot.

We had exciting news from the orthodontics consult, as apparently they went ahead and put daughter's braces on this morning! She still has to have 4 impacted wisdom teeth out on Thursday, so her mouth is not going to feel great this week.  Not sure what we will have for dinner.  I was a little surprised that they recommended she buy some sugar-free gum to chew (I guess to work out mouth pain)? We were so not allowed to chew gum when I had braces.  I had nightmares about accidentally chewing a piece!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 30, 2021, 04:58:00 PM
Finally hit the Wordplay blog - achieved GN4L but ran out of time to hit QBABM, though they were all familiar words I should have gotten. Some I thought I had... guess that's the problem with long ones.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 30, 2021, 10:37:42 PM
No joy today, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 31, 2021, 06:20:04 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday; found the "foreign" and suffix-ending words early on. It was the run-of-the-mill words that were a slog. Last word was natal.

Past genius today. Saw the pangram right away.

quivers/shacked

ab_grp, is daughter getting both sides of mouth anesthetized at the same time? I had each side done separately. I remember having had a long discussion with the dentist prior to the extraction insisting on two separate appointments only to have him ask me as I was still groggy from the first extraction if he could do the other side. I nodded an emphatic no--couldn't talk.
Good luck with the extraction and the eating/talking afterwards.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 31, 2021, 06:23:18 AM
Good morning!

In a reversal of my usual pattern, I got a quick QBABM this morning, but no 2fer as yet.

Yesterday I got to QB, but with help from Shunn on the last few words.  Tahini, lantana, and titillation were my last three words.

LB:  quicker-ravished

Langue_doc, I'm glad your trip to Goodwill was uneventful.  When we lived in NYC, I found the logistics of getting rid of stuff to be difficult.  Driving to a place with a parking lot was a good plan.

Ab_grp, that's great news about your daughter's braces!  Thursday will not be fun, though.  I hope it all goes well.

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 31, 2021, 07:14:21 AM
Morning!

QB - with help, but all words I should have gotten. I think my mental max is about 50 words.

LB - quivers-shacked.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 31, 2021, 08:46:49 AM
Good morning!

I am stuck at one word from QB but did get to GN4L and Alpha.  Husband got to QBABH, so I will keep trying for a while! I think my last words yesterday were lanolin, notional.  Congrats on your QBABY today, cathwen!

And I got the same LB solution as cathwen yesterday.

Thanks for the good wishes for daughter's surgery.  Langue_doc, a groggy state is definitely not the best time to be asking questions or making decisions! She will have general anesthesia (which I also had), so they'll just yank them all out at that point.  She is a wonderful child but gets a little distracted at times, so I have been worrying about whether she will be able to remember not to drink or eat anything after midnight tomorrow, though we'll be taking every precaution we can! She is planning to possibly go to the homecoming dance with her boyfriend on Saturday, but I think that is optimistic.  Hopefully she'll do what she's supposed to do and everything will go smoothly.  Braces were not too bad last night aside from some scratching here and there (thankful for wax!), and she managed pasta fine.  This morning she's a bit sore, so we have to see if she's allowed Tylenol or anything prior to the appt Thurs.  She was pretty excited about the little swag kit they gave her with a smiley toothbrush case.  It's the little things, I guess!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 31, 2021, 09:31:46 AM
22 words but no QB screen? I protest!

3fers, no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 31, 2021, 09:34:01 AM
Finally found a 2fer!

Ab_grp, the general anesthesia is a good decision.  Here's hoping she can get to the homecoming dance! 

Both Oldest and Youngest Daughters had wisdom tooth extractions and braces, but Middle Daughter was lucky.  Not only did she not need braces (she has a slight overbite, but her teeth are straight), but she also did not need to have her wisdom teeth removed! 

Ciao_yall, we know you are QB!  No Bee screen?  You was robbed! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 31, 2021, 09:34:21 AM
Genius and 19 words. On to LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 31, 2021, 10:09:13 AM
Congrats on the QB, ciao_yall! Sorry you didn't get the well deserved QB screen!! I'm still working on my final word.  :-(

Cathwen, it's funny to see who ends up with what needs in the same family.  Her older sister did not have braces either.  However, the older sister has had a bunch of cavities, youngest has not had any.  Neither have needed glasses so far.  Sounds as though Middle Daughter did get very lucky! Were the others envious? Our young 'un wanted braces from an early age (I guess it seems exciting), and now she is not super thrilled with the reality.  But I guess it's good timing as she gets to wear a mask most of the time!

And congrats on the 2fer, cathwen!

And congrats on genius to Parasaurolophus! You are closing on QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 31, 2021, 10:30:05 AM
Will keep fingers crossed for the homecoming dance.

Got to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 31, 2021, 10:36:59 AM
Congrats on the QBABY, Langue_doc, and thanks!

I just happened upon this podcast episode with Sam as a guest: https://slate.com/culture/2021/08/nyt-spelling-bee-sam-ezersky.html  There's a link to the full transcript, so I just read that rather than listening.  Nothing really new for us pros, but I figured I'd share in case anyone is interested.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 31, 2021, 05:15:00 PM
Got a 2fer but may not be schmofficial so will keep looking for another...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 31, 2021, 05:16:15 PM
Still stuck in the 3fer slog here. A few good words but keep leaving odds and ends.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 31, 2021, 05:46:38 PM
Okay got a little help with a weird word. So I don't feel so bad.

Then I tried again. There was an easier word I overlooked. Gah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 01, 2021, 05:19:21 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius.

The same words keep cropping up in the crosswords. Recently there were a couple of days when "The Rock" was featured. Acai is another example. Sometimes I'm not sure what the theme is as I can complete the puzzles without "finding" the theme. Easy one yesterday (today's puzzle).

Thanks for the link, ab_grp.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 01, 2021, 07:22:28 AM
QB - guessed at wight.

LB - with a little help found bebop-paroxysmic. Then realized bicep-paroxysm was hiding in there.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 01, 2021, 07:27:16 AM
Good morning!

Beta with both pangrams, but I foresee dipping into Shunn.  I am out of ideas.

LB:  I had the schmofficial paroxysm-microbe.  Ciao_yall, the combination of bebop and paroxysm has me imagining all kinds of frenzied dancing to lively music!  (As opposed to writhing microbes.)

I have a 2fer today as well.

First day of classes!  I always look forward to the beginning as much as the end. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 01, 2021, 08:35:13 AM
Two pangrams and genius. On to LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 01, 2021, 09:10:22 AM
Quote from: cathwen on September 01, 2021, 07:27:16 AM

First day of classes!  I always look forward to the beginning as much as the end. 


Me too! Happily tweaking a course now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 01, 2021, 09:43:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 2 words left to QB and got GN4L and Alpha but am stuck for now.  Yesterday my final word was eightieth, which I finally figured out but should have gotten earlier!

I had paroxysmic-comber for LB yesterday.  Congrats on the 2fer already today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, there was a clue/answer in the crossword today that made me chuckle due to recent discussions here! You're right that they do keep including particular words.  Today was not difficult, though I am sad to say it took me a while to see what I was supposed to be seeing in the grid.  Needed the coffee to kick in, I guess.  The theme puzzles that can be completed without any understanding of the theme are a let down, in my opinion, especially since some constructors can pull it off really cleverly.

Happy first days of class!

And happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 01, 2021, 09:58:31 AM
I too chuckled when I saw that word last night and thought of you, ab_grp and cathwen. It was spelled correctly though in the crossword. I was going to bring it up tomorrow.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 01, 2021, 02:13:03 PM
Still one word to go to QB.  Ugh!! Husband finally got to Alpha and did so with the word I need, so at least we have team QB.  And I have a few LB contenders that seem good but no mates yet.

Langue_doc, I'm glad you also got a chuckle out of it! I figured I'd mention it sort of obliquely but more tomorrow, as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 01, 2021, 04:22:08 PM
QB, got the screen. Woooh. Learned a new word which I think I should have remembered from another puzzle, plus a few I had overlooked. After 40-odd words I seem to miss a lot of easy ones.

LB, finally got a 2fer but one of the words was weird so I don't feel so bad. Hope an easy one doesn't emerge later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 01, 2021, 04:27:40 PM
Langue-doc, I also had a laugh when I saw that word in the crossword!  It's the only context in which that spelling is legitimate.

I got to QB, but with some help from Shunn. 

Congratulations on QB, ciao-yall!

Students in my online class are now doing the "Introduce Yourself" discussion board.  Such an interesting group!  And the diversity is amazing.  They're from all over—we could have our own little United Nations.  Not only that, but there is a lot of expressed enthusiasm for the subject matter.  Let's hope that continues!  I'm on a Day 1 high. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 02, 2021, 07:15:31 AM
Good morning!

Missed demimonde. Pangram and above genius today.

adopts/squinch; couldn't find mates for adoptions or quotations (I think these were the words--didn't write them down).

Just canceled a medical appointment because I didn't want to deal with the subways today.

cathwen, sounds like you're going to have an interesting semester. A year ago I had students from the West Coast, one of the southmost states and Europe in my class.

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 02, 2021, 07:24:25 AM
Morning!

QB - Should have gotten mizzen on my own, plus a few others.

LB - with some help got adopts-squinch which I didn't know was a word. Schmoffficial solution - gah, those compounds always get me! 3fers abounded - here is a sample: pods-squint-tach, shop-panda-acquit, scads-squish-hotpants, quips-scotch-hand, cops-squish-handstand, hand-squish-hopscotch, chop-piquant-tads.

Woke up in the middle of the night and made some progress.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 02, 2021, 07:56:53 AM
Good morning!

I am at genius with the pangram.  Yesterday my last word was nominee.  Another -ee word!  But I should have seen it sooner.

LB:  daphnia-acquisition.  Daphnia was a wild guess, but I had a dim memory of having heard the word before.  Turns out it's a kind of plankton.  Ciao-yall, you certainly have a good variety of words in your 3fers!

I do not yet have a 2fer for today's LB, but I have a terrific word that leaves only three letters—and I can't make a word out of them!  Grrr!  I'll keep working on it. 

Langue_doc, from what I've seen on the news, you are wise to avoid the subways today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 02, 2021, 08:45:26 AM
Good morning!

I have 4 more words to QB and did get GN4L but no Alpha yet.  Demimonde was my final word, and I only got it with hints from husband.  I guess there's some show or movie coming out with that name, and he had come across it in his newsfeed.  You never know what will help, I guess.

Had no luck on LB yesterday, though squints was my first attempt, so I guess I was on the right track.  Oh well.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday.   Cathwen, good luck with your awesome word! Hope you find a mate for it!

The Hoagy Carmichael crossword clue/answer was also kind of funny because a couple days ago I kept hearing "Heart and Soul" in my head.  Maybe somewhere deep inside I knew it was his tune? I surely did not know it explicitly.  I wonder if that was after that bee day.  Maybe this will seal the connection in my head for good.

Cathwen, sounds like a very interesting class and very promising start to the semester! I hope it continues.

Langue_doc, I agree... seems like a good day to avoid the subways. 

We seem to have been successful in the no drinking/no eating after midnight, and the child will be in her oral surgery in a few minutes.  I don't think anyone slept super well (not as poorly as could have occurred), but whew! I feel like that is my accomplishment for the week and am giving myself a day of rest from taking on too many obligations.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 02, 2021, 09:43:12 AM
ab_grp, hope you're all back home and child isn't in too much pain or discomfort.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 02, 2021, 10:53:04 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Her surgery was pretty quick, and her mouth was pretty dry after, but she came through like a champ.  She has some shows queued up to take her mind off things.

We got to one and two words left and to Alpha so compared and figured out our final words.  Mine is one I had missed before.

No luck on LB yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 02, 2021, 11:09:58 AM
One word short of GN4L with pangram, and 3fers are piling up.

Close but no cigar...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 03, 2021, 05:19:21 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was bomb, which I thought I had entered much earlier as I remember trying atombomb (two words, alas).

Genius with at least two pangrams. It was too early in the morning to see what I was typing.

Completed the crosswords last night.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 03, 2021, 06:51:56 AM
Good morning!

I made QB yesterday with help from Shunn on the last word—mahatma.. Today I am at genius with the two pangrams.  It looks like a sloggy one today!

I had no LB solution yesterday—blobfish?  I had harmonica, but blobfish just didn't pop out at me.  I do have a 2fer today, though.

Ab_grp, I hope that your daughter is doing well today!  It sounds as though she's a real trooper.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 03, 2021, 08:52:13 AM
One more point to go.

Blobfish indeed!  Even autocorrect is getting upset.

ETA Found it, so QB!

ETA2: twofer!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 03, 2021, 09:05:15 AM
Congratulations in QB, Langue_doc!  I am at QB-2 and struggling. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 03, 2021, 09:14:27 AM
Morning!

QB-1 ABM, then finally relented to the Forum blog for...  mahatma? Whatever.

LB - what on earth is a blobfish? Even the solver site only had weird solutions. I did have a few 3fers barf-flacons-shim, fob-brainiacs-shalom.

Well, today is a new day. Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 03, 2021, 09:18:46 AM
Familiar words all, cathwen.

Remembered to enter mahatma as I'd seen it in at least a couple of bees.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 03, 2021, 09:25:55 AM
I find going for GN4L helps. I can usually fill in the 4Ls later, but the longer words take a little more attention to find.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2021, 10:17:59 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have one more word to QB, got GN4L and Alpha.  We compared when I had two words and husband had three left, so at least we have team QB.  I feel like this one is very similar to a recent one.  Mahatma was my final word as well.  Husband's was mammoth.  Congrats on QBABY, Langue_doc!

I rolled my eyes at the LB solution.  Blobfish?! I never got harmonica but had monarchial, monarchism and some others that left very few letters.   Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and Langue_doc!

Daughter continues to hang in there.  She is a trooper.  It's a lot of dental work to have done in a short period of time.  Thanks for the good wishes!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 03, 2021, 12:12:29 PM
QB short a few words. Trying to avoid the grids/wordcounts for now.

Wasn't getting too far with LB then someone on FB posted a hint/spoiler so it's all done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 03, 2021, 07:13:47 PM
Easy path to genius, no joy on LB yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2021, 07:50:05 PM
Finally figured out the last bee word and much, much later got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 04, 2021, 06:02:44 AM
Good morning!

It's always that last word...I got to QB-1 ABM yesterday, but then resorted to Shunn to figure out the last one:  dandified.  Really?  Okay, then.

Today I am at genius with the pangram. 

LB:  I had the schmofficial misgiving-gunk, plus misgivings-sunk (less tidy).  I have a 2fer today as well.

Congratulations on the QBs, geniuses (genii?), and LBs yesterday!

Ab_grp, I hope your daughter continues to do well and is feeling up to the dance tonight!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 04, 2021, 06:22:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. Last word yesterday was fief. I found dandified quite early into the puzzle. I keep trying fain, but it never works.

misgivings/gunk

ab_grp, hope daughter is doing well and can eat, and be out and about.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 04, 2021, 07:14:54 AM
Morning!

QB - like cathwen... Really? dandified? Maybe I should start keeping a list of those "bee specials."

LB - misbehaving-gunk but that was after a hint/spoiler online. I already had heaving-gunk so I like to think I was pretty close.

Anyway, happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 04, 2021, 08:28:06 AM
QB, one weird word.

Two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2021, 11:19:14 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three words to go for QB and got to GN4L but not Alpha yet.  Upon figuring out points/words left, I realized I don't have the pangram yet! But I didn't sleep well, and even the crossword was a struggle.  I had to look at the blog, which I almost never do.  Also had dandified as my final word.  I think husband's was finned.  Congrats on your QBABY, Langue_doc!

I also had the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and Langue_doc!

Thanks for the kind thoughts.  Daughter is having a lot of achy pain today.  She has been trying to hold off on taking the painkiller and just take ibuprofen.  Not sure she is going to feel well enough to go to a dance tonight, but that is not too surprising, unfortunately.  With all the Covid cases here, maybe not such a bad thing.

Still have to start and finish all the sudokus by 4.  Ugh! Hopefully coffee will kick in at some point.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 04, 2021, 12:03:17 PM
Unfamiliar pangram, just try to form words. I meant to look up the meaning, but haven't gotten around to it.

Hope daughter is in less pain/discomfort.

Have to finish the crossword before 6.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2021, 02:34:17 PM
Thanks and thanks, Langue_doc! I eventually found it and then the penultimate word, and I'm wondering if my final word is the weird one you mentioned.  Needed Shunn's help! Good luck on the crossword.  I still have to start hard sudoku.  Eek!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2021, 06:49:04 PM
Finally got a 2fer! And finished hard sudoku exactly at 4. Whew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 04, 2021, 10:24:37 PM
Beta but no LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 05, 2021, 08:13:52 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius--don't have the energy to slog through the rest of the puzzle looking for more words.

My last word was jinni--not sure how I found this word, but vaguely remember having seen it in a previous bee. Jouncing!!! Oh, well.

conflicts/swarm

Hard crossword today, which needs to be completed by 6.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 05, 2021, 09:16:40 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Two more words to QB, but I did get GN4L and exactly to Alpha.  We'll see.  Jouncing was tough! It sounds like a word on my periphery, but it took forever.  Junco was my final word, which is apparently both a bird AND a bush.  Thanks to Sam for hitting on the intersection of two of my worst categories.  It made me think of bunco. which isn't a word I've heard in a while.

Also got the schmofficial LB yesterday.

Good luck on the crossword, Langue_doc.  I just finished, but it took a little while to figure out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 05, 2021, 10:15:07 AM
Happy Sunday!

QB - needed a Wordplay reminder for jinn. Already found jinni, junco from remembering previous puzzles. Took a while to try jouncing as I kept thinking "oh, too bad I don't have a b because bouncing is a great word!"

LB - conflicts-swarm not a lot of variety yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 05, 2021, 12:07:28 PM
Good afternoon!

I got to QB yesterday with help from Shunn.  Jinni was one of the last words, but the very last word was cuing!  Funny how sometimes you (=I) don't see the easier ones after getting the harder ones.  Jouncing was a tough one, but I got that one fairly early on—I don't know why it occurred to me.  I think I must have heard it or read it recently.

Today I'm at Alpha.

My LB solution yesterday was the same as everyone else's.  I have a 2fer today.

Now to try the crossword.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 05, 2021, 01:05:46 PM
Made it to QB with help from Shunn for the first letter of the final word.

And I have a contender I desperately want to work in LB, but no luck yet.  Congrats on yours, cathwen!

Someone posted on the FB group about spelling bee that you can actually see the accepted word list for the day's puzzle in the web interface if you look at the page source! I wouldn't do that (though I did today because I had already gotten to impure QB), but that is an explanation for how Shunn (and others?) pulls his info and knows exactly which words will be accepted or not.  Maybe I will see if I can write a program to do that at some point to practice my programming more.  Anyway, interesting to know! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 05, 2021, 01:33:07 PM
QB at long last. There's still the crossword.

This is my Canvas weekend, so I'm going to be on the computer and then I have to reread my book and come up with a list of discussion questions for the book group next week.

ETA: Crossword is done, whew!

As for hints, I like the SB Wordplay as that's how I found jinni (I think there were two words that began with ji-) and also how I found a couple of words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 05, 2021, 03:23:05 PM
Yay! Congrats on the QB and getting the crossword done in time, Langue_doc! I am afraid to look at anything with commenters because it's hard to control what you see or don't.

Still no luck on LB and haven't started tomorrow's sudokus (which I can hold off on) or done Duo (which I had better do, as it's end of week).

ETA: I reread that final sentence and realized it did not make any sense! In any case, I did finish Duo, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 05, 2021, 03:42:32 PM
ab_grp, I don't look at the comments, but only at the official wordplay when I'm stuck. I learned the hard way not to look at the comments as people happily post the solutions. Do check it out if you feel inclined.

No LB, but tomorrow's crosswords and sudokus are out!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 05, 2021, 07:03:45 PM
One "bee special" to get me to QB.

And... the LB solutions are weird. I bet, like me, y'all got one word and couldn't figure out another to fit with it, or had one weird letter left.

Will check tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 05, 2021, 09:26:20 PM
Blah, fell just a few points short today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2021, 06:24:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Two-fer already!

Congrats on finishing the Duo, ab_grp.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 06, 2021, 07:03:27 AM
Good morning!

Also pangram and genius. 

I got to QB yesterday with help from Wordplay letter distributions (a much less annoying site than Shunn, but with the same info).  Cabbie and befit were my last words, both of which I've gotten before but was just not seeing.

LB:  I had synergizes-sequoia yesterday.  I also have a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2021, 08:51:22 AM
cathwen, that's a brilliant solution, much better than the NYT one. I should have seen it as I was watching bits and pieces of Planet Earth just the other day, and thinking nostalgically of my hikes among the sequoias when I lived in that part of the country.

I had synergizes and could only find square which left the o dangling. No three-fers for me, not since I found this thread.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2021, 08:59:48 AM
Morning!

QB - with help for tibiae. Okay, another new word.

LB - with help got aqueous-synergize and synergizes-sequoia. I had a lot of 3fer with synergize but couldn't close the loop. Some examples: synergizes-square-eon, gaze-enquiry-yours, quays-synergizes-son, quois-synergize-ear...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 06, 2021, 09:29:37 AM
I had found synergizes and sequoia separately, then realized that they worked together. 

Sequoia reminded me of a conversation my husband and I had a few years ago when we visited California*.  I had never seen redwoods and was absolutely awe-struck!  Then I wondered how redwoods were different from sequoias—after some hypothesizing, we whipped out our phones googled the answer.  I still have not seen a sequoia!

*We started in LA, visiting Youngest Daughter, then drove up the Pacific Coast Highway—which my husband had assured me would involve breathtaking scenery—to San Francisco to visit with a friend.  But, as is typical of our vacations (it has become a joke), we got nothing but rain and fog and very few good views of the scenery that he assured me was out there somewhere.  Sigh...

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2021, 09:52:00 AM
Quote from: cathwen on September 06, 2021, 09:29:37 AM
I had found synergizes and sequoia separately, then realized that they worked together. 

Sequoia reminded me of a conversation my husband and I had a few years ago when we visited California*.  I had never seen redwoods and was absolutely awe-struck!  Then I wondered how redwoods were different from sequoias—after some hypothesizing, we whipped out our phones googled the answer.  I still have not seen a sequoia!

*We started in LA, visiting Youngest Daughter, then drove up the Pacific Coast Highway—which my husband had assured me would involve breathtaking scenery—to San Francisco to visit with a friend.  But, as is typical of our vacations (it has become a joke), we got nothing but rain and fog and very few good views of the scenery that he assured me was out there somewhere.  Sigh...

Like when my aunt and uncle came from France. It was so foggy they could not see Alcatraz or the GG bridge while standing right on the beach!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2021, 10:32:58 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Man, we are struggling on the bee today.  I got to QB-3 and GN4L but no Alpha, and I think husband was at QB-5, and we decided to just go ahead and compare.  Needed Shunn, I got to Alpha but still two words left.  I know the first two letters and lengths and am totally stuck!! I think my final two words yesterday were tibiae, tacet.  I guess I forgot about the latter spelling/word from previous puzzles.

Argh, was so close with LB yesterday.  There were a couple words that either left one letter (after finding a potential mate) or were ships.  I really wanted syzygy for a while but finally saw synergize and figured that was the better route as it used up more letters.  No luck at all on aqueous, and I agree that cathwen's sequoias is a better mate for it! Of course I had to look at the spelling about four times while typing that, so no surprise that it didn't occur to me yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Langue_doc, thanks for the Duo props! I also wanted to check on which site you and cathwen are talking about.  This one: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/crosswords/spelling-bee-2021-09-06.html  with the letter distributions? It definitely is less of a pain to use than Shunn.  I guess the only thing it doesn't have is compounds.  One of the things I'm going to try to do with the page source info I found out about yesterday is to try to make other useful scaffolded metrics (like first three letters).  I figure I might as well play around with it.  Maybe I can get it to look for particular prefixes and suffixes, too.

It seems as though trying to catch particular views or scenery tends to lend itself to bad weather! A friend of mine's husband is stationed in Japan, so she finally hiked Mt. Fuji in wind and driving rain and missed the sunrise she was hoping to see.  And I guess hiking season is over soon, so that's that.  Still an incredible experience, I'm sure, but that is a shame.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2021, 11:36:25 AM
Yup, that's the website, ab_grp. I usually look under wordplay as I can never remember the name of the bee forum and eventually get to the site. It took me forever to find the ep- word today, should have seen it as it's a frequent occurrence in the bee. I've been stuck since late morning, and will probably not get around to QB as I have to get the Canvas prep done, hopefully by the end of the day.

Hiking season is never over unless one is in one of the polar regions. Winter hikes here require crampons and other stuff. Needless to say, any winter walking that requires more than a good pair of hiking shoes is beyond me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2021, 11:54:36 AM
Okay, thanks, Langue_doc! I tend to use the nytbee and Shunn more because I have tabs permanently open on my phone (among the other 600000 tabs), but I might as well open that one too and see if it renders better than the others.  Good luck with Canvas prep!

I guess early July to mid-September is the official climbing season for Mt. Fuji, when there isn't supposed to be snow and facilities are open.  Maybe you are allowed to at other times but are cautioned against it? In any case, I'm with you on the self limits! I haven't hiked for so long.  The Mt. Fuji trail sounded pretty arduous at times.  Unfortunately, my friend discovered that her waterproof hiking boots and waterproof jacket were not very waterproof.  But she enjoyed the adventure despite not getting to see her sunrise.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2021, 12:03:00 PM
Hi,

Just slogging today as well through both puzzles. Into genius and with pangram but slowing down. Two "ships" in LB with a plug to connect, but no 2fer yet.

I like Shunn because I can scaffold the grid and wait to see if I need the 2 letter hints before seeing them.

Once I get to the Spelling Bee Forum comments for hints I've pretty much given up on ABM. Plus it's nice to know when others are stuck on the same word. When I come across the LB posts I try to just read the top part of the hint and see if I can get it without the definition.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2021, 12:48:14 PM
The puzzles today seem more difficult than usual for some reason! Even the crossword was slower than usual.  And I am having absolutely no luck on hard sudoku.  And no real LB contenders! It is a day of labor.

Ciao_yall, I also like the ability to scaffold on Shunn and reveal what you want to reveal a step at a time. 

We are each down to the same word and have no idea at all what it is. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 06, 2021, 01:25:33 PM
Argh.  The Bee today defeated me.   I finally turned to the hints on Wordplay.  All I can say is, I should have studied chemistry in college.  So, QBWATHICG.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2021, 01:36:05 PM
Cathwen, I really feel like it was a difficult puzzle.  We gave up, and husband ran his program to get the final word.  Despite getting a lot of toughies today, I don't think we ever would have found the final one without just happening upon it by trying lots of combos.  I don't think either of us have even heard of it before.  Looked it up, nothing ringing a bell.  Congrats on your QB, even with help!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2021, 01:47:39 PM
ab_grp, I didn't realize that you were talking about winter hiking in Mt. Fuji.

Just spent an hour and 40 minutes chatting with a friend on the phone, so back to work.

Ships? How about a long word with a suffix?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2021, 04:17:39 PM
Thanks for the hint, Langue_doc! I finally found a longer word that almost worked, which led to one that did.  Yay 2fer! Hope you enjoyed your phone chat.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2021, 07:13:03 PM
2fer.

No bloody chance for QB. I'm over it.

For now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 07, 2021, 05:32:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; I think that's it for today as I'm behind on things.

Missed the scientific words. I remember going to Nepenthe in Big Sur following a hike and enjoying the view, ambiance, and food--wouldn't have considered it a bee word.

foci/indubitably

It was a good chat, ab_grp, and also another long chat with another friend later in the night.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 07, 2021, 05:46:45 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, and like Langue_doc, I may not get back to SB because I have a full day coming up. 

Yesterday's SB just annoyed me.  I only got heptane and pentane by looking at the Wordplay hints, and googling the chemical formulas they provided.  Nepenthe?  Nope.  But my husband, who used to live in San Francisco, remembered the restaurant of that name, and reminded me that we actually ate there on the one semi-nice day of our drive up the Pacific Coast Highway!  I finally got it because a Wordplay hint mentioned that it occurs in "The Raven," so I looked that up, and got it that way. 

LB:  Yesterday I also had the schmofficial foci-indubitably.  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Here's to a less annoying puzzle day!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 07, 2021, 07:30:07 AM
Morning!

SB - Never was going to find heptane, nepenthe nor pentane without way more work than I felt like doing. Overlooked payee, and found tapa early on but forgot to put it in because I was going for GN4L at the time. Can't decide if GN4L is a good strategy for staying organized, or if it causes me to forget to put in early ones. So today, just playing straight.

LB - foci-indubitably. Yay, me! That is a tricky one!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 07, 2021, 10:09:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Still have four words to go, not at Alpha but got to GN4L after some struggling.  I got pentane, heptane, but I never would have gotten nepenthe! Geez.  I don't remember it from The Raven but looked it up just now.  My dad used to read that poem to me a lot, but I guess I never read it for myself!

Thanks to Langue_doc, I found undoubtably, which then led to indubitably and its mate.  Indubitably reminds me of my favorite Archer episode, and now I can't stop hearing it in Archer's voice! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

I'm glad both of your chats went well, Langue_doc! It's nice to be able to catch up with friends.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 07, 2021, 05:43:28 PM
SB - way into genius, missing a few words. Might need to do more digging later.

LB - 2fer b4ss and lots of 3fers. Hope something busts loose.

ETA: Got 'em done. Learned some new words for both SB and LB. Gah.

I need to ponder whether GN4L is a good strategy. Oddly enough, the crowds of little short words clogged up being able to see the fairly easy long ones that I missed. So I will continue to use GN4L as an organizing strategy. Taking it for granted that I always get Genius evenutally....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on September 08, 2021, 05:35:00 AM
Didn't make it to the puzzles yesterday. But an exceedingly quick 2-fer for today. Just one of those days where it jumped out.

Into a full day of teaching, meetings, grading, and recording for my asynchronous class, so we'll see if SB happens.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 08, 2021, 05:51:19 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on your quick 2fer, OneMoreYear!  I found a 2fer also, but only after a little fiddling. 

Yesterday, I had fletcher-ruminant.

As for SB, I got to QB yesterday, but only after looking at letter distributions for the last few words.  Triton and tortoni were my last two.

Today I am at genius with both pangrams.  It's a long one today! I almost went for GN4L today (lots of long words), but I am so forgetful that I just type words as I see them, lest they slip my mind later.  One of these days...

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 08, 2021, 07:06:12 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and almost genius. I won't be able to look at the puzzle until much later today.

manufacture/ethical

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 08, 2021, 07:26:15 AM
Morning!

QB - last word, after reading the dictionary, was unroof. Is that even a word? I guess it is...

LB - learned a new word with help from the Forum blog fletcher-ruminant. Fooling around I had a 3fer fletch-hafnium-mar and thought "whoah, it took." Also had a 2fer b4ss hafnium-mercantile, lots of 3fers merchant-tuile-eft, cranium-melt-thief, filch-helium-mantra among others, just never came together.

Happy solving.

ETA: Quick 2fer, but SB is going to be a slog...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 08, 2021, 08:37:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Still 7 or so words from QB, but I did get GN4L.  No Alpha yet.  Maybe next time more words will appear.  Unroof was definitely one of my last words.  I am not a fan of that kind of word, like unhat, unhood.  They just seem too inconsistent about what they will allow those kinds of prefixes with.  I think my last two were nutrition, froufrou, and the latter was also final for husband.

Congrats on all the different 2fers yesterday! I had no luck.  I kept seeing circumference, which had way too many letters on the same sides.  I got merchant and came close with a couple others, but nowhere near the schmofficial solution or the others found here.  And congrats on your 2fers today, OneMoreYear, cathwen, and ciao_yall!

Good luck with all the busy days!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 08, 2021, 09:03:44 AM
Quote from: cathwen on September 08, 2021, 05:51:19 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on your quick 2fer, OneMoreYear!  I found a 2fer also, but only after a little fiddling. 

Yesterday, I had fletcher-ruminant.

As for SB, I got to QB yesterday, but only after looking at letter distributions for the last few words.  Triton and tortoni were my last two.

Today I am at genius with both pangrams.  It's a long one today! I almost went for GN4L today (lots of long words), but I am so forgetful that I just type words as I see them, lest they slip my mind later.  One of these days...

Happy puzzling!

I feel ya on that one. It's a balance - I find the little short words tend to block the view of longer ones. But then inevitably there is a short word like balm or tapa that I thought was already in there. Oops.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 08, 2021, 11:00:57 AM
Yay! Got QBABM and 2fer! I didn't think the QB was going to happen but got a bunch of words at the end.

As for the GN4L, I think it helps me because I am lazy and focus on the 4s and don't get anywhere quickly, so focusing on the longer words first helps me make more motivating progress, even if it's a struggle.  Then it's like getting a reward and getting to do all the 4s that come more easily.  And often, then there are very few words left afterward! But it's definitely easier on some puzzles than others.  One thing I do is to use my notepad app and when I get to G I put in how many words I have, how many fours, and the total I should come up with after adding the 4s.  And I make notes in there while entering the 4s if I see any non-4s during that time so I can just enter them after.  You could try this during the GN4L run with listing 4s you find there? Just an idea.  Whatever makes for happy solving, of course!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 08, 2021, 03:03:54 PM
Congrats on the QB! Just got a two-fer, without much effort.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 08, 2021, 07:34:56 PM
Thanks, and congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! I wonder if we all have the same solution or not.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 08, 2021, 09:25:39 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 08, 2021, 11:00:57 AM
Yay! Got QBABM and 2fer! I didn't think the QB was going to happen but got a bunch of words at the end.

As for the GN4L, I think it helps me because I am lazy and focus on the 4s and don't get anywhere quickly, so focusing on the longer words first helps me make more motivating progress, even if it's a struggle.  Then it's like getting a reward and getting to do all the 4s that come more easily.  And often, then there are very few words left afterward! But it's definitely easier on some puzzles than others.  One thing I do is to use my notepad app and when I get to G I put in how many words I have, how many fours, and the total I should come up with after adding the 4s.  And I make notes in there while entering the 4s if I see any non-4s during that time so I can just enter them after.  You could try this during the GN4L run with listing 4s you find there? Just an idea.  Whatever makes for happy solving, of course!

When I get close to GN4L I sometimes tally how many 4s I can think of and decide if I just want to go for G.

Meanwhile, I was *this close* to QB... AND NOW THE SITE IS DOWN AND I CAN'T FINISH!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 08, 2021, 10:01:47 PM
I hadn't hit genius yet and was gonna finish, but yeah, down for maintenance.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 09, 2021, 06:35:35 AM
Good morning!

Typed incite, the last word, saw the QB screen and then the down for maintenance screen. Must have been around midnight or later.

41 words so far, need about 18 points or so,

jockeying/glad

Happy solving, all!

Rain, rain, go away. We've had more than enough to last us all year.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 09, 2021, 07:01:19 AM
Good morning!

I never did get to QB yesterday.  Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I missed ecotone and tontine; my last word was toonie, which I now know is the term for the Canadian $2 bill.  More words for my Bee list!

Today I am at Beta with the pangram, QB-7.  I was determined to try GN4L, but before I knew it, I had entered a 4L word.  So I did not make GN4L.

As for LB, I had jockeyed-dialing, then saw jockeying-glad.   I have a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, I'm a little northeast of NYC.  The rain actually woke me up in the middle of the night, it was coming down so hard.  Now it's just drizzly.  But yes, the Northeast has had enough for a while.  If only we could send it westward!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 09, 2021, 07:13:09 AM
Morning!

SB - toonie? tontine? Okay, 2 new words. GN4L this morning so filled in a bunch of of 4's and now taking a break.

LB - jockeying-glad pretty much on the first try. Very quick 2fer as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 09, 2021, 07:27:25 AM
tontine and toonie have appeared in more than a couple of bees. I missed it the first time it was in a bee and was quite upset because I knew the word from an Agatha Christie novel where a tontine is the motive for a series of murders.

ETA1 QB! I should be working.

ETA2 Two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 09, 2021, 10:59:27 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM again, and husband has only one more word to go, so good luck! And congrats to Langue_doc on your QBABY! I did get to GN4L.  I think toonie was one of my final ones yesterday, but it has been in there several times.  Most of my final ones had to do with continent with various prefixes and suffixes.  I had a bunch of them left at the end, so when I found one I was able to find others and get to QB.  They were long and a lot of points!!  I saw online about the NYT outage, so I'm very sorry to those who were kept from glory because of it!

I also got the schmofficial LB solution yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen, ciao_yall, and Langue_doc! I hope to join you.

And I hope those of you in the rainy zone get some relief and dry weather.  At least it doesn't sound as though the storms were as bad as they were predicted to be.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 09, 2021, 08:55:36 PM
Got a weirdish 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 09, 2021, 09:28:22 PM
Just genius today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 10, 2021, 05:01:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Long day today, so won't be puzzling until later.

Yesterday I typed achoo and copay just for the heck of it, and both words were accepted. I might have seen the former in an earlier puzzle.

sculptor/riven, and then vines/sculptor

Happy solving, all!

ETA: two-fer! I should be working.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 10, 2021, 06:12:30 AM
Good morning!

GN4L today for the first time (!), and pangram.  Yesterday I got to QB, but my last word was a really normal one, not one of the weirdos--canyon

LB:  I had virulence-estop yesterday.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Off to tai chi class soon for the first time since before the pandemic!  Yay!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 10, 2021, 06:30:27 AM
Morning!

QB - probably could have made it ABM but once I enter achoo, yahoo I start wondering what other weird words are in there and decide to hit the Forum.

LB - vines-sculptor pretty quickly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 10, 2021, 09:19:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have 7 more words to QB, not at Alpha but did get to GN4L after finally guessing a word.  Someone forgot to push the coffee start button, so we were without coffee for the beginning of puzzles.  I will blame slowness on that! Congrats on your first GN4L, cathwen! My final word yesterday was also canyon!

I had couples-striven yesterday, surprised the latter was a word, but fine with me.  Congrats on the different solutions, and none the official one, I think! Estop is a word I know only from the crossword.  Congrats on already having 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Have fun at your tai chi class, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 10, 2021, 04:49:11 PM
Haven't had any time to get back to the bee, but wanted to report that I can see the crescent moon and Venus through the kitchen window. The latter has been higher up for at least an hour but is going to set soon according to the web. It is also visibly getting lower and lower.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 10, 2021, 07:54:16 PM
Langue_doc, that sounds like a lovely sight! We enjoy the night sky here very much, too.  I just deleted a whole longish thing about it so as not to derail too much from your report!

Finally made it to QB with help from Shunn for the final three words, but at least I did get to Alpha. 

And got a 2fer with two fairly long words, realized the second word created other possibilities, and got a second solution.  I am interested to hear what folks came up with! I could see either of the words in my first solution being part of the official one, but the second one definitely seemed more amenable to a mate.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 11, 2021, 05:48:59 AM
Good morning!

Genius, with probably two pangrams.

Locomote? WTF!!! The example sentences on the web are hilarious. Here are some: We can locomote to the next town by car, train, boat or just plain old walking. Without a car for us to use, it seems like we'll need a different means to locomote to our destination. Before the advent of modern aircraft, trains were one of the most effective ways to locomote.

opened/debauchery. I found the latter first, and then tried for a past tense verb. The latter also reminded me of ravish which one of you found not too long ago, which in turn reminded me of the bodice rippers of yore which I tried to read once, a long time ago, but had to give up because of the monotony and blather.

ab_grp, I would love to hear about your night sky!

I saw downed trees and herons in Central Park yesterday, will write about it later.

Today I will be listening to the names of the deceased being read. I usually do so if I'm home for even part of the reading as I don't have to sit in front of the TV, but just have it on.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 11, 2021, 07:05:03 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday.  I turned to the Shunn-like part of Wordplay for my last three words yesterday:  coopt (which I thought was hyphenated), collet (another new word for me), and the word with the hilarious examples, locomote

Today I have both pangrams, and only three words to QB (6, 8, and 9 letters). 

LB:  Yesterday, I started off with propounded, then saw debauchery.  I then realized that I could reduce propounded to pound, but it did not occur to me to reduce pound to pond for the shmofficial solution.  So, pound-debauchery.  Langue_doc, we do seem to be in bodice-ripper territory!

I found a 2fer today without too much trouble.

Ab_grp, the tai chi was very relaxing—although it is a little different from the version I studied previously.  I'll catch on, though.  Much of it was familiar.  Yesterday I went to Zumba Gold (low impact), and realized that my feet are not used to so much dancing around.  I'll stick with the low impact version for a while.

And yes, tell us about the night sky!

9/11:  Twenty years ago already.  So many memories—some crystal-clear, others fuzzy.  We moved to New York, Battery Park City, just a couple of blocks from where the Twin Towers had been, two years later.  We could walk to the World Financial Center and look down on the piles of debris.  It was gut-wrenching. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 11, 2021, 09:13:06 AM
Morning!

QB - 1, some new words and could not guess telecom for love or money.

LB - Impressed with you all! I never did find a 2fer but did find a 2fer b4ss bayou-unparched and lots of very tight 3fers such as cheap-pub-boundary. Hmm, that one kind of hints to debauchery, yes?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 11, 2021, 10:46:58 AM
Quote from: cathwen on September 11, 2021, 07:05:03 AM

9/11:  Twenty years ago already.  So many memories—some crystal-clear, others fuzzy.  We moved to New York, Battery Park City, just a couple of blocks from where the Twin Towers had been, two years later.  We could walk to the World Financial Center and look down on the piles of debris.  It was gut-wrenching.

Need to stay off FB today. Lost a few friends on 9/11 so all the reminders of that day. And it's my estranged mother's birthday, which means a lot of reminders of grief and guilt of a different kind.

Yay, puzzles.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 11, 2021, 11:03:17 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to QB after getting the first letter of my final word from husband who had gotten QBABH, and GN4L was pretty easy today.  Not too tough, but I just wasn't seeing it.  Locomote was one of my final ones yesterday.  WTH! And collet was the one I guessed that got me to GN4L.  I think comet was one of the final ones because I thought I already had it.

For LB, I had chaperoned for a long time and kept trying with it, finally got debauchery as a mate.  Realized there are probably a lot easier solutions with the latter and got opened- with it and called it good.  It would have been nice if it had taken unchaperoned-debauchery!

We are fortunate to have a very clear night sky here with many more stars than I could have imagined being able to see.  The moon is a little creepy at times, as it comes up over the mountains from nothing to fully there in about 2 minutes flat and looks very huge a lot of the time.  Definitely not used to that.  We are also able to see shooting stars most of the year.  Ironically, during the famed meteor showers, the sky is often cloudy, which is unusual! Anyway, we have spent many hours out back watching the night sky.  Need to get the patio cleaned up and be able to sit out there again.  I have a telescope from my early adulthood that we have used once or twice to see things like the Galilean moons, but we should make better use of it.  I've always loved the night sky, and it's such a gift to be able to see it better here.

Cathwen, I'm glad you enjoyed the tai chi, even if it was a different style.  And I love Zumba! Never thought I would because I get shy about group activities like that, but one of my colleagues was an instructor and had a class after work on campus, and it was so fun! Even if people did not always move in the same direction.  I just looked Zumba Gold up, and that sounds like a great activity.  Interesting that it is for seniors but says from ages 40-85! I imagine getting back into the swing of it can be tough on your feet.  The music is so fun, too!

Today is a very hard day.  Too much of it hits close to home.  There is a wonderful memorial in my old area to the community members who were lost.  It's hard to believe it's been 20 years.  Hope everyone gets through it okay.

Langue_doc, please do tell us about what you saw in Central Park!

Happy solving!

ETA: Forgot to say congrats to cathwen on the 2fer today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 11, 2021, 11:31:27 AM
Easy alpha for me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 11, 2021, 05:03:30 PM
QB with a word that I always think of as 2 words, not one.

LB - 2fer - found the first word pretty easily, and a tiny jog from the Forum blog made me realize what I was missing in the second. I kept thinking of a word that sounded like the second word and wanted another letter.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 11, 2021, 07:59:07 PM
Not too difficult QB.

ab_grp, that's a lovely view you have from your own yard. Do put that telescope to good use.

I ended up watching the reading of the names all the way to the end. It's great that there were no commercial interruptions, but only the ritualistic focus on the deceased. I remember people flocking to churches the weeks after the attacks. That Sunday, we went over an hour early for a memorial service at St Patrick's to find a line already. Unlike most lines this was about 10-13 people across on the sidewalk. We started on Fifth Ave, then went up and east on 51st (I think that's the street) then down Madison, and west on 50th, until when almost at the entrance heard that there were no more seats inside. By then the line was probably 15 people across. One of the women nearby mentioned that although she was Catholic, she had attended services at three different Protestant churches that morning. Another woman mentioned how she had grown up watching the towers being built as her grandfather would take the kids to the Brooklyn shorefront so that they could see the construction coming along. People were sharing their memories. We could follow the service as there were speakers outside. At the end of the service Cardinal Egan came outside and said that he had just been informed about the throngs outside so he said prayers and blessings to the crowd. When he came out, the men around me pushed me to the front as I'm not very tall so that I could see the cardinal. We saw Guiliani and Pataki come out (if only the former had retired after his term that year and kept his mouth shut). Things were very tense because we didn't know if there were other attacks planned, then there was the anthrax scare (I remember feeling scared for the police officers at the ends of the subway platforms as the tunnels would be used to release the anthrax, and then the announcement of the Iraq invasion. People in the subways and the streets would look shell shocked. I don't think anyone in the city wanted the Iraq invasion--I still remember the stunned faces of the riders.

Central Park sightings coming up tomorrow. I'm also signed up for a bird walk next week--another of those crack-of-dawn trips.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 12, 2021, 07:39:07 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, but only after a hint for oolong.  Today I am at Beta with the pangram and running out of steam.  I have remembered a weird (to me) word from a previous SB that was new to me, so I am at least kind of proud of that!

LB:  I had the schmofficial axiomatic-curfew.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Ab_grp, your description of the stars made me long for wide open spaces.  How beautiful!  We seem to have a lot of nighttime cloud cover in southern New England—I can't count how many astronomical events I've not been able to see because of it.  And then there are the trees!  I can never see anything on the horizon.  I did see the blood moon a couple of years ago on a rare, clear night.

Langue_doc, that is a very moving description of the memorial service.  I can only begin to imagine what it must have been like to have been living in New York at the time. 

I was Upstate at the time, teaching at a state university with a high number of students from New York City area.  I remember the panic, the tears, the memorial service on the quad.  On Sunday, my husband and I went to church.  The bishop was there; he spoke of his shame at having flinched when he stopped for coffee and the man behind the counter was wearing a crocheted cap of the kind that Muslim men often wear.  He urged us all to overcome any such feelings.  What an awful time.

On a more cheerful note, I am looking forward to hearing about the Central Park sightings! 

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 12, 2021, 07:51:13 AM
Morning!

Sounds like a beautiful service. I can still barely look at pictures or read articles about that time.

QB - login was the final word.

LB - axiomatic-curfew Found axiomatic fairly quickly but kept thinking perfume with the related letters. Saw a hint that the second word was c-w and it came to mind immediately.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 12, 2021, 08:43:57 AM
Good morning!

QB--yesteday's words were familiar ones including oolong which I've seen before, and which I should know because of my tea-drinking habits.

Genius today, with the pangram which was my first word.

axiomatic/curfew--found the former early on and also other -c ending words. I had forumite/exact with the w left dangling.

On another note, I emailed NYT asking if they would consider including stats for LB and SB the way they do for the crosswords. I was informed that my email was sent to the games department.

When I'm short on time and want to see birds in Central Park, I stand or walk by the pond parallel to 59th St (6th Ave entrance where I usually see all kinds of birds on both sides of the pond as Hallett Nature Sanctuary https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/hallett-nature-sanctuary is on the other side of the pond. This time though I was surprised to see that a couple of large trees that were on the other side had been uprooted by Ida and were now lying on the pond, one of them halfway across. Sitting inside the branches of this tree was a heron. He didn't look like the rat-eating one that was recently in the news as he was the wrong shape and color, so he must have been the night crowned heron or a youn'un. There were a couple more on the shore to the left of one of the fallen trees. Both kept changing positions looking for fish or other treats in the water. There was a red-tailed hawk circling overhead for quite some time. On my way back I came upon several species of birds feasting on hawthorne berries--the birds were on the tree and also on the ground. Just a month ago I was in the same spot by the pond, so the downed trees were a surprise.

There's a pesky letter amiss in the crossword, so I'll have to go over the puzzle again.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 12, 2021, 10:14:35 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM with GN4L.  Husband just made it to QB with help with the first letter of his final word.  Good luck! Lots of old "favorites" in there.  Oolong was my final word yesterday, too, the one I needed a hint for! Not sure why that one eludes me.  I guess the unusual spelling has something to do with it.

I had zero luck on LB yesterday and salute all you victors.  And congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, that sounds like an amazing thing to be a part of, and it's hard to imagine being in NYC at the time.  It's nice to hear that the taller folk made sure that you could be up front to see the Cardinal.  St. Patrick's is pretty awe-inspiring in its own right! And it certainly must have been a surprise to see the downed trees in the park.  But neat that you got to see the heron nestled in the branches! Plus the other herons, a hawk, lots of birds out looking for goodies! Good luck finding your crossword problem! And that is a great idea, to have stats for the other puzzles.  Thanks for trying to get that implemented!

Cathwen, I had lived most of my life in an area that had a sky that never seemed to be clear for major sky events and also had the treeline obstacle, so being out here is so incredible.  We are lucky to be situated up higher than the city, so we can see pretty well to the mountains and beyond.  I don't think I have ever had any success seeing a blood moon, so I envy you that! Two or so years ago, there was a whole big deal happening early in the morning, something like 3 AM.  Of course I couldn't stay awake for that.  But then I woke up at 3, totally forgot about it, and laid there trying to fall back asleep for a good while! I felt pretty annoyed at myself in the morning.  That would have been serendipitous!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 12, 2021, 09:02:59 PM
Struggled with the last ten points to genius, but got there in the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 13, 2021, 07:16:22 AM
Morning!

QB - in order of least to most embarassing words for which I needed Forum hints: haboob, adobo, abandon. Bee special; I kept seeing adobe but forgot about adobo; and... Gah.

LB - aftermath-highboy. Came together pretty quickly. And the schmofficial solution, too. Well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 13, 2021, 08:28:52 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with kabob being my last word.  Embarrassingly, book was next to the last!  But I am proud of myself for having remembered haboob from a recent puzzle.

I got to QB on today's puzzle, again with an embarrassingly simple word as the last one.  Also, GN4L! 

LB:  I also had aftermath-highboy.  I wonder if there were other solutions?  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 13, 2021, 08:38:25 AM
Good morning!

I still have 3 words to QB today, one of which is a 4-letter.  :-( Did get GN4L but not Alpha yet.  Husband did make it to Alpha already.  I think hobnob was my final word yesterday.  Congrats on your QBABY and GN4L, cathwen! And glad you made it, Parasaurolophus!

No luck on LB, so congrats on the official solution! I don't think I would have found it.  Congrats on getting a 2fer already today, cathwen! You are on a roll today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 13, 2021, 10:19:51 AM
Afternoon!

Got to above genius with the pangram before leaving for my bird trip this morning.

The trip was in the northern end of Central Park where we saw a spotted sandpiper (I didn't think I'd see sandpipers in Central Park) several black-and-white warblers https://ebird.org/species/bawwar (I'd never seen one before), a red-tailed hawk sitting on a tree near us, another one of the other side of the marshy stream, hopping on the ground, red-eyed vireos, a couple of woodpeckers, and the usual Central Park birds.

We ran into other birders who would tell us about the birds they saw and the locations. It was one of these birders who told us about the hawk and had us bend down so that we could see it.

There's a nip in the air today, and the leaves were falling, so fall is definitely in.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 13, 2021, 11:00:34 AM
I realized I was actually past Alpha, so we compared and then looked to Shunn for the final two words.  At least we had team QB!

Was this your early morning trip, Langue_doc? Sounds very productive! That warbler is so cute.  And it's great that you ran into others who shared some spotting tips! Do you know when to expect the changing of the leaves this year?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 13, 2021, 11:41:50 AM
Yup, this is that trip, ab_grp. I've signed up for more trips later this month--an upcoming one opened up for registration at 9 this morning, so there I was, in the middle of birding, exactly at 9, signing up for this one. It's on Fire Island, a place that you can get to only by ferry, so I hope I'm on the list and not waitlisted. I'm probably signed up for another birding trip on that date through a different organization, so once I know I've made the list for the Fire Island trip, I'll cancel the other one. These trips usually have a long waiting list, so someone will happily take my spot.

This was my first birding trip post cataract, and I could actually see the birds including the tiny black-and-white warblers.

As for the leaves turning, that doesn't happen until October here. I might see the colors on one or more of my birding trips and also on the drives to and from the trips. This reminds me that I should plan a trip to Storm King and also to the Botanic gardens. I was chatting with someone in Vermont last month who told me that some of the leaves had started turning already. The main road to their house is the one that goes to the Green Mountains, which you can see when you are driving to their place. I remember driving there once during Fall, with the Adirondacks stretching on one side of the road, and the Green Mountains on the other side, and then driving to New Hampshire from there.

Congrats to you and cathwen for getting to QB. I just looked at the LB solution, and am relieved that I didn't spend much time on the puzzle yesterday as I don't think I would have found those words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 13, 2021, 12:10:02 PM
That's so wonderful, Langue_doc, that you could see the birds so well! I didn't realize it was your first post-cataract bird outing.  Extra special! And I hope you get your Fire Island trip.

It seems as though the leaf color change timing can vary a bit... depending on how much rain there has been, temperature? I can't recall.  I used to go to a regional conference in non-NYC New York in the third or so week of October each year (maybe I mentioned that... Hudson Valley), and we were usually lucky to catch the colors during that time.  As much as I love the night sky here, I do miss the seasons and the changing leaves quite a lot.  Sounds like your friend in Vermont lives in a very scenic area.

And thanks about the QB! I also got a 2fer, which I haven't for several days, so yay on that.  I agree, yesterday's LB was pretty tough.  Today's seems a lot easier to me.  There might be other solutions in there, too.  I might look again later but am going to try to get back to my bee scraping program.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 13, 2021, 07:14:46 PM
QB and two two-fers. Woohoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on September 13, 2021, 07:24:53 PM
Also checking in with a 2-fer.
Wow, Langue_doc, two of them! I was wondering with the letter combination if there would be multiple2-fers but I think I'm one and done for tonight.
Happy solving to those who are still puzzling.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 13, 2021, 07:30:55 PM
Congrats on the 2fers, Langue_doc and OneMoreYear! And for QB, Langue_doc! Now I will have to redouble my efforts to find a second solution.    Hopefully this will be a puzzle with lots of different solutions!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 13, 2021, 08:07:09 PM
First word is  a 8 letter word in Sunday's crossword. This pair takes too many letters, but works.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 13, 2021, 09:33:51 PM
Beta today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 14, 2021, 06:11:52 AM
Good morning!

Genius before the pangram. I need five more points today. libelee was my last word yesterday--should have seen it earlier as I've seen this word before.

fleabanes/sublimity and then fumbles/sanity; the first word was the one in Sunday's crossword.

ab_grp, I agree with you about missing the changing seasons when one lives in other parts of the country. I think the colors are tied to the amount of rainfall as temperature as you noted. A year or two ago, when the leaves were at their brightest, a storm passed through sweeping all the leaves off the trees.

Just took care of the student of the four emails, so phew!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 14, 2021, 06:29:52 AM
Good morning!

And congratulations on the double 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc!  I had your second one, fumbles-sanity.  I'm eager to see if anyone found other combinations.  It's always fun when there is more than one answer! 

I have a 2fer today as well.

As for SB, my last word yesterday—embarrassingly—was book.  It's one of those words that I saw early on, but I was going for GN4L, so I didn't enter it. Then at the end (with help from letter distributions on Wordplay) I realized that I had never put it in. 

Today I am at Beta with the pangram.  I may need some nudging to find the remaining three words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 14, 2021, 07:25:02 AM
Morning!

QB - Forum help for bailiff, biaxial.

LB - unfasten-nimbly which suggests going to the pond for some debauchery, yes?

Ah, seasons. I grew up in Southern California and never understood "seasons" or "talking about the weather" until spending time on the East Coast. Wow, the scenery really changes out there, doesn't it?

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 14, 2021, 08:09:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! It was quick to GN4L.  Good luck! Yesterday my final ones were biaxial, liable, baba.  I usually get the latter two, at least.  Oh well!

For LB, I got the same as ciao_yall and agree that sounds like the story of an interesting afternoon at the pond! Langue_doc, when you mentioned the crossword I saw fleabane but couldn't get a mate for it.  But I guess none of us got the schmofficial solution? Congrats on the double 2fers and on your 2fer today, cathwen!

I will tell a slightly (?) embarrassing story about seasons.  I had the opportunity to go to St. John (USVI) with some friends after the first of my comps (during June) and asked one of the men working at a hotel there if they ever get snow.  He didn't stop laughing for a while.  I just couldn't imagine a place that didn't get snow.  You can tell I didn't get out often or at least to warmer climates.

I hope the storm coming this week doesn't remove any more leaves that have the potential to change colors! And I'm glad you were able to deal with a four-email student, Langue_doc.  Yikes!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on September 14, 2021, 08:24:30 AM
Hi y'all!

Just getting into these daily.
What's a 2fer? And LB and GN4L?

I get to the Geneious level all the time, and the pangram,
but are these unbeknownst-to-me-abbreviations above
levels beyond Geneious? Or???
I assume QB is all the words in the list.

Thanks for 'splaining.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 14, 2021, 10:29:53 AM
2fer means solving Letter Boxed in 2 words.

LB is Letter Boxed. It's another New York Times puzzle with a red tile on the same page as Spelling Bee.

GN4L means Genius No Four Letters. It means you achieved Genius without using any of the 4 letter words.

Welcome!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 14, 2021, 04:37:20 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on September 14, 2021, 07:25:02 AM

LB - unfasten-nimbly which suggests going to the pond for some debauchery, yes?


Does reek of bodice rippers, doesn't it?

QB and two-fer.

Monarda, this is an academic forum, so please remember to use standard written English and correct spellings if you want your fellow forumites to engage with you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 14, 2021, 04:49:04 PM
Congrats on the QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! I have not had too much luck with LB but am keeping at it with a few contenders in my pocket.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 14, 2021, 05:40:47 PM
QB WG and 2LL, no need for definitions.

Was very close to an LB solution so got a hint and boom, done. Shall reveal tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 15, 2021, 05:40:01 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram so far. Woke up around 3, worked on the bee, then went back to sleep after a lot of effort. Same story the night before.

Last word yesterday was noel, which I eventually found because Wordplay noted that I needed another no- initial word.

pretzels/squawk

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 15, 2021, 07:13:33 AM
QB - last word was noel - keep forgetting it's not capitalized.

LB - was stuck at putzes-squawker-real and needed a hint to turn it into pretzels-squawk. Lately getting close 3fers but needing more help than I would like to finish the job.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on September 15, 2021, 07:22:43 AM
Ha! I see what the problem was.
I use a genetic analysis software package nearly every day. The package is called Geneious.  For gene analysis.
Apparently that's taken over my normal spelling. Whoops! Sorry.
Extra funny on a spelling bee forum.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 15, 2021, 08:08:36 AM
Sloggy today on SB.

Quick 3fer, will the streak of close-but-no-cigar continue? Find out at midnight, Pacific Time.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 15, 2021, 08:14:23 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on September 15, 2021, 08:08:36 AM
Sloggy today on SB.


Same here. Found the second pangram though, but have to call it a day as there's course prep for next week and poems to read for the book discussion today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 15, 2021, 08:39:27 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Beta today with both pangrams.   Ciao_yall, it does seem sloggy.  I'm out of ideas. 

Yesterday my last words were keno and kennel.

Like Langue_doc, I had pretzels-squawk for LB.  This is also the schmofficial solution.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Welcome, Monarda!  Genetics—how cool!  That was my Road Not Taken when I was an undergrad.  I had seriously considered switching to biology, as I was fascinated by genetics (and hoped to pair it with physical anthropology)—but stuck with my original major in the end.   Several years ago, I decided to take a couple of genetics courses on Coursera just out of interest.  The courses went considerably beyond what I had studied as an undergrad (lots of changes in 50 years!), but reinforced my love for the topic.  Anyway, glad you're with us!

Back to puzzle talk:  Some other terms we sometimes use on this forum are Beta and Alpha.  Since genius = 70% of the possible number of points, Beta = 80%, and Alpha 90%.  The nytbee.com site will tell you how many points, number of pangrams and words, etc. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 15, 2021, 09:04:34 AM
Good morning/afternoon (just barely)!

I think I have 5 more words to go but did get to Alpha and GN4L.  I think keno, felon were my last ones yesterday.

Congrats on the 2fers yesterday! Gee whiz.  I just couldn't pull that one out.  Too many difficult letters that didn't want to seem to work together.  And congrats on getting another one today, cathwen!

Looks like a Windows update with restart needed, so better do that before starting the sudokus.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 15, 2021, 07:45:56 PM
I ended up getting help for both QB and LB. Just wasn't coming together...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 16, 2021, 06:11:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last words yesterday were laid and onion--I distinctly remember typing both, especially the latter along with anion and aioli.

magnetos/slackly

The NE corner of the crossword is uncharted territory!

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 16, 2021, 07:24:36 AM
Morning!

QB - got some help to to finish off some basic words - inland, inroad, railroad.

LB - Had some good 3fers magnet-tokens-scaly, mocks-slangy-yet but then got a nudge for a 2fer cosmetology-yank.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 16, 2021, 07:31:43 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram so far. 

Yesterday I got to GN4L, but missed some easy 4Ls that I had been putting off until later—aria, iron, noir, rind.  I think that when I see them, I must think that I've entered them—which is not the case.  So I got to QB yesterday, but with help.  My last words were radii and radial.  I'm not doing GN4L today.

LB:  I had the schmofficial cosmetology-yank.  I do not yet have a 2fer today, in spite of finding a number of really good words. 

Not sure how much more time I can spend on this today.  I have to revise a quiz (which I should have done yesterday!) and respond to student postings.  But I'll undoubtedly turn back to both SB and LB to see if I can make any progress. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2021, 08:40:36 AM
Good morning!

I think I have three more words to QB, got to GN4L but not Alpha yet.  Long words left! I am surprised we were the only ones who got tripped up by dirndl yesterday, though I think it's been in there somewhat recently.  I kept thinking there was something like it... dirdil, dirdol, dirdal... but did not remember the actual word! Argh. 

No luck on LB again yesterday! Congrats on your solutions! Though I did take inspiration from Langue_doc and emailed some suggestions for that puzzle to the NYT folks.  Maybe they will implement them at some point.  Probably not.

Making progress on the bee program, slowly.  I can pull in the answers now but have to parse them and then get it to output the kinds of hints I want.  It won't really be that helpful unless I can make it an app, which I have never done.  But it's a project and kind of fun to try now and again.

Good luck on the crossword, Langue_doc, and with your quiz revisions, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 16, 2021, 08:54:27 AM
LB isn't giving us much to work with, is it?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 16, 2021, 12:46:45 PM
Nope.  Still no 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 16, 2021, 12:59:57 PM
I have an eight-letter word but can't find a mate with the four remaining letters.

It took me a long time to find the correct spelling of dirndl--I knew the word and tried various spellings, only to have to resort to google to get the correct one.

Am sitting by the computer waiting for students to show up for the Office Hour chat session. There's one shy soul who has been lurking for almost an hour now, but who still hasn't come out despite my encouragement.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2021, 01:59:34 PM
Finally got to QB with help from Shunn for the final two words.  Ugh.

And no LB luck yet here, either.  Congrats on the 8-letter word, Langue_doc! Maybe it will just lead somewhere yet.  I don't have anything that long.  Too many letters I want to use consecutively that are on the same side!

Is this student lurking virtually, Langue_doc (since you mentioned the computer), or lurking outside your office or something? I am trying to picture this situation with little success.  I hope they come out and chat at some point!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 16, 2021, 02:39:06 PM
I have several 2fer b4ss and plenty of 3fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 16, 2021, 03:27:49 PM
Well, I got to QB, but with an outrageous amount help.  For my last word, I resorted to definitions on Wordplay, and even then, had to go to Google to find a word I'd never heard of and could not have generated myself if I'd sat here all night.

Still no luck on LB!  Not my best puzzle day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 16, 2021, 04:01:19 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 16, 2021, 01:59:34 PM
Finally got to QB with help from Shunn for the final two words.  Ugh.

And no LB luck yet here, either.  Congrats on the 8-letter word, Langue_doc! Maybe it will just lead somewhere yet.  I don't have anything that long.  Too many letters I want to use consecutively that are on the same side!

Is this student lurking virtually, Langue_doc (since you mentioned the computer), or lurking outside your office or something? I am trying to picture this situation with little success.  I hope they come out and chat at some point!

Congrats on QB to you and cathwen.

The lurking was virtual. When you're on Chat, you can see who else is logged on to Chat. Greeted Stu by name, and invited Stu to ask questions, but no response from Stu who could have opened Chat and then proceeded to do something else.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2021, 04:30:22 PM
Thanks, and thanks for clearing that up, Langue_doc! It's kind of funny to think of an in-person analog, of Stu just being in your office and not responding when you invite them to ask questions.  Virtual office hours are not something I have experienced.  Maybe that could be an SNL skit or TikTok or something.  But, yep... Stu probably just opened the chat and got pulled away to something else.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 16, 2021, 08:54:15 PM
LB - got a strange first word on my own, but needed a headsmack for the second word. Also two 2fer b4ss solutions.

Yeah, yeah, QB...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 17, 2021, 04:35:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius--the pangram was my first word.

I had to give up on the bee yesterday, as there were things to accomplish before the end of the day. At some point today, I'll have to see what I missed. I got the difficult words early on.

fandango/ostrich; I found the former only because there was a reference to dancing the fandango the previous day on an entirely unrelated topic. I had staghorn(s), foghorn(s), and farsight which LB refused to accept.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on September 17, 2021, 05:31:01 AM
fandango/ostrich yesterday. I entered fandango as somewhat of a joke, thinking nothing would possibly pair with it, but then ostrich!
Then, I listened to Bohemian Rhapsody while writing some rubrics. Must now check to ensure the rubrics make sense.
Happy solving everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 17, 2021, 06:26:32 AM
Also in "Whiter Shade of Pale".
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 17, 2021, 06:37:15 AM
Morning!

QB - dugong after Googling the hint from SBF (Spelling Bee Forum).

LB - found fandango pretty quickly, but needed a pretty hard hint to find -orthotics or -ostrich. I did have 2 b4ss solutions fortnight-scads and sangfroid-ditch.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 17, 2021, 08:39:18 AM
Good morning!

I just have one more word to QB and got GN4L and Alpha, so I hope I can get to QBABM.  Didn't sleep well, though.  Yesterday my final words were granddad, grandad.  I got dugong fairly early on, because I think it was the first word we ever had to look up from the bee when we first started.  It's been a while since it's been in the puzzle, but I haven't forgotten it.

LB was really tough! I eventually had a long list of contenders, some promising, some less so, but no luck.  Congrats on the 2fers!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 17, 2021, 09:13:06 AM
Good afternoon!

I'm off to a late start today; got GN4L and am currently at QB-2 and hoping to make QBABM.  We'll see... If there are words as obscure as dugong, then QBABM will not happen.  Like ciao_yall, I went to Google after a hint on Wordplay referenced a sea mammal similar to a manatee.  Congratulations, ab_grp, on remembering that!

And congratulations to all those who found fandango-ostrich yesterday!  I was completely baffled and did not find a 2fer.  I have found one today, but the second word is a little odd.  If I have time, I may look for a better one, but it's not a high priority.

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 17, 2021, 10:55:23 AM
I got to QBABM! Husband got there first.  Good luck, cathwen!

And congrats on your 2fer today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 17, 2021, 12:46:32 PM
Congrats, ab_grp!

I hit QB some time ago. It wasn't too difficult, so there's hope for everybody else.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 17, 2021, 12:52:06 PM
Congratulations, ab_grp!  I also got QBABM today.  It's been a long time since that happened.  I was about to cave when I saw the last two words.

I found a more normal second word for LB, although the first word is more efficient. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 17, 2021, 02:05:56 PM
Hurrah! Congrats on the QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen! Cathwen, I was close to caving on my final one, too.  Glad we held out!

And yay on a second 2fer for LB! I still haven't really gotten anywhere but had a 1.5 hr call with friends.  Hopefully I'll have some luck this afternoon or evening.  I do have some fairly good contenders and feel as though I am close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 17, 2021, 07:00:37 PM
QBAM!

And lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet. Got a hint. Pretty ordinary words. Already had one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 17, 2021, 08:04:51 PM
Alpha tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on September 18, 2021, 05:52:52 AM
Thanks for all the lingo!
I reached QB yesterday easily with the help of the NYT spelling be forum page (the spelling bee grid).

Looking forward to someday reaching QBABM.

Question- on the way, I didn't see any indication of beta or alpha. Is that in only certain app platforms?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 18, 2021, 06:39:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius--the pangram was my first word. Not sure if I'll have time to continue with the bee today as there's the crossword that needs to be completed by 6.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 18, 2021, 06:59:51 AM
Good morning!

I am at QB-1, and the one missing word is only four letters.  I've tried all sorts of unlikely (and likely) combinations, and I just can't find it!  I'm trying for another QBABM, but I may cave.

No LB solution yet.  Yesterday I had meaningful-lovely, although lovey (as in lovey-dovey) was my first word, and I was surprised that it was accepted.  I guess we're getting away from bodice-ripper vocabulary and getting to something gentler. 

Monarda, Alpha and Beta are terms that, as far as I know, are only used here.  I think that Langue_doc? Ab_grp?ιnvented them. 

Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 18, 2021, 08:21:08 AM
QBABM!  That last word was extremely common.  But it took a good while for me to see it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2021, 09:07:03 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have four words left to QB, got to GN4L but not Alpha yet.  Close, darn it!  Yesterday I think cynic was my last word.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! I had all the four letters so was sure you would find the one you were missing but then saw your update that you had.  Yay!! And congrats on getting your QBABY and Alpha yesterday, ciao_yall and Parasaurolophus!

And congrats on the LB solution! No luck there again for me.

Good luck on the crossword, Langue_doc! The NW was hardest for me today. 

Got to get on sudokus, as they also change over early today, and I have another call with a friend mid-day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 18, 2021, 09:24:51 AM
Morning!

SB - Genius already.

LB has been tricky lately. I had plenty of 3fers including volume-elm-magnify, veil-lounging-gamify, fuel-loving-gamy which were close but finally needed a hint to get meaningful-lovely.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 18, 2021, 10:12:39 AM
Just got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 18, 2021, 10:31:51 AM
QB and two-fer! There's still the crossword to tackle. The two-fer surprised me as there were run-of-the-mill words

Did the four-letter word remind you of "pregnant"?

ab_grp, it's always nice to have long chats with friends.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2021, 10:36:07 AM
Congrats on your QBABY, Langue_doc, and your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen! It would be great if you could both send some brain waves out to help in solving those puzzles.   I know I could use them now that you don't need them anymore today!

Langue_doc, it is great to be able to chat! Yesterday were two friends and mentors, ex-colleagues, I've known for about 20 years.  Today is a friend I've had since middle school! All very interesting ladies leading interesting lives.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on September 18, 2021, 11:08:47 AM
cathwen and langue_doc congrats on today's 2fers. Mine yesterday was funloving-gamely but no luck so far today. Happy solving everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 18, 2021, 11:13:26 AM
ab_grp, onthefringe, and ciao_yall, sending PM. Open only if you're still stuck on LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2021, 12:03:06 PM
Got to QBABM! Yeah!!

And thank you for the hint for LB, Langue_doc! I will try at it for a while but am happy to have it in reserve just in case.  I will take an assisted victory if need be!

Congrats on your alternative 2fer yesterday, onthefringe!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 18, 2021, 12:04:48 PM
Thanks Langue_doc for the hint! Not there yet, but did finally find a 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2021, 05:03:23 PM
I got a 2fer! And then checked the hint from Langue_doc (thanks again!).  I am almost 100% one word is the same, not totally sure about the other, so we'll see!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 19, 2021, 06:25:29 AM
Good morning!

QB already! Familiar words all.

productive/elk

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 19, 2021, 07:33:37 AM
Morning!

QB yesterday - needed help because I didn't realize dancehall was one word.

LB - found a good 3fer plover-ricket-(yucky word) then, my excuse is that I couldn't unsee that yucky word until Langue-doc showed the light.

This morning I thought I had the pangram first thing but gah, no T.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 19, 2021, 07:41:15 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on all of yesterday's successes, and on QB today, Langue_doc.  Ciao-yall, you'll get that pangram!

Yesterday my last word was each.  I can't believe that I had so much trouble seeing it!  I was at QB-1 for a good while.  I agree about dancehall.  I tried it when I was running out of ideas, and was a little surprised that it was accepted. 

I also reached QB today. 

LB:  I also had productive-elk, which was the "official" solution.  It took me longer than usual to find it!  Did anyone have anything different?

I have a 2fer today as well.

It's a gorgeous day here in southern New England—we'll be out and about today.  My husband wants to go to a car show, so I will happily tag along. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 19, 2021, 08:56:34 AM
Good morning!

I have two words left to QB, so I will keep at it if they are all familiar.  Did get to Alpha and GN4L.  It took a while to get going on it this morning! Congrats on your QBs already, Langue_doc and cathwen! I think my final words were deadhead, deadheaded yesterday.

For LB, I came up with kelp-productive.  Didn't think of elk! Well, at least it's a different solution.   Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen! And enjoy your beautiful weather and car show!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 19, 2021, 11:13:51 AM
Made it to QBABM! Husband beat me to it again, and we had different final words.

Just had to add that last night after getting the 2fer, I kept hearing the Beatles "Help!" but with kelp.  My mind likes to do that.  I eventually have to try to trade it for another earworm.  This happen to anyone else?

Still have hard sudoku and have to take a look at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 19, 2021, 05:18:35 PM
Struggled the last 15 points to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 20, 2021, 06:37:36 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

I had whatnots yesterday, but couldn't find a mate.

Speaking of earworms, there was one in a recent crossword.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 20, 2021, 07:24:26 AM
Morning!

QB - with some new words endue, endued, nudie.

LB - 3fers coming out of my ears nougat-whatev-vision,wet-touts-shaving, whets-shaving-guano, swing-ghosts-suave... but never found a 2fer.

Happy Monday, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 20, 2021, 07:47:14 AM
Good morning!

It's a good puzzle day for me—QB already, and a 2fer! 

Yesterday my last words were ennui and duded, the last tried just for the heck of it—I never think of dude as a verb.

LB:  I had the "official" outweigh-havens..

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2021, 09:25:28 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 2 words left to QB, got Alpha and GN4L so will try more later.  Congrats on QBABY, cathwen!  Yesterday my last word was nudie as well. 

No luck on LB yesterday, but today is a new day, I guess! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, which earworm were you thinking of, or is it too recent to share yet?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 20, 2021, 10:21:16 AM
QB and twofer!

Earworm was in a recent puzzle, NE corner, top down. The clue was about a constant or repetitive melody which reminded me of the word that one of you had mentioned on this thread.

Convoluted sentence, huh?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2021, 10:36:15 AM
Yay, congrats on both the QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! I will have to do some investigating of this earworm.

I got to QBABM a few minutes ago, but husband beat me to it again.  We had different final words again, too.    Have to do hard sudoku and then give LB a go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 20, 2021, 10:41:09 AM
This past Thursday, 12 D.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2021, 10:46:56 AM
Oh! Thanks, Langue_doc! I thought you meant it was AN earworm.   Who knows where that rabbit hole might have led.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2021, 12:30:45 PM
Yay! Got a 2fer! This one came pretty easily, which is definitely a nice change for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 20, 2021, 12:35:10 PM
Ah, earworms and rabbit holes! I was responding to your kelp earworm, ab_grp.

Congrats on your victories. LB wasn't too difficult, was it? I tried the usual subject, object, enjoy, and other similar words to get a j word, and then finally found the easy word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 20, 2021, 03:45:28 PM
2fer as well. Long word but easy nonetheless.

QB. Probably could have done it ABM but I wasn't in the mood.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 20, 2021, 08:26:34 PM
Struggled to get the pangram today because, no matter what anyone here says, that's not how you spell it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 21, 2021, 07:21:55 AM
Morning!

QB - once I start finding odd words like peaky I figure it's time to get a hint from the spelling bee forum. Where I find out I was missing papaya gah! and peke (another strange animal word.)

LB - judgemental-low - did anyone get anything else? I found it even before finding a 3fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 21, 2021, 07:25:38 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday came pretty easily, except for the last word, which was cheep.  I got peke just by chance. 

Parasaurolophus, was paycheck problematic because it was written as one word, or because it's cheque in Canada?  SB doesn't accept -our endings, either, where we have -or in the US.

Today's SB has been a real struggle.  It took me ages to even get to genius.  I foresee Wordplay in my future.

LB:  I also had the "official" judgmental-low.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 21, 2021, 08:12:02 AM
Good morning!

Only 2 more words to QB, and I know how long they are based on points left, but argh.  Got to GN4L and Alpha, at least.  Will try more later.  There are some bee words and one that I happened upon that I don't think I've seen before?  My final words yesterday were peke, papacy.

I got the same LB solution and am just happy to have found one and without too much difficulty! Hopefully that will be the start of a streak (probably not).  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 21, 2021, 09:35:25 AM
Afternoon!

Had to leave early for an appointment, so haven't made much progress on the puzzles today.

judgmental/low

You say paycheck, I say paycheque! Here in the US, demanding one's paycheque or writing a cheque would elicit some raised eyebrows.

Crosswords were done last night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 21, 2021, 10:12:29 AM
I made it to QBABM after some more guessing of words that seemed sort of familiar.  Husband is still working at it, though he finally got the pangram.  It took me a while, too.  I'm wondering if most folks found it easily or struggled? In any case, chequemate.  ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 21, 2021, 03:35:43 PM
cathwen: yes, because it should be 'cheque'. 'Check' is one Americanism I simply cannot abide!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 21, 2021, 05:18:55 PM
QB WATHICG. Learned some new words.

Have lots of 3fers and a 2fer b4ss but not ready to give up on LB yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 21, 2021, 05:59:25 PM
Also QB WATHICG for the last three words.  I should have figured out one of them, but the other two were a word I didn't know, and a word with a spelling I would have thought wrong.

Speaking of spelling:  Parasaurolophus, having grown up in the US, I accept check as a fine and dandy spelling.  But I will admit that cheque is far more elegant!  I also like the -our ending, as it recalls the Norman French origins. 






Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 21, 2021, 07:32:59 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 21, 2021, 07:59:07 PM
WOW! I finally got a hint for my 2fer. Not sure I would have gotten it on my own.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 22, 2021, 03:51:54 AM
Good morning!

Difficult bee yesterday, but found the pangram eventually. Remembered peahen from an earlier bee, which helped.

Sailed into genius with the pangram, but that's probably it for today as I have a long day ahead.

warmup/politics

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 22, 2021, 05:35:10 AM
Good morning!

Well, pawl was a new word for me yesterday.  But papaw?  I had always seen it spelled pawpaw (as in 'way down yonder in the pawpaw patch').  Now I know!

Today I am at genius with the pangram, and foresee a struggle to get much further. 

LB:  I also had warmup-politics.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  2fer!    But no further progress on SB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 22, 2021, 07:06:58 AM
Morning!

QB - also pawl, papaw were new words for me.

LB - with a hint got warmups-solicits. Never think of that as one word. I kept seeing wampum, b4ss. Also had corporals-swimsuit bfss, plus other good 3fers tums-sprawl-localism, curious-sprawl-limit, maws-soup-practical...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 22, 2021, 08:24:06 AM
Easy genius and pangram for me today, now I'm seven words short of QB, which seems impossible.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 22, 2021, 08:36:51 AM
Good morning!

I got to QBABM! And husband followed a few seconds later.  So good luck! The pangram took me a while yesterday but really took husband a while.  My final words were the ones mentioned here, pawl, pawpaw, papaw.  The first one is one I don't think I had heard of.  Husband said afterward that it is familiar to him from a ratchet and pawl set or something like that, but he wouldn't have found it without guessing.  And after getting pawpaw I thought maybe there was a variant spelling I had seen in the crossword.  Anyway, that was a tough one.  Today the words are all familiar, from what I can recall.

I also got warmup-politics yesterday.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 22, 2021, 12:23:28 PM
Yay! Managed to get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 22, 2021, 05:51:17 PM
Yay ab_grp! I think I gave up too fast. I had one of the words but not a second when I went for a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 22, 2021, 08:22:08 PM
2 short of QB now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on September 22, 2021, 08:22:16 PM
One word short of QB today, and I'm giving up. I hope when I look at the solution tomorrow AM that it's something very obscure.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 23, 2021, 04:54:12 AM
Good morning!

Genius but no pangram yet. QB yesterday, the last word was civic.

cynics/skimboard

Crosswords are done.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 23, 2021, 07:23:24 AM
Morning!

QB - last word was tinct. I keep forgetting that one.

LB - stuck in 3fer land including corkboards-san-nimby then finally got a hint for dynamic-corkboards. For some reason corkboards seemed like such a weird word I wasn't trying too hard to find a mate. Also had brainiac-condoms-sky, comb-braids-snarky. Not sure why I keep second-guessing myself.

Lesson learned - don't give up.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 23, 2021, 08:12:35 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, with a nudge on the last two words:  icily and tinilyTinily?  Really?  Oh well. 

Today I am at genius with the pangram, but it took a while to get there.  QB?  Maybe not today, but we'll see.  SB is not accepting two words that I know very well are words, and it's annoying me.

LB:  I had skimboard-dynamic.  And today, I finally found a 2fer, although with a good bit of difficulty.  It's one of those days when I'm not seeing things very easily.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2021, 09:22:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Today's bee feels like a struggle for some reason! I did get to GN4L but not Alpha.  I have also tried a bunch of words that I thought might be in there that weren't.  I think civic, civilly were some of my final words, and I wasn't sure why tinnily wasn't in there. 

I had dynamic-corkboards yesterday, so sort of the schmofficial solution.  Sorry you were so close, ciao_yall! Some good 3fers! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

I thought today's crossword was kind of a neat one. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 23, 2021, 09:34:26 AM
Okay, so... just hit G, WP, and it's missing a few words I think should be in there. At this point I start thinking "Meh, probably some bee specials, better go to the forum board to finish it off."

And I have lots of 3fers and a 2fer b4ss. I think I need to discipline myself to stay out of it for a while so that I won't get bored and go get hints while looking up Bee hints.

I can do it... I just don't apply myself, like my parents used to tell me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2021, 10:33:41 AM
We both got to Alpha and each have two words that are the same lengths.  Trying not to go to Shunn, but geez.

I have some good contenders that seem close, but no cigar yet.  Good hunting, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 23, 2021, 11:02:09 AM
I'm only halfway to genius today, but I found a 2fer on LB pretty easily, for once!

I don't often find them, but if I do, it's usually in a few minutes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2021, 12:07:23 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, Parasaurolophus!!

We each got one more word and decided to compare first letters.  I only needed a 4-letter (those were hard for me today in general), and I felt like I had tried everything! Argh, should have gotten that one on my own.  Oh well! We got farther than I thought we would have.

Just realized I have an hour and a half meeting that I had forgotten about, so that will take up a chunk of puzzle time! Another argh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 23, 2021, 01:05:07 PM
I'm still missing the pangram and one more word. Aaaargh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 23, 2021, 04:02:49 PM
2fer and QB - 3. But I do have the pangram.

Trying to stay out of the Forum for hints.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2021, 04:04:15 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I'm about to get back to it.  Good luck on the bee!

And hope you found the pangram and your missing word, Langue_doc! Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2021, 05:12:59 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 24, 2021, 05:11:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today. My last word yesterday was the pangram--go figure!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 24, 2021, 08:15:53 AM
Good morning!

Well, I zoomed through the crossword, then zoomed right to QBABM, then got a 2fer immediately, so it's likely that the rest of my day will be a complete dumpster fire! It's funny that the pangram was your final word, Langue_doc! Hope it wasn't appropriate.  My final one was acai, of all things.

I had the schmofficial LB solution yesterday. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 24, 2021, 08:20:26 AM
QB - got the pangram early on but stuck on curium, tritium. New words!

LB - confusions-spangle. Also had a 2fer b4ss flapping-glucose.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 24, 2021, 08:37:16 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was not a good SB day for me.  Although I did get to QB, it was with help for words that now seem blindingly obvious.  I just wasn't seeing them!  My last words were mitt and uric.  . I have no idea why I got tritium, when easier words stumping me!  I think I was just playing around and got it almost by accident.

Today I am at QB-1 and trying hard to resist going to Shunn/WP for the first letter of the last word.  Ab_grp, congratulations on your QBABM already, and your 2fer!

LB:  I also had confusions-spangle.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 24, 2021, 09:04:07 AM
I had opalescences-signup.

Close to a 2fer today, but not quite there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 24, 2021, 09:25:14 AM
Weird 2fer today but I'll keep it. cathwen great minds think alike! Also have a 2fer b4ss.

Saw some spoilers on Facebook for SB which I probably would have found anyway, but now I'm 2-ish words from QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 24, 2021, 09:40:54 AM
Oh, forgot to say I'm at alpha bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 24, 2021, 09:41:12 AM
Wow, lots of different solutions for LB yesterday! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall, and good luck, Parasaurolophus!

Good luck on the bee as well! You are all very close!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 24, 2021, 01:51:40 PM
Puzzles are all done! ab_grp, I didn't see traumatic until the very end which was surprising as I tend to see new words when I shuffle the letters. I was probably distracted by trying to find a -ium final word.

Outing day tomorrow, which involves a long drive, but pleasant surroundings and activities when I get there. It's a ferry ride after the long drive which should be fun. I'm not sure if I'll get any puzzling done though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 24, 2021, 02:47:31 PM
Langue_doc, it is hard to pull out of the patterns sometimes, for sure! Congrats on your puzzle victories, and enjoy your outing tomorrow! Ferry rides, pleasant surroundings, and fun activities sounds like a good time! Wishing you good weather.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 24, 2021, 04:23:55 PM
QB with a little help for a few odd words. Let the weekend puzzles commence!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 25, 2021, 07:59:50 AM
Woke up at 2:30 AM and got GWP and a 3fer.

Yesterday's last word was whizz - who knew? And 2fer was sonograms-subtly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on September 25, 2021, 08:21:09 AM
Have any of you all ever submitted missing SB words to the indicated email (buzzwords@nyt)? A couple of days ago, I found three.
two acids (tartaric and muriatic) everyone puts cream of tartar in whipped egg whites (they're not identical I know). And muriatic acid is for sale at Home Depot.

Also urticaria, which is a not terribly esoteric skin ailment. 

I see there's a statement that they try and avoid words that aren't commonly known, but these three didn't seem out of the ordinary. In the same puzzle, citric (another acid) was accepted.

Another newbie question, how to I find the letterbox on the phone app? I can find it on my computer, but don't know where to look on the phone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2021, 08:42:08 AM
Good morning!

Tomorrow is always another day, as they say, and today is definitely different than yesterday! The crossword was excruciating but finally solved.  We each have 6 or 7 words to QB but not Alpha, did get GN4L at least.  I think henge was my final word.  That one always takes me a while.

My LB solution was gangsta-ambulatory yesterday.  I thought that might be schmofficial, but I guess not!

Monarda, I have submitted one word, which was an obvious one that they ended up getting a LOT of mail about (cope).  So go ahead and submit ones that you think should be in there! I'm sure you're not the only one, but if everyone thinks that, then no one will submit anything.  As for the app, I don't think Letter Boxed is available in the app.  I followed some easy instructions to make an icon on my phone that takes me to it, but it really just opens up in Safari (I have iOS, so this may vary).  But at least it is easy to find.  I moved the icon near my NYT games app that has the other games so I can get to it more easily.  You can scroll down to #8 here to see how: https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/360029050872-Word-Games-and-Logic-Puzzles  Note that it is a little out of date since it says the bee is also not available in the app.  But it gives you the general instructions for adding an icon for the bee in iOS and Android, and under that it provides the links to the other games, so you can just follow the general instructions with whichever game you choose.  I hope they do put it in the app at some point, but I hope this helps.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 25, 2021, 09:00:19 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB-1 ABM, then had to turn to WP for the last word: hieing. I guess I never thought about how to spell the past tense of hie, but now I know.

Monarda, I also tried urticaria and tartaric.  I think I will also complain about their omission from words that count. 

Ciao_yall, we once again have the same LB solution:  sonograms-subtly. 

Today's puzzling is going very slowly.  I'm only at Amazing on SB (no pangram), and I have no 2fer for LB.  On the other hand,I found the sudokus fairly easy, so at least there's that.

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 25, 2021, 10:28:27 AM
Oh, duh, albums. Dagnabbit!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2021, 10:30:09 AM
Sounds like you were pretty close to the solution yesterday, Parasaurolophus!

I got to one word from QB, so hopefully I can get all the way without help.  We shall see.  I am struggling a bit with hard sudoku, so that first.  I do have some good contenders for LB, but nothing yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on September 25, 2021, 10:57:42 AM
Nice 2fers everyone (though I especially love that "gangsta" is a word ! Mine yesterday was gymnasts-subnormal. Inefficient, but got it done.

Monarda— Not sure if the phone app is the same as the iPad, but on the iPad I have to scroll way down to a section called "play" and then over to the right to find LB (I can only "see" QB and crosswords on the screen until I scroll over)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2021, 12:11:43 PM
Onthefringe, I was happy that it took gangsta since ambulatory came right to me.  And it's neat that you can see the LB puzzle in your app on the iPad! Much more convenient!

I did make it to QBABM and finally conquered the hard sudoku.  It's amazing how coming back to puzzles after a break tends to help.  Will it help with LB? Guess we shall see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 25, 2021, 03:27:32 PM
Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! 

I finally broke through my SB blindness and got within a few words of QB.  Then I caved and consulted Shunn/WP and got the rest. So, QBWATHICG.  The words I was missing weren't even hard ones—it's one of those days when I have trouble seeing things and just get frustrated.

Which brings me to LB.  I finally found a 2fer, but only after an outrageous amount of time spent looking for it! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2021, 03:46:31 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and congrats on your QB as well! It is so hard to see some of the words sometimes.  And congrats on your 2fer! No luck here, yet, but I did do some vacuuming at least.  I will get back to it! It's a little daunting to hear that it was so difficult!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 25, 2021, 05:26:12 PM
Evening! QB yesterday, and albums/strongly.

Just got back from a long day/trip, so haven't made any progress since the pangram and almost genius this morning.

Trip report coming up tomorrow--not as many birds as I had hoped to see, but the usual herons, egrets, ospreys, towhees, and several warbler subspecies.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 26, 2021, 09:15:17 AM
Morning!

QB with help for iambi, taiga. Two words I should have remembered from previous puzzles.

LB with help to get windbag-gumption. I had gumption in many 3fers but just couldn't see windbag. Oh well, today is a new day.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 26, 2021, 09:19:44 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We are really struggling on the bee again today! Neither of us have gotten to genius because neither of us have the pangram.  So I haven't done 4-letter words yet, but even if I just did them I would be one point shy of genius.  I need either the pangram or both of my other words that aren't 4 letters in order to get to genius! Egad.  Yesterday my final one was gimme.  I'm glad I found it, because I would have been irked about that one!

Had lots of contenders yesterday but couldn't figure out how to get all the difficult letters to work together.  I salute those who got 2fers! Hopefully today is easier.

Looking forward to the outing recap, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 26, 2021, 10:02:00 AM
Afternoon!

Difficult bee today. I'm also struggling with the crossword but found an easy two-fer. I think I made it past genius yesterday.

Trip report coming later today, ab_grp. Breakfast first.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 26, 2021, 10:30:34 AM
Good afternoon!

A difficult puzzle today.  It took me eons to get to genius, and that was without the pangram.  I didn't even try GN4L because I needed every point I could get just to make it that far.

Yesterday my last words were beige (!!) and tibiae.

LB:  I also had windbag-gumption yesterday.  Were there other solutions? Although I struggled with LB yesterday, today I found a 2fer without too much trouble. 

I am also looking forward to the outing report!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 26, 2021, 10:42:56 AM
Argh, got one of the three non-4s I had remaining.  Not the pangram! So still one point to genius.  I will not give up (yet)!! Husband did get the pangram, finally, but I think he still has 3 other words left.  Maybe I can get my other non-pangram, non-4 and get to genius.  What a day.  Cathwen, I definitely understand giving up on the GN4L hunt.  I don't want to, but just one little word would get me to genius.  Waah.

Congrats on getting a 2fer today, Langue_doc and cathwen! I am also interested to hear if there were other solutions yesterday, but any solution sounds like a real victory for that group of letters.

Langue_doc, enjoy breakfast, and good luck with the crossword! We each had errors to fix but eventually found them. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 26, 2021, 10:49:02 AM
GWP, but nowhere on LB. Great words, b4ss. Maybe I'll go to brunch and work on the old-school paper NYT Crossword Puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 26, 2021, 12:09:14 PM
Finally got the dang pangram!! Two more words to go, but got to GN4L and Alpha.  Whew. 

Still getting nowhere on hard sudoku and nothing on LB yet.  And I'm in danger of falling out of the diamond leaderboard in Duo, as I apparently ended up in the group with people who engage with it all day every day.  So, lots of work yet to do.  But, at least the bee progress s a relief.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 26, 2021, 12:16:28 PM
Finally got to genius and found the pangram, which, although a familiar word, hasn't appeared on a puzzle so far. I'm not wasting any more time looking for the remaining 11 or 12 points.

The trip was to Fire Island, https://www.nps.gov/fiis/index.htm which is accessible only via water, either by boat if you have one, or by ferry, which probably doesn't run in winter. We went to a location on the island that was new to me. I've never seen so many boats of varying shapes, sizes, and presumably, cost in one location, jam-packed alongside, docked to mooring piers each of which had either a gull or cormorant perched atop. People sailed in by boat or took the ferry for day trips or for longer stays; for the latter, they have to bring in all the food and other supplies. Some of us had interesting chats with the boaters (the boats were docked along the boardwalks). People who lived there in summer rented houses and in turn, would rent out rooms to their friends as the rents run high here. I suspect that one or more of the chatters were probably under the influence. We could see an egret strutting and preening in the middle of the marsh glasswort which covered the surface of the marshes alongside the boardwalk. Then there were the herons, ospreys, and several merlins flying overhead. One of the participants saw a dolphin jump out and quickly jump back into the ocean. These shores have shoals of bunker fish which attract all kinds of ocean predators, so seeing sharks and whales is quite common. The drive back was quite long, which wasn't surprising, but I saw a fragment of a rainbow along the second half of my drive, first on one side of the parkway, and then on the other side (this is a winding parkway). It was an interesting group and an interesting trip overall.

Here is another map https://fireislandmap.com/ courtesy of Fire Island.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 26, 2021, 02:06:24 PM
QB w/ Shunn to point out a few places to make some guesses. They did have the same pangram in the paper version of the Bee, but also had an alternative spelling.

Still nowhere with LB. I did solve in 5 or 6 so there's my participation trophy but even a 3fer remains elusive. Lots of great words, b4ss.

ETA went to the LB solver site and even they didn't find a solution! So, IDK.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 26, 2021, 02:51:00 PM
We each got to one word left and figured out we had team QB after counting first letters, and we each finally got to an impure QB.  I was so happy to see a "short" bee this morning given the long crossword as its counterpart, but this is one of those be careful of what you wish for moments.

I haven't gotten anywhere with LB yet, either, and it's sounding doubtful that I will from ciao_yall's report!

Langue_doc, that sounds like a nice trip.  It seems so unusual these days to find many cozy nature spots only accessible by boat.  Were a lot of the boaters there because they lived there, were visiting the beaches, etc.? It sounds as though although there is lodging there is nowhere really to eat (so bringing in food is necessary for longer trips)? It's great that you got to see so much wildlife and that there was a dolphin spotting.  Not sure I'd want to see a shark, even from a distance (knowing I'd have to get back out on the water shortly), but a whale would be interesting.  And hooray for the rainbow! That probably means good luck.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 26, 2021, 08:01:05 PM
Not doing so well on either puzzle today, I'm afraid. I wanted to complain about some word not being included yesterday, but now I've forgotten what it was.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 27, 2021, 06:31:53 AM
Good morning!

Found the pangram early on, but had to claw my way up to just past genius. I don't think I'll have the time or energy to continue with the bee today.

Easy two-fer, so that's it for puzzling, as the crosswords and sudokus were completed last night.

urbanized/dorky; I get resentful whenever the NYT has the same solution as mine--I know it's unreasonable on my part, but that's how it is.

ab_grp, Fire Island is one of several parks and seashores managed by the Park Service. This and some other parks were purchased by the Park Service some years ago. Governors Island was one of them--I've been meaning to look up the history of the purchases. As for the boats, the south shore of Long Island has docks along the waterfront so boats usually dock there during summer and then get taken to dry docks for the winter months. There are several restaurants on the Long Island side, so boaters who don't want to cook can sail back and forth. People can camp in their boats, or in camping/glamping sites on the island, the park portion of which is free of cars, bicycles, skateboards, and other wheeled devices. It was such a relief not to have to dodge bicyclists, scooters, and skateboards while walking. People were using collapsible carts to transport their food and other stuff to and from the ferry.

One of the participants just uploaded over 60 photos of the birds we saw yesterday--there's one of a cormorant on a pier and some of the ospreys and merlins.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 27, 2021, 07:39:28 AM
Good morning!

I also got urbanized-dorky for yesterday's LB.  Langue_doc, I also feel a little let down when NYT has the same solution.  I guess it's the desire to be original. 

I found a 2fer without too much trouble today.

As for SB, I am at Beta with the pangram; six words to go.  Yesterday my last word was uncuff.

Was anyone up early enough this morning to notice that the NYT puzzle site was down for a while?  I got up at 4:30 because my husband had to leave early to catch a plane.  I didn't *have* to get up, but I was awake anyway, so I made breakfast so that he wouldn't have to endure an airport meal.  Then I settled down to the puzzles—except that they weren't there!  It threw off my whole morning routine.  But you will all be relieved to know that I am back on track now.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 27, 2021, 07:40:28 AM
Morning!

QB with Shunn. Last words were cutie, ennui, untune which I got by checking the word and 2 letter counts.

LB - with help got a b4ss urbanized-donkey. Solver site kept suggesting deurbanize, deurbanized which LB wouldn't take. I guess they don't have dorky in their database.

This morning, quick pangram and LB looks more manageable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 27, 2021, 08:33:21 AM
Quote from: cathwen on September 27, 2021, 07:39:28 AM


Was anyone up early enough this morning to notice that the NYT puzzle site was down for a while?  I got up at 4:30 because my husband had to leave early to catch a plane.  I didn't *have* to get up, but I was awake anyway, so I made breakfast so that he wouldn't have to endure an airport meal.  Then I settled down to the puzzles—except that they weren't there!  It threw off my whole morning routine.  But you will all be relieved to know that I am back on track now.


cathwen, I encountered the unavailable puzzle site with only the yellow screen and a black line when I woke up just after 4. I decided that this was fortuitous as I needed more than four hours of sleep, so went back to sleep. The bee is the only puzzle that I can do without lifting my head from the pillow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2021, 08:35:47 AM
Good morning!

Three more words to QB today, and I did get GN4L and exactly to Alpha.  Nothing else is coming at the moment.  I think untune was my last word yesterday.  Not sure why they will take unhat, unhood but not untutu!

Argh, I actually had dorky last night.  I put it in as a joke because husband and I were talking with daughter about electron orbital configurations (well, the two of them were talking about it, and I was making jokey comments, though I did learn some things!).  He and I were then recapping the convo afterward and being thankful to be able to have those kinds of convos, and I said I had an appropriate word for that.  But I didn't think it would lead anywhere, so I gave up.  Congrats on the 2fers, even if they are schmofficial! Some days, those seem like they are the only solutions, so what else could you have? On other days, though, when there are multiple solutions, I definitely like to get a different one.  But most days I will just take whatever I find, if anything.  Congrats on already getting 2fers again today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Langue_doc, thanks for the further detail about the island.  It sounds like a nice setting to not have people biking and scooting around among the walkers.  Not sure I would want to stay somewhere that I would have to sail to get food, though! But nice for a day trip.  And it's great that your one of your party uploaded a bunch of pics of the trip sightings!

Cathwen, sorry to hear that you were up early and couldn't get to the puzzles! I'm glad the site came back up and you got into the swing of things.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2021, 11:55:27 AM
Down to two words for the bee now and will probably be looking to Shunn soon!

But I did get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 27, 2021, 02:05:43 PM
I got to QB, but only because I went to the Shunn-like part of WordPlay for first letters and word length. 

Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  And by the way, I love the suggestion that untutu might join unhood and unhat in the list of Bee words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 27, 2021, 02:45:43 PM
Struggled to genius, and I think I have half a 2fer for LB, but that's it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2021, 03:43:49 PM
We ended up comparing first letters (my two words, his three), and I got no info from him since my two were in common with two of his.  So we went to Shunn to get first letters, then went to first two letters, then length... one word I could just kick myself for because I was just talking about it at a good length a day or two ago.  The other I do not feel badly about and am not sure if I have heard of it or it's been in the puzzle before.  Congrats on your QB as well, cathwen! And thanks for the support on untutu! Sadly, we know Sam is not necessarily a strict adherent to consistency. 

Parasaurolophus, I hope you find a mate for your LB word!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 27, 2021, 05:22:58 PM
QB and a 2fer, both of which seemed harder than they should have been. I got the Mondays.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 28, 2021, 04:33:44 AM
Good morning!

Last words yesterday were hamate and thee. I found the foreign-sounding words and both spellings for the tent word much earlier. Much to my surprise, when I checked the words on the desktop, I noticed that phat had been entered, although I didn't recall typing that word which I would have found anyway.

Pangram and genius today; I saw the pangram as soon as I opened the puzzle.

airforces/showboat

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 28, 2021, 07:13:40 AM
Morning!

QB - Last word, with Google, was hamate.

LB - crawfishes-stob.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 28, 2021, 08:29:15 AM
Good morning!

Was everyone's last word hamate?  It was mine, too.  Embarrassingly, my next-to-last word was they!

Today I am at genius with the pangram.  It's kind of a slog today with a 287 point maximum.  Groan...

LB:  Yesterday I found crowbar-reshift—so it looks like a variety of answers, since Langue_doc's and mine are different from each other, and also from the "official" answer.   I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 28, 2021, 08:42:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to Alpha and GN4L but have a bunch of words left and no juice at the moment.  I think hamate was second to last for me, and I just kind of guessed it with the first two letters and length.  My final word was mahatma, which irked me because it was just in the crossword a few days ago and at that time I was telling my husband that there had been a bunch of comments on it the previous time it was in the puzzle and whether it was a proper noun or not and what it meant.  Ugh!! But, at least I did get it eventually.  Maybe someday I will remember that one.

My LB solution was crawfishes-strobe.  So none of us so far got the official one? And what is a stob?! Apparently a broken branch or stump.  New word! Good find, ciao_yall! Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, maybe the platform entered phat for you to spare you the indignity of having to do it yourself.  I wish mine would have!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 28, 2021, 10:45:00 AM
GWP, schlepping to QB.

Plenty of 3fers and contenders, no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 28, 2021, 01:16:35 PM
We finally decided to compare letters and move on.  We ended up having team QB and each got to impure solo QBs, him first.  Probably should have found some of the words without help, but oh well.

I did find a 2fer, though, finally.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 28, 2021, 02:41:07 PM
QB with Forum and a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 28, 2021, 02:58:55 PM
QB with help from WP for first letters for those last two stubborn words. 

Congrats on the QBs and 2fers, ab_grp and ciao_yall! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 28, 2021, 03:32:52 PM
QB and two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 28, 2021, 03:53:21 PM
Congrats on the QBs and 2fers, ciao_yall, cathwen, and Langue_doc! I wonder if we'll all have different answers again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on September 28, 2021, 08:06:03 PM
My first QB with the hints in the comments on the SB forum. Some decent clues in there.
Previously, I managed QB with just the matrix. My last word was IN-9, should have seen that one sooner.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 29, 2021, 06:27:11 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Last words yesterday were ecocide (I've seen this in previous puzzles) and dojo, both of which I managed to find by resorting to the Wordplay hints on word-initial letters and the number of letters for these words.

As for hamate on a previous bee, I found it by trying various combinations of letters. I'd seen mahatma, hatha, and a couple of other words in previous bees so I looked for them. ab_grp, I also remember the former in a recent crossword.

newt/triumphal

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 29, 2021, 06:51:00 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, but no 2fer yet.

Yesterday ecocide and innocence were my last words.  I dimly remember having seen ecocide before—it was a word I tried, not thinking it would be accepted.

LB yesterday was whup-parliament.  I was surprised that whup was accepted, as I consider it dialectal.  But I won't argue!  Langue_doc, I like your solution better!

Monarda, congratulations on your first QB!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 29, 2021, 07:21:54 AM
Quote from: monarda on September 28, 2021, 08:06:03 PM
My first QB with the hints in the comments on the SB forum. Some decent clues in there.
Previously, I managed QB with just the matrix. My last word was IN-9, should have seen that one sooner.

Welcome, monarda!

QB - new word - ecocide, and I had forgotton codon from previous puzzles.

LB - went-triumphal. Really wanted to do something with elephant, narwhal but only made 3fers out of those.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 29, 2021, 09:03:13 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to GN4L but not Alpha yet so far.  Yesterday's final words included ecocide (I had tried others with that prefix but not that one, apparently), nonce, codon, odeon.  I usually have more luck with those and thought I had put the latter in.  Congrats on your QB, monarda!

I had the same LB solution as cathwen.  I figured at least parliament might be part of the schmofficial solution, but I guess not! I was also a little surprised about whup but was glad it was accepted. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 29, 2021, 02:42:40 PM
Got to Alpha and down to one word and finally gave up and sought help.  At least we had team QB!

I have a couple reasonable contenders for LB but nothing yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 29, 2021, 02:54:59 PM
I found a 3fer, but then finally got help from the Forum for a 2fer. It was a tricky one.

Still at QB - 1. Even with forum definitions, Google and dictionary didn't yield anything.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 29, 2021, 08:50:24 PM
Stuck at 72% of genius, and pretty sure I have half a 2fer. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 30, 2021, 06:04:47 AM
Good morning!

Almost genius, with the pangram. Grading day today, so might get to genius, but not much further.

Last word yesterday was pianola. I tried all kinds of permutations and came up with this word, not realizing that it was an actual word.

subways/sporangia

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 30, 2021, 06:39:05 AM
Good morning! 

Pianola was also my last word, and I only got it thanks to WP definitions plus a wild guess.  I had never heard the word before.  It's now on my Bee list.

Today I am at genius with the pangram, but getting to genius was a struggle.  If I get much beyond that, it will be a miracle.  Or thanks to massive amounts of help from WP.  I think this is a tough one.

I did not find a 2fer yesterday—I had subway(s), but could not find a mate.  Prognosis (the "official" answer) never occurred to me, much less sporangia.  Congratulations on your 2fer, Langue_doc!  I think you might be the only one? 

Today, though, I did find a 2fer, although my second word is a little strange. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 30, 2021, 07:26:37 AM
Morning!

The word that kept me from QB was.... drumroll....pillion. Surprised I didn't try it as a variation of nonillion but oh well.

LB - only one 3fer brawny-yogis-sprung. That was a tricky one! Langue-doc I worship your knowledge of the word sporangia.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2021, 08:33:06 AM
Good morning!

Just one more word to QB! It took a while to find the pangram, but that got me to GN4L.  I don't think there were any really word words so far, so good luck.  I happened to guess pianola yesterday and managed to get papillon from missing it in a previous puzzle and remembering my husband talking about it (a movie or a show?).  But pillion is the one that took me forever and some help.  I think that's been in there before, too. 

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc.  Definitely had not heard of the second word.  I also had subway(s) and thought that might work but couldn't get a mate.  Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 30, 2021, 10:17:22 AM
GWP, 2fer.

Now the slog to QB begins.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2021, 10:32:11 AM
Got my final word and QBABM! Yay! Husband still has one word left of a different length.

Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 30, 2021, 11:40:02 AM
Got to genius, but that's it.

I found sporangia because one of the participants on one of my outings was discoursing about fungi. As for pillion, this is a motorcycle word that appeared in a very recent bee. Haven't any of you ridden pillion?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2021, 12:11:49 PM
Langue_doc, I have ridden on the backs of many motorcycles, but I'm pretty sure the gents I rode with did not use that level of terminology.  Who knows, maybe they did know the vocab but didn't use it around me because they figured I wouldn't! It's great that the fungi discourse prompted your LB solution.  Serendipity!

ETA: Oops! Came here to pass along info from Sam about some bee stuff: https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1443216868307832852
Quote
1) Coming soon: A rare small-but-TOUUUGH Bee. You'll know the pangram, but some Scrabbly crunch will ensure a tough road to Graduation cap
2) Also coming soon: The smallest Bee to date
3) PAVLOVIAN is always capitalized ... I know, I know
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2021, 12:58:38 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 30, 2021, 01:05:57 PM
Congrats!

I tried Pavlovian repeatedly, on the kindle, the desktop, and the laptop. Inconsistency, thy name is Sam.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 30, 2021, 02:26:24 PM
Finally clawed my way to QB, although not ABM.

I also tried Pavlovian—it was the first word I saw, although I thought it might be rejected because it is capitalized. 

Ab_grp, thanks for posting about the small but tough Bee that's coming soon!  And congratulations on your QBABY!  And the 2fer.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 30, 2021, 03:50:14 PM
QB, with hints from the Forum. Odd words I should have remembered or guessed but hey, just makes the occasional ABM so much sweeter!

I'm feeling a little competitive now because we have a FB thread where people share their 2fer letter counts. The bare minimum is 13 total. I have a 15 which I'd normally be pretty happy with. But someone else has a 14 and now I'm feeling some pressure.

The theme at yoga was "letting go" and "gratitude" and I'm like... f*** that, you don't know the crowd I puzzle with.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 30, 2021, 09:19:04 PM
Didn't do so hot today, either. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 01, 2021, 04:39:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

conflated/dumb

I'll probably have to be out and about. Now that the weather is quite pleasant, it's time to be outdoors during weekends instead of staring at my electronic devices.

Crossword needs to be completed, so that's probably it for today's puzzles.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 01, 2021, 06:42:41 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram this morning.  Yesterday my last words were imminent (which I had misspelled earlier) and eminent

For LB, I had bemoaned-defectual.  I was surprised that the second word was accepted.  I found a 2fer today, but normal words.

Letter counts for LB?  I just feel lucky to get any kind of solution!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 01, 2021, 08:10:47 AM
Morning!

QB - last words, with Forum hints, were mentee, nimbi. Met another Bee-er yesterday and introduced her to Shunn and Forum hints. She was horrified and fascinated at the same time.

LB - uncombed-deflate. My new friend didn't like LB, she said. I showed her my solution. Spelled out uncombed then walked her through finding the next letters until she said DEFLATE! Now I feel like I'm grooming a vicitim.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 01, 2021, 08:30:02 AM
"Grooming a victim"—haha!  Love that, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 01, 2021, 10:12:08 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

One more word to QB today.  Argh.  It's a fairly short puzzle, and the pangram did pop out easily, but I don't think the other words are necessarily Scrabble words, so this probably isn't #1 on Sam's list.  I think bellmen was my final word yesterday.  Congrats on the QBs yesterday!

I had the same as Langue_doc for LB, conflated-dumb.  So I guess that is a fairly minimal number of letters.  Maybe if I ever get better at finding solutions regularly I'll try to up the challenge by counting letters.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

There is supposedly a survey going around from NYT about the bee, but I haven't confirmed that it's legit yet, and it asks (optionally) for personal info at the end, so I haven't submitted it.  It mostly asks about playing habits and experiences with the game.

Enjoy the outdoors, Langue_doc! I will be digging into my computer trying to figure out what is going wrong with it for the foreseeable future.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first try!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 01, 2021, 11:23:40 AM
QB - 1 or 2 words. This tends to be when I run out of steam and hit Shunn.

LB - lots of 3fers. Some good words b4ss. So the 2fer is nigh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on October 01, 2021, 01:49:03 PM
Yesterday QB-1 with not too many hints.  minim was the missing word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 01, 2021, 05:40:25 PM
QB - one new word.

LB - lots of contenders. Found a first word and Forum hints pointed to an (easy) second word that fit.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 01, 2021, 08:23:32 PM
Made it to genius, anyway.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 02, 2021, 05:51:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Last word yesterday was unlevel, which was a new word for me. I'd seen the others (with the exception of julienne) in previous bees.

hawthorns/sporadic

Happy solving, all!

ETA: 8 points left, so I must have found both pangrams.

ETA2:  QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 02, 2021, 07:15:46 AM
Two-fer already. Crosswords and sudokus are done, subways are running on different routes, so it's a stay at home and clean house day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 02, 2021, 08:16:35 AM
Morning!

QB - guessed at unlevel, then had to look up venule so hey, new word.

LB - tropics-sandwich. Found tropics but didn't see sandwich until I got a hint. Kept seeing shadow, maybe because the ic was already taken!

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 02, 2021, 08:54:08 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM this morning, but husband got there first again! I think julienne was my final word yesterday.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

My LB solution was the schmofficial one.  Guess I should have figured since it happened so quickly.  I like ciao_yall's solution better.  I wouldn't mind getting a sandwich in a tropic port! Congrats on already getting one today, Langue_doc! You are on a roll!

God the crossword done as well but need to get on sudokus and then probably more computer debugging.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 02, 2021, 12:39:14 PM
Good afternoon! 

I got to QB with hints yesterday. Julienne was my second to last word, and venule was the last.  Now I am at genius with the pangram. 

LB: I had the "official" ports-sandwich.  No 2fer yet.

I'm just getting started today because yesterday I had a nasty fall—my sneaker slipped from under me in Zumba class and I fell hard on my left hip.  I knew the minute I landed that it was fractured.  I had a partial hip replacement done this morning  and now I'm feeling a whole lot better, although of course not 100%; the hip is mildly sore, but no longer excruciating.  The prognosis is very good.  They say they will have me walking today!   I should be here for a day or two more.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 02, 2021, 12:41:35 PM
Had an easy path to genius this morning. We'll see about the rest! Two pangrams so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 02, 2021, 01:15:13 PM
Oh my gosh, cathwen!!! Ugh, I am so sorry to hear about your fall and a hip fracture? Ack!! It sounds as though you are recovering very well given a partial hip replacement surgery, but I hope you do feel 100% soon.  You must have been in so much pain! It is amazing to think that you will be able to walk on it today.  Sending you all my best wishes! Congratulations, of course, on the puzzle victories as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 02, 2021, 01:55:57 PM
cathwen, I'm sorry to hear about your fall and the hip fracture. You must be in a lot of pain. Sending good wishes for a speedy recovery. Hope you get home soon and the hip recovers fast.

ETA: You'll get that two-fer. One of the words is something you shouldn't be doing right now. I did feel a bit concerned when I hadn't seen any updates from you today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 02, 2021, 04:16:37 PM
QBABM!

No 2fer yet.

Thanks for the good wishes.  First attempt at walking was not a roaring success, but I'll get there!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 02, 2021, 04:37:47 PM
Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! I hope it brings you some comfort (endorphins?), and I hope a 2fer follows soon.  And better luck with your next walking attempt!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 02, 2021, 07:48:21 PM
QB with help. Probably could have done it OMO.

And no LB either. Not even a 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 03, 2021, 05:52:22 AM
Good morning!

84 points so far; it's probably just one or at the most two 4-letter words.

Last words yesterday were chic and hinging. I didn't think hinging, hilling, and chinning were actual words, but added the -ing to all the words I could think of which got me to QB.

jubilant/twerk

cathwen, hope you're feeling better. Do take it easy on the walking and other activities as your body has been through considerable trauma, and needs to rest.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: QB! Familiar words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 03, 2021, 07:24:27 AM
Good morning!

Genius today with pangram. 

Yesterday I remembered hilling from a previous puzzle.  I can't remember what my last word was! Langue_doc, I'm happy to know that today they're all familiar words—so I am holding out hopes for another QBABM. 

Thanks, too, for your kind words.  I walked nine steps today; the physical therapists seem to think that is good.  I was afraid that I was progressing more slowly than normal, but that is not the case.  Everyone at this hospital has been outstanding.  I could not ask for better care.

No LB 2fer yesterday, and not for today so far, either. 

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 03, 2021, 08:19:34 AM
Morning!

QB with Forum hints. I pretty much went straight there and didn't bother with Shunn.

LB - nowheresville yesterday. We'll see how it goes today. Langue-doc LOL on your hint to cathwen.

cathwen feel better!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 03, 2021, 09:21:49 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I am finding this puzzle kind of difficult.  Two points to genius, and I am not giving up and putting any 4s in yet.  I'm glad to hear they are familiar words.  Hopefully coffee will help.  The crossword has also kind of been a pain this morning.  My final words yesterday were cinch, cinching, and husband's were clinch, clinching.

No LB for me yesterday, either, but I am also chuckling at Langue_doc's hints to cathwen!

Cathwen, it sounds as though you are making the progress that they want to see, so keep doing what you're doing and also take it easy.  I'm so glad to hear that things are getting better and that they are taking good care of you.  They will have a vicious puzzle group to deal with if not! ;-) Good luck on your QBABY!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 03, 2021, 09:47:14 AM
QB-4 already.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 03, 2021, 10:34:27 AM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

I'm pleased to say that we made some progress.  I got to GN4L, and now we each have one word left, same length, not sure if it's the same one or not since we haven't compared yet.  Langue_doc, thanks for the encouragement! They have been familiar words.  I'm not sure why they have/had been such a challenge to see.  Hopefully the final one will appear soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 03, 2021, 10:52:18 AM
QBABM for the second day in row! 

But no 2fer yet. Langue_doc, I now understand your LB hint!  And no, I definitely shouldn't be doing that  in my condition (or, frankly, any condition).

They're kicking me out tomorrow and to a rehab center. 

Way to go, Parasaurolophus! You'll get there!

ETA:  Ha!  Finally found a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 03, 2021, 12:05:07 PM
That's good news, cathwen. They're obviously pleased with your progress. Congrats on completing your puzzles.

ab_grp, I too struggled with the crossword. In desperation, I filled in "bullshit" for the first half of 101A, and then had to correct it when I realized that it didn't mesh with the crossings and the theme letters for this puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 03, 2021, 01:20:42 PM
That's a reasonable attempted answer for that one, Langue_doc! I think a lot of folks had trouble with 33A/(14, 34)D, but there were more unfamiliar entries than I think I am used to for a Sunday.

Congrats on your QBABY and 2fer, cathwen! Do you happen to know how long you will be in rehab or have to do rehab activities?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 03, 2021, 02:17:59 PM
One last four-letter word and it's QB for me too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 03, 2021, 04:14:04 PM
QB - 1, missing a 5 letter word. Trying not to go to Shunn.

LB - 3fers, no 2fer yet. Am losing my touch here.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 03, 2021, 05:37:51 PM
Went to Shunn, tried a word I thought I had already tried and boom, QB. So... maybe I wasn't spelling it correctly?

Still not much progress with LB. Gah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 04, 2021, 05:13:31 AM
Good morning!

Genius with the pangram, both rather tedious. Last word yesterday was gird.

favorable/ethic

ab_grp, I found ohlala without much effort, but found the other two only because of the intersecting words.

cathwen, hope you are doing better and got a good night's rest. Echoing ab_grp's question on how long you would have to stay in the rehab. Glad to hear that the place is well-run.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 04, 2021, 07:17:48 AM
Morning!

QB - last word after checking Shunn's word count was grippy. Thought I had tried it earlier?

LB - Didn't come together. Not sure wnere my LB juju has gone for the last few weeks. Did get a 2fer b4ss archival-lifeboat and loads of 3fers favor-bracelet-thief, boa-archival-left, birth-havoc-clef... and others.

cathwen hope the rehab center can get you home soon!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 04, 2021, 08:45:23 AM
Good morning! 

After two days of QBABM, I think my luck is about to run out and I'll be going to Shunn very soon.  I am at genius with the pangram, but it was a struggle to get there.

My 2fer yesterday was, like Langue_doc's, the official one.  But I have not yet found one today.

Ciao_yall, you'll get your LB juju back!

I supposedly move to rehab later today—they found me a spot in a facility that is about three minutes from where we live, so that will be convenient for my husband.  The therapist came by with an assortment of gizmos that will help me to dress myself.  I love the thingie for the socks!  It's like a tube with two long ropes attached.  You put the socks over the tubes, stick your foot inside, pull the ropes, and voilà—socks are on feet!  Walking still is quite painful, but less than yesterday.  Progress is slow, but at least it's progress.  I don't know exactly how long I'll be in rehab—they're thinking maybe a week, depending on how I do.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 04, 2021, 09:02:50 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Today's bee is a bit slow going! Did get to GN4L and pangram but definitely not at Alpha yet.  Our final word yesterday was pirogi.  Just not used to that spelling.

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats on your solutions! I had a couple components that just didn't add up.

Cathwen, sorry to hear that walking is still painful (though it sounds as though it would be after that surgery!), but I'm glad it's getting better a bit at a time.  Great that the rehab facility is so close to home! And those sock thingies sound like a really neat idea.  I hope all the gizmos help make things a little more doable for the near future and that they take as good care of you in rehab as they have in the hospital.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 04, 2021, 01:48:01 PM
QB and twofer.

Familiar words with one exception which I found because I mistyped a word.

LB words are neither exotic nor unfamiliar.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 04, 2021, 07:46:18 PM
QB-3, then the usual reminders from the forum to finish it off.

Oodles of 3fers, and even 2 b4ss solutions.

No 2fer yet. Maybe this will break it loose?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 04, 2021, 08:58:53 PM
Genius, but no pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 05, 2021, 04:34:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (easy) and genius (difficult) today. Last word yesterday was macadamia--found deicide only because I mistyped decide.

lacquer/rethink--NYT solution three days in a row, which is rather depressing. Today's puzzle looks difficult, so might not get to solve it.

cathwen, sending you good thoughts. The sock pulling apparatus sounds hilarious for an able-bodied person, but must be very difficult to manage for someone recovering from hip surgery. Glad that the rehab place is near your home. Also sending you today's pangram to cheer you up.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 05, 2021, 05:17:08 AM
Good morning!

I was at QB-4 yesterday; macadamia, eddied, caddied, and midi were my missing words.

Thanks for sending today's pangram my way, Langue_doc!  I reached genius, but am now running out of steam.

I never did find a 2fer yesterday, and I don't have one yet today.  My puzzle mojo is definitely off.

The sock pulling thing is indeed hilarious, even for a non-able-bodied person!  But what an ingenious design.  The device for putting on pants is one of those grabber things that you often see in NYC grocery stores for items way up on a top shelf.  You scrunch up a pant leg, grab it making sure that the bottom of the pant is included, put it on your foot, release, then grab the waistband and pull.  Repeat on other side. 

Well, enough of my adventure, and back to the puzzles! 

Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 05, 2021, 07:16:41 AM
Morning!

QB - last words that I needed hints for were academia, macademia, midday.

LB - don't worry about being basic, Langue_doc. It was pretty much the only solution. I was sooooo close with lacquer-rink-kith. I had two b4ss answers that I really liked incline-earthquake, harlequin-nutcracker. And plenty of other 3fers.

cathwen what will they think of next?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 05, 2021, 08:37:18 AM
Two-fer! Hope this isn't the NYT solution. No progress on the bee, alas. 

My good deed for the day was to alert NYT to the vertex glitch. Vertex mistakenly claimed that I had solved today's puzzle, but when I clicked on "reset" the puzzle turned out to be that of a recent whale. They probably got several complaints, so the correct puzzle was uploaded, and I got a response to my email.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 05, 2021, 09:02:31 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to GN4L with the pangram (cute to send one to cathwen, Langue_doc!), and I think I only have two more words left after doing the 4-letters.  Tough with that K in the middle.  Yesterday my final word was acidy.  I thought they should have accepted dyadic.

No luck on LB despite a whole lot of trying! I kept wanting liqueur so was close to lacquer.  Ciao_yall, I also kept seeing harlequin! So close b4ss.  Congrats on your 2fer already today (and yesterday), Langue_doc! The schmofficial solution is better than no solution, but I will cross my fingers for yours to be different today.

Cathwen, the pants gizmo sounds neat as well.  A lot of the tech we use in the mainstream was initially designed to be assistive technology for those who needed it, so maybe we will be seeing these gizmos for sale more broadly at some point in some fashion! Honestly, I am surprised you can wear pants.  Do you have to have a cast of some sort? And did you get to the rehab?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 05, 2021, 01:29:00 PM
I am at QB-5 with not much motivation to look for the remaining five words.  Perhaps I will go to Wordplay.

No LB solution yet!  Argh!  But it's been a full day, what with transfer to a rehab center and people coming in every two minutes. 

Ab_grp, I do not have a cast--just a bandage over the incision site. It's a partial hip replacement.  I had my first physical therapy evaluation today (I'm doing surprisingly well, the PT said, given that surgery was only Saturday), and this week we'll be working on walking farther, getting in and out of a car, climbing low steps, using a shower chair, getting dressed--all the things I'll need (want) to do for myself when I get home.  I, too, am amazed.  I am determined to beat this thing!  I'm very grateful that I've always been more or less active and healthy.  That is helping my recovery, I am sure.

As for words SB has rejected:  kata.  I mention this because I am sitting here in a wheelchair in my karate pants.  No roundhouse kicks are in my future, though, but I think it's a funny juxtaposition.  Kata was my favorite part of karate classes (I haven't practice for years).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 05, 2021, 02:14:05 PM
I found a couple more longish words, but am now truly sgtuck.

cathwen, glad to hear about your progress. Like ab_grp, I had assumed that you were in a cast. It sounds as though you have to learn how to do things that we all take for granted just to get through the day, but you should be up and about soon.

Sending y'all a PM with the LB hint. Do not open unless you are truly desperate. I can hear the roast sizzling in the oven, so have to take care of other things now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 05, 2021, 02:51:57 PM
We finally compared when we each had one word left of the same length.  We had team QB, at least! My final word was easy, and I can't believe I did not see it earlier.  Oh well! I think all the words should be familiar, though that doesn't mean they're all easy to come up with.  Good luck!

Cathwen, that is really amazing, that you just have a bandage! Any kind of hip replacement sounds like a big deal to me.  Regardless, having to train yourself to do things differently for a while can be a pain.  Hopefully they are great teachers.  Yes, I would probably avoid doing any roundhouses in the near term!

Langue_doc, thanks for the hint! I will avoid looking at it until later tonight, but hopefully I'll get a solution before then.  I have a couple contenders, so we shall see if I will have more success than I have in the past few days. Now on to the topic of when you will be doling out our portions of the roast...?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 05, 2021, 03:16:50 PM
Got to beta easily, but have been stuck since.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 05, 2021, 04:15:13 PM
Unbelievably,  I just made QB.  Despite Langue_doc's hint, LB is not yielding.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 05, 2021, 04:29:15 PM
Congrats on your QB, cathwen! I just saw a line that made me think of you in your current predicament: "I remember when putting on socks wasn't considered cardio."  Hope it brings you a laugh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 06, 2021, 03:22:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram so far.

phylum/mindset

Leaving now, so won't be puzzling or checking in until much later today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 06, 2021, 07:29:20 AM
Morning!

Indulging in my favorite cardio, the 8-oz press, and checking in.

QB - only real stumper was alack. Forum hints are pretty much how I get QB.

LB - seems to be getting trickier and with fewer solutions. I had a 2fer b4ss shunted-dimply and a few 3fers thump-dynes-split, simply-hinds-studies. Langue-doc's hint and the Forum pointed me to phylum-mindset.

The Facebook group NYT Spelling Bee kvetches has a daily LB thread so we'll see if that crowd found a few more solutions.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 06, 2021, 07:56:56 AM
Haven't gotten far on SB yet today, but found a 2fer almost immediately on LB
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 06, 2021, 08:12:13 AM
Quick 2fer and GWoP, but then found the pangram. Now getting close to QB. Guessing I'm short 3-4 words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2021, 10:09:03 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Just one more word to QB, and husband has two left.  My final word yesterday was cloak! But alack was probably just before that.

Despite Langue_doc's great hint, I couldn't figure out the solution.  I did get phylum from the hint but not its mate.  Thank you for the hint anyway! Congrats on your 2fers today, Parasaurolophus and ciao_yall!

We've got a busy day that just got busier, so we'll see what happens with the puzzles. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 06, 2021, 01:42:00 PM
Good afternoon!

Genius with pangram so far.  I may have time to work on this later.

LB:  In spite of Langue_doc's excellent hint, I did not find a 2fer yesterday.  I don't have one today, either!  Congratulations, Parasaurolophus and ciao_yall, for getting your 2fers.  I feel on the verge of one, but it hasn't materialized yet.

Ab_grp, that expression did make me laugh!  My current putting on socks strategy reminds me more of one of the silly activities in the old Beat the Clock game.  Not that anyone's timing me, but it would make a good timed contest.  And it does look *very* silly.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 06, 2021, 04:07:31 PM
QB - 3, then hit Shunn. Only needed the word counts to get QB!

Haven't looked at LB again. One 2fer is enough.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2021, 04:15:40 PM
We finally compared and had missing words starting with different letters so had team QB.  And then we managed to find our missing words.  Good enough, since husband had to scurry in to the office at the last minute, and I had a long Zoom call with a large number of colleagues.

No LB solution yet, and I'm still working on the hard sudoku! Ugh.

Cathwen, that is a funny visual about your sock putting-on!

ETA: Yay, got a 2fer! Not so much luck on hard sudoku yet, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 06, 2021, 06:44:39 PM
Took break from long task tonight and am amazed I got a quick 2fer. Did not think I'd have enough brain power. Not a very clean one--several letters used multiple times, but a 2fer nonetheless.  Seems like there may be multiple answers to this one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2021, 07:10:03 PM
I'll be home alone for another hour or so, so I'll try for another LB solution.  At least it gave me time to finish the hard sudoku.   Today's timing has definitely been off!

ETA: I did get another 2fer with different words than the first one, but it is a bit repetitive.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 07, 2021, 04:38:20 AM
My 2fer from yesterday: witching/graduation. Likely no puzzling today, as I did not get long task done and will be scrambling.

Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 07, 2021, 05:12:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. lilt was my last word yesterday. I stumbled on dicta because I was trying dictat which I mistakenly assumed to be an acceptable word.

watching/ground

ab_grp, sent you some of the roast--easy recipe, just slather with a concoction of herbs and olive oil, and roast. I made it mostly for sandwiches and got the roast because I was in the grocery store when they were putting them out on the sale-of-the-week display case. These were 2-6 lb Angus beef round roasts, so I promptly got a small one.

cathwen, hope the sock and pant pulling isn't too strenuous and that your walking is getting better.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 07, 2021, 07:22:47 AM
Morning!

QB with Shunn and grid, no 2LL! Last word was twilit.

LB - watching-ground.

Happy solving (and socking, cathwen)!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 07, 2021, 08:18:51 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on all the successes yesterday!  I missed QB by a lot of words; I just didn't have the energy to pursue it very far.  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  No solution yesterday, but I have found a 2fer today!

I just aced my physical therapy appointment and the PTs think I am ready to go home.  Mentally, I certainly am.  It should take a day or two to be processed.  Can't wait.  Today's success was washing and dressing all by myself and simulating getting in and out of a car.  Feeling positive today! 

Happy puzzling!




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 07, 2021, 08:43:05 AM
GNP, quick 2fer.

Now to find the P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2021, 09:36:33 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Two more words to QB, so hopefully breakfast will help.  The pangram took a while.  Yesterday my final word was await.  I got stuck in a pattern of trying things like atilt and alilt and thought... is there such a thing as a-wait? Dur.  I hate when that happens! At least I tried it and realized that it is, indeed, a word.

For LB, I got graduation-winching, watching-grounding (guess I could have shortened the latter).  So no one got the schmofficial one? Yay for different solutions!

Langue_doc, thanks for the roast! That sounds delicious.  Sometimes simplest is best.  Seems like your arrival time at the store was serendipity.  And it's great to have it for sandwiches! Enjoy!

Cathwen, congrats on your progress! That is fantastic! Sounds as though you have learned quite a bit in your time there and have worked hard to do so.  It's nice to have the supports of the rehab facility, but I'm sure being home would be preferable.  Hope you are sprung soon since you are feeling ready.

The crossword was a bit thorny today, but I finally conquered it.  I was kind of surprised at yesterday's, as that seemed a little like a Thursday.  I guess they were saving the more nontraditional one for today.  Hoping to have a more normal day today, be able to eat lunch before 4 PM and actually consider dinner before 10 PM!  Our neighbor has had some massive landscaping (really xeriscaping) being done for the past couple days, complete with some very large and loud machinery and a lot of dust, but it looks like that's complete now.  No more huge piles of rocks and dirt in the road, so hopefully the trash truck can get through! That is our excitement at the moment.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2021, 10:37:52 AM
I managed a QBABM, but husband beat me to it again! Good luck!

Couple LB contenders, but no solution yet.  Onto sudokus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 07, 2021, 12:31:33 PM
Found the pangram. Now in my usual QB - 6-ish words slog, deciding if I need to check Shunn for the grid.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2021, 05:06:02 PM
Got a 2fer! Somehow it just popped out at me this time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2021, 05:49:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Too sloggy for me today.

Last words yesterday were purr and torn. I got the pangram by just putting the two words together, and it worked. I might have also heard or seen the word from reading about warfare and/or guided tours of the local forts.

champagne/elixir.

ab_grp, I was reminded of your post when I was doing the crossword.

cathwen, congratulations on your progress and so glad to hear that you're going home.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 08, 2021, 06:20:50 AM
Gah.

SB - ended up at QB -1 because I couldn't get toro for love or money.

LB - champagne-elixir as well. Anyone get anything else?

Happy solving!

ETA: Quick genius with 1 P, and a quick 2fer as well. So glad my LB mojo seems to be coming back, or Sam is easing up on us.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 08, 2021, 08:13:05 AM
Good morning!

We didn't really start on the bee yet, as husband has an early meeting, but we will get to that right after.  I guess I was a little surprised at yesterday's pangram because Sam said something about avoiding topics that could be uncomfortable for people, so I thought maybe guns were part of that (though antifa was in there before, and obviously porn/porno and dildo, so who knows).  I think upturn was my final word.  Too many of those types in the puzzle yesterday!

I also got the schmofficial solution yesterday for LB.   Congrats on getting one today, ciao_yall, and I hope it is your mojo returning!

Langue_doc, today's crossword seems a good bit easier than the previous two days, which is weird and a bit of a blessing.  I didn't get time to finish it but just have one section left (NW).  Of course, they are long entries, so we'll see.  Yesterday's with the single blocks is unusual.  I was a little concerned that I would absolutely have to get the downs to get those theme entries but ended up guessing two out of three pretty quickly.  In any case, a little disorienting not to be able to flip back and forth between across/down on those.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 08, 2021, 09:59:32 AM
Good afternoon!

I was at QB-4 yesterday—missed torn, which I could have sworn I typed in!  My LB 2fer was also champagne-elixir.

Today I am at genius with the pangram (QB-14, so a way to go), and I have a 2fer. 

They're springing me from this joint on Sunday!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 08, 2021, 10:24:07 AM
Finally got to GN4L, 6 words to go, but not yet at Alpha.

Yay, cathwen! I'm glad you will get to go home soon! Congrats on your 2fer, too!

Still trying to crack the NW of the crossword! I'm getting a bit here and there, but geez.  At least I got the sudokus done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2021, 11:45:47 AM
Hooray, cathwen!

ab_grp it was one of the words in the NW corner that reminded me of your vent.

Crack of dawn outing tomorrow, so I might not get to the puzzles or the fora until late afternoon. I have to take three subways in three boroughs to get to the meeting place. The transfers are all on the same platforms, so I won't be wasting time or energy going up and down multiple stairs and passages. I'm looking forward to the trip as I don't usually get to visit this area.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 08, 2021, 01:00:53 PM
Langue_doc, thanks for pointing that out! I was so glad to have actually finished the crossword that I didn't even notice.  I hope your very early outing goes well tomorrow.  It is good to hear that you don't have to run hither and yon with so many subways involved.  Will keep an eye out for you more toward late afternoon.

Made it to QB-1 and am hoping for QBABM.  And I got a 2fer! It is a little weird, though, so I might keep looking.  I also have a call with a pal this afternoon, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 08, 2021, 07:37:28 PM
QBWATHICG. Probably could have done it ABM but I was brain-dead.

Now to drink wine and watch TV.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 08, 2021, 08:39:20 PM
The rental units are visiting for the first time in nearly three years, so I've not had much time to puzzle. But I got to genius and found what's probably half a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 09, 2021, 08:16:43 AM
Morning!

QB yesterday. Last word was something dorky like comfort.

LB - bulwarks-softly.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 09, 2021, 09:18:44 AM
Good afternoon!

I also got bulwarks-softly for LB.  No solution yet for today.

I got to QB yesterday WATHICG.  Today I am at genius with two pangrams. 

Langue_doc, enjoy your outing!  What luck that the subway transfers are easy ones.

Parasaurolophus, enjoy the visit!  This must be the first time they've seen the baby.  I predict a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 09, 2021, 10:09:21 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L but still 4 words to go, missing one pangram, not at Alpha.  It won't take some of my suggested pangrams.  Yesterday my final one was tortoni, which I thought I had tried and will have to remember with rotini.

For LB I got walkabouts-surfy.  I didn't think the latter was a great mate, but our schedules got shifted again yesterday, and I didn't get time to find another.  Never saw bulwarks!

Parasaurolophus, I hope you are having a fun visit with your parents, and I'm sure as cathwen said that they are enjoying visiting the hatchling! Especially if for the first time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 09, 2021, 03:16:42 PM
Afternoon!

Genius with a pangram. Are there more? Eeek!

My last word yesterday was toon. I thought I had found it much earlier, but no, apparently not, as I had to go through my list of 4-letter words and then the letters to get my last point.

The outing was in a location with old-growth forests, marshes, and hills so it's considered to be a good birding location. We saw assorted warblers, a couple of downy woodpeckers, waterfowl, and the usual bluejays, cardinals, and red-tailed hawks. The highlights were seeing six herons perched on treetops in a marshy area that was off-limits to people (we could see them from our side of the inlet) and a red-tailed hawk that took off from the branch he was sitting on overlooking the water. He soared quite low and quite slowly so we could see the plumage in all its glory. We also saw assorted plants and trees. One of the participants decided to measure the girth of a huge cottonwood tree, so we circled it (five of us, touching hands). We also saw porcelain berry bushes covered with jewel-like berries only to be told later that this was an invasive species.

A couple more outings next week, one on Saturday, and the other one on Sunday. I hope it doesn't rain.

I think getting to genius is going to be my accomplishment for today. Crosswords were done last night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 09, 2021, 03:35:47 PM
Great to hear that you had such a nice outing, Langue_doc! The hawk soaring in slow motion sounds like a treat to see, and how neat to measure the cottonwood tree's girth that way.  I hope the weather holds up for your outings next weekend as well!

I still have three words to go, so I have only found one more word in the past 5.5 hours.  I think when we take a break in a few minutes, we will probably consult Shunn.  Or I will, regardless of whether husband wants to give up yet or not (he made really good progress last break and got down to 4 words from about 11, so he might be on a roll).  Neither of us have found the second pangram.  I assume we have the same one at the moment but am not sure.  We have each found other possible pangrams, but none have been accepted so far.  I am only trusting in the existence of a second pangram as noted on the bee sites because our cathwen reported finding it.  Please send some pangram magic our way, cathwen!

I have a couple contenders for LB but haven't really gotten anywhere yet so will try later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 09, 2021, 04:26:53 PM
QBWATHICG. New word.

And needed a big hint for LB but got it. Tricky one!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2021, 07:38:15 AM
Good morning!

Genius with a couple of pangrams. I'm not going to chase down the remaining words as I have too many things to do today.

I was surprised to see words such as plangent and galangal while rejecting the perfectly good gannet, which you can see in and above the city's shoreline.

Found chorizo, but didn't have the energy to look for a mate.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 10, 2021, 07:42:37 AM
Morning!

QB - new word: plangent.

LB - got hints to find chorizo-outplay. I was very proud of pituitary but couldn't find a mate.

Going to follow in Langue_doc's footsteps today and take a hike on the coast. Nice crisp sunny day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2021, 09:27:40 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to GN4L with the two pangrams, still quite a few words left.  We were stumped by plangent, galangal, but husband knew galena.  I was hoping it would take pegleg, pantleg, galpal.

No luck on LB, though I did have chorizo.  Congrats on your 2fers, and pituitary is a good one, ciao_yall!

At least the crossword was pretty quick for a Sunday.  I feel as though Wednesday and Thursday were tougher than Friday and Saturday.  Maybe just my perception!

Have a good hike, ciao_yall!

And hope your transition to home goes well today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2021, 03:03:38 PM
We had to give up and get Shunn's help for our final few words.  More toughies in there again, in my opinion!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 10, 2021, 04:58:54 PM
Good evening!

Genius with two pangrams; not much beyond.  And no LB solutions.  Not a great puzzle day—maybe tomorrow will be better!

I got home today and have spent some of my time hobbling around the condo checking for danger spots and figuring out how to rearrange things, and which straight-backed chair is the least awful.  My husband has been fabulous, but I don't want him to burn out.

Langue_doc, I so enjoyed reading about your birding expedition! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2021, 05:11:48 PM
Hooray, cathwen! Glad that you are home, and it's smart to do that kind of checking to see what would help in the near term.  I hope you get settled in and as comfortable as possible. 

No LB news to report here, either, though I have a couple contenders that seem as though they could be promising.  Probably barking up the wrong tree.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2021, 05:40:38 PM
cathwen, glad to hear that you are home. How soon will you be able to be out and about without much difficulty?

ab_grp, congrats on the bee. I gave up a long time ago, but got a two-fer and solved tomorrow's easy crossword.

ciao_yall, hope you enjoyed your outing. I recall hiking around Angel's Island many years ago.

Third shot tomorrow!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2021, 05:58:56 PM
I hope tomorrow's bee is easier than the last two! I did just get a 2fer, finally, though!

Good luck with your third shot, Langue_doc! Hope it is easy on you.

I just found out that there is a Microsoft Sudoku available in the online store that appears to be free.  Fortunately, I have had a download/install error so haven't been able to spend my entire life playing that yet.  Has anyone played that one? I have tried a couple others but really like the NYT interface and how easy it is to move around and mark squares different ways.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 11, 2021, 04:49:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

fondles/scampi--was surprised that the second word which I've considered to be a proper noun, was accepted.

Happy solving, all!

ab_grp, I used to do the Microsoft sudokus and crosswords, but haven't done so for some time now. There were other games as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 11, 2021, 07:40:36 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG. I guess Sam is trying to remind us who is boss with a few new words attagirl, griot, otalgia.

LB - fondles-scampi as well. Cleaner than Sam's as he reused the i.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 11, 2021, 08:40:45 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 6 more words to QB, still not at Alpha but did get GN4L.   Had to get up early today, so not quite with it just yet.  My final words also included griot, otalgia and needed a lot of help.

I got the schmofficial solution for LB yesterday.  I like the one you got better, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! But I am glad to have found one, in any case.

Langue_doc, there do seem to be a lot of games available! That could be dangerous.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 11, 2021, 08:55:47 AM
Progress for today...

GwoP, and apparently there are 2 but rather obscure-ish according to the kvetching on Facebook. However, they should bring me at/close to QB.

And a 2fer. So back to the quest for QB. Maybe it will pop out if I stare at it...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 11, 2021, 09:26:20 AM
Ciao_yall, I think there's only one pangram today.  It came pretty quickly to me, but husband had a little tougher time with it.  Good luck! And congrats on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 11, 2021, 10:22:30 AM
Yeah, checked Shunn and one pangram which I found by accident. I didn't remember typing it in, maybe because I was playing around and didn't think it was a word so didn't notice when the thing flashed.

Now at QB - 2. Missing 2 shortish F-words and trying to stay off the 2LL. Maybe they will pop into mind later?

ETA: QB - 1!

ETA^2: QB! Didn't need to hit the 2LL (2 letter list!)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 11, 2021, 10:31:26 AM
Congrats on your QB, ciao_yall! I have one more word to go now.  I am hoping for QBABM, but we shall see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 11, 2021, 10:55:08 AM
Good afternoon!

I've been immersed in catch-up grading today so have not spent much time (relatively speaking) on the games. On SB, I'm at Amazing with no pangram yet.  I'm hoping it will pop out at me at some point!

However, I did find a 2fer today!

Congratulations on all the successes yesterday!  Looking at yesterday's SB answers, I notice a few fairly obscure words, plus attagirl, which I remember from a previous puzzle, but which would never have occurred to me this time.

Langue_doc, when I will be able to get around without difficulty should take a few weeks.  I'm using a walker now, but hope to graduate to a cane in a couple of weeks.  Then independent walking.  I see two doctors on Thursday, so I'll know more then.  In the meantime, it is great to be home.

Well, back to grading!  Ugh!  The puzzles are way more fun.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 11, 2021, 04:17:12 PM
20 more to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 11, 2021, 09:52:26 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 11, 2021, 04:17:12 PM
20 more to go.

Got there in the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 12, 2021, 05:43:51 AM
Good morning!

Last word was foil. I didn't find it until the very end, despite getting airfoil which I entered just in case, fully convinced that it was a proper noun.

Almost 190 points today. Having several similar words in a recent bee was definitely helpful.

brazier/rockfish

Two-fer already!

It's going to be a back-to-bed day. I was warned to expect symptoms similar to those I experienced after the second shot, but this time they came much earlier and with a vengeance. I spent most of the night feeling as though I had been beaten up "black and blue" as the expression goes.

cathwen, it does sound like a long process, but from what you've written, you're making steady progress. Sending you healing thoughts and wishes on a regular basis.

For the booster shot, the locations were much fewer than those for the first two. I decided on this particular location as it was jut one subway ride, but with a long walk to and from the hospital. I was in and out in no time. Incidentally, NYC hospitals get taken over on a regular basis with the attendant name and management change. I recall going to this facility which was under another name and very poorly managed for an abscess several years ago. Despite my giving the doctor my insurance card, I would get bills claiming that I was indigent. Whenever I got a bill, I would call the hospital to inform them that I was not indigent, that I had insurance, and that they should bill me for the co-pay. This went on for more than six months with the amount getting reduced with every bill. I had to go back to get the sutures removed, but that's another story for another day.

There are sections on the route where the subway is above ground. On the return trip, when the train was at a station, I saw a blue jay fly into one of the trees lining the back of the opposite tracks which made my day.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 12, 2021, 06:52:03 AM
Morning!

QB yesterday WG (with grid).

LB - brazier-rockfish as well. Langue_doc now you have me wondering if bluejay could be spelled as one word?

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 12, 2021, 07:19:40 AM
Good morning!

I finally made it to QB yesterday, albeit with some help form Wordplay.  Today I am at QB-7.  I don't know how far I'll get because I'm still immersed in catch-up grading—we'll see.

As for LB, I also got brazier-rockfish.  And I have a 2fer today. 

Langue_doc, I wish you well in recovering form the booster!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2021, 08:41:35 AM
Good morning!

I've got 2 more words to QB.  I was rolling along and then kind of hit a wall and then stumbled onto a couple related words after recalling one I missed a while back.  Yesterday my final word was falloff.  I kept trying things with off but guess I missed that one.  Congrats on getting your words, Parasaurolophus!

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats on your solutions! And congrats on your 2fers already today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Langue_doc, I'm sorry to hear that the booster hit you so hard.  I hope your back-to-bed day helps.  Interesting to hear that there are fewer sites giving boosters.   They are not different than the other doses, are they? So I would have guessed they'd be available wherever the first two are administered.  Sorry you had such a rough time with that facility before.  It is so frustrating and time-consuming to have to sort out insurance and billing errors.   I'm glad you got to see a blue jay, though!

Cathwen, good luck with all the catch-up grading, and I also send my continued good wishes for your recovery and re-mobilization!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 12, 2021, 12:26:41 PM
Easily made my way to genius this morning, but no 2fers yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 12, 2021, 12:52:14 PM
QB - 5 with Shunn, trying to stay off the Forum hints. No 2fer yet but plenty of 3fers.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2021, 01:03:49 PM
I needed Shunn for help with the first letter of the final two words.  One I should have remembered, and one I thought I already had.  And no 2fer (hopefully yet).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 12, 2021, 02:20:31 PM
QB, finally, with hints on the first two letters of the last two words.  One I thought I already had, and the other is one I remembered seeing a long time ago once I got it (almost by accident). 

And I even finished my grading!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 12, 2021, 05:08:44 PM
QB - 1, then it the Forum to learn a new word. So QB.

Still in a 3fer slog. May go back to the Forum for a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 13, 2021, 06:47:12 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius--that's it for today.

gothic/culpable

ciao_yall, bluejay is two words https://ebird.org/species/blujay--I typed it as a single word to see if the spellcheck program would correct it. Spellcheck dropped the ball yesterday and today, but who knows what to expect as the bee is quite inconsistent with what constitutes an acceptable word.

ETA: Now I see that spellcheck is unhappy with bluejay as a single word.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2021, 07:18:26 AM
Morning!

QB - Last word was a new one: eidetic.

LB - gothic-culpable as well but needed a hint. Odd that I don't recall noticing the -able suffix.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 13, 2021, 07:59:01 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was also eidetic.  I knew I needed a 7L word beginning with ei-, and not remembering the word from before, just started typing combinations--and voilà. Then I remembered having seen in in a former puzzle.

Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I also had gothic-culpable.  No 2fer today yet, though!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 13, 2021, 09:04:37 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have 7 more words, got to GN4L but not Alpha.  I was happy to remember eidetic yesterday after missing it a few weeks ago, but I needed help to remember dietetic.  And I thought I had put decide in, but I guess not.  That was a dumb one to miss.

Congrats on your 2fers! I kept trying with -able, but no luck.

I hope you are feeling better, Langue_doc!

Looks like an update occurred so need to restart the computer again.  And I've got a 3-day conference, but it's on east-coast-centric time so will probably watch a lot of the earlier sessions after the recordings are posted.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 13, 2021, 12:43:34 PM
Two-fer and QB! Familiar words or words that have appeared in previous bees.

ab_grp, thank you for asking--the reaction to the booster has been much worse than the reaction to the second shot. I'm taking it easy for another day.

The expiration date for the booster is the end of January 2022 according to the information in my patient portal. That's a mere three and a half months.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 13, 2021, 02:51:05 PM
Congrats on your QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! I'm sorry you are not feeling totally better, and I hope that your ill feelings abate soon.  Glad that you are taking it easy, though.  Does the expiration mean that you need to get another one after the 3.5 months?

We didn't make it to our own QBs or team QB, both needed Shunn help with the final two words.  Both were familiar, though.  Just not enough time to work further at it today.  I have a couple reasonable LB contenders but nothing there yet, either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2021, 04:07:34 PM
Shunn 2LL, still at QB - 5.

And lots of 3fers, no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2021, 05:18:30 PM
Okay, hit forum. QB with a few odd words I should have remembered. And got a hint for LB as well. Had one word but didn't see the other.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 13, 2021, 09:33:07 PM
Limped to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 14, 2021, 07:15:04 AM
Morning!

QB - Thanks to the Forum.

LB - Found expound but needed a Forum hint for argyle-expound and gargoyle-expound.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 14, 2021, 08:20:04 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius. It's too much of an effort to keep looking for more words.

When I notified the bee about the missing undaunted, I got a five-paragraph reply which, to paraphrase Shakespeare, was full of words signifying nothing.

Last word yesterday was import.

gargoyle/expound

ab_grp, the inaccurate expiration date is just another example of how disorganized the state administration has become in just a few months. According to my excelsior pass, a state-issued app showing one's vaccine status, the expiration date is in February 2022, a year after my second vaccine. Now, however, there is no evidence that I have received the booster shot, as I discovered when I tried to update my vaccine status on the state website. I'm guessing that the new expiration date would be October 2022 unless the CDC decides otherwise.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 14, 2021, 08:35:06 AM
Good morning!

I got to QBABM! I was surprised because it's such a long puzzle.  Yay! There are a bunch of words that should have been accepted, in my opinion.  Our final words were nonprint, pinpoint yesterday.

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats!

Langue_doc, it is disheartening to hear that their records-keeping is so poor.  Seems kind of important.  Hopefully they will straighten that out.

Having had too many crashes of my desktop, I figured out how to get my laptop hooked up to the same monitor, but now it looks like a computer store threw up on my desk.  Got to figure something out with all these cords. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 14, 2021, 08:38:46 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with one pangram so far.  Yesterday I was at QB-2, missing pinpoint and nonprint.  I don't know how much energy I have to slog through today's SB, but I'll keep working on it little by little.  I would like at least to get to genius.

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I am in awe.

Yesterday's LB:  undraped-doxology. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 14, 2021, 09:00:57 AM
ab_grp, I'm in awe! Hope you get your desk and your computers in working order soon.

cathwen, you'll get there. The 51 words I found are all familiar ones. Incidentally, your doxology reminded me that the bee refused to accept introit in a recent puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 14, 2021, 10:17:49 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc!  The refusal to accept introit and intinct/intinction does rankle. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 14, 2021, 10:24:50 AM
Thank you both! I also managed to get the sudokus each done in record time (for me).  But no luck on LB yet! One dire consequence of my current computer situation is that I don't have room for my LB notepad, so I will have to do some rearranging.  Can't access my coffee cup warmer, either, and it is freeeeezing.  But we're in that weird space of maybe having to put the heat on during the day and cooling it down and night.  Trying to avoid putting the heat on for now.

Cathwen, good luck! I don't think there were any very difficult words.  Just a lot of trying everything possible, because as usual there is a lot of inconsistency in which combos of prefixes and suffixes they accept.  And congrats on a different LB solution!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 14, 2021, 11:03:50 AM
Got to genius, now for the rest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 14, 2021, 07:11:14 PM
I'm not the only person who was surprised at the rejection of undaunted as a perfectly acceptable word.

According to the Post,
Quote
on Thursday the most shocking fracture yet emerged — when the paper's official word-puzzles Twitter account broke ranks with the editor of the popular Spelling Bee game, Sam Ezersky, and publicly came out against him.

The stunning schism began when actress J. Smith-Cameron, who plays hard-nosed executive Gerri on HBO's "Succession" tweeted at Ezersky — who had, in a staggering failure of either judgement, competence or moral rigor, neglected to include the word "undaunted" as one of the acceptable answers in Thursday's puzzle — saying, "Hey @thegridkid, there's an absolutely valid word the Bee won't accept and I'm annoyed. But UNDAUNTED."



https://nypost.com/2021/10/14/nyt-newsroom-rocked-by-a-new-public-rift-over-spelling-bee-game/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 15, 2021, 07:33:33 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far, and a 2fer.

I had to pick my jaw off the floor (with my grabber stick) when undaunted was rejected yesterday—thanks for the link, Langue_doc!  Then I saw a Twitter posting about it, so Sam seems to have been appropriately chastened. 

Yesterday's SB was hardly glorious for me—and when I see the words I missed, I just shake my head.  I was a long way from QB, but at least I got to genius.

My LB answer yesterday was outsweated-dimple.  I was a little surprised that outsweated was accepted!

Happy puzzling, everyone!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 15, 2021, 07:40:34 AM
Morning!

Spending a lot of time on the Forum hints. Plenty of 3fers yesterday but no 2fer. We'll see how today goes.

Getting ready for a Zoom call that, at best, could be an email.

ETA: A couple of good contenders and a 2fer b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2021, 09:12:51 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Just checking in quickly for now but will update more after a couple meetings.  I am struggling with the bee today! But did get the crossword done.  I'm also on my laptop now and need to increase the font so I can see what I'm typing!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2021, 11:55:05 AM
Okay! So we struggled to impure QBs with help from Shunn.  Both were missing the same final word, which is one I hadn't heard in a while but was finally able to guess from Shunn info.  I can't remember my final words yesterday... maybe taxa, unattended? I was happy to recall antedate(d).  Definitely crazy that undaunted wasn't in there.  Thanks for the link, Langue_doc! I also saw that hooha on Twitter about it.  Someone pointed out somewhere that there would have been 211 possible words or so had he not curated the list, so I guess missing an accepted word in light of that is not too bad.  I can't imagine a 211-word bee!

Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, cathwen! I couldn't get there.  I did have sampled from the schmofficial solution and kept trying out-.  Oh well.  I worked on it a bit today in meetings but don't have anything great yet.  Congrats on getting another one today!

At least the conference is over, computer memory has been rejiggered and is running a long test, but I still have sudokus to do. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 15, 2021, 12:27:29 PM
Afternoon!

Weird day so far--I must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed so to speak.

Got to Sam's QB and then decided that I wasn't going to play along with the NYT's arbitrary list of which words are acceptable and which ones are not. I was also not happy with the five-paragraph response which would have easily earned a failing grade in my courses as it didn't answer the question, but instead used a lot of words that were meant to obfuscate instead of responding to the email. So I gave myself points for undaunted and untanned, both of which are in the Advanced Longman American Dictionary. I now have my own rules which would not include taxa or tori/torii, but only words that are in current usage according to dictionary entries. Spelling Bee's claim of hand-curating the list of acceptable words is counter to standard practices of how such words are decided--by usage, based on their use/frequency in current publications. I also decided that I was paying for the subscription to the games, so I could make my own rules and refuse to follow any that were counter to standard practices and good old common sense. Hand-curating--hah! I was surprised to see no acknowledgment of the snafu in today's NY Times.

So I got to genius soon after 3--couldn't fall asleep, then wasted the morning, first by realizing that I had forgotten my mask (and had no backup masks in the car) halfway to the grocery store, and then having to spend several minutes looking for parking in the lot, and then discarding my purchases in the store because the few registers that were open had long lines. I'm assuming that it was a staffing problem as store employees now need to be vaccinated. Went to another branch where there were cashiers aplenty, but still wasted half an hour coming home to get my mask and another 45 minutes in the store with long lines and burnt rotisserie chicken. End of vent.

Now I have to catch up on my grading.

ETA: cathwen, I'm still laughing at the image of you picking your jaw off the floor with your grabber stick.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2021, 12:36:50 PM
That sounds like quite a day so far, Langue_doc! Ugh about the grocery store business.  I just deleted my own rant about some of those consequences, though I definitely support the vaccine mandate.  As for your own rules for the bee, right on! We sort of do the same thing.  I hope the rest of your day goes better!  Good luck with grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2021, 05:54:03 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 16, 2021, 07:55:46 AM
Morning!

SB - Hit GWP, got caught up in other things, never bothered to try to hit QB. Checking answers I was only QB - 4.

LB - Found a 2fer b4ss womanizer-rooftop and, judging by the official answer, that was probably the best I was gonna do without a hint.

Yoga, and hiking/dinner with a friend later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 16, 2021, 08:03:32 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 15, 2021, 05:54:03 PM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 16, 2021, 08:56:14 AM
Good morning (almost afternoon)!

I got to QB yesterday, but only with a WP hint for harridan.  QB already today, but also with letter hints for the last couple of words.  I just lost patience.

LB:  I had the "official" solution (fraternize-empower).  I found a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, what an ordeal just trying to buy groceries! 

Middle Daughter arrived yesterday and made us a huge lasagna dinner—intentionally, so that we could freeze what we didn't eat for no-fuss dinners later.  Today she's doing the same thing, but with chili—a massive amount with leftovers that we will freeze.  I so enjoy having her here! 

Anyway—happy puzzling!  And ciao_yall, enjoy your hiking, yoga, and dinner with your friend!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 16, 2021, 10:24:26 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM! It was kind of tough going for a while but eventually clicked.  Nothing too difficult.  Harridan was our final word yesterday, which I managed to remember after getting help from Shunn.  Haven't heard that one in a while!

I had the schmofficial solution as well, but I will take it! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! And congrats on QB!

Ciao_yall, hope you have a wonderful day and evening!

Cathwen, how great to have a massive amount of delicious food prepared for you! I need to get a daughter like that.  So far, the cooking has been mostly one-sided.  Enjoy your visit!

Langue_doc, I hope you are feeling better today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 16, 2021, 10:46:03 AM
Afternoon!

Got up early, completed the puzzles, showered, breakfasted, then decided that I didn't have the energy for today's outing. I emailed the trip leader explaining why I was canceling at such short notice as this trip has a long waiting list, then went back to sleep. I think the crossword needs to be completed. It's either back to sleep or grading if I have the energy.

cathwen, glad to hear that Daughter is preparing extra food for you to heat up later. Did you know that the Brits refer to the walker as a Zimmer frame? I learned that last night in a word game, of all places!

ETA: Merriam Webster on offensive/banned words--scroll down for Will Shortz on the NYT crossword:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/15/merriam-webster-typeshift-offensive-word-game/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 16, 2021, 11:53:59 AM
Haven't been able to puzzle consistently recently, so was happy to see a short SB today. Got a weird 2fer on LB; I'm really surprised it accepted the 1st word, but I'll take it.

Hope everyone is feeling well today and has a successful puzzling day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 16, 2021, 12:38:50 PM
Thanks for the link, Langue_doc! There is often disagreement about which words are allowed in which puzzles.  There is the argument that many words could be offensive, especially with intent behind them and that many also have more innocuous meanings.  In the crossword, at least, there are clues that should signal the intended meaning of the word or term.  In something more contextless like the bee or the Typeshift mentioned in the article, perhaps that's even grayer.  Lots to mull over.

Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, OneMoreYear! Mine is pretty straightforward, so I guess there is more than one solution today! I have found a number of good contenders so may try again later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 16, 2021, 03:20:18 PM
My friend cancelled so just went to lunch with my husband, then we stopped at a local bar for a beer.

Genius and a very tight 3fer so seems I should get a 2fer soon, but IDK.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 16, 2021, 04:49:14 PM
Sorry to hear about your friend, ciao_yall, but it sounds like a nice afternoon! Good luck on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on October 16, 2021, 07:24:26 PM
Got QB with just the matrix today, and QB with forum hint yesterday for harridan  - my last word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 16, 2021, 08:52:15 PM
Well, made it to genius, anyway.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 17, 2021, 08:28:36 AM
Good morning!

Genius with both pangrams this morning.  It's a sloggy one, with a number of un- words rejected.  I foresee Shunn/WordPlay in my future.

LB:  Yesterday I had towtrucks-sharpy. . I have a 2fer today also.

Ciao_yall, your afternoon sounded lovely, even if it wasn't as originally planned.

Langue_doc, sorry you missed your outing!  The extra sleep undoubtedly did you a lot of good.

Daughter goes home today.  She's been fantastic—I'll miss her!  But she does have a family of her own to tend to.  And I have a very helpful husband, so I won't be stranded.

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 17, 2021, 09:29:02 AM
Afternoon!

Got all of yesterday's puzzles successfully completed.

I think I got both pangrams (I usually get to genius before coffee, so sometimes lose track of pangrams) and also at least one word in Merriam Webster but not in the bee and another one that's also in common usage. I'm still protesting the arbitrariness of the word list in the bee, and the lack of information about the dictionaries they are relying on for their word list. Well above genius, and will probably get to above QB as I'm including words accepted by the usual dictionaries. I'm also finding the coyness regarding their list of offensive words as I found "shut your piehole" in yesterday's crossword to be highly offensive. End of vent.

crackpot/trustworthy

Two-fer today.

Still resting--canceled today's outing as well. It was good to catch up on my sleep.

cathwen, glad you got to spend some time with Daughter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 17, 2021, 09:50:02 AM
SB - Achieved Genius, didn't bother with Shunn or Forums.

LB - A few tight 3fers crackpots-showy-yup, crackpot-tushy-yaw. What is a trackway?

Puzzles are laid out. Also have grading to do and other stuff to work on.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 17, 2021, 09:55:17 AM
My 2fer from yesterday was tuckshops / strawy. I did not think it would take the 1st one and was not sure about the second (the fora spell check does not think either are words).

Got a more standard 2fer for today. I wonder if there will be multiple solutions again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2021, 10:12:04 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM, but it took quite a while to figure out what the final word was given how many were not accepted! I figured it had to be a particular type of word, and it was.  I finally remembered one that was accepted previously.  Between that and a long (but not terribly difficult) crossword, I am glad to be done.  Husband still has both to finish, but I have a call with a friend today, so he will have some time! Sam is either very brave or enjoys getting "fan" mail, running this puzzle so soon after the relevant uproar from a few days ago.

I got parkways-shortcut yesterday.  Lots of different solutions! I did have trackway(s) earlier but didn't find a mate for it.  Congrats on today's 2fers, cathwen, Langue_doc, and OneMoreYear!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 17, 2021, 06:05:08 PM
Yeah, there's a rejected pangram in there which was commonly used in the last impeachment proceedings.

Still a few points shy of genius, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 18, 2021, 05:39:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Got to QB yesterday, not because I knew the words but only because I knew to look for the words that had appeared in previous bees. I also gave myself bonus points for dudine (Merriam Webster) and dudette. I think there were a couple more, but I forgot to write them down.

squinches/skort

ETA twofer!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 18, 2021, 07:38:08 AM
Morning!

SB - Hit Genius with 1 pangram, then dropped off after that and never went back to Shunn or Forums. Missed inductee.

LB - Just a 2fer b4ss squints-shocker and lots of great 3fers. Yes, I guess skort is a word...

Happy solving!

ETA: Quick genius and 2fer. See y'all tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 18, 2021, 09:01:40 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to QB yesterday with 2-letter help from WordPlay.  My last word was, of all things, undid.

Today I am at Beta with the pangram. 

LB:  I had the reverse of the "official" solution—techniques-skort.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, my husband used to call our daughters "the dudettes" from time to time, so I was a little chagrined when SB rejected it.  But the one that really annoyed me—and I think it is the one Parasaurolophus is referring to?—is unindicted.   Come on, Sam!  Get with it! 

Anyway...happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 18, 2021, 09:27:50 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM today.  Weird puzzle! I don't remember one with this particular feature before.  Yesterday my final word was unneeded, which I finally remembered had been accepted before.  I was getting tired of trying to figure out which un...ed might be accepted, but it seemed as if that pattern would be likely.  So many uns not accepted! And it is strange that they still don't accept dudette.

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats on your solutions! I did get a 2fer today! Congrats on yours, Langue_doc, ciao_yall, and cathwen! Wonder if we have the same one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 18, 2021, 10:15:14 AM
Just made genius yesterday. To my mind, the rejected pangram was 'unindicted'.

I'm stuck at 'great' for now, but I expect further progress throughout the day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 18, 2021, 05:16:16 PM
Got it. Phew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 19, 2021, 05:50:39 AM
Good morning!

Genius--I think there were two pangrams today.

There are at least a couple of words that should not have been accepted based on the bee's pearl-clutching when it comes to offensive/should-not-be-used words. It's the inconsistency and the coyness surrounding the rationale behind what's accepted that bugs me as it is reminiscent of autocratic professors who dock points because of their "I say so" policies.

I too was surprised at the rejection of unindicted. According to Merriam Webster
Quote
Definition of unindicted coconspirator
: a person who is named in an indictment as one who took part in a conspiracy to commit a crime but who is not charged in the indictment
The most famous, of course, is the Watergate grand jury's naming of President Richard Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator in a conspiracy to cover up the Watergate burglary.
— James B. Jacobs

Two two-fers, both with repeated letters. julep/shadowy

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 19, 2021, 07:22:29 AM
Morning!

SB - quick genius yesterday. I'm over going to Shunn/Forums for now.

LB - juleps-shadowy pretty much my first find.

Okay, happy solving!

ETA Genius with 1 pangram and a quick 2fer. No more excuses to procrastinate today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 19, 2021, 08:40:47 AM
Good morning!

One more word to go for QB.  Hope I find it! Yesterday was interesting.  But everyone who got to genius got GN4L! I was stymied when I got to genius and then didn't see any 4s at all.  Something different, at least.  I think my last word was gouging.

I also had the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fers today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 19, 2021, 09:54:11 AM
Good afternoon!

Genius with both pangrams today.  Yesterday I got to QB with first-two-letters help; my last word was nubbin.

LB:  Like everyone else, juleps-shadowy was my answer yesterday.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 19, 2021, 10:25:49 AM
Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, cathwen!

Husband got to QBABH, but I am still stuck on my word.  I don't want to compare or look at Shunn yet.  He had a different final word based on length, so hopefully I can figure it out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 19, 2021, 06:12:18 PM
Took quick break from grading and got a quick 2fer on LB. I wonder if there are multiple solutions today.
No time to get through the spelling bee today. I hope you found your word ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 20, 2021, 05:06:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today; QB yesterday.

convenient/tabular; unconventional/labrat (also libra)

Crossword still needs to be completed; other than that, probably no more puzzling today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 20, 2021, 06:39:52 AM
Good morning! 

I got to QB-2 yesterday, the missed words being fête and faucet..  Today I am at genius with both pangrams. 

As for LB, I had vulcanic-calibration yesterday.  No solution yet today, though!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 20, 2021, 07:24:29 AM
Morning!

SB - Stopped at genius. Didn't get fluctuate and a few others.

LB - vibrational-lucent practically on the first try, and later cultivation-nebular, lucrative-ebon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on October 20, 2021, 08:13:59 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on October 20, 2021, 07:24:29 AM
Morning!

SB - Stopped at genius. Didn't get fluctuate and a few others.

LB - vibrational-lucent practically on the first try, and later cultivation-nebular, lucrative-ebon.

Happy solving!

Great jobs all! Yesterday looks like a good day for multiple solutions — mine was cobaltic-curvilinear
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2021, 08:42:34 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the second pangram and Alpha but still 5 more words to go.  Husband still has a pangram to find plus a bunch of others.  Thanks for the good wishes, OneMoreYear! I did get the final word yesterday, which was faucet.  Not sure why that one took so long.

I had vacation-nebular yesterday, so still not the schmofficial solution.  Lots of solutions!

I've got two long calls this afternoon, with one other person and with two other people, so not much time to do puzzles (or anything else)! I'm going to try to get my sudokus in this morning and hopefully have more bee luck later and will see about LB, though I'm skeptical if cathwen hasn't already found a solution!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 20, 2021, 09:07:34 AM
Yesterday, my 2fer was brace  / evolution
So many solutions!
No puzzling today, possibly the rest of work week. I'm impressed at those ofyou who can puzzle consistently daily.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 20, 2021, 01:20:55 PM
Finally got a 2fer! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 20, 2021, 04:27:59 PM
Quote from: cathwen on October 20, 2021, 01:20:55 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Wow! I have genius with 2 pangrams and lots of 3fers. And a night class to teach...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2021, 04:45:52 PM
Finally got to QB.  We had team QB, each down to one word of different lengths and finally ended up comparing our first letters.  We eventually got our final words, so impure. 

Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! Finally done with meetings so will give it a try.

OneMoreYear, my husband and I do our puzzling mostly during coffee in the morning and then just on breaks throughout the day, though I keep expanding into other puzzles.  At first it was just the crossword, then the bee was added, then LB I think, then sudokus... hopefully they won't come out with any more! I probably have more free time than others here do, currently, though I should probably use it more wisely.  Not sure that solving puzzles really counts as productivity, no matter how much I try to rationalize it. ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 21, 2021, 06:22:50 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for first two letters.  Last word was coact.

Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I had the "official" solution yesterday:  franc-cryptograms.  I found a 2fer today, too.

OneMoreYear, I have some puzzling time because I am in semi-retirement, teaching only one online asynchronous course per semester.  I don't think I could manage the puzzles if I were working too much more!  Or at least, not every day!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 21, 2021, 06:36:31 AM
Morning!

SB - Genius with both pangrams.

LB - Well now I don't feel so badly for only getting 3fers. That was a tough one! 3fers included:

graft-tampons-scary
fogs-scrap-promontory
fop-programs-scanty


Happy solving! Yoga, grading, and other stuff.

ETA Genius with pangram, 3fer with a clinical term.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 21, 2021, 09:13:48 AM
Afternoon!

Well above genius with a pangram.

I'm finding Spelling Bee's insistence on "hand-curating" words and their coyness in refusing to have any rationale behind their word choices to be rather childish and unprofessional because they accept dammit and gonna, but not words that are commonly used and which one can find in the NY Times.

Meetings and grading, and an early morning tomorrow, so I might not get back to the fora today. There's also the crossword to be completed.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 21, 2021, 09:29:30 AM
2fer! Not clinical.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 21, 2021, 10:45:07 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Two more words to QB today, still hoping to find them.  At least one word was not accepted that should have been.  I think tomcat, doodad were my final two yesterday.  Should have found them earlier!

Definitely also not feeling bad about not finding a 2fer given the schmofficial solution.  Congrats on getting it, cathwen! Whew! And congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Crossword took a while to figure out.  Time for sudokus and thankfully no calls until tomorrow.  Yesterdays were with friends but took up most of the afternoon.  Tomorrow is for a new work venture, so we'll see how that goes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on October 21, 2021, 11:23:25 AM
I got the schmofficial franc-cryptograms yesterday, and I'm fairly sure my 2fer today is also schmofficial, but neither time nor energy to go looking for a different one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 21, 2021, 12:37:01 PM
Wow, congrats on also getting yesterday's LB, onthefringe! That was a tough one.  And congrats on another one today!

We finally compared for our last two words since we had team QB and weren't getting anywhere.  He beat me to QB by about a second or two. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 21, 2021, 02:30:12 PM
Genius, but nothing else yet.

Yesterday's LB was indeed tough! Well done!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 21, 2021, 04:23:42 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 21, 2021, 06:47:14 PM
QB and twofer. Only two words brought me joy (channeling
Marie Kondo).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 22, 2021, 04:01:40 AM
Good morning!

108 points so far and a couple of pangrams.

aquavit/torching

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 22, 2021, 04:20:58 AM
Yesterday - Genius and quota-archiving.


Quick genius with 2 pangrams, and a 2fer already. Guess I have no excuses to procrastinate doing all this grading...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 22, 2021, 05:10:46 AM
Got to 113 quite quickly today, too. 2 more words to QB, apparently.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 22, 2021, 06:02:16 AM
Good morning!

QBABM already!  Yesterday I needed a nudge from WP.  Tidily was my last word. 

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your 2fer!  I am still struggling.

Yesterday, I had the same answer as Langue_doc:  aquavit-torching.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 22, 2021, 08:52:14 AM
Good morning!

I also made it to QBABM pretty quickly, which was nice! Congrats on your, cathwen! I'm sure others will follow.  My final ones yesterday were daylit, daylily.  I have trouble with those, I guess.  Not sure why additivity wasn't accepted, and husband suggested davit, which apparently has something to do with ships.

I had the same LB as cathwen and Langue_doc, aquavit-torching.  I have some good ideas for today but no luck yet.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 23, 2021, 06:39:36 AM
Good morning!

Well above genius with at least one pangram, but that's it for today. QB yesterday.

airfare/eponymous; couldn't find a mate for anonymous.

Crosswords and sudokus are done, so it's back to grading and phone calls. I liked the 1A, even though it took me a while to find the answer. It was a relatively easy crossword, compared to the old ones from the Maleska and Shortz eras.

cathwen, hope your mobility has improved. I was thinking of you yesterday during my short bird walk where we saw assorted warblers, several sparrow species, a peregrine falcon flying overhead, a heron, and the usual bluejays, cardinals, and flickers. This park had a small pollinator garden which seemed to be a favorite place for the monarchs and other butterflies.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 23, 2021, 07:24:13 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, thanks for the good wishes and the list of birds you saw!  Warblers—I've been on the lookout for what the Peterson Guide calls "confusing fall warblers," but none have graced my dogwood tree or the trees beyond our patio, at least while I've been looking.  That park is obviously a bird and butterfly paradise!

My mobility is improving—I now use a cane rather than a walker and can move around fairly well, although I still have to be careful about bending.  I may attempt some actual baking today—I have overripe bananas that need to be turned into banana bread.  I can inch around the kitchen holding onto the counter.  And I can stand without support.  My husband says he will assist me as needed.

As for the puzzles:  Congratulations to Langue_doc and anyone else who got a 2fer yesterday!  I did not find one.  However, I have one for today.

As for SB, I have all three pangrams and am at QB-6.  I'll give it some time, but I probably will look at some hints later.  Yes, I was up early.

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 23, 2021, 08:10:35 AM
Morning!

SB - Genius and both pangrams pretty quickly yesterday. Probably could have made QB ABM but I was off doing other things.

LB - faire-eponymous. I was surprised it took faire but who am I to argue with a 2fer?

Happy solving! I'm grading and dropping off flowers and chocolate to a friend in the hospital today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 23, 2021, 10:46:46 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We each made it to Alpha and decided to compare since husband has to go into work for a few hours.  We each eventually made it to QB with Shunn's help.  Looking at the list, I can't remember what my final word was yesterday.  Maybe medium.

No LB solution despite a bunch of good contenders, so congrats, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! And both different solutions than the schmofficial one! And congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, that sounds like another nice bird outing! The crossword wasn't too tough, though the NE got me for a while.

Cathwen, so glad to hear that you are more mobile and that your husband will assist with the cooking (I would too, for some banana bread!).  I hope you continue to heal well.

Ciao_yall, I hope your visit with your friend in the hospital goes well.  Those are thoughtful gifts!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 23, 2021, 11:05:47 AM
QB! Thanks to cathwen's info about the three pangrams, I quickly found the two familiar ones, and then QB a few words later. I've been thinking of banana bread for some weeks now (cathwen, sending you pecans) but find myself with no time when I have ripe bananas or with no bananas when I have the time as is the case this weekend. I stay away from grocery stores on weekends because of the parking and jostling problems.

I think I had the same last word as ab_grp yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 23, 2021, 02:32:38 PM
Quick genius with the three pangrams, but I'm not much further than that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 23, 2021, 05:15:34 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc and Parasaurolophus!

And I finally managed to get a 2fer!

I have been thinking about banana bread all day now.  I used to be able to eat about a loaf of it at a time, but now I have found out that it can cause heartburn, which causes heartbreak for me.  Something about the fats? And sometimes the bananas.  I wonder if pumpkin bread would work out better.  Something to look into, and a good time of year for it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 24, 2021, 08:04:47 AM
Morning!

SB - Genius with no pangrams yesterday, so finally hit the grid and all 3 pangrams hit pretty quickly, starting with headpin which I didn't know was a word.

LB - blatherskite? What the heckityheck is a blatherskite? I did manage a 2fer b4ss jailbreaks-shot and lots of 3fers.

Anyway, grading and other stuff on this rainy day - we needed it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 24, 2021, 09:04:14 AM
Good afternoon!

I agree, ciao_yall—what the heck is blatherskite, I wondered?  Apparently, it's "a person who talks at great length without making much sense." (Oxford Languages).  Perhaps I shall incorporate it into my vocabulary. 

My 2fer yesterday was joker-rehabilitates, which at least are common words in modern English.  I just found a 2fer today, but it did not come easily.

SB:  I got to QB yesterday, but with some letter hints.  My last word was peahen, a word I usually find!  Today I am at QB-1, with a 7L word left to be found.  I'm hoping for QBABM today, but who knows.  I do tend to get impatient.

Ab_grp, I did make the banana bread yesterday, needing help only to reach the brown sugar and put some things in the bottom rack of the dishwasher.  It's the King Arthur Baking recipe and is more like a spice bread—I love it.  Unfortunately, my husband does not.  Or fortunately?  It's all for me!  I'll bake something he likes soon to reward him for all he's doing for me, but I had to use up those brown bananas. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2021, 09:30:27 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have two words left to QB, so I am also hoping to get to QBABM! Good luck, cathwen! We have different words left based on length.  But you and I have a team QB! Yesterday my final ones were adenine, deadhead, deadheaded.  It took me a while to get the pangrams.  Two came at the same time, but that headpin... ugh.

Yes, what in the world, LB? What a weird schmofficial solution.  Mine was similar to cathwen's but not as elegant: jokester-rehabilitate.  Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

Cathwen, yes it could be good or bad that your husband does not care for this banana bread.  I'm sure it is delicious! And dangerous for one person.  But I hope you enjoy it! Last time we had brown bananas, we decided to make banana pancakes, and they were pretty good, though it's a pain to actually cook pancakes to order when you also want to eat them nice and hot.  There must be a solution to this dilemma other than hiring a personal cook.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2021, 10:17:40 AM
...daphne? No.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2021, 10:37:41 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2021, 10:17:40 AM
...daphne? No.

I was glad to remember that one since I missed it last time it was in there, but I finally looked it up now.  It's a shrub, naturally.  Birds and shrubs are not in my wheelhouse, apparently.

Down to one word for QB! I am feeling pretty stumped at the moment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 24, 2021, 11:59:41 AM
Afternoon!

Last word yesterday was dead--how I missed this word until the very end is still a mystery to me. I found the other words without much difficulty--daphne and ennead because I'd seen them before, and headpin by putting together words at random.

I found jokers, but could only find a mate that was missing a single letter. As for the NYT solution, WTF?! This is what happens when people decide to "hand-curate" words instead of using standard dictionaries or databases.

Today I made it to genius with a pangram before leaving for a tree identification outing. It was a small group with a very knowledgeable dendrologist. A couple of the participants had their binoculars with them and were getting distracted by the abundance of birds in the trees around us. One of them offered me his binoculars (needless to say I was distracted too), but I declined. We saw assorted warblers, several sparrow species, a couple of ruby-crowned kinglets, several blue jays, and a cardinal.

cathwen, glad to hear that you are up and about, albeit with support. As for the warblers, you can identify palm warblers because of their tail pumping, and the yellow-rumped warbler because of their color. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler/id

ab-grp, it's a shame that banana bread causes heartburn--have you tried it without nuts?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2021, 12:56:39 PM
Hi Langue_doc! It is so frustrating to miss an easy word or think you entered it already.  I did that today with my final word, which I figured out and tried again with Shunn's help.  I'm so glad you enjoyed your outing, although I'm sure trying to focus on trees with a bunch of cool birds hanging around isn't easy.  It's great that you got to see some of each.  As for the banana bread, I don't tend to make it with nuts (though I do like it that way as well), but I think my favorite recipe might not be so good for me.  Maybe a different one will work out.  Banana bread is so yummy! I even have trouble with the banana on cereal we have most mornings, though I'm not sure if it's the banana, cereal, or milk, or a combo.  Getting older is so much fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 25, 2021, 05:27:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Yesterday I had to stop at around 200 points as I had phone calls and other distractions.

vestings/shacky--didn't think that the latter was a real word, but it was accepted, so I've no complaints.

ab_grp, as for banana bread, I use the Silver Palate cookbook recipe.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 25, 2021, 05:37:22 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram so far.  I have some actual work to do today, so I may not get too much beyond genius.

Yesterday, I got QBAABM (=almost all by myself)—I had to consult my list of missed Bee words and found the 7L word I was missing—acyclic

My LB solution yesterday was the same as the "official" one, inveigh-haystack.  I have a 2fer today. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 25, 2021, 07:24:05 AM
Morning!

SB - Settling for quick GWP these days.

LB - kachings-seventy which I didn't think would take. Prefer my 2fer b4ss solutions kvetching-gays, kvetching-gassy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 25, 2021, 08:32:27 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 25, 2021, 05:27:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Yesterday I had to stop at around 200 points as I had phone calls and other distractions.

vestings/shacky--didn't think that the latter was a real word, but it was accepted, so I've no complaints.

ab_grp, as for banana bread, I use the Silver Palate cookbook recipe.

Happy solving, all!

One of my 3fers involved the word hacky. So, when in doubt, add a y.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 25, 2021, 09:09:36 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have one more word to QB, but husband got there already, so hopefully I will too.  I think my final word was laical, which I thought I had entered already.

Congrats on the 2fers yesterday! I thought that was a tough one.  Sadly, I had haystack(s) a couple puzzles ago, though I don't think inveigh would have come to mind.   I'm glad they accepted your alternative solution, Langue_doc! And congrats on getting another one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, thanks for the banana bread tip.  I will take a look at the recipe.  I have used Alton Brown's and also one from Allrecipes that was really good.  I like extra banana in it, which may be an issue.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 25, 2021, 04:07:35 PM
GWP, 2fer and a few 2fer b4ss solutions. All is well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 25, 2021, 04:43:59 PM
One point short of genius today, but I'll get there. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 25, 2021, 04:52:55 PM
Had to get some help for the final bee word again.  Not a difficult one.  I even remembered a few I had missed before! Oh well.

Lots of good LB contenders that almost fit, so I hope to make that work soon.  I don't think husband will be home from work for two hours or so, so might as well use them wisely.

Finally got a 2fer! Not a super interesting one, so I will keep looking while I have time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2021, 05:43:53 AM
Easy pangram, but difficult climb to genius.

QB yesterday.

undergrowth/heritage

Tons of grading, so that's it for puzzles.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 26, 2021, 07:02:14 AM
Good morning!

Genius with two pangrams.  Yesterday, my last word was tinct, which I usually get fairly fast!

LB yesterday was underwriter-roadhog.. In spite of many really good words, I have not managed to find a 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2021, 07:19:51 AM
Morning!

SB - Back to cheerfully underachieving at GWP.

LB - audited-downright and 2 b4ss wearied-doughnut, rundown-naughtier .

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2021, 08:17:30 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten very far, as husband had to go back in despite getting home at nearly 9:30.  Ugh!! I will work on it myself since there is no telling how long he will be gone today.  I think I only have one pangram so far and definitely need more coffee.  Yesterday my final word was inanity.

For LB I had undergrowth-highwater but was trying to get a more interesting one with other contenders.  Lots of different solutions again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2021, 09:35:05 AM
I just realized that I  had both pangrams this morning, so there's no hope of a bonus 14 points to help me get to QB.

I prefer 'highwater' to 'heritage' as the former goes with 'undergrowth' and is also much more interesting, as in "come h&ll or highwater". Incidentally autocorrect keeps correcting the word (two words), which means that the puzzle setters should be consulting dictionaries.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2021, 10:00:06 AM
Finally got to GN4L with the help of the second pangram, but I still have a couple words to go and am just chipping away at it here and there. 

Langue_doc, that always bugs me too, that the "words" that they think are acceptable are not according to dictionaries, and the words they do not accept are.  Someone pointed out that the schmofficial solution includes undaunted, which could be taken as a wink from Sam at his massive failure to include that in the bee a bit back.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on October 26, 2021, 10:06:48 AM
Love yesterday's many answers. Mine was unwithered-dowager which is not effecient, but is sort of pseudo-meaningful. No luck yet today, but not much time put in either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2021, 12:42:30 PM
That's another good one, onthefringe!

I am down to one word to QB and have a few LB contenders, but nothing great.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2021, 02:58:46 PM
Got to QBABM! I was about to give up hope.  Still no 2fers, though.  And it took me about 5 times of doing the hard sudoku because I kept making a particular mistake.  Argh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 26, 2021, 05:06:14 PM
Two pangrams and one point short of genius again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2021, 04:03:32 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. I think that might be all the puzzling I'm doing today.

QB yesterday. Last words were tutti and circuit.

Couldn't find a mate for radicalize(d).

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 27, 2021, 05:16:42 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Beta with the pangram this morning, but now I'm stuck.   Yesterday I got to QB, but with help from WP.  My last words were inurn and tutti.  Ab_grp, congratulations on QBABY!

LB:  I had pelvic, but did not see czardom.  Like Langue_doc, I was trying to make a 2fer with radicalize(d) as well as polemicize(d), but had no success.  Today, however, I got a 2fer on my very first try!  That almost never happens.

Onthefringe, I really like your 2fer from the other day!  Good find.  Lots of good answers for that one.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 27, 2021, 07:29:25 AM
Morning!

SB - So, pretty much all words I would have known to get QBABM. But I stopped after Genius with both pangrams and went on to other things. So I'm trying to understand my brain. Like, I tried cuit wondering if it would take a French word, but didn't see circuit. What's up with that? I probably would have missed inurn, to be fair, because it's a bit of a "Bee Special."

LB - No 2fers. Plenty of 3fers including carmelized-dive-epode, arc-civilized-diploma.

Happy solving!

ETA: Gw/oP and messy 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2021, 09:09:27 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Made it to GN4L and pangram but not Alpha yet.  My final word was inurn

That was another tough LB, in my opinion.  Yikes! I also tried a bunch of things like polemicized and some others that seemed like promising LB solution words and that used up a lot of letters.  Didn't end up seeing either of the schmofficial components, though my brain seems to have an aversion to -dom words.  Congrats on getting 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

I was a little surprised at one of the crossword entries today.  Seems a wee bit risque.  Also surprised not to see a lot of comments about that (yet?).

Hopefully a less busy day!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2021, 09:35:25 AM
I was annoyed that urticaria wasn't accepted yesterday, considering that tali, tori and torii make it to the bee on a regular basis.

Quote
I was a little surprised at one of the crossword entries today.  Seems a wee bit risque.

Which one? Inquiring minds want to know. I completed the crossword last night, so don't recall the clues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2021, 10:26:09 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 27, 2021, 09:35:25 AM
I was annoyed that urticaria wasn't accepted yesterday, considering that tali, tori and torii make it to the bee on a regular basis.

Quote
I was a little surprised at one of the crossword entries today.  Seems a wee bit risque.

Which one? Inquiring minds want to know. I completed the crossword last night, so don't recall the clues.


I forgot about urticaria this time! As for the crossword, it was 24A.  Thinking of that skit and the connotations... well, I was just surprised given all the things people comment about being offended about.  Have you seen that one?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2021, 11:23:59 AM
Thanks, ab_grp. There have been far more suggestive phrases in recent crosswords.

I just looked at the comments and was aghast at seeing the solutions posted without any monitoring by NYT.

Two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2021, 11:52:58 AM
I think it's a funny sketch, but given what people get all rang up about it just seemed surprising.  I guess some groups are up about it, because Rex P tweeted about not seeing why it was so offensive.  Congrats on your 2fer! I am down to one more word until QB, still hopeful.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 27, 2021, 12:23:00 PM
A bit salty...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2021, 01:26:56 PM
No one can resist them!

Finally got to QBABM.  There were a couple bee words in there, but I actually got them earlier.  Good luck!

Onto LB and hopefully some success there...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2021, 01:36:51 PM
Congrats!

I got the bee words earlier today. Still grading, so no more bee words today. Woke (misguided) student keeps referring to a female character as "they/them" which makes for hilarious reading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2021, 03:39:54 PM
Got a 2fer!

That is an interesting situation in which to use those pronouns, Langue_doc.  I guess the student is trying to be as careful as possible?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 27, 2021, 05:57:10 PM
Found the pangram. Strange one indeed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on October 27, 2021, 06:36:24 PM
Yesterday's LB— czardom? really? I got annoyed and basically gave up when it wouldn't take paleozoic. But I did find one today. Congrats to cathwen, ciao_yall and Langue_doc for 2fers today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 27, 2021, 06:56:51 PM
Agreed, weird pangram.
A quick 2fer--found a match for the first word I saw. I wonder if this means there are a lot of solutions or if there will be one solution that sticks out for everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 28, 2021, 04:35:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

formulaic/county

Meetings aplenty, so other than completing the crossword, no more puzzling today.

ab_grp, Stu was trying to use non-sexist language.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 28, 2021, 07:29:38 AM
Morning!

SB - it took metalhead but not helmethead or hathead. Hm.

LB - lunatic-conformity.

Happy solving!

ETA: GWP and 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 28, 2021, 08:32:43 AM
Good morning!

I'm at QB-1, lacking one 7L word that I just cannot find for the life of me.  I am hoping for a flash of brilliance before I resort to hints.

Yesterday's SB:  I had heme and hamate as my final words (found with 2-letter hints). 

LB:  Interesting variety so far!  My solution was the "official" one—fountain-normalcy. I have 2fer today as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2021, 08:36:06 AM
Good morning!

Two more words to QB.  Cathwen, sounds as though you and I have a team QB, as mine add up to 7.  Hope we both find our remaining word(s)! We didn't sleep well, as there was another work emergency late last night. Blerg.  Ciao_yall, I also tried those words! I think my final ones were mahatma, hamlet.  Very glad to have found the former since it has escaped me before.  The other should probably have come sooner.

I had factorial-luminary.  Different solutions again! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving! Argh husband has to go in again..............

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 28, 2021, 08:38:54 AM
Metalhead is definitely a word. Ask any headbanger! (So is hathead, though, so...)

I just made it past genius in the end. Haven't gotten far with today's yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2021, 02:11:44 PM
Well, we each gave up on our final words (4 letters each) and compared first letters so a team QB and impure QBs on our own.  I am ready to keel over from exhaustion.  I hope the work crises are over for now.  On to LB...

Husband has his booster scheduled for Tuesday! Not sure if he will also get the flu shot at the same time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on October 28, 2021, 04:37:35 PM
Great one ab_grp. I shared mine with Langue_doc yesterday. No 2fer yet today here
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 28, 2021, 05:14:23 PM
No 2fer here yet, either. 3fer and a 4fer with such an awesome word that I had to save it so I wouldn't forget it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 28, 2021, 06:54:00 PM
Had the official 2fer yesterday, and I found a 2fer today. My brain is now mush so no bee today.
Looking forward to ciao_yall's most awesome word!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 29, 2021, 04:28:05 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then pangram. I need another 10-12 points, but I've probably found all the words I can.

Missed ballboy yesterday, even though I've seen it in previous puzzles.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 29, 2021, 06:27:48 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP.

LB - 3fer various-sparks-sext so close but no cigar. My awesome 4fer was spouse-erk-kiva-aviatrix.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 29, 2021, 08:17:54 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday—the final word that was confounding me turned out to be loyally, which I should have seen way earlier, as I had loyal early on. 

Not only that...but I got to QBABM today as well. 

LB:  I had the "official" vexatious-spark.  No 2fer yet today, though, in spite of some good words. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 29, 2021, 09:11:14 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We also got to QBABM/H pretty quickly, which was nice! I was afraid the final couple words would be difficult ones, but no issue.  I think abloom was one of my final ones, but I needed first letter help to find amyl, which has definitely been in there but just didn't pop out.  Husband's was mayo.  At least he got mama this time, because out of that, mamma, momma he always tends to miss one.

No luck on LB, so congrats, cathwen and OneMoreYear! Interested to hear if OneMoreYear's was also the schmofficial one.  Nice 4fer, ciao_yall! And congrats again today, cathwen! And thanks to onthefringe about my LB from the other day.  It seemed to come together pretty cleanly, and I am always happy to have math/stat terms included!

Crosswords have seemed easier than usual for a Thursday and Friday.  That could mean trouble tomorrow!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 29, 2021, 12:00:46 PM
Yeah, nothing exciting to report here. My LB yesterday was the smofficial one. I like ciao_yall's awesome 4fer better.
No puzzling today or likely this weekend for me, as I'm on a grading binge, and need all of my brain power for that. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 29, 2021, 02:11:40 PM
OneMoreYear, a solution is a solution! Some days it seems as if there is really only one out there, so at least you found it.  Good luck with grading!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 30, 2021, 07:28:15 AM
Not much to report here from yesteday. GWP, and never did find a 2fer. Yikes, not sure I would have found it, either!

Let's see how today goes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 30, 2021, 08:12:43 AM
Good morning!

All three pangrams and easy QB.

Last word yesterday was lilt.

Crosswords are done--they seem to be getting easier by the week.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 30, 2021, 08:15:14 AM
Good morning!

No 2fer for me yesterday, either.  I do have one today, though.

QBABM yesterday.  My last word was also lilt!   QB with hints for the last two words today. 

On to the crossword!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2021, 09:18:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I still have four more words, one of which is a pangram, so not at Alpha.  Husband has all the pangrams.  Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen! Wow!! Yesterday I only had two words left after the 4s, so I ended with utility, grittily.  It took me a while to find the pangram yesterday, I think.

No LB solution despite having just said yesterday how much I like to find math/stats terms in a 2fer.  I got curfews but not algebraic! Oh well.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Crossword wasn't too bad for a Saturday.  I think the SE gave me the most trouble today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 30, 2021, 09:39:41 AM
Three pangrams, easy genius for me. One of the pangrams is not very common in North American English.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2021, 10:32:08 AM
I picked up one more word, but still no third pangram.  Thanks for the tip, Parasaurolophus! I think that might be the one I'm missing.  Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2021, 01:31:49 PM
Finally got the pangram and such after husband gave me another, similar hint.  I just do not think my mind would have gotten there, but I'll try to remember it for the future.  We had team QB after that, compared, and each got our words.  Rough! My hat is off to the QBs!

I have what I think is a pretty promising LB contender, but no mate yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2021, 05:04:52 PM
Yay! Got a mate!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 31, 2021, 08:34:04 AM
Morning!

Got all 3 pangrams yesterday. Funny, I remember getting hinging but now it's unchecked.

No 2fer yesterday but lots of 3fers.

Bushed. Long hike yesterday and I'm still tired. But big stack of grading from last week awaits.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 31, 2021, 09:06:20 AM
Afternoon!

37 words so far.

solarium/monarchy

Easy two-fer today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2021, 09:10:10 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Still a ways to go on the bee today.  It took me forever to get to GN4L.  We are a bit tired from being up watching a movie.  Yesterday I finally got hiccough(ing) and then gnocchi.

Got half of the schmofficial solution, but my primary contender was different: asylum-maraschino.  I was glad to be able to make it work! Just saw Langue_doc had a different solution.  Congrats, and congrats on your 2fer today!

Crossword is extra today.  Whee.  It will probably be a while before I can finish that one.

I picked up another bee-like app and decided to give it a go but am still on the first puzzle at 760 points and have no idea how many words there are to find.  Too many common letters.  Scoring is same as for the bee, so that is a lot of words so far!! Yikes.

Happy Halloween and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 31, 2021, 09:41:39 AM
Yeah, I haven't found today's pangram yet and am still a ways away from genius. That Z is tough!

(It's already rejected some Scrabble words, however.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 31, 2021, 09:47:50 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, although I needed a hint for the last couple of words.  My last word was chignon.

Today I found the pangram early on, but have been stuck on the last seven words. 

LB:  Lots of variety again!  My solution was harmonics-saucily. I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 31, 2021, 01:05:52 PM
Today, GWP and several quick 2fers.

I did get to see the little witch hat on the Genius panel. Very cute!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 31, 2021, 02:15:32 PM
Just completed the crossword. My eyes are still blurry from peering at the small kindle screen.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2021, 02:29:34 PM
Congrats on multiple 2fers, ciao_yall! I totally blew by the genius witch hat because I was so glad to finally be able to get the genius and enter my 4 letters.  And no witch hat on QB.  :-(

Langue_doc, I finally had to look at the crossword on my computer.  Ended up not being a theme-related issue, but ugh.  Glad you got through it.  I still have to redo the hard sudoku.  The pressure! Still haven't even looked at LB.

Just ETA that I needed Shunn for the final few words, so definitely impure QB.  I do not know what the deal was today, but it was really tough for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on October 31, 2021, 03:18:47 PM
A quick break from the grading binge (going slowly--must simplify assignments) and a quick 2fer on the LB. Sounds like there are a lot of solutions. Will be fun to see tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 31, 2021, 03:56:43 PM
ab_grp, LB is easy. Just finished tomorrow's crossword despite not understanding the theme. Hope you got to the sudokus.

Got to QB. It was the familiar words that got me down.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2021, 04:13:00 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I gave LB a try and got a 2fer! I wonder who I might match with.  And thanks, I did finally get the sudoku done after much drama.  I will be interested to give the crossword a go tomorrow.  Congrats on QB!!

Congrats on your 2fer, OneMoreYear!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 01, 2021, 07:11:54 AM
Good morning!

Several pangrams and genius. Probably no more puzzling today.

racing/ghostly

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 01, 2021, 07:25:17 AM
Morning!

GWP yesterday pretty quickly. For some reason I thought zircon was a fictional planet and zirconia was a trademark but glad I tried them!

LB - pretty much off the bat got rocs-scathingly, racing-ghostly.

On to today's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2021, 08:06:46 AM
Good morning!

I think I have four pangrams and made it to GN4L but have a conference today and tomorrow so will have to work mostly during breaks.  Yesterday my final words were ocarina, czarina.

For LB, I had scathing-glory.  Lots of solutions again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 01, 2021, 08:23:54 AM
Good morning!

I am currently at genius with five (count'em!) pangrams.  Nine words to go.

Yesterday I made QB, but only because of hints from WordPlay.  Arnica and ricin were my last two words.  I might have gotten ricin if I had been more patient, but would not have gotten arnica in a million years.

LB:  I had crashing-ghostly. Not as efficient as racing-ghostly, but it made me think of things that go bump in the night.  No 2fer yet today, despite some good contenders.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 01, 2021, 08:55:12 AM
Quote from: cathwen on November 01, 2021, 08:23:54 AM
Good morning!

I am currently at genius with five (count'em!) pangrams.  Nine words to go.

Yesterday I made QB, but only because of hints from WordPlay.  Arnica and ricin were my last two words.  I might have gotten ricin if I had been more patient, but would not have gotten arnica in a million years.

LB:  I had crashing-ghostly. Not as efficient as racing-ghostly, but it made me think of things that go bump in the night.  No 2fer yet today, despite some good contenders.

Happy puzzling!

I was about to complain about the same thing! Except at Amazing with 4 (I think) pangrams and a ways to go before Genius. One pangram I just sort of made up but hey, it took.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on November 01, 2021, 09:15:14 AM
Clearly the NYT LB was going for topical with the schmofficial scaring-ghostly. I was out in left field with one of the times you find a great word and in poking around for a pair you think "wouldn't it be ridiculous if this word was accepted...huh, who knew" leaving me with... cryostat-thingling

Impressed as usual by the comparative efficiency of Langue_doc, ciao_yall, and ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2021, 10:39:33 AM
I've picked up a couple more words but am still missing the fifth pangram.  I think I have 5 words left.

Onthefringe, that is probably one of the more interesting solutions I think we've encountered! Congrats! You never know what they'll take. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 01, 2021, 11:33:47 AM
Genius with 4 pangrams, and 3fers coming out of my ears.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2021, 02:21:44 PM
Well, I have only picked up one word in the last two breaks, but it was the final pangram! Still not at alpha, though.  Argh! But conference day is over, so time to start the sudokus and get more time on LB and everything else to catch up on.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 01, 2021, 03:17:44 PM
Only three pangams so far for me. Nearly at genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 01, 2021, 06:06:09 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 01, 2021, 03:17:44 PM
Only three pangams so far for me. Nearly at genius.

4th pangram was a word I kind of made up. So I wonder what the 5th one is.

Meanwhile, 3fers and 2fer b4ss.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 01, 2021, 09:07:14 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 01, 2021, 06:06:09 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 01, 2021, 03:17:44 PM
Only three pangams so far for me. Nearly at genius.

4th pangram was a word I kind of made up. So I wonder what the 5th one is.

Meanwhile, 3fers and 2fer b4ss.

Hmm...

I found another pangram, but I'm still a ways away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 02, 2021, 07:37:28 AM
Morning!

SB - missed diatonic as the last pangram. I recall thinking I wanted an e to do dietetic. Onward...

LB - 2fer b4ss clouding-grandbaby, clouding-grabby. And lots of 3fers including bod-dub-bracingly. Onward, indeed...

ETA: GWP and 2fer. My day is complete.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 02, 2021, 07:57:07 AM
Good morning!

I reached QB yesterday with massive amounts of help.  Indica, indicia, and condonation were my last words.  I would never have found them on my own.

Today I am at Beta with both pangrams. 

LB:  I had unbracing-godly.  I also have a 2fer today.

Ciao_yall, I kept seeing grabby, too, and wanting to use it! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2021, 08:39:23 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! We gave up and needed Shunn for the final few yesterday.  I couldn't believe I missed didactic, idiotic, having the related words, but obviously a little tired.  Diatonic was my final pangram as well.

No LB solution yesterday, so congrats, cathwen! And different from schmofficial! I also have a 2fer today! Congrats to ciao_yall and cathwen on 2fers today!

Another day of conference, plus husband booster + flu shot, so will get to sudokus later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2021, 09:01:40 AM
Good morning!

Made it to QB yesterday. Found diatonic and indicia by randomly putting letters together. The other words were all familiar words or words I'd seen in previous puzzles.

37 words, and 170 points so far.

Did my good deed for today by dropping off my absentee ballot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 02, 2021, 09:12:27 AM
QBABM!  After yesterday's struggle, this is very satisfying.

Congratulations on your 2fer, ciao_yall!  And to Langue_doc for voting. 

My husband and I just returned from voting in our municipal election, too.  Good parking lot, never any lines at the local library, our polling place.  I'm walking easily now, albeit with a cane, and have even taken some steps without it.  It occurred to me that I could qualify for a handicap parking tag, but I do just fine walking from normal parking spaces. 




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2021, 09:32:24 AM
Quote

I'm walking easily now, albeit with a cane, and have even taken some steps without it.  It occurred to me that I could qualify for a handicap parking tag, but I do just fine walking from normal parking spaces.

cathwen, so glad to hear about your progress! You'll be able to ditch the cane soon.

Congrats to the Queen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2021, 10:02:37 AM
Congrats, cathwen! I felt the same way about getting to QB today.  Yesterday was rough!! It's great to hear that you are walking easily and are starting to move away from the cane!

And good job on the voting, Langue_doc and cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on November 02, 2021, 01:46:27 PM
Good work to everyone who voted today and did well yesterday. I found two 2fers sharing unbracing-godly with cathwen and also finding unbraiding-glycol
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2021, 02:05:49 PM
Wow! Congrats on two 2fers, onthefringe! I had a couple that very nearly worked b4ss, but none of the words were those that you two had.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 03, 2021, 12:52:38 AM
Close, but no cigar tonight, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2021, 04:46:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius, but that's it as today's puzzle requires a lot of effort.

Yesterday's, on the other hand, was relatively easy. Lack was my last word. I thought hackle was a perfectly legit word, but the bee seemed to disagree.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 03, 2021, 05:49:12 AM
Good morning!

QB-4 this morning, two 6L and two 7L missing. 

Langue_doc, I also tried hackle yesterday and was annoyed when it was rejected.  My last words were callback, lech, and aback

LB:  Onthefringe, congratulations on finding two solutions for Monday's LB!  For yesterday's, I had brickyard-dimple, so half of the "official" solution.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 03, 2021, 07:30:54 AM
Morning!

SB - GW1P and then off to other things so never found checkable, backache, challah.

LB - bricked-damply.

Time for coffee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2021, 09:59:10 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I still need one point to genius and am going to try to keep at it and get GN4L.  After the 4s, I have four more words left to QB (though I will have to find one to get to genius, so I guess 3).   Yesterday aback was my final word, and I also tried hackle.

Got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Glad to see others! Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on November 03, 2021, 01:01:14 PM
Shared half a 2fer with ciao_yall for the less efficient bickered-damply Glad to see some others!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2021, 01:02:26 PM
QB--mostly bee words, along with a couple of creative ones.

As for bricked/damply, the villain was trying to brick up the heroine but wasn't successful as it was raining and the bricks were damp...

I was reminded of The Cask of Amontillado when I saw this solution and have been trying to compose a story around damp bricks since then.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2021, 02:08:27 PM
We finally compared and got our final words.  It's funny that I managed to recall ones I had missed before but miss ones I usually get (same for husband, but different words).  But we had team QB.    Not much luck on LB yet.

Congrats on a different solution, onthefringe!

Langue_doc, I would be interested to read more of the story!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2021, 03:34:56 PM
Yay! Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 03, 2021, 04:07:26 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 03, 2021, 03:34:56 PM
Yay! Got a 2fer!

Wow - I got a 5fer at one point. GWP but nowhere on LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 03, 2021, 06:28:11 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 03, 2021, 04:07:26 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 03, 2021, 03:34:56 PM
Yay! Got a 2fer!

Wow - I got a 5fer at one point. GWP but nowhere on LB.

I got a 4fer and consider it a win.

ETA 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 03, 2021, 11:53:58 PM
Close but no joy again. I'm just not giving myself enough yime while on holiday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2021, 05:21:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, genius, and a measly 19 words.

frequency/yawning

Happy solving, all!

ETA: QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 04, 2021, 07:27:35 AM
Morning!

SB - outthought? Really?

LB - frequency-yawning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2021, 09:15:54 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to QBABM.  The pangram was pretty important.  I don't think you can get to GN4L without it, and I almost gave up but got there after finding it.  Poor husband only has three words left, but one is the pangram so he's not to genius yet.  I'm sure he'll find it.  Yesterday I couldn't believe I missed entente, which I usually get, but I got henge, which I usually miss.  And husband missed that one but usually gets it.  I think my final one was outgone.  Just doesn't come to mind, I guess.  No outgo, though? I think if outdone has been in there, then outdo has.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

Got the schmofficial solution with some luck.  I had frequency for a while and thought it was a good contender, but I thought there are obviously no words that end with f or start with y and have the remaining letters in them.  Obviously! Until husband, day after booster/flu shot started yawning.  Thanks, side effects!

I was a little leery of the crossword given what I had read about it, but it wasn't too bad. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 04, 2021, 09:35:44 AM
Good afternoon! 

LB:  I guess that's all of us who got the frequency-yawning yesterday.  And I have a 2fer today.

SB:  QBABM today!  It took me a while to get the pangram, though.

Yesterday, though, was a bit of a struggle.  Outgone was my last word, tried in desperation, not thinking it would be accepted.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2021, 05:34:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius with 19 measly words two mornings in a row.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 05, 2021, 09:13:23 AM
Morning!

QB - with a little help. Last words were emcee, camo, cameo.

LB - Just a 2fer b4ss and 3fers. Yikes! That was a toughie. Were there other solutions? 2fer b4ss was ferment-touchline, and 3fers were all various combinations of  uniform-melt-tech.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 05, 2021, 09:33:10 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday; I can't remember my last word, but I think it was camo.   QB-4 today.

LB:  I had cruciform-menthol, so just a little different from the "official" solution.

I went for my Moderna booster at the local CVS this morning and am anticipating a reaction.  My second shot completely flattened me!  I hope it's not as bad this time! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 05, 2021, 10:04:41 AM
cathwen hope you feel better! I didn't have side effects for any of them. Had the Pfizer booster yesterday. Was tired yesterday afterwards, but I have been tired all week so maybe it's related?

GWP and a 2fer today. Woohoo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2021, 10:13:31 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We each got to QBABO today, though husband beat me to it.  Couple unfamiliarish words in there.  Emcee was my final one yesterday, but that one always gives me trouble for some reason.  I think acme was right before it despite being in the crossword yesterday!

No luck on LB.  That was a tough schmofficial solution! I was stuck in -ment land.  Congrats, cathwen! And congrats ciao_yall on your 2fer today!

Cathwen and ciao_yall, I hope your booster side effects aren't and continue not to be too bad.  Husband's Pfizer (plus flu shot) was Tuesday, and aside from being a little more tired than usual he had no troubles at all.  But he also didn't really have problems with the first two.  I know some folks who have had it worse, but mainly just knocked on their butts kind of tired.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2021, 03:20:53 PM
cathwen and ciao_yall, hope you're feeling better. My friends who had the booster shots reported symptoms similar to those following the second shot. It took me weeks to recover though. When I went to the doctor a week later, I was told that some people take longer to recover from the booster, which was the case with the physician I saw.

QB and two-fer.

If I have enough energy tomorrow morning, I'm going on an outing, and then to the dentist after that to take care of a chipped tooth. This is a new dentist that I found on Zocdoc, so I hope she takes care of the tooth instead of trying to sell me a customized mouthguard for the sleep apnea, as was the case with another dentist, or sell me other services when I'm still woozy from the anesthetic shots in my mouth. The chipped tooth keeps rubbing against my tongue so I need to take care of it soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2021, 04:05:37 PM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on your QB and 2fer, Langue_doc.  I know you seemed to be having a hard time after the booster, but I'm sorry to hear it dragged on that long.  I hope you're recovered now.  Hope you have a nice outing if you go and that the dentist can help with that chipped tooth.  Ouch! Don't want that rubbing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 05, 2021, 10:17:11 PM
Genius, but not much more than that.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 06, 2021, 03:59:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Last word was dace which I found by putting letters together. I will refrain from commenting on the "hand-curating" of what NYT considers to be acceptable words.

barleycorn/nontemporal

ab_grp, thanks for the good wishes. The aftereffects of the booster lasted for weeks; the doc told me that some people seem to take longer to recover from it. The tooth does rub against my tongue.

Easy crossword--easy for a Saturday.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 06, 2021, 05:59:14 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram today.  Yesterday I got to QB, but with a little help;  dace was also my last word.  Apparently it's a small fish.  I just don't do well with fish vocabulary!

LB yesterday was comparable-entry. . I found a 2fer this morning, too.

Langue_doc, that is a long recovery from the booster shot!  I hope you're beginning to feel more like yourself.  Good wishes, too, for the appointment with the new dentist. 

My reaction to the booster has been relatively mild, so far, at least compared to the second shot.  I had a little nausea and fever during the night, but that has subsided.  Fingers crossed!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 06, 2021, 07:22:37 AM
Morning!

SB - new word - dace.

LB - tabac-complementary.

Make it a great day and happy solving!

ETA: GWP and 2fer. Going hiking!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 06, 2021, 10:03:36 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to GN4L with the pangram but am struggling a bit.  I asked husband how he's doing, and apparently he only has one word left to QB, so I have to step up the pace next break! But he is not doing great at the crossword, and I finished that.  I think my final word yesterday was caveat, but dace was definitely my final 4.  I guessed it but think it was in there before.  Probably would not have come up with it without guessing!

My 2fer was comparably-yenta, so lots of solutions again! Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Enjoy your hike, ciao_yall!

Hope side effects continue to be mild or go away entirely, cathwen.

Langue_doc, did you get to go on your outing? The crossword took me a while to get into this morning, but then it seemed as though answers came more and more quickly.  Looks like my time on it was my average Saturday time.  It can be tough when there are really long entries, but if you get them it can definitely help!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on November 06, 2021, 11:49:52 AM
I got obsessed with barleycorn yesterday, but couldn't find a pair — so glad Langue_doc made it work! Nothing so far today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 06, 2021, 12:27:43 PM
I picked up a few more words in the bee but am still not at Alpha (close) with three words to QB.  Husband still has not found his final word yet.

But I did get a 2fer!

I would never have come up with barleycorn yesterday, so my hat is off to you both, onthefringe and Langue_doc, mate or no mate! I don't think anyone got yesterday's schmofficial solution so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 06, 2021, 01:00:54 PM
Genius, no 2fers yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 06, 2021, 02:10:44 PM
Found a few more words, but that's probably it for today.

Thanks for the good wishes, cathwen, and ab_grp, for asking about the trip which turned out to be quite interesting although it was slim pickings as far as the birds were concerned. We saw ruby-crowned kinglets as well as their yellow-crowned counterparts. They should have flown south weeks ago, but are presumably still here because the trees are just beginning to shed. There was a wood thrush on the ground, at close range, a downy woodpecker, a brown creeper wending its way up a tree trunk, the usual robins, blue jays, and cardinals, a great blue heron who flew almost skimming the water across the lake, another, much brighter blue, flying low on another part of the lake, a brightly colored red-tailed hawk circling overhead, and waterfowl that had just migrated--grebes, shovelers, and a few ruddy ducks. I was interviewed on my birding habits and history by a journalism student who was recording the trip leader and also interviewing some of the participants for a class assignment.

The tooth was far more damaged than I suspected. For now, it's a filling. Once the holidays are over I have to go back and discuss treatment options for a few other problems. With the holidays coming up, I didn't want to be scheduling procedures that would involve taking antibiotics.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 06, 2021, 03:53:27 PM
Langue_doc, that sounds like good bird pickings to me! It's nice that the kinglets stuck around.  Were there particular birds you were hoping to see? How neat that you were interviewed by that student! And I'm sorry to hear about the tooth damage, but I'm glad it was at a stage that you were able to postpone more serious procedures until after the holidays.  Will the filling help with the rubbing, I hope?

I finally straggled to an impure QB but needed help with the final word.  I think it was in there one other time that I can recall, but it had a difficult time coming to mind.  Oh well, at least that's over with!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 07, 2021, 07:44:12 AM
Good morning!

Found all the words yesterday--last word was luau.

Genius today, but no pangram yet.

ab_grp, the broken edges were filed before putting in the filling, so no more rubbing. As for birds, I like it when the smaller birds are identified for me, as I'm still unable to distinguish the various subspecies of sparrows and warblers. I do like to see herons and ospreys, the latter are here only in summer.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 07, 2021, 07:53:58 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP. Met someone in my hiking group who does the NYT Crosswords but didn't know about SB or LB! I showed her SB and the first word she saw was laud, then laundry. Step into my parlor and all of that.

LB - blowing-gypsum.

I broke a lower front tooth years ago. The dentist put on a cap and you cannot see it. I literally don't remember which tooth it was. Apparently there is a seam in back that the dental hygenists can see, but who looks back there?

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 07, 2021, 08:56:40 AM
Good morning!

I've got four words left to QB, made it to GN4L, no pangrams yet! Husband doesn't have them either.  Geez.  My final word yesterday was landau, which I recall from a previous puzzle but just don't think of.  Maybe after getting burnt by it a few more times...

I also had blowing-gypsum yesterday.

Langue_doc, I'm so glad that they at least filed the tooth so it doesn't keep rubbing in the meantime.  Is it harder to distinguish the little birds because they are so small or because there are so many different subspecies?

Ciao_yall, it's great that you met a new NYT puzzle friend and could introduce her to the wonders of SB and LB! And cool that you can't even tell which tooth.  Sounds like good dental work!

Husband found out he has to make the drive in for a (hopefully) brief spell to babysit someone so they don't mess up a procedure again.  Fun.   I have most of the crossword done except NW so will work on that and the hard sudoku and LB and try to get some vacuuming and laundry done.  Totally forgot it was fall back day so glad to have the extra hour!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 07, 2021, 09:59:48 AM
Good afternoon!

It took me an age to find the pangrams for today's SB, but once I did, I got to QB fairly soon after. 

Yesterday my last word was also landau

LB:  Lots of variety this time!  I had upswings-symbol.   I also have a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, I always love reading about your birding expeditions!  The kinglets and the wood thrush were truly special (well, all the birds were, but the kinglets were supposed to have migrated, and wood thrushes tend to be shy).  When I go walking on the trail here, there is one particular spot where I can hear the wood thrushes' distinctive flutey song, but I rarely can see them.

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 07, 2021, 03:27:40 PM
Genius, but no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 07, 2021, 03:48:54 PM
It's a weird pangram. My first try didn't take, but it is a word. Expect the Facebook kvetch sites to hit the fan tomorrow. Words like dryland from yesterday are why I have finally settled for GWP unless I really feel like going for the hints section.

Did get a 2fer which is pretty clean so probably official. Maybe I'll find something more fun later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 07, 2021, 04:10:37 PM
I finally figured out the pangrams and my last word and got to QBABM, but it was tough! Ciao_yall, I forgot about dryland! That ones got me, too.  Congrats on your 2fer! I don't have one yet but feel very behind today in general despite the extra hour.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 08, 2021, 05:40:59 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet.

Yesterday I found the pangrams after much toying around with compounds--I tried comedyyodel, yodelcomedy, and other combos. Missed doomy; doomy?

songbirds/stuck

Long day today, so puzzles have to be put on the back burner.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 08, 2021, 06:52:06 AM
Good morning!

I also had songbirds-stuck.

Yesterday I found doomy only by desperately adding the -y suffix to random words.  I am trying to think of how it might be used in a sentence:  That person is always so gloomy and doomy!  Maybe...but I don't like it.

Today's SB is at Beta with four words to go, but I am out of ideas.  I have a solution for LB. 

I have some preparation to do for a study group I'm part of which meets tonight over Zoom.  I've been procrastinating, so I have to hop to it and be able to present something credible.   So that, rather than SB, will take up a lot of my day.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 08, 2021, 07:25:37 AM
Morning!

SB - doomy? Whatever. Did get both pangrams yesterday and this morning was my first find. Was crabby yesterday about cyclodome. It's kind of a word.

LB - tucks-songbird. Doesn't look like a lot of variety in answers today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2021, 08:50:30 AM
Good morning!

I've got 5 more words to QB but not at Alpha yet.  At least the pangram was easier! I finally figured them out yesterday, but it took a while to recall what the actual word was I had in mind.  And doomy was my final one.  What in the world?! I also tried cyclodome yesterday.

No luck on LB, so congrats on all the 2fers! And for yours today, cathwen!

Hopefully the day will calm down after a very early morning call from husband's boss.  Ugh.  Lots to do otherwise.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 08, 2021, 10:49:29 AM
Morning!

GWP and a strange 2fer but I'll keep it. My pals on the Facebook LB thread are finding many combinations so I think there will be a lot of solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2021, 11:31:15 AM
Down to 4 more words, one point from Alpha! But I did get a 2fer.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall! I hope there are lots of interesting solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2021, 02:45:41 PM
Well, I got to QB, but it was a tough finish.  A couple unfamiliar (or at least less familiar) words in there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 08, 2021, 05:23:12 PM
Found the pangram and a few more words. I think I'm short of 10 or so points. Got a two-fer.

I took the afternoon off (not really off because I made up for it by working yesterday) to go on a hawk watch. This was a short-notice trip and was scheduled for this afternoon because of the winds which were from the northwest. We saw several red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, an osprey (surprising because they fly south in September and October), and a bald eagle that started out in the distance and then circled above us for some time. There were also several red-shouldered hawks. In retrospect, what I thought was a red-tailed hawk on Saturday must have been a red-shouldered one because of the colors and patterns. I didn't stay until the end, so will find out on Saturday (some of the people on this trip are also on the Saturday one) if the golden eagle they were waiting for made its appearance. There were some peregrine falcons, which like the red-tailed hawks live in the park.

cathwen, this was the first wood thrush that I could observe at close range and also for several minutes as the norm is to see them briefly in the distance.

ab_grp, birds are difficult to identify because of the differences between males and females, adults and juveniles, and whether or not they are breeding. The kinglets do not always have the red or yellow patches on their heads, especially if female, so I need to have them pointed out to me. Here is the link to the golden-crowned kinglet. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Kinglet/overview
If you scroll all the way to the bottom, you can see pictures of (and links to) the ruby-crowned kinglets. On one of the pre-pandemic trips a birder told us that what we think of as different species of gulls are actually a single species, but appear to be four different species depending on whether they are year-old or two-year-old juveniles, breeding or non-breeding, male or female. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/id
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2021, 04:47:51 AM
Good morning!

About 20 or so points left. Missed tiepin and tempi yesterday.

penalizes/sucrose

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 09, 2021, 05:07:07 AM
Good morning, all!

I also had penalizes-sucrose for LB.

Yesterday was a busy day, so before my evening Zoom I went to Wordplay.  Tempi was my next-to-last word, and I am embarrassed that I even needed a hint for my last word, pipeline.  Sigh...

Today I am at genius with the pangram.  I also have a 2fer.

Langue_doc, what a variety of raptors!  Seeing the bald eagle especially must have been thrilling. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 09, 2021, 07:30:07 AM
Morning!

SB - Words like tempi really push my buttons.

LB - unrealizes-scope. Also had a few 2fer b4ss localizes-spurn, pouncer-realizes and 3fers coming out of my ears.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 09, 2021, 08:36:52 AM
Good morning!

I've got 5 words left to QB, but four of them are pretty long! I have no ideas, currently.  Tempi was my last word yesterday.  I was just playing around thinking about tempeh and trying to spell it as tempe.  Not a fan of that one, either.

My LB was calzones-surprise.  A yummy solution.  Lots of sausage and ricotta for me! Different solutions again.  And congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, I had no idea there was such variety even within a subspecies or that they could look so different based on age or breeding status as well as whether they are male or female.  The Western gulls! Yeek! They look totally different! To me, those male and female golden-crowned kinglets look way more similar than I would expect.  But I love the ruby-crowned male's red tuft! Yay for seeing a bald eagle! I hope the group also got to see the golden eagle.  I looked up the red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks, and it looks as though it could be difficult to tell them apart depending on how they're sitting or moving.  It would be nice if they'd each strike the same pose so that they could be more easily compared.  ;-)  We got to see a fairly large number of bald eagles while floating down the Snake River a decade or so ago.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 09, 2021, 10:36:40 AM
Got to Alpha but still have 3 words left, two of which are long.  But I got a 2fer on my first try!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2021, 12:00:14 PM
Weird two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 09, 2021, 12:52:23 PM
My 2fer was pretty lopsided.  Maybe if I have time I'll try for another.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Finally got to impure QB after needing help with the final two words.  Yuck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 10, 2021, 05:37:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and amazing so far. It's one of those blah puzzles where it's the word count that matters, and not the challenge or the difficulty levels.

Missed arhat, but found the compounds early into the puzzle. I think hortatory was the last word.

prequalify/yob; yob?!! Tried it for the heck of it, and was quite surprised that it was accepted. I had qualifier first, but couldn't find a mate.

I don't think I have the time or the motivation to chase down the remaining words in the bee.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 10, 2021, 07:03:28 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, but with 2L hints for the last four words.  Ratatat was my last word!  I usually see that almost immediately!  I got arhat by consulting my list of odd Bee words.  Otherwise, it would never have occurred to me. Today I am at Alpha with five words to go. 

LB:  I had prober-requalify.  Langue_doc, I had never heard of yob before, either!  Apparently it is British slang for a "loutish, uncultured person," according to en.Wikipedia.org. 

No 2fer today as yet!  But the day is young.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 10, 2021, 07:26:07 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP yesterday, missed the usual oddballs.

LB - 3fers only: requalify-yep-poboy, qualifier-ropy-yob so very close to Langue-doc and cathwen! I have used yob in the past as a plug word. Why didn't I see prequalify? Other 3fers, but my personal favorite was the Hugh Hefner inspired playful-liquor-robe.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2021, 09:14:05 AM
Good morning!

I have four more words left today and am at Alpha, so we'll see.  I managed to get arhat earlier on after having been burned by it before.  We both needed help with arrowroot, and I swore I had tried thataway, but that ended up being my final word.

My LB was similar, but I got bop-prequalifyYob is an interesting new word! Guess none of us so far had the schmofficial one but some nice different solutions.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 10, 2021, 10:56:07 AM
GWP, 2fer and some b4ss and tight 3fers that might turn into additional 2fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2021, 11:23:39 AM
Congrats on your 2fer and leads on other 2fers, ciao_yall! I have a couple good contenders, but nothing yet.

I did get to QBABM.  No really hard words, just took a bit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2021, 04:16:33 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 10, 2021, 08:25:24 PM
50 words but no pangram or genius yet. Geeze.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2021, 07:25:41 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP, the usual achievement.

LB - type-exclusion so Sam and I are vibin'.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2021, 07:28:41 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 10, 2021, 08:25:24 PM
50 words but no pangram or genius yet. Geeze.

Then the pangram will be suprisingly ironic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 08:25:47 AM
Good morning!

One more dang word to QB... what is it?! Yesterday my final few were lede, lento, tweedle(d)

I had the same 2fer.  Any other solutions?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 11, 2021, 09:10:23 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 11, 2021, 07:28:41 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on November 10, 2021, 08:25:24 PM
50 words but no pangram or genius yet. Geeze.

Then the pangram will be suprisingly ironic.

No kidding!


Easy genius and pangram for me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 11, 2021, 10:10:00 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with my last word being lede.  I never seem to remember that one.  QB already today. 

No LB solution yesterday--so congratulations to all those who found a 2fer!  Ironically, I had both type and exclusion at different moments, but just did not put them together!  Doh!  I have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 10:42:59 AM
We finally each got to QBABO.  Congrats on yours, cathwen, and on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2021, 12:14:52 PM
Afternoon!

Almost QB, but not quite there yet.

Yesterday I thought I had missed a couple or so words, but it turns out that these are words that I entered much earlier in the day: lolled, toddled, tell. This is not the first time that words that I enter when on the kindle don't show up unless I double-check the words on one of the computers. I thought of emailing NYT about what appears to be a bug, but don't want to get their formulaic five-paragraph rambling about how cute and special they are. I anointed myself QB because I had entered the entire list of words.

type/exclusion; couldn't find mates for coyote or oxytonic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 12:19:34 PM
I tried oxytocin yesterday with no luck, either.  But I had it on the brain, I guess, because my nurse daughter got certified as a doula Monday so she could be with her stepsister (on her dad's side) during her labor and delivery (yesterday through this morning).  I guess it was the only way she could be in the room given covid restrictions.  A healthy baby girl resulted, and daughter is now an aunt for the first time and very tired but happy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2021, 12:30:00 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 12:19:34 PM
I tried oxytocin yesterday with no luck, either.  But I had it on the brain, I guess, because my nurse daughter got certified as a doula Monday so she could be with her stepsister (on her dad's side) during her labor and delivery (yesterday through this morning).  I guess it was the only way she could be in the room given covid restrictions.  A healthy baby girl resulted, and daughter is now an aunt for the first time and very tired but happy.

Congrats to your daughter, ab_grp for getting her certification and also for seeing sis through delivery (and for getting aunt status).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 11, 2021, 01:00:35 PM
Congratulations, ab_grp, to your daughter for getting her certification, and for the birth of a healthy baby and your daughter's well-earned aunt status!  Congratulations to the mother, too! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 01:29:50 PM
Thanks for the good wishes, Langue_doc and cathwen! Daughter is just over the moon.  Mom looks good in the pics, but honestly it's been all baby all day, as it usually ends up being! Everyone looks way too peppy and rested for that long night ordeal.  Ah, youth.

I have a bunch ton of contenders but nothing yet on LB.  Just one set of ships and a couple good pairs with one letter missing. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2021, 01:56:33 PM
ab_grp, How exciting for your daughter! Well, the combination of adrenaline and joy is very good for the complexion.

GWP, couple of 2fers.

Got to the mani pedi place, realized I didn't have my phone so I came home. Now deciding if I want to motivate back out there or shower/nap.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 03:13:28 PM
Thanks, ciao_yall! And, wow! Congrats on multiple 2fers! Still working on that myself.  Hope you enjoy whichever relaxing option you choose!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2021, 05:26:18 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 03:13:28 PM
Thanks, ciao_yall! And, wow! Congrats on multiple 2fers! Still working on that myself.  Hope you enjoy whichever relaxing option you choose!

Yoga. Then went back out for mani/pedi. Came back to shower/nap.

Life R good today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2021, 06:34:43 PM
QBwG2LL!*

Hello, you. It's been a while.

* Queen Bee with Grid, 2 Letter List.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2021, 07:27:38 PM
That sounds like an awesome relaxation combo fitting it all in, ciao_yall! And congrats on your QB!

Still working on LB.  I have so many contenders and so many pairs that are so close! Dang it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 12, 2021, 04:25:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I think I need 7-8 more points to get to QB.

Last word yesterday was moonlit.

Crossword needs to be completed; stuck on the SW side of the grid.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 12, 2021, 05:29:24 AM
Good morning!

QBABM!  (Yes, I've been up a long time.). Yesterday my last words were noncom and  mitt.

LB yesterday was yacked-divestiture.  I was a little surprised that yacked was accepted, but I will not argue.  I have a 2fer today.

Ciao_yall, I am dying to see your multiple 2fers! And a mani-pedi—it's been ages since I've treated myself to that. 

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 12, 2021, 07:22:02 AM
QB! It wasn't that difficult; found the last couple of words trying to clear my head from yet another instance of plagiarism from the same student.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2021, 09:06:33 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I've got 4 more words to QB.  Husband only has 2 left.  I think noncom was my final word yesterday.  Congrats on your QBs, cathwen and Langue_doc! I hope to join you!

I had no luck on LB, so congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! And congrats on another one today! Getting up early must suit you!

Langue_doc, the SW and W stumped me for longer than usual this morning, so good luck.  Sorry to hear you've got more plagiarism to deal with, and from the same student?!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 12, 2021, 09:08:54 AM
Morning!

QB - last word was monotonic.

LB - duskier-reactivity, reactivated-dusky, Nowhere close to the schmofficial solution. I run with a crowd on Facebook with a few retired folks. At last count one had 5 2fers!

Also got my legs waxed yesterday. Today we have to do some shopping and get new phones in preparation for our December trip to Portugal.

ETA: GwP, 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 12, 2021, 11:54:43 AM
Had an easy time of genius and the pangram today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2021, 03:05:15 PM
We finally got to QBABO.  My final word took a while, but it's been in there before.

I had a long meeting, so no attempts at LB yet, but congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! And congrats on your two yesterday and your friend's 5... wow! Exciting that you're going to Portugal, too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 12, 2021, 04:24:24 PM
Found a neat two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2021, 05:22:26 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc! I just picked up a 2fer as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 13, 2021, 05:24:53 AM
Good morning!

QB--familiar words today.

Last word yesterday was arroyo.

backhoes/swing

Happy solving, all!

Portugal does sound exciting.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 13, 2021, 06:48:59 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP. Also got up at 3AM and hit GwP again pretty quickly.

LB - backings-snowshoe. And a 3AM 3fer already. Hope the 2fer is nigh.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2021, 08:57:49 AM
Good morning!

Lucky to have an easy QBABM today! Husband has one more word left but should get it soon enough.  My final word yesterday was amyl.

For LB, I had backswings-shoe.  Multiple solutions again!

And the crossword was not super difficult, so yay.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 13, 2021, 09:50:09 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM and a 2fer. 

Yesterday, like Langue_doc, I had backhoes-swing.

Ab_grp, a trip to Portugal sounds fabulous!  Lucky you!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2021, 10:32:56 AM
Congrats on your QB and 2fer, cathwen! But ciao_yall is the lucky Portugal traveler.  I just live vicariously through all the people I know who go to Portugal!

I've got a couple reasonable contenders but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 13, 2021, 10:46:50 AM
Easy genius and pangram, well on my way to QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 13, 2021, 12:26:45 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 13, 2021, 10:32:56 AM
Congrats on your QB and 2fer, cathwen! But ciao_yall is the lucky Portugal traveler.  I just live vicariously through all the people I know who go to Portugal!

I've got a couple reasonable contenders but no 2fer yet.

Oops!  Ciao_yall, that will be a wonderful trip.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2021, 02:35:50 PM
Well, now that it's out in the universe, maybe ciao_yall will take along a suitcase stowaway?

Langue_doc, I enjoyed your brine post on the Thanksgiving thread and forgot to say that there!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 14, 2021, 06:42:01 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram so far, but I have no idea where the rest of the words could be hiding.  Yesterday my last word was heme, which I now remember having seen before, and which I got by combining letters randomly.

LB:  I had the "official" solution:  acquaint-thyroid.  I have a 2fer today.

Will there be room for one more in ciao_yall's stowaway luggage?  I've never been to Portugal! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 14, 2021, 08:42:04 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP. Doeth?

LB - Close but no cigar with quint-thyroid-dacha. Found acquiry but somehow never turned it into acquaint.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 14, 2021, 09:12:32 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Grading day today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 14, 2021, 10:36:25 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three words left, finally got to Alpha but it was very slow going at first.  Didn't sleep well.  My second word was a total guess, if that says anything! Hopefully shower and coffee will continue to help.  My final word yesterday was doeth.  I agree.  What!

Cathwen, huge congrats on getting the solution! That was tough.  I had only a few contenders.  Didn't see quaint, let alone acquaint.  Congrats on your 2fer today!

I have another call with a friend that could go long so need to try to get sudokus in and will see about remaining bee and do LB later, hopefully.

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 14, 2021, 03:09:30 PM
QB.

ab_grp, I was thinking of you this morning when I found one of the words in today's bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 14, 2021, 03:28:45 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc! Thanks! I was thinking similarly.  We also got to QB, though we needed to compare for our final words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 14, 2021, 08:17:43 PM
Hmm. Genius, but no pangram. It doesn't look like I should be struggling to see it...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 15, 2021, 04:53:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 15, 2021, 05:42:07 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far this morning.  Yesterday I got to QBWATHICG—my last two words were dolma and modulo, which I would never have gotten without going to the definitions part of WordPlay. 

As for LB, I had the "official" solution:  grump-probational.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 15, 2021, 06:56:08 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP. modulo?

LB - grump-probational as well.

Happy solving!

ETA: 2fer on the first try. Still stuck on AwP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 15, 2021, 09:29:59 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 4 words left and am not at Alpha yet.  My second word yesterday was durum, which I was glad to guess and get out of the way! I just could not see any words for a while yesterday.  And luckily I remembered dolmaModulo took me a while.  But I think my final words included dolor, madam.

No luck at all on LB yesterday.  Congrats, cathwen! And congrats today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

I hope to have more time today with no calls planned.  We'll see.  Tomorrow afternoon is booster and my first-ever flu shot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 15, 2021, 12:36:55 PM
We ended up getting to QBABO with different final words, but I am really stumped on LB so far!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 15, 2021, 03:39:21 PM
Can't believe I missed it earlier, but I finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 16, 2021, 07:19:35 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, got the pangram pretty early. Last word was rococo. Looked at the grid later in the day but didn't knock much loose.

LB - judgment-trowel on the first try.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 16, 2021, 08:14:57 AM
Good morning!

I also had judgment-trowel.  It is also the "official" solution.  Did anyone have anything different?

I did not reach QB yesterday; I had three words to go, two of which I should have seen:  corncob and bronc.  The one I wouldn't have gotten anyway is barbacoa, although I think I've seen it in at least one previous Bee.

Today I am at Alpha and kind of stuck.  I may need to resort to WordPlay.

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 16, 2021, 10:27:29 AM
Good afternoon!

We both got to QBABO with different final words again.  I think yesterday mine included corolla (which I would think of only as a car if not for the crossword), barbacoa, carbonara, collar.  I remembered some of them from when we had the same pangram recently with different center letter.

I got the same 2fer.  I wonder if there were any others.  Can't believe it took me so long to find judgment, but that J was getting me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 16, 2021, 12:19:33 PM
Afternoon!

Genius and then the pangram. Should have seen it much earlier.

I missed barbacoa--I think I've seen it before, but wouldn't have thought of it.

judgment/trowel; I found jungled, but no mate, alas. jungled?!! Oh, well.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 17, 2021, 05:37:50 AM
Pangram and well above genius.

Last word yesterday way gooey.

farmhand/disgust

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 17, 2021, 05:56:13 AM
Good morning!

Also genius with pangram today.

Yesterday I got to QB, but with hints.  Golem was my last word. 

For yesterday's LB, I also had farmhand-disgust.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 17, 2021, 07:20:21 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP yesterday. Wouldn't have gotten otology but got all the other tricky ones.

LB - Just 3fers. Didn't find farmhand or disgust.

Onward, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 17, 2021, 08:36:36 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! Husband still has one word left.  I think my final word yesterday was ogee.

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats to Langue_doc and cathwen!

Had my shots yesterday and no real issues yet but am going to frontload the more difficult things I have to do today.  Day 2-3 was not great last time.  But hopefully it will continue to be fairly mild.  Just tired and sore, but I went to a different facility that we heard of through husband's colleague, and it was a world of difference from the drug store. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 17, 2021, 10:57:53 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 17, 2021, 08:36:36 AM
Good morning!


Had my shots yesterday and no real issues yet but am going to frontload the more difficult things I have to do today.  Day 2-3 was not great last time.  But hopefully it will continue to be fairly mild.  Just tired and sore, but I went to a different facility that we heard of through husband's colleague, and it was a world of difference from the drug store. 



Hope your symptoms continue to be mild and you recover from them soon.

QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 17, 2021, 02:06:57 PM
QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 17, 2021, 03:34:46 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Unfortunately, I seem to be following a similar trajectory as last time, but I am also following a similar self-care routine, so hopefully it will keep it in check and move it out of here.

Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen!!

Does anyone have a 2fer yet? I have a couple reasonable contenders and plan to just stare at it for a while and see if something occurs to me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 17, 2021, 03:41:24 PM
ab_grp, I found a two-fer. I'm disappointed though as I couldn't find mates for two words that are much more exciting than the ones in my solution.

Hope you feel better soon. Nothing like rest and relaxation--that's what the doctor told me when I complained about my recovery from the booster shot.

Congrats cathwen. I've been meaning to ask about your progress ever since I had to use my grabby thingummy to retrieve something from behind a piece of furniture. Hope you're back to normal.

Zoom meeting calls--it's my book group.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 17, 2021, 03:51:19 PM
Congrats on your 2fer Langue_doc! I have at least one interesting one that doesn't seem to have a home (yet?).  I'm glad to have gotten a lot of the more arduous or physical stuff done this morning, so I am currently catching up on podcasts and staring at LB.  Enjoy your book group! I still have a draft PM to you about that from months ago!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 17, 2021, 05:40:58 PM
Quick GwP, but stuck in 3fer land.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 17, 2021, 07:45:04 PM
I've been doing a terrible job of the bee these last few days, dunno why.

But also, my credit card expired and now the NYT is being weird about updating it, so who knows how much longer they'll let me bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 18, 2021, 04:32:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday: lain.

growls/sympathy; couldn't find partners for warthog(s) or protoplasm.

Quote
Posted by: Parasaurolophus
« on: November 17, 2021, 07:45:04 PM »Insert Quote

But also, my credit card expired and now the NYT is being weird about updating it, so who knows how much longer they'll let me bee.


You might want to call them as they aren't as efficient as they used to be. Not too long ago, I kept getting emails to the effect that the credit card that NYT had been using for more than a year for my Times subscription was no longer valid. Turned out that they had updated their system which didn't recognize the one that they had been using all year, but the one that they used previously until it expired a year ago. They had no explanation as to why the card that had been withdrawn from my account was suddenly being used for my transactions.

Happy solving, all!

Only a week left; hope the weather cooperates for those of us with long drives.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 18, 2021, 05:18:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning.

LB: Yesterday, I had the "official" growls-sympathy.  No 2fer yet today!  Wow, is that ever a tough set of letters.

Parasaurolophus, I hope you get your NYT subscription straightened out without too much (or any) difficulty!

Langue_doc, thanks for asking—I'm making progress.  I can walk mostly without a cane around the house, but for longer distances—going for a walk, for example—I need my cane.  I'm undergoing physical therapy with an excellent therapist and have exercises to do at home between sessions.  I still am not allowed to bend 90º; that might take a while, so my grabbing stick is getting a bit of use!  In the meanwhile, I'm trying to stay optimistic.  I next see my doctor after Thanksgiving.

And I share your hope that the weather cooperates for Thanksgiving! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 18, 2021, 07:25:45 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP. Like the Cookie Monster said, "C is for Cookie and that's good enough for me."

LB - Argh. I had gap-prowls-sympathy, got-trawls-sympathy, sympathy-rag-glows and just couldn't see growls. Also a 2fer b4ss polyglots-shwarma.

Well, happy solving for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 18, 2021, 09:03:02 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We each got to QBABO with different final words again.  I think my final one yesterday was dahlia.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, Langue_doc and cathwen! I also tried protoplasm among others, to no avail.

Glad to hear you are making progress, cathwen!

Good luck with your credit card and subscription, Parasaurolophus.  They don't always seem to have the best customer service, but I hope it gets straightened out.

And I am crossing my fingers for those traveling next week.  Good weather!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 18, 2021, 09:08:48 AM
GwP and found a 3fer. Might be it for the day, but we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 18, 2021, 10:25:11 AM
Made it to beta in short order this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on November 18, 2021, 08:55:00 PM
Today's was my very first QBABM. I didn't even look to see how many total words there were!

We've been getting QB with the grid and 2LL. With occasional forum hints. But today's a landmark!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 19, 2021, 04:33:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; last word yesterday was belle.

Found a two-fer before really waking up. Crosswords were done last night.

cathwen, it sounds as though your progress is steady. A good therapist is far more valuable than a good physician, so you'll get there.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 19, 2021, 05:29:11 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, left off there. Bluebell is one word? Well, if I didn't know, now I know.

LB - That was a toughie! No wonder I didn't find a 2fer. Closest I got was van-numb-blockchain.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 19, 2021, 06:04:13 AM
Good morning!

I just reached Alpha this morning—apparently only two words to go, and I am stumped.  I'll try to hold out before looking for first letter clues.

Yesterday my last words were bumblebee and hubbub

As for LB, I did not find a solution yesterday.  Kombucha-anvil?  I had anvil, but kombucha would never have occurred to me.

I do have a 2fer today, though.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 19, 2021, 09:04:57 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Congrats on your first QBABY, monarda!! I'm at Alpha but have three words left and am currently stumped.  I think my final ones were hubbub, bluebell yesterday. 

No luck on LB yesterday.  I also tried blockchain but couldn't get the VUM to work out.  And I tried munchkin.  Oh well.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Seemed like yesterday's and today's crosswords were very easy for this part of the week.  Today's looked daunting but was one of my faster times.  But that leaves more time for the other puzzles!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 19, 2021, 11:32:06 AM
GwP and a 2fer. 1/2 an hour before a Zoom call and then lunch. What am I gonna do with myself?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 19, 2021, 07:55:43 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

I finally got QB and a 2fer.  I don't think it's the schmofficial one, but who knows.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 19, 2021, 08:54:36 PM
Couldn't hack it today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 20, 2021, 05:12:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last words yesterday were malaria and malarial.

undramatic/cowl; the NYT solution is rather inelegant, IMHO.

Crosswords were done last night. Grading needs to be done today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 20, 2021, 05:45:27 AM
Good morning!

It took me an age to get the pangram, but I am now at Beta.  Although it is not a long Bee, I'm finding it difficult.

Yesterday I did resort to hints for the last word:  riyal

LB:  I also had undramatic-cowl.  I found a 2fer today, also. 

Langue_doc, may your grading go smoothly without the instances of plagiarism that you have described in other threads. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 20, 2021, 07:48:45 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, then woke up in the middle of the night last night so have a GwP for today as well.

LB - undramatic-cowl - Great minds think alike! Midnight session yielded a quick 3fer so hope a 2fer is nigh and now, a 2fer over morning coffee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 20, 2021, 09:11:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 3 words left and am not at Alpha yet.  I thought this was one of the more difficult pangrams! I'm not sure my husband will get it.  Just an unfamiliar word.  Riyal was my last one yesterday, too.  Have to add that to the variety of spellings list in my mind.

For LB, I got untoward-dominical.  I didn't know if the latter was a word but was just trying things with remaining letters.  It's funny that all three of you got the same, nonschmofficial 2fer! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 20, 2021, 10:13:04 AM
QB with a weird word. This was a difficult puzzle for reasons I'll give tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 20, 2021, 10:34:27 AM
Congrats, Langue_doc! We compared for our final words to get first letters.  He just had the pangram left.  As I suspected, he was not familiar with it.  I think I'd heard of it, but that's about it, and I was lucky to guess it.  Anyway, I got to impure QB.  Lots of bee words in there!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 20, 2021, 01:57:00 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 20, 2021, 03:32:24 PM
QB with one hint. In my brain it was two words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 20, 2021, 08:26:21 PM
Today was not my day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 21, 2021, 07:18:36 AM
Good morning!

Well, can we all complain about pfft in yesterday's SB?  I guess I've seen it once before in the Bee, but it wouldn't have occurred to me without a hint from WordPlay, which got me to QB.   Pettifog was not easy, either, but at least I've heard the word before, archaic though it is.

Today I am at genius with pangram, and pessimistic about QBABM.  And I don't have a 2fer for LB, either. 

For yesterday's LB, I had anchovies-snarky.

I should be responding to discussion postings today, but my slacker students are procrastinating big time—so there isn't much to respond to.  (They're not all slackers, but a good number of them are.)  Oh well, more puzzle time for me, I guess! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 21, 2021, 08:35:54 AM
Good morning!

QB! cathwen, you'll get there. I too have been unhappy about the bee's word selections--will vent later today.

QB yesterday.

I think I had hackney/rakish with a letter left over, and another pair with a dangling letter.

Just got back from the slightly fancy store with my Thanksgiving goodies. Taking the subway is always an adventure. Today, there was an individual clearly off his meds behaving erratically and taking his frustrations out by banging on the subway doors. The man across from me rolled his eyes at me and shrugged his shoulders (which I interpreted as gestures of relief) as soon as the other passenger got out. I too rolled my eyes at him, both of us communicating with the unmasked parts of our faces.

There's at least a quarter of the crossword to be completed.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 21, 2021, 08:56:03 AM
Morning!

QB with a hint. Last word was tipoff which I always think of as hyphenated.

LB - anchovies-snarky as well.

Lots of puzzles today, so happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on November 21, 2021, 09:13:10 AM
anchovies-skyr yesterday (leaving me stuck with the image of anchovy flavored yogurt).I like the idea of snarky anchovies better!

Congrats on getting your thanksgiving goodies home Langue_doc. I am starting Thanksgiving prep in the sense that the turkey is thawing in the fridge and bread for stuffing is drying out in the oven.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 21, 2021, 09:19:25 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

One more word to go in the bee.  I think pfft, poppet, potpie were my last ones yesterday.  We are having potpies this week and have been talking about them a good bit, so not sure why that one escaped me.  Not a fan of pfft.

I also had anchovies-snarky yesterday.  Congrats on a different solution, onthefringe! I have not heard of skyr and am not sure anchovy flavored yogurt sounds too good.  Maybe the anchovies are being snarky because they think they make everything taste better, even yogurt!

The NW of the crossword took me the longest today, and the NE/E was hardest for husband.

Sounds like an interesting trip to the slightly fancy store, Langue_doc! These days, I guess it's good that the person just acted weirdly and got off the train rather than acting up further.  Some of the things happening on mass transit these days are a big yikes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 21, 2021, 09:54:05 AM
Got to genius fairly quickly today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 21, 2021, 01:15:35 PM
Crossword is done! It was the SW corner that gave me trouble.

onthefringe, I'm sure your house is already smelling like Thanksgiving. This year's Thanksgiving and Christmas are both special because of the staying home and isolation protocols last year. Car needs to visit the tire shop tomorrow to make sure that the tires are properly inflated.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 21, 2021, 05:28:39 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 21, 2021, 07:02:49 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 21, 2021, 05:28:39 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Woohoo! Just 3fers so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 22, 2021, 05:08:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

As for the bee words, it appears that the words are chosen at random by an individual or group of individuals who refuse to divulge the rationale for their selection other than resorting to justifying their choice on "hand-curating" (whatever that means). This comes across as a bit sadistic because only the puzzle-setters know the arbitrary list of words but they expect the solvers to read their minds and thus come up with the words in the list. As a result, getting to genius is easy, but getting to QB is possible only if you remember the list, as was the case with pfft which not many people might think of as a word. Not too long ago, glottology which I think of as more of a word than pfft was not accepted.

End of vent.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 22, 2021, 07:29:08 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP yesterday, and a 1 AM session got me another GWP again.

LB - Just close 3fers - tricky one yesterday! Examples include: phormium-marvel-lane, lamp-phormium-maven, phenomenal-live-euro. 3fer as well from last night, we'll see if anything busts loose.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 22, 2021, 07:50:59 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QB, with cuing and cooing as my final words. 

No 2fer yesterday--LB was a toughie, so congratulations, ab_grp!  I think you're the only one who found one?

I do have a 2fer today, though.

Langue_doc, reading about your grocery trip reminded me of all the things I both loved and hated about riding the subway.  My husband is going grocery shopping today, which will be a much less exciting experience than a subway trip! 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on November 22, 2021, 07:55:11 AM
@cathwen, my last two words yesterday were the same two, cuing and cooing. We must be on the same wavelength.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 22, 2021, 09:56:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM without too much trouble, so good luck! Yesterday my final word was voguing, which I needed help with.  I don't think I would have just come up with that, though I'm sure it's been in there before.

My 2fer is a little weird.  I came up with phenomenal-lurve.  I figured I'd try it because people sometimes say they lurve something rather than love it, but I guess it's acceptable! I also wondered if we should come up with a term for wraparound solutions.  Like lurve-epiphenomenal-lurve, solutions that can go either way.  A band? A ring? So I did get a solution (or two, I guess), but I'm not crazy about the mate.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 22, 2021, 11:05:35 AM
QB! Familiar words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 22, 2021, 05:16:16 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 22, 2021, 09:56:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM without too much trouble, so good luck! Yesterday my final word was voguing, which I needed help with.  I don't think I would have just come up with that, though I'm sure it's been in there before.

My 2fer is a little weird.  I came up with phenomenal-lurve.  I figured I'd try it because people sometimes say they lurve something rather than love it, but I guess it's acceptable! I also wondered if we should come up with a term for wraparound solutions.  Like lurve-epiphenomenal-lurve, solutions that can go either way.  A band? A ring? So I did get a solution (or two, I guess), but I'm not crazy about the mate.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!

Would you believe I thought about trying lurve but thought "Nah, not a word." Anyway, 2fer today and lots of b4ss solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 22, 2021, 07:18:13 PM
Ciao_yall, I can believe it because I tried all dang day with variations of phenomenal and kept seeing those letters and thinking "maybe? nah".  Finally I just tried it.  Argh.  You never know!  Congrats on your 2fer! I got one as well, and it has more normal words than lurve.  I had to try quite a few contenders today, though.  I got so close with so many!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 22, 2021, 08:56:26 PM
Crawled over the genius line tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2021, 05:03:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

argonaut/timely

Happy solving, all!

ETA two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 23, 2021, 05:13:04 AM
Good morning!

QB-1 today, hoping for QBABM, but am currently stumped.

Yesterday my last words were finito and uncuffed.

Looks like we'll have some LB variety from yesterday's puzzle!  I had mineralogy-yurt.  Both Langue_doc and I have a non-"official" solution, so I wonder what others have come up with.

I found a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2021, 07:57:42 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP for yesterday. Pangram first and quick genius this morning.

LB - gamer-routinely. Close to the schmofficial solution. Lots of b4ss solutions yesterday as well - gremolata-annuity, menially-yogurt, ornamental-liturgy, ruminant-teleology and 3fers coming out of my ears. Haven't started yet this morning.

Yes, ab_grp, in life, as in LB - try anything. Why not?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2021, 09:02:12 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM pretty easily again.  Whee! No tough words in there that I can think of.  Yesterday my final one was fount.

I got trainman-neurology yesterday.  Lots of different solutions and none of them schmofficial so far! I have a pretty good lead on one today so hope it works out.  And I am going to keep trying questionable words for mates this time earlier rather than later.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 23, 2021, 10:33:09 AM
Congratulations, ab_grp!  QBQBM for me, too.  I was stuck on the last 7-letter word, but finally got it.  It was a normal word, but it just took me some time to see it.

I also found neurology yesterday, but did not see trainman!  What an interesting collection of 2fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2021, 10:58:11 AM
Yay! Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! It took me quite a while to find trainman.  It wouldn't take tinman or martian.  I was glad to finally get some mate accepted because none of my other contenders seemed too viable in terms of letters left over.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2021, 11:02:04 AM
Puzzles are all done, including the tiles. Today's is the only tiles that I like--it was a difficult learning curve, but I finally got it.

Tires have been checked and inflated, tank has been filled. Leaving tomorrow morning, so puzzles and the fora might have to be relegated to the back burner.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2021, 11:42:33 AM
2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2021, 11:57:17 AM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I hope you have safe travels and a wonderful Thanksgiving visit if you don't get a chance to check in!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2021, 01:24:31 PM
Thanks, ab_grp. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

Happy Thanksgiving, all! Good company and good food, in that order.

I might pop in later in the week. I'm not sure how much time I'll have tomorrow morning as I'll have to pack the laptop and kindle and also the chargers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 23, 2021, 04:32:53 PM
Whew, GWP. Easy pangram, but it eluded me for a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2021, 06:31:28 PM
QBwG2LL (Queen Bee with Grid, 2 Letter List).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 24, 2021, 04:55:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and amazing. Tricky one today.

frights/squeak

Happy Thanksgiving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 24, 2021, 05:53:56 AM
Good morning!

I also had frights-squeak.  I found a 2fer today, too.

SB stands at genius with pangram, but it took a good while to get there.  I am not sure I have the wherewithal to continue much further.  Too much to do today!

Langue_doc, safe travels, and enjoy the good company and good food!  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2021, 07:35:23 AM
Morning!

QB -  last word was fiat. Also tried fatted which didn't take, so I didn't bother with defat, defatted until the very end.

LB - frights-squeak. I also found earthquake but couldn't make a 2fer out of it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2021, 08:56:19 AM
Good morning!

Man, today is tough!! I have the pangram but am a bit shy of genius.  I'm still trying for GN4L, but it is frustrating.  I think defat, defatted were my final ones yesterday.

For LB, I had frights-seaquake.  I had also though earthquakes was the way to go but had to partially abandon it.  You all had a much more parsimonious solution! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Cathwen, if you are also not going to be around tomorrow, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2021, 10:47:57 AM
GwP and 2fer. Okay, back to potching for T-Day and grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2021, 10:59:41 AM
Congrats on the 2fer, ciao_yall! I just took a look and have a contender but haven't gotten further than that.

Finally did get GN4L.  Still short of Alpha, but whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2021, 11:59:56 AM
It's a strange 2fer but pretty clean. Sam didn't leave us much room with the J, did he?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2021, 03:27:54 PM
Thanks for the info about the solution! I am going to try to get back to it here in a sec.  My contender doesn't use the J, and I haven't figured out what to do with that yet.

Did finally get to very impure QB with Shunn's help for the last 5 or so words.  I thought this was a really tough puzzle.  Even with Shunn it took me forever to find at least three of them.  Husband is still working on two more words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 24, 2021, 03:34:10 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 24, 2021, 08:56:19 AM
Good morning!

Man, today is tough!! I have the pangram but am a bit shy of genius.  I'm still trying for GN4L, but it is frustrating.  I think defat, defatted were my final ones yesterday.



Yeah, I don't buy defat and defatted, personally.

But I'm also shy of genius. Pangramless for now, too. Oof.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2021, 04:31:54 PM
Parasaurolophus, I wasn't super thrilled about those words, either.  Good luck with the pangram! There were a couple words not accepted today that I thought should have been as well.

I've got some more good LB contenders, but so far the closest I have come is ships.  Onward!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 25, 2021, 07:18:40 AM
Morning! Going for a hike, then T-Day at a friend's house. Contribution all made.

SB - Yesterday GwP, then quick pangram this morning.

LB - purchase-emoji. I remember when cathwen first started doing LB and found emoji and I was like wow, I'm in the presence of genius.

I am grateful for this sweet, supportive thread of peace and fun while other threads devolve into whining.

Anyway, happy solving and happy T-Day!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 25, 2021, 09:00:08 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am struggling for GN4L, but there are a lot of 4L! I have to get one more word for genius, and I only have three possibilities left, all of which are pretty short but are eluding me for now.  I am determined! I think my final words yesterday included tupelo, outpoll, poult, penult.  It didn't take pentuple, pentuplet, pluot? I think those weren't accepted before, either, but I thought they were words.

Kudos on your 2fer, ciao_yall!! Emoji is just one that doesn't occur to me.  The closest I came was the ships perjuries-chamois.

I am also grateful for this, my favorite thread with favorite forumites! Have a very happy Thanksgiving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 25, 2021, 09:44:50 AM
Good afternoon! 

Just got to Alpha—four words to go.  Yesterday I resorted to WordPlay.  Poult and toluene were my last words.

LB:  I also had purchase-emoji yesterday!  I wonder if there were other solutions?  That J made it a difficult LB. 

I found a a 2fer today.

I also want to express gratitude for such a good-natured, supportive thread, where we celebrate each other's successes (large or small). 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 25, 2021, 10:25:42 AM
Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen! And good luck on the bee.  I finally made it to GN4L and then pretty quickly to Alpha but have one word left for QB.  Happy Thanksgiving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on November 25, 2021, 12:27:17 PM
Got a 2fer today. It's a lazy day around here, so there is time for puzzles, as our family is too far away to visit with SO's work schedule.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 25, 2021, 12:38:54 PM
Yeah! Congrats on your 2fer as well, OneMoreYear! I have a couple contenders but haven't gotten very far yet.  We're also being lazy, and I think my mind is as well.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Husband and I finally got to QBABO with different final words.  Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 25, 2021, 06:54:03 PM
Took me 37 words to get to gwp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 26, 2021, 08:20:05 AM
Easy GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2021, 09:07:16 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Husband and I each have two words left to QB but are not sure if they are the same or not.  But we did get to Alpha.  Yesterday I think apnea was my final word.

I got a 2fer yesterday, not the schmofficial one (which I never would have gotten!): wholes-substation.  I found waistline(s) and figured that HAD to be part of the schmofficial one given that it was Thanksgiving, but I didn't get anywhere with it.  And I guess not, anyway.

Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

Still struggling with the crossword, E/SE.  Ugh!

I hope those who Thanksgivinged enjoyed it.  We did actually end up getting our tree decorated.  Much more festive this year, though still weird.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 26, 2021, 09:16:10 AM
QB yesterday, but resorted to 2LL hints for the last word, which was pome.  It seemed stupid to be stumped at a 4-letter word, but I wouldn't have found it without the hint (and some random letter scrambling).

Today's SB is at QB-2.  I'm hoping for QBABM, but we'll see. 

But LB!  The "official" solution is bushwa-alienation.  Bushwa? Really?  I had washtubs-sealion.  I was surprised that they accepted sealion, because I would have written it as two words.  Ab_grp, I like your solution better, because neither word is "iffy."  OneMoreYear, I'm curious to see if you got something different yet!

An LB twofer is eluding me today, despite having found several really good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 26, 2021, 09:52:34 AM
Morning!

SB - Pangram first, then never made it past Amazing.

LB - Just 3fers. I actually did find bushwa-ale-elation. SO CLOSE!


Enjoyed my hike and T-Day feast yesterday, but resting today so hoping for better puzzle results today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2021, 10:33:28 AM
Cathwen, I definitely thought pome was a tough one, and I found it by just trying things.  Good luck with the bee! I like your LB solution as well!

Ciao_yall, if you got bushwa I think you should consider it a win.  No way no day would I have found that one.

Husband got QBABH.  I still have one word left. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 27, 2021, 07:32:28 AM
Morning!

SB - GwPABM again, then focused on LB. baaing?

LB - just 3fers including tomahawks-sure-eve, wharves-stakeout-tum, outworks-shave-emu.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 27, 2021, 07:42:38 AM
Good morning!

Ciao_yall, I'm with you—baaing?  I needed a hint to find it. 

I'm at QB-2 this morning and out of ideas. 

LB:  I didn't get a 2fer yesterday, although I did have hawks—but didn't see vermouth.  I was also trying to make a 2fer with tomahawks!  But alas....   I have a somewhat odd 2fer today, but it took me a good while to find it.

Happy puzzling! 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 27, 2021, 10:11:46 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have one more word to QB but will have to hope other puzzles shake that one out.  Yesterday I think baaing, babka were my final ones.

No luck on LB despite a lot of contenders.  Congrats on yours today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 27, 2021, 10:05:26 PM
I got busy and forgot I hadn't hit GWP yet, so no joy today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2021, 08:58:59 AM
Morning!

GwPABM yesterday. Peeked at Shunn after I found G donating, noticed there were 2 Ps and a long i word so indignation jumped out. Words like doggo... okay.

LB - just 3fers including purple-epoch-hinky, lockup-pincher-rye, pouch-hike-eyeliner. I did find hyper at one point but no mates. That was a tricky one yesterday!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2021, 09:03:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three more words to QB and hit Alpha (but just exactly).  Yesterday doggo got me to genius (ugh), and I think adagio was my final word, though I usually get musical terms earlier on.

No luck on LB.  Wondering if cathwen got the schmofficial solution or another one!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2021, 10:00:52 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 28, 2021, 09:03:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three more words to QB and hit Alpha (but just exactly).  Yesterday doggo got me to genius (ugh), and I think adagio was my final word, though I usually get musical terms earlier on.

No luck on LB.  Wondering if cathwen got the schmofficial solution or another one!

Happy solving!


I'm guessing she did because the LB group I play on only found that one, or close variations of it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 28, 2021, 10:16:59 AM
Good afternoon!

No, my LB was not the official one, but it was weird:  keypuncher-replicon.  I just guessed at the last word, but apparently it's a genetic term.

It took me ages to find a 2fer today, but at least they are normal words.

As for SB, I got to QB yesterday only after some WordPlay help.  Noodging was my last word.  Doodad, which I usually find, was second last.  Today I have eight words to go, so I'm far from QB.  Congratulations on Alpha, ab_grp!  I think this is a hard one.

We had our first snowflakes today—just a few flurries, and then it stopped.  Only a few more weeks before it's officially winter.  It's not my favorite season, but I'm trying to think of things I like about it.  Cozy sweaters and hot chocolate come to mind.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2021, 11:44:27 AM
Congrats on a different 2fer, cathwen! I like yours better than the schmofficial one.  And congrats on getting one today! I have a couple good leads but nothing yet.  Also, noodging was my husband's final word yesterday.  Good luck today! And enjoy the parts of the season that give you enjoyment! We almost never get snow (or we just get flurries), and none has arrived yet.  We've been thinking about the cold weather meals we are looking forward to.

I got to impure QB, needing first letters for the final two.  I have gotten them before.  Husband got to QBABH. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2021, 12:54:39 PM
Ugh, just realized I had an easy 2fer.  I had part of it but was having a hard time seeing the mate for whatever reason.  Anyway, got one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 28, 2021, 02:12:44 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  And on QB.  I also got to QB, needing a hint for the final word—so an impure QB also. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 28, 2021, 02:19:55 PM
GWP for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2021, 07:21:01 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. I don't have the energy to chase down more words today.

I managed to find the pangrams and reach genius during the last few days and also complete vertex. As for the crosswords, I didn't have the time for them, so I lost the streak--would have lost it anyway during the Christmas break next month.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2021, 07:30:53 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, and then got up in the middle of the night and hit GwP again. ABM, but that goes without saying.

LB - Missed it by that much! I had extremity and amazing at different times. Damn you, Sam, and your multiple suffixes! Plenty of 3fers, though. 3fer last night as well, so maybe I'll get a 2fer soon.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 29, 2021, 07:52:31 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, albeit with help in the WordPlay definitions to find gavage.  I probably should have found it just by playing around with combinations with the -age suffix.

Today I am at Alpha with four words to go, and as usual, completely stumped as to what they might be.

LB:  I had the "official" extra-amazingly.  I have a 2fer today, too, but the second word is a little unusual.  If I have time, I may see if I can find a more normal pair.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2021, 09:05:07 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am also at Alpha with four words to go today! I wonder if they are the same as cathwen's.  Husband only has one word to go, and we have team QB per the lengths.  My final two yesterday were lavage, gavage, which I usually get I think.  When I got the first, the second came right away.  Oh well!

I also had the schmofficial solution yesterday.  I had amazingly but it took me forever to put it with extra even though I had tried that by itself.  Duh! Congrats on yours today, cathwen, and good luck if you look for a second pair!

Welcome back, Langue_doc! I hope your travels and visit were wonderful.  Sounds like you "missed" the one on Thursday (?) that people had trouble completing due to the technicalities of proper entry.  Even the constructor said he had trouble figuring out how to actually complete it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2021, 10:39:59 AM
ab_grp, I found all the words (or at least all the words) on Thursday. I just looked up the solution for that date and distinctly remember getting peahen, phenomenon, and phenomena in addition to the other words in the solution. I don't recall if I worked on the puzzle early in the morning or late at night I know I found at least one pangram and reached genius every day.

Travels were good; as I was driving through the mountains I could see from the foliage the dividing line between us in the "south" and the relatively "north"; the trees still had reddish and brown leaves on the trees whereas in the "north" the trees other than the firs and other evergreens were mostly bare. On the way back, it was clear that the "north" had had snowfalls, whereas once I reached the "south" there was absolutely no trace of snow. The forecast of high 40s to low 50s turned into one of 30s with light snow on top of the earlier rain with the result that there were icy patches underneath the snow.

Saw three deer out the windows as I was having lunch; the same deer returned later in the day and were sauntering across the front yard.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2021, 10:48:31 AM
Langue_doc, I was thinking of the Thursday crossword since you said you skipped it.  Per usual for a Thursday, it had some tricky business going on, and not all entry efforts led to success.  I'm glad you had a good trip! It's funny to see those kinds of dividing lines.  Where I used to live, there was a dividing line for precipitation (I95).  If there were icy patches under the snow, I'm glad they didn't cause you any trouble! And it's always nice to see deer (as long as they are not in the road).

Finally made it to QBABM. Husband beat me to it.  There weren't any really difficult words that I can recall.

And I have a few contenders for LB, but no mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 29, 2021, 12:15:37 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2021, 06:16:17 PM
2fer! Pretty clean.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2021, 07:35:12 PM
Also got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 30, 2021, 05:55:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I think that's it for today.

Easy two-fer.

Last word yesterday was vitamin.

database/enormity; demons/sybarite. Couldn't find mates for dromedary or martyr.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 30, 2021, 07:43:48 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP yesterday. Never think of anti as a word by itself.

LB - bombard-density which was schmofficial. So this is what it's like to be basic.

Happy solving!

ETA: GwP and a quick messy 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 30, 2021, 08:13:36 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday my final words were manta and tatami, both of which I usually get.

LB yesterday was bombardment-trisomy, a word I'd remembered from a genetics course.  Langue_doc, congratulations on having found two solutions, both different from the "official" one and from mine!  I wonder what other solutions people have found?

I found a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 30, 2021, 09:03:14 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have three more words to QB but got to Alpha.  Yesterday my final one was aviation.

For LB, I had so many contenders that got close but didn't yield mates.  Finally thought bimbos-sedentary, and it wouldn't take the former.  Husband suggested bambinos, which did work, so I guess team LB for us.  I still think mine should have been accepted, though they don't accept bimbo in the bee, either.  But why accept bambino? Just glad something finally worked out.  Congrats on the myriad other ingenious solutions that were found! None of them had any of my contenders, so I guess it's good I moved on. Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc, ciao_yall, and cathwen! Hopefully I will find one.

I have a longish call with friends today, so we'll see what I get to.

Happy solving!

ETA: Had to fix the order of my LB solution words.  Need more coffee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 30, 2021, 04:24:34 PM
Finally got around to LB and got a 2fer! And we both made it to impure QBs, needing help on the (same) final word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 30, 2021, 07:46:29 PM
GWPRP  (GWP + rejected pangram).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2021, 06:10:24 AM
Good morning!

Saw the pangram right away, and made it to genius.

Last word yesterday was hind, which I thought I had already entered. Remembered dhoti from an earlier puzzle.

famished/drunk--I prefer my solution to that of the NYT.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2021, 07:29:58 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, then saw there was a second one. Sorry, but goodnight is not a proper compound.

LB - underframes-shirk. Agreed, Langue_doc.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 01, 2021, 07:38:55 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was hoodoo, which I always seem to miss, or not see until near the end.  Ciao_yall, I agree about goodnight.  I've never seen it written as a compound word.

Today I am at QB-2, both words four letters long.  Hoping for QBABM—four-letter words should be easy, but often they are not, especially if they involve aquatic life.

LB:  Lots of solutions!  Langue_doc, I like your solution way better than the "official" one, and yours, too, ciao_yall.  Mine was mudfishes-snark.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2021, 08:01:02 AM
GWP and a word that uses all 3 vowels in LB that I just gotta make a 2fer out of!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2021, 08:05:38 AM
I was surprised that goodnight was accepted, but according to spellcheck and Grammarly, it's considered to be a word, as in "Goodnight Moon".

Only five or six more points to go!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2021, 08:40:20 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! Good luck! Yesterday dhoti was the one I needed the first letter for, but then it didn't take too long.  There aren't a lot of 5-letter words that can have a d and an h, and I sort of remembered it from previous puzzles.  Goodnight was the second pangram for both of us and took a while.

I had the same solution as Langue_doc and think it's a great one! The schmofficial one is blah.  I like all the solutions here better.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen! Ciao_yall, sounds like you are close!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 01, 2021, 08:43:31 AM
Yippy!  Just got to QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2021, 10:28:00 AM
Wooha! Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 01, 2021, 04:28:32 PM
Four one-pointers short of QB. Hmmm...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2021, 05:04:08 PM
Two 2fers, but one word is an anagram of the other so is that really 1.5?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2021, 05:14:12 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and a couple of points left for genius.

QB yesterday. gulps/snowbird

Taking the car to the shop. All of a sudden, the backup camera is blurry. I also realized that although both key fobs work, only one of them can manually open the door in case of a dead battery. I'm glad that I had scheduled this appointment before the dead battery incident.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 02, 2021, 06:27:41 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram. 

Yesterday's LB was kind of sinister—subworld-doping.  I was surprised that subworld was accepted, though.  No 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, good luck with the car!  I hope the backup camera issue is nothing more than water droplets on it, or something like that.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2021, 07:18:55 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP. ribby?

LB - gulps-snowbird, plugs-snowbird. I really wanted to find a 2fer out of unibrows-spuds-snug but 'twas not to be.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2021, 07:25:07 AM
Good morning!

I still have some points left to genius, still trying for GN4L but not faring well from lack of sleep.  Ribby was one of my final ones yesterday as well. 

I also had the schmofficial 2fer.  Cathwen, yours definitely sounds edgy!

Good luck with your car, Langue_doc.  I hope it's nothing big and is easily fixed.  Good that you have at least one key fob that works without the battery.  Does the other need to be fixed, or do you just have to depend on one? And can you tell which one?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2021, 02:40:10 PM
Finally made it to GN4L after getting one of my three remaining non-4s.  Got the 4s, then had to compare for my final two words and husband's one.  At least we had team QB and finally got our words.  Ugh!!

Now back to LB, where I have had limited contender success.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2021, 03:53:39 PM
SB - GwP.

LB - 2fer b4ss and a 2fer except the program wouldn't take the word even though it is a legit word. Victory? IDK.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2021, 06:53:27 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Real words, too.  Long words, though.  I'm sure there might be a more parsimonious solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 03, 2021, 05:29:50 AM
Good morning!

Finally got QB yesterday, although I needed a hint for the last word:  Manhattan.  A place, but also my mother-in-law's favorite drink.  Today I am at genius with one of the pangrams; apparently, there are two.

LB:  Infold-detachable.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Congratulations on various successes yesterday!  I'm looking forward to seeing what other LB solutions were.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2021, 05:50:49 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. I didn't realize that there were two pangrams.

confident/teachable

I wasn't too happy about naphtha being rejected.

As for the car, it was fortuitous that the battery died after I got home as the key in the fob I normally use was not cut for my car. It was also fortuitous that the service place mistakenly told me that the tires needed to be rotated (I called them because the service light came on). I drive all the way across town because the shop, attached to the dealer's lot is trustworthy and also because I got the car, used, from this dealer a couple of years ago. They were quite apologetic about giving me the wrong key, and after a few routine calls, cut me the right key. It also turned out that because I haven't been driving much, I didn't need the tires to be rotated, so they did the usual checking of the brakes and fluids, and sent me home with the right key and no charge for the checkup. If the battery had died on me anywhere else, I wouldn't have been able to open the door as the spare fob/key which had been cut for the car would have been at home. Now I know that I have the correct keys and also know where the keys are hidden in the fobs and also how to check to see whether the problem is the car battery or those in the fobs. Technology!!!

Happy solving, all!

ETA: cathwen, you always get the two-fer and one that's unique and original.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 03, 2021, 07:13:02 AM
Manhattan and Ottoman seem like gross violations of the proper noun rule, especially given other cases they don't accept.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2021, 08:51:06 AM
Good morning!

We each have about 8 words left to QB but found both pangrams.  The second one took a bit.  Yesterday manhattan was my final word.  I remember being irked about panama when we played it for the first time.  They seem very inconsistent about which proper nouns that have become used as non-proper nouns will be accepted.  Of course there are other normal words they aren't accepting today.

For LB, mine is similar to Langue_doc's.  I had come upon teachable but couldn't find a mate, though now it appears I could have because I then settled on confident-tablecloth (finding the latter first).  No schmofficial solutions (yet)! Congrats on getting another one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, it is great to have things work out like that, and I'm glad they did.  Often, timing just seems to be wrong, leading to a domino effect of bad happenstances.  I'm very happy the fates were on your side!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2021, 09:00:37 AM
Morning!

SB - Yesterday, GwP. Today, Amazing with 2 Ps so far, should hit Genius soon.

LB - fineable-echolocated. Except the darn system wouldn't take echolocate or any variation of it. Whaaaa? I declared it a 2fer and kept going. Just getting started this morning.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2021, 10:25:05 AM
I think it should count, ciao_yall! More inconsistency.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2021, 07:30:15 PM
Got a 2fer! But needed help with my final 3 words to impure QB.  Of course, Shunn appeared to be down at the time.  Luckily, I figured them out eventually.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 04, 2021, 06:05:04 AM
Good morning!

Ciao_yall, echolocated should absolutely count.  What a great word!

SB:  I got to a very, very impure QB yesterday. I was short of both time and patience, so I looked up the 2 letter hints on WordPlay and, at the end, even a couple of definitions.  My last word was troubadour

Today I am seven words short of QB.  I have found the pangram (took me a while, though).

LB:  I had the "official" solution:  jurisdiction-numb, so nothing unique and original this time, Langue_doc!  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 04, 2021, 07:25:33 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP yesterday, found both pangrams on my own.

LB - jurisdiction-numb as well. On a lark I tried, and it took numbnuts. LOL. I keep myself amused.

Not sure how much puzzle time I will have today. And today's SB looks tricky. So, we'll see.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 04, 2021, 08:35:50 AM
I found both pangrams yesterday, but didn't quite crack genius.

But... I want to complain about 'brad'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on December 04, 2021, 09:08:51 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 04, 2021, 08:35:50 AM
I found both pangrams yesterday, but didn't quite crack genius.

But... I want to complain about 'brad'.

Because it was accepted or it wasn't?

For some reason this triggered this (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi-7oO00Mr0AhUYZc0KHVmsCPMQyCl6BAgDEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqfNfQixs8yA&usg=AOvVaw2F71M781RC9W_RUcdapl-y)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2021, 09:19:32 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM! Yeah! Husband has one word left.  Yesterday I needed help for adobo, aurora, tabard.  I should have gotten the first two.

I also got the schmofficial solution for LB after thinking all day that jurisdiction(s) wouldn't work because of some b4ss issue I apparently imagined.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 04, 2021, 10:38:58 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and well above genius. Grading and phone calls today, so probably no more puzzling.

Found the two pangrams yesterday, but didn't have the energy or time to complete the puzzle.  As for LB, I have the NYT solution.

I'm waiting for Amazon to deliver my Christmas cards. Hope they turn out to be OK as I've never bought cards online.

Crosswords and vertex are done.

ETA QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 04, 2021, 06:27:28 PM
Am somewhere in betaland.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2021, 07:26:36 PM
Got a 2fer but not thrilled with the mate.  Didn't know it was a word, but it worked!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2021, 05:01:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

Last word yesterday was probably mentee; found the difficult words much earlier.

tapeworm/snifter; I think I've come up with the former in an earlier LB.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2021, 07:47:35 AM
Morning!

SB - GWP. Probably could have gone for QB because I knew all the remaining words. But then some weird word goes in there and throws me on the days I actually try for it. Pangram right out of the gate this morning.
.
LB - just 2fer b4ss solutions but no 2fer: frontiers-swamp, parfaits-snowmen, panoramas-swifter.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2021, 08:39:28 AM
Good morning!

One word to go to QB.  Yesterday I think tenement, mizzen were my final two.

My 2fer was frows-spearmint.  I ended up just trying the former.  It's apparently a front row at a fashion show.  ? I like your solution, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2021, 09:52:32 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 05, 2021, 08:39:28 AM
Good morning!

One word to go to QB.  Yesterday I think tenement, mizzen were my final two.

My 2fer was frows-spearmint.  I ended up just trying the former.  It's apparently a front row at a fashion show.  ? I like your solution, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

GwP and quick 2fer this morning.

ab_grp I found frows as well but not spearmint. I thought it had something to do with being frowsy like frumpy. Or frumpy and blowsy? Is that possible?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2021, 09:54:44 AM
Quote from: onthefringe on December 04, 2021, 09:08:51 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 04, 2021, 08:35:50 AM
I found both pangrams yesterday, but didn't quite crack genius.

But... I want to complain about 'brad'.

Because it was accepted or it wasn't?

For some reason this triggered this (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi-7oO00Mr0AhUYZc0KHVmsCPMQyCl6BAgDEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqfNfQixs8yA&usg=AOvVaw2F71M781RC9W_RUcdapl-y)

LOLOL!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 05, 2021, 10:33:18 AM
Good afternoon!

Beta with pangram, which was my very first word.  Yesterday my last word was mitten, of all things. 

LB:  Like Langue_doc, I had tapeworms-snifter.  Drinking brandy to kill the worms?  Ab_grp, I learned a new word today—I had never heard of frows.   I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2021, 04:50:39 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 05, 2021, 09:52:32 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 05, 2021, 08:39:28 AM
Good morning!

One word to go to QB.  Yesterday I think tenement, mizzen were my final two.

My 2fer was frows-spearmint.  I ended up just trying the former.  It's apparently a front row at a fashion show.  ? I like your solution, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

GwP and quick 2fer this morning.

ab_grp I found frows as well but not spearmint. I thought it had something to do with being frowsy like frumpy. Or frumpy and blowsy? Is that possible?

I thought frowsy was a word but not frows.  Just looked it up, but it's apparently frowzy that is akin to frumpy.  Always worth trying something, I guess.

Congrats to you and to cathwen on your 2fers! Still chipping away at it as I get time. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 05, 2021, 09:14:13 PM
I'm looking to buy myself a frow, actually...


I started out well, but ultimately fell two points short of GWP. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 06, 2021, 04:28:49 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

Last word yesterday was techy.

marquis/shadowy

I'm sure I've seen this pair before.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 06, 2021, 05:40:41 AM
Good morning!

Just about the same as Langue_doc.  Above genius with pangram.

Yesterday my last two words were yecch (really?) and tetchy.  Is tetchy dialectal?  Perhaps western or southern speech? 

For LB, I also had marquis-shadowy.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2021, 07:56:59 AM
Morning!

SB - QBWG2LL. Last word was thence. This morning, GwP already. Might be another P hanging in there but not sure.

LB - marquis-shadowy as well. Not much progress yet but should get there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2021, 08:18:11 AM
Good morning!

We each got to QBABO! I was very nearly to genius when I finally figured out the pangram.  Yesterday I had trouble remembering yecch, and I think tetchy was not too far behind.

Argh about LB! I thought of marquesa, but there was no e, and marquis never occurred to me! Congrats on the solutions and on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on December 06, 2021, 09:33:24 AM
I think it's cool how our last words are often the same [pesky] ones. Yesterday's last ones were tetchy and yecch here, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2021, 10:08:17 AM
Strange 2fer. Pretty clean.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2021, 02:20:26 PM
I can't believe I have been sitting on a 2fer all day.  I just looked down at my notepad and saw that one contender and the one after it make a 2fer.  I'm sure the second one was suggested to me by the remaining letters from the first.  Well, glad I finally noticed! Normal words, too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 06, 2021, 07:33:21 PM
Genius without the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2021, 05:11:06 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Last word yesterday was weenie. Found the pangram without much trouble by indiscriminately adding suffixes to words. But windmilled!?

hardtop/plinked

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 07, 2021, 05:24:55 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram.  Yesterday my last words were wield and wielded.  I was disappointed that wildmen was not accepted.

LB:  I had kindhearted-droplet.  I have found a 2fer today, also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2021, 08:08:46 AM
Morning!

SB - QBw2LL. Last words were weenie, wienie as well as widen, widened. Quick GwP this morning.

LB - hardtop-plinked. 2fer this morning with a word I thought was French but it took. Thank you, fora, for reminding me to try everything!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 07, 2021, 08:50:45 AM
Good morning!

I got to Alpha, 3 words left.  Yesterday I was mad at myself for bad math.  I got weld for my penultimate word and thought I need a 5-letter to QB and struggled for a while until I realized I needed a 6.  Welded.  Urgh.  I thought the pangram was a little tough yesterday.

For LB, I had handknit-teleport.  Lots of different solutions again! Congrats on your solutions today, cathwen and ciao_yall! And a good reminder to just try stuff! I will try to keep that in mind today.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first try! Woot!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2021, 01:33:00 PM
Two-fer--not very economical, but words are legit.

QB--got stuck because a word that I had typed earlier hadn't been entered by the system. Took me a while to figure out the last 4-letter word. This happens to be a recurring problem when I use the kindle for the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 07, 2021, 09:04:20 PM
No luck at all on the Bee today. Hmph.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 08, 2021, 04:55:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Last word yesterday was plop.

expectation/nobleman

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 08, 2021, 05:14:11 AM

Good morning!

Genius with pangram; 2fer.  Last word yesterday was parol.

LB:  ambience-exploit.  Looks like we're going to have some variety today!

I'll be in grading hell most of the day, so I may not get back to SB. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 08, 2021, 07:20:34 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, then trailed off. Parol?

LB - plombe-excitation. I have no idea why it took plombe which is French for lead and doesn't show up in the dictionary.

Not started yet today. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 08, 2021, 08:34:41 AM
Good morning!

Two more words to QB.  Yesterday my final one which took a bit was uproar because AGAIN I was looking for a word of the wrong length at the end.  How? After just complaining about it yesterday morning from the day before? How!! As for parol, we both just guessed that one.  I had no idea what it meant until I looked it up.

For LB, I got combine-exploitation. Lots of different solutions! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 08, 2021, 10:16:09 AM
GwP but not even a 3fer yet. Chanelling cathwen the LB whisperer...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 08, 2021, 06:50:51 PM
A few points shy of genius, no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 08, 2021, 07:24:15 PM
Found my way to genius, but still pangramless.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2021, 05:21:34 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and 154 points so far.

I didn't get around to the bee or look at LB after posting here yesterday. But today's crosswords and sudokus were done last night.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 09, 2021, 05:55:29 AM
Good morning!

Three words to go until QB, and I am out of ideas.  Yesterday my last word was tallboy.

LB:  I had the "official" joke-everything.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Contrary to expectations, I got most of my grading done yesterday.  Only a few more to go today.  Final exam grading will by my treat for next week.  Will the fun never end?

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 09, 2021, 07:27:17 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP, then off to other things.

LB - Couldn't make a 2fer. Closest I got was vie-enjoyer-rethinking.

Not started yet today. And them final papers aren't gonna grade themselves.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 09, 2021, 07:27:38 AM
Aw man. I always miss 'laboratory'. Every time!

(Woot, 4k! I'm coming for you, polly!)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 09, 2021, 07:47:49 AM
GwP and a few quick 3fers, so optomistic this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2021, 09:10:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM! Husband has one word left.  Good luck! My final words were rattly, loblolly.  Both of us were missing the latter, and it finally came to me later on, though we had needed help with that one.

No luck on LB, so congrats, cathwen! And again for today's!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 09, 2021, 09:42:12 AM
Yippee!  Congratulations, ab_grp!  I just got to QBABM, too.  I almost caved on the last word, but then all of a sudden I saw it. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2021, 10:30:39 AM
Congrats, cathwen! It's hard not to give up near the end sometimes! Glad you figured it out!

I forgot to mention that Sam tweeted a day or two ago that there may be a puzzle "next week" that has the most pangrams ever.  Should be interesting, hopefully!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 09, 2021, 12:51:29 PM
GW2P and one rejected word.

And a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2021, 02:48:09 PM
Got a nicely parsimonious 2fer!

Congrats, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 09, 2021, 05:05:55 PM
Congratulations, Parasaurolophus and ab_grp!  I'm looking forward to comparing 2fers tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 10, 2021, 05:11:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Not sure if I'll have the time to chase down the remaining words.

Last words yesterday were cell and celled. Celled!? I was surprised to see it accepted as I've seen only the derived forms of this word in compounds such as unicellular. The vagaries of the bee!!!

brothel/lunacy; I prefer my solution to that of the NYT.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2021, 07:32:26 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP. Then a friend told me yesterday there was a second P.

LB - blunt-theocracy. Langue_doc's is the winner so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 10, 2021, 08:02:42 AM
Good morning!

Another day with a good bit of LB variation!  I had The NY Times solution, betrayal-luncheon.  Congratulations, Langue_doc and ciao_yall, on finding something different!

As for SB, my last word yesterday was cellule.  Today I am at Beta with five words to go.   As for today's LB, I have a 2fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2021, 08:32:18 AM
Good morning!

I'm also at Beta with 5 words left! It is a little tough today, but I hope to wake up more and have some success.  Yesterday, I finally got educe(d), deduce(d).

I had the same 2fer as Langue_doc.  It was nice to find brothel and then basically have lunacy stand out pretty obviously and just have one overlapping letter! Congrats on all the solutions! And congrats again today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2021, 12:41:45 PM
For today, GwP and 2fer. Okay, back to grading...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2021, 07:24:27 PM
We finally gave up on the last three words each and looked to Shunn for help.  Our final group of words was just about the same.

But I did finally get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 10, 2021, 07:52:48 PM
Blah, I'm twenty short of GWP, and nothing's presenting itself. I think that's it for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2021, 06:11:43 AM
Pangram and well above genius. I'm glad I didn't spend time chasing down the remaining words yesterday as there were at least a couple that I wouldn't have found.

formalize/exemplary. Think of the lunacy of a brothel trying to formalize the exemplary services they provide by writing them out in detail!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 11, 2021, 06:22:27 AM
Good morning!

Beta with two pangrams this morning.  Yesterday I gave up and looked at hints to find toboggan, boogaloo, and bologna.  Not unfamiliar words, of course—they just did not jump out at me. 

LB:  I also had formalize-exemplary.  I also have a 2fer today, but I'm not happy with the second word.  If I have time (which I probably won't), I may try for a better pair.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2021, 07:29:22 AM
Didn't realize that there were two pangrams, but thanks to cathwen, found the second one.

That's it for puzzling today as there are assignments to grade, phone calls to make and receive, and get ready for an outing tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 11, 2021, 08:22:19 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP yesterday. boogalo?

LB - formalize-epoxy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 11, 2021, 08:42:47 AM
Good morning!

I have 3 words to QB, and husband has 2.  Two of mine may be the same as his two based on length.  Neither of us are at Alpha.  We had boogaloo, tabla among our final ones yesterday.  Nytbee.com doesn't seem to be updating for me today.

I got the same 2fer as Langue_doc and cathwen.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! Whatever it looks like!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2021, 12:52:29 PM
QB--it turned out that I needed only three more words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 11, 2021, 04:23:12 PM
QBWG2LL. Probably could have gotten there on my own.

Two 2fer b4ss solutions and lots of 3fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 11, 2021, 07:41:15 PM
Blech. Just short of GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 12, 2021, 07:57:25 AM
So close yesterday with the 2fer b4ss solutions!


nostrils-smacking
smolt-tracking
roam-stickling


And close but no cigar? arm-most-trickling and lots of contenders.

Well, today is a new day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 12, 2021, 08:11:36 AM
Good morning!

One more word to QB.  Hopefully it will come.  Yesterday I had trouble with ululate, luteal.

No luck on LB.  You were close, ciao_yall! Hopefully today will bring more luck.

Langue_doc, hope you are enjoying your outing!

I still have to figure out my crossword error and have a call with a pal this afternoon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 12, 2021, 08:54:01 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was luteal.  QB today, although with first-letter hints for the last two words (my usual impatience!).

LB:  I had monograms-stickling.   I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 12, 2021, 11:27:10 AM
Afternoon!

Woke up at 4, got the pangram, made it to above genius, then went back to sleep. I think I might have only 7 or 8 points left.

ransom/stickling--didn't think the latter was a word, but I'm not complaining.

ab_grp, I didn't make it to the outing which was limited to trip leaders and other volunteers because of the logistics involved. I had the choice of driving to the subway station and then taking two subways to the train station in Manhattan where I would board a train for the hour-long trip to one of the stations in Westchester. I could have also driven to one of the train stations in Westchester, and then backtracked to the train station where the group would be meeting, do the trip and the museums, and then take another train to the station where my car was parked. All this because you can park at some of the train stations and not at others. It would be a very long drive home as the traffic would be even heavier due to people doing their Christmas shopping. Pre-pandemic, we would be treated to dinner in a Manhattan restaurant. It's a group of people I enjoy interacting with, so I was sad to have to send my regrets this morning.

Hope you found the crossword clue--I liked this one but got temporarily stuck on the first part of  50A and 67A. The down clues helped so I eventually found the right solutions.

ETA Today's print edition of the NYT comes with a 12-page puzzle section.

ETA2 QB; familiar words all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 12, 2021, 03:01:22 PM
I gave up on my final word and got a first letter hint from my QBABH husband.  Of course it was an easy one.  Ugh.  Just not enough time to deal with it today!

Cathwen, congrats on your 2fer today!

Langue_doc, I'm sorry that you didn't get to go on your outing, but it seems like it would have been an arduous travel to get there and back.  Hopefully another outing with that group will come up again soon and be easier to manage.  By the way, I think this weekend is the puzzle mania section in NYT? If so, keep an eye out if you still get the paper version! And thanks about the crossword.  I finally fixed it.  I almost forgot about the early changeover deadline! My issue was at 100A.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 12, 2021, 08:49:12 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2021, 05:07:30 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram yet.

cavorts/smithed; I found the latter first, and was surprised that it was accepted; it must be a relative of smith, smithy

ab-grp, I do have the puzzle mania section, but won't be able to get to it until after the semester.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 13, 2021, 06:12:49 AM
Good morning!

QB-4, and absolutely stumped.  I'll look at it later.  Yesterday I got impatient and gave up too easily—with one-letter hints and word lengths, I got diddling and indulging at the end.  Not hard words!

LB for yesterday was matriarchs-shoved.  Nothing yet today—I'm finding it very difficult!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2021, 07:23:42 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, GwP and lots of 2fer b4ss solutions but no 2fer.


shoved-dramatic
motivates-scorched
motivators-scathed
ravished-dotcom

And a very close sim-matched-drove.

Gah.

Happy solving!

ETA: Quick GwP and nowheresville with LB. Gonna be a sticky one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2021, 08:00:18 AM
Good morning!

We had to get up early, so I managed to get to QBABM.  Good luck! Yesterday I gave up and needed help for gliding, of all things.  Too impatient!

No luck on LB, so congrats on the solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2021, 09:08:53 AM
2fer! Something tells me we aren't going to have a lot of variety in our solutions today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 13, 2021, 09:26:37 AM
Wow!  Congratulations, ciao_yall, I haven't gotten anywhere with LB yet!

ETA:  Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I have two six-letter words to go.  Trying not to cave.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2021, 09:36:20 AM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

Cathwen, I don't think there were any words that were very difficult or that hadn't been in there.  That doesn't mean they come without frustration, of course.  Sending you bee juju!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 13, 2021, 10:12:56 AM
Thanks, ab_grp!  That juju might come in handy.

I just got a 2fer—and like ciao_yall, I think it might be the only possibility.  I guess we'll see tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2021, 11:47:45 AM
cathwen, don't cave in -- they're all familiar words.

ab_grp, if you found an obvious word in LB, you'll see it's mate without much difficulty.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2021, 05:11:32 PM
Thank you, Langue_doc! Got a (the?) 2fer! I finally found an obvious word.  Then I thought there is no way I could make a mate but wait... yep! Then it popped out. 

Congrats on your (our?) 2fer, cathwen! I hope you had luck with the bee, too!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 13, 2021, 08:31:06 PM
Blah, no dice today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2021, 03:11:49 AM
QBWCH - Queen Bee With Commenter Hints. Last words were bonito, hobnob which I forget is a fish, and thought was spelled hobknob.

LB - jukebox-xylophone of course. Sometimes it's easier when there is only one solution so I don't go down the rabbit hole.

Woke up at 3 AM and have GwP and a decent 2fer. So no excuses to not grade.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2021, 04:34:47 AM
Good morning!

I'm in shock as I just found the pangram which happened to be my last and only word to get me to QB. Now that the bee, the crosswords and sudokus (completed last night), and vertex are done, what am I going to do with myself the rest of the day? I've been waking up after four hours of sleep, and sometimes getting back to sleep after some bee-ing, but on days like today, staying awake only to crash at some point in the afternoon. Meetings and grading today, so crashing is not an option.

LB: "the" solution.

Last word yesterday was boob!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 14, 2021, 04:51:32 AM
Good morning!

Also QBWCH for bonito.  I really must increase my fish knowledge.

Today I am at QB-1 five letter word. 

LB:  I also had the official jukebox-xylophone.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Langue_doc, I hope that your meetings are not soporific and cause you to crash!

My big grading day will be Friday, as the deadline for submitting the final exam is Thursday.  Not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to the end of the semester, which will happen only when I've submitted my grades.  I'm tired! 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2021, 08:48:41 AM
Good morning!

Easy QBABM today! Congrats, Langue_doc! The pangram wasn't that easy, and there weren't too many words to begin with, so I can imagine it being last.  Good luck, cathwen! My final one yesterday was hobnob.  I totally misread ciao_yall's post as saying it was a fish! Good thing I reread. 

Same LB solution, thanks again to Langue_doc! When I got jukebox, I thought that was a pretty obvious one but thought there was no way I'd find a mate that started with x or ended with j! And then, of course.  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Good luck with grading and meetings! Cathwen, I hope you can rest up before your big grading event on Friday.

Langue_doc, maybe you could reward yourself with a little dip into puzzlemania...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2021, 09:58:50 AM
xylophone is one of those words I always look for when I see an x and y. So when I saw box, then jukebox it was a happy moment in my otherwise quiet little world.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 14, 2021, 11:06:15 AM
Genius without the pangram so far
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2021, 02:47:45 PM
Sam reiterated on Twitter today that there will be a multiple pangram bee later this week (most ever!) and added that next week will have a puzzle with a Q that will need to be used frequently.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 14, 2021, 03:20:10 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 14, 2021, 02:47:45 PM
Sam reiterated on Twitter today that there will be a multiple pangram bee later this week (most ever!) and added that next week will have a puzzle with a Q that will need to be used frequently.


Oooh! Can't wait! Thanks for the heads-up!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2021, 04:56:37 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on December 14, 2021, 03:20:10 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 14, 2021, 02:47:45 PM
Sam reiterated on Twitter today that there will be a multiple pangram bee later this week (most ever!) and added that next week will have a puzzle with a Q that will need to be used frequently.


Oooh! Can't wait! Thanks for the heads-up!

Me either! And, of course! :-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2021, 05:25:40 PM
QBwG Queen Bee with Grid. Haven't really found another 2fer but haven't really been looking.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2021, 07:27:03 PM
Finally found a 2fer! Actually several, but only one unique word among them.  Multiple mates.  So not really more than one solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on December 14, 2021, 07:55:32 PM
QBABM! My second ever, yay.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 15, 2021, 04:39:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; unlike yesterday when the pangram was the last word, today it was my first word today.

flouting/games; I like tongue, though.

Happy solving, all!

Appointments and a book discussion so I don't think I'll get any further with the puzzles today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 15, 2021, 06:29:48 AM
QBABM yesterday!  Monarda, congratulations on yours—I don't get them very frequently, either.  My last word was clack.

Today I am at genius with pangram. 

Good 2fer, Langue_doc.  I had outings-selfsame.  Both solutions are different from the "official" one, so I wonder what other solutions others found?  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 15, 2021, 08:06:27 AM
Good morning!

I have 3 words left after struggling to get to GN4L.  We'll see.  Not at Alpha yet.  Yesterday I think my final word was calla.  Congrats on your QBABYs, monarda and cathwen!

For LB, I had flameouts-sing, but the mate could also be sign, singlet(s) and probably others.  Lots of different and non-schmoffical solutions! And congrats on another one today, cathwen!

If anyone is interested, Ross Trudeau (co-creator of today's crossword with his partner) shared this essay about his health struggles and the surgery he had yesterday: https://rosswordpuzzles.com/2021/12/13/the-necessity-of-filling-certain-boxes/  I thought it was interesting to read about his method of coming up with crossword themes and entries and his crossword construction output being related to the pain he suffers from his chronic illness.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 15, 2021, 08:36:18 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, QBwG. Today, GwP.

LB - fountains-smelting. 3fer this morning so far.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 15, 2021, 07:42:37 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 15, 2021, 09:54:47 PM
Genius without pangram, although I may yet think of it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 16, 2021, 05:38:23 AM
Good morning!

Well, today we have the Bee of Many Pangrams that Sam promised us.  Apparently there are eight—so far I've found five.  And I am only at amazing, not even genius!  Argh!

Yesterday I got to QB by looking at WP hints.  It was a very full day, and late when I got back to SB, so I didn't have the inclination to spend much more time on it.  My last word was froufrou.

LB:  I had the "official" solution:  janky-yourself.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling, all! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 16, 2021, 07:27:53 AM
QBWCH - last word was falloff.

LB - janky-yourself as well. I was stuck and then it popped into my head while making dinner.

Happy solving! Sounds like a busy one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2021, 08:22:17 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 11 words left, but two are pangrams (if I have counted correctly...).  Finally got to GN4L, which should have been easier today, but it has been tougher than I thought to find words.  Froufrou was also my last word! Husband got to QBABH, but he had to give me a hint for that one, even though I'm the one that found it last time.  Urgh.  I think falloff might have been right behind it.

Same LB solution.  I thought about yourself on and off throughout the day but convinced myself there was no f.  Finally tried janky and saw it right there.  Oof.  Congrats on getting another one today, cathwen!

Did anyone else notice that at least on the iOS app (and I think for husband too on the Android app) there is now a "More" with a drop down that has the direct links to today's hints for the bee as well as the forum? That is great because it is a pain in the neck to get to since they had the date in the URL each time.  Although I just checked, and it looks like both the today's hints and community links go to the same place.  Hmm.

Cute crossword today!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 16, 2021, 08:55:56 AM
Just took a break and got back to SB.  Seven pangrams, Alpha, seven words to go.  I may or may not have time to work on it much more.  Oof!

Ab_grp, I did notice the "More" menu.  Very convenient!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 16, 2021, 10:57:30 AM
Afternoon!

Found several pangrams this morning and reached amazing.

I'm not too happy with a very time-consuming puzzle in the middle of the week as I like most people I know don't have the luxury of spending extra time on something that has to be completed within 24 hours. I would much prefer that these puzzles be relegated to either the weekends or a special "bonus" category where people get more than 24 hours to solve them.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the recent puzzles which although challenging don't take up more time than they should, so getting to QB is a treat and not a military-style challenge. I'm quite content with yesterday's QB and might just make it to genius today. There's still the crossword and the grading. NYT, we have jobs and other commitments!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2021, 01:14:31 PM
I'm now down to 5 long words, two of which are still pangrams, so not at Alpha.  It is a long puzzle, but at least it's not completely repetitive and there are some good words in there.  I would probably prefer to have it on a Monday so that there's an easy crossword that takes up no time.  But today's crossword wasn't bad.  The weekend puzzles take a lot longer, so I would prefer not to have a long bee on those days.  But real life and work do get in the way!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2021, 02:38:32 PM
Made it down to just one more word to go and finally got all the pangrams!! I am really trying to hold off on asking Shunn for help or comparing with husband (I think he has a couple words left, one or more of which are pangrams, but he did make it to Alpha). 

Got a couple contenders for LB and close but no cigar so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 16, 2021, 05:52:38 PM
Genius with a few pangrams - kind of lost count. Definitely don't have all 8. Checked the grid and I'm still short like 8 words.

LB - lots of 3fers but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 17, 2021, 08:16:09 AM
Good morning!

Above genius with the pangram, which was my second word.

Found all the pangrams yesterday.

blunt/timewarp

Two-fer today; crosswords are done, phew!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2021, 08:44:26 AM
Good morning!

One more word to go to QB.  Husband also has one word left and same number of points.  Yesterday I gave up on alliance of all things, given the other 67 words I found! Ugh.  I think my brain was just done.  Husband was missing two pangrams (canceling, angelica).  The latter was one I just tried and was surprised was a word.

No luck on LB yesterday.  Congrats, Langue_doc! What did everyone else find?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 17, 2021, 09:48:57 AM
Good afternoon!

I caved yesterday with two words to go and went to WP hints to find angelica and cannellini.

I am at QB-2 today--this seems to be a trend. 

LB:  I had brewpub/bailment yesterday.  Bailment was a wild guess, based on remaining letters.  I found a 2fer today as well.

I just finished grading the final exam and have submitted final grades!  Yay! 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2021, 09:51:03 AM
Morning!

SB - also didn't get angelica, canceling but did get the other pangrams with a little help from the grid. GwP this morning already.

LB - just 3fers yesterday. Today, 3fers and 2fer b4ss so far.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2021, 11:22:35 AM
We gave up on our final word, and it ended up being the same one.  Got help from Shunn.  Good luck, cathwen!!

And congrats on a 2fer today, cathwen! I was trying something with brew because I couldn't figure out good ways to use up the b and w, but I never got to brewpub and was trying things with -ment but would not have guessed bailment. And congrats on finishing your grading!

Ciao_yall, I hope you get your 2fer! I have had no luck yet but am still stuck on the sudoku.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2021, 11:48:27 AM
Weirdish 2fer. Declared victory. Back to grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2021, 12:36:46 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 17, 2021, 11:48:27 AM
Weirdish 2fer. Declared victory. Back to grading.

Hurrah! Good luck with grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 17, 2021, 12:53:25 PM
GWP today. Had four pangrams and was almost at genius yesterday when teh intarwebz ran out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2021, 05:38:40 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 18, 2021, 05:48:28 AM
Good morning!

Beta with two pangrams today.  Yesterday I was stuck at QB-2, then saw voodoo, but went to WP to finally get devotee

LB:  Looks like some variety today!  My 2fer is different from the official one.  I have backers/shotput.  When I looked up shotput to remind myself of what, exactly, it was (I knew it was an athletic event of some kind), I saw that all the Google sources have it as two words, so I guess I'm lucky LB accepted it.

I do not yet have a 2fer today! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 18, 2021, 06:25:16 AM
Good morning!

Well above genius so far with both pangrams.

Missed vidiot yesterday; I'm glad I didn't have the time to get to the bitter end.

paperback/shout

cathwen, I've seen shotput written as a single word--this was back in the days when I was in college, and shotput was one of the extracurricular athletic events.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 18, 2021, 06:57:39 AM
Oh, good!  Some LB variety!

I finally got a 2fer today, but had a hard time doing so.

Langue_doc, I got vidiot just by playing around in frustration.  I never dreamed it was an actual word and was surprised when it was accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 18, 2021, 07:36:28 AM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2021, 08:42:12 AM
Good morning!

I have two words left to QB, and husband does too, but we are one point off from each other.  Not sure if we have team QB, but we are at Alpha.  Voodoo was the final word we were both missing yesterday.  Of course after getting help from Shunn and finishing up, we saw that word in a Seinfeld episode.  I don't know if it would have primed us to see it or not, though.  Vidiot was just dumb enough to be accepted, so I had to try that!

I had the same 2fer as Langue_doc.  I wanted it to take butchershop and some others, but no luck.  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 18, 2021, 09:14:27 AM
Morning!

SB - GwP then off to other things. Glad I didn't go for QB though oddly enough I recall noticing vidiot and not bothering trying it.

LB - outbreaks-spotch.

Grading is done so I'm giving myself a few days off from other projects to have a real weekend.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2021, 07:02:24 AM
Good morning!

Well above genius with the pangram.

QB yesterday, don't recall the last word. but it wasn't binning, which I found by indiscriminately adding the participial ending to words.

Didn't have the time to even think about LB yesterday or even look at today's crossword.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 19, 2021, 07:20:53 AM
Somewhere in Beta or Alpha, with pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 19, 2021, 07:58:56 AM
Good morning!

Alpha with pangram, two words to go.  Trying not to cave and look at hints, but I am stumped.

LB:  I had portulaca/awaken.  Again, this is different from the "official" solution, so I'm looking forward to seeing what else you all have found.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 19, 2021, 08:25:49 AM
Good morning!

I am down to one word and also trying to hold out.  Yesterday I needed help for bigwig and husband needed help for bowwow.  Too many dumb words. 

I never got anywhere with LB among other things going on.  Portulaca is an interesting word, cathwen! Naturally, another plant I don't know.  Congrats on getting another one today!

The crossword today was cute but long as usual.  Yesterday we forgot about the early changeover, and husband didn't get back from work until after the deadline and hadn't finished.  But he was able to do so and keep his streak.  I had read that there is some leeway after the changeover, though I am not sure how much.  Still, I'm glad it worked out!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2021, 10:25:21 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday and today.

LB - No 2fer but came close when I noticed that if I had a k in the correct position I would have had unwrap-potchke. Today a few contenders but no mates.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2021, 05:12:52 AM
Good morning!

Above genius with the pangram.

Last word yesterday was thought.

magenta/abolish

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 20, 2021, 06:12:14 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with pangram, and no LB yet!  Not my best day!

Yesterday, ought was my last word.  For LB, I had obligations/shame.

I won't have much puzzling time today—so not sure if I'll solve SB or LB.  But happy puzzling to everyone else!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2021, 06:17:11 AM
Morning!

SB - Yesterday, GwP then decided to look at the grid. Would not have found the O-10 outthought for love or money.

LB - no 2fer but lots of 3fers and 2fer b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2021, 08:11:29 AM
Good morning!

I've got one more word to QB again and am stumped for now.  Yesterday's hard one for me was horror, I guess because of all the ough(t) stuff.  Ugh!

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats on your 2fers! I found amalgamations later on and couldn't let go of it but couldn't find a mate.  Maybe today will be luckier.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2021, 08:57:01 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 20, 2021, 08:11:29 AM
Good morning!

I've got one more word to QB again and am stumped for now.  Yesterday's hard one for me was horror, I guess because of all the ough(t) stuff.  Ugh!

No luck on LB yesterday, so congrats on your 2fers! I found amalgamations later on and couldn't let go of it but couldn't find a mate.  Maybe today will be luckier.

Happy solving!

Me too - I was so proud of amalgamations! Managed to eke out some 3fers along with that and others.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2021, 10:54:24 AM
Ciao_yall, it was so frustrating! If only it would have taken shoebag as a mate.

We finally gave up on our last words, which ended up being the same word.  We knew the length, and even after help from Shunn on the first and then second letters and then whether or not it was a compound, we had no idea.  After guessing and guessing, husband finally got it.  Not a word I am familiar with, though it may have been in there before.  Yeek.  So, team QB.  I am glad he figured it out!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 20, 2021, 12:45:17 PM
*Finally* got a 2fer.  Not an easy one today! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 20, 2021, 08:05:32 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2021, 05:31:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far, but that's probably going to be as far as I'm going to get today. Missed the h-word yesterday.

crumb/bighearted

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 21, 2021, 05:39:58 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB only with massive amounts of help.  Although I have taken literature classes, I did not know hamartia, nor did I know haram (although halal is familiar, as many food carts in New York advertise halal food).  Matcha is something I've heard of, but not in my active vocabulary. 

Today's SB doesn't look any more promising.  I'm at genius with the pangram, but probably won't get much beyond that on my own.

But I do have a 2fer, so at least there's that.  As for yesterday, I had the "official" thumb/birdcage.  Langue_doc, I had crumb at one point, but did not see bighearted!

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 21, 2021, 06:53:40 AM
QBABM!  Against all hope.  I sat down after doing some household stuff, and the words just came to me. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 21, 2021, 08:25:10 AM
Yesterday was a washout with both SB and LB. I found crumb, thumb and other 3fers but no mates.

Let's see how today goes!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2021, 08:29:06 AM
Congrats, cathwen.

Just got a two-fer that I like.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 21, 2021, 09:21:06 AM
BWP so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2021, 09:43:03 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM, not too bad today.  Husband followed soon after.  I don't think there were any unusual words.  Yesterday the h- word got us as well.  And I guessed haram.

No luck on LB again.  It wouldn't take crumbhead, or I would have had a twofer.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and again today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2021, 07:03:53 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2021, 03:54:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost genius so far.

Last word yesterday was unwon. I tried all kinds of combinations with un-, but no luck until this one, which I didn't think was a word.

gladiator/rhythms; I hate it when the NYT gets "my" solution.

Today's chores: getting ready for the trip and getting gas.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: Two pangrams!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 22, 2021, 06:18:42 AM
Morning!

QBWCH, once I realized I was at QB-1. Last word was wooing.

Just 3fers. Got close with rhythm-modality-yags.

I hear ya Langue_doc. Welcome to being basic.

Onward to today. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 22, 2021, 07:06:35 AM
Good morning!

I also had the "official" 2fer yesterday.  I also feel a little deflated when it's the same as the NYT solution.  I guess it's the feeling that I'm not as original and clever as I would like to think!

Today I am at genius with both pangrams, but no 2fer yet. 

I have to get cracking now on Things To Do in preparation for the holidays.  It's low key this year, and Middle Daughter is hosting—but I do have a little baking to do, and presents to wrap.  And I have to go pick up my new glasses, and then my husband and I must get a tree before they're all gone.  (We put it up on Christmas Eve—a tradition in both our families.)

Langue_doc, safe travels!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2021, 08:49:54 AM
Good morning!

Three words to go to QB but got Alpha and pangrams.  Yesterday I think my final one was wigging.

I also got the schmofficial solution.  I don't like being basic either, but I don't have as much luck as the rest of you consistently, so I'll take it! I thought dormitory might work and tried dismalist, but I guess that's not a word, just a forumite.

Good luck with trip and holiday preparations! It's got to be challenging sometimes to get a tree so late in the season, but probably unavoidable if you want a real one and also need it to be fresh and ready for Christmas Eve.  Safe travels to the travelers!

I never managed to find my Christmas cards and was too stubborn to get new ones since I had just ordered a whole bunch last time that I put somewhere for "safe keeping."  Since last year was so rough with my FIL's illness, we didn't send any, so now it's been two years since I put them away.  Ugh.  Maybe there will be a Christmas miracle, and I will locate them.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2021, 09:31:00 AM
Morning!

GwP, and not bothered by the ones I missed. Today I am lamenting not having an E.

LB - Yikes! I only got 4fers yesterday. Anyone make any more progress? Let's see what today's brings.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2021, 10:44:07 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 3 words left, but they are long, so not at Alpha.  It took me approximately one year to get to GN4L today.  I think airily, railcar were my final ones yesterday, and I thought I had already entered them.

No luck on LB.  I did have knothole and tried foxhole as well.  But fauxhawk? That's a no, hawk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 23, 2021, 11:03:46 AM
Good afternoon!

I never did get a 2fer yesterday—eager to see if anyone else did.  The "official" solution was fauxhawk/knothole.  "Fauxhawk"?  Oh well... I had knothole, but couldn't find anything to go with it, and now I guess I know why.  I guess I'm not up on my punk hairstyles (is punk still a thing?).

I did get a 2fer today, after a bit of a struggle.

As for SB, I got to QBWH today (with hints for the last three words), but yesterday I missed a bunch of words I should have gotten.  The last word was carryall.  Sigh...

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2021, 12:25:54 PM
So far today, GwP and a 3fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 23, 2021, 06:57:13 PM
Evening!

I'm relieved I didn't spend any time on LB yesterday as I would never have thought that fauxhawk (or whatever it was) was a real word.

Got the pangram and I think I got to genius before the long road trip. Sat in traffic for at least half the way, which wasn't fun, but got to where I needed to be and be with people I enjoy being with.

Probably not much puzzling until I get back early next week.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 23, 2021, 10:19:37 PM
2 pangrams, just a few points shy of genius. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 24, 2021, 05:04:57 AM
Good morning!

Pang ram and genius so far.

It's Christmas Eve, so happy festivities with family and friends. Puzzling is optional.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 24, 2021, 05:16:58 AM
Good morning! 

I also am at genius with the pangram.  I have a bunch of 4L words to find, according to nytbee.com, but struggling to find them.  Lots of baking to do today! So I'm not at all sure I'll be able to track down the missing words.

LB yesterday was different from the "official" answer:  I had colophons-stultify.  I found a 2fer today with a lot less trouble than yesterday. 

Langue_doc, enjoy your visit! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2021, 08:23:50 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday and only weird words missed: aquatint, cinquain, quanta, quintain. GwP today again.

Just 3fers yesterday and so far lots of 3fers today, plus a "ship" so hoping for a 2fer soon. It's been a while since I got one. I fear I'm losing practice. I'll blame it on PTSD from fauxhawk.

Happy solving! And Happy Whatever You Celebrate!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 24, 2021, 08:43:38 AM
GWP today, too. Also missed the weird ones yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2021, 08:50:45 AM
Good morning!

After really struggling with GN4L since absolutely all the other words were needed to get to genius, I finally got there.  Now husband and I each have two 4s left but haven't compared so aren't sure if they are the same ones.   I think aquatint, quanta were two of the ones I needed help with yesterday.  And I have a list of words that weren't accepted that I think should have been.  And more of the same today!

No luck on LB, so congrats, cathwen!  Those are some good words! And congrats on another one today!

Ciao_yall, it sounds as though you are close as well, so good luck!

Enjoy visits and other holiday time! Ours will be fairly low key.  Daughter heads to her mom's today since this is the bigger day for them, then she's back briefly for brunch with us tomorrow.  We are surprising her with eggnog pancakes that we pretested while she was away last week.  Husband is making us roasted lamb and dressing for tonight/tomorrow, and we'll probably have brussels sprouts or some such with it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2021, 09:21:06 AM
2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2021, 09:44:57 AM
Yay! Got a 2fer on my first try!

ETA: totally forgot to mention QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 24, 2021, 09:09:12 PM
No 2fer today, but am definitely close.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 25, 2021, 05:50:38 AM
Good morning!

Pang ram (my first word) and above genius.

Happy celebrating/eating/relaxing!

Today's the big eating day.

ETA: two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 25, 2021, 07:03:59 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram.  Yesterday I got QBABM!  I don't see that happening today, but we'll see. 

I had the "official" conquest/tardy for LB.  Today I have a 2fer as well.

Ab_grp, your menu sounds wonderful!  We're having individual beef Wellingtons with cheddar rolls, mashed potatoes (my husband's specialty), and tricolor salad (also one of his specialities).  I'm making apple crisp for dessert—not flashy, but one of my husband's favorites and can be downsized so as not to leave leftovers, since we're leaving tomorrow and won't be back until Tuesday. 

Happy celebrating, everyone, and happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 25, 2021, 09:03:32 AM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2021, 09:20:16 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, GwP. boffo? Today, got the pangram first and still lingering at Amazing.

LB quarts-secondary.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2021, 12:41:43 PM
Good afternoon!

We didn't get a lot of time to bee this morning before daughter arrived, but husband got to QBABH after she headed back to her mom's.  I needed help on my final word.  Yesterday flipflop was the final non-4 that I needed to get to genius, and I think my final one waskiloBoffo is just dumb!

For LB, I had quests-secondary.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

I still didn't start sudokus so am going to have to get on that for a bit before the next round of presents and eating.

Cathwen, I like the eggnog pancake idea because daughter likes to have it while decorating, but we can never get a small container of it and always have some left over (though I'm sure she'd be fine with drinking all of it...).  The recipe is also really easy with no other weird ingredients, so we got it ready before she arrived and just mixed the wet and dry before griddling them.  She was in charge of preparing mango pieces since she eats so many mangoes.  And the lamb, dressing, and brussels were great.  I am looking forward to more! But boy do I love beef Wellington! That all sounds wonderful, and it's a smart way to have a fabulous meal that doesn't leave leftovers you can't work with. 

Hope everyone is having a merry day!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2021, 08:16:36 PM
Finally got a 2fer! A Christmas miracle!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 25, 2021, 09:09:14 PM
I'm clearly close to a 2fer but can't fit the 't'. Oh well!

Congratulations, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 26, 2021, 06:19:16 AM
Good morning, everyone!

I was at QB-1 yesterday, and finally caved and looked at hints.  The missing word was netizen!  I've heard the term, but would never have dredged it up from the recesses of my brain cells.

Today I am at GWP.  Might not get much further, because today is travel day!  I still have to pack, and we haven't even had breakfast yet (we're in coffee sipping mode).

LB:  I had carve/exhorting.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Ab_grp, I also have leftover eggnog (why is it always sold in half gallons?).  I think that when we get back, eggnog French toast is in our future. 

Happy puzzling to all of you! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 26, 2021, 08:17:27 AM
Morning!

SB - there I was, so proud of myself having found invitee, stuck at QB - 1. What was I missing? You guessed it... evictee!

LB - achieve-exonerating.

Sunday puzzles await! Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 26, 2021, 09:49:12 AM
Gw2Ps and a 2fer. Now waiting for husband to start the NYT Crossword (old-school print edition) so I can finish it.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2021, 10:17:37 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We are each at QB-8 (slightly different points) but have the pangrams.  No Alpha yet.  Like cathwen, my final word was netizen yesterday.  Needed help with that one!

And I also had carve-exhorting, so I guess I was further channeling cathwen, which is not a bad place to be! So far no schmofficial solutions.  Parasaurolophus, I hope you got your 2fer! And congrats on 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

The crossword was a little tough this morning, in my opinion, so good luck. 

Cathwen, we are probably going to try the eggnog French toast as well! Hope your trip goes well and safely!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 26, 2021, 10:26:30 AM
Gah, netizen. Pfft.

I didn't quite get the 2fer--I got exchanging, but couldn't make my 't' fit. That was pretty silly, though. Musta been tired.

Today, I have two pangrams but am still 41 shy of genius. We'll see what the rest of the day brings.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2021, 11:49:55 AM
Argh, sorry you got so close, Parasaurolophus! I feel like most days I am almost there to a 2fer but can't see it.

I was feeling pretty stuck still at 8 words on the bee but then found out husband had picked up 3 more words.  Something kicked in, and now I am down to only one word left! I am crossing my fingers.

Some reasonable starts at contenders on LB, but no magic yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on December 26, 2021, 06:56:38 PM
Yeasterday ancho-overexerting no luck today though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2021, 07:57:47 PM
Evening!

Found both pangrams and reached genius this morning. Have been socializing and eating since then.

QB yesterday; trove/exchanging

ab_grp and cathwen, your dishes sound delicious. We had Christmas breakfast yesterday, followed by presents, a long walk in almost freezing temperatures and rain, and then the usual prime rib and accompaniments for dinner. We've been binging on leftovers (duck, prime rib, and other assorted dishes) today. I don't think I've even looked at the crosswords since leaving home.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 26, 2021, 08:45:32 PM
Made it to genius just before bed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2021, 04:35:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Long drive home--hope I don't get stuck in traffic.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2021, 08:30:23 AM
Good morning!

Got QBABM! Yay! Yesterday the word I gave up on and needed help with was lordly, which is not one of the more difficult ones.  Husband's was byroad.

No luck on LB again.  Hopefully I'll have more time today to give it a better effort.

Langue_doc, your feasts sound delicious as well! Not so much for me the long walk in the cold rain, but you certainly earned the yummier and more festive parts of your visit.  I hope your trip home is safe and that you aren't caught in traffic! Luckily, crosswords are in the archive if you want to go back to them.

Husband got the 2021 puzzlemania for me, as well as one from May 2020 that they put out, apparently, so lots of puzzles await if I can find a big enough surface to write on.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 27, 2021, 08:44:10 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, Gw2P and this morning, GwP.

LB crowd-deployment which was schmofficial. Anyone more creative? Today some 3fers and 2fer b4ss solution but no winner yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 27, 2021, 02:12:35 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 27, 2021, 02:13:41 PM
We all have been at this thread for over a year now!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 28, 2021, 06:03:51 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on December 27, 2021, 02:13:41 PM
We all have been at this thread for over a year now!

We certainly have!

Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius. QB yesterday.

Crosswords and Vertex are done--woohoo!

I got some puzzle books for Christmas, so I'm all set for the year.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2021, 08:50:34 AM
Good morning!

I have three words left and am right at Alpha.  Yesterday logogram, mammogram were my last words.  I think we're closer to almost a year and a half in the thread! My favorite thread!

No luck on LB despite getting within 1 letter with various combos! I have to remember to try some of these suffixes that I don't tend to see.  Waah. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 28, 2021, 08:58:47 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, GwP then on to spending the rest of the day fooling with LB. This morning, quick GwP as well.

LB - Just 2fer b4ss solutions kamikaze-exploiter, kamikaze-extrapolate and plenty of 3fers including proximal-laker-ritz, kelp-polarize-extreme but no 2fer. Today, 3fers abound again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 28, 2021, 10:14:09 AM
Good afternoon! 

No LB yesterday, and SB was only at amazing.  We had a full day yesterday with daughters, spouses-in-law, and grandson—fun!

Today, I just got to QB, but only with a hint for the last word.  I found a 2fer for LB, but it seems clumsy to me.  There is perhaps a "cleaner" solution, but not sure that I'll have the patience to look for it.

Congratulations on everyone's successes!  Langue_doc, enjoy your puzzle books!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2021, 10:37:35 AM
Got to QBABM! Husband beat me to it, and we had the same final word.  Yesterday I had made it to QBABM, and husband supposedly had two words and 6 points left, so a 5 and a 4.  He mentioned that he was surprised that muumuu wasn't in there, and I thought... hmm.  I asked him how many words he had left, and we figured out he actually needed one 6-letter word.  Guess which one.

Congrats on your QB and 2fer, cathwen! And I'm glad you had such a nice day yesterday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 28, 2021, 02:03:11 PM
Weird 2fer but keeping it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2021, 02:27:41 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! I have a couple contenders, one of which is not something I thought of as a word, but no mate yet. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 29, 2021, 05:10:02 AM
Good morning!

My LB yesterday was also weird, with a word that I didn't think was a word (but tried just for the heck of it):  rhythming (!)/gratuitous..  Ciao_yall, I am curious to see if your weird word was the same. 

Ab_grp, congratulations on QBABY!  I got to QB-1, then got stuck on nannying, which should have occurred to me.

Today I am at genius with the pangram.  As for LB, I have another 2fer with a word I didn't think was a word. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 29, 2021, 07:18:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Yesterday, my last word was gray; I thought that I had entered this word along with graying, so it took me a while to find the last word and get to QB.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2021, 08:37:17 AM
Good morning!

Husband and I each have two words left to QB but slightly different points. Different enough that he is at Alpha and I am one point shy, though.  We both had nannying as our final words yesterday.

Congrats, cathwen! Argh, rhythming is the contender I had that I didn't think was a word, but I couldn't get anything to go with it.  I noticed harmony was also in there, so it would have been neat to put the two together somehow.  Congrats on another 2fer today!

I have a friend call this afternoon so need to get started on the sudokus.  I had a hard time with the hard one yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2021, 10:29:01 AM
Morning!

Yesterday QB-3wG2LL (Queen Bee, minus three with grid and two-letter-list). Just oddball words I was too tired to see after a while. This morning, GwP.

LB rumininating-goyish. Told you it was weird. Barely getting started today. ETA: 2fer!

Okay, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2021, 05:44:30 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2021, 06:57:55 PM
Congrats, ab_grp!

QBwG! Didn't even need to hit the 2LL!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2021, 07:07:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. It's a tedious one today that does not bring a spark of joy.

Last word yesterday was bloom; I was sure I had typed it earlier as I remember finding abloom. It was one of those days when I had to sit at my desk so that I can see the grid and also the list of words I've found so far.

growth/handmaids

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 30, 2021, 08:16:58 AM
Fell a pangram short yesterday--looks like that particular puzzle has tripped me up before. I plan to do better today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2021, 09:19:08 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to QBABM, and husband got to QBABH a minute or two later, same final word.  Yesterday I needed help with bollix, which I had tried to spell differently at least. 

For LB, I had graham-midtowns.  I was surprised it took graham but was glad I tried it.  Took a while and a lot of different contenders to get there! But I don't think I tried the words in Langue_doc's solution or the schmofficial one. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2021, 09:32:54 AM
Morning!

QB - last word was loam.

LB - widths-sonogram.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 30, 2021, 10:05:39 AM
Good afternoon!

Last word yesterday was baobab.. Today I am at QB-2. 

LB:  I first got a strange one yesterday—migrations/showd.  Apparently showd is Scottish for 'to rock or sway.'  I was frankly surprised when it was accepted!  I tried again and got widths/sonogram, which is the "official" answer.  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2021, 10:48:46 AM
So far, GnP and something that should have been a 2fer but it didn't take a messy 2fer.

B-minus-plus so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2021, 11:26:03 AM
QB and two-fer. One infrequently used word in the former and a not very economical second word in the latter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 30, 2021, 12:07:19 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2021, 03:09:50 PM
Hooray! Congrats on all your 2fers and bee victories! I have a couple LB contenders, but nothing so far.

Langue_doc, I am guessing your infrequently used word might be our final word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2021, 05:26:26 PM
Finally found the pangram and another word I thought had a more complicated spelling than it actually did.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 31, 2021, 05:08:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far, but that's probably it for today.

beltways/sunshine; couldn't find a mate for leastways.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 31, 2021, 07:50:20 AM
Good morning!

QB-3 and 2fer today.

Yesterday my last word was wanna!  I keep forgetting about slangy contractions.

LB:  I had unsuitable-eyewash, so yet another solution for yesterday!

Happy puzzling, and happy New Year's Eve, whether you're snuggled up in pajamas and going to bed early, or celebrating with others. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 31, 2021, 08:34:06 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday. For some reason I had in my head that whinnied was spelled whinneighed which I guess it can be, but thank goodness for simplified spellings.

So far AwP GwP this morning. Wouldn't take puptent today so I'm crabby.

unsuitable-eyewash as well. I thought it was a weird solution but cathwen, great minds think alike! Some interesting 3fer so far but no 2fer yet. 2fer!

Happy solving and Happy New Year! Small fancy dinner party tonight and I need to start cooking but I just want to go back to bed. No more excuses.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2021, 09:29:32 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have four words left, not at Alpha yet.  Husband got to QBABH! I also tried puptent and was unhappy.  Yesterday wahine was our final word, which I guess Hawaii(an) helped prime, even though they weren't accepted.

Congrats on all your 2fers! I was so close with washtub(s) but couldn't get the mate.  And congrats on 2fers again today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

I hope you all have very happy NYE.  We will be keeping it low key again (not straying far from pjs for sure), though I need to get cracking on the pizza dough and sauce, which I haven't made in a while.  Youngest's boyfriend of 1.5 years broke up with her seemingly suddenly yesterday, so hopefully next year will be a better one all around.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 31, 2021, 10:29:23 AM
Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

One of the outdoors/conservation organizations usually has a New Year's Day walk in a state park. At the end of the walk, there's plenty of good food and wine/champagne. This year, the walk is on, but we were advised to bring snacks to eat on the walk and that the restrooms might not be open, so no indoor gathering/socialization/champagne/food. I was planning to go this year but with the forecast for rain tomorrow and the alarming number of covid cases, it makes sense to stay home.

As you've probably read in the news, there's been an upsurge in the number of cases and hospitalizations and no guidance whatsoever on what to do other than to stand in long lines to be tested. I'm staying out of the subway and other public places until at least the middle of the month, as the numbers are only going to go up and not down.

Sorry to hear about your youngest, ab_grp. This is not a good time of the year to break up.

Hope the coming year is good to us all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 31, 2021, 11:12:25 AM
GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2021, 01:18:27 PM
Thanks about youngest, Langue_doc! A complicating factor is that he lives two doors down from her mom, and she's over there until Sunday.  Luckily, it's raining, so hopefully she can stay in and watch some movies and heal a bit.  Definitely never an easy thing.

And it's a shame to miss the walk, but if they are so limited, no champagne, no good food offered, and possibly no restrooms, plus rain and pandemic... I hope you get to make up for some of these missed experiences in the new year, at least.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 01, 2022, 06:58:55 AM
Good morning, and Happy New Year!

(At least, I hope it will be happy, or happier than the two previous years.)

Beta with both pangrams this morning, and a 2fer.  Yesterday my last word was umpteen

LB:  I had factotum-mightier.

Ab_grp, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter.  Breakups are so hard, and there is nothing one can do except offer an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on.  A day of movies or TV sounds like a good way to spend the day.

Ciao_yall, how was your dinner party?  You are the dinner party queen!

Langue_doc, that is really too bad about the walk.  Staying away seemed like the best option, given the circumstances.

We went to the first New Year's party we've been to in years.  It was a small gathering (all of us covid-tested that morning, and all are triple-vaxxed) consisting mainly of people in the choral group my husband and the hostess belong to.  (The hostess is also my physical therapist, and I was in particularly good form, walking without a cane and without a limp until the end).  I frankly was not looking forward to being out so late, but we had a very good time. 

Anyway...happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 01, 2022, 09:10:13 AM
Happy New Year!

Pangram and above genius; might or might not get to the rest of the words as the crossword needs to be completed.

Last word yesterday was unpen.

cathwen, we have the same LB solution. Glad to hear that you were able to walk without a cane and without limping. Hope your progress continues and that you can walk long distances soon.

When I lived in Philly, we used to go to the annual New Year's Eve party hosted by friends. Good company (one of the guests at the first party ended up becoming a good friend) good food, and a good way to start the new year.

It's been a rainy Christmas and a rainy New Year. It's been raining and/or drizzling since morning. I can now hear foghorns so it must be foggy as well not too far away. On one of our walks during my Christmas visit, I was surprised to see straggly forsythias on people's hedges. This is a town further north, so I was even more surprised to hear that the forsythias had started blooming in November. Here's hoping that the new year brings some semblance of normalcy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2022, 10:12:52 AM
Good morning/afternoon and Happy New Year!

I have four more words to QB and managed to get to Alpha.  My last words yesterday, unbelievably, were putt, mutt.  I do not know what was happening with my brain that I couldn't find them without help.

No luck on LB despite many contenders and trying off and on all night.  Congrats on your 2fers! I think your co-solution was better than the schmofficial one.  And congrats again today, cathwen! And thanks for the kind thoughts for my daughter.  I'm so glad you were able to get around so well at the party!

I was dreading the Saturday crossword, but it wasn't too bad.  NW was hardest for me, same as yesterday.

I was thinking fondly last night of all the NYE parties I went to for years at a friend's farmhouse.  They were so much fun with so many good friends.  And I wondered how I stayed up so late! All night! We made it to about 1:30 AM last night to finish the movie we were watching, and my brother decided to be a pain in the neck about Bob Odenkirk, so we had a text war for a bit.  Maybe too much wine was involved.  I oversalted the pizza.  :-( We watched a replay of the ball drop.  I had sent in a wish to the wishing wall, so hopefully it is manifested into the universe.  And we decided to put off eggnog French toast until tomorrow and have the leftover banana pancakes this morning.  It's rainy here as well, so they were yummy and welcome.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 01, 2022, 11:26:05 AM
Morning!

QBwG. Well, one word short so I went to the 2LL. Last word, which I thought I had already gotten, was unpen.

LB - fumigate-eachother. Perfect for these "unprecedented times" (eyeroll.)

cathwen, thank you for asking. Went well! Getting my groove back. Told husband I want to entertain more often. Leftovers for days, now...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2022, 11:53:33 AM
Got a 2fer! That means that I have gotten a 2fer every day of 2022.  Woot!

Glad your party went well, ciao_yall! You sound like a fabulous hostess.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 01, 2022, 02:36:22 PM
GwP and 2fer!

I love having dinner parties. Husband doesn't enjoy hosting so if it were up to me I'd have people over at least once a week. But that'd kill him.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2022, 03:06:02 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! And I hope that you get to enjoy more dinner parties in the new year than you probably did in 2021.

I finally got to QBABM! That was quite a slog toward the end.  Husband has three words left.  There are a couple that I had to guess at, so those may be among the ones he's missing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 02, 2022, 08:10:05 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was morocco.  Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! 

This morning I got to QB, but needed a hint for the last word—something I would never have gotten.

LB:  I had the "official" jumpshot-trick.  I have a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling! 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2022, 08:36:10 AM
Good morning!

I think I have four words left but am not at Alpha yet.  Crossword took a while.  Congrats on your QB, cathwen, and thanks! My final word yesterday was rancor.  I got morocco just by trying it, figuring I will try all "proper" nouns at this point.  I was glad to remember cayman!

I also had the schmofficial LB solution yesterday.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2022, 09:22:40 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG - last word was morocco. New one for me.

jumpshot-trick - nothing else?

Happy puzzling and solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 02, 2022, 10:02:26 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangram and got to above genius early morning, and then went back to sleep.

Morocco was one of the first words yesterday--this is a familiar word as I recall references to morocco leather and other status symbol accessories in the stories and novels I used to read.

I didn't have the time or the energy to get back to the puzzles yesterday, after the morning stint. It was quite liberating not to be on someone else's schedule. I might not have any time today either other than to look at the crossword.

This is the weekend to just laze and talk to family and friends on the phone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2022, 10:44:47 AM
Status - quick GwP and 3fers coming out of my ears. A few good finds but no mates.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2022, 11:11:37 AM
We both got down to 2 words and Alpha and decided to get some help.  We were both missing the same words.  One is probably the one cathwen was referring to.  I managed to guess it from the first two letters and may have heard of it before, but I never would have guessed it without help.

Good luck with LB, ciao_yall! Sounds like you are on your way!

Enjoy your lazy day and time with friends, Langue_doc.

Oh, we did try the eggnog French toast, and it ended up pretty good.  We tweaked the original recipe based on reviews saying more egg and less eggnog than prescribed, and we might tweak it a little bit next time.  But pretty successful.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 02, 2022, 11:26:52 AM
QB and two-fer without much effort. The last word was on the far edge of familiar, but found it because I've seen it's relatives in recent puzzles.

The discussion on pancakes got me thinking about making waffles--the latter can be frozen unlike the former.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2022, 12:34:06 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc! And I didn't know there was a difference for freezing between pancakes and waffles.  I have never tried to freeze either one, but I don't have a waffle maker in any case.  Sounds like fun!

ETA: Yay! Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 02, 2022, 02:54:01 PM
ab_grp, I've never frozen pancakes as I didn't think they could be frozen. I just stick the frozen waffles in the oven or the toaster oven for a quick breakfast. Waffle irons are rather inexpensive and can be stored upright so they don't take up any space. When I make pancakes I have to remember to use up the batter the following day.

Aargh! I just realized that I haven't even looked at the crossword. Oh, well. I missed my streak during the Thanksgiving break, and then the next one during Christmas.

To channel Scarlett O'Hara, tomorrow is another day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 02, 2022, 06:37:49 PM
Double post---

Turns out that I didn't lose my post-Christmas streak as I just completed yesterday's crossword. We probably get until 10 PM on all seven days to complete the crosswords.

Today's is done, as are the sudokus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 02, 2022, 06:49:19 PM
One short of GWP, but found a few that are being rejected, so...

Edit: there we go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2022, 06:20:16 AM
Morning!

QB - 4. A few easy ones, and WTFity-F is a wallaroo?

And, hulks-staycation.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 03, 2022, 06:53:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far.

Australian fauna was the last word; I might have seen it in a previous bee, but recall seeing other animals from the continent in recent bees.

thinks/salaciously--love the combo.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 03, 2022, 08:17:06 AM
Good morning!

QB-5 this morning.  I needed a hint for wallaroo yesterday—a new animal for me.  Besides expanding my fish vocabulary, I guess I need to work on my Australian mammal vocabulary as well.

LB:  I had inculcations/shaky.  Langue_doc, what a great combination you found!   

It took me quite a while, but I finally came up with a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2022, 08:30:04 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! It was quite a challenge to get to GN4L, so husband was in the lead for a while, but I managed to edge him out.  We had the same final word yesterday as everyone here.

I had the same 2fer as cathwen.   I agree Langue_doc's was a good one! I never would have gotten the schmofficial one, so congrats, ciao_yall!  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 03, 2022, 08:37:48 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 03, 2022, 02:32:07 PM
QB and twofer.

Trying my hand at London Broil in a cast-iron skillet for tonight's dinner.

ETA: I was reminded of yesterday's NYT LB solution when I saw this comic strip: https://mutts.com/

If the link doesn't work, you could google "Mutts comics today".
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2022, 03:00:46 PM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus and Langue_doc!

Langue_doc, good luck with your meal.  I am terrible with cast iron skillets.  They are heavy, and I am afraid of cleaning them.  But they can do wonders! Also, thank you for the comic.  I always get a kick out of Mutts, and it's been too long since I've read it.

I do have some contenders for LB but no luck yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2022, 05:02:25 PM
Finally managed to get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2022, 05:28:00 PM
Just 3fers here so far. Maybe a 2fer will pop?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 04, 2022, 05:54:47 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday my last word was tommyrot, for which I needed a hint.  I don't know why I didn't think of it.   

Today, though, I am at genius with pangram; I'll be lucky to get much further.  I'm finding this a tough group of letters.

LB:  I had combative-egads.  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Happy puzzling, and congratulations on all of yesterday's successes!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 04, 2022, 06:23:05 AM
Morning!

GWP yesterday, then I stopped. Another new word - tommyrot

Just 3fers yesterday - got close but no cigar. activism-mob-badge, vied-dogmatic-cabs, motive-egads-scab.

Ah well, today is a new day! Happy solving!

ETA: Quick 2fer this morning - got my touch back!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 04, 2022, 08:16:33 AM
Hurray, ciao_yall! 

Did you all see the article in The NY Times about the new word game, Wordle?  https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/

One more thing to get hooked on...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2022, 08:24:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

LB: same as cathwen's.

Long day today, so probably no more puzzling.

ab_grp, I like cast iron skillets as they are practically non-stick, retain heat, and get a good sear on steaks. I wash them with the blue Scotch brite sponges. I use the small one to waited vegetables, and the large ones for most everything except rice.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2022, 09:51:06 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Man, I am struggling on the bee today.  Yesterday my final non-fours were tomtit, tommyrot.  Glad I finally found them. 

I had the same 2fer as cathwen and Langue_doc.  Interesting! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Cathwen, I came across Wordle by seeing people posting their results on Twitter.  I did not understand what the squares meant, but now I have played it the past four or so days.  My husband sent me that article, but I haven't read it yet.  The best I have done so far is solving in three words, but I am curious to see if there are stats on that.  It only takes a couple minutes each day and adds an extra challenge! Have you been solving it as well?

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2022, 01:40:52 PM
Finally down to one word left to QB.  Took me forever to find the pangram for some reason.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 04, 2022, 08:47:04 PM
No luck today, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2022, 05:28:59 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. Another long day, so probably no more puzzling.

Crosswords, sudokus, and vertex are done.

barytone/evicts

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 05, 2022, 05:58:24 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram, but SB is a long one today!  Like Langue_doc, I'm not at all sure I'll have the time or the patience to finish it.

Yesterday I needed help to find nepenthe

LB:  I had the "official" basic-controversy.  I have a 2fer today, but the second word is a little odd.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2022, 06:05:30 AM

Yesterday I needed help to find nepenthe.


We've encountered this word in a previous bee; it's also the name of a restaurant in Big Sur where we once had drinks after a long hike.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2022, 06:22:18 AM
Morning!

QBWH. Last words were heptane and.... tenth. SMDH. Yes, I know the restaurant Nepenthe which is how I remembered the word and was quite proud of myself. Today I would really like an r.

LB - basic-controversy. Langue_doc, wow, didn't know you could spell barytone with a y.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 05, 2022, 07:52:15 AM
I now remember having seen nepenthe before, and the comment about the restaurant.  I have eaten there, too!  But the name did not stick with me (obviously).  Next time...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2022, 08:48:17 AM
Good morning!

I still am not at Alpha but am 8 points away.  It is a long one! Yesterday our final word was also nepenthe.  We needed help from Shunn, and then I had one of those "isn't there something like..." moments and recalled it from the previous puzzle, thankfully. 

I also had the schmofficial solution and didn't realize barytone could be spelled that way.  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2022, 09:22:50 AM
Slogging at AwP (what a long one today!) and have a 2fer b4ss so hope something will bust loose soon !!!!!!!

Sitting here waiting for the IT guy to set up my computer but at least my wifi works.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2022, 09:25:43 AM
Quote
LB - basic-controversy. Langue_doc, wow, didn't know you could spell barytone with a y.

ciao_yall, that was an act of desperation as I couldn't get baritone because of the SS issue. Turns out that barytone is a grammatical (obscure?) word. I was surprised that it was accepted!

Quote
bar·y·tone
/ˈberəˌtōn/
adjective
(in ancient Greek grammar) not having the acute accent on the last syllable.
Definitions from Oxford Languages

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2022, 11:42:25 AM
Never hurts to try!

I am finally down to one word to QB.  Husband has two left.  Hopefully inspiration will strike.

And, I have a few contenders for LB but no mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2022, 02:50:25 PM
We finally gave up on the bee, each with one word left, and they were different words.  We both eventually figured them out with the first letters.  Whew!

And finally got a 2fer, though I am a little surprised that either word was accepted.  I will take it! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 05, 2022, 04:54:07 PM
Still 97 short og GWP. Oof.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 06, 2022, 06:13:27 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday then found a few more words then off to other things. Got gonna but not gotta.

LB - dinosaur-reflex or flexed-dinosaur.

Not started yet for today, but happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 06, 2022, 07:09:26 AM
Good morning!

It took me a while yesterday to get gotta and gonna, but intonating tripped me up.  I needed help to find that.

Today:  Beta with pangram, and stymied.  My next step is consulting my list of weird Bee words.

LB:  Yesterday I first got islander-reflexious (tried in desperation).  Then I tried for a more normal pair again later and  got dinosaur-reflex.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2022, 07:24:36 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram.

Another long day, so puzzles have been relegated to the non-essential to-do list.

dinosaur/reflex; couldn't find mates for infixes/d.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2022, 08:47:42 AM
Good morning!

I have three words left, husband has two, both of us are shy of Alpha by a couple points.  This is a tough mix of letters! Yesterday gigaton was my final one.

For LB, I got reflexions-salud.  I didn't think it would take either, but fine with me.  Congrats on your other solutions and to cathwen for another 2fer today! I hope I can join you and keep my 2022 streak alive.

Crossword was a little tricky as usual for a Thursday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2022, 12:13:41 PM
We gave up and got help with our final words, which ended up being the same and not one we were familiar with.  Luckily, husband guessed it.

But I got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 06, 2022, 05:21:03 PM
I've been doing poorly lately. 24 short of GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on January 06, 2022, 06:45:03 PM
my 2fer yesterday was weird and inefficient: alexandrines-soulful. I like the others and can't believe I missed dinosaur.

No luck today, but I'm enjoying Wordle too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2022, 07:10:11 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 06, 2022, 05:21:03 PM
I've been doing poorly lately. 24 short of GWP today.

It was a tough one today.

Quote from: onthefringe on January 06, 2022, 06:45:03 PM
my 2fer yesterday was weird and inefficient: alexandrines-soulful. I like the others and can't believe I missed dinosaur.


Weird=original=one of a kind.

QB and a rather depressing two-fer.

Unrelated vent: I spent two hours trying to locate a document that had been swallowed up by One Drive. I had painstakingly edited part of a website for one of my outdoor organizations. I was not looking forward to spending another three hours rereading the entries and then re-editing them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 07, 2022, 05:31:46 AM
Morning!

GwP. Really - numbat, unban?

2fer was townies-superman. Actually uses one letter less than the schmofficial solution so while I was a bit disappointed with it, I have to remember that I gotta believe in myself a little more.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 07, 2022, 06:00:54 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius so far. I've run out of words today.

mortuaries/spawn; the latter reminds me of the expression spawn of the devil.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 07, 2022, 06:12:13 AM
Good morning!

Genius with only one of the pangrams this morning. 

Yesterday, I went to hints for the last two words; one was "termite-eating marsupial," so I started typing in combinations and got numbat.  Once again, my paucity of Australian marsupial vocabulary has done me in.  But my last word was unban.  Of all the combinations with un- that are rejected, unban did not occur to me.

LB:  I had warmups-senioritis.  I was a little surprised that senioritis was accepted!  We all (so far) have something different, and all different from the "official" solution. 

We have a good bit of snow today—about 8", I would guess.  I'm putting on sweat pants and a warm, baggy sweater and hunkering down today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2022, 09:04:06 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have two words left to QB but am at Alpha.  Hoping for inspiration.  Numbat was our final word that required assistance, and unban was right behind it for me.

I have another 2fer to contribute: manpower-rustier.  Lots of solutions yesterday!

Hopefully you can stay inside and cozy and enjoy the snow from a distance, cathwen!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 07, 2022, 01:53:04 PM
2fer today. A word I didn't think would take but did. Woohoo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2022, 02:03:38 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! I also got a 2fer and was surprised about one word.  I had a really long contender that I haven't been able to make work yet (?), so I'll take this one!

We gave up on our final 2 or 3 words and got some help and finished the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 07, 2022, 09:33:35 PM
Still in my lull.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 08, 2022, 06:00:52 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was the obviously difficult one; I had to decide whether I needed several four-letter words and a longer one or just one long word, but fortunately remembered seeing this word (don't recall where) in the last few days.

forums/scraping

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 08, 2022, 06:37:09 AM
Good morning!

QBABM this morning, against all expectations! 

Yesterday my last word was orotund.  I needed a hint to find it.

LB yesterday was confusing-gramps, so already we have some variety.  No 2fer yet today, though!  It's a toughie.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 08, 2022, 07:49:55 AM
Morning!

GwP, then hit the 2LL where the second P, nonconductor popped out at me. '

LB - confusing-gramp. I first tried confusing-grampa which didn't take, so for the heck of it dropped the a.

Brief road trip this weekend so might not be able to check in after this.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 08, 2022, 09:21:13 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! Husband and I each have two words left to QB but got to Alpha.  Not sure if they are the same two words, though they are the same lengths.  It took me a while to get to GN4L today.  Yesterday my final two were rotund, orotund.  I don't think I have heard of the latter.  And it took me a while to find the second (longer) pangram because I tend to avoid those prefixes until the end since they are so inconsistent. 

For LB, I had a slightly different one: forums-scamping.  I did not think the latter of these was a word, either.  I had uncompromising, which only left two letters, but I couldn't get anything to work so had to abandon it.

I hope you break out of your lull, Parasaurolophus!

And hope you have a good and safe road trip, ciao_yall.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 08, 2022, 09:15:06 PM
Not today, I'm afraid. I probably could, but it was a shitty day and I don't have the heart for it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 09, 2022, 06:37:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; last word yesterday was pawpaw--found the variant much earlier.

Crosswords and sudokus were done last night.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 09, 2022, 07:38:53 AM
Good morning!

I'm on an LB losing streak.  No 2fer yesterday.  I had parquet, but did not see twofold.  And so far, no 2fer today, either.  Argh!

As for SB, my last word was papaw, which I tried after entering pawpaw, having dimly remembered the alternate spelling.  I had gotten pawl earlier, more or less by accident.

Today I am at genius with pangram, with only five words to go, but just not seeing anything, hoping for inspiration.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2022, 09:30:05 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Husband and I each have one word left of different lengths, so team QB, at least.  Yesterday peewee, pewee were my last ones with assistance.  I managed to remember pawpaw, papaw earlier and guessed pawl.

Argh, LB! I had more than a page of contenders, including parquet, folder but couldn't get the solution.  There goes the 2022 streak, but I did try mightily! Hopefully we will have better luck today all around.

Got the crossword done and have my hard sudoku to do, with a call with a pal and some Duo in the afternoon.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on January 09, 2022, 09:59:58 AM
Have you all heard about wordle? I just learned of it yesterday. https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/
It's a very quick puzzle to add to the daily word puzzle routine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2022, 11:58:17 AM
Quote from: monarda on January 09, 2022, 09:59:58 AM
Have you all heard about wordle? I just learned of it yesterday. https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/
It's a very quick puzzle to add to the daily word puzzle routine.

Yes, it kept coming across my Twitter feed, and then I think was mentioned here a few pages ago.  It is really fun and quick! There is an app (not for the original game but a similar one) that allows you to play more than once per day, though I appreciate the original designer intending it to leave people wanting more like the spelling bee does.  I would be so interested to get the data on which words people try, how often they get it in one, two, three tries, etc., how many tries for each specific word, and so forth.  I have not yet managed to get it in 2, but I have gotten better at getting it in three.  How have you fared with it?

Speaking of the bee, husband got to QBABH, and I gave up on my final word and got his assistance for it.  Oh well, not enough time today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 09, 2022, 05:28:45 PM
Hola!

SB - GwP yesterday and today.

LB - yesterday just a 2fer b4ss quadruplet-twofer but I have a 2fer today.

Back to the routine Monday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on January 09, 2022, 06:50:42 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 09, 2022, 11:58:17 AM
Quote from: monarda on January 09, 2022, 09:59:58 AM
Have you all heard about wordle? I just learned of it yesterday. https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/
It's a very quick puzzle to add to the daily word puzzle routine.

Yes, it kept coming across my Twitter feed, and then I think was mentioned here a few pages ago.  It is really fun and quick! There is an app (not for the original game but a similar one) that allows you to play more than once per day, though I appreciate the original designer intending it to leave people wanting more like the spelling bee does.  I would be so interested to get the data on which words people try, how often they get it in one, two, three tries, etc., how many tries for each specific word, and so forth.  I have not yet managed to get it in 2, but I have gotten better at getting it in three.  How have you fared with it?

Speaking of the bee, husband got to QBABH, and I gave up on my final word and got his assistance for it.  Oh well, not enough time today!

I've only played 2 days, just learned about it yesterday. I solved one in 3 turns, and the other in 6 (didn't realize you could use a letter twice).

Got a QBABM today! My second ever. Woot!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 09, 2022, 07:44:39 PM
Well done, monarda!

Finally broke my GWP slump. Phew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 10, 2022, 05:56:51 AM
Morning!

SB - words like coevolve are why I never hit QBAM.

LB - schmofficial biscuit-taxonomy. Anyone find anything else?

Left town Sat/Sun and came home late last night to a Trail Mix puzzle by Patrick Berry in the WSJ and a Split Decisions in the NYT. An embarrassment of riches!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 10, 2022, 06:06:15 AM
Good morning!

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your 2fer yesterday!  I had taxonomy, but did not see biscuit.  Argh!

Monarda, congratulations on your QBABY yesterday!

Yesterday coevolve was my last word, found only with a hint.  But today I got QBABM! 

And after two days of LB failures, I found a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Ciao_yall, Split Decisions is my favorite weekly puzzle.  But Trail Mix!  My husband subscribes to WSJ, so I must ask him to print it out for me.  He pays no attention to puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 10, 2022, 06:16:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

coevolve was my last word which I found by indiscriminately prefixing co- to several words.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2022, 09:21:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I managed to get to QBABM today but needed help with coevolve yesterday.  Congrats on your QBABY yesterday, monarda, and yours today, cathwen! Parasaurolophus, I'm glad you broke your streak!

I had a bunch of contenders including taxonomy but no luck yesterday.  Congrats, ciao_yall, and congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Monarda, yesterday was my first time of solving Wordle in 6 tries.  I almost didn't make it! I hadn't realized at first that you could use a letter twice, either.  Maybe someday I'll get it in two.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: bopper on January 10, 2022, 10:31:28 AM
if you like Spelling Bee, have you tried Wordle?
https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/

It's like "Mastermind", but with words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 10, 2022, 05:26:47 PM
GwP, 2fer b4ss and another 2fer with a word it didn't take. Maybe something will resolve?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2022, 06:36:10 AM
Good morning!

Genius but no pangram yet. It's a challenging puzzle today--my brain feels as though it's just had a good workout.

pulsators/seventy; couldn't find mates for platypus(es) and a few other words.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 11, 2022, 07:35:45 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, but the pangram was not easy to find.  The fact that I misspelled it at first did not help.  This is indeed a hard puzzle!  I foresee WP in my future.

As for LB, I had upvotes-snarly.  So now we have at least three solutions!  I have also found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2022, 07:48:19 AM
179 points; I think I just need the pangram!

cathwen, that's an economical solution.

ciao_yall, safe travels if you're still on the road.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2022, 10:02:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to QBABM after thinking of the final two words while pouring cereal.  It was a struggle for a while, but the words are all familiar.  Good luck! I think biblical, aboil were my final ones yesterday. 

Congrats on your 2fers! No luck for me despite many attempts.  Congrats on another one today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2022, 12:51:27 PM
Yay, got a 2fer, and on my second try! It has been a few days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2022, 02:39:32 PM
Spelling bee heads up, per Sam tweet today:

Quote
-Z's, J's, X's (one of these is tomorrow)
-A tough-to-see 12(!)-letter pangram
-A *massive* puzzle for a weekend day, by popular demand. It's pretty sweet. You'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2022, 06:13:33 PM
Oh boy oh boy.

GwoP, not sure it will pop today.

2fer for today. Yesterday I had two 2fer b4ss solutions and one that wouldn't take the word soylent. I have already deleted them so we'll all just have to wonder. Langue_doc, I think one of them had platypus.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2022, 07:48:47 PM
Sent you a hint, ciao_yall.

QB and two-fer. Tomorrow's crossword is done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2022, 09:30:04 PM
Ooh found my almost 2fers from yesterday. Will share them here for posterity.

parvenues-soylent
parlours-seventy
papyrus-solvent


Wouldn't take soylent, and two b4ss solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 12, 2022, 05:10:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Last word yesterday was the pangram. I think yesterday's bee was much more challenging and therefore more mentally stimulating than today's.

develop/puritan

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 12, 2022, 06:16:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today.  I don't know what was wrong with me yesterday—I missed several blindingly obvious words found only after 2LL help. Diacritic was my last word.

LB:  I had vapored-dilution.  Once again, several possibilities, as neither Langue_doc nor I had the "officlal" solution. 

No 2fer yet today, but came frustratingly close a few times. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 12, 2022, 07:26:29 AM
Morning!

SB - Read Langue-Doc's hint, read the online hints and still couldn't figure it out. Then this morning it hit me... but noooooooooo, new puzzle loaded. So TOQB-1WITHICG (Timed Out Queen Bee Minus One With All The Help I Could Get.") Keep forgetting arcadia.

LB - pronated-dilutive.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2022, 08:04:05 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Alpha today, but husband had to go to a doctor's appt he's been dreading, so we will get back to it later.  Yesterday I finally thought of attract and then tract.

For LB, I got repudiation-navel.  Lots of different solutions, and still not schmofficial one. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2022, 11:37:24 AM
Husband got to QBABH while waiting at the doctor's office, and I got there after he got home.  And I got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 12, 2022, 12:47:36 PM
Just got a 2fer!  But it was a struggle today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 12, 2022, 09:26:13 PM
Blah, I'm back on my losing streak.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2022, 04:56:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. It's a sloggy one today, but fortunately short.

Last word yesterday was tippet; found all the words by noon.

prophylactic/caulk-cuck; tried the latter just for the heck of it; I don't know what it means--possibly a bleep word.

Two-fer already!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 13, 2022, 05:04:52 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram, which was the first word I saw.  I agree, Langue_doc, this is sloggy.  Yesterday, my last words were expellee and tippet. 

LB:  I had the "official" hypocritical-luck.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 13, 2022, 05:53:34 AM
Morning!

GwP and just 3fers here yesterday.

Let's see what today brings.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2022, 08:03:12 AM
Good morning!

I have two more words, but husband's off to another doctor's appt, so I will wait for now.  Can't recall what my final word was yesterday.  Maybe tippet?

I also got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc (plus interesting and different answer yesterday!) and cathwen!

Have to restart my computer again.  Ugh!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2022, 12:45:04 PM
Got a 2fer!

But I gave up on the final two bee words and got assistance.  Good enough!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2022, 01:42:37 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 12, 2022, 09:26:13 PM
Blah, I'm back on my losing streak.

What's with the red? Did the powers-to-be change you from alkaline to acidic?

Inquiring minds want to know.

ETA: From The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/13/wordle-perfect-pandemic-game-together/

Disclaimer--didn't read it yet.


Good luck with today's bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 13, 2022, 05:54:48 PM
GwP and quick 2fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 13, 2022, 09:27:14 PM
Gah, I fell ten short. I'm cursed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 14, 2022, 05:48:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; I think I've run out of words today. Last word yesterday was effigy.

banjo/stupidity

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2022, 06:42:29 AM
Morning!

GwP and banjo-stupidity yesterday. Not sure there was another solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 14, 2022, 06:48:35 AM
Good morning!

Another banjo-stupidity!

No 2fer yet today.

SB:  Those darned -ee words!  I needed a hint for giftee yesterday.  I think I've seen it in the Bee before, but it's not a word that easily springs to mind. 

Today I just clawed my way to Beta with the pangram.  I am mystified as to what other words could be hiding in that collection of letters! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 14, 2022, 07:35:43 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 13, 2022, 09:27:14 PM
Gah, I fell ten short. I'm cursed.

Found the points for gwp in the end.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2022, 09:29:00 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I got to QBABM! Yesterday my final words that required assistance were yeti, effigy.  I felt bad for husband, who only needed help with one 6 letter F-word.  Yep, it was fidget, of all things.  Glad you got there in the end, Parasaurolophus!

I also got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Today I have a good contender but not much else so far.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2022, 12:57:32 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 14, 2022, 01:00:45 PM
GWP! On to LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 14, 2022, 02:01:22 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2022, 05:09:53 PM
2fer! And stuck at AwoP so finally hit the hint site. Woohoo, GwP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 15, 2022, 05:23:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Yesterday's bee wasn't too bad. Last words were vied and live.

Easy two-fer today, saw both words as soon as I looked at the puzzle.

It's going to be a busy few days, so I might not have much time for puzzling or visiting the fora.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 15, 2022, 05:43:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far, but apparently there is a second pangram, according to nytbee!

Yesterday my last word was vivid, which I was sure I had typed earlier. 

LB:  I had the "official" flub-benchwarmer.  Were there other solutions?

I found a 2fer today on the first try!  That is a rare occurrence.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on January 15, 2022, 06:26:11 AM
Haven't had much time for puzzling due to the start of the semester.  But with cathwen & Langue_doc's posts about the 2fer being easy, I gave it a shot and I also got a 2fer on my 1st try. Must be something about this combination of letters.
I am enjoying wordle (thanks for the recs, all), as it's a quick way to get my brain working in the morning.
Happy puzzling everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2022, 09:05:02 AM
Morning!

Yesterday I was stuck at Amazing for a long time. Then today I noticed it hadn't checked words I was pretty sure I had. And I didn't get the little splash screen when it hit Genius. So.... maybe there was a technical glitch? Anyway, now I know that medieval is not a proper noun.

flub-benchwarmer as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2022, 10:11:11 AM
GwP, 2fer. But the WSJ crossword awaits. And I never did finish the Split Decisions from last week.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2022, 10:48:51 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Six words left to go, including one pangram, and not at Alpha.  Husband does not have a second pangram, either.  Yesterday my final words were leave, lava, which were not as tough as some.  Ick.

I also had the schmofficial solution for LB.  Sounds like today's is a lot easier, so I hope to join you all in a 2fer!

There was an interesting observation in the bee FB group that in yesterday's puzzle m appeared only in the pangram! I hadn't even noticed that.

As for Wordle, I have managed to solve it every day but have had two (?) days where I solved it right at the 6th try so almost didn't.  And I have managed to get it in two words once, but I'm mostly in the 4s and 3s.  It's kind of fun tension to start thinking you're not going to get it in 6.  I guess it must keep the streak from your device? I have not tried it anywhere other than this computer, but since you don't sign in or anything, I would guess it doesn't transfer to your phone? Guess I better not clear my cookies.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2022, 12:27:58 PM
Yay! I also got a 2fer on my first try! We probably all have the same one.

And I finally got the second pangram and am down to two words, 6 points.  Husband is also down to two words, but I think has a few more points left, so at least one of the words must be different.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2022, 03:02:25 PM
We both finally got to QBABO.  Whew.  Good luck!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on January 15, 2022, 03:04:32 PM
LB 2fer was so obvious I'm positive it was schmofficial and shared with everyone else.

Wordle in three today as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 15, 2022, 08:18:06 PM
Made it past GWP for the first time in a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 16, 2022, 06:03:40 AM
Good morning!

Well, did we all get quixotic-cranky yesterday?  Any other solutions?  It seems that we all saw it fairly quickly.

As for SB, it was another one where I would never have found my last word, horchata, had I sat here until Doomsday.  I now have a very vague recollection that it may have been in a previous Bee, perhaps a good while ago.  But it's certainly not a word in my active vocabulary!

Today's SB went along well until I got to QB-3.  I have now hit the brick wall that we all know so well (at least, some of us do!).    At least I found a 2fer for LB!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 16, 2022, 07:17:49 AM
Good morning!

Only two words left for today's bee.

Last word yesterday was truth--found the unusual ones early on.

We must have all found the same LB solution.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on January 16, 2022, 08:15:48 AM
Good morning! Yesterday, I did not know the word catarrh. Now I do.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 16, 2022, 08:27:49 AM
Alpha with two pangrams today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2022, 09:00:24 AM
Woohoo, Parasaurolophus!

Yesterday, GwP but just one P - cutthroat. I did get horchata and catarrh but not coauthor. Went on to find quixotic-cranky and declared victory.

Today, GwP and 2fer b4ss so far, so hope a 2fer will bust loose soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2022, 09:33:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM! And husband got to QBABH soon after.  Good luck! I was lucky with horchata because it appears on many menus here and the daughters like it, but I have not had it myself.  And I will never forget (I hope) catarrh, which previously ruined my chance at a birthday QBABM.  But coauthor took a while, which led to cohort, and then my final word was torah.  I kept trying variations of cucaracha.

I also got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen! Ciao_yall, sounds like you're close!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2022, 10:19:57 AM
2fer. Day is complete. Now waiting for husband to start the NYT puzzle so I can finish it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2022, 04:35:05 PM
Whew! Finally got a 2fer! Congrats, ciao_yall.  Did you say you do the crossword on paper? I'm just curious about a clue today that supposedly appears differently between modes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2022, 06:03:34 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Missed the two unfamiliar words yesterday; I'm glad I didn't have the time to look for these.

cynosures/skyward; LB wouldn't accept yardwork which I've always assumed to be a legit word.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 17, 2022, 06:37:26 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram.  Yesterday I got tripped up on the variant spellings nunchuk/nunchuck

LB:  I had the "official" unscrew-workday.  Langue_doc, you found a great pair! 

I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2022, 08:17:42 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM, and husband got there a couple minutes later.  Good luck! I think nunchuck, eunuch were my last two yesterday.

I got the schmofficial solution, too.  Langue_doc's is much more interesting.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2022, 09:09:59 AM
Morning!

Made it to QB-1, then even with hints and Googling "Japanese weapons" didn't realize one could also spell it nunchuk. GwP so far this morning.

LB - unscrew-workday and today a 2fer b4ss and a tight 3fer. But I've been in this slog before.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2022, 09:14:03 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 16, 2022, 04:35:05 PM
Whew! Finally got a 2fer! Congrats, ciao_yall.  Did you say you do the crossword on paper? I'm just curious about a clue today that supposedly appears differently between modes.

Not sure about that. I guess I could compare the two versions but that would take a while.

I do the mini and the Saturday online.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2022, 09:43:18 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 17, 2022, 09:14:03 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 16, 2022, 04:35:05 PM
Whew! Finally got a 2fer! Congrats, ciao_yall.  Did you say you do the crossword on paper? I'm just curious about a clue today that supposedly appears differently between modes.

Not sure about that. I guess I could compare the two versions but that would take a while.

I do the mini and the Saturday online.

It was just one particular clue in Sunday's regular puzzle: 110A.  On the app, it looks like a slash (/) between words due to the sans serif font, while supposedly on paper it's an italic I.  I use the app and was a little confused about how the clue and answer were related, but maybe it makes more sense on paper.  I only found out about this through the comments.  For me, it looked like ENT / CEMENT. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2022, 09:59:58 AM
Oh I get it.

When I figured out the theme I noticed the answer was probably the song and never really read the clue. Not sure it makes a difference because the clues are in a serif font on paper and sans serif online but it still suggests the same thing - a word play on "enticement" with the "i" as an italic i  or "i-lean."

Geddit?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2022, 10:41:09 AM
Argh!!! I get it now! Thanks for the explanation.  When I found out that it was supposed to read as ENT I CEMENT, as a word, I saw how it applied to the first part of the answer, but even after reading the comments about the italics I didn't sound it out like that.  I do think that if it seemed like an I on the app, I might have gotten closer to understanding.  But, that is not a given.  Thank you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2022, 11:33:00 AM
QB and two-fer; not very efficient, but "normal" words all the same.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2022, 06:05:27 PM
Also a messy 2fer here as well. And so many 2fer b4ss solutions...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on January 17, 2022, 06:46:45 PM
2fer, but also not efficient. It appears there could be multiple solutions given the combination of letters. It will be interesting to see everyone's solutions tomorrow. Not going to finish the bee before calling it a night as my brain is fried.
Happy puzzling if anyone is still solving tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 17, 2022, 08:38:54 PM
Beta bee with pangram today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 18, 2022, 05:52:27 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram and a 2fer.

My last word yesterday was moonlit, found only after looking at hints.  I had unlit, and kept looking for a combination with moon, but for some reason my brain did not connect moon and lit.  Sigh...

I am eager to see what everyone's LB answers were yesterday.  Mine was cable-exhilaration. As OneMoreYear says, it seems that multiple solutions are possible.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 18, 2022, 05:54:58 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was lilt--I'm sure I entered it much earlier.

article/exhibition

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 18, 2022, 06:01:34 AM
morning, and congrats Parasaurolophus!

Yesterday, GwP and probably could have made QBABM had I stuck with it and remembered tutti.

LB - carbonate-exhilarate or carbonate-exhilaration. Lots of b4ss solutions as well.

Anyway, happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on January 18, 2022, 07:42:56 AM
Yesterday's 2fer: chile/exacerbation I was surprised it took chile. Going to be a long day, so probably the quick wordle is the only puzzling for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 18, 2022, 09:13:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Still a ways to go on the bee, but I did get to Alpha.  Moonlit was my final one yesterday.  I can never remember that one, either.  I was lucky that I was thinking I should try out- and for some reason came up with outmoon (?) and then saw the word.

For LB, I had the same solution as Langue_doc.  Good solutions all around! Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 18, 2022, 10:58:58 AM
Got a 2fer!

We had to seek assistance with a few words.  Husband finally made it to impure QB, but I still have a word left.  Hopefully I'll figure it out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 18, 2022, 08:37:21 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2022, 05:26:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. It's an uphill climb today--out of breath already.

I don't recall my last word yesterday. I was frantically looking for a couple of missing words, but when I continued with the puzzle on another device it turned out that I had entered the missing words earlier on that device.

grouch/handset

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 19, 2022, 06:11:21 AM
Morning!

QB-1WH. What is a mage?

And, cadges-southern. Lots of solutions today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 19, 2022, 06:27:27 AM
Good morning!

QBWH yesterday.  My last word was mezzanine

Today:  Genius with pangram, ten words to go. 

LB:  Adding to the various solutions, I had dangerous-stretch.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Both sudokus seemed harder than usual today, or perhaps I just wasn't very sharp.

Not sure how much more time I'll be able to devote to puzzles today.  Classes start today and I have errands that I need to run, since tomorrow is supposed to be snowy/icy.  No matter how much I look forward to the end of a semester, by the time the next semester rolls around, I'm always eager to start again, and this time is no different. 

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2022, 09:11:25 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 4 words left to QB but not quite at Alpha yet.  It took a while to find the pangram.  My final ones yesterday were enigma, maize.

For LB, I had another solution: thousands-scrounge.  Definitely a variety! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

I am a little nervous to hear that the sudokus were harder today.  Good luck with your errands and new semester, cathwen! I hope you can get everything you need before the snow and ice.

In case you all hadn't seen the thread on forum statistics, our thread is #1 in number of replies! Hooray! And I'm apparently one of the top 10 posters (way behind Parasaurolophus, though), most of which are probably to this thread.  Not sure if that's a good or bad accomplishment.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2022, 12:41:48 PM
Woohoo, ab_grp! You're up there, along with ciao_yall.

Made it to QB. There's only one word that's either unfamiliar or that I have yet to encounter in a previous puzzle.

As for LB, I forgot to mention that I also found teacher/sundog--never heard of the latter word, but tried it just in case.

cathwen, good luck with the semester. I too feel quite excited at the beginning of the semester--it's like getting a new toy, new beginnings, the prospect of new classes and faces, and the hope that classes go well. We don't start until next week, but there are already a couple of introductions on one of the discussion boards.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 19, 2022, 01:14:59 PM
Langue_doc, sundog is a new word for me, too.  I had to look it up.  Lots of variety with yesterday's LB!

I've been reading and responding to the "Introduce Yourself" discussion board and am amazed by the wide diversity of backgrounds and languages represented among those who have posted so far.  Some of the languages spoken are Polish, Russian, German, Romanian, Greek, Chinese, Farsi, and Mongolian (!), in addition to the more usual Spanish and Italian.  The wide diversity is one of the things I like about teaching in a New York area school.

Ab_grp and ciao_yall, I am impressed by your stats! 


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2022, 01:32:38 PM
Totally forgot about ciao_yall being on the list after looking at it last night! But I think out of the three of us on the list, I contribute the least meaningful content, which is why I was surprised to see myself there.  Not sure if I am impressed or depressed, so maybe I will have to work on that. ;-)

I finally got assistance on my last word and recalled it.  But I have seen on FB that there may be a word in the list that had not previously been accepted.  I'm not sure which one but hope to find out tomorrow.  Maybe that is the one Langue_doc referred to.  Congrats on your QB!

Cathwen, that is a wonderfully diverse group!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2022, 04:00:09 PM
My husband sent me this article from Deb Amlen (from the NYT crossword column) about Letter Boxed that has some tips and tricks for solving.  I would suspect we already use them but FYI: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/crosswords/letter-boxed-tips-and-tricks.html

I still don't have a 2fer yet, but I have some ideas toward it.

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 19, 2022, 09:06:06 PM
Blah, two points short of GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2022, 05:58:26 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. Yesterday's unusual word was tallit--still don't know what it means; last word was luau.

Happy solving, all!

ETA found a twofer!

Thanks for the meaning, ciao_yall; I often find words by stringing letters at random.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 20, 2022, 06:12:19 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday, missed a few odds and ends on the way to QB. Langue_Doc, a tallit is a Jewish prayer shawl.

LB - a vaguely naughty firm-mountable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 20, 2022, 06:24:56 AM
Good morning!

I needed hints to get to tallit, as it was not a word that I knew.  Today I am at Beta with the pangram and cannot see where the other words are coming from!

LB:  I had unmoral-lifeboat.  I had lifeboat first, then saw unmoral, which I was sure would be rejected.  I suppose we'll have a variety of answers today!   

I have a 2fer today as well.

Ab_grp, thanks for linking that article on LetterBoxed.  The hints are good ones, but what surprised me is that the person who wrote the article says she has never gotten a 2fer! 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2022, 08:14:41 AM
Good morning!

I have two short words left to QB.  Husband got QBABH.  My final word was palapa yesterday.  Apparently tallit was the newly accepted word, but I had guessed it and had thought it had been in there before.  Too many bee words yesterday!

I got the same 2fer as ciao_yall yesterday.  I'm always glad for a variety of solutions! And none the schmofficial one so far.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Did anyone notice that the Friday mini puzzle appeared in the app last night? That is a little odd.  And today's regular crossword definitely did not feel like a Thursday.

Cathwen, I agree it is interesting that Deb has not found a 2fer yet given all her wordplay expertise.  I will send her good 2fer juju.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2022, 08:27:05 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 19, 2022, 09:06:06 PM
Blah, two points short of GWP today.

I kept the page open and finished it today. Phew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2022, 08:29:05 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2022, 08:27:05 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 19, 2022, 09:06:06 PM
Blah, two points short of GWP today.

I kept the page open and finished it today. Phew.

Hurrah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2022, 11:06:26 AM
QB! Only one unfamiliar word, which I found by my usual strategy of trying out all possible combinations.

Crossword was indeed easy; sometimes I don't see the point of the themes, but find the words because of the adjacent words or other clues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2022, 11:31:18 AM
Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I did manage to get one word but still have one left.  Not giving up yet.

I did get a 2fer, though!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 20, 2022, 05:19:24 PM
Two 2fers and QB-3. Grid and 2LL didn't yield anything. Should I go to the hints?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 20, 2022, 09:52:33 PM
Failed utterly today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 21, 2022, 05:49:44 AM
QB - 2, missed malic and iambi. Whatevs.

LB - crumping-gloat, crumpling-goat. Not started yet today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 21, 2022, 05:50:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and finally genius. It's a challenging one today.

Last word yesterday was iamb; word that I guessed was malic.

clumping/groat; crumbling/goat

Crosswords and sudokus are done.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: two-fer--not very economical, but familiar.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 21, 2022, 07:15:27 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, and I agree, this one is challenging. 

Yesterday I got all the way to QB-1ABM,then got stuck on the last word.  I finally went to hints—it was iambi!  I was sure I had tried that before, but apparently not.

LB:  I had proacting-glum.  I have a 2fer today as well, but the second word especially seems odd.  I may look for another pair. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2022, 08:34:01 AM
Good morning!

We each have one word left, different lengths, so team QB.  It took us both a while to find the pangram.  Yesterday my final word was also iambi

For LB, I had clumping-gator.  Lots of different solutions again, and none schmofficial, I don't think.  Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!  Sounds as though there are a couple solutions again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2022, 06:29:02 PM
Finally got a 2fer thanks to my husband! Team 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 21, 2022, 09:45:30 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 22, 2022, 07:20:07 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday. He wouldn't take (spoiler word in today's bee) but he takes helluva? Gah.

LB - forthright-turpentined, fortnight-turpentined.

Off to a start at 3 AM with mini crossword, regular crossword, AwP and 3fers.

Happy solving!

But first, coffee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 22, 2022, 07:34:46 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB-2 yesterday, then turned to the hints.  Helluva?  Huh.  My last word, which I found with hints plus desperately trying combinations (because the hints weren't helping much) was helve.  New word for me!

Today is quite a slog, but I'm at Beta with the pangram, and six words to go. 

LB:  I also had forthright/fortnight-turpentined.  Earlier, I had found unprofit-thighed, but wasn't thrilled with that pair.  I have a 2fer today, too, but I'm not happy with the second word.  I may or may not look for a better pair.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2022, 08:19:47 AM
Good morning!

I have quite a while left today, something like 10 words, but a lot of them are long! I think my final ones yesterday were uvea, uvulae.

For LB, I had unprotruded-dogfight, the first of which was donated to me by husband after I was flailing despite many good contenders.  So half-schmofficial.  I had forthright/fortnight early on, too.  Dang it! Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2022, 08:39:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were vale and peep. I found helve and helluva much earlier as I've seen both in previous bees. I recall complaining about the former here, about a year or so ago.

dogfight/turpentine, gunfight/torpedo

Crosswords and sudokus were done last night, vertex this morning.

My neighbors, a family of five all have Covid. It's sheer idiocy on the part of the DOE to keep schools open as one of the parents is a teacher whose classes are probably not properly covered given the rate of positive tests and hospitalizations in the city. They've all been vaccinated but must have been exposed to it in their schools (classmates, students, or other employees).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 22, 2022, 08:57:56 PM
40 short, but my heart's not in it tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2022, 08:06:45 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, GwP. Last word was hellhole. It took collet but not echolocate?

And no 3fer but a 2fer b4ss influxes-sandbox,a few close 3fers: unboxed-dial-loafs, unbiased-dioxide-elf, and variations of fans-sexual-libido, unsexual-libido-oaf.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2022, 08:07:47 AM
Good morning!

I got to QBABM! Husband has two words left.  I think my final words yesterday were toothache, collet.

No luck on LB yesterday, despite a lot of trying and various contenders. 

Sorry to hear about your neighboring family, Langue_doc.  It does seem as though keeping kids in schools is not really working out with preventing the spread, though I understand why folks argue for it, on some level.  At least older kids can follow safety guidelines better.  Daughter's got mostly college classes this semester, and they are still in person, but they also involve labs.  I know she is anxious to be there in person for that aspect, and they each have their own tables, but it's still nerve-wracking.  Unfortunately, her mother has it (exposure at work), so who knows what that will mean for who else gets it.  Hopefully it will be mild for all who have it, but it's not a gamble I would want to take, and I definitely feel for those who are exposed in situations they'd rather not be in in the first place. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 23, 2022, 09:07:53 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, my first word, and then genius. I think that's going to be it for today.

I got to QB yesterday--the trick is to remember the "bee" words, which I find quite annoying.

funboxes/sailed

ciao_yall, I like your words!

ab_grp, hope daughter stays safe; sorry to hear about daughter's mother. I've been hearing about boosted people catching covid.

As for me, I don't think I've ventured out or used public transportation since just before Thanksgiving, but do need to get to the doctor's next month and also get my hair cut, neither of which is feasible by car because of parking issues.

Interesting crossword theme--have fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 23, 2022, 09:10:38 AM
Good afternoon!

My last words yesterday were alcohol and cochleae.  I had to go to hints for the last one.

Today I am at QB-2.  Congratulations on your QBABY, ab_grp! 

I had some trouble with LB yesterday, but finally got inboxes-sadful.  I got inboxes first, which left  sad, plus the -ful ending, but I didn't think they went together.  However, when desperate...you know how it goes...so I tried combining them and was stunned when it took. 

I have a 2fer today as well, with normal words.

Langue_doc, that is discouraging news about your neighbors.  It does seem as though there is a premature rush to get back to normal, understandable though it may be.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2022, 11:47:38 AM
Interesting thoughts about COVID. Still, if everyone is vaxxed and omicron is not serious for vaxxed people, then do we really need to remain shut down? It's like flu season - yes we need to watch small children and people with compromised health, but at this point, all the testing of asymptomatic people is starting to feel like pushing a string.

Well, I'm not in public health so I will respect decisions. Even if I question them.

GwP and 2fer b4ss which led to a messy 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2022, 12:46:23 PM
Thanks, cathwen, and good luck! You are almost there!

You both got some good 2fers! And congrats on another one today, cathwen! I finally got one as well after a lot of tries.  Mine are fairly normal, though a little different than I would expect.

Thanks, Langue_doc.  We are trying to decide if we should test ourselves since daughter came over here briefly while her mother was probably infectious but before she had the symptoms and got tested.  It's kind of annoying that the omicron symptoms supposedly mimic a common cold.  We have both been pretty tired and very sneezy for the past few days, some throat scratchiness, congestion and runny nose, headaches, etc.  But it could be allergies! Or a sinus thing! Or a cold! But it could be covid! Normally I would not test, but given the possible exposure, maybe it's a good idea at this point.  Daughter has tested negative the whole time, but the package instructions are so convoluted that it seems as though a false negative is more likely than an accurate result.  Even if it's this mild and we don't go anywhere and haven't been anywhere, I guess it's better to know in case there are long-term effects of some sort.  Ugh.  I am also a little confused that the test says to insert only 1/2 to 3/4 inch? That does not seem that far.  But I guess it depends on the type of test.  Anyway, sorry for the long whatever this was.  And yuck about having to take public transportation right now!

ETA: congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! Sounds like it may be a different one.  As for testing, it bothered me earlier on that our governor just kept telling people to test constantly no matter what, which seemed as though it could make for a bigger denominator and artificially smaller % of positive cases (which is what they were using as criteria for implementing restrictions that there was a lot of pushback about).  Now I am confused about why a variant that it supposedly so transmissible and seems to affect plenty of boosted folks (even mildly) is treated more cavalierly by the government.  The guidelines for return to school post-exposure (but not necessarily being positive) versus post-covid are really strange to me.  I don't really know what makes sense anymore.  Though obviously not everyone is vaccinated, and "mild" is sometimes more of a comparative adjective than an absolute one. 



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 23, 2022, 01:43:17 PM
ab_grp, sorry to hear that you and husband haven't been feeling well. Yes, the tests do say that you don't have to insert the swab all the way up your nose; you just have to make sure to twirl the number of times indicated in both directions for each nostril. Do you have testing sites nearby? My neighbors went to our local one soon after they started feeling sick, so their tests are reliable.

ciao-yall, unlike the cold and the flu, the new variant is highly contagious and can be deadly for people with immunocompromised health conditions. Here in our city, the hospitalization rates are still very high, so hospitals are overwhelmed, as reported by the local news media and also in the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/15/nyregion/brooklyn-omicron-cases.html I think hospitals have been holding off on elective surgeries not just in the city, but also in the state. The new reported cases of hospitalizations and deaths keeps going up, which is alarming. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html

ab_grp, I too have been surprised by the insistence on testing--perhaps the testing companies have a strong lobby? Have been contributing to our elected officials' campaign coffers? In any case, it's better to take all the necessary precautions and check with one's physician for clarification. This is one reason I want to keep the doctor's appointment--this was originally scheduled for earlier this month, but I rescheduled it because I didn't want to spend over an hour each way sitting with unmasked people.

Crosswords and sudokus were done last night. I might not get back to the bee or LB today, but who knows?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 23, 2022, 07:56:30 PM
GWP. Phew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2022, 06:05:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was yente--I've seen it in more than one bee but wasn't sure of the spelling.

undogmatic/cravatl wasted a lot of time trying -ing ending words.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2022, 06:23:07 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG. I was going to stop at GwP but then a friend of mine has just gotten into the Bee and I got swept up in all the excitement.

undogmatic-carving here.

Happy solving!

ETA: GwP and 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2022, 08:25:45 AM
Good morning!

We each got to QBABO this morning with different final words.  Yesterday motet was my final word.

For LB, I got convicting-grandmum.  Wasn't sure if the latter spelling would be allowed, but yay.  I don't know why they are convicting her.  Maybe she's a hooligan.  Congrats on your 2fer today, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 24, 2022, 08:27:10 AM
GWP already. Whew! Had an easy time with Wordle, too. Just waiting for the French Wordle to drop, now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 24, 2022, 09:36:28 AM
Good afternoon!

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I'm not there yet—I have three words to go.  And congratulations, ciao_yall, on your QBWATHYCG! 

Yesterday my last word was (of all things) emote.  An easy word, yet I just didn't see it until I looked at a hint.  Ugh!

LB:  I had undramatic-convicting.  Perhaps they were convicting the grandmum, ab_grp, and she accepted her conviction without screaming and insisting on her innocence?

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on GWP.  And you say there's a French Wordle?  I must check that out.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2022, 04:41:41 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Cathwen, I hope you were able to find your words.  I don't know about your Grandmum theory, though she may have been playing innocent.  My mom tries that once in a while, but we've caught on to her ways.

Parasaurolophus, I am also interested in a French Wordle! Though I can barely finish the English version some days.  And congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 24, 2022, 07:56:36 PM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 23, 2022, 08:06:45 AM


Yesterday, GwP. Last word was hellhole. It took collet but not echolocate?



I just remembered that I forgot to complain about that! WTF?

Quote from: cathwen on January 24, 2022, 09:36:28 AM

Parasaurolophus, congratulations on GWP.  And you say there's a French Wordle?  I must check that out.

Happy puzzling!

Quote from: ab_grp on January 24, 2022, 04:41:41 PM

Parasaurolophus, I am also interested in a French Wordle! Though I can barely finish the English version some days.  And congrats!

https://www.solitaire-play.com/lemot/


Weirdly, I seem to be much better at it than at English Wordle, although I'm pretty good at that, too. I think it's just that I've figured out what must be pretty much the best first word, whereas to get the same effect in Wordle I still have to use two. (Weird because although I'm a native speaker of both languages, English is the language I work and read for pleasure in.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 25, 2022, 04:08:24 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. QB yesterday; I'm not sure what the last words were as I had open tabs on two devices--words that you type in don't automatically transfer to the other device unless you open a new tab or use a third device as was the case yesterday.

Forgot all about LB.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 25, 2022, 05:49:43 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday, found with a hint, was tinging.  I had tried ting, which was rejected.  Oh well.... Congratulations on your QB, Langue_doc!

Today I am four words from QB. 

LB:  I had mixer-refluction.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Parasaurolophus, thanks for the link to French Wordle!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2022, 06:21:33 AM
Morning!

QGWATHICG and flume-excretion. Woke up in the middle of the night and achieved GwP and a few 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2022, 08:44:20 AM
Good morning!

We each got to QBABO again this morning.  Thank goodness husband finally found the pangram, since I was having a hard time being quiet about it.  Good luck! Yesterday tinging was also my final word.  I guess I thought it would have an e.

For LB, I got fluorine-excitement.  Another bunch of solutions! Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen.

Thank you, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2022, 04:44:52 PM
Finally got a 2fer! I was a little surprised that it wouldn't accept one of my attempted contenders.

I am going to try out French Wordle now, though I suspect there are several reasons why I will not be super successful.  I can't honestly think of too many French words right now (hope they come back in a flood!).  Also, I am mostly successful at word games because I am good at letter frequencies and collocation, and I have a lot less understanding of those aspects in French! But might as well give it a try!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2022, 05:41:01 PM
QBABM kind of sneaked up on me. And a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 25, 2022, 09:18:28 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 26, 2022, 05:57:55 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I don't think I have the time or energy to look for more words today. Last word yesterday was noob; found the others without much difficulty.

conventional/lobotomy

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 26, 2022, 06:52:15 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was bonbon, with hubbub the next to last.  Today I am at QB-3 and stuck. 

LB:  I had the "official" caveman-nobility

I have a 2fer today, too, but may look for a more economical solution if I have time (doubtful).

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 26, 2022, 07:08:46 AM
My last word yesterday was hobnob.

inevitable-economy.

Not started yet today. But first, kickboxing!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2022, 09:06:52 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We each have four or five words left to QB, so we'll see.  Yesterday, I think my final ones were honeybee, bonobo.  I was having trouble not singing or humming the pangram, from one of my favorite musicals: https://youtu.be/TxhUgvBpoQM (South Pacific)

I also got the schmofficial solution for LB yesterday.  More good solutions yesterday!

I tried the French Wordle yesterday and could barely think of one word.  Got one letter right, and in the right spot, and managed to get a second word that gave me another correct letter in the correct spot.  And that's as far as I got! I will try again.

I'll be stuck on the phone and Zoom for most of the afternoon so need to get the Sudokus and Duo in earlier than usual.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 26, 2022, 06:00:33 PM
The trouble with the French Wordle is that it includes a lot of regionalisms and colloquialisms... from France.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 26, 2022, 09:40:14 PM
One pangram found, but nowhere near genius. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2022, 05:59:47 AM
Two pangrams and genius so far.

We had a power outage last night, so that was the end of puzzling, which left me with about six missing words, all familiar ones. The outage lasted about an hour and a half, but fortunately came at the end of dinner instead of while I was cooking dinner. We often get longish outages, so I was ready to hunker down and read by candlelight when the lights came back.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2022, 06:21:04 AM
Morning!

Yesterday, GwP - missed flippant. LB was futzing-galosh. Not only did I not think either word would take but it's the official solution!

Not started yet this morning. Coffee first, and happy solving! G2Ps and a 2fer b4ss. Now, a shower.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2022, 08:51:09 AM
Good morning!

I have one 4-letter word left today.  I can think of lots of 4-letter words at the moment, but the necessary letters aren't in the puzzle (and probably wouldn't be accepted anyway!).  Yesterday we needed assistance with our final two words, which were different ones.  One of mine was definitely fillip, but I don't remember what the other one was.

I was so close on LB!! I had so many contenders, including futzing, and I thought of galosh a bunch of times but just didn't think the letters worked, so obviously I missed something there.  Dang! Congrats, ciao_yall!

Sorry to hear about your power outage, Langue_doc.  I'm glad it didn't interrupt your dinner! Does that mean you held off on the crossword until this morning? If so, probably a good thing since there was apparently an error last night as well as some weirdness for Android users.  Both were fixed by the time we solved it this morning.

I'm so glad not to have hours of calls today!

Happy solving!

ETA: Parasaurolophus, thanks for that warning about the French Wordle.  I already felt that I probably just did not know enough 5-letter French words, but now I am even more sure that I am not going to find success with this one.  I did take French for 4 or so years, but that was a long time ago! Maybe I'll see if there's one for Spanish since that is more recent, though I am guessing it would also be quite difficult for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 27, 2022, 09:09:51 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have one 5-letter word left and have drawn a blank.  I'm trying to stay away from hints, since QBABM is so close. 

Yesterday my last words were plait and pitfall

And congratulations to those who had sensible LBs.  Mine was outrageous, extremely inefficient:  tautologizing-goatfish. I had remembered goatfish from an earlier puzzle.   I have a much more sensible 2fer today.

Langue_doc, how fortunate that your power outage wasn't long!  Still, an hour and a half is long enough.  We don't get outages too often, but I'm gearing up for one this weekend, as we're supposed to get walloped by the bomb cyclone, allegedly bringing 8-12" of snow and high winds.  Our local weather forecasts are often overhyped, but once in a while they're right!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on January 27, 2022, 10:56:09 AM
Good morning all. Schmoficcial 2fer yesterday. But I love tautologizing-goatfish and think it should somehow be the subject of a successful web comic.

My 2fer today is very efficient, but deeply unsatisfying due to having (to my mind) questionable words. I look forward to the promised sensible ones.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2022, 12:10:26 PM
Finally made it to QBABM! The 4s were hard for me today for some reason.  Good luck, cathwen!

And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen! I like your solution from yesterday a lot and agree it would make for a good web comic.  Congrats on your 2fer today, onthefringe! I have a couple contenders so far but no luck yet.

ETA: I just came across this list of Wordle-type games in various languages, if anyone is interested: https://rwmpelstilzchen.gitlab.io/wordles/  I'm trying a Spanish version now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2022, 04:48:29 PM
Congrats on your QB, ab_grp. It was a lot of suffixing, but I got there in the end, and also got a rather weird second word for LB.

I managed to complete the crossword last night--the kinks were probably ironed out when I started working on the crossword after 11 PM.

Like cathwen, I've also been monitoring the impending storm. I have enough food, and thanks to the outage yesterday know exactly how many candles I have and where they can go should the power go out. I also have enough food--getting more food might not be practical because then I'd be worrying about all the food in the fridge and freezer. I have to get extra long matches so that I can light the stove in case there's no electricity. I'm used to rather long power outages, so I'll survive. Fortunately, I don't have to go anywhere next week, so I'll just wait until mid-week when the temps are going to get to the 40s and 50s for the car to be clear of the snow.

Around dinner time, I looked out the kitchen window to see Jupiter in the sky. I usually see occasional stars, planes, and helicopters--the latter because this is a regular fly path.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2022, 05:12:49 PM
Lots of 2fer b4ss and 3fer solutions. Maybe posting here will break the spell.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 27, 2022, 08:53:49 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2022, 05:02:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

crumbles/storiefies--didn't know that the latter was a word or that it would be accepted.

Light snow already--there's a dusting of snow on the cars. Aaargh!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 28, 2022, 06:39:02 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, and it was a struggle to get there—so I don't have high hopes for QB without help.  We'll see.

Yesterday my last word was alley

LB:  I had the "official" fumble-ecotourism

I love the idea of a web comic involving all the answers we come up with!  Surely we could work in futzing-galosh along with tautologizing-goatfish!

I found a 2fer today, but it took me a while. 

On to the sudokus!

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Langue_doc, if you're getting light snow now, we're bound to get it very soon here, since we're only a couple of hours northeast of NYC.  The estimates for our area are 8-12". 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2022, 07:18:11 AM
Morning!

G2Ps and lots of 2fer b4ss solutions. Never did see ecotourism but did see fumbles and -ism so in the neighborhood.

Let's see what today brings!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2022, 08:34:10 AM
Good morning!

I have two words left today and am one point shy of Alpha.  :-( Took a while to get to GN4L.  Husband has just one word left, but we don't have team QB, because I need the same word myself.  Yesterday my final word was eely.  Ick.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on your solutions, Langue_doc and cathwen! I kept trying crumbles because it was the closest I could get to using up a bunch of letters, but I could never find a mate.  I'm glad they took yours, Langue_doc! The tautologizing goatfish was futzing with his galoshes and now fumbles as his dream of ecotourism crumbles.  I don't know.  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Here's hoping for snow that is either cozy or just a little annoying without power outages or other yucks to deal with for you northeasterners! I know out there it is often unclear how long they will last. I better check in to make sure my mother has a snow shoveler lined up so she doesn't try to go about it herself again, having fallen on the ice last time.  Argh!

I'm glad you got to see Jupiter, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2022, 09:49:45 AM
storifies, and not storiefies--this is what happens when you're looking out the window and worrying about the snow as you type. I would never ever have come up with ecotourism!

Haven't made much progress on the bee. But crosswords and sudokus were done last night.

cathwen, the snow showers have stopped--this must be the trial run for the actual storm which is supposed to hit here around 7 PM with up to 6-9 inches, which doesn't appear to be a lot of snow for a major snowstorm. We do have wind advisories though for all day Saturday. You're probably not going to see any snow until after dinnertime.

Hope your mother has all the help she needs to take care of the shoveling, ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on January 28, 2022, 04:45:19 PM
floc-crumbiest yesterday. No joy yet today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2022, 04:54:08 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Good luck, onthefringe, and congrats on yesterday's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 29, 2022, 07:16:04 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (my first word) and genius; not sure if there's a second pangram today.

Last word yesterday was abut.

masterworks/subsist

Found a two-fer already!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 29, 2022, 07:43:57 AM
Morning!

No 2fers, just a b4ss breakouts-swimsuit and lots of 3fers. GwP yesterday. What on earth is a catboat?

A bit of puzzle time today - going hiking. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2022, 08:45:13 AM
Good morning!

I have 3 words left, husband has 4, but we both got to Alpha.  It's a long one, though just one pangram.  Yesterday my final words were kabab, babka, both of which I seem to have trouble seeing for some reason.

For LB I got barium-masterwork.  I kept trying the latter with everything I could think of since it seemed like a good contender.  Glad to finally find a mate! And both of ours are half-different from the schmofficial one, Langue_doc! And congrats on another 2fer today!

Boy, it took me a while to get anywhere in the crossword.  Maybe my worst across-down attempt! But eventually things started to get filled in, and it's done. 

I hope those in the snowy areas are staying in and warm!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 29, 2022, 09:39:20 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday my last word was catboat (like ciao_yall, I had no idea this was a word).  Before that, it was bucko, which I found by accident.

Today I have five words to go.  It's a sloggy one!

LB:  Yesterday I also had barium-masterwork.. No 2fer yet today, so congratulations, Langue_doc! 

Our blizzard is, so far, just a snowstorm, and not nearly as deep as predicted.  That may change during the day, though. 

Happy puzzling!  And ciao_yall, enjoy your hike!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on January 29, 2022, 12:24:34 PM
Congrats to people who are getting somewhere with LB. I seem to have lots of words that use all but 4 letters and no useful pairs!

I am distracted by finding a site (https://metzger.media/games/wordle-archive/?levels=select) that archives all the old wordles and that has a six letter one as well.

Catboats are clearly out fishing for the wily goatfish.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2022, 01:21:16 PM
We both finally made it to QBABO, though husband beat me to it.  We had completely different sets of final words.

I totally forgot about catboat! I got to genius with that one, but it was a total flailing guess, just trying any compound words I could come up with.  Husband had found it earlier in his bee quest and said after that it had been in there before and that we had looked it up.  We looked it up again.  It's a sailboat with one mast and one sail.  I wondered if it were related to catamaran, but that apparently has two hulls.

Quote from: onthefringe on January 29, 2022, 12:24:34 PM
I am distracted by finding a site (https://metzger.media/games/wordle-archive/?levels=select) that archives all the old wordles and that has a six letter one as well.

Thanks! I hadn't seen this one but had been using https://www.devangthakkar.com/wordle_archive/.  I like some of the features of each.  In particular, I love that the one you listed keeps track of your number of guesses and whether you solve each puzzle.  And I can't wait to try a 6-letter puzzle! I think Sam Ezersky posted about this one (Dordle): https://zaratustra.itch.io/dordle  You have two solve two words at the same time.  I just tried it out without instructions and figured it out pretty quickly, but it looks daunting at first.

As for LB, I have a tone of contenders, lots of them promising, and no luck! Sounds as though we are in similar boats, onthefringe, though one of us may be in a catboat and the other a catamaran.  ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 29, 2022, 01:50:34 PM
Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I finally got to QB, but it took a long time to find the last word.

After much frustration and gnashing of teeth, I finally got a 2fer.  The second word is obscure, something I tried just for the heck of it.  But at least it's a 2fer.

The snow has mostly stopped, but I guess Massachusetts and Maine are getting hit pretty hard.  I'd say that we have somewhere between 4-6", but it is still very windy. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2022, 02:41:51 PM
Congrats on your QBABY and 2fer, cathwen! I'm still working on LB, so good to know that a solution may be obtained with the use of an obscure word.  I hope you get to enjoy the snow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 29, 2022, 09:04:00 PM
GWP yesterday, not close today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2022, 09:04:09 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Husband and I each have one word left, different lengths.  Yesterday I think cootie, octet were my final words.  I hope you have better luck today, Parasaurolophus!

No luck on LB despite many contenders and help from husband! I had vampiric among them, at least, but I never saw chameleon at all.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 30, 2022, 09:05:01 AM
Good morning!

I think I just have about 10 points left for QB.

Last words yesterday were niece and nice.

vampiric/chameleon; found vampire and vampiric right away and then looked for mates.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2022, 09:07:52 AM
Ugh, just AwP yesterday - Parasaurolophus - you and me both. I missed a lot of pretty obvious words. Got started in the morning then never really picked up after that.

And a few 3fers including vamp-phonic-clear. In the neighborhood.

Let's see what today brings!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 30, 2022, 09:23:49 AM
Good afternoon!

Cootie was my last word yesterday, found with a 2-letter hint after much frustration.  As for today, I am at QB-2.

As for LB, I had microphone-elvan.  The second word, as you might guess, was tried just for the heck of it.  Turns out it's a kind of igneous rock found in Cornwall.

However, no LB luck for me today!  Another tough series of letters. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2022, 10:13:06 AM
GwP, 2fer. Off to get mani-pedi and legs waxed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 30, 2022, 10:32:51 AM
Just got a 2fer!

Ciao_yall, enjoy your mani-pedi!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2022, 12:42:46 PM
Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen! Back to yesterday's, I did have microphone but don't think I would have recognized elvan as a word or thought of it.

We each got to QBABO with different words again.  Good luck!

I need to get the hard sudoku done.  Yesterday I somehow got involved in other things, realized it was after switchover time and that I needed to start on today's puzzles and then realized I hadn't finished the hard one from yesterday yet! Oops.  Getting chores done can be an obstacle to puzzle success.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2022, 02:43:32 PM
QBWH while waiting for the polish to dry.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2022, 09:54:26 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Probably not schmofficial.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 31, 2022, 05:49:16 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word was warrior.

LB - contempt-thrifty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2022, 06:11:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius--that's it for today.

Last word yesterday was raffia.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 31, 2022, 06:58:51 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Beta this morning with six words to go.  Yesterday my last word, found with a hint, was raffia

LB:  I had the "official" contempt-thrifty.  Once again, I'm having trouble finding a 2fer for today's LB! 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2022, 08:16:31 AM
Good morning!

I have two more words left, and husband has three.  Yesterday aioli got me again and was my final word.  Warrior was near the end for me as well.

Team 2fer yesterday, monomorphemic-citify.  Definitely not a thrifty solution! Husband donated the first word after I had morphemic, and I came up with the second, if it is actually a word.  I also had a couple ships: promontory~chief and optometry~finch.  Congrats on getting the official solution, ciao_yall and cathwen.  I don't think I saw either of those words in my travels.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 31, 2022, 11:38:55 AM
That is quite a 2fer, ab_grp!  I like it!  And thriftiness is overrated, at least when it comes to LB.

I finally found a 2fer today.  Once again, it was something of a struggle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2022, 11:44:35 AM
Thanks, cathwen.  It was a "mouthful", but it worked.  I certainly figured it probably wasn't the official solution! Congrats on your 2fer! I have a bunch of contenders but no luck yet.

We are each down to one word in the bee, and I think it's the same word.  We got some first-letter assistance from Shunn and may have to go to second letter later. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2022, 01:52:44 PM
Yay! Got a 2fer!

We finally looked at the second letter, and we got the final word.

ETA: Apparently, the NYT has bought Wordle but plans to keep it free and not make any changes: https://www.cnet.com/news/wordle-has-been-purchased-by-the-new-york-times  Also updating to add NYT's article about it, which I saw after: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/crosswords/nyt-wordle-purchase.html

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2022, 05:54:49 PM
Came here to post about NYT purchasing Wordle, but ab_grp beat me to it!

QB and a two-fer. I found monomorphemic yesterday, but couldn't come up with a mate.

Earlier this afternoon, I was looking out the window wondering how I was going to shovel the wall of snow that the plows had piled up alongside my car when I saw the neighbor's teenager, shovel in hand start clearing the snow from my car and then shoveling the snow away from my car. Awww!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 31, 2022, 10:05:58 PM
I've not been doing great on the Bee lately.

Wordle will remain free for now, but for how long? And how long before they crack down on Wordle in other languages?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 01, 2022, 05:04:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was like--I tend to miss the obvious words but manage to find their longer counterparts.

unwelcome/ejections

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 01, 2022, 05:13:02 AM
Good morning!

QBABM today! 

But yesterday was not so great, as I had to resort to hints.  And even then, for kvell, I had to google words with kv- to find the word that corresponded to the definition.  I also missed teakettle, talkie, and latke.

LB:  I also had unwelcome-ejections.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Parasaurolophus, there are good days and bad days for us all, or even streaks of good/bad days.  As for Wordle, I hope the foreign language versions remain as they are.  I think it's only a matter of time before English Wordle goes behind a paywall, unfortunately.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 01, 2022, 06:21:05 AM
Morning!

GwP and just 3fers yesterday, including mouse-ejections-scowl. Reusing the c was quite a trick!

Not started yet. First, coffee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 01, 2022, 07:45:08 AM
Quick GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2022, 07:56:32 AM
Good morning!

Short bee today! Husband got to QBABH while I was getting more coffee, so we decided to hold off on further puzzling until later since he has a meeting.  I have two words left but am right at Alpha.  After finally looking at second letters yesterday for our final word and seeing kv-, it was a quick solve, but I don't think I would have gotten it without that.  Langue_doc, husband also got to like late in the puzzle!

I had the schmofficial solution for LB, jujitsu-unwelcome.  Congrats on the other solutions! And on another one today, cathwen!

Parasaurolophus, congrats on your GWP today!! I also wonder about how long Wordle will be truly free, or whether it will become free to subscribers.  Some speculate that NYT will use it like the free mini crosswords to draw folks in.  I saw a good suggestion to keep it free but charge $ to post your result to Twitter.  ;-) It will be interesting to see what happens with variants, though there are spelling bee-type apps that seem to exist just fine outside of the NYT domain, so maybe they will continue to exist.  I saw that they are also trying to figure out how to allow people to continue their streaks.  Maybe ask for the email associated with the NYT account? Not sure since one does not have to sign in to Wordle currently.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2022, 10:25:31 AM
Got a 2fer! It's a little weird, so I might try to find another if I have time.

And one more word left to QB, so we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 01, 2022, 07:04:27 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on February 01, 2022, 10:25:31 AM
Got a 2fer! It's a little weird, so I might try to find another if I have time.

And one more word left to QB, so we'll see.

Was about to post the same thing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 02, 2022, 06:43:20 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was otology.

pocket/turbans

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 02, 2022, 06:49:47 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word was mothy. I noticed it and thought "oh that's not a word" and didn't bother trying. Gah.

In the news of "may as well try it" got petcocks-suburban. A petcock is a small valve used to release gas or air. So now you know.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2022, 07:24:42 AM
Good morning!

I have two more words left today.  I couldn't believe I was so dumb yesterday, but despite the pangram being my first word, my last one was myth.  Ugh! At least I did finally find it without help and got to QB, but I thought I had that one and had tried re-entering every 4-letter but apparently missed that one completely.  Mothy was second to last, and I didn't think that was a word, either.

For LB, I got poet-turnbacks, which was accepted, but I wish I had had time to try to find a better one.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! And thanks for the new word, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2022, 08:31:21 AM
Good morning!

Thanks to an exceedingly boring and repetitive department meeting this morning on WebEX, I made QBABM again today.  One has to stay awake somehow!

Mothy was not my last word yesterday (it was something dumb, like toll, I think), but I had tried it just for fun and was surprised when it was accepted. 

LB:  Yesterday I had bucket-transport.  I have a 2fer today, but the second word is, in my opinion, questionable.  Nevertheless, it was accepted.

Ciao-yall, thanks for adding a new word to our collective vocabulary! 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2022, 10:42:48 AM
Yay, congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! We also managed to get to QBABO with different final words.

And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today! I have a couple contenders so far, but they aren't great ones by any means.  We seem to have a number of questionable 2fer components lately, so I'm glad yours was also accepted.

I came across another two Wordle variants (sort of): Globle https://globle-game.com/ (figure out the mystery country on a world map) and Nerdle https://nerdlegame.com/ (figure out the mystery equation).  Despite my educational background in math and my ridiculous lack of knowledge of geography, I did way better on Globle than Nerdle, but it was fun to try.  Maybe if I can come up with a good starting equation like a good Wordle starting word, it will make it easier.  I think the Globle one might help me learn, so that's good.  Anyway, just sharing in case of interest.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: monarda on February 02, 2022, 07:47:20 PM
Ooh, thanks! I tried nerdle for the first time and I liked that! Got it in 5 turns.
Now going to check out globle!

We got QB. But needed a hint for the last word. I only go to the hints when I'm really stuck. Usually we get QB just with the grid, and only sometimes need to look at the 2LL.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 02, 2022, 08:19:49 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2022, 09:42:19 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2022, 04:55:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (second word) and genius. Last words yesterday were compile and mimeo.

Forgot all about LB.

Crosswords and sudokus were done last night.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2022, 06:17:01 AM
QBwH while on the bus ride home. Always forget mimeo.

A rather messy shortstop-painful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2022, 06:38:52 AM
Two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 03, 2022, 06:40:38 AM
Good morning!

Memo was my last word yesterday.  I think mimeo was second last.

QB-1 this morning! 

LB:  I had trains-shopful yesterday—'a quantity sufficient to fill a shop,' according to dictionary.com.  I raise an eyebrow at that one, but okay.

I have a 2fer today with reasonable words.

And ab_grp, thanks so much for the links to globle and nerdl! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2022, 08:29:01 AM
Good morning!

We each have two words left, same numbers of letters.  Kind of tough for me today! Yesterday my final one was pompom.

For LB, I had the same solution as ciao_yall.  I thought it might be the schmofficial one, but I guess not, and it doesn't sound as though anyone found that one so far.  Cathwen, I was trying to get something with -ful, to no avail.  The definition makes sense, at least! Always worth a try. Congrats on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

I'm glad if folks are enjoying the other puzzles! I came across another one similar to Globle called Worldle.  I did not have much luck with it and kind of prefer Globle, but here it is: https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/  For this one, you also have to guess a country, territory, etc. and it will give you the # miles away you are, a direction, and "the proximity from your guess and the target country."  I am not sure how to interpret that final one. 

Interesting crossword today.  A typical Thursday, though I thought something was either really wrong with me or it for a while.  That took some time away from the bee but is done now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2022, 04:44:52 PM
Got to QBABM earlier, thankfully, and finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 03, 2022, 09:40:03 PM
Blah, I'm falling 14 short today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2022, 06:17:04 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius. Last words yesterday were achy and nova.

waxing/goldfish--gah!

ab_grp, hope daughter made it safely down the driveway and back.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 04, 2022, 06:27:03 AM
Good morning!

Beta with three pangrams.  Yesterday I almost made QBABM but got stuck on the last word—so I took a peek at the grid and saw that I was missing a 4L word beginning with A.  Then I immediately saw achy!  I've missed that one before.  Ab_grp, congratulations on QBABM!

LB:  I also had waxing-goldfish.  Were there any other solutions?  I have a 2fer today, but it took a while to find it.

Now to get to work, then reward myself with more puzzles. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2022, 07:44:36 AM
Good morning!

We didn't start the puzzles yet today.  Had to get kid out to an appt an husband to work call.  Yesterday I think chancy was my final one.

I had the same LB solution yesterday.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, thanks! She made it to work and back and then out to the college and back yesterday.  She's currently en route to her appt across town, so we'll see how that goes.  I am really glad that we didn't receive enough precipitation to stay around and freeze, because it is definitely cold enough to do so.  I think we probably terrorized her enough with thoughts of black ice, so hopefully she will take her time and everyone else will as well.  Husband works out by the mountains and luckily went in Wednesday briefly and didn't have to go yesterday, as there was enough snow and ice to close the roads out that way.  Makes a big difference where you are in this little region! I was also glad we didn't have ice on the driveway yesterday with it being trash day.  It's a pain enough to get that can up and down the slope on a normal day.  I've almost been pulled into the street myself.  And forget it when the winds hit.

I'll go work on LB and sudoku until it's time for coffee and co-puzzling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2022, 12:06:52 PM
Luckily the crossword was quick for a Friday so we could get right to the bee.  I am down to one word, but I have been struggling with it for a while.  Husband is down to three, not at Alpha yet as two are long, and then he will have a word left same length as mine, so I don't know if we have team QB or not.  But I did get sudokus done and some okay starts at LB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2022, 03:31:34 PM
Got a 2fer!

As for the bee, we got a team QB but not individual QBs today.  Husband helped me with one word that we both needed that he guessed, and I helped him with the two he was missing.  I don't think I would have gotten my final word without his help.  Good enough!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2022, 07:00:03 PM
Congrats ab_grp.

I've been getting to QB by noon these past few days. I'll probably not get around to LB as I've been on the phone and am now waiting for the crosswords.

As for keeping track of SB and LB streaks, I wrote to the games contact email, but had no response whatsoever.

It's been raining all day with the forecast of freezing rain and ice for the evening and night, but now there's a layer of snow on the cars. Tomorrow's bird walk was rescheduled, so I'm staying put this weekend.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 04, 2022, 09:32:16 PM
Blah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 05, 2022, 06:38:09 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on the QBs yesterday, ab_grp and Langue_doc!

I caved and checked hints for the last four words:  coldcock/ed and deke/dDeke was a new word for me.

LB:  I had the "official" penumbra-avow.  I found a 2fer today. 

Langue_doc, that's too bad about the cancelled bird walk.  We were supposed to get freezing rain last night, too.  I don't know whether it ever materialized, as I went to bed early, but this morning everything looks pretty normal.  I'm worrying in advance (my specialty) about Monday, though—up until today forecasts have been for good weather, but today's forecast shows some freezing rain for Monday.  I have to drive my husband to a hospital about 30 minutes away that morning.  I used to drive in this stuff all the time when I lived farther north, but it's been a while, and I'm nervous.  Ugh!

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2022, 07:29:43 AM
QBwH and waxing-goldfish.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2022, 07:34:15 AM
Oops, that was yesterday's post that I just finally entered.

GwP yesterday. Actually got pretty close ABM, considering I missed deadlock(ed), cockade and coldcock(ed).

Just 3fers seven-power-rumbas, woven-number-rasp. I did find avows at one point but that and a nickel won't even get me a cup of coffee.

Happy solving today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2022, 07:49:24 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet.

cathwen, I too noticed that the forecast for Monday has changed, and was wondering whether to do the grocery run (which I didn't do on Friday) on Tuesday instead of on Monday. Do be careful when driving, not only of the ice but of some of the drivers who appear not to know to slow down. You probably read about the recent crash on the Palisades Parkway--tailgating driver tried to pass between cars driving on two separate lanes, then used the shoulder, and then flipped over. It was in all the local news about a week ago.

The bird trip has been rescheduled--according to the forecast it's going to be 15 degrees warmer next weekend, which is a relief.

ab_grp, I used to live on a street with driveways similar to yours and remember a neighbor hauling her trash cans down the steep hill in the trunk of her car (she left the trunk open), especially in winter. The lids were properly secured because of the raccoons in that neighborhood, so there was no danger of the contents spilling out.

Happy solving, all!

ETA Found the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2022, 08:34:11 AM
GwP and messy 2fer.

Crosswords done. Whoopdedoodle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2022, 10:28:54 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Today is a tough bee for me! I think I have 7 words left.  Yesterday, my final one was cockade, and husband was missing coldcock(ed).

I had the schmofficial LB solution yesterday as well.  Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I have tried to figure out a way to get the trash down there with various devices.  I don't think it would fit in my trunk, but it would fit in the back of husband's truck if we could get it up there while full.  Our next door neighbors have a longer driveway that's gravel, and I think they cart theirs down there somehow.  This morning we had a new weird thing to deal with.  Our reverse osmosis lines often freeze when it's really cold and don't put out water until midmorning, but this morning we also had no cold water coming out from the regular taps in the middle of the house, no water at all in the bedroom my husband uses as an office (no sink, no shower), though our daughter's room right next door had full water.  Our own bedroom on the other side of the house had full water.  It's new info, so maybe it will help figure out where we might need some insulation, but it's weird since they are all on different lines in the manifold.  Who knows.  One more thing to look up! He had thought he had figured out the reverse osmosis issue the day before after finally remembering after 5+ years that there is a RO tap on the roof of our house! I don't think I even knew that there was.  Maybe they installed one there since the roof is flat and could be used for a party or stargazing or something.  So he put one of those faucet covers on it yesterday in hopes that it would solve the RO freezing issue, and now we have these other water lines also freezing.  Always something.

I'm sorry that your bird outing couldn't go on today, but it's great to hear that it will be significantly warmer next weekend and there will be another opportunity!

Definitely be safe driving out there with the cold weather and other drivers.  Cathwen, I hope things clear up for your trip, and I totally understand the anxiety and weather watching.  Even with experience, it's not fun to contemplate.  I will cross my fingers for a normal drive!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 05, 2022, 10:53:42 AM
Whew, GWP to break my streak.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2022, 12:49:55 PM
Got a 2fer!

And we're each at Alpha with 3 or 4 words left, but I have no idea what just yet.  Might need assistance.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 06, 2022, 05:53:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Made it to QB last night, after completing today's crossword.

polemics/stanza

Two-fer already!

Happy solving, all!

ab_grp, hope your water problems have been resolved.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 06, 2022, 08:31:13 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on your 2fer, Langue_doc!  I am still struggling.

Yesterday I had impacts-solemnize

As for SB, I'm at Beta with four words to go.  Yesterday I had to go to hints to find peke and pigpen

Congratulations on breaking your streak, Parasaurolophus!

Happy puzzling to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2022, 09:12:28 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 3 words left, one point shy of Alpha.  Husband has 2 words left and is at Alpha.  Took me a while to find the pangram.  Yesterday I gave up on my final words and asked Shunn for help.  Pretty sad, as they were not difficult! I thought I had entered at least two of them (begin, pepping.  I think penne was the other one, and then I had no idea what kepi was until we looked it up.  I thought maybe innkeep(ing) might be in there, along with some others I can't recall now.  I am also glad you broke your streak, Parasaurolophus!

For LB, I had polemicizes-stain.  Lots of solutions, and no schmofficial one yet.  Congrats on your 2fer today, Langue_doc! And for your QB yesterday!

We decided to keep the heat higher last night.  RO still frozen upon awakening, but other waters worked except for hot water in husband's office room.  So that's something! Thanks, Langue_doc. 

We're going to try to make some lemon-ricotta pancakes this morning, so that should help warm us up if they work out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2022, 09:41:30 AM
Morning!

QBwH for innie. And minimizations-special.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2022, 10:47:03 AM
Too late to modify, but GwP and 2fer this morning.

ETA: Hit the dictionary for 2 new words ad QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2022, 04:48:11 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall!

I finally made it to QBABM, but it took me a while after husband got to QBABH. 

And I think I have a pretty good contender for LB that I don't want to let go of but haven't found a mate yet for.  I don't know if it will pan out, or I'll have to give up on it, or what.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2022, 07:18:56 PM
Finally got a team 2fer, not with my favored contender.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 06, 2022, 10:23:26 PM
Piffle, two points short.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2022, 05:47:02 AM
QBwH, needed the dictionary for arrant, tantara. And crow-wavelength.

Happy solving!
.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2022, 07:11:41 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram.

Made it to QB by guessing a couple of words.

LB -- the NYT solution; saw the second word right away and then the first.

ab_grp, did you make the pancakes that were in a recent email from the NYT? I've been wanting to try that recipe.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2022, 09:11:34 AM
Good morning!

I'm off to a slow start this morning.  We are changing up our morning routine, and I am not the most adaptable, so I am kind of at loose ends trying to figure out timing.  But I'll work on the bee more later and did get the crossword done.

We had the schmofficial solution as well, with husband providing the main ingredient.  The other one I was trying for a while was weathervane.  Oh well!

Langue_doc, I just checked, and that pancake recipe was in a recent NYT email.  I was surprised at how different they ended up tasting from "normal" pancakes with what doesn't seem like much lemon zest for flavor, and I was pleased that the texture came out nicely (ricotta just seemed sort of heavy to add?).  We liked them a lot and have leftovers for today.  If you are interested, I will say more here, but feel free to skip it of course, since you did not ask for a dissertation on it.  ;-)  As reviewers noted, the recipe is probably more complicated than it needs to be to some extent.  We just made "buttermilk" from 2% milk and lemon juice and did not gently rub the lemon zest into the sugar with our fingertips (I am not sure what all that is supposed to do, but it sounds messy, so we just mixed it with the whisk after adding the vanilla).  I was a little concerned about pouring the melted butter into the egg mixture, so I did it simultaneously with the "buttermilk" to cool it off.  Of course, you could melt the butter earlier so it is cooler at the time of adding.  The recipe says it makes 12-14 small pancakes.  For us it made 10 pancakes that I would say are medium sized, although they are about the size of the bottom pancake in the stack on the left in the accompanying photo, so maybe that is small.  I don't eat pancakes too often and haven't studied the measurement of them.  We had them with some blackberries and regular maple syrup, and husband whipped up some whipped cream.  If you try them, let me know what you think!

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2022, 11:14:12 AM
Disclaimer: not bee-related, so ignore if not ab_grp.

ab_grp, thank you for the info about the pancakes, especially the lemon zest rubbing part. I saw from the notes that there are substitutes for the buttermilk and also the ricotta. I do want to use the ricotta so I'm waiting for my next grocery trip, probably tomorrow. The notes also suggested halving the recipe--I was thinking of using a third of the listed ingredients because the recipe calls for 3 eggs and an amount of flour that can be easily one-thirded.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 07, 2022, 11:27:48 AM
Good afternoon!

I am also off to a slow start today, which looks like a Bad Puzzle Day.  No LB yet, and SB is only Amazing with no pangram!

Yesterday I got to QB-1ABM, but got stuck on the last word, which finally sent me to the hints.  It was tantara!  I grumbled about it, which inspired my husband to sing verses from Iolanthe

For LB, I was trying desperately to make something with weathervane or convergent, but had no luck.  I did not even see wavelength!

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2022, 04:19:05 PM
I finally got some kind of momentum with the bee and have 3 words left, but it's not going easy.  I forgot to say that yesterday tantra was last.  I was lucky to remember arhat, tantara from previous puzzles. 

Not much luck yet on LB, and sudokus are like pulling teeth. 

Good luck with the pancakes, Langue_doc! I think the ricotta was one of the biggest draws for me (there's just something about it I really like), so I understand wanting to hold off for that purchase.  I thought the ingredient scaling was interesting.  Like you said, lots of items divisible by 3.  So many 3/4ths! I wondered why they didn't just scale it up so most of the units were whole units, but scaling down works too! Given that they reheat pretty well and that I'm lazy, I'd rather just make the mix and get the griddle out once.  I do wish I had some more berries on hand!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2022, 06:05:31 AM
Good morning!

I probably need just two or three more words in today's bee.

I didn't get around to the puzzles yesterday. I'd have found the pangram as I was looking for -ble ending words, but wouldn't have found bibelot.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2022, 06:28:50 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICH but learned a new word - bibelot. And for LB, pastrami-influx.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2022, 08:11:45 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 5 words left today, not at Alpha.  Yesterday I missed bibelot, bootee.  Husband got the latter but missed booboo.

No luck on LB, either! Congrats, ciao_yall!

Hopefully it will be a better puzzle day all around!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 08, 2022, 11:23:39 AM
Good afternoon!

I got to QBABM today! Yesterday, however, I needed help with the last two words:  beetle and belittle

For the third day in a row, I have not found a 2fer for LB.  Yesterday I had influx, but did not see pastrami—so congratulations, ciao_yall! 

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2022, 01:33:06 PM
QB and two-fer; not very economical, but "normal" words.

cathwen, sorry about the temporary loss of your mojo--it'll be back soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 08, 2022, 09:23:39 PM
Pretty stumped today. Oh well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2022, 06:25:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (easy) and genius (strenuous).

Don't remember my last word yesterday--the words all just found themselves.

bulkhead/debonair; couldn't find a mate for bonehead.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 09, 2022, 06:32:20 AM
Morning!

GwP yesterday, missed a few easy ones or I very easily could have achieved QBABM if not at least QBWG.

Just 3fers yesterday, including hulk-ked-debonair, blinked-dour-rah. Let's see what today brings!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2022, 09:13:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Short but difficultish bee today.  I am down to three short words.  Hmm.  Yesterday I missed gamin.

No luck on LB, unfortunately! Congrats, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2022, 10:25:39 AM
Got a 2fer! Yay! Also down to QB-1.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 09, 2022, 11:41:02 AM
Good afternoon!

Finally getting to the puzzles!  I'm at QB-4 at the moment.  Yesterday's QBABM was unexpected, and a nice salve to the LB mojo wounds.  Gamin was my last word.

I never did get a 2fer yesterday, although I did see debonair, so congratulations, Langue_doc! 

I found a 2fer today, so my losing streak has been broken.  Congratulations on yours, ab_grp! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2022, 12:50:52 PM
Yay! Congrats on your QB yesterday and on closing in on it today, cathwen! And on your 2fer as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 10, 2022, 05:47:45 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and genius. Missed durag yesterday.

chump/pivoter

Happy solving, all!

ETA: According to the NYPost, Wordle saved a woman from her kidnapper.
https://nypost.com/2022/02/10/chicago-woman-rescued-from-naked-kidnapper-thanks-to-wordle/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 10, 2022, 06:15:03 AM
Morning!

QBWH, needed hints for durag, grandad. And chump-pivoters.

Slept a long time last night. I was bushed, so went to bed at 8:30 and thought I'd get up early to go to the gym, but nope. Guess I needed the rest.

Well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2022, 07:56:10 AM
Good morning!

I have 5 words to go today, having a little trouble getting into it.  I needed a first-letter hint for my final word (agar, ugh!), but durag was right behind it and was husband's final word that required a hint.

I had the same 2fer as you both, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! I wonder if anyone got the schmofficial one.

Langue_doc, wow!! What a story! That is really crazy.  It's funny what can tip you off to something not being quite right, and I'm so glad that feeling was acted upon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 10, 2022, 11:13:29 AM
Good afternoon!

Thanks to hints, durag and guar were my last words on QB yesterday.  Today I'm eight words away from QB, but at least I have the pangram (which was my first word).

My LB answer was the same as everyone else's:  chump-pivoters.  No 2fer yet today!

Langue_doc, that is quite some story!  How fortunate that the daughter was worried enough to call the police. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 11, 2022, 06:04:55 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. It's an uphill slog today.

I don't know what my last word was--I was trying to get the last seven or eight points on one device, but when I got on the bee on the computer, I had all the words in the bee. I've had this happen before where words entered on one device don't always appear on another device.

gimbals/spectre

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 11, 2022, 06:32:35 AM
Morning! GwP but no 2fer yestersday, just b4ss gamblers-spiciest, gamblers-script, graspable-emitic and a lot of 3fers.

Today is a new day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 11, 2022, 07:18:19 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning, and it was a struggle to get there.  Yesterday I resorted to 2LL hints; croci was my last word, following tricot and octopi.

I never did find a 2fer yesterday, but I have one today.  Langue_doc, I think you may have been the only one to find a 2fer yesterday?  Congratulations!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2022, 08:58:59 AM
Good morning!

I am making slow headway on the bee today, as I still have a few crossword entries to figure out.  Yesterday, my final ones were toric, octopi.

No luck on LB for me either, so congrats, Langue_doc! And congrats on yours today, cathwen!

If you do Wordle, husband mentioned that it is being migrated to the NYT platform, and some streaks are being wiped out (though they have supposedly figured out the issue and are rectifying it).  I took a screenshot of mine and plan to hold off until later today but will go see if I can find the article about it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 11, 2022, 10:16:08 PM
Close but no cigar again. I guess I haven't really been giving it my all this last while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 12, 2022, 08:28:17 AM
GwP but no 2fer. Those darn compounds! Just a 2fer b4ss peahen-networking and a pretty close work-knight-teapot.

Happy solving and happy weekend!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2022, 08:56:08 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 4 words left today, but it's another struggle.  Yesterday I missed amoebae, mezzo, despite finding the similar words.  Ugh.

No 2fer yesterday, either!

Maybe today will be a better puzzle today, although it will be busy. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 12, 2022, 09:33:46 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was bombe. I've seen this before so should have found it much earlier!

The bee seemed extremely difficult this morning, but I just saw the obvious, which helped me get to genius.

I've been out birding--gorgeous weather and several shorebirds--will post list later today.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 12, 2022, 11:45:48 AM
Good afternoon!

I got to QBWATHICG yesterday; I just lost patience.  Bombe was also my last word.  Today I am at QB-2.

I had the "official" 2fer yesterday (paperwork-knight), but have not found one today, despite a number of good words. 

It's a lovely day here, so a walk might be in my future!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2022, 12:00:36 PM
Langue_doc, I'm glad you had a nice bird outing! Please do let us know what all you saw.

Cathwen, congrats on the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Better than none! I have a couple contenders so far today as well, but no luck yet.  Enjoy your walk if get out there for one. 

It's great that you are having nice weather in the northeast given the cold and snow and ice recently.  We are also out of the frigid temps this weekend, up around 70 yesterday and getting back up there again in a few days.  Definitely a change from last week!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 12, 2022, 02:27:36 PM
Finally got a 2fer! 

Got to QB, but only with hints for the last two words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on February 12, 2022, 04:59:53 PM
Got a quick opportunity for puzzles this evening and found a pretty fast 2fer. Am also enjoying Wordle and Nerdle for quick puzzling breaks.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 12, 2022, 09:50:37 PM
Managed GWP today, and pretty suer I have half a 2fer, but I'm out of time, so.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 13, 2022, 08:18:29 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning.  Yesterday my last two words were untune and tenuity

I had the "official" locker-rejuvenate for LB.  I have found a 2fer today, but I might look for a better one, as the second word seems a little iffy. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 13, 2022, 08:40:01 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 5 words left today.  Yesterday tenuity got us, too. 

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, OneMoreYear and cathwen! I had no luck yesterday so will cross my fingers for today.  Congrats on already getting one today, cathwen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2022, 08:56:12 AM
Morning!

GwP, what is a gigue? And just 3fers for me yesterday junket-trace-evolve, junker-revolve-etcetera, carjacker-revolt-taunt. Oddly enough I remember thinking I noticed rejuvenate but thought it was a same-side thing.

Today, GwP and 3fer so maybe today will be easier?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 13, 2022, 09:34:46 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I think I just need three or so words to get to QB, but am not wasting any effort as I would have never ever found the two weird words yesterday.

Wordle wouldn't open on my kindle today. On the phone though, I'm a new player as of today.

The following is about birds and not bees, so be warned!

Yesterday, when we were walking between a couple of bird locations, someone from the group directed our attention to iridescent brownish pigeons (quite unlike the NYC "tree rat" pigeons) on the ledge of a building. It turned out that these were someone's pets as there was a longish dovecote with around 6-10 round entrances for the occupants, more like row housing for pigeons. Must have been custom-made or made at home as I couldn't find pictures of similar cotes on the web. The birds looked like the white-tipped doves or the red-billed pigeons in the Peterson handbook; they could have also been specially bred. 

We saw several duck species--red-breasted mergansers, probably a few hooded mergansers,  one or more pintails and gadwalls, black scoters, lesser scaups, and mallards. There were several flocks of brant, a few red-throated loons, cormorants, great and double-crested, three purple sandpipers, and the usual gulls. There was a kestrel sitting on a lamp post in the distance. Plenty of starlings (introduced, and hence pests, in my opinion), a pair of red-breasted nuthatches, mocking birds, bluejays, and cardinals. I think there were some sparrows, but I didn't see them. Note to self: take notes when on these trips so that I can keep track of the birds I'm seeing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 13, 2022, 10:31:26 AM
GWP fairly quickly today. On to the others!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 13, 2022, 10:50:10 AM
Langue_doc, it sounds as though you have quite a good memory for all the birds you see! That was quite a nice variety.  Interesting about the custom dovecote as well!

As for Wordle, I am so mad at myself.  I was so nervous that day that I mentioned about them switching it over to NYT that I got overanxious and failed to solve it! And it did keep my streak for me, so now I just have that one fail on my record.  Argh.  Oh well.  I'm sure it won't be the last fail, but I could really kick myself.  I haven't tried it on my phone, but it just redirected or reloaded to a new URL one day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2022, 02:02:41 PM
2fer! It's been a few days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 14, 2022, 06:10:34 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius so far. Last word yesterday was emetic.

chump/polarity

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 14, 2022, 06:17:26 AM
GwP, probably could have made QB but ran out of steam. LB was lymphoma-actuarial.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 14, 2022, 07:30:21 AM
Good morning!

Beta with both pangrams and ten words to go.  Argh!  Yesterday I went to hints to find my last word, titmice, annoying since we have a good number of tufted titmice around here.

LB:  I had matchup-priorly.  I was surprised that the second word was accepted.  No 2fer today yet, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2022, 08:05:56 AM
Good morning!

Still a ways to go today, and I only have one pangram but did get to GN4L at least.  Yesterday my final ones with assistance were titmice, mimetic.  Husband's was emetic (my third-to-last).

Congrats on your LB solutions! And all different from the schmofficial one!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 15, 2022, 06:19:11 AM
Morning!

GnP yesterday, then found valentine. Never found ventilate. Would never have found titivate or villanelle, for that matter, either.

Just a b4ss yesterday heterosexual-lovely and lots of 3fers. I got in the neighborhood of the official solution with ale-exhausts-savory but alas, no 2fer.

Well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2022, 08:07:55 AM
Good morning!

We each have 3 words to go, not at Alpha.  I was having a lot of difficulty finding ventilate and needed a hint from husband.  And I missed titivate (again!) but found villanelle this time.  Woohoo for that.  Yesterday was kind of a big fail for me at the bee, as I ended up being quite a few words short of QB.

No 2fer for me, either.  Maybe today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 15, 2022, 09:39:29 AM
Good afternoon!

Miraculously, I got to QBABM today!

I never made it yesterday—I was at QB-6 and then never got back to it.  But I can guarantee you I would never have found titivate, even with hints.

No 2fer yesterday, and still no 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 15, 2022, 11:12:37 AM
Afternoon!

Made it to almost genius earlier this morning. Didn't get a chance to look at yesterday's list--I probably missed two or three.

I'm waiting for a call back from the MTA--I need to report an incident at a subway station and also ask that the agency send a police officer to that entrance which doesn't have any employees who I could have talked to. The rep just called, I'm on a brief hold.

That's it for puzzling as I have my book discussion meeting later this evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2022, 11:42:39 AM
Langue_doc, I hope you're okay! That doesn't sound good.

I have some good LB contenders, but no luck yet.  Still, it's a better feeling than previous days.  And haven't gotten back to the bee.

Just a heads up if you do Wordle that there are two different words today.  One will be the solution if you are on the old website, and the other will be the solution on the NYT website.  If you have a choice, the NYT word is easier.  There is an article about this that I came across somewhere, but it mentions both solutions without much warning, so I figure best to avoid spoilers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 15, 2022, 02:36:52 PM
ab_grp, I can no longer get Wordle on my kindle. As for the phone and computer, Wordle thinks I'm two different people!

NYT is now "cleaning" the word list, according to this report:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/22934587/wordle-solutions-changed-new-york-times

As for the subway, on my way home from the dentist, I had to use an entrance that didn't have an agent. I was surprised to see a man hold open the exit and asking for "donations". A few people just walked into the station through this open gate. I suspect this person had tampered with one or more of the turnstiles because despite swiping my card more than 15 times I couldn't get the turnstile to let me through. Eventually I gave up and walked in through the open gate. I called the MTA to alert them about the damaged turnstiles and also the panhandler holding the door open for anyone to walk through.

You have to be on high alert these days. Last week when I was coming home from the doctor's I noticed that everyone on the platform was standing against the wall instead of near the edge of the platform. Today on my way home I was in an almost empty car, and noticed a person to the far right, openly masturbating. I was going to get off that car and wait for the next train, but fortunately this person got off at the next station. I have more dental and medical appointments scheduled for this month and the next, and have to take the subway to get to these. Oh, well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2022, 03:07:53 PM
Oh my gosh, Langue_doc! Well, first, I am glad the part about calling the MTA was more minor than it could have been (and yay for being a good citizen!), but yikes about the... person engaged in self-love! I know this kind of thing does happen at times on public transit, but yuck.  Do you think the people last week were standing against the wall because of the shovers?

And thanks for the article about Wordle.  Given all the complaints we have had here about what is or is not accepted in the bee and LB, I am skeptical that the changes they are making to the word lists will all be good ones.  The article mentioned getting rid of "pupal", possibly because it's too close to "pupil"? That is ridiculous.  I think you should be able to guess just about any real word (okay, I can see not wanting some offensive ones to be included) because sometimes the more obscure ones have letter combos or patterns that are helpful for figuring out the solution.  Ugh.  I'm sorry you are not being recognized correctly between devices.  I still am not sure how they even know who we are if we don't have to sign in, so it must be the device or cookies or something.  I wonder why your Kindle no longer allows you to play it?!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2022, 05:36:22 PM
Finally got a team 2fer!

Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2022, 06:12:16 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and QB.

It turns out that I missed only one word yesterday, lallygag, which I could have easily found if I had looked at the puzzle in the afternoon or evening.

ab_grp, people are being cautious not only because of the shovings but also related crimes such as unprovoked stabbings and snatching people's bags. I noticed this last November at another subway station where the commuters were standing against the wall. These stations are in safe neighborhoods in Manhattan.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 16, 2022, 06:19:34 AM
Morning! QBwH, would never have thought to spell gullably that way. And matchboxes-siege.

Yikes on the subway, Langue-doc. We are also experiencing an uptick in the same things you are seeing. Still, with there being more people returning to work, shopping, etc it seems to also be sending the mentally ill/homeless back into the shadows.

Anyway, good solving everyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 16, 2022, 07:57:46 AM
Good morning!

Alpha with pangram this morning, two words to go.  Yesterday's QBABM surprised me; algal was my last word, right after alga.  Congratulations on QB already, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  Was it the "official" one?  I found a number of good words, but could not make anything out of the remaining letters.  I found a 2fer today, though. 

Langue_doc, what an awful subway experience!  I'm glad you reported it. 

There have been a lot of purse snatchings and carjackings in certain near-by shopping centers.  A car had its windows smashed in broad daylight while the owner was at the gym.  An 83-year-old woman was knocked to the ground, causing a hip fracture, and her purse stolen.  I have started shopping elsewhere.

On that note...

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  QBABM!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 16, 2022, 08:05:30 AM
Weirdly, fell a few short yesterday and never found the pangram. Easy beta for me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2022, 08:56:27 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 4 words left today, not at Alpha.  Congrats on your QBABYS, Langue_doc and cathwen and on beta, Parasaurolophus! I thought about gullably a lot yesterday but never tried it because I also didn't think it was spelled that way! Argh.  We finally went to Shunn when we each had one word left of the same length and finally tried it, but I feel pretty mad at myself about that one.

I had the same 2fer as ciao_yall.  Husband came up with matchboxes, which was the more important part, so more a win for him.  I had a lot of good contenders, but that one finally sealed the deal.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

That is so distressing to hear about the subway and shopping centers! Hopefully if folks stick together there is less danger, but it just seems as though perps get more and more carefree about where and when they commit crimes.  In our area, the police have deprioritized investigating some more "minor" crimes, so maybe that also stokes the flames of the desire to maraud. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2022, 06:03:01 PM
We finally made it to team QB, but we each had a final word we needed the other's help with.  Mine was dumber than his was.

No luck on LB yet, though we are going to keep trying while we wait for child to arrive home from class.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: OneMoreYear on February 16, 2022, 07:03:31 PM
No love on LB for me. I'm out of time tonight. Congrats to catwen and anyone else who got it today.
I've been enjoying Wordle so much (thank you to whoever recommended it on this thread), that I'm now playing Quordle.  4 Wordles at a time! That's got to be good for brain power, right?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 16, 2022, 07:26:06 PM
QBwG today and slogging thru 2fer b4ss and 3fers. No 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 17, 2022, 05:43:19 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram yet.

Last word yesterday was foot--I'm sure I entered it just before entering footed.

poetic/clubman; LB seems to think that the latter is a word, so who am I to argue with them?

As for the lawlessness in the city, we got to this place thanks to a combination of the no-bail laws and the pandering of our politicians and the media to the criminals instead of focusing on the crimes and their impact on the victims. I was pleasantly surprised to see that The Daily News, our ultra-liberal newspaper is now on the side of law and order; here is an excerpt from today's op-ed page:
Quote
After the brutal Chinatown murder of Christina Yuna Lee, some pols are not only insisting that society failed Lee, but asserting that it failed the man accused of stabbing her more than 40 times. They should bite their tongues.

Stay safe, and happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 17, 2022, 06:24:44 AM
Yesterday, last word was etouffee.

Found 2fer b4ss tapioca-ambulance and others: cupola-ambient, compliant-tube, contemptible-emulate, public-contemplate, publication-name. Just wasn't seeing utopia. Oh well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 17, 2022, 06:37:10 AM
Good morning!

I had the "official" 2fer yesterday:  utopia-ambulance.  No 2fer yet today, though. 

Not only that, but I haven't even gotten to genius on today's SB!  I'm at Amazing, no pangram.  Not looking like a good puzzle day!  Congratulations on GwP, Langue_doc!  And also on LB—a different solution from the "official" one.

Yesterday my two last words were étouffée and effete. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 17, 2022, 06:55:56 AM
QB! You'll get there, cathwen and ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2022, 08:27:04 AM
Good morning!

I'm down to a couple words left but no pangram yet, either! I am glad you finally found it and made it to QB, Langue_doc! Congrats! Yesterday I was missing tofu, and husband was missing etouffee.  I would definitely prefer the latter, but since our veggie child is here I feel a little dumb for not seeing the former.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, Langue_doc and cathwen.  The a and c on the same side as t made it difficult for me.

OneMoreYear, wow! I have played 2 Wordles (Dordle), but not four of them.  Maybe I'll check that one out.  Eldest daughter sent me a text last night with her Wordle result (for today?), so I guess we're doing that now.  Maybe she also read that story about the woman being held hostage.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 17, 2022, 12:30:16 PM
Argh.  Finally clawed my way to Genius and even found the pangram, so at least there's that.  No LB yet.  Sigh...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2022, 02:09:12 PM
Well, congrats on the pangram, cathwen! I take a look now and then, but no luck so far.  I need to get on LB as well.  LinkedIn is taking up too much time today!  It seems to take so long to get anything done that should be simple these days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2022, 04:18:56 PM
Oh my good gravy, I finally found the pangram!! Still not at Alpha yet, 3 words to go, but I am now ok if that's it.  I am not sure why it was so hard to see today.

And I have a very promising contender and good contender on LB, so maybe I will have some luck there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 18, 2022, 05:11:27 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was a Bad Puzzle Day!  I finally got the pangram, but I missed abbacy, belay, blabby, cicely, and clayey.  Ab_grp, I agree that this was a hard one.  Langue_doc, I am in awe of your QB!

And no 2fer!  I had catfish, but did not see hobgoblin.

Today I am at genius, but without the pangram.  And I have a 2fer for LB.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2022, 05:42:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Last word yesterday was lily. I found cicely because I was entering proper nouns as I usually do, just for the heck of it.

cabling/goatfish; must have come across the latter in one of the Planet Earth series.

Two-fer today--not very economical, but a two-fer all the same.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2022, 07:47:38 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG while running a series of reports. Two new words bicyclic, cicely. Good strategy Langue_doc on emetering proper names.

LB catfish-hobgoblin. Thought it was a weird solution but hey, turns out I can be weird and basic at the same time.

Barely started this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2022, 07:51:54 AM
Good morning!

Another tough bee day for me.  Just finally found the pangram and not to genius yet.  There are a lot of 4s, which I am avoiding! Yesterday cicely was last.  Husband had guessed it from Shunn assistance and gave me a hint: sounds like the name of a country.  ?! Oh boy.  Luckily we are not doing a geography game.  To be fair, he had a rough day yesterday.  We also needed Shunn help with abbacy.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday! I thought flashlight might lead somewhere, but no luck.  And congrats again today, cathwen and Langue_doc! I'm sure ciao_yall will be there soon as well.

Langue_doc has made me want to watch Planet Earth again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2022, 08:31:05 AM
GnP (apparently that's a thing today) and a pretty tight 2fer. Okay, no more procrastinating. Except that pangram...

ab_grp, agreed about the 4Ls. Haven't counted yet today but I wonder if Gn4L was even possible.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 18, 2022, 10:16:25 AM
Finally found the pangram and now stand at QB-3.  Two are 4L words!  (The other is 5L.) How hard can it be to find a four letter word?  But I just don't see them (yet).  I may go to letter hints soon.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2022, 11:21:25 AM
Hang in there--they're all words we know or have encountered in previous bees.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2022, 01:28:03 PM
Thanks for the encouragement, Langue_doc! I finally got to GN4L and am now down to just two words to QB.  One might be the same as one of cathwen's, but the other is not.  Maybe cathwen and I have team QB! Good luck, cathwen!

And congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! Good luck as well on the bee!

ETA: Yay, got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2022, 03:48:40 PM
Got the panagram and a second 2fer. QB -5, also missing a few 4 letter words. Agreed on how hard can it be to rearrange 4 letters? Gah!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2022, 06:43:49 PM
I'm on a roll -- QB earlier today and four two-fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 18, 2022, 09:35:46 PM
Well, I'm a pangram short. Again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 19, 2022, 04:51:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Easy two-fer already.

Last words yesterday were foam and loam. Aargh! Took me until the bitter end to see these two.

quadrupeds/snailmail

Then, qualms/sandpiper, squirmed/deplane, squanders/simplism--didn't know that the last one was an actual word until I tried it.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 19, 2022, 07:18:33 AM
Good morning!

I have 3 words left but did get to alpha.  Hope your day is also better, Parasaurolophus! My final ones were oatmeal, atom.

Wow, Langue_doc, you were really on a roll! Congrats on all your 2fers! I got equips-salamander.  Congrats on another one today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 19, 2022, 07:33:21 AM
Good morning!

QB-3 again today. 

Yesterday my last word was driving me crazy—it was four letters, and I just could not find it!  Finally, went to letter hints, got mote, then knew I was missing a 4L word with me-.  I started typing in words and was startled when meet took me to QB.  I was so sure that I already had that!

LB yesterday was the "official" lumps-squander.  Congratulations on all you 2fers, Langue_doc, and on yours, ciao_yall!  So many combinations!  I still have not found a 2fer today. 

Oldest Daughter and wife (!!) are coming to visit today, so I'll be pretty busy.  I hope to get back to the puzzles eventually.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 19, 2022, 07:43:13 AM
Morning! QB - 1 and went to the hints for tamale. Gah.

LB plans-squirmed, equips-salamander.

Did last night's crosswords before bed so a new SB and LB await this morning!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 19, 2022, 06:23:39 PM
Whew, GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 20, 2022, 08:37:15 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams, genius, then another pangram so far.

Last word yesterday was avatar.

hypnotizing/garb

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2022, 08:58:47 AM
Good morning!

I have the pangrams but still have about 8 or 9 words to go.  Crossword took a while, and I still have a wee bit to go there.  Yesterday my last ones were aviary, tiara.  I knew there was another in the raita, atria, etc. series but just didn't think of it for some reason.

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! I hope to have better luck today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2022, 09:13:11 AM
Morning!

GwP pretty easily then off to other things. Probably could have made QB but oh well.

LB - just a 2fer b4ss prohibiting-gyoza. Can't believe I never even tried hypnotizing but did fool around with baptizing.

Happy solving today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 20, 2022, 02:18:07 PM
Good afternoon/evening! 

Congratulations on the LB successes yesterday!  I never did find a 2fer.  I do have one today, though.

Yesterday I missed attar and ragtag.  Today I am at Beta with two of the three pangrams, six words to go.  A daughter is visiting, so I don't know how much more time I'll have to work on the puzzles. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2022, 02:59:06 PM
I am still stuck in the same bee place but haven't really gotten back to it, and no luck on LB yet, either.

Cathwen, I totally forgot you mentioned yesterday that your daughter is visiting, along with her wife.  Did they get married since their last visit? Congratulations! Hope it's a wonderful visit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 20, 2022, 05:37:33 PM
Found an interesting two-fer; hope it isn't the official one.

Phone calls and other stuff today, so haven't made much progress on the bee since morning.

cathwen, glad you're having family over. I was just reminded of you when doing tomorrow's crossword.

ab_grp, cheering your on to the finish line.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 20, 2022, 08:41:43 PM
Three pangrams, but that's it for me for tonight. I fell 50 short.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 21, 2022, 04:11:33 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but not pangram yet.

Missed balalaika and tallit.

gumshoes/satrapy

Long session with the dentist today, so probably no more puzzling.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 21, 2022, 05:26:54 AM
Good morning!

Up early this morning, despite a late night.  I am one 4L word short of QB.  I need to step back and look later. 

Yesterday I finally made QBABM!  My last word was tailback, which I tried in desperation.  My husband tells me it's an older football term.

LB:  I had hugest-temporary.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Ab_grp:  Yes, our daughter and her partner of 32 years (!!) got married in January.  I think my hip fracture jarred them into considering health issues—who has access if one of them is hospitalized with a serious problem, who is allowed to make decisions, who can inherit, etc.  That never came up with my fracture, as I was alert and capable most of the time, and nowhere near my deathbed, but I think it all got them to thinking that making their relationship "legal" would avert a lot of possible future problems.  They had a small wedding with one witness and will have a large reception in October, when covid will (we hope) be over, or at least not the danger it is now.

Langue_doc, I must look at that puzzle to see why it reminded you of me!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 21, 2022, 08:37:45 AM
Good morning!

I have 3 words left today but did get to Alpha.  Yesterday the final one we could not get, even despite help, was balalaika (again!).  We both kept thinking about baklava and balaclava, and I tried laika at one point, so I guess something was prompting us.  Oh well, pretty close.  Hopefully I'll eventually remember that one.  Thanks for the cheering, Langue_doc! I think tailback was the hardest of the pangrams, cathwen.  I did think of it from football, but it took a while.  Congrats on your QBABY! Parasaurolophus, 3 pangrams and ending up only 50 short is no small deal.

Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen! And neither the schmofficial one.  I don't even think I wrote a contender down yesterday, just busy doing other things.  I do have a contender this morning, at least. 

Cathwen, yay and congrats again to your daughter and daughter-in-law! I hope that they are able to have exactly the celebration they want in a few months, but good that they are more protected legally for now, and I'm sure the small ceremony was still quite happy.

Langue_doc, good luck with your dentist visit today!

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 21, 2022, 09:27:17 AM
Morning! Gw2Ps yesterday, then thought of tailback later.

LB - Didn't get a clean 2fer. Found yoghurt-temperas But it would only take tempera, not temperas. Oils, watercolors, acrylics, but not... okay. Also had two b4ss esophagus-stormy, yohurt-tampers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 21, 2022, 10:35:52 AM
Genius, no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2022, 04:24:55 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius so far. I need only 7-8 more points.

Yesterday, I was frantically looking for the last couple of four-letter words on one device only to find out on another device that I had found all the words. Should remember to refresh the game instead of just picking up from where I left off earlier in the day.

thwarts/subtopic

cathwen, good move on your daughter and daughter-in-law's part. I remember hearing a couple of horror stories where the partner of decades couldn't make any medical decisions for their partner. There were also inheritance issues with the assets going to a relative who had disowned them, just because said relative was legally next-of-kin.

The crossword clue was 11D, which I think was your downfall!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 22, 2022, 06:15:46 AM
Morning!

QB, but needed a hint for kiddie. Gah. And subtropic-chaw.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 22, 2022, 07:19:10 AM
Good morning!

Genius with two pangrams today.  I actually got to QBABM yesterday—my last word was heck. Heaven knows why I didn't see that earlier!

LB:  subtropics-swath.  I have not yet found a 2fer for today. 

Haha, yes, Langue_doc, 11D was my downfall!  And yes, I have known people who got absolutely nothing after years of being together, so I am very relieved at the marriage (which I have been encouraging for a good while).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2022, 08:10:32 AM
Good morning!

We didn't do much puzzling yet because husband is off to site for the day for a bunch of stuff, so we got some breakfast burritos ready.  I will be working on the bee here in a moment.  I did get the crossword done and find the two pangrams, at least. Yesterday my final ones were eked, kidded.  Ugh.  Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen! I'm sure you will get there again today.

And congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc, ciao_yall, cathwen! Again, none the schmofficial one.  I wasn't on the right track to any of them.

Thanks for pointing out the crossword clue, Langue_doc! I thought about it and then promptly forgot about it.  Literal downfall, sadly! I'm so glad you are recovering so well, cathwen.  I actually have an exercise DVD of that brand in my Amazon cart and was thinking of you.  I'm not sure how it would work out at home, in any case.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2022, 02:20:41 PM
Okay, I finally made some progress and am down to two 4-letter words.  Of course, I can think of plenty, but not the right ones!

I have not made much progress on LB, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 22, 2022, 09:39:04 PM
I made it to QB-3, but one of those is the second pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 23, 2022, 05:43:00 AM
Good morning!

I made QB yesterday, but only with help for the last word, which was enfeeble.  Today I am at Alpha with four words to go.

Parasaurolophus, the second pangram yesterday (for me, it was bluefin) was one I found almost by mistake.  Fish vocabulary is not my strong point.

LB:  I had newsboys-situated.. I found a 2fer today, too.

Time to grade quizzes!  Happy puzzling, everyone!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 23, 2022, 05:50:06 AM
Good morning!

Just three or four more words to go!

Last word yesterday was befell.

unwanted/disobey

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 23, 2022, 06:34:50 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word was flue.

LB just 2fer b4ss and lots of 3fers: outbounds-sideways, editions-subway.

Happy solving!

ETA: Quick GwP and 2fer this morning. Guess I gotta take a shower now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 23, 2022, 08:45:05 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L with the pangram today so far, but no alpha.  I managed to get to QBABM yesterday, with flue, flub as my final words.  Bluefin was actually my first word yesterday, even though fish are usually not my thing (except for eating)!

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday! I had a couple I thought might work, like waistbands, but I couldn't get there.  Maybe today, though I have a call this afternoon.  :-(  Congrats on today's 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 23, 2022, 10:14:37 PM
GWP just after giving up!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2022, 05:05:40 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram.

Last words yesterday were dojo and bode, the first of which I found by trying all the consonant-vowel combinations, and the second by reviewing the list on the desktop (I thought had entered this word earlier along with the past tense form, but the program apparently failed to acknowledge the entry).

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 24, 2022, 06:43:31 AM
Morning! QB-2 and 2 new words - decoct, decocted. Making that the word of the day for today's IT meeting.

And hoper-ramification.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2022, 07:23:13 AM
decoct: one way to make coffee. There are coffee pots designed for this. The result is a decoction.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2022, 08:51:19 AM
Good morning!

I finally got the pangram but am not quite at genius yet.  We did make it to team QB yesterday, thankfully, though that is not as fun as individually! Husband is the one who found decoct(ed).  I think they've been in there before, but I had forgotten about them.  Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

No luck on LB, so congrats, ciao_yall! I do have more calls today, but they aren't one-on-one, so hopefully that will be more conducive to LB solutions and other puzzling success.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 24, 2022, 06:40:58 PM
Good evening!

Yesterday I got to QB, but only after a hint for the final word—ebbed.  Today I got to genius with the pangram, but have not gotten much further.  Given the time, I think that is the best I can do tonight.

LB:  I had metaphonic-craft. No 2fer today, though.

Perhaps tomorrow will bring more success!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 24, 2022, 09:48:52 PM
No pangram, and fell far short of genius today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 25, 2022, 04:50:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. I didn't have much time for puzzling yesterday, so missed colleen and acne. However, when I reached genius this morning, the bee informed me that today's scores were higher than yesterday's or something to that effect. The bee must be getting senile.

grave/exemplify, the NYT solution. Gah!

Dreary, rainy day today.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: QB

ETA again: two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 25, 2022, 06:29:09 AM
GwP, and just a 3fer farm-mexapixel-lively.

Lots of wine last night and up past my bedtime on a school night.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2022, 08:50:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L with pangram.  I think I have 2 words left but manage to be just shy of Alpha.  I am holding out hope for QB.  Congrats, Langue_doc! We didn't do so well yesterday, just too busy.  We finally got to QB with some help from Shunn.  I was excited to remember colcannon, colleen! My final ones were neocon, nonlocal.

No luck on LB, so more congrats to Langue_doc, and again today!

Yesterday, when husband got to Genius he also got the message that he ranked higher than the previous day (despite QB previous day).  I didn't, but I got it today.  He got a different message today, something to the effect that he's moving on up? So I guess we are getting these messages somewhat inconsistently? Anyone besides Langue_doc and the two of us?

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 25, 2022, 12:05:25 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 25, 2022, 12:23:37 PM
Good afternoon!

QB and a 2fer.

I haven't gotten any messages from SB that ab_grp and Langue_doc describe!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2022, 01:02:51 PM
Yeah! Congrats on GWP and QB, Parasaurolophus and cathwen! Cathwen, maybe they will send you a message when you least expect it.  ;-) I was checking to see the last time my app was updated but am not sure how to tell.

I am down to one word left to QB and finally at alpha.  Still crossing my fingers! I have some contenders for LB as well.

ETA: Got QBABM! Yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2022, 04:43:13 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 25, 2022, 05:41:14 PM
QBwG and a really funny LB 2fer that I can't wait to tell everyone about. I have a buddy who sometimes doesn't do LB so I send him solutions I find fun, but he wants to do LB today so it would be a spoiler.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2022, 07:18:56 PM
Yeah, ciao_yall! Can't wait to hear about your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2022, 05:28:07 AM
Good morning!

I think the bee's going berserk--its antics remind me of Hal the computer.

When I reached genius, long after finding the pangram, the bee informed me:
Quote
You reached the highest rank, with 30 words and 108 points. You're on the up and up! You ranked higher than yesterday.

When I just looked at yesterday's answers, I saw the following:
Quote
May your reign last forever, Queen Bee!

How can I rank higher today with just genius when I got to QB yesterday??!!!

copulate/embroil; I was surprised that my solution got past the LB censors.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2022, 07:17:15 AM
QBwG, last word was mind.

And yeah, copulate-embroil. What a story!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 26, 2022, 07:36:52 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with letter hints for the last two words, modicum and dunno. Today I am at Genius with the pangram.

Ciao_yall, your 2fer sounds like the beginning of a plot line for a bodice-ripper!  Mine was the boring old political-lumber,which was the "official" one.

I found a 2fer today as well.

It's a bright, sunny day and the birds are active.  We have a whole flock of robins in our dogwood tree, with house finches and chickadees flitting around as well.  A male downy woodpecker is pecking at things in the tree across the way.  Spring will be upon us soon! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2022, 07:59:25 AM
Still at AwP and a 2fer for today. Maybe when I get Genius I'll get a message.

Langue_Doc I also got the same message.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2022, 08:28:11 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten too far into the bee and haven't found the pangram yet! Husband did, but it seemed to take him a while.  I wanted to get my crossword done first.  My final words yesterday were undid, dumdum.  I checked and also got that "May your reign last forever, Queen Bee!" message in the Yesterday's Answers part.  Yay!

For LB, I got public-calorimeter.  I like the more scandalous solution better, but I am just happy to have one after a dry spell! Congrats on your 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

I have another call today, so I'm not sure if it will be a successful puzzle day or not.  Hope so!

I'm glad you are having such nice weather and visits from the birds, cathwen! Eldest daughter is down the shore with her dad and others to do their annual polar bear plunge.  My preference would be to skip the ocean part and just have a beer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2022, 08:50:51 AM
When I hit "genius" I got the same message about ranking higher than yesterday. Not sure how they decide that. I was well into Genius and only 2 points short when I hit the grid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 26, 2022, 09:11:40 AM
QBABM!  But no pop-up congratulatory messages for me.

However, when I click on "Yesterday," I get "May your reign last forever, Queen Bee!"
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2022, 09:57:48 AM
QB and a two-fer--not an economical use of the letters, but a two-fer all the same.

Got my Spring Break organized. Now I have to schedule the second of my dental appointments so that I can recover from the effects of the procedure and the anesthesia well before Spring Break. Priorities, priorities.

cathwen, the congratulatory message pops up as soon as you hit genius and erroneously informs you that your scores on hitting genius supersede your scores for the previous day--this is how it worked the last couple of days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2022, 10:27:37 AM
Okay, finally got the pangram and GN4L and am down to 4 words to QB, but I'm not at alpha yet.  Congrats on your QBABYs, cathwen and Langue_doc!

I found out that the polar bear plunge is to support the Special Olympics, so I guess I can understand taking the plunge!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 26, 2022, 08:56:27 PM
Did pretty poorly today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2022, 07:00:48 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius so far. Last word yesterday was coopt.

crabwalk/kilometric

Two two-fers today!

Grading day today, so that I can submit the early warnings earlier than the deadline. I have students who don't seem to understand that online courses have deadlines or require a computer and internet access.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 27, 2022, 07:29:25 AM
Good morning!

I had the "official" wombat-trickle for LB yesterday.  I have a weird 2fer today.  Langue_doc, congratulations on having found two of them!

SB:  Yesterday my last word was photopic.  I am at QB-2 today.

Langue_doc, I once had a student who tried to take my online course completely on his iPhone.  Needless to say, he got frustrated and withdrew before the deadline. But at least he realized that he needed internet access!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2022, 08:00:19 AM
QBwH and new words photopic and pothook which I didn't know was a single word.

Also wombat-trickle pretty quickly this morning. Langue_doc good find on crabwalk! I wanted catwalk to work which gave me a Right Said Fred (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AGl2M_YB0Q) earworm all day.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2022, 09:04:21 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on February 27, 2022, 08:00:19 AM
QBwH and new words photopic and pothook which I didn't know was a single word.

Also wombat-trickle pretty quickly this yesterday morning. Langue_doc good find on crabwalk! I wanted catwalk to work which gave me a Right Said Fred (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AGl2M_YB0Q) earworm all day.

Quick update to say I have Gw2Ps and a slightly messy 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2022, 09:14:55 AM
Good morning!

Made it to GN4L with the pangrams, but I am dragging today for some reason.  Still working on the crossword.  Yesterday I think photopic, pothook were also at the end for me.

No luck on LB, so congrats on your solutions! And congrats on all your 2fers today! And to Langue_doc for two of them!

Shaping up to be another busy day, but I will try to do better at puzzling than yesterday!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2022, 04:30:39 AM
Good morning!

Message from the bee this morning:
Quote
You reached the highest rank, with 40 words and 147 points.
You're on the up and up! You ranked higher than yesterday.

According to the same page, my performance yesterday:
Quote
May your reign last forever, Queen Bee!

The maximum score for yesterday's puzzle: 232; points for genius: 162

SB, math doesn't seem to be your strong point.

galumphs/strong, thongs/sugarplum, sugarplum/marathon

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 28, 2022, 05:40:49 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram this morning.  Yesterday, I got to QB with first letter hints for nohow and pogoing.

Congratulations on all those 2fers, Langue_doc!  Mine was strongarms-shlump.  I was surprised that the last one was accepted.

No 2fer yet today.  The letter set is rather challenging!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 28, 2022, 06:44:57 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL. Did not know pinioning or nowhow were words. And, sugarplum-marathon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2022, 07:47:48 AM
Good morning!

Not at genius yet but I do have the pangram.  We almost had team QB yesterday but were missing (ironically!) wino.  But I needed help with nohow (which I also don't recall being in there before, but husband thinks yes), and he needed woohoo.  When I got to genius yesterday I got the "You ranked higher than yesterday.  Congrats!" again.  I don't know who I'm being compared to in that statement, as it certainly was not myself.

No LB luck, so congrats on your solutions! Langue_doc, special congrats for your 2fer triplet!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2022, 04:59:14 PM
Sadly, I am still not at genius yet but will try to get back to the bee.

But I did get a 2fer! WOO! After a promising start to the year in LB, I have not been having much success, so I am happy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2022, 05:42:52 PM
Sorry to hear about the bee, ab_grp, but congrats on your two-fer.

I've had to give up on the bee, but did find a two-fer earlier today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 28, 2022, 10:42:43 PM
Blah, I'm far from genius too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2022, 04:22:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; the bee keeps telling me that my scores are higher than yesterday's despite scoring lower.

Missed drib and biradial.

jeopardize/exams

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 01, 2022, 06:48:46 AM
QB-1, even with hints couldn't get biradial. And jeopardizes-sexism, jeopardize-exam.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 01, 2022, 07:30:02 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB-2 yesterday, then found billiard and libido with hints.  Today I am also at QB-2 and trying very hard not to go to hints yet, but today is going to be topsy-turvy, so we'll see.

No 2fer yesterday!  However, I have one today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2022, 08:04:18 AM
Good morning!

Today is a much better bee day for me.  I have one word to go for QB, so fingers crossed.  I did end up getting to GN4L finally yesterday but ended up a good number of words short of QB.  I think biradial, railbird were final ones for me with help from husband.

My 2fer was same as one of ciao_yall's, jeopardizes-sexism.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2022, 08:13:04 AM
QB--familiar words all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 01, 2022, 10:03:10 AM
Beta today. Phew!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2022, 03:42:58 PM
Woo hoo! Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc, and Beta, Parasaurolophus! I still have had no luck finding my word.

I got 1.5 2fers, though (one word the same, the other different).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 02, 2022, 05:16:48 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc, and on Beta, Parasaurolophus!  I got up to QB-1 and got stuck.  I looked at first letter hints, and immediately saw the last word—giggly

Today's SB stands at Beta, with seven words to go. 

And I finally found a 2fer yesterday:  computation-negator.  I have one today, too.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 02, 2022, 05:20:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was vigil.

campaign/neutron

Congrats on your two-fer, cathwen.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 02, 2022, 06:32:10 AM
QBwG, last word was infilling. LB was tapioca-argument (or argument-tapoica.)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2022, 09:00:42 AM
Good morning!

Not at genius yet but I do have the pangram.  I didn't sleep well again.  We ended up with team QB yesterday.  Husband needed vinyl, I needed vigil.  Having lived around people with that last name but pronounced "Vijil" for the past few years, I can't hear it correctly anymore!

I had the same 2fer as cathwen, plus -negotiator as an alternative mate.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!  Ciao_yall, I always think it's neat when the 2fer can go either way.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 02, 2022, 03:47:11 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2022, 04:14:09 PM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus! I also made it to genius, finally, though still a good number of words left to go.

Need to try more at LB as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2022, 05:00:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday, according to the bee was glop which I distinctly remember entering before reaching genius.

flours/shaping

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 03, 2022, 06:33:25 AM
QBWATHICG. Googled 18th century dance glossaries and to finally find galop. And, flourish-hangup, flourish-harping.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2022, 08:35:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L today but not much more yet.  We ended up not having team QB, but oh well.  We both had to get help with galop, as well as a few others.

And no luck on LB, so congrats on your 2fers!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 03, 2022, 10:44:02 AM
Good afternoon!

Genius with pangram so far, but running out of steam.  Yesterday I missed needed hints for flagella, gaff, galop, and gall

I had the "official" LB yesterday—flourish-hangup.  I found one today as well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2022, 04:55:12 PM
I'm down to 4 words in the bee now, but not at alpha yet.  May give up and compare with husband shortly.

But I did get a 2fer! Congrats on your as well, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 03, 2022, 10:35:21 PM
Six points shy of GWP, I'm afraid. Hmph.

Spoke too soon: tried one last non-word, and it was accepted. GWP. Hmph.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2022, 04:50:17 AM
Good morning!

85 points so far. Missed nametape; nametape?!

croquis/sparkly

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 04, 2022, 07:19:41 AM
Sloggy one yesterday. Finally had to hit the grid to tip into GwP with mete. Got a hint from a friend for loquacious-sparky.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 04, 2022, 07:35:40 AM
Good morning! 

I also had loquacious-sparky yesterday.  So far, no 2fer today.

SB:  Yesterday was very busy so in the evening, I finally went to hints to finish.  My words were apeman/men, enema, mentee (I always miss that one!), manatee, and—embarrassingly!—team. I was so sure at had that, since I had teammate.

Today I am at QB-3, hoping for QBABM...but we'll see. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2022, 07:46:12 AM
Good morning!

Just got to GN4L before quitting for the time being, but if I get the 4s I'll only have 1 word to QB.  Hopefully they are easy 4s today! Yesterday I also needed help with nametape.  That is dumb!!

I also had loquacious-sparky.  Congrats on your very different one, Langue_doc, which taught me a new word.  And congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 05, 2022, 06:55:05 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a first letter hint for the last word—icily.  Today I got to QBABM, though! 

LB:  I did not have a solution yesterday, in spite of finding many good, long words—I just couldn't make words with the remaining letters.   Today I found a 2fer fairly fast, though. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 05, 2022, 07:30:31 AM
GwP and just 3fers yesterday.

GwP this morning and barely getting started on LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 05, 2022, 07:34:54 AM
Quick GW2P for me this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 05, 2022, 07:50:57 AM
2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 05, 2022, 07:59:31 AM
Good morning!

Almost there for QB. Last word yesterday was lulu.

bronchitic/caudal

Two-fer; crosswords were done last night.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2022, 09:22:37 AM
Good morning!

I am almost at Alpha but did get to GN4L pretty easily today, which is a nice change.  Yesterday the only one that escaped me was lulu, which I feel used to be in there a lot more often! We did have team QB, though.  I think husband was missing bulb.  I was surprised that puli wasn't last for either of us.

Congrats on the 2fer, Langue_doc, and thanks for another new word! I had childbirth among my many contenders, but I was expecting a shorter mate than the schmofficial one.  Oh well.  Congrats on your 2fers already today, cathwen, ciao_yall, and Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2022, 07:42:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. I don't think I have the energy to look for the remaining words.

Last words yesterday were updo and expo.

mango/objective

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 06, 2022, 07:58:28 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Beta with both pangrams, but I cannot foresee getting much further without hints; I'm really stuck.  I'll hang in there for a bit more, though.

Yesterday my last word was updo

LB:  I also had mango-objective.  And I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2022, 08:36:59 AM
QBwG, last word was upped. And objective-egomania.

Today, yeah cathwen stuck at Amazing no pangram, but I found a rather unwieldy 2fer.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2022, 08:52:14 AM
Good morning!

Not quite to alpha, but I have the pangrams.  Did get to GN4L.  Yesterday I think epode was my final one.  Husband's was updo.

Congrats on your solutions yesterday! I was hoping to find one since it sounded easy, but nothing popped out for me.  And congrats again today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2022, 02:04:02 PM
QBwH, but learned a new word. Several 2fers today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2022, 02:33:44 PM
I got a 2fer! Congrats on getting additional ones, ciao_yall! Have to get back to the bee now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 06, 2022, 10:23:45 PM
Pangram, but 30 shy of genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2022, 04:19:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Last word yesterday was cape.

romantic/chicklet

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 07, 2022, 06:15:10 AM
QBWATHICG - new word pellicle. Several 2fers yesterday marathon-nickel, romantic-chicklet, market-technicolor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2022, 09:38:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L but not much time to get beyond that yet.  Yesterday I needed help with a few, most of which I knew.  Pellicle was the tough one, though, for me as well. 

I don't think it was mentioned here (?) but Shunn has added some info, finally.  Now you can look at prefix/suffix distribution and 3-letter tallies (if you choose).  To look at the three-letter tally, you have to click on a two-letter entry.   For example, yesterday there was one AB word (abaci).  So if you look at the two-letter tallies and click on AB, it will show ABA x 1.  If you clicked on PE x 3, you get PEA x 2    PEL x 1.  It says there were 3 prefixes (two starting with A, 1 starting with B) and 8 suffixes yesterday (A, B, C x3, L x 2, P x 1), and it shows how long each word is.  I assume it means two words starting with A have prefixes? And three C words have suffixes? I think this info could be a little hard to interpret.  There is one B with a prefix (bicep?) and one B with a suffix (biblical?).    The three Cs are all -able, so that's a little easier.    I'm not sure what the A word with a suffix is.  Or the three A words with prefixes (apace, apiece, ...?)? I might need to look up prefixes and suffixes! Any thoughts from more learned forumites?

For LB, I got interlocker-rematch.  I think romantic-chicklet is my favorite.  Sounds cute.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2022, 05:28:08 PM
QB and two-fer.

ab_grp, I'll respond to your observations tomorrow. I'm still a bit groggy from a dental appointment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2022, 06:52:41 PM
I look forward to it, Langue_doc! Wishing you a swift recovery from your dental work.  And congrats on your QB and 2fer!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 07, 2022, 09:48:00 PM
Fell quite short again today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 08, 2022, 05:28:24 AM
Good morning!

QB--not too difficult today.

Last word yesterday was apparat, which I've seen before.

gymnasiums/scurvier

ab_grp, I look for prefixes and suffixes depending on the letters. I tend to attach them indiscriminately on the assumption that some of the combinations might work. The a- prefix doesn't always work as the words such as apart, apiece, and a few others are part of the vocabulary and thus have to be learned as independent words rather than derived forms of part and piece. Sometimes you just see the words as was the case with yesterday's pangram. I find words that have the same consonant at the beginning and end to be rather elusive, so now remember to look for them. Words such as updo and expo in recent puzzles are difficult because you either see them right away, or have to try all possible combinations because these words don't have rhyming partners. I also have trouble with epee, despite having seen it in several puzzles. There seems to be no rhyme or reason in the choice of words so I try to remember the bee words, several of which I still know only as bee words and nothing else.

I did click on the hints one time, and was dismayed to see the solutions in the comments.

Happy solving, all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2022, 06:38:16 AM
Morning! GwP yesterday. Not sure I would have gotten papyri or pitapat without hints.

Got stuck on the LB for a day of almost-but-not-quites.

A hint from a friend yielded veganism-mercury. Found vegan but never thought to put ism on the end. Langue_doc, gah! I had gymnasiums-scurvy as a b4ss and gymnasiums-sac-curvier. Didn't know something could be scurvier.

Learn something new every day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 08, 2022, 07:52:28 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was One of Those Days—flat tire on the parkway on the way home from dropping Youngest Daughter off at a major airport.  My husband called AAA, but they said they were not allowed on the parkway.  However, they called someone else to change our tire.  The tire guy arrived, and we then discovered lug locks, for which our vehicle is lacking a key (it was bought used).  The tire guy couldn't get the lugs off, so he called a tow truck to take us to the nearest Ford dealer.  They had to procure a tire of the right size, which took hours in coming.  We finally left the dealership just as a wind and rain storm started to blow in.  It took us an hour and a half of driving to finally arrive home. 

All this to say that yesterday was not the best puzzle day!  I got to QB-3, missing apparat, papyri, and partita.  I did not find a 2fer.

Today I am also at QB-3 and no 2fer.  But I hope that today will be a better day. 

Congratulations on yesterday's successes, and happy puzzling to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2022, 08:44:01 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 4 words left today.  Yesterday we could not figure out partita.  Thanks for the insights into your thinking process, Langue_doc!

And congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

Cathwen, I'm so sorry to hear about what an awful day you had!! I've got wheel locks of some sort as well and some tool or something in the glove box but have been fortunate not to have to deal with it on the side of the highway.  It sounds as though you had one bad thing after another.  I hope you took good care of yourselves when you did finally make it home and will do so again today.   Fingers crossed that it will be a much better day!

I forgot I have a call this afternoon, so I guess the day will be busier than I had hoped for (but obviously that's not too bad!).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 08, 2022, 11:30:52 AM
Finally found a 2fer!  Now at QB-2, both five letters. 

Langue_doc, I hope you're feeling better after your dental surgery!

Ab_grp, this morning I checked my car—it has wheel locks, and also a key, which I located without much trouble.  So now I know!  And, yes, today is a much better day!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 08, 2022, 05:07:59 PM
GW2P!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2022, 06:22:54 PM
QBw2LL and a wild guess. Weird 2fer with a hint from a friend so now I don't feel so badly that I needed a hint.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2022, 07:08:54 PM
Hurrah for all of your bee and LB victories!

Cathwen, I am so glad this day shaped up to be a lot better! And that you know about the wheel locks!

We ended up with team QB.  I needed 2 words, he needed 1.  I haven't had time to look at LB, but I did do something I had been putting off, so yay me.  Minor victories are still victories!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 09, 2022, 05:29:13 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was a Good Puzzle Day.  I made QBABM (last word throw, oddly), and I had a 2fer.  My 2fer was the "official" one:  inchworm-muskox

I found a 2fer today.

I'm finding today's SB to be a bit of a slog.  I'm at Beta, but I don't know how much further I'll get.   

I have to grade the midterm exam and file midterm grades today, so I'll be pretty busy.  Fortunately, no one missed the midterm—so at least I won't have any sob stories to deal with. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2022, 06:36:41 AM
Morning! QBw2LL and a wild guess at wroth. And, inchworm-muskox. I found a 3fer cornrow-whim-muskox and thought it was too weird to be part of the solution. Then a friend validated that muskox was the second word. Boom.

Not started yet today, but happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2022, 07:41:51 AM
Good morning!

Found the pangram and made it to genius when I woke up at 4 this morning.

Last word yesterday was outre, which I've seen before.

Patted myself on the back for having found uxorious.

cathwen, that sounds like a frightening experience, especially to have a flat on a busy parkway. As for the lug nuts, my previous car, used, also needed one for removing the tires. Fortunately, soon after I got the car, an AAA guy or a mechanic showed me where it was stowed in the car (in a tiny slot that you accessed by lifting the floor mat in the trunk) and told me to remember where to look for it. That car had a lot of tire problems and most of the mechanics didn't know where to look for it.

As for my current car, after reading about your experience, I made a mental note to ask the service place tomorrow (car's getting routine service because of upcoming trips--that's another story) about the lug nut and also to check the spare tire. I could just look at the manual, but don't feel like going out in the rain and retrieving it from the car. Glad that your daughter had been safely dropped off at the airport. Thanks for asking about the dentist's appointment--they are good, but it takes a while for my body to recover from the anesthesia, even the very local ones.

Happy solving, and stay dry!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2022, 09:17:15 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram but not to GN4L yet.  Yesterday I needed help with outro, grotto.

Congrats on your 2fers! And uxorious is another interesting word, Langue_doc! I didn't know there was a word for such a thing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2022, 11:26:14 AM
ab_grp, I always associate uxorious with King Solomon, he of the 1000 wives and concubines. The logistics is just too mind boggling.

I probably have three or four words left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2022, 05:28:40 PM
From the NYT on how a polyglot solves the bee:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/crosswords/polyglot-solving-spelling-bee.html
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2022, 06:28:32 PM
Thanks for sharing the article, Langue_doc! I hope you got your final words.  And I agree about the logistics.  I think 1000 wives and concubines would be a bit much to have to deal with.  Hope you are continuing to feel better from the anesthesia.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 09, 2022, 09:37:59 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2022, 05:08:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Haven't looked at yesterday's solution to see what I missed.

forking/graphics

Some of the comments in the NYT article that mirror my thoughts:
Quote
Spelling Bee needs an editor or an automated system in order to include the many common English words that are often rejected even though they are in the dictionary and are not proper nouns or words that express obscenity.
Whoever is responsible for this puzzle needs further education.

Quote
Tons of not obscure but not included words because...?

There is no rhyme or reason.  Nor raison. 

But c'mon, Spelling Bee, can we include everyday words?

Quote
Identifying a word in Spelling Bee isn't finding a word from another language that made it into everyday English.

That is because the Times staff members who support the Spelling Bee lexicon fail to include some words in the everyday English lexicon every single day.

And finally, my favorite:
Quote
Bewilderment:  You throw a random string of characters together out of frustration, hit Enter instead of Delete by mistake, and it's accepted.  WHAT?  Google it!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 10, 2022, 06:50:15 AM
Slog to GwP yesterday. Not sure why my brain wasn't working. Did get forking-graphics for LB.

Happy solving!

Hm, it would be interesting if SB had an AI dictionary feature that would add words during the day, and keep track of ones you tried earlier so if you were the first to try OTIC but after a certain number of hits by other people it would appear in your list?

Anyway, happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 10, 2022, 07:01:50 AM
Good morning! 

I got stuck on SB yesterday with seven words to go.  Then it got late, and I looked at hints—they were all easy, normal words.  Sigh! 

Today I have nine words to go.  I have to go grocery shopping, then I have a 2-hour meeting this afternoon—so I'm not sure I'll finish this one, either.

As for LB, I had prickings-shofar yesterday.  Apparently there are multiple solutions this time!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2022, 08:55:46 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L but still 10 words left.  Yesterday I think morocco was our final word.  I noticed that Shunn changed things up again? Looks like the newly added prefix/suffix count is gone and replaced by the option of distribution of plurals.

No luck on LB, didn't even look at it.  Congrats on your solutions! Hopefully today will be a better day with more time in it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2022, 04:15:33 PM
QB and two-fer.

ab_grp, are these the websites you have been talking about?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum-introduction.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum-introduction.html

I finally stumbled on Shunn; this was because I had to kill time while waiting for the car to be ready. On top of the usual oil change and tire rotation, they sent me a video of the innards of my car to advise me that the car needed fuel-injection cleaning. Thinking of the road trips ahead, I agreed, and so decided to explore the links in the bee.

As for getting to genius without the four-letter words, solving the puzzle is analogous to bird watching. Just as I would mentally make a note of all the birds I see instead of noting only a certain species (unless that was my intention) I enter words as I find them as ignoring the short words would be an inefficient use of my time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2022, 04:49:07 PM
Congrats, Langue_doc! I think the links you shared both go to the same site? I was talking about this one for Shunn: https://www.sbsolver.com/archive/2022/03 (well, from there you can click on the day, but I didn't want to direct it to today's just in case). As for the GN4L stuff, I just started trying it at some point after hearing it was a thing.   It's just an added challenge.  Although, these days I have a hard enough time even getting to genius for whatever reason.  Part of it is that we just don't spend as much time puzzling in the morning or on breaks anymore. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 10, 2022, 09:43:51 PM
Pangram, but thirty short tonight. It hasn't been a great day, however, so better luck tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 11, 2022, 06:18:07 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, congratulations on QB yesterday!  And happy travels with your newly tuned-up car with properly inflated tires.

Yesterday I got bogged down, went to first-letter hints, and saw that I needed a bunch of words beginning with G.  I almost immediately saw most of them, but then got a bit bogged down with the last word.  I finally got geotag

Today I am at QB-1.  I need a 6L word, but just don't see it yet.

LB:  I had abduct-temptation.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 11, 2022, 06:25:07 AM
Morning!

Not a great puzzle day. GwP, and lots of 2fer b4ss and 3fers but no 2fer. Not a great puzzle week, actually. Seems I should have gotten a 2fer - cathwen's looks pretty straightforward even though the schmofficial one is a little weird.

Oh well. Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 11, 2022, 08:57:58 AM
Good morning!

QB!

My beef with the bee is that words such as gonna are accepted, but not legatee or allottee, as for example, in yesterday's bee.

abduct/temptation

ab_grp, yes that was the website; I quickly turned my eyes away.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: cathwen, I think I know the 6-letter word you're missing. I found it because I was on Amazon, looking for something entirely unrelated.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2022, 09:25:14 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L.  I think I have 4 words left to QB, so I'll look at it again later.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help with vegetal.  As for Shunn, that link I posted should just take you to the month of March page, not any particular day's page.  I just think it's interesting that he has changed what options he includes.

Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen! Neither the schmofficial one.  I feel a lot of temptation for an empanada right now.  An abduction, not so much. 

Hope you do have safe travels when you get on the road, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2022, 04:50:45 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2022, 07:03:29 PM
Congrats, Parasaurolophus!

We got to team QB with kind of funny final words.  And I have a couple good LB contenders, one of which only leaves 3 letters!, but no luck.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 12, 2022, 05:01:52 AM
Good morning!

156-8 or so points. I doubt if I'll find the remaining words.

Last word yesterday was boba.

As for LB, wrench/harmonious, manicures/show, ceremonious/shaw; didn't think that the last one was a word.

Thanks for the good wishes, cathwen and ab_grp. I'm leaving tomorrow for what I hope is peace and quiet. I have to complete the grading and early warnings today.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: QB, words we've seen in previous bees.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 12, 2022, 05:59:33 AM
Good morning!

QBABM already, but no LB as yet.

Yesterday my last word was bowwow.

LB was manicures-show.  Langue_doc, congratulations on your many combinations!

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Just got a 2fer!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 12, 2022, 07:29:40 AM
QB-2. Should have gotten bonbon but wannabe? Really?

LB - this has not been a good week. Lots of 3fers including mouches-swain-nurse, chewier-runs-snowman, niece-runs-showman but never a 2fer.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 12, 2022, 09:15:58 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L with the pangram but not alpha yet.  Congrats on all the QBs and close-to-QBs! Yesterday we had team QB, but he was missing baobab, and I was missing jojoba.  Both things found in hair products, I guess. 

We also got a team 2fer: unceremonious-shawarma.  I was hoping that maraschino(s) would work out, but no luck there.  I am definitely impressed with all the solutions you found, Langue_doc! Congrats on yours yesterday and today, cathwen! And better luck today, ciao_yall.  You were close!

Langue_doc, good luck with the rest of the grading and notifications.  I hope you are able to have a peaceful trip!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 12, 2022, 09:29:07 PM
Blah, didn't do well today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2022, 10:44:24 AM
GwP and 3fers yesterday.

GwP and a quick 2fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2022, 11:15:00 AM
Good morning/afternoon! Maybe just afternoon now?

Internet was out this morning, so we didn't get too much done yet on puzzles.  Yesterday my final word was menu.  Kind of surprised that unimmunized, unmended weren't in there?

No luck on LB yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fer today, ciao_yall!

Gotta catch up on everything, as seemingly everything relies on the internet! At least I did some vacuuming in my spare time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 13, 2022, 11:38:12 AM
Good afternoon!

QB-2 today and completely stumped. 

My last word yesterday was deemed—found long after I had found deem

Ab_grp, I was also annoyed that unimmunized and unmended were rejected, also unmined.  SB seems to be very stingy with which un- words it allows.   And I'm glad your internet is back up!  We had very high winds yesterday, with power outages in parts of the state, but we were lucky.

LB:  I had blimp-purgators.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2022, 05:36:25 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! I hope you were able to get your final 2 words in the bee as well.  I'm down to three words but am not at Alpha yet.  No luck on LB, but I feel like I am totally out of sorts today with the time change and internet loss and related delays. 

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2022, 06:52:54 PM
Evening!

Pangram and above genius before I left.

Couldn't find a mate for pluribus.

It took me awhile to get ready which got me wondering if the trip was worth the time, expense, and effort, but once I got out of town and found myself on a four lane stretch, I was glad I decided to leave the city. Traffic just flowed, (Sunday, winter) and there were assorted birds of prey overhead. Looking forward to some birding.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 13, 2022, 09:53:28 PM
Pffft, fell five short of GWP. But I'm out of ideas and it's bed time, so.

Edit: Got there with a kind of car...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 14, 2022, 05:27:55 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, albeit with help on the last word:  corolla.  The other word was oarlock, which occurred to me out of the blue while watching TV. 

Today I barely clawed my way to Genius and even have both pangrams.  But this is a tough one—I don't see myself getting very far. 

LB:  I had comrade-excursion.  And I found a 2fer for today.

Ab_grp, time changes throw me off, also.  I wish we could all adopt either standard time or daylight saving time for the entire year. 

Langue_doc, happy birding!

And happy puzzling to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2022, 06:46:43 AM
QBWATHICG. Didn't know a wallaroo was a thing. And excursion-nomad.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2022, 07:47:06 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius at least, but I am not sure if I have both pangrams or not.  Corolla, wallaroo, and oarlock were my final three yesterday!

For LB I had unexercised-daemon, which is kind of a weird one, but I'll take it.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Have a good trip, Langue_doc! It's nice to feel that getting on your way was worth it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2022, 12:53:43 PM
Got a 2fer! And I am down to 5 words in the bee, but I think one of them might be a pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2022, 05:10:59 PM
Evening!

QB yesterday; I think my last word was rock.

I found both pangrams--I'm not too happy with the second one. That's probably it for tonight.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2022, 06:11:21 PM
Hi, Langue_doc! I finally found the second pangram and am not surprised it took that long.  And there's another pangram that I thought might be accepted but wasn't.  Actually, there were several words that I thought should have been accepted that weren't. 

We each needed help from Shunn and didn't have team QB, though we did each get to alpha on our own.  I needed help with 2 words, and he needed help with 3, and we had one that overlapped.  Oh well! Not bad for a kind of annoying puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2022, 06:24:25 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 14, 2022, 06:11:21 PM
And there's another pangram that I thought might be accepted but wasn't.  Actually, there were several words that I thought should have been accepted that weren't. 

Congratulations on your successes, ab_grp. I too found it quite annoying when words that I thought were legit weren't accepted and words that I didn't think were legit were accepted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 14, 2022, 09:45:37 PM
Started it far too late today, so I won't finish. I might do in the morning, however. We'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 15, 2022, 05:41:49 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, but only with hints for the last two words—bindi and bingeing (I already had binging and did not think about alternate spellings.).

Today I got to QBABM!

LB:  I had kombucha-artist.  But today, LB seems to be having some technical problems.  I'll try it later. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2022, 06:32:16 AM
Morning!

GwP then a few more then stopped. Good thing. It wouldn't take debting but it had betiding?

LB: biohacks-strum but it wouldn't take biohacks. Then turbits-shamrock and was surprised that turbits took. Turns out it is a breed of pigeon, Who knew? Ended up with cubits-shamrock.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 15, 2022, 06:58:12 AM
Wow, ciao_yall, congratulations on all your 2fers! 

I wonder if turbit will show up in Spelling Bee one of these days?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2022, 07:47:17 AM
Good morning!

I have 3 words left today so hope to get there without assistance.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! Yesterday I needed help with tidbit, biggie.

For LB, I had microbursts-shack.  Congrats on all the different 2fers! Shamrock is a timely component.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2022, 06:40:44 PM
Evening!

QB today.

shamrocks/submit; the reverse also works.

Haven't had the time to look at LB today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 15, 2022, 10:06:00 PM
Genius but no pangram today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2022, 06:24:47 AM
QBwH, last word was wayward and now I have an earworm.

LB - Holy obscure animals, Batman! Found a hints thread on the SB Community, did some Googling, found jaguarundi-imply. I was happy with a 2fer b4ss jumping-grandly and a pretty tight 3fer jai-implying-gradual.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 16, 2022, 09:53:00 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't gotten too far on puzzles this morning after needing some extra sleep.  I did get the pangram.  Yesterday I needed help with airway, dyad, razz.

No luck on LB.  I had jaguar and couldn't come up with any other words with J that seemed as though they would be useful, but I don't think I would have gotten the longer word.  Congrats!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 16, 2022, 06:06:02 PM
Evening!

QB--phew!

Two-fer, but I haven't even looked at the crossword.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2022, 06:27:21 AM
GwP, then off to LB so stopped there. What is a peccant?

LB - foulup-prickliest, foulups-sticker.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2022, 07:36:30 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was not my best puzzle day!  I had five words remaining when 5:00 rolled around, so I went to hints:  apnea, patentee, paean, peccant, penance.

And congratulations, ciao_yall, on having found 2fers that consist of sensible words!  I had a 2fer, but with odd words:  folkies-sprucest.  The first I knew from having been married (in a previous incarnation) to a guitar store owner involved in the folk scene, so folkies were people distinguished from those who liked other kinds of music.  But sprucest?  I tried that because I had spruce with only s and t remaining, so I added them, and was very surprised when LB accepted them. 

As for today:  I am at QB-2 and as yet have no 2fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2022, 08:03:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with two pangrams, not too many words left! I also had a difficult time with yesterday's.  We didn't even have QB.  Peccant was the last one, with patentee not far behind.  I think husband got both of those.

For LB, we had a team 2fer with the same as one of ciao_yall's, foulup-prickliest.  I was kind of surprised it took foulup.  Hopefully I'll find one today, but I am daunted if cathwen doesn't have one yet! I keep wanting to say "the sprucest goosest!", which makes no sense.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 17, 2022, 09:23:53 AM
Forgot to finish my Bee yesterday. Oops!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2022, 10:18:31 AM
Sorry to hear that, Parasaurolophus! I hope you have better luck today!

I made it to QBABM and have some contenders for LB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2022, 12:09:18 PM
Just made it to QB!  Not quite QBABM, since for the last word I consulted my list of Bee words, and there it was—one I've seen before and should have gotten.

I now have a 2fer, but one of the words is odd.  If I have time, I might try to find another pair. 

Congratulations on QBABM, ab_grp! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2022, 12:45:41 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, and it sounds close enough to QBABY to me, cathwen! I haven't managed a mate yet but am hopeful.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 17, 2022, 03:58:56 PM
Evening!

QB.

trefoils/stickup

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 17, 2022, 11:24:24 PM
BW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2022, 06:24:43 AM
QBwH - Needed a hint for powwow. And glob-bacterium. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 18, 2022, 06:38:08 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, last word lollop, thanks to my list of missed Bee words.

As for LB, I have gobar-reticulum.  Gobar was a desperation try with remaining letters, and I was surprised when it took.  It is apparently dried cow dung used as fuel. 

Today I am at Beta on SB, with six words to go.  As for LB, I found a sensible solution with recognizable words for a change. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2022, 10:08:21 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L today but not much beyond.  We are way behind on stuff today.  Yesterday I think olio, polio were my final two.

No luck on LB despite what I thought were pretty good contenders! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen! Good to learn another new word.  Congrats on your 2fer yesterday as well, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2022, 04:06:16 PM
Evening!

QB and a two-fer. I was quite pleased to see the first of the two pan grams yesterday. Last word was lollop, despite having seen it countless times before.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2022, 04:09:35 PM
Congrats on your QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! I was thinking of you with that pangram yesterday. 

I am down to one word on the bee and have a ton of contenders, but nothing yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2022, 04:20:34 PM
Good luck with your final word, ab_grp. They're all familiar words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2022, 04:25:26 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 18, 2022, 04:20:34 PM
Good luck with your final word, ab_grp. They're all familiar words today.

Thank you! Your encouragement gave me the kick to go back to it, and I found my word and got QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 18, 2022, 10:12:55 PM
Pangam, but fell short again. I'm just nt putting in enough time these days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2022, 06:50:12 AM
Good morning!

Twenty eight or so points to go.

Last word yesterday was automata--found the two related words much earlier.

grievances/scythe

Effortless two-fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 19, 2022, 07:35:54 AM
Good morning! 

QBABM yesterday!  My last word was anatomy

Today I am at Beta with nine words to go.

LB: I had eyesight-transceiver yesterday. Today I found a 2fer on the first try!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2022, 08:24:43 AM
QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2022, 09:06:18 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L with pangram but not at alpha yet.  Yesterday moony was my final word.

Ugh, I had so many good contenders for LB and was close with a bunch but couldn't find a mate.  Congrats on your solutions, Langue_doc and cathwen! And congrats to both of you on already getting another one today! Hopefully that means it will be easier.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2022, 10:16:26 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 19, 2022, 09:06:18 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L with pangram but not at alpha yet.  Yesterday moony was my final word.

Ugh, I had so many good contenders for LB and was close with a bunch but couldn't find a mate.  Congrats on your solutions, Langue_doc and cathwen! And congrats to both of you on already getting another one today! Hopefully that means it will be easier.

Happy solving!

Me too, ab_grp! Some 2fers with words it wouldn't take, b4ss and 3fers but no cigar.

QB-3. Missed amount (gah) and a few weird words - antonymy, automata.

GwoP this morning and a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2022, 11:19:12 AM
I am now at QB-3 and realized I totally forgot to congratulate Langue_doc on the QB!

Also found a 2fer.  Hurrah! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 19, 2022, 09:51:32 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 20, 2022, 08:11:29 AM
Good morning!

Smooth sailing to QB this morning! Wonders will never cease.

Last word yesterday was palapa, which I've seen before.

quicker/rentable

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 20, 2022, 08:28:10 AM
Yesterday GwP, missed apellee, paella, plea. LB was quarterback-kiln.

Quick GwP and LB this morning, now Sunday crossword with Neal and an urban hike await.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2022, 09:32:56 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L but am probably not at alpha yet.  Congrats on your quick QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday aleph was my final word.  We had team QB but each needed a word (his was dapped).

I had the same 2fer as ciao_yall.  Congrats on your 2fer again today, and enjoy your crossword and hike!

I have a call this afternoon and need to get groceries so am not sure how much time there will be for puzzles.  I hope for plenty, though!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 20, 2022, 12:17:21 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 20, 2022, 12:23:31 PM
Good afternoon!

I got to QBABM today.  Yesterday my last word was dapped.

LB was quilter-runback, also blackened-requite.

No 2fer yet today!  Congratulations on yours, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 21, 2022, 05:04:22 AM
Good morning!

Well above genius today. Last word yesterday was fatwa, which I should have seen earlier.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 21, 2022, 06:40:52 AM
Morning!

QB-3 then off to other things. Probably would have gotten the 3 I missed alfalfa, flat, fifth and achieved QBABM had I been a bit more focused.

LB was unkempt-thorax which looked familiar. Anyone else get a sense of deja vu yesterday?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2022, 07:58:50 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, with last word fiat.

Today I'm at QB-4. 

No LB yesterday.  Annoyingly, I had both thorax and unkempt at different times, but did not put them together!  So far, no 2fer today, either.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2022, 08:02:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to GN4L, but I don't think I'm at alpha yet.  I think my final word yesterday was fatal. Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

My good contenders led nowhere, so I got husband on the case, and he came up with thorax.  We didn't get a mate for it, though.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2022, 08:29:20 AM
Just got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 21, 2022, 10:55:52 AM
Alpha this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2022, 11:08:14 AM
Congratulations, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 21, 2022, 09:08:25 PM
Forgot to update: QB! It's been a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2022, 04:26:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius, and then, a couple more pangrams.

Last word yesterday was halva.

favour/rhythmist; I'm surprised that LB accepts British spellings which are rejected by SB.

Easy two-fer today.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2022, 06:35:50 AM
QBw2LL and a wild guess - helve. LB was favoritism-mushy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 22, 2022, 06:51:11 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, last word eave.  Today I am at Genius with one pangram, but apparently there are two others!  I'm finding this a tough one.

LB was the "official" favoritism-mushy. I have a 2fer today as well. 

Congratulations on LB and SB successes yesterday!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 22, 2022, 09:46:08 AM
Beta today.

Edit: Should have added: with three pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2022, 10:00:56 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to GN4L with all the pangrams but not to alpha yet.  Almost! I think halvah was last for me yesterday.  There were a bunch of guesses at the end there.  A couple of those words were in there before, but it's been a while, and I had forgotten them.  If we haven't gotten to individual QB by end of day, we now try to wait until we are at team QB based on word lengths before comparing, but sometimes we just have to give up.  Parasaurolophus, you are on a roll! Congrats on your QB and beta!

No luck on LB.  I had a bunch of contenders, but it wouldn't load on my phone, so I didn't get to work on it while I was away from my computer.  Congrats on your 2fers and on solutions today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2022, 03:25:19 PM
Yay, got a 2fer! And I'm down to one word left on the bee. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2022, 03:29:11 PM
You'll get there, ab_grp. If not, you might need some help--I did have to resort to the Spelling Bee column for my final 8-letter word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2022, 04:03:28 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 22, 2022, 03:29:11 PM
You'll get there, ab_grp. If not, you might need some help--I did have to resort to the Spelling Bee column for my final 8-letter word.

Uh oh.  I need an 8! If you needed help, I am pretty sure that I will need help.  Thanks for the heads up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 22, 2022, 10:20:01 PM
Six short of QB tonight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2022, 05:12:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was minicamp.

fracking/gluts

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2022, 06:35:30 AM
Morning! QBw2LL, minicamp was a wild guess. Lots of 2fers but my first one was lucking-grafts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 23, 2022, 08:43:29 AM
Good morning!

QB with 2LL hints for the last words—campaign and campaigning.  Head smack...

Today I am at Genius with pangram, but I am finding this a hard one.

LB:  I had fracking-gluts and tracking-gulfs.  I finally found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2022, 09:06:50 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram, but not much beyond yet.  Yesterday minicamp was my final word too, but at least we had team QB, so I got some help from husband with that one after Langue_doc's caution.  I don't think I would have just guessed that!

I had the schmofficial solution, fractals-sucking, which I did not think would be schmofficial! Congrats on all the different solutions and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2022, 03:46:43 PM
QB and two-fer. Now back to grading.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2022, 03:54:00 PM
Wow, congrats, Langue_doc! I got a 2fer but still have more work to do on the bee.  Good luck with grading!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2022, 03:56:14 PM
They're all words we know or have seen in previous bees, so keep at it, ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2022, 05:10:06 PM
Thanks for the encouragement, Langue_doc! Hopefully it will help!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2022, 07:45:49 PM
QB - 1, lots of tight 3fers and 2fer b4ss in LB.

Just one of those days.

Hit the hints and QB and a 2fer I didn't know was a single word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2022, 05:16:36 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were tomtit and doom, despite having entered the latter early on, just before or after mood. So much for my birding skills.

howled/doctrinal, cowherd/dilatant

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 24, 2022, 07:31:44 AM
QB - needed a hint for cocci.

LB - got little hints for incoherent-trawled, whaled-doctrine, hewed-doctrinal. I had some great words but none of them made a legit 2fer.

Onward!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 24, 2022, 07:53:27 AM
Good morning!

QBABM this morning!  And a 2fer. 

Yesterday I needed a hint for my last word:  dotcom

LB:  I had howled-doctrinaire.  Congrats on the multiple 2fers, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2022, 10:00:12 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram but haven't done much else yet, as husband had to head in to the office.  We were tripped up by comity yesterday, but he finally got it and remembered it.  I didn't really remember it.

For LB, I had wretched-dialtone.  Lots of solutions! Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 24, 2022, 10:14:11 AM
GWP yesterday, close today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 24, 2022, 10:09:53 PM
Fell 20 short today. Grrr.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 25, 2022, 04:44:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last words yesterday were libel and libelee; remembered the latter as soon as I had found libel.

brackets/swing

Never got to finish the crossword yesterday; it got to a point where I didn't even care about the streak, especially after the break around Christmas, then the one last week, and more breaks to come next month and in summer.

Happy solving, all!

ETA: two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 25, 2022, 05:33:21 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday's last word was lifeline.  .  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I had wrings-setback.  Multiple solutions for this one!  I have a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 25, 2022, 08:48:46 AM
Good morning!

Got to GwP today so will try more later.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed nibble.  Ugh!

For LB, I had crabcakes-stewing after many attemps.  Congrats on your different solutions yesterday and on new ones today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 25, 2022, 08:50:48 AM
Morning!

QB, needed hints for (gah) innie, linen. LB was wrings-setback.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 25, 2022, 10:40:33 PM
Ran out of time today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 26, 2022, 04:04:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, genius, then another pangram.

QB yesterday.

zirconium/mashy

Off on a bird walk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 26, 2022, 05:13:28 AM
Good morning!

Beta with both pangrams today.  It's a sloggy one!

Yesterday I got to QBWH, last word dapped. 

LB yesterday was the same as Langue_doc's:  zirconium-mashy.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, enjoy your bird walk! 

And happy puzzling to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 26, 2022, 07:40:04 AM
QB, needed a lot of help to learn a new word: adenine. LB was zirconium-mashy.

This morning multiple pangrams and (ETA) 3 points from Genius. Quick 2fer as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 26, 2022, 09:23:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Didn't get to genius yet, but I have the pangrams.  We woke up late, and the crossword still isn't done.  Yesterday we fell short a few words.  I was missing adenine.  I kept thinking adepine and trying various spellings of that. 

No luck on LB, but I barely got a chance to look at it and only had one contender written down. Congrats on your solutions, and I'm glad you've found 2fers already today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

We have a ton of cleaning to do for our first dinner guest in two years.  He is coming next Sunday, but still too much to get done! It's easy to let things pile up or end up in strange places when no one ever comes over. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 26, 2022, 06:57:00 PM
Two pangrams, but only halfway to genius. I'm not optimistic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2022, 05:44:07 AM
Good morning!

I would never have gotten to QB without hints yesterday.  I got ambit by accident, then needed hints to find bonito, tain, and nanobot (which was my last word).  Sheesh!

Today I am at Beta with five words to go. 

LB:  I had dye-experimentation.  No 2fer yet today! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2022, 07:56:01 AM
QB with plenty of hints. Last word was attaint. But several 3fers padrone-extremity, expand-dormitory, proximation-nerdy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2022, 10:02:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am nearing genius and have the pangram, but the crossword took a while (and I have an error).  We didn't have team QB without help yesterday but ended up getting the rest of the words together.  There were a bunch of tough ones in there!

No luck on LB yesterday.  I thought proximity was a good one.  Oh well.  Congrats on your solution, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2022, 10:29:04 AM
Afternoon!

Got to QB yesterday. Found ambit which I've seen before and bonito (fish) early on. Found tain because of a typo. As I'm typing this, autocorrect keeps reminding me that the latter is an error!

Found the pangram earlier today just when I'd given up on finding today's.

Went on a bird jaunt this morning--wanted to see if the ospreys were back in the wildlife refuge (they were).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2022, 10:45:23 AM
Yay! Got a 2fer!

I'm glad you got to see the ospreys, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2022, 12:12:16 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  I just got one, too—took a while, though.

Langue_doc, your osprey sightings remind me to go walking on the trail by the tidal marsh not far from here.  I'll bet ours are back, too.

We went to a nature museum and farm about an hour away today.  The museum was underwhelming, but it was fun to amble around looking at the various farm animals.  I heard a peewee and a song sparrow, and saw many robins, house sparrows, and a few cardinals.  The farm had many ducks, several of whom were gathered in a circle quacking at each other, having quite an intense conversation!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2022, 02:48:04 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! And it's great that you had a nice trip to the farm!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2022, 05:19:14 AM
Good morning!

Just found the pangram and made it to well above genius. Phew! I didn't think that I'd ever find today's pangram.

QB yesterday. I think the last words were roam and road, despite getting roadmap much earlier.

perjures/sheaving; didn't think that the latter was a word, but am not complaining!

cathwen, glad to hear that you were able to be outdoors.

Spring migration is almost here; I've signed up for walks in April and May. There are also drop-in walks where you just show up, so it's going to be an interesting couple of months, bird-wise.

The ospreys return to the same nests year after year, which makes the sightings even more remarkable.

Not being a morning person, I hate the 8 AM trips. On Saturday, however, I was feeling sorry for myself on my way out at 7:15 when I saw a pair of cardinals (obviously a couple) on the neighbor's fence.

So much for bird chatter.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 28, 2022, 07:16:33 AM
QBWATHICG - last word was parador. Finally had to Google the movie. LB was a quick juniper-ravishing.

Happy solving, birding, museuming, and whatever else you have planned for today.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2022, 07:36:25 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 28, 2022, 07:16:33 AM

Happy solving, birding, museuming, and whatever else you have planned for today.

It's a weekday, ciao_yall, hence office hour, course work, and grading, alas!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 28, 2022, 07:51:39 AM
Good morning!

QB with hints yesterday; last words were mudroom, roam, and paradrop.

Like ciao-yall, I also found juniper-ravishing fairly quickly. 

Today, I made QB almost by accident (typed in letters when I was at QB-1 and it happened to be a word).

I have a 2fer for today's LB, but the second word seems iffy to me.  But I probably won't have time to look for a better solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2022, 07:53:26 AM
Good morning!

Managed to get to genius and also thought the pangram was a little harder to find today.  Yesterday I apparently needed help with aurora, romp, pomp.  I think we had team QB though.

I had the same 2fer as Langue_doc! I got perjures and excitedly tried shaving, which didn't work, and then I figured I'd try sheaving.  Yay!

I'm glad you have more bird outings on tap, Langue_doc! And that you were able to see the cardinals as a reward for heading out early.

Happy solving!

On preview: wow, congrats on your QBABY and 2fer already today, cathwen!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 28, 2022, 10:49:43 AM
Failed miserably yesterday, but seeing the answers today, I'm not surprised.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2022, 03:34:24 PM
Got a 2fer! Still haven't made it to Alpha yet, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 28, 2022, 10:37:08 PM
Got the pangram, but didn't crack today's bee either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2022, 05:42:53 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed wilco yesterday.

bunglers/stormed

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2022, 06:31:44 AM
Morning! QB, needed a hint for logroll.

LB - lots of 2fer b4ss including bungles-stormed SO CLOSE! goblets-surmounted, goblet-tremendous, grounds-stumble, segment-troubled but no 2fer until I hit the hints site.

Oh well, happy solving everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2022, 07:59:33 AM
Good morning!

I think I'm almost to genius but just realized I have not found the pangram yet so need to get on that at some point.  Hoping the coffee will kick in.  Logroll was my final word yesterday, with wilco not far behind.

For LB, I had loungers-stumbled.

Happy solving!

ETA: Okay, found the pangram and got to genius.  Whew! The sudoku part of the site isn't currently working (for me, at least). 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 29, 2022, 08:12:25 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday—I needed a 1-letter hint for my last word, which was wilco.  I got it by just typing combinations to see if anything would stick.

Today I made QBABM! 

LB:  I had burl-lodgements.  And I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2022, 03:28:43 PM
Yay! Finally got a 2fer!

Congrats on your 2fer and QBABY, cathwen! Wow! I still have a few words to work on there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 30, 2022, 05:52:05 AM
Good morning!

About 25 points or so left.

Last word yesterday was coact.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 30, 2022, 06:27:15 AM
Good morning! 

Five words to go on today's SB.  I have two of the three pangrams and for the life of me, cannot find the third.

Yesterday my last word was ciao.

LB:  I had the "official" witch-haphazardly.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Lots of work to do today!  It might interfere with my puzzle solving!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 30, 2022, 09:37:25 AM
GwP yesterday. Never went past the grid. Coxa?

LB - team effort with a friend who was also stuck during the day. We traded our "almosts" and was inspo for witch-haphazardly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 30, 2022, 09:55:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am actually almost at Alpha, which has become more unusual for me these days, and I do have the three pangrams (though the third took a while for some reason, not that it's particularly difficult).  My final words yesterday were coact, coxa, but ciao, acai took way too long to find.  Obviously, I am out of practice with that letter set, because I had been on top of them for a while!

I also got the schmofficial solution yesterday.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 30, 2022, 09:54:28 PM
GW3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 31, 2022, 05:33:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. QB yesterday--wasn't too difficult.

hydroponic/couple

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 31, 2022, 07:22:22 AM
Morning!

QB - needed a few hints/reminders for pogo, pogoing. LB hydroponic-couple as well, with a hint from a friend because I had 2fer b4ss solutions and it wasn't coming together.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2022, 07:46:26 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I needed help with porn, porno and a couple others.  Ugh.

Congrats on your 2fers! My closest was polychoric, but no mates.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 31, 2022, 10:37:43 AM
Good afternoon!

I finally got to QB-2 yesterday before looking at letter hints, then got pidgin and pinioning.  Today I got to QBABM!

LB yesterday was hydronic-couple.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 31, 2022, 11:49:44 AM
QB and two two-fers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2022, 12:49:36 PM
Wow! Congrats on your QBABYs and 2fers, cathwen and Langue_doc! I am aiming for at least one but am very impressed with two.

ETA: I just realized that some of you might be interested in yet another word game: Semantle (https://semantle.novalis.org/).  My eldest and I play it and end up trying to help each other because it can be pretty difficult.  Basically, you guess a word, and it tells you how similar it is in contextual meaning to the target word via a similarity score.  There is a list of the top 1000 words that are most similar to the day's target word.  If you guess a word on the list, you are told what rank it is in similarity with respect to the target word (although it kind of does a backward rank, depending how you think about it, so 999/1000 is closest but no cigar, and 1/1000 is on the list but far-ish away).  If your guess is not on the list, you are given a similarity score for it but as far as whether you are getting close, you are considered (cold).   There was one the other day that I thought was really difficult, because I had a whole bunch of words that were ranked but ended up finding out that the target word was really nothing like them as far as I could tell.  My daughter had solved it, looked at my list, and said ignore the top ones and look for something similar to a couple others she mentioned that were scattered throughout.  Yesterday it was much more straightforward, even though coming up with the specific word can take quite a few guesses! Anyway, I did a search on the fora and didn't see it mentioned so thought I would post it here for my favorite wordy friends.  There is quite a long FAQ if you are interested in the scoring, corpus, and such.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 31, 2022, 04:01:03 PM
Ooooh, thanks!

GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2022, 04:34:50 PM
Let me know what you think if you try it out, Parasaurolophus!

Got a 2fer, finally, though I wasn't sure one part was a word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 01, 2022, 05:24:29 AM
Good morning!

Pangram early on, and then well past genius.

Last word yesterday was chili.

Rather clunky pornographic/cautionary, and then aunt/typographic.

ab_grp, thanks for the info about the new game. Not sure if I'll have the time for it though as I'm cutting down my online activities.

Happy solving!

ETA: QB
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 01, 2022, 06:27:30 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, congratulations on your QB!  I am at QB-1 and hoping for QB before too long.

Yesterday my last word was also chili.

LB:  I had graphic-cautionary.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 01, 2022, 06:50:10 AM
QB, needed a hint because I couldn't remember how to spell cicely. And graphic-cautionary.

Is anyone else's LB not showing the button for "yesterday"?

Anyway, happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2022, 08:33:39 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and the pangram for now.  Congrats on QB already, Langue_doc, and good luck on your final word, cathwen! Cicely was one of the two I needed help with.  Chicly was the other.  Just doesn't look right!

For LB, I got pyrographic-caution.  Ciao_yall, you're right! Mine has a different opening screen now on my computer, though I can still click Yesterday's Answers once I enter.  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 01, 2022, 11:04:02 AM
QBwG and a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 01, 2022, 11:12:19 AM
Team QB!  I was still fussing over that remaining 6L word over lunch, when my husband looked at the screen and saw it right away. 

LB:  I, too, noticed the different screen this morning without yesterday's answers.  On my iPad, when I enter the game, I still don't see yesterday's answers.  However, when I access the game on my computer, they're in the upper right hand corner.  (They're autograph-hypnotic.). Strange! 

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your QB and 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 01, 2022, 10:50:58 PM
Can't quite get there today, but well done everyone! It seems like a tough one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 02, 2022, 08:16:39 AM
QBwG, last word was nohow which I thought I put in earlier and it didn't take? Oh well, tried it again. And unthinkable-egad.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 02, 2022, 10:03:16 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius and pangram today (though it took me a while to find, and same for husband).  Yesterday I had 3 words left, final one with help being onion, of all things. 

No luck on LB.  I didn't even write anything down so am not sure if I looked at it.  Hopefully today! We are still busy trying to get the house in shape for our dinner guest tomorrow, and now there are two burgeoning wasp colonies out on the back patio that have to be handled as well.  Whee! Congrats on your solution, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 02, 2022, 11:13:20 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday the word that confounded me, but which my husband saw right away, was winnow.  Today I have four words to go, but I may need at least first letter hints to get them.  I'll hang on a little longer.

LB:  I had unthinkable-engaged, but ciao_yall, yours is much more efficient with egad.  I have a 2fer today, but the second word was a wild desperation guess that turned out to be accepted.

Ab_grp, good luck with those wasp colonies!  Eek!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 02, 2022, 02:26:41 PM
Afternoon!

Genius earlier this morning.

Couldn't find a mate for dingbat, but did a little jig when it was "It's unthinkable, egad!"

Went birding, then phone calls, so might not get to the puzzles today.

ab_grp, good luck with the wasps, and happy dinner tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 02, 2022, 09:10:29 PM
Beta, but no pangram!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 03, 2022, 07:45:26 AM
QBwH, last word was vivace.

LB - ended up on the hints site, dictionary, and fooling around a bit to learn two new words and feel that 2fer "snap" - charism-mudflap, diarchal-lumpfish.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 03, 2022, 08:18:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

Missed vivace yesterday.

Happy solving!

ETA: QB
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 03, 2022, 08:42:17 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL hints for last word:  vivace.  Today I am at QB-2.

LB:  I had frumps-scaldfish. The last word was tried in desperation.  I have now added to my fish lexicon! Ciao_yall, congratulations on your double 2fer!

I have a 2fer today using normal words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2022, 09:32:46 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Almost to QB today.  Congrats on already getting there, Langue_doc! Vivace was our final word with help yesterday.

No luck on LB, and I have not even heard of the first schmofficial solution component! Congrats on your solutions yesterday and on another one today, cathwen!

Thanks about the wasps and dinner, Langue_doc! We realized that having not had non-family here in 2 years, we had repurposed a lot of the common areas of the house since we mostly spend time together at the dinner table.  So, we don't really have a living room anymore.  I guess we will sit out on the back patio (did order new cushions for the occasion) if the wasps got the message to move out.  We have nice view, though! And we got all the cooking done last night (well, Korean bbq chicken is marinating, but we have the potato salad and broccolini stuff made).  Have to get beer in the fridge and clean up the patio a bit, and hopefully we are mostly done.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 03, 2022, 12:19:25 PM
QB - 3 words/7 points, which tells me it's two 4Ls and a 5L.

Did get a nice 2fer after little progress this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 03, 2022, 02:33:06 PM
QBwG! Probably words I could have found on my own.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2022, 04:16:14 PM
Team QB and a 2fer! I needed help with two words I should have gotten but ran out of time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 03, 2022, 09:50:12 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2022, 06:13:20 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram so far.

Last word yesterday was magma.

ab_grp, dinner menu sounds delicious!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 04, 2022, 06:27:29 AM
Morning!

QB, Last word was also magma. And viewpoint-tardy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 04, 2022, 09:09:07 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Didn't get very far yet today, as we both have meetings this morning and slept in a bit since the visit went late.  Yesterday my final two were ammo, pompom.  Husband missed one of the mama, momma, mamma again.  He can never seem to find all three, poor guy.

For LB, I had the schmofficial one, viewpoint-tawdry.

Langue_doc, thanks! The Korean bbq is kind of a pain to do, just because it has a lot of ingredients, but it's nice to be able to get it done the day before, and it's really good.  Everything went over very well, and it was nice to see a friend in person for the first time in a long while! He was visiting the general area from the east coast, so I'm glad we could get together and catch up.  And now our house is in better shape, as well!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 04, 2022, 02:11:25 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with a 1L hint for the last word—oomph.

LB was viewpoint-tawdry. .

I've been in and out today, with little time for puzzles.  I did get to GwP and a little beyond.  No 2fer so far.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2022, 03:01:21 PM
QB, wasn't too difficult, but both words in my two-fer are weird.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 05, 2022, 05:28:13 AM
Pangram, genius, and 124 points so far.

Last word yesterday was haulage.

funic/cowardy

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 05, 2022, 06:01:26 AM
Good morning!

GwP, but only 99 points so far. 

Yesterday I needed a hint for the last word—haulage

No 2fer yesterday, but I have one today.  Langue_doc, congratulations on yours, odd though it may be! 

We'll see how far I get with SB.  I got my second booster yesterday, and it has hit me like a ton of bricks; every single joint in my body hurts, except for my elbows, and my arm is sore.  I may just languish in bed for a while until I feel better.  Ugh!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 05, 2022, 06:27:36 AM
Morning!

QBwH, not sure I would have found haulage. And with a hint: crowdfunding-gay

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 05, 2022, 07:20:40 AM
cathwen, sorry to hear about your reaction to the booster. Staying in bed seems to be the best option.

QB, no exotic words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 05, 2022, 08:01:56 AM
GWoP yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 05, 2022, 08:52:10 AM
Good morning!

I've got 2 words left in the bee, so doing better than recent days.  Congrats on already getting to QB, Langue_doc! We both needed help with haulage.

No luck on LB, so congrats on your solutions! Langue_doc, yours is definitely interesting! Another new word for me.  Congrats on getting a 2fer today, cathwen!

Cathwen, I hope your booster effects diminish quickly and you are feeling much better soon, but do take it easy today.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 05, 2022, 05:47:11 PM
We got team QB, each needing one word.  And I got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 05, 2022, 10:11:38 PM
Just barely made GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 06, 2022, 04:51:20 AM
Good morning!

I'm in shock--just made it to QB.

Last word yesterday was pica.

embarking/goth

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 06, 2022, 06:07:29 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, with a hint for the last word—papacy.

Today I need three more words, but doubt that I'll get there without hints. Not giving up yet, though!

LB:  I had motorhome-embanking.  No 2fer today as yet, despite a couple of good words.


Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 06, 2022, 06:30:18 AM
QBwG, last word was cacti. LB broth-homemaking, brother-remaking.

Cathwen, hope you feel better today! My TDAP practically kilt me last year - no wonder people resist vaccines.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 06, 2022, 09:09:49 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Almost at genius, but had to stop for a meeting.  Congrats on already getting to QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday I needed help with papaya for some reason.

For LB, I had brother-rainmaking.  Lots of different solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 06, 2022, 09:13:01 AM
Congratulations on *two* 2fers, ciao_yall!  And ab_grp and Langue_doc, your 2fers are different yet!

And yes, I'm better today. I always react strongly to vaccines, but one day of misery is a heck of a lot better than the alternative. 

Sigh...still no 2fer today.  SB is down to one 4-letter word, which I don't seem able to find.  Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

ETA:  Finally got that last word!  QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 06, 2022, 07:31:51 PM
QBwG but no 2fer, just some 3fers.

Debating looking for hints.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 06, 2022, 10:04:17 PM
Still 25 short of GWP. Ugh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 07, 2022, 05:42:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; I think that's it for today.

organza and agonizing just came rushing down the pike yesterday.

Happy solving!

ETA: two-fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 07, 2022, 06:23:38 AM
Any 2fers yesterday? I just had some 3fers.

yogurt-toque-espada
spry-yoga-adequate
quoted-daps-sugary
pog-gyrates-sequestered


Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 07, 2022, 08:59:07 AM
Good morning!

Got a bit past genius with pangram so far today.  Yesterday I could not find the second pangram (which was razoring for me).  So I needed help with that and one other word (zinnia), but we did have team QB.

No luck on LB.  Congrats on your 2fer today, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 07, 2022, 10:05:49 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday; last word orzo.  Today I'm at Beta.

I couldn't find a 2fer yesterday.  I had requested, but did not see partygoer!  I guess we all had trouble with this one.

I do have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 07, 2022, 10:47:51 AM
Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours as well, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 07, 2022, 10:20:23 PM
Just seven short of GWP, but I'm out of time for today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2022, 05:27:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was gavage, which I found by putting together letters at random.

republic/change (gah)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 08, 2022, 06:01:58 AM
Good morning!

Beta this morning.  Yesterday I ran out of time and patience and looked at hints to get my final words, gavage and (of all things) teabag.

LB:  changeable-epicure.  Langue_doc, congratulations on your 2fer!  I hope it is not predictive! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 08, 2022, 06:29:51 AM
QB - needed a hint for baggage. Gah. And republican-neigh.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2022, 08:40:25 AM
Good morning!

Not even to genius yet but have to get to other things for now.  I do have the pangram.  Yesterday I got the hard words but needed help with teabag and a few others.

For LB, I had unpregnable-enrich.  Different solutions again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2022, 05:07:58 PM
Argh! Totally forgot I was so far behind on puzzles.  I made it to genius finally but still have a ways to go.

But I did get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2022, 06:03:39 PM
It's a tricky one today. It took me ages to find the last four-letter word, a word that most of us use every day.

Didn't think that unpregnable was a word--autocorrect has been trying to correct me as I type. The NYT and their "hand-curated" words!

cathwen, that's a good one. I started rereading The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire but gave up because history might just repeat itself.

Made flambeed broccoli rabe for dinner--I sauteed the garlic and threw in the rabe when the entire skillet burst into flames.

If I get some grading done tonight and if it doesn't rain tomorrow moring, then I can go on a bird walk.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 08, 2022, 10:44:06 PM
Blah, fell well short again today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 09, 2022, 07:06:14 AM
Good morning!

I got to QBWATHICG yesterday, with hints to find mallard, ramada, and ramrod.  I'm annoyed that I didn't think of mallard, as I had seen some mallards earlier in the day!

I hope to do better today.  I have two words to go...we'll see.

Langue_doc, I agree about unpregnable.  I don't know what even possessed me to try it—desperation, I suppose.  The flambéed broccoli rabe sounds exciting!  (Eek!)

LB:  I had campground-drink.  I have a 2fer today, also, but I don't think it's a very efficient one.  I may try again for a tighter pair...or not.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 09, 2022, 07:40:38 AM
QBwH, last word was ramada.

LB - needed hints but learned a new word ionogram-mudpack and argh on those compounds campground-dink.

Hiking today with my QB-LB text friend and I'm unnaturally excited.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 09, 2022, 07:54:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius--it's a sloggy one today.

Last word yesterday was road, which took me forever to find. I remembered ramada from previous puzzles, although I still don't know what it means, other than the name of a hotel chain.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2022, 10:34:59 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius + but not at alpha yet, I don't think.  Yesterday I needed help with arid, radar, midi.  Hoping to get a better jump on puzzles today during a conference (virtual)!

I also had campground-drink for LB and am not sure why I tried unpregnable the day before (except why not with these puzzles?). Ionogram is an interesting word, ciao_yall! Congrats on a 2fer today, cathwen!

The flambeed rabe does sound exciting, Langue_doc!

Enjoy your hike, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 09, 2022, 05:00:19 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 10, 2022, 08:45:32 AM
QB with 2LL, and accidentally got into the hits so found blowout-trailblazing; unibrow-waltzing.

Today, GwP so far and a quick 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2022, 09:16:53 AM
Good morning!

QB today; one weird word.

Didn't get around to completing the bee yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2022, 10:06:28 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Made it past genius with the pangram but not too much farther yet.  Congrats on already getting to QB, Langue_doc! I still had five or so words left when we quit yesterday.  I think aside from titular they were all pretty similar (larva(l), uvular, vulvar).  Guess I just wasn't seeing that pattern.

I had a good LB contender that only left two letters, but I couldn't make anything happen with it.  Hopefully today will be easier.  Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 10, 2022, 11:15:49 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on April 10, 2022, 09:16:53 AM
Good morning!

QB today; one weird word.

Didn't get around to completing the bee yesterday.

Happy solving!

QB as well. Needed a hint for the weird word.

My 2fer was kind of a strange one but still keeping it. After unibrow, anything is game.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 10, 2022, 12:48:38 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday—last words were tiara and titular.

Today I am at Beta with five words to go.  One weird one, eh?  I'll keep that in mind! 

Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

LB:  I had blowout-trailblazing.  I have one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2022, 06:05:23 PM
Got a 2fer! Not with the contenders I thought were promising, though.

We both needed help with the same final two words, and I'm mad about both!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2022, 06:06:23 PM
Got a two-fer.

ab_grp, you must have found the weird word not weird after all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 11, 2022, 04:16:45 AM
Good morning!

Odd experience with SB this morning!  When I opened it, it had 28 words already filled in.  Did anyone else experience that? 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 11, 2022, 05:17:08 AM
cathwen, I'm way ahead of you! According to the bee, I have 44 words with 192 points. I've seen this puzzle before.

I emailed the bee, but the old contact information for snafus seems to have disappeared. I hope I don't get the five-paragraph response/blather on how they "hand-curate" words.

backlift/tuner (I think these were the words--didn't write them down)

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 11, 2022, 05:38:34 AM
Wow!  44 words?  There are only 49 in the whole puzzle!  What a disappointment. 

I also had the feeling that I'd seen this puzzle before.  According to nytbee.com, the last time this same puzzle appeared was July 12, 2020.  But it feels more recent than that.  Oh well...

Yesterday I ran out of steam and with 2LL hints, found elope, ollie, pleb, and weepie.

LB was tactful-linebacker.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 11, 2022, 06:39:01 AM
Morning!

QB, needed hints for bebop, weepie. LB brickbat-tuneful.

QB - I have 11 words filled in already!

Oh well, happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2022, 07:37:41 AM
Good morning!

Well, I was at QB when I woke up, so easy day for me! ;-) Sam tweeted that there is a known issue and that a new puzzle will be rolled out shortly.  Husband had nothing filled in on his.  Our final words yesterday were pewee, weepie which are just dumb variant spellings I should have remembered, I guess.  Which one was the weird word, Langue_doc?

For LB I had cabinet-trunkful.  Lots of solutions again! I have a good contender today since I didn't have to do the bee, so I will be happy for that head start. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 11, 2022, 07:56:46 AM
Gah, only got halfway yesterday. I'll do better today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2022, 08:19:26 AM
Looks like the new bee is out, and it's much shorter than the original one. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 11, 2022, 08:45:48 AM
QB with 62 points. The bee is akin to coffee as it gets my brain going.

Tricky wordle today, but got it on the penultimate allowed attempt.

Weird word was weepie; knew to look for the two variants of peewee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2022, 04:47:06 PM
I made it to QBABM as well but didn't get Wordle until the final allowed attempt! Yeek.  I still have a couple contenders but not 2fer yet.

ETA: Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 11, 2022, 10:19:52 PM
Just a couple short of QB, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 12, 2022, 05:18:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius so far.

Last words yesterday were borrow, burrow, and then burro.

unties/sharply

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 12, 2022, 07:05:04 AM
QBw2LL, last word was burro. LB punish-heartily.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 12, 2022, 07:42:37 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday after the new SB was released; last word orzo, which I finally remembered—I missed it a few SBs ago.  Today I'm at Beta with both pangrams.

LB:  I also had punish-heartily, not a very comforting pair!  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 12, 2022, 07:51:22 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to alpha today, so just a few more words to go.  Yesterday my final word was burrow.

My 2fer was similar to Langue_doc's, unites-sharply.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, I saw the news about the Brooklyn subway station shooting and hope you are safe.  I don't know if that's your area, but I was thinking of you! Still not sure what's going on there, but it doesn't sound great.

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 12, 2022, 08:06:09 AM
Two-fer.

ab_grp, thanks for the concern. I had planned to do an errand in Manhattan, but am glad that I dawdled until I saw the news about an hour ago. There are no services on some of the lines and with the rerouting and the slowing down of the trains on the rerouted lines it's probably going to take 2-3 hours for just one leg of the trip. According to the MTA website, there are no planned service changes on these lines (express and local tracks along the subway station where the shooting and explosions took place today), but according to reports on the web service has been suspended, and rightly so.

Things have been going downhill for some time now, with an escalation of crime in just the past couple of months.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 12, 2022, 04:21:32 PM
Langue_doc, I was really glad to see that you were okay.  Sometimes dawdling is a good thing! Hopefully the errand can get done another day.  This is such a crazy story.  Trying to follow it is definitely a little confusing! Congrats on your 2fer, though!

I have one more dang word to QBABM.  Hopefully I'll figure it out.  Haven't had time to look at LB yet but will do so shortly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 12, 2022, 05:33:42 PM
Finally got to QB and 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 12, 2022, 10:38:43 PM
Blah, no joy today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 13, 2022, 07:32:35 AM
QBw2LL, last word was bevy. After getting stuck but finding a 2fer b4ss  mothballed-defence I went for the hints and got fathomable-enhanced.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 13, 2022, 08:59:53 AM
Good morning!

Didn't really start puzzles at all yet this morning due to sleeping in and then a meeting.  Yesterday I finally realized I was missing one of the spellings of loveable.  Ugh.

For LB, I had defacement-tablecloth.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 13, 2022, 09:05:11 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw2LL yesterday; bolo (which I thought I had tried multiple times) and eyeball (which should have jumped out at me) were my last words.

I think that those 2LLs might come in handy today.  I am at QB-6 and absolutely flummoxed. 

LB:  I had fathomable-encode.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 13, 2022, 11:10:09 AM
Afternoon!

Above genius; last word yesterday was bola.

fathomable/encode

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 13, 2022, 02:35:10 PM
Got past genius but still have some words left to go.  But I did get a 2fer! Congrats on yours, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 13, 2022, 10:11:30 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 14, 2022, 07:09:16 AM
Good morning!

GwP this morning, but that's probably as far as I'll get.  My day is packed!

Yesterday wasn't much better.  I had five words to go by dinner time, so I went to hints and found intoning, noting, qigong, tooting, and untuning.  With the exception of qigong, all were words I'd found in prior SBs.

LB:  I had brownie-exacting.  I found a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2022, 07:35:14 AM
QBwG yesterday, and brownie-extracting, brownie-exacting.

So far, Aw2Ps and a 2fer b4ss so hope will tip the scales soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2022, 07:49:22 AM
Good morning!

Go to genius, but another busy day today, so we'll see.  Yesterday I managed to get the "difficult" words by myself but needed assistance with untuning, ignition, togging, I think. 

I also had brownie-exacting yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen, and good luck on your close one, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 14, 2022, 12:29:16 PM
Afternoon!

Found the two pangrams and got to genius quite early, but have been out and about, so don't even remember where I left off.

Gave up on yesterday's bee as I find the suffixing and prefixing to be tedious and not intellectually stimulating.

Got a two-fer yesterday, but can't remember the words other than that they were quite different from the NYT solution.

Crosswords were done last night, and wordle this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2022, 12:47:52 PM
Got a 2fer! Still several bee words left to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 14, 2022, 10:37:34 PM
Fell a few points short of GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 15, 2022, 05:01:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; the pangram took me from nice to genius!

Gave up on the bee yesterday; turned out that I needed only a couple of words, but don't think that I would have tried newton.

adjunct/snowmen, and exciting/growbag (whatever that means) the previous day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 15, 2022, 06:23:03 AM
Correction: the pangram took me from nice to amazing. I'm usually half asleep when I start on the bee; the brain doesn't kick in until I'm in the shower.

ETA: it was adjuncts/snowmen; just caught the typo.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 15, 2022, 06:50:48 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL hints:  meow, tone, totem.. Today I am at Amazing with the pangram and already utterly stumped.  Time to turn my attention to other things, then come back!

LB:  I had adjunct-twosome, which was the "official" solution. No 2fer yet this morning. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 15, 2022, 07:27:13 AM
QBWALTHICG. Learned that there is a bird called a towhee. And adjunct-twosome.

Tricky one today! At AwP and several 3fers so hope something will bust loose.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 15, 2022, 08:33:27 AM
GwP, still in 3fer land. Lots of great words but no mates yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2022, 08:49:52 AM
Good morning!

Three words to go.  Last one yesterday was towhee for both of us.  We needed assistance, but I managed to guess it.  It's been in there before, but it's definitely not a familiar word.

And I also had the schmofficial 2fer.

Got a long call today and etc. so we'll see about the rest!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 15, 2022, 10:25:59 PM
Fell short again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 16, 2022, 08:56:03 AM
QBwH, last words were calculi, cultic. Had lots of 3fers and a 2fer b4ss cantaloupe-enmity before a hint from a friend yielded copayment-tuile.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 16, 2022, 09:00:22 AM
Good morning!

240 points and 52 words; that's probably it for today. Last word yesterday was tactual, which I found through a serendipitous putting together of letters.

cupola/amenity

I'll be away for a few days, so I'm not sure how much puzzling or fora-ing I'll be doing.

Happy Easter to all those who observe the holiday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 16, 2022, 09:33:52 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We didn't get much done on the bee yet today.  I think I still need one of the pangrams.  Yesterday I needed help with actually, cultic.  Can't believe I didn't get the first one, and I did not know the second was a word.

No luck on LB.  Maybe today I will have more time.

Hope you have a nice couple days away and a happy Easter if you celebrate, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 16, 2022, 01:01:30 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with 2LL hints forcultic and lull.

Today I just made QB, but with a 2LL hint for the last word.

LB:  I had copayment-tuile yesterday.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy travels, Langue_doc!  And happy puzzling to all!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 16, 2022, 01:12:47 PM
Today, QBwH for a few words I never would have guessed on my own. And a quick 2fer.

Crossword puzzles done. Taking it easy today nursing a knee injury which is healing slowly but steadily.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 16, 2022, 10:44:16 PM
Found two pangrams but fell short. Blah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2022, 08:14:58 AM
QB, needed hints for faunae, flatfeet. And bond-disqualify. Barely started this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2022, 10:11:30 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I managed to get to genius with the pangram today but not much further as of yet.  Yesterday I still had a bunch of words left when we compared.  Just ran out of time.  I think our last word was faunae.  And no luck on LB either!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 17, 2022, 10:17:32 AM
Good afternoon!

Trying to sneak in some puzzling before Middle Daughter and family descend on us in another hour or so.

QB yesterday, last word faunae.  Today I am at Beta and probably won't get much farther. 

LB:  I also had bond-disqualify.  I found a 2fer today as well. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 17, 2022, 09:17:53 PM
I'm a few points short of GWP, but since it rejected a perfectly good pangram I feel justified in claiming GW2P and giving up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2022, 06:36:53 AM
QBwATHICG, ended up reading the dictionary for heliacal, helical. Two 2fers bracelet-throwin which I guess is a compound word, and brownie-ethical.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 18, 2022, 07:59:13 AM
Quick GW2P today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2022, 09:09:17 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have one more word left today and hope to find it.  Had a bunch left last night when we compared because I ran out of time again.  I think heliacal was one of the final ones.  And I managed to miss chai, chia since it's been a while.   No luck on LB either.  I am not sure I even looked at it.

Is anyone else having trouble with their NYT games app (I am on iOS)? It's been at least a couple of weeks that it basically crashes most times I switch to another app and come back.  It is driving me nuts.

Cathwen, I hope you enjoy your daughter's visit!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 18, 2022, 02:09:00 PM
Good afternoon!

I missed chai, helical, and heliacal yesterday.  Today I have six words to go and have found both pangrams.

LG:  I had celebration-nohow.  After a bit of a struggle, I found a 2fer today.

Daughter's visit has been fun.  We went walking on a nature trail bordering a salt marsh and saw ospreys, greater yellowlegs, and a loon.  Then home to dye (one day late, but who cares) Easter eggs.  Grandson mixed the colors, only one of which was of questionable appeal.  Reminded me when my daughters were kids and used to try to make hideous colors!  "Toast" was perhaps their worst. 

Anyway...happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 19, 2022, 06:34:34 AM
QBw2LL to jog reminders for clomp, octopi. LB apologizing-gurney.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 19, 2022, 09:07:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Didn't get too far into the bee yet since we slept in and then husband had a meeting.  I did get the pangram and a couple other words so far.  The word I needed assistance with yesterday was politico.  Just tend to forget that one, I guess.

Argh, I was so close on the LB.  Apologizing was one of several good contenders.  Oh well.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

I'm glad your visit is going well, cathwen, with some nice bird sightings on your nature walk! The egg dying sounds interesting.  And as your daughters probably found out, toast is one of the easier colors to make.  How can so many pretty colors be combined to make something so uncolorful? That's the color my brother and I usually ended up with when we played a card game called spoons.  I think it's a well known game, but the winner gets to make the loser eat whatever they want to (within safety limitations, usually as decided by the babysitter) that they can fit on a spoon.  Some real yummy memories there, I tell ya.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 19, 2022, 10:24:58 AM
Good afternoon!

I didn't get much time for puzzling yesterday, so did not get it finish SB.  Missing words:  clop, colic, colt, mimic, piccolo, picot. 

Today I have one word left—I am resisting the urge to look at letter hints.

LB:  No solution yet today, but yesterday I had opalizing-gurneyOpalizing was one of those words tried in despareation.  Why I didn't see apologizing is a mystery.

Daughter and family have left—it was so good to see them.  Our grandson is passionate about oceans and marine life, and he's also learning French—so I gave him a list of words (whale, dolphin, squid, etc.) in French.  He seemed delighted who have it, and told his mother to quiz him in the car going home.  This, in turn, delighted me.

Ab_grp, your spoon game reminds me of a similar game I used to play when I was a kid—my friend and I would make concoctions for the younger kids we played with to ingest.  The concoctions often involved liquids (usually milk) dyed hideous and unappetizing colors, with other foods thrown in (pickle relish, for example). (Bleh!)

Well—time to get to work!  Happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 19, 2022, 10:10:34 PM
Blech, not today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 20, 2022, 05:11:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

QB yesterday, and well above genius on the preceding days.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 20, 2022, 05:52:15 AM
Good morning!

I needed 2LL help for my last word yesterday—ciabatta.  Today I am at Beta, having just found the pangram.

LB:  I had jackstraws-solute yesterday.  I'm having a hard time today, though—no 2fer yet!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 20, 2022, 06:53:16 AM
Morning!

QB, needed a hint and took some wild guesses but learned a new word: tacet. And jowl-lackluster.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 20, 2022, 07:24:40 AM
Good morning!

We got up nice and early to have the HVAC replaced on one side of the house, and of course they aren't here yet.  Made it to genius, no pangram yet.  Yesterday I needed help with acetate.

No time for LB yesterday.  Hopefully today!

They just arrived.  Time for the hooha.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 20, 2022, 07:54:37 AM
Quick beta this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 21, 2022, 06:11:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius. Didn't get to complete the bee yesterday.

focus/spadework

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 21, 2022, 06:50:41 AM
QB, hints and wild guesses for boffo. LB - hints and wild guesses for focus-spadework. Another new word!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 21, 2022, 08:50:35 AM
Good morning!

I ran out of time (and patience) and used 2LL hints to find my final five words:  bedew, bedewed, beefed, booed, and boffo

Today I am at Beta with both pangrams; five words to go.  It's another busy day, so I am not at all sure I'll have time to find them.

LB:  I has fescues-spadework. No 2fer today so far (and again, I'm not at all sure I'll have time to figure this out).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2022, 09:22:34 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Not quite to genius yet, though I do have the pangrams.  We ended up sleeping in since we had to get up early yesterday.  My final word with help yesterday was boffo.  I think belle was the one before that.

Totally forgot about LB yesterday, so congrats on the solutions! Never heard of fescues, so thanks for the new word, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 21, 2022, 04:59:38 PM
Limped to GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2022, 05:20:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far.

QB yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 22, 2022, 07:13:12 AM
QBwH yesterday. Got a hint for verklempt-touch.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 22, 2022, 09:21:48 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday was not my best day.  I gave up at QB-5 to get 2LL hints, then found funnel, lunette, tuffet, unlet, venule.   And no 2fer, either!  I never would have thought of verklempt, although of course I know the word.

Today I am at QB-3 and have a 2fer, although not a terribly economical one.  But a solution it is.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 22, 2022, 12:59:43 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 22, 2022, 01:45:10 PM
Okay I swear I posted here this morning. ?! Anyway, I guess I will try to recap.  Got to GWP luckily but haven't had time to look at LB yesterday or today (yet).  Yesterday we needed help with tutee, tuffet.  I also said congrats to ciao_yall on the 2fer yesterday and to cathwen for the 2fer today.  Maybe I navigated away? Very weird.

Although I should note that I ran into another weird issue on this thread that I took a screenshot of and then deleted a week or two ago.  It's like some posts weren't showing up that I knew were there.  Maybe I am just nuts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2022, 05:51:16 PM
QB and a two-fer. Didn't write down the words so just spent a good quarter of an hour trying to retrieve them.

ab_grp, do you think a poltergeist might have snuck into your computer and/or phone?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 23, 2022, 02:57:18 AM
QB, needed a hint for laity. LB was chiton-nonverbal. Sort of guessed at chiton and when it took, looked it up. Turns out it is a type of mollusk. Maybe I remembered it from SB?

GwP and 2fer already today. Now what? Guess I'll go back to bed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 23, 2022, 05:20:47 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL for last three words yesterday:  allay (which I could have sworn I had entered already), atilt (which I usually get), and tallit, which I suddenly remembered from a previous puzzle.

Today's SB stands at QB-2, but I'm stuck.

LB:  It took me ages to find a 2fer:  clincher-reverberation.  Ciao_yall, congratulations on yours!  Looks like we'll have some variety.   As for today's LB, I found a quick 2fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2022, 10:14:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We were up late so slept in again, but I did get to genius with pangram.  Yesterday I think the ones I needed help with were lotto, vial.  For the first, I had tried lotta, given that words like gonna, dunno are accepted.  Hmm.

Congrats on the LB solutions! And I'm glad to hear that a quick 2fer was found today, though by cathwen, so that does not mean that I will get it. 

Langue_doc, congrats on QB and 2fer! I have no idea what's going on.  Maybe I am just nuts.  We have been all over the place with the HVAC, prom, HS and associate's degree graduations coming up, 18th birthday this week, medical appts and exciting changes of diets, etc.  But I really swear that some posts just disappeared and reappeared the last time.  I don't know.

I cancelled my friend call today to have more time for nothing, so maybe I will actually get to look at LB!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 23, 2022, 10:45:19 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius so far. Don't remember my last word or words yesterday as I had to get up before the crack of dawn to go on a bird walk (got to genius on the subway).

chiton/nonverbal (found the latter first, and then looked for a first word with the remaining letters)

Two different night herons both snoozing high up on trees, assorted warblers, and other common (for me at least) birds. Nice weather and walk, but not too many birds as it's a bit early for spring migration.

No more puzzling today as I have to grade papers and other assignments.

ab_grp, congrats on the 18th birthday, and do tell about the new diets.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2022, 04:35:39 PM
Well, at least I got a 2fer on my first try! Still a few bee words left to go, though.

Langue_doc, thanks! Sorry that "exciting" was sarcasm.  Someone had blood work for his cardiologist appt and found out he suddenly has pretty high blood sugar, so he has had to cut carbs out pretty much completely.  So we have been scrambling to learn what will work since the vegetarian who mostly eats pasta and bread items is coming back tomorrow and also has the big birthday and other celebratory events that I mentioned coming up.  At first there were no doctor appts open until July, which seemed like kind of a long time to flail around by ourselves, but he got in yesterday afternoon and got on a pill that should help regulate the blood sugar a bit for now.  Kind of strange there didn't seem to be any previous signs, though his family history isn't great in any medical sense you could probably come up with.  So, lots of seafood and salads the past week or so, but less sure what do do next week.  I am thankful we have the means and the time to try to come up with alternatives to our go-tos that will work, and he has been a trooper, having had to give quite a lot up quickly.  The whole thing seems so complex, and then he has the heart meds that also factor in somehow, but I hope he can make some changes and get back to a more lenient (but healthier!) lifestyle in a couple months.  There seems to be a lot of contradictory advice out there, and even some of what his various doctors have recommended doesn't seem to make sense. 

Hopefully the birding trip was a good one even with an early start time and a smaller selection of species.  Do night herons snore? Good luck with grading!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 23, 2022, 10:28:24 PM
Pangram, but no bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 24, 2022, 08:16:32 AM
Good morning!

QB--one unfamiliar word.

Last word yesterday was unpin.

ab_grp, hope the diet takes care of the blood sugar. Yes, even doctors give you contradictory advice, so do what works best for your particular situation.

I'm not sure if the black-crowned night herons https://ebird.org/species/bcnher were snoring, but both were definitely snoozing, with their heads tucked somewhere around their necks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 24, 2022, 08:37:42 AM
QB - got a hint for pinup but I might have found it on my own. LB journeyman-nixed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2022, 09:44:55 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram so far but am still working on the crossword.  Yesterday I needed help with unpin, ninepin, pileup.

I also got the schmofficial solution for LB.

Thanks, Langue_doc! We will definitely do our best.  And I thought herons were larger for some reason.  There are a lot of herons! The white-bellied one looks more like what I think of.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2022, 11:00:46 AM
Got a 2fer! One of the words is a little weird, so I'm not sure it's the schmofficial one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 24, 2022, 05:22:18 PM
Good evening!

Yesterday my last words were ninepin and puli.  Today I made QBABM!

I also had the "official" solution for LB.  I have a 2fer today also.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 24, 2022, 05:33:06 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on April 24, 2022, 11:00:46 AM
Got a 2fer! One of the words is a little weird, so I'm not sure it's the schmofficial one.

Same here. Hey, it worked. It counts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 24, 2022, 09:05:43 PM
GWP. Haven't tried LB in a while. Maybe tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 25, 2022, 06:18:45 AM
Good morning!

I don't know what they're putting in the water these days, but I just got QBABM for the second day in a row.  Yesterday my last word was—of all things—feed.

LB:  I am eager to see the "weird" combinations that ab_grp and ciao_yall came up with.  I got the (boring) "official" solution, bumps-solitary.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 25, 2022, 06:31:00 AM
QB - guessed at pelf, felid. LB was playboat-truism.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 25, 2022, 07:06:00 AM
Good morning!

QB again! Last word yesterday was feed; cathwen, wise minds think alike.

pluralism/mobility

ab_grp, you're probably thinking of the great blue herons (https://ebird.org/species/grbher3) which are much larger and therefore more visible.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2022, 07:57:44 AM
Good morning!

Wow, congrats on the QBs already, cathwen and Langue_doc! I have one more word to go today.  Yesterday I needed help with felid, fillip, pelf.  Ugh.

I got the same weird 2fer as ciao_yall! I did not know playboat was a word but tried it anyway.  Bunch of different solutions for that one.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen! I hope to stay on a roll with it, but we'll see.

Langue_doc, you are probably right about the blue heron! Quite a variety within the heron family, apparently.

Speaking of varieties, our roses are blooming and blooming, and that makes it just about my favorite time of year.  Maybe this year I will actually figure out what varieties they all are.  I downloaded a couple flower apps to do that last year, but I guess I got distracted, or it ended up being more difficult than I thought it would be.  A friend just got master gardener certification so may at least be able to provide some guidance.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 25, 2022, 10:22:33 AM
Quick GW2P this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2022, 04:07:38 PM
Finally got to QB.  Of course, I thought I already had my missing word, so that was a dumb day.  I have a couple LB contenders.  Nothing special yet.

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 26, 2022, 06:12:01 AM
Good morning!

Limped to genius; found the pangram much earlier.

Don't remember yesterday's last word; the kindle on which I do the puzzling crashed/went dead yesterday morning, so I'm feeling lost, puzzle-wise.

ab_grp, the roses sound and smell lovely.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 26, 2022, 06:45:00 AM
QBwG, last word same as yesterday: pinup. 2fer midtowner-rumple.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2022, 08:12:35 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and pangram and a bit further but still a ways to go.  Yesterday pinup was the word I thought I had.  Glad I tried it eventually!

For LB, I had the same non-schmofficial solution as ciao_yall again!

Langue_doc, I'm sorry to hear about your kindle.  Will you have to get a new one? The puzzles don't seem to work so well on my kindles, so I hope you find a replacement or work around that makes you happy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 26, 2022, 08:16:45 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was also pinup.

Today I have five words to go, but will probably need letter hints.  I am stuck!

LB:  I had unpowered-delimit, so several solutions!  I have a 2fer today, but it's not very economical. 

Ab_grp, I envy you your roses!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2022, 10:51:43 AM
Got a 2fer! Mine is pretty lopsided as well.

And I am at 6 words left on the bee, not to alpha.

Cathwen, I wish I could share the roses here! They are so beautiful.  I just want to take pictures of them every day as they change.  And they seem to grow happily year after year without much intervention from us.  Definitely one of my favorite things about living in this house.  I wish I could take them with me if we move.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 27, 2022, 06:22:04 AM
QB, needed a hint for paella. Two 2fers yesterday - breakout-thoughtful, flab-breakthrough.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 27, 2022, 06:26:35 AM
Good morning!

A flurry of pangrams, and now I'm at 220 points.

Last word yesterday was peel. Aargh! Took me forever to find this as I was quite sure I'd entered it much earlier.

breakout/thoughtful

ab_grp, long story re kindle; promptly ordered a new one which arrived yesterday, and then the old one suddenly came alive--will look at the return policy as soon as I have the stomach for it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 27, 2022, 07:46:56 AM
Blah, just a half-bee yesterday. I'll do better today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 27, 2022, 08:50:16 AM
Good morning/almost afternoon!

Paella was also my last word yesterday, after 2LL help for algal, gelée, and melée, all words that I should have gotten on my own.

Today I am at Alpha with all four (!!) pangrams.  Three words to go...

LB:  I also had breakout-thoughtful.  Ciao_yall, flab-breakthrough is a much more economical solution!  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling, everyone! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2022, 09:27:24 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with all but one pangram, I think.  Yesterday I needed help with palp, expellee, paella.  I thought maybe megamall might be in there, but no.  And still no pegleg.

I also had flab-breakthrough.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, doesn't that always seem to happen? I don't know if I'd trust the suddenly resurrected device.  It's like when one of your applications is taking too long or not responding, and you go to task manager and are ready to end it, and then... voila! It suddenly works just fine.  It's a trap! But at least you have something to work with for now, which is great.

I think my NYT games app crashes only occur when I am playing the bee, not just on the main screen or in a crossword.  I really wish I could fix it, because going between there and Shunn or the nytbee site and having it crash on return every time is super annoying.  Maybe I will just try to delete and reinstall it later today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 27, 2022, 10:14:06 PM
Somewhere in Beta or Alpha with three pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2022, 04:31:10 AM
Good morning!

I think I need only 3 or 4 more four-letter words.

Last words yesterday were font and foot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2022, 06:26:37 AM
QB, needed hints/reminders for confetti, fifteen, footnote. LB freight-tampon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 28, 2022, 07:08:38 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday, but I needed hints for feint and footnote

Today......QBABM!

LB:  I had freighter-rampion.  The second word was tried in desperation, but it turns out that it's a category of plant (bellflower family).  I also have a 2fer today.

Yes, I was up very early and avoiding doing any real work.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2022, 07:48:44 AM
Good morning!

I think I have two more words left today.  Congrats, cathwen! I hope to get to QBABM too! Sounds like Langue_doc is almost there or probably is by now.  I can't believe coefficient was my final pangram yesterday.  I think nonfinite was my final word.  I hope Parasaurolophus found the fourth pangram.  And I am curious about what order people got them in.  I think my first three were confection, infection, confetti.

No luck on LB despite some good contenders.  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2022, 09:42:43 AM
Made it to QB.

I found the co- and non- prefix words early on because I tend to look for them.

As for the pangrams, I usually get them when I'm half asleep, even before getting up and getting caffeined up, so I never know what I'm getting. I probably found confetti first, but didn't realize that it was a pangram until much later.

Now for wordle and LB, on the other hand, I have to be wide awake before even looking at the puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2022, 05:00:49 PM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I still have a 4-letter word left.  And I feel as though I have gotten worse at prefixes and compound words.  It is interesting which puzzles we can deal with in which mental states.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 28, 2022, 11:12:00 PM
Afraid I've fallen just a few short of GW2P today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 29, 2022, 06:01:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost genius; have to leave for an appointment, and then grading, so probably no more puzzling today.

waul, auto, and tall were the last words; found the first by putting together letters, don't know if it's related to caterwaul.

voluble/extricate

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 29, 2022, 06:31:16 AM
QBwG, was missing one 4L. When I saw it was a W I tried waul thinking it was related to caterwaul. Boom. LB voluble-extricate.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 29, 2022, 08:31:19 AM
Good morning!

I also had voluble-extricate. No 2fer yet today.

QBABM yesterday, with kola as last word.  Ciao_yall, I got waul by accident!  I can't remember what I was trying to type, but it wasn't waul.  I was stunned when it was accepted.

Today I am 3 words away from QB and really stuck.  I may go to hints; this is a very busy day, and I don't have a lot of time to sit around mulling over possible words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 29, 2022, 09:16:52 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't gotten to much this morning between meetings and doctor appointment.  I got the pangram but haven't gotten to genius yet.  Yesterday waul was our final word.  Yuck.

I also got voluble-extricate!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 29, 2022, 10:26:16 PM
Limped to GWP. Got lucky and Wordled on my second tfy, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 30, 2022, 06:23:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Got to around 210+ points yesterday but gave up. Don't think I'd have found minicamp despite having seen it before.

cranked/disobey

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 30, 2022, 06:42:11 AM
Good morning!

Got all the way to QB-1 yesterday, then went to 2LL hints to find pampa...which I've found many times before. Today I'm at Alpha and need three more words. 

LB:  After a lot of struggling, I had crabcakes-synodic., so it looks like multiple solutions for this one.   I found a 2fer for today's LB as well.

Congratulations on Wordle, Parasaurolophus! 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 30, 2022, 07:52:58 AM
QBwH for campo, minicamp. LB was carbonised-donkey after zillions of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 30, 2022, 09:42:18 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Didn't get too far on the bee yet, still working on crossword.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I think I needed help with maim, minion, and one other that I can't recall.

No luck on LB again, so congrats on your various solutions! And on another today, cathwen.

Good job on Wordle, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 30, 2022, 12:40:13 PM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 01, 2022, 07:52:56 AM
QBw2LL, last word was bowmen. LB fatherly-young.

Quick GwP this morning and now only 2 words/13 points from QB. Found a 2fer LB solution with a word I'm surprised that took. Will give the big reveal tomorrow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 01, 2022, 10:08:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Made it to genius with the pangram pretty quickly today, which is a nice change from my recent puzzling attempts.  Two more words to go as well, but I think I need 11 points.  Yesterday I think bowmen, woolen were last.  I think we did have team QB.  It took me forever to get the pangram, and I think it also took me forever to find it last time it was the pangram.

No luck on LB, so congrats, ciao_yall, and on another one today! I am looking forward to hearing your solution tomorrow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 01, 2022, 11:52:59 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram (second word) and genius (while on the subway).

QB yesterday.

Had to leave early for a bird walk--will post later on the birding thread. Nice weather and birds aplenty.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 01, 2022, 01:55:45 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word bombe. . QBABM again today, just as I was about to give up!

LB:  I also had fatherly-young.  I found a 2fer today, too.  Ciao_yall, I am intrigued by the surprising word that you will reveal tomorrow!

My husband and I are on a mini-vacation in Vermont, so I am not sure how much time I'll have for puzzling tomorrow.  Maybe a lot; it's supposed to rain (as it always does on our vacations, mini or otherwise).  Today is beautiful, though, and I foresee a walk down to the lake.

Happy puzzling! Langue_doc, I'll look for your post on the birding thread.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 01, 2022, 05:10:52 PM
Yay! Got to QBABM! And got a 2fer! I believe that I may have a solution containing the word ciao_yall was referring to.  If not, then there are several words that have been surprisingly accepted today.

I'm glad you had nice weather and got to see a bunch of birds, Langue_doc!

Hope you enjoy your time in Vermont, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 01, 2022, 05:35:40 PM
QB! Congrats ab-grp and cathwen on yours. I know from experience that I have to look for bombe and belle, but for whatever reason don't find them until after getting to genius.

cathwen, enjoy your vacation. We must be going to the same vacation spots--I was in Vermont a few weeks ago, by the lake, but spent most of the time a bit inland. Do be careful though if you are in certain counties because of the very high covid rates. I visited with people by sitting outside because not only was the entire family recovering from Covid, but some of the people they had associated with, teachers of one of the kids, and also a few neighbors had all contracted the virus around the same time. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 01, 2022, 10:23:42 PM
GWP. Almost gave up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 02, 2022, 06:10:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; I think that's it for today.

Last words yesterday were the two variants of the same theme.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 02, 2022, 06:29:25 AM
QBwH for nunchuk, unkink. I found nunchuck but didn't realize there was an alternative spelling. And... unkink? Okay. LB was silverfish-hardon. Later also found fashioner-revolved.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 02, 2022, 08:49:25 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday; last word was nunchuk.  I was out of ideas and wondered if nunchuck had an alternate spelling...and voilà. 

Today I have four words to go. 

LB:  I had overfish-hardline.  Ciao_yall, congratulations on getting two solutions!  I have a 2fer today. 

Langue_doc, yes, I do think we vacation in similar locations.  We're in the Green Mountains.  My husband and I walked down to the lake this morning, and what surprised me was not seeing any waterfowl except for one mallard flying by.  I had expected the lake to have a number of them, but it did not.  (Acid rain?)  We saw some "normal" birds, but heard a number of others, including a Louisiana Waterthrush (identified as such by Merlin Bird ID). 

And yes, we're being careful.  Fortunately, there are few other people at the inn, and we've been either staying in our room reading (it has a big, comfy sofa) or walking around outside.  The promised rain has finally arrived, so we'll be inside for a while.

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 02, 2022, 08:50:55 AM
QB. Last word was a run-of-the-mil word.

Autocorrect just replaced the hyphenated phrase above with 'rumor'. Aargh!  Caught it before posting.

ETA: cathwen, most of the waterfowl are probably migratory, and must have left for home up north. We saw only a few mallards yesterday and three or so cormorants flying overhead. During the last few walks we saw several species of waterfowl, most of which, according to the experienced birders, were wintering in our area and would soon be leaving..

You'll see plenty of warblers though.

I was in a Burlington suburb, with the Green Mountains straight ahead when driving from the hotel to the relatives. I take the throughway to Lake George, and then have stretches with the Adirondacks on my left and the Green Mountains on the right as I'm driving up the country roads. Hope the rain doesn't linger and you have good weather.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2022, 09:35:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM! Yesterday unkink was the final one.  I needed a 6 and figured I'd look for an un- that went with a word in my list and got lucky.  Doesn't always work out so easily! I also tried every version of the multi-version word I could come up with that could reasonably be a spelling of it, just in case.

I also had silverfish-hardon (or hardons-silverfish).  I'm glad a couple other solutions were found! Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Rain doesn't sound optimal for a vacation, though the setting does sound very peaceful!

Happy solving!

 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2022, 11:18:51 AM
Got a 2fer! Fairly normal today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 03, 2022, 04:08:08 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet.

Last word yesterday was favor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2022, 06:42:19 AM
QBwH, last word was froufrou. And moistens-schlump, competitions-shul.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 03, 2022, 09:44:16 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Didn't really get started yet due to meetings.  Yesterday my final word was furor.

For LB I had schlump-petition.

I meant to ask if anyone else here thought Sunday's NYT crossword was pretty terrible? I wasn't surprised to see it had 690 or so comments when I looked at it later in the day to see what I was missing.  At one point, I had the correct answers and a gold star, but the timer was still running.  I had to make use of a dumb trick that I never would have known about without the comments to get it to consider it solved.  I imagine a lot of people struggled to get it to be completed in a technical sense, and that is a huge fail in my book.  The trick seemed so random.  I guess I could say what it was by now, but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who is still planning to attempt that one.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 03, 2022, 11:24:57 AM
Good afternoon!

My last word yesterday was also furor

Today I am at Beta, and now I need a break. 

I'm just back from our mini-vacation, so I have to go grocery shopping and do some grading—reception is very poor up in those Green Mountains!  (And the Wi-Fi wasn't as reliable as one would have wished.) 

LB:  I had plutonium-mechs.  I didn't even know that mechs was a word—it was one of those desperation tries.  It apparently refers to bicycle gears. 

Ab_grp, I was also a bit annoyed by the Sunday NYT crossword.  Once I figured out the gimmick, I found it hard to apply in a consistent and predictable manner.  I did solve it, but good grief.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 03, 2022, 09:14:43 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 04, 2022, 05:05:07 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and genius. I hate the suffix-ending puzzles because they're so repetitive.

Last word yesterday was coyly.

ab_grp, I too found Sunday's crossword to be frustrating. I'll look at the puzzle and give you specifics about the grids and what I came up with. When I looked at the solution the next day and tried to enter what I thought was the correct solution, I once again hit a snag. Some puzzles are just not worth one's time, especially the ones where the compilers try to be tricky and cutesy at the same time (end of vent).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 04, 2022, 06:32:17 AM
Morning!

Sunday Crossword - after I was finished I never bothered to figure out the pattern behind the blanks.

QB, needed a hint for codicil. Not a lot of time for LB so declared victory with a 2fer b4ss zounds-snowploughing but later, in the hints for QB found uphold-downsizing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 04, 2022, 08:31:30 AM
Good morning!

It was a busy day yesterday, and I never did get back to the puzzles.  I had three words left for SB:  diddly, icily, and toll (which I could have sworn I entered—guess not!).  Today I am at Beta with six words to go.  I may need hints, but I'll hang in there for a while.

And no 2fer for LB!  Congratulations, ciao_yall, on yours—I thought that was a difficult puzzle.

Happily, I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 04, 2022, 09:52:26 AM
GW3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2022, 10:16:18 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got the pangrams and a bit past genius but not by much.  Yesterday I ran out of time with quite a few words left, but we compared right before bed and had team QB, at least. 

No time for LB yesterday, just a couple contenders that didn't add up to much.  Congrats, ciao_yall! And to cathwen on one today!

As for the Sunday crossword, it gave me the gold star and cutely started filling in the blanks with the secret message but didn't stop the clock.  After reading a lot about it on various blogs, I decided to put an X in one of the blanks, and it finally said congratulations.  Why just one of the blanks? Why an X? Would it have worked on any blank? !!!! I hate those kinds of puzzles.  Kind of glad I was not alone in my frustration with it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 04, 2022, 01:38:48 PM
QB. Only one unfamiliar word (for me).

As for the crossword, I had entered 'p' in the grid where 13D and 36A intersected, resulting in two legit words.  I thought I had found the correct letter for each of the other crossings, but apparently not. Then I deleted those letters which left me with blanks. No go. I'd been out most of the day, so decided that my day was well spent, and that since I'd missed solving the crossword around Christmas, Spring break, and Easter, and thus lost the streak, what did I care about being indoors on an electronic device trying to solve a tricky puzzle.

ETA Two-fer!  Taking a break from reviewing drafts of a final paper--the last one is clearly an A paper and most likely an overall A for this student.
Aargh! I hate trying to write sentences on the Kindle, with one finger.

ETA again: ab_grp, what was the secret message? When I looked up the solution the next day those grids contained the word 'nothing', but when I entered this word in the grids, once again, no go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2022, 03:02:14 PM
Congrats on your QB and 2fer, Langue_doc! And it's great that you have a good paper to grade.  The secret message was "space out."  I had read that you could put "blank" or "nothing" in all the squares or put an "X" in a square, so I ended up just putting one X in at the intersection of 28A/9D.  That is definitely not the required letter for that pair, so I have no idea why just doing that solved the puzzle.  Before that, while the clock was running but all my other answers were correct, subsets of the intersection letters would appear and disappear.  It was all kind of odd.  Again, someone was trying to be too clever.

I have to try to get back to puzzles before friend call.  Hopefully I can stay awake long enough!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 05, 2022, 04:42:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram.

I don't remember the last word in yesterday's puzzle, so it must have been a fairly common word. I was not happy though about capri not being included in the list; found carpi by chance.

methodical/lux

ab_grp, I finally clicked on 'reveal' to see the solution only to see the letters that I had entered and then deleted in the blank spaces start flashing. Oh, well.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2022, 07:10:44 AM
Morning!

Not much puzzle time yesterday but I did get G with all 3 Ps. Probably never would have found carpi without a hint.

LB - just 3fers, let's see how today goes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 05, 2022, 07:59:48 AM
Good morning!

I, too, ran out of time yesterday, so I used hints to find the last three words:  carpi, crania, priapic.  Today I am at Beta, six words to go.  Time will be short today as well, so we'll see how far I get.

LB:  I had the "official" methodical-lux(e).  And I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2022, 09:09:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Almost to alpha today as well.  I think I have 5 words left.  I think crania, carpi, priapic were some I needed help with, and I was also looking for capri in there.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday! And on another today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, that crossword was really a pain in the neck.  I was happy to find today's very easy, which is unusual for a Thursday for me (but is due to the topic, not special language skills).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 05, 2022, 10:50:08 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 06, 2022, 06:49:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Last word yesterday was hone.

just tranquilizes or tranquilizes in jest

Happy solving!

ETA: QB; all familiar words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 06, 2022, 07:00:50 AM
QBwH and jet-tranquilizes.

GwP and 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 06, 2022, 08:53:25 AM
Good morning!

SB:  Not my finest effort.  I gave up and looked at hints to find ennead, hennaed, nodded, and odeon.  Today, though I got to QBABM! 

LB:  I had jet-tranquilizes.  And I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 06, 2022, 09:14:31 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I have 3 words left today.  Yesterday I think odeon was our final word with assistance.

No time for LB again, so congrats on your solutions! And on another today, cathwen! I hope today I will have some time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 06, 2022, 09:42:48 PM
Whew, GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 07, 2022, 08:41:38 AM
QB w/2LL because I never entered weigh. Gah. LB was unlocks-stirfy.

Long bee today! Oy. Just made it to Amazing and got a tip there are some obscure fauna in there so will probably end up with QBwH. And a few 3fers, but no 2fer yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 07, 2022, 09:34:51 AM
Afternoon!

Just found the third pangram and made it to genius. That's it for today, I think. I hope there aren't any more pangrams.

Last words yesterday were teeth, teethe, and eyeteeeth. I kept finding words with n in them, but no n, alas!

Crosswords were done last night.

Had to get up before the crack of dawn for a bird walk. I kept dithering because of the weather forecast (steady rain) but then decided to go since I was already up and there was free parking. Only the diehards showed up. We walked in steady rain and saw a few birds. I'll post more details on the birding thread.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2022, 10:15:41 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't made a ton of headway on the bee because I was concentrating on getting the crossword done, and we had to go out to get something into the mail early.  I'm at 163 with two pangrams.  Langue_doc, there are only 3, so you've got them.  My final words last night were eightieth, eighth I think, though I had the other two related words earlier.  Oh, also twee, tweet came late.  At least we had team QB.

No luck on LB again!

Langue_doc, that bird outing doesn't sound as fun as some of the others.  I hope you're all dried off now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 07, 2022, 10:22:31 AM
Good afternoon!

My last word yesterday was eighth, which I did not see until long after having gotten eight, eighty, eightieth.

Today I am at Beta with all three pangrams, but if I finish at all, it will be with some hints.  I can't see where the remaining words can possibly be hiding.

LB:  I had kinfolks-scrutiny yesterday, which is less economical than the "official" folks-scrutiny.  I have a 2fer today, too, but it isn't very economical, either. 

Langue_doc, you are a brave soul to go out birding in the rain.  My husband and I were planning an outing with a local birding group this morning—it would have been our first with this group—but they cancelled due to rain.  Maybe next week!  They go out every Saturday morning.  In the meanwhile, I saw what was clearly a warbler flitting around in some trees across the way, but due to poor light and distance, I could not tell what kind it was.  I am hypothesizing yellow-rumped, but it could have been something else.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2022, 11:51:02 AM
Got a 2fer! It seems like an obvious one, so maybe we have the same one, cathwen.   Though you come up with more interesting ones, so probably not. 

Still not to genius yet with lots of points left.  Good grief! I'm just working on it here and there while listening to my book.  Of course, I just realized that I didn't finish the crossword yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2022, 05:19:23 PM
Okay, finally got the third pangram and made great, heroic strides.  But I still have 14 words left! Argh! Guessing we will be comparing soon.  We haven't had one this long in a long time, or at least it seems like it to me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 08, 2022, 05:57:11 AM
Good morning!

I did not get QB yesterday, even with hints.  I missed lacteal and memetic.  And I got other words with 2LL hints, words I should not have needed hints for.  I think I just lost patience because the puzzle was so long.

Today I have five words to go.  The pangram was my third word, but after that, it took me ages to get to Genius. 

LB:  I had pyritic-catheterization.  No 2fer today so far!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 08, 2022, 08:00:48 AM
Good morning, and Happy Mother's Day.

QB.

Gave up on the bee yesterday after getting 60 words and 310 points. That in itself was quite an accomplishment.

ranch/hypnotize

Crosswords were done last night, but grading awaits.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 08, 2022, 08:51:53 AM
I had two pangrams and forty words yesterday, but was nowhere near Genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 08, 2022, 09:46:22 AM
QBwH yesterday, but I did find titmice completely on my own! LB was cryptozoic-cheapen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 08, 2022, 10:13:09 AM
Finally found a 2fer!  And I got to QBABM. 

Lots of good answers to yesterday's LB!  Congratulations, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2022, 10:40:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got a bit past genius today but still have plenty of puzzling to do all around.  Congrats on your QBs today, Langue_doc and cathwen! Yesterday we ended up having team QB despite each missing 3 or 4 words.  I needed help with titmice among others.  I am not sure I will ever remember that one.

For LB, I guess I was closest to Langue_doc with reach-hypnotize.  Definitely lots of interesting solutions! Congrats on getting another one today, cathwen!

Happy Mother's Day and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 08, 2022, 12:34:29 PM
Here are the NYT bird words; the titmouse is the last one on this list:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/02/crosswords/crosswords-aviary.html

As for our local titmice, here is an example:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/id#
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2022, 12:43:19 PM
Langue_doc, I think I have seen that article before.  Thanks for sharing it, because I had forgotten about it.  And the titmice are cute! I don't know why they keep escaping me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 09, 2022, 06:36:29 AM
QBwH - What is a railbird, anyway? I looked it up once but keep forgetting.

LB was a circle of 3fers and 2fer b4ss including samovar-rebating, naivete-embargos, virgins-steamboat, gambits-sovereign. Ended up getting a hint for verbiage-entombs.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 09, 2022, 06:56:15 AM
Good morning!

It was a slog today to get to genius. I think the pangram was my second or third word.

Last word yesterday was rabbi.

Happy solving!

ETA: Just saw an email from the NYT with the heading "Guess whose birthday it is?" Turns out that QB is Beeatrice!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 09, 2022, 07:51:36 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram this morning, but I agree with Langue_doc, getting to Genius was a slog. 

My last word yesterday was bazaar.

LB:  I had rivage-entombs, which is different from the NYT answer, so I'm looking forward to seeing other possibilities.   I have a 2fer for today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 09, 2022, 09:26:16 AM
Good morning!

I'm past genius but still have a few words left.  Some familiar stuff in there! Yesterday I did finally manage to remember railbird but needed help with biradial, billiard, briar.  Thanks for the heads up, Langue_doc.  I hadn't realized that her full name is Ms. Beeatrice Buzzby.  Looks like she's 4.

Argh! I had verbiage as one of my contenders but couldn't get a mate.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 09, 2022, 10:26:54 PM
Very close today, but too tired to continue.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2022, 07:20:33 AM
QBwH, and for LB got nowhere until I hit the hints site for jawbreaker-refocus.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 10, 2022, 07:52:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus some with a bit more to go.  We had team QB again yesterday, with me needing help with babka, kayak.

I guess I should have realized jawbreaker-refocus was schmofficial when it came on the first try! Oh well.  I'll take it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 10, 2022, 09:00:18 AM
Good afternoon!

Beta with pangram today, four words to go.  Yesterday I got stuck with two words to go, so went to 2LL hints; one word was baby—frustrating, because I had found crybaby early on!—and the other was abracadabra

LB:  I had the "official" jawbreaker-refocus.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 10, 2022, 10:47:58 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram (my third word) and above genius. Lots of work yet, so probably no more puzzling other than the crossword.

QB yesterday--stuck it to the end in honor of Beeatrice.

More grading and helping with some editing for one of the outdoors groups I belong to.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 10, 2022, 10:21:00 PM
Eked out a GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 11, 2022, 04:46:59 AM
Good morning!

QB before even waking up properly! Easy words today.

Didn't complete the bee yesterday--too much to do.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 11, 2022, 04:59:04 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations, Langue_doc, on your quick QB!  Good to know they're easy words.  I am at QB-3, so in spite of having to spend time grading finals (and dealing with a student who missed it), I am holding out hope that I will get there.

Yesterday I was stumped on the final word.  A 2LL hint led me to doxed, the variant spelling of a word I already had.

LB:  No success yesterday!  However, I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 11, 2022, 06:29:06 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 11, 2022, 06:50:57 AM
QBwH, last word was doxed. LB - stuck at a 2fer b4ss couth-handiwork then went for a hint and got workaround-ditch.

Happy solving!

ETA: Quick GwPs and 2fer. Guess I gotta go to work.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2022, 09:07:24 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got past genius but haven't started puzzles in earnest yet.  Luckily, it's been easy so far.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! And cathwen, you are right around the corner from it.  Good luck! I think onion was one of the words I needed help with yesterday.

No luck on LB either despite some good contenders.  Congrats on the 2fers today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2022, 11:23:37 AM
Well I am down to 3 words on the bee now but can't seem to do the sudoku.  If I click on it, it just doesn't show up! The other games seem to work.  I even tried a different browser.  I didn't see any mention of it on Twitter yet.  Hmm! Hopefully if I switch to LB, I will find a 2fer as quickly as everyone else has! But is anyone else unable to get the sudoku puzzle on your screen?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 11, 2022, 11:40:38 AM
Sudoku worked last night on the kindle; it also shows up on my computer--perhaps it's a temporary glitch?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2022, 12:07:52 PM
Thank you so much for checking, Langue_doc! I just looked, and it is back! I wonder what was going on there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2022, 03:36:17 PM
Okay, I finally got a 2fer, but that took me a lot longer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 12, 2022, 04:52:16 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (third word) and genius; I don't think I have the energy to go chasing after the remaining words.

maybe/evolution

Crosswords weren't too bad.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 12, 2022, 05:49:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius for me as well today.  Yesterday aping was my last word.

LB:  I also had maybe-evolution.  I wonder if there were other solutions, as this is the "official" one. 

I have a 2fer today, too.

Today I submit grades to the registrar, and then my semester will be over!  Summer awaits!  (So do some long-neglected household chores...ugh!)

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2022, 06:29:03 AM
QBwH, last word was pagan. And maybe-evolution.

This morning found a word that uses almost all the letters BUT NO MATE! GAH.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2022, 06:32:13 AM
Good morning!

Got up reeeeally early so kid could go to a dr appt, but I got the crossword done pretty quickly and got to genius +.  Hopefully my brain has success the rest of the day.  We had team QB yesterday, and I am considering myself to have QB because I thought I had entered aping earlier.  I even thought while doing the crossword earlier in the morning that it's funny when the word lists overlap.  Ugh!

I got the same 2fer, but it took me a much longer time to see it! Congrats on another today, cathwen.  And congrats on the end of your semester!

Happy solving!

On preview: Ouch, ciao_yall! I hate when that happens! Maybe it will still work out.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2022, 09:02:10 AM
Got a 2fer! Not sure that it's the schmofficial solution, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 12, 2022, 11:30:06 AM
Struggled for the last few points to GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 12, 2022, 04:03:37 PM
Got a two-fer; hope it's different from the official one.

Gave up on the bee after reaching 200+ points.  I've been procrastinating on the grading (see the student sentences thread) but have to get it done and over with.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 13, 2022, 05:35:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Missed deicide, eidetic, and one other word. I'm glad I didn't try to chase down the missing words as I doubt I'd have found them.

birdbath/hockey

cathwen, woohoo! I hope to be done today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2022, 06:41:46 AM
Morning!

QB, needed a hint for eiditic.  LB was dayboat-thicker. Seems like an easy solution but early in the day I really wanted to make a 2fer out of tic-carbohydrate-eke and spent a lot of time over there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 13, 2022, 08:08:41 AM
Good morning!

SB was not my best yesterday.  I missed a few words I should have gotten without letter hints, but eidetic was the word that really tripped me up. 

As for LB, I had the "official" thick-keyboard.  Langue_doc and ciao_yall, congratulations on your solutions! 

Langue_doc, good luck with the grading!  I hope you are able to finish today.  I did read your contribution to the student sentences thread, and...wow. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 13, 2022, 10:38:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We haven't really gotten started yet (haven't even done the crossword!).  I did a bit of the bee while brushing my teeth and stuff but don't have the pangram and am not at genius yet.  I had trouble with dietetic, eidetic again yesterday, along with a few others.

My LB solution was brickyard-doeth, which was weird but accepted.  Another interesting set of solutions!

Good luck with grading, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 13, 2022, 12:20:48 PM
QB and a two-fer.

Grading is done. I'm trying to time the posting of grades so that they are in sync with the out-of-office auto reply.

Bird walk tomorrow; the forecast for rain has changed to fog. Hope the birds are going to be active despite the weather.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 13, 2022, 10:04:47 PM
Close, but no cigar today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 14, 2022, 03:42:58 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram.

Remembered deke and deked from an earlier puzzle. Last word was dock.

querulous/sphinx

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 14, 2022, 07:38:24 AM
QB needed a hint for woodcock. LB, needed a hint for querulous-sphinx because in my brain, querulous has 2 rs. Really wanted to make a 2fer out of rip-plushie-equinox but alas, twas not to be.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 14, 2022, 08:35:15 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday I stalled at the last word, woodcock.  Had I gone to hints, I might have found it.  Today I made QBABM!

LB:  No solution for yesterday's puzzle.  I tried phloxes, then sphinx(es), but did not see querulous.  Congratulations to those who got it!   I found a 2fer today, though, and fairly quickly. 

Langue_doc, enjoy your bird walk!  And here's hoping that you don't get any grade complaints.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 14, 2022, 08:50:17 AM
Good morning!

I got to genius with the pangram and a bit more.  Yesterday it took a while to get the pangram, and I think my final words were kook, eked.

No luck with LB despite good contenders, including sphinx.  The LB website was giving me some trouble last night.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 14, 2022, 07:21:14 PM
Whew, GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2022, 09:43:26 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram but am still working on the crossword as well so will have to get back to it.  I think yesterday I needed help with divvy again.

For LB, I got plunked-damnation, which actually appears to be the schmofficial solution as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 15, 2022, 09:51:58 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, last word idly.   Today I am at Alpha, with five words to go.  However, we'll be out most of the afternoon, so  I may not get back to the Bee.  But we'll see.

LB:  I also had plunked-damnation.  I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2022, 11:06:50 AM
Afternoon!

Around 250+ points--I don't have the energy to look for more words.

Last word yesterday was avidly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2022, 04:42:47 PM
Finally got a 2fer! It ended up being with my first contender.  And still quite a few bee words left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 15, 2022, 05:53:16 PM
QB yesterday, could have probably done it without hints but hey, life is short. Last word was viand. LB plunked-damnation.

Today, QBwH and a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 15, 2022, 10:37:47 PM
Squeaked out genius without the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 16, 2022, 06:33:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram early on, and then genius. Phew! It's quite a workout today.

I didn't have any motivation to look for the last few words yesterday. I've probably seen madame, metadata, and teatime in previous puzzles, so might or might not have found them.

orthic/clambake

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 16, 2022, 06:37:14 AM
Morning! Yesterday learned demit, demitted thanks to the hints. LB rockcllimb-breath. Langue-doc congrats for finding a mate for clambake! I found it early on but other than a b4ss thoracic-clambake I wasn't going anywhere.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 16, 2022, 08:02:51 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with pangram.  Just not seeing words today.  Yesterday I needed hints for memed and edamame.

SB:  I had breather-rockclimb.  I was also looking for a mate to clambake, but did not see orthic!

No 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 16, 2022, 09:24:01 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius without the pangram yet.  Husband has the pangram but is struggling with the other words.  Yesterday I needed help with demit(ted), madam(e), edamame.

For LB I got boilermaker-reclothe.  I had been trying for a while with boilermaker so was happy to finally find a mate.  Lots of good solutions again.  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: Okay, as soon as I opened the bee on my computer, I saw the pangram! Geez.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 16, 2022, 10:58:10 PM
Blah, nowhere close today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 17, 2022, 06:41:17 AM
QBwH, probably could have done it ABM but oh well. Sometimes they just drag. LB - after two pretty good 2fer b4ss hamper-rejecting, pajama-architecting but no progress I went for a hint and got crept-thingamajig.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 17, 2022, 06:57:30 AM
Good morning!

QB this morning! 

Yesterday, I fell far short.  Finally, with not much time left, I went to hints and found a bunch of words I usually get, plus chihuahua, my last word.

And I had no luck with LB until I looked at hints and got percent-thingamajig.  I found a 2fer today fairly quickly.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2022, 09:28:28 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got a bit past genius with the pangram.  Wow, congrats on already getting to QB, cathwen!! Yesterday I had a couple I needed help with, including archaic, chica.  I always forget that the latter is in there since similar words often aren't.

No luck on LB, so congrats on your solutions (thingamajig?!) and another one today, cathwen! Hopefully I will have better luck today.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 17, 2022, 11:07:44 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangram and got to genius in about 5 minutes very early, really early in the morning before leaving around 5.45 for a bird walk (will post later on the birding thread).

Last word yesterday was tacit--I knew that there was another word similar to tactic, but couldn't think of it until the very end.

Now I have to finish my reading for the book discussion group later this evening and get ready for a hike tomorrow. The hike is reasonable, but it's going to take me at least two hours just to get to the meeting place.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2022, 11:57:49 AM
Got a 2fer!

Sounds like a bunch of early days, Langue_doc.  I hope you enjoyed the bird walk and will enjoy the hike!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 17, 2022, 12:09:54 PM
Thanks, ab_grp. It was an enjoyable walk in Central Park and we did see a wide variety of species. I was with the group until almost noon--the spring migration walks start at 7:30--and didn't realize that we had been birding for such a long time.

Congrats on the two-fer; just got one too and also QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2022, 02:41:00 PM
Congrats on your 2fer and QB, Langue_doc! It's nice when you are enjoying an event so much that time passes so quickly unnoticed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 17, 2022, 10:23:49 PM
Whew, barely eked out a GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 18, 2022, 04:03:16 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and almost genius.

exciting/grovels

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 18, 2022, 05:25:05 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word babka.  Genius with both pangrams this morning. 

LB:  I had coexisting-grovel.  I found a 2fer today also.

Langue_doc, I'll look forward to reading your post on the birding thread!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 18, 2022, 06:44:34 AM
QB-2, then hit the Grid and alkali, balalaika popped into my head. LB vortexes-slicing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2022, 08:58:11 AM
Good morning!

Almost to genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday I needed help with balalaika again.

For LB, I had the same one as cathwen, coexisting-grovel.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen! I hope to follow in your footsteps again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2022, 05:32:21 PM
Finally had time to get back to the puzzles and got to genius and a 2fer.  Still a ways to go on the bee, though!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 18, 2022, 10:21:12 PM
Two pangrams, still twenty or so points off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 19, 2022, 04:46:46 AM
Good morning!

QB! Last word yesterday was icon.

amazed/dehydration

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 19, 2022, 06:29:59 AM
Morning! QBwH, but yeah, I guess tinfoil is one word. LB amazement-thyroid, mazed-dehydration.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 19, 2022, 07:05:49 AM
Good morning!

I just ran out of steam and time yesterday and had to go to hints for the last few words.  My very last word was tinfoil.  Like ciao_yall, I did not realize it was one word.

Today, though, I'm making good progress—QB-1. 

LB:  Lots of solutions this time!  And congratulations, ciao_yall, for finding two!  Mine was honeyed-dramatize.  I also have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 19, 2022, 09:11:11 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't gotten too far today, almost to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday I was also foiled by tinfoil.  We had team QB, though.

For LB, I had anthemized-dory (or -dormitory), so one or two more solutions for the mix.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen, and I hope you get your final bee word!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 19, 2022, 10:39:26 PM
Blah, fell a few short.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 20, 2022, 04:47:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.

Last word yesterday was ennui; this word, along with epee, tonne, belle, and a few others hides until the very end.

As for the previous puzzle, I found tinfoil early on--must have seen the word spelt as a single word somewhere.

markings/salutary; masks/singularity

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 20, 2022, 06:55:27 AM
QBwH, all ones I should have already gotten but my brain just wasn't there. As in, my last word was linen. Gah.

LB lurking-gymnast and the awesome b4ss muskrat-tingly which just had to be shared.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 20, 2022, 07:41:08 AM
Quick GWP for me this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 20, 2022, 07:55:36 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning.   Yesterday, my last word was julienne

LB:  I had the "official" lurking-gymnast.  Ciao_yall, I like your b4ss pair! 

No 2fer yet today.  We'll see...

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 20, 2022, 08:56:53 AM
Good morning!

Didn't really get started yet but will get to it later.  I think julienne, jell, lieu were last words for me.

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying! No matter the contender, I seemed to keep having the same general set of letters left with no idea of what to do with them.  Congrats on your solutions (and near solution, ciao_yall) and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 21, 2022, 07:11:56 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word curacy. For LB I had bulk-kryptonite.

Dinner party tonight so got some potchin' to do. But first, coffee and puzzles.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 21, 2022, 07:42:39 AM
Good morning!

222 points so far--I need just two or three more words, one of which is the pangram.

Missed curacy; didn't have the motivation or energy to complete the puzzle last night; I thought I had entered harry, but not so, according to the bee.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 21, 2022, 08:39:09 AM
Good morning!

Curacy was my last word yesterday, too.  A new one for my Bee list!

I have three words left to find in today's puzzle, including the pangram.

LB:  I also had bulk-kryptonite.  I have a 2fer today as well.

We had to be up early today to await an Xfinity repair person.  Nothing works—internet, TV, phone (we still have a landline).  It appears that a line has been cut somewhere outside.  A truck is here and the line specialist is working on it.  Our cell service is still fine, so we are not cut off from the outside world.  So that is today's little drama!

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2022, 09:45:49 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Not too far into the bee yet, as I had been concentrating on the crossword.  I don't have the pangram yet, either.  Curacy, accuracy were two of my final words yesterday.  Definitely needed some help. 

And no luck with LB.  Congrats on your solutions! And on another today, cathwen!

Enjoy your dinner party, ciao_yall! and I hope your internet gets restore quickly, cathwen!

We found out that husband has to go back to work on site 5 days/week starting Monday, so we are trying to figure out some suitable and easy lunches to take along.  But at least we got through graduation #2 for our youngest.  I think everyone is glad that the ceremonies are over.  At least the high school ceremony was way more organized than the community college ceremony.  We are very proud but are looking forward to more informal celebrations!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 21, 2022, 12:47:53 PM
Congrats, ab_grp, on the graduations!
cathwen, hope your devices are now working.
ciao_yall, enjoy your dinner and company.

I'm taking it easy, so might not get to the crossword or complete the bee. Took a much-needed long nap, and now have to think about a major spring cleaning project.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2022, 02:50:19 PM
Thank you Langue_doc! I hope you enjoy the nap now and that the spring cleaning goes well when that takes place.

Finally got the crossword done and got to genius with 6 words left, but still no pangram!

And I got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 21, 2022, 10:00:43 PM
Genius, but no pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2022, 07:55:05 AM
Good morning!

Not quite to genius but have the pangrams and am working on the crossword.  Yesterday I finally found the pangram quickly right after complaining to my husband that I couldn't find it.  After the fact, I wasn't sure why it was so tough for all of us! I think my final word was felid, but feel was not far behind, unfortunately.

For LB, I got fundamental-loiter, which I kind of thought might be schmofficial, but I guess not.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 22, 2022, 07:57:29 AM
Good morning!

Only around 20 points left today.

Missed the pangram and felid--didn't even bother looking for the remaining words as I needed a break from puzzling.

Found a quick two-fer this morning, which compensated for yesterday's missed QB and the crossword.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2022, 08:15:21 AM
Got a 2fer on my first try! Congrats on your quick one too, Langue_doc.  I wonder if they're the same answers!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 22, 2022, 08:37:37 AM
QBwH for felid which I had seen before. LB fundamental-loiter.

Love those quick 2fers! I have a few tight 3fers so hope something will snap soon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 22, 2022, 10:21:58 PM
Didn't make it--didn't have much time to devote to it today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 23, 2022, 06:15:18 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last words baht and bight.  Today, though, I am only at Amazing with the pangram.  I'm finding this one challenging.

LB:  I had a not very economical simplexes-starburst, and it took me a good while to find it.  Today, though, I found a quick 2fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 23, 2022, 06:30:18 AM
QBwH, and learned new word: bight. Thought I tried it earlier when fooling around but maybe I just saw it and didn't enter because, hey, that's not a word.

LB - tribute - examples.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2022, 07:28:46 AM
Good morning!

Didn't start the bee yet since we are on the new schedule of husband going back to the office, so I shall check in on that later.  Yesterday I needed help with hatha, hatting, ninth, that, thinning, I think.  Just ran out of time.

For LB, I got barbiturate-tribute.  Three different solutions and none schmofficial so far!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 23, 2022, 07:34:19 AM
Yesterday's Bee was still open this morning, so I finished it at Beta with both pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2022, 09:12:04 AM
Oops, apparently I was not properly caffeinated before.  My 2fer was barbiturate-examples.  Yeek!

Parasaurolophus, I'm glad you were able to take advantage!

ETA: And I got 2fer on my first try again today! I hope this streak continues.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 23, 2022, 09:20:35 AM
Good morning!

Found the pangram and got to genius earlier this morning.

Last word yesterday was ninth.

tribute/examples; found the latter first, and then immediately saw that I could get tribute as the first word.

Went on a morning jaunt to Greenwood for a walk and some birding. Early morning bird walks tomorrow and on Wednesday--I think these are probably the last ones this spring as the migrants have already passed through our area.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2022, 07:37:42 PM
I hope you enjoyed your birding and walk today and your morning bird walks to come, Langue_doc! What will you do with your early mornings after the migrants are gone? Sleep? Solve puzzles even earlier!

We finally got a chance to compare when I had 3 words left (he still had a lot but can't take his phone into the buildings on site, so not easy to get time for puzzles).  Sadly, we did not have team QB.  One word defied us, but I got it.  It was pretty appropriate for the day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 23, 2022, 09:42:29 PM
Not much luck today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2022, 06:31:31 AM
QB, needed a hint for adman. LN journalist-thrum, journalism-math.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2022, 07:22:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram, but that's it for now.  The word we were missing and needed help with was damn, of all things.

I also got journalism-math, although when I looked at the schmofficial solution I had no recollection that it was the same as mine.  Hmm.  I even thought "darn, I missed one with math in it?" Congrats on 2 2fers, ciao_yall!

The puzzle site was down for a bit but appears to be up, thankfully.  I certainly wasn't going to go off and do something productive. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 24, 2022, 11:10:08 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius this morning. Last word yesterday was land, of all things.

ab_grp, I enjoyed the bird walks--this morning, I had a long chat with one of the Central Park Conservancy volunteers after my walk. I was sitting on a bench, deciding which path to take when this person sat down next to me. She had her binoculars, fancy camera, and a tripod, so she guessed that I was a birder on one of the many bird walks in the park this morning. We chatted for more than half an hour on matters other than birding despite keeping our eyes open for interesting birds in that area.

As for the early mornings, I'm a night person, so it is quite challenging to go to bed at what would be a reasonable hour for most people, but also get up and be awake early in the morning. I can do these walks now only because the semester is over, so I don't have to have an alert brain for my courses. The weather's also been cooperative. Next week will be a "normal" week, with my past midnight bedtime and no getting up at 4:30 in the morning! It was quite an accomplishment to be ready for bed by 11:30 last night.

I'll post the bird reports later this afternoon. We did see a raccoon climbing a tree to join hu's partner who was sitting on a crook higher up that tree.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2022, 11:39:17 AM
Got a 2fer!

Langue_doc, that's so nice that you got to enjoy the bird walks, raccoon couple sighting, and a conversation.  Sounds very companionable.  I am also a night owl, though I have been trying to become more moderate (mostly because a lot of jobs in my field are on the east coast and want people to keep east coast hours... ugh; also early work schedule for youngest).  I am definitely not a morning person.  I have trouble getting back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night and would rather have time to sleep in and make up for it.  I guess you will be happy to be back to your later routine!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 24, 2022, 09:34:45 PM
GWP. Somewhere in beta now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 25, 2022, 06:28:35 AM
QBwH, last words included encage, encaged. LB cavort-thankful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2022, 07:25:04 AM
Good morning!

I got to genius with pangram so need to do other things for a bit.  I think encage(d) were our final ones with assistance.

I also had cavort-thankful, but it looks to be schmofficial, so I am curious if there are other solutions.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 25, 2022, 09:11:15 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday my last word was ennead. Today I am at Genius with the pangram. 

LB:  I also had cavort-thankful, and yes, it was the "official" solution.  Today I also have a 2fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 25, 2022, 02:51:39 PM
Afternoon/evening!

Two-fer and QB. I didn't think I'd even make it to genius, but then saw that they were all familiar words or words I'd seen in previous bees.

QB yesterday, but don't remember the last few words. Found the difficult/arcane words early on.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2022, 05:45:36 PM
I finally got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, cathwen and Langue_doc!

And additional kudos to Langue_doc for another QB.  I still have a couple words left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 25, 2022, 09:54:35 PM
I failed today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 26, 2022, 06:00:16 AM
QBwH and a new word: antonymy.

LB - no 2fer but lots of ships and b4ss solutions. Darn compound words. Here is an abbreviated parade of near misses:

verdict-tic chocolaty
dictatorial-lah-heavy
halved-directory
valedictory-yeah
horde-evocatively

And an honorable mention vocal-leathery-yield which sounds like the metatags for some kinky porn video.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 26, 2022, 06:41:30 AM
Good morning!

Getting to genius was quite a struggle, despite finding the pangrams. Last word yesterday was mayo--found the oddballs much earlier.

cholera/avidity--I think I prefer my solution to that of the NYT

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on May 25, 2022, 09:54:35 PM
I failed today.

There is no such thing as the bee words are an arbitrary list of words "hand-curated" by a single person. No dictionary would include words such as tali, dunno, gonna, for instance, and at the same time exclude several words that are commonly used but deemed either offensive or obscure by the NYT. Furthermore, when you address this, you get a five-paragraph blather that would earn no more than a D in a college course because the words don't mean anything or even try to explain the rationale for their arbitrary list.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2022, 07:29:20 AM
Good morning!

Didn't get too far in the bee yet but did finally find the pangram.  We had team QB yesterday.  I needed help with ottoman (again!), moot, moony.

For LB, I had ditcher-revelatory.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2022, 10:11:04 AM
Got a 2fer! And I finally made it to genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 26, 2022, 06:55:14 PM
Good evening!

It's been a hectic day here, but I did at least get to Genius with both pangrams.  No LB solution, though, and now it's time for bed—so I'll be looking forward to seeing what you all got!

Not a great puzzle day yesterday, either.  I missed antonymy (which I thought I had tried!), moony, myna, and ottoman

LB:  cathodic-cleverly.

Until tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2022, 07:23:33 PM
That's another good 2fer solution, cathwen! I hope you have a calmer day tomorrow.  I am certainly looking forward to tomorrow and a long weekend. 

We didn't have team QB.  I got down to three words before we compared, but we had one in common, unfortunately! Still, not too bad.  Husband is still trying to start the bee when he gets home from work and trying to catch up to where I am.  He was so happy to get "the" pangram... until I had to burst his bubble.  But maybe it helped, because he found the other one pretty quickly. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 26, 2022, 09:02:15 PM
I'm nowhere close, but it rejected my pangam.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 27, 2022, 04:34:34 AM
Good morning!

Almost there today--only a few points left.

I didn't want to spend much time on yesterday's bee; I think my threshold is no more than 200 points after which the puzzling turns to drudgery. Missed just a few words--I was sure I had entered naiad as I remembered this word in a recent crossword.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 27, 2022, 06:40:38 AM
Morning!

QBwH, all words I should have gotten. But, like Langue_doc sometimes I'm just ready to put a bow on it.

LB - just 2fer b4ss solutions and 3fers. Tricky one yesterday on several levels!

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2022, 07:43:40 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we were both missing podia before we compared.

For LB, I got the schmofficial solution, cabana-amplitude

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 27, 2022, 09:39:00 AM
Good afternoon!

I didn't get much beyond genius yesterday and did not find a 2fer, either. Not the greatest puzzle day for me!  Ab_grp, congratulations on your 2fer!

Today is a better day—I made QBABM and found a 2fer! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2022, 11:59:20 AM
Wow congrats on your QBABM and 2fer, cathwen! Definitely a great puzzling day, and hopefully a great day otherwise, too!

I also got a 2fer! Still working on the bee, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 27, 2022, 12:03:57 PM
Good luck with the bee, ab_grp. It's an easy one today, just slid into QB with the last couple of words when I was sitting on a park bench, taking a break.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 27, 2022, 01:37:58 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 28, 2022, 05:40:14 AM
Morning!

Quick run to genius, but have been stuck since then.

Remembered wigwag yesterday, and added the participial form to get to QB yesterday.

fungous/shamble

Didn't get to the crosswords last weekend or yesterday, so my streak is now zero, which I find quite liberating. I might or might not get to the crosswords this weekend either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 28, 2022, 08:39:55 AM
QBwH, would probably have remembered wigwag, wigwagging had I stuck with it a little longer. LB bongs-shameful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 28, 2022, 09:03:40 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far and am working on the crossword.  Langue_doc, I know what you mean about that liberating feeling of not having to worry about a streak! Yesterday I needed help with wigwag, wigwagging, wigwam, wingman.  Ugh!

I also had the schmofficial solution of bongs-shameful yesterday.  I'm glad Langue_doc found an alternative. 

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first try!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 29, 2022, 08:01:38 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word lollop. LB subverting-brokers.

Going to yoga. I would lollop over but my knee still is a bit tender.

Happy Sunday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 29, 2022, 08:28:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday, lollop was my final word with assistance.  Ugh, not sure how I forgot that one again.

For LB, I got buster-revoking

I somehow ended up in a Duolingo tournament, so I figured I might as well try to win it and have been spending a lot more time in that direction the past couple weeks.  I have no idea how many people are actually in this thing and am sure it's not just my group, but the top 15 of my group win, and I am feeling fairly comfortable but don't want to be complacent and get knocked out.  Today's the final day.  Gotta wake up and get into Spanish mode.  I did get the crossword done already. 

Enjoy yoga, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 29, 2022, 09:16:11 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangrams and made it to above genius, but now am stuck.

Last word yesterday was people; remembered lollop from previous bees.

Good luck with Duolingo, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 29, 2022, 11:21:38 AM
Fell just short yesterday. GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 29, 2022, 04:33:25 PM
Thank you, Langue_doc! I am hoping that all my hard work will pay off.  Definitely a tough crowd this week.

I also got stuck not too far past genius, and I have had no real luck with LB, either!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 30, 2022, 06:59:52 AM
Morning! QBwH, turns out delayable is a word? Sounds like legalese, but whatever. LB cochlea-antiquity. And almost finished with Split Decisiions - the two long words are sticking me even though I have all the fillers, so maybe those are wrong.

Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 30, 2022, 08:25:09 AM
Good morning! 

I missed beady, deadeye, delayable, and dyad yesterday.  Today I am at Alpha with three words to go and thoroughly befuddled.

LB:  I did not find a solution yesterday, but found a 2fer quickly today.  I was looking for a mate to antiquity—so congratulations, ciao_yall, on finding it! 

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 30, 2022, 08:48:02 AM
Morning!

Almost there with the bee. Last words yesterday were dyeable and alley.

Like cathwen, I had an unmated antiquity.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 30, 2022, 08:51:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram but not much further.  We also needed assistance with delayable yesterday. 

Ugh, I got antiquity and could kind of see a mate but couldn't bring it into focus.  I just couldn't think of what word it was that I was trying to think of.  Congrats, ciao_yall! Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

I remembered to check my Duo status around 11:30 last night, a couple hours after the tournament ended.  Luckily, I was one of the winners, and it showed the screen of all my big accomplishments from the past few weeks in terms of lessons done, new words learned, and so forth.  My prize was double XP on lessons for the next half hour.  Yes, I will get right on that at nearly midnight after killing myself on lessons for several weeks.  ?!  And, they were happy to announce, the next tournament is in three weeks! I will certainly be waiting excitedly.  NOT! Well, at least I found out what was at the other end of the rainbow.  Mud. 

Happy solving!

On preview: Sorry you also got stuck mateless with antiquity, Langue_doc! And good luck getting across the bee finish line!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 30, 2022, 11:44:34 AM
Yay! I finally got a 2fer after a lot of promising contenders.  Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 30, 2022, 12:21:27 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on May 30, 2022, 11:44:34 AM
Yay! I finally got a 2fer after a lot of promising contenders.  Whew.

I have contenders coming out of my ears. Trying not to go to the hints site...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 31, 2022, 06:16:34 AM
Good morning!

Just a few more words left. Last word yesterday was booed.

As for LB, got stuck with validation and no partner.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 31, 2022, 06:20:53 AM
Good morning!

I made QB, but needed hints for bombe and botnet.  I've missed both before.

Today I have five words left, but am running out of ideas.

LB:  I had the "official" multivitamin-nobody.  No 2fer yet today, though!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 31, 2022, 06:25:07 AM
QbwH, mostly reminders (darn you, botnet) but a new spelling for bootee. LB multivitamin-nobody.

Langue-doc one of my first finds yesterday was the 3fer b4ss validation-numbly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 31, 2022, 08:10:46 AM
Good morning!

Just got started but I do have the pangram and am nearing genius, so hopefully things will continue to go well.  I needed assistance with botnet, bonnet, bootee, noob.

I also had the schmofficial solution, but that was after so many other promising contenders.  Some only left two or three letters, but I couldn't do anything with them.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 31, 2022, 08:17:12 AM
Just found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 31, 2022, 10:44:38 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 31, 2022, 08:17:12 AM
Just found a 2fer!

Me too.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 31, 2022, 10:48:17 AM
Congrats, cathwen and Langue_doc! I haven't had any luck yet.  I did finally get to genius, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on May 31, 2022, 09:57:11 PM
Got there in the end. GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2022, 05:34:24 AM
Good morning! Almost there--I think I need only three or four words.

Last words yesterday were collar and cola.

blowback/kingdom

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 01, 2022, 06:14:16 AM
QBwH, needed a reminder for callaloo. LB was kingdom-blowback.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 01, 2022, 08:00:21 AM
Good morning!

QB with a hint for curaçao.  LB was also blowback-kingdom.

Today:  GwP (five words to go) and no 2fer yet, despite many good words. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2022, 08:15:45 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far but haven't really started the puzzles yet.  Yesterday I needed help with cocoa, cacao, cloaca.

Congrats on LB, all! I guess the schmofficial solution was the only one.  I had some contenders, but no luck.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2022, 04:31:48 PM
QB and two-fer. Phew!

And the crossword.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2022, 05:11:31 PM
Woohoo! Congrats, Langue_doc! I still have some bee left and haven't found a 2fer but am still at it here and there. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 01, 2022, 10:29:37 PM
Luck wasn't with me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 02, 2022, 05:07:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. It's a challenging puzzle today, so don't know if I'll be able to find the remaining words.

Last word yesterday was paean--knew the word existed, but couldn't get the correct spelling until the very end.

flashlamp/pilcrow

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 02, 2022, 06:22:16 AM
Good morning!

I ran out of time yesterday and went to the hints.  My last words were peahen and phono, both of which I usually get.

And no LB either!  So congratulations to those who found a 2fer!  I had lots of contenders, but couldn't make any of them work.  Today, though, I found a 2fer relatively quickly.

As for SB, I'm at Beta with both pangrams, and five words to go.  Not sure I'll get there!  As Langue_doc says, it's a challenging one today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 02, 2022, 06:35:13 AM
Found a two-fer, and then a more efficient one. There are probably several solutions to this puzzle.

ETA: whomps??!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 02, 2022, 06:47:36 AM
QBwH for anyhoo, payphone. LB - lots of 3fers and great words but no 2fer until a friend and the community pointed me to whomps-superficial.

Happy solving!

Anyone want to join me in a cabin for a week where we do puzzles, cook, drink wine, hike and birdwatch?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 02, 2022, 06:55:17 AM
Quick GW2P today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2022, 09:13:10 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't gotten too far in the puzzles yet, but I did get the pangrams and got to genius.  Yesterday I needed help with phono and something else, but we did have team QB.

I had no luck on LB despite some contenders, so congrats on the solutions! And congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and Langue_doc x 2!

Ciao_yall, the cabin sounds like a wonderful time.  When do we go?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2022, 12:32:17 PM
Got a 2fer on my first try! I am glad it was as easy as advertised. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 03, 2022, 04:43:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; last word yesterday was gavage which I tried out of desperation and then realized that I had seen it before in more than one puzzle.

wanton/normalized and then town/normalized; not sure which of the two I prefer. Perhaps wanton behavior should be normalized?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 03, 2022, 07:19:32 AM
Good morning!

I also got tripped up on gavage, and also then realized that I had seen it before.  Vendetta was my last word.

Today I am at Beta with the pangram. 

LB:  I had twin-normalized.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 03, 2022, 07:22:20 AM
QBwH, needed a reminder for vendetta. LB was midtowner-realize.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 03, 2022, 08:31:59 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten too far today yet.  I also needed assistance with gavage yesterday.

For LB, I got worm-maternalized.  Lots of solutions again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 03, 2022, 10:59:27 PM
Whew, got to beta when I finally saw the pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 04, 2022, 07:00:21 AM
Good morning!

QB!

Last word yesterday was oniony which I found by contorting and distorting all possible combinations.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 04, 2022, 08:44:41 AM
Good morning!

Not a great puzzle day yesterday.  I was 8 words short of QB and had no 2fer for LB!  Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!  Oddly, oniony was one word that I guessed, but I missed obvious ones like coin and cocoon.

Today I have six words to go...we'll see.  And I have a 2fer for LB, although it didn't come easily.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 04, 2022, 08:50:34 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, remembered cocci right before I went to the hints. LB buckler-regions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 04, 2022, 09:07:26 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius and pangram so far.  Yesterday I needed help with tycoon.

No luck on LB, so congrats, ciao_yall! I did have variations of buckle, but no mate.  Congrats on a 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 04, 2022, 03:32:03 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 04, 2022, 10:33:26 PM
GWP, eventually.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 05, 2022, 09:31:43 AM
Yesterday, QBwG. Was one word short and boom, hieing. LB gunship-pacted.

Happy solving! Papers didn't come this morning so no crossword puzzle to solve with Neal!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2022, 10:11:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Whew, it's a long one today.  But I got to QB! Just kidding.  Not by a long shot.  I'm not even to genius yet and still have some pangrams to go and also the crossword to make more progress on.  Yesterday I just needed help with wincing, which makes me wince because I kept trying winching with no luck.  Argh.  I feel like I just keep getting down to one word and not being able to finish it.

For LB, I got capuchins-sighted.  So that's two non-schmofficial solutions so far!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 05, 2022, 10:46:24 AM
Well into GwPs and I have a 2fer. Still no physical paper!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 05, 2022, 11:21:40 AM
QB and a 2fer. Now what am I gonna do all day?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 05, 2022, 11:22:51 AM
Afternoon!

58 words and genius. I know there are some pangrams in there, but didn't keep track of them. That's it for today.

Last word yesterday was wincing. I too kept trying winching.

handguns/septic; hiding handguns in the septic tank is never  a good idea!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 05, 2022, 12:07:24 PM
Good afternoon!

Just got to genius with (I think) one pangram.  There are two more!  It is a slog!  Ciao_yall, congratulations on QB!

My last two words yesterday were hieing and icing

LB:  I had chapeau-unsighted.  Lots of variety this time!  I found a 2fer fairly quickly this morning, but the second word seems iffy to me.  But it was accepted, so I'm not complaining. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2022, 06:12:19 PM
Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 05, 2022, 10:55:58 PM
48 words and many pangrams, so I'm close, but alas I must to bed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 06, 2022, 06:03:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far.

Made it to just above 400 points yesterday--haven't looked at the solutions yet.

rainbows/seventy

Crosswords from Friday on are still unopened as I had to be up early to go to the Botanical Garden on Friday, and then even earlier yesterday for the bird walk. This is the month for roses, so if you are in the NYC area, do make sure to go to the rose garden. I think admission is free on Wednesdays and on Saturday mornings, but you might have to register online. https://www.nybg.org/visit/

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 06, 2022, 06:47:31 AM
QBwH, never would have found committeemen on my own. LB rainbows-seventy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 06, 2022, 06:50:26 AM
Good morning!

I didn't do very well on SB yesterday, missing nine words, and got only one of the three pangrams (commitment).  Oh well...

Today I am at Alpha with two 4L words to go.  I'm just not seeing them (yet).

SB:  Langue_doc and ciao_yall, I'm glad your solutions were more sensible than mine!  I had bovines-strawy.  "Strawy"?  I'm trying to imagine a context in which I would use that word.  I found a reasonably normal 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 06, 2022, 07:59:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and a little past but no pangram yet! Husband just got it, so I guess he had some trouble as well.  Yesterday we somehow ended up with team QB despite me needing about 5 words and him needing about 7.  Luckily it worked out.  I needed help with emoticon among others including... yes... titmice... again.  ARGH!!

Cathwen, I had the same 2fer as you! So I am in good company or you are in bad company, but I was just happy to find one.  Not much was working out for me.  Maybe bovines like to be in strawy areas? Strawy is even underlined here as if it is incorrectly spelled or not a word.  Oh well.  Congrats on another one today! So two of us got one solution, two got another, and no one got the schmofficial one (yet).

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 06, 2022, 08:26:42 PM
Nowheresville here today. I got GwP then ended up on hints for words like peace. Gah. LB was trickier but wow, not even a 3fer?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 06, 2022, 10:14:21 PM
No Bee for me today either, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 07, 2022, 04:54:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. That's probably it for today.

Last words yesterday were hake and caky, the former a fluke, and the latter an act of desperation.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 07, 2022, 06:30:14 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, but it was a struggle to get there.  Like Langue_doc, I doubt that I'll get much further.

Yesterday, though, I made QBABM!  My last two words were haka, which I found by combining letters randomly, and caky, which I had been spelling with an e. 

LB:  I had cupid-downdraft.   No LB yet this morning—this is a tough one!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 07, 2022, 07:56:00 AM
Good morning!

Didn't get too far on the bee yet, but I did finally get the pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB again, but haka, payee were the ones I needed help with.

No luck on LB.  I like your solution, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 07, 2022, 04:05:25 PM
QB! It was a challenge, but the words are all ones we know or have seen before.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 07, 2022, 10:00:37 PM
No go today either, but that was mostly due to time, I think.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 08, 2022, 06:06:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram; only a few more points left today.

Last word yesterday was maim. Once I found the nut and insect words, the Japanese words, and diacritic, the others were easy to spot.

vagrant/thickos; didn't think that the latter was a real word, but LB accepted it, so who am I to complain?

ETA: QB; all familiar words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 08, 2022, 06:42:53 AM
QBwH Ran out of steam yesterday and ended up needing hints for words I already knew. Like imam.

LB - lots of 3fers and a 2fer b4ss victors-shanking. Finally went to the hints for navigators-shock.

Oh well, some days are like that. Onward!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 08, 2022, 06:47:56 AM
Good morning! 

Same as ciao_yall.  I ran out of steam yesterday and went to hints to find words I knew very well.  Macadamia was my last word.

Today I am only three words away from QB and need a break.  I am just not seeing them right now.

LB:  No success yesterday!  Congratulations, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!  I found one rather quickly this morning, though. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 08, 2022, 09:32:19 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Slept in, so not much of a start yet today.  I think macadamia, mitt were our two words with assistance after comparing.  Just didn't have time.  And I missed a lot that I usually get.

No luck on LB, though I did have vagrant(s) and never thought of the mate Langue_doc came up with, so congratulations! Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 08, 2022, 10:26:57 PM
Gah, same as yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 09, 2022, 05:27:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius, but that's it for today.

Last word was idyl; remembered seeing the variant before.

jubilate/extrudes

A two-fer today!

SB has included the scores for QB which is helpful as I'm never sure whether the score for the day is twice the scores for Amazing or plus or minus a point.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 09, 2022, 06:26:54 AM
Good morning!

Like Langue_doc, I am at genius with both pangrams.  It's a long one today!  I did notice the QB score today—that is really helpful.  I doubt that QB is in my future today, though. 

Yesterday I needed 2L hints to find the last two words,  yield and yielded

LB:  I also had jubilate-extrudes.  And I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 09, 2022, 06:39:49 AM
QBw2LL. Last word was yodeled. And for LB I had adjustable-elixir.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 09, 2022, 07:55:20 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and one pangram, but that's it so far.  Husband also has one pangram as of yet.  He is the one who noticed the QB score, and it appeared in mine and then disappeared when I exited out of bee to go to the crossword and came back.  Who knows.  We did have team QB yesterday but both needed a bunch of words because it was just too busy of a day.  Sleeping in really helped in some ways but was a pain in the neck in others.  Fortunately we're up today! Some of the ones I needed help with were yogi, yodeled (ugh), dilly, eely, and the dumb pangram. 

I meant to say congrats to Langue_doc for QBs the past couple days! I know you called it quits for today, but if you pick it back up, I wish you QB luck that you don't need. 

No luck on LB and didn't even get around to writing down any contenders.  Congrats on your 2fers! And on 2fers today! I hope to have more time to work on puzzles today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 09, 2022, 02:04:31 PM
FYI, there is a new email newsletter from the NYT gameplay team, which you can sign up for here if you'd like: https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/gameplay   I got today's mailing, and it's got some stuff like which were the easiest and hardest Wordles of the week (by which they must mean something like last Wednesday through yesterday since one of them was last Friday's), the hardest bee day of the week (though they give the % of people getting the pangram, so maybe that's how they're determining it... it's listed as Wednesday's puzzle but is actually from last Wednesday), and it has a couple little puzzles like a rebus and then some links to articles that could help with the crossword or bee, etc.  Just wanted to bring it to the attention of the thread denizens.

I did finally find the second pangram.  But I still have a ways to go.  And I haven't really worked on LB yet.   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 09, 2022, 09:48:21 PM
Still quite a ways off today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 10, 2022, 04:52:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (phew!) and 72 points so far. It's a good workout today.

Didn't get to the bee later in the day yesterday which turned out to be fortuitous as I wouldn't have found at least a couple of words.

outward/diminish

ab_grp, thank you for the link--will check it out this weekend.

The points needed for QB disappeared some time yesterday, not long after they appeared in the morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 10, 2022, 06:35:40 AM
QBwH and a new word togging. LB outward-diminish.

In 30 minutes I will have showered and be togging up for the day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 10, 2022, 08:54:48 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram but barely got into the crossword when eldest texted for help with calculus.  She did take it in high school but decided for her own edification to take it again at a community college while doing her MSN elsewhere.  Fun with limits.  Ugh! Had to get some more coffee first.  I don't know how she does it with the night nursing shifts as well.  Anyway, we had team QB yesterday.  I needed help with gigaton, nonvoting, and a couple others.

Congrats on your 2fers! I didn't get anywhere with it except for a couple measly contenders.  Maybe today will be the day!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 10, 2022, 11:38:11 AM
Good afternoon!

QBWH yesterday—I just ran out of time and looked at hints after dinner.  Gigaton and nonagon were my last words.

Today I am at genius with the pangram, which was the first word I saw.  But this may be another hint day—I am not seeing much of anything beyond what I already have.  Yet, there are four more words in there somewhere!

LB:  I also had outward-diminish.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 10, 2022, 02:57:49 PM
It turned out that I needed only two. more words for QB. The last one, although slightly esoteric, is one we've seen before.

An easy two-fer!

I went on a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, through the relatively new Brooklyn Bridge Park, the promenade, and Brooklyn Heights. This was my first time in downtown Manhattan after the pandemic. Good weather and good company!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 10, 2022, 04:49:19 PM
Got a 2fer on my first try! Feels like it has been a while.  Congrats on yours, cathwen and Langue_doc!

And congrats on the QB, Langue_doc! Maybe the lovely walk with a good companion helped.  I think I heard that the weather is pretty nice out there right now. 

I think I have six words left and am stuck squarely at genius.  I guess that means that I have gotten no new words since I posted this morning.  Good job, me! We'll be calling it a day soon, so I'll see what I can get before compare time.


ETA: QB! Yeah!!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 10, 2022, 10:05:18 PM
Broke my streak. GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 11, 2022, 06:37:18 AM
QBwH, last word was ragtag. LB fractional-lambda.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 11, 2022, 07:27:49 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 11, 2022, 07:58:19 AM
Good morning!

Stuck at 53 words/259 points. Not sure if I'll find any more words.

Last words yesterday were arhat and ragtag.

LB: NYT solution--gah!

Yaaay, ab_grp!

Happy solving, all.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 11, 2022, 08:26:04 AM
Good morning!

Last words yesterday were ratatat and arhat.  Today I'm 10 words short and may not get much beyond that without help.  We'll see...

LB:  I had a very inefficient confrontational-lambda.  I found a 2fer today also.

Langue_doc, the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to the park sounded lovely!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 11, 2022, 08:38:11 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram and then embroiled myself in the crossword.  It's another kind of long one today.  I wasn't sure I would make it to QB yesterday but managed to find arhat and then, finally, ratatat.  It's been a while since QB! Thanks, Langue_doc!

I also had the schmofficial solution, so I guess cathwen is the only variant! And congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 12, 2022, 07:45:03 AM
QBwH - new words elegize(d), geez. I recall being annoyed that I didn't have a u for eulogize or a c for elegiac.

LB - best I could do was a 2fer bfss hibernate-evolved. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 12, 2022, 08:04:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and slightly above genius. Finding words after getting to Amazing was like pulling teeth.

Last word yesterday was gelee, which I've seen before.

bovine/earthland; didn't think the latter was a real word, but LB accepted it.

An easy two-fer today.

ab_grp, hope your weather is tolerable, and your AC woes will be fixed soon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 12, 2022, 08:53:08 AM
Good morning!

I am having little luck this morning.  Haven't found the pangram, not at genius, barely started the crossword.  I am frightened to hear that the hive has been so difficult today.  I think yesterday we both needed gadded, geez.  Wasn't a fan of yesterday's.

Congrats on the 2fer, Langue_doc! I had some good ones I thought (hinterland, herbivore) but couldn't do anything with them.  And congrats on another today.

And thanks again for the good AC wishes.  Our high is only due to be 105 today, so hooray.  It should go down to the high 90s later in the week.  It's really fine as long as this old unit doesn't conk out.  This is the one we had to have the repair on last summer, when my husband had to drive to the other city to pick up a part only to find out it was not there and was, in fact, down the road from our house.  Then they screwed up the line polarity on the heater part when they replaced that piece, so when we turned the heat on for the first time around Thanksgiving it didn't work.  And they didn't give us a refund or discount of any kind on the service even though they had made the error and we had diagnosed it! I am a little ticked at them at the moment.  Anyway, thanks, and so far so good.

I have a friend call midday so may make even less puzzle progress than usual! Still, nice to chat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 12, 2022, 10:03:55 AM
Good afternoon!

I have one of the two pangrams and cannot imagine what the second one can be.  Only three words to go—two of them long.  I may need hints again.

Yesterday I needed hints for elegize/d, eagled, and gage

Yesterday's LB was vibrator-rehandle.  I found a 2fer today without too much difficulty.

Ab_grp, good luck with the AC!  "Only" 105º?  Ugh! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 12, 2022, 05:12:21 PM
Ugh, I finally got to genius.  And I still have another pangram left!  The first one took me long enough. 

Congrats on your different 2fer yesterday cathwen, and another today! I say "only" because we were supposed to be at higher temps, but a weather event in a reasonably close locale shifted them all down by a couple degrees.  I'm not sure it really matters other than on the face of it.  But, "it's a dry heat!"
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 12, 2022, 10:43:52 PM
Didn't get there today. 0 pangrams, too. Oof.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 13, 2022, 06:02:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Missed the second pangram (I did get lethal) and a few other words.

We probably all have the same solution: oxymoronic/clique

Missed several crosswords last week, but that's life.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 13, 2022, 06:52:41 AM
Good morning!

Yes, I got oxymoronic-clique also.  No 2fer yet today, though!

SB:  I missed nonlethal, thane, and telehealth.  Today I am at Alpha with three words left—but that was the case yesterday, and it did not result in QB, so we'll see if I'm more successful today.

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 13, 2022, 07:18:25 AM
Morning!

QB, needed hints for nonlethal, telehealth. LB - not a lot of room to manuever so oxymoronic-clique it was here as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 13, 2022, 09:37:13 AM
I though today's would be hard, but I'm just seven words short of QB and it took just a couple of minutes, so.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2022, 10:28:11 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Busy morning so far.  I got to genius with the pangram and then did the crossword but haven't gotten much else done yet.  Sounds like there is lots of progress happening for folks here! Yesterday I needed help with (non)lethal, halal, theta, hone, I think, but I got that dumb telehealth this time!

No luck on LB, though I had some promising contenders that seemed as though they would have to be part of the solution.  Nope, though I did have clique.  Ugh.  Congrats on your solutions and on another 2fer today for cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 14, 2022, 05:18:10 AM
Good morning!

Easy pangram and genius, but now I'm stuck.

Missed the last weird word--that should come under SB's list of obscure/unacceptable words.

I had an email about the new Chess game yesterday, and saw it listed as one of the games this morning. Too many distractions, aaargh!

ETA: two-fer
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 14, 2022, 05:25:48 AM
Good morning!

Like Langue_doc, I'm at genius and stuck. 

Yesterday I got to QB-1 and had to go to hints for the last word, which I would not have guessed in a million years:  pinniped.  And even with the hint, it was a lucky guess.

LB:  I had the "official" underwhelm-mocha.  I have a 2fer today, but the second word seems odd. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2022, 06:43:30 AM
QBwG, last word was unpin. Just 3fers yesterday unmowed-dacha-alarm, mouched-drawl-lane. That was a tricky one!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2022, 09:40:26 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram but haven't done anything else yet so have to set it aside.  I think ninepin was our final word, which we needed help from Shunn with.  I think unpen was one of the few I needed from husband.  I know he needed nipped from me.

No luck on LB, though I did have mocha and was trying under-.  Congrats on getting it, cathwen, and on another today! Ciao_yall, your 3fers were some good combos.

Langue_doc, I did not know there was a new chess game! I will have to check that out after getting some of the other puzzles out of the way.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 14, 2022, 10:31:20 AM
ab_grp, here is the email--an editor should have looked at it.

Quote
First of all, thank you for being a New York Times Games subscriber and allowing us to continue our legacy of high-quality puzzles and games.
Your subscription now includes unlimited access to Chess Replay, our new puzzle, and the reason I can finally play chess. Every day this week, and every Thursday after, we will publish an interactive chess puzzle crafted by grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky.
Daniel built each puzzle based on historic chess games, and solvers will play as famous chess players during critical games in their careers. As you solve, you'll be guided toward the solution with colorful commentary from Daniel.
In addition to the puzzle, my team will provide guides on how to play chess, how to read algebraic notation, terms you should know, and the occasional column from Daniel. Playing Chess Replay is a win-win: You win the match, and you learn craft from literal masters. If I can do it, so can you.

It is the last item on the list, on the left side of the page.

QB--no difficult or weird words today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2022, 12:09:15 PM
QB-3 and a quick 2fer. No more procrastinating today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2022, 03:15:36 PM
Thanks for the chess email, Langue_doc! I am enjoying giving it a try despite not having much success.  I like the learning aspect.  But I still have some bee left and LB, so I better get to them for now.  Congrats on QB!

And congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! Good luck with your final 3 bee words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2022, 05:20:18 PM
Got a 2fer!

ETA: QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 14, 2022, 07:40:06 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 15, 2022, 06:37:06 AM
QB - needed a hint for uptilt. LB ambient-trucked.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2022, 07:22:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and 134 points.

Don't remember the last words yesterday, but did find puli and pipit quite early.

buckram/minted; ambient/trucked

Went to a picnic in Central Park yesterday which was organized by one of my outdoor groups. Had a good time, had interesting conversations with acquaintances new and old, and also had to repeatedly tell the story of my life to several people. On the way home, just as I had gotten off the main drag, there was the strawberry moon in its entirety on my left.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2022, 07:55:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and pangram but working on other puzzles for now.  Yesterday I was excited to actually make it to QB.  My final word was limply, which I thought I had entered, so I'm glad I tried it again.

For LB, I had induce-embarkment.  I had to look buckram up, Langue_doc! Congrats on two 2fers! That sounds like a lovely outing.  A picnic and a strawberry moon and good conversation!

For our excitement, they are putting the HVAC in! It's right next to my office, so I may not be in here much to do puzzles today, but that is fine.  I will update on the weather thread as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2022, 08:25:52 AM
ab_grp, glad to hear that your HVAC unit is getting installed. Did they ever tell you how someone could drive several hours past the delivery address?

In other puzzles news, I keep forgetting to solve Wordle, so I was at Streak 1 a few days ago, and also today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2022, 08:39:30 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I'm very glad as well.  Nope, no explanation.  I think my husband was on to something with his theory that they overbooked the M/T slot.  Otherwise, it's hard to believe they couldn't track a piece of equipment that costs as much as a car and didn't seem to have concerns about the delivery screw up and resulting work schedule screw up.  I would be looking for some accountability.  So I think he might be right.   

But I also keep forgetting about Wordle! I was doing really well, and then one day I just forgot to finish it.  I had taken a guess or two and was thinking about what it could be, but just forgot.  And then I totally forgot it another day.  I am at least trying to keep up with Globle so I can learn more geography (seems to be working!), but I forget that, too. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2022, 09:55:08 AM
Got an easy but lopsided 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 15, 2022, 10:07:29 AM
Good afternoon!

QB with 2LL hints yesterday, as evening was upon me before I knew it and I was running out of time.  Last words were lump (!! And I already had lumpy!), pupil, and pulpit

Today:  Beta with the pangram; six words to go and stuck. 

LB:  rudiment-trackback.  I was surprised that the second word was accepted.  Today I found a 2fer with normal words.

I usually remember Wordle, but not reliably, so I don't keep track of my statistics.  I also do the French version ("Le Mot"), and although English is my native language, I usually require fewer guesses with French!  Go figure. 

As for the supermoon, I completely forgot to look last night. Argh!  Langue_doc, I'm glad you got to see it!  Ab_grp, good luck with the HVAC installation!  And, my 2fer is also lopsided.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2022, 10:33:18 AM
Two-fer!

ETA: QB
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2022, 11:58:20 AM
Congrats on your 2fer and QB, Langue_doc! I just have one word left and hope to get it.

ETA: oops, missed cathwen's post! Congrats on your different solution yesterday and 2fer today! I wonder if we have the same lopsided solution.  Good luck with your remaining bee words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 15, 2022, 10:52:35 PM
Blah, didn't get there today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 16, 2022, 06:44:06 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday I went to hints for ganache (missed this before!) and galangal, which I would have never gotten in a million years.  Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

Today I clawed my way to genius with the pangram, but I'm finding this a tough one.

LB:  I had morphological-lure.  Ab_grp, is this the same lopsided answer that you found?  I found a 2fer today, too. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 16, 2022, 06:54:09 AM
Morning!

QBwH - I got galangal but missed ganache, glance. LB pharmacological-lure.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 16, 2022, 07:34:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Last word yesterday was encage.

pharmacologic/cure; then morphological/lure and puma/archeologic

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2022, 07:43:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and pangram and am finishing the crossword at the moment.  Yesterday we both got down to one and the same word, galangal, which I finally managed to remember with Shunn's help.  I don't know what it is about that word! Congrats again, Langue_doc!

My LB solution was morphological-luge, so nearly the same, cathwen! But there were other lopsided ones featuring a different long word, so lots of interesting solutions! And three from Langue_doc!

Didn't sleep so great since the work didn't end up getting done, but they are finishing up this morning and then I have a call with some senior colleagues this afternoon, so I hope they are done by then!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2022, 09:21:17 AM
Yay, got a pretty easy 2fer! And I forgot to say congrats to cathwen on getting one today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2022, 03:45:14 PM
I'm here again to pass on the info I just came across from Sam about some bee features in the next couple days.  It's too long to try to summarize, but lots of multi-pangram days, some Qs and Xs.  https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1537146392447156225
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 16, 2022, 11:05:28 PM
Last-minute bedtime GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 17, 2022, 05:26:16 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and 144 points. I think my last word yesterday was colonel.

marshland/drawback; probably not too many solutions because of the single vowel.

ab_grp, thank you for the link, will look at it when I'm properly awake.

I went to a concert in the catacombs (yes, people are indeed buried there) in Greenwood Cemetery yesterday--will post details later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 17, 2022, 06:19:40 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was oleic.  Today I am at QB-2 and need to take a break and come back, hoping the last words will jump out at me.  They're not doing so now.

LB:  I also had marshland-drawback, and a 2fer today.  Langue_doc, congratulations on so many LB combinations yesterday!  Wow. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 17, 2022, 07:16:55 AM
QB needed a hint for colleen. Also marshland-drawback.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2022, 07:32:07 AM
Good morning!

Wow, you people are killing it today compared to me.  Neither of us have any pangram, let alone two.  In fact, I had mentioned to him that I hadn't found the pangram yet, and he replied that he hadn't either, and I thought I had better look to see if there's more than one given Sam's tweet.  Yep, two, and that made us feel all the better, I tell ya.  Hopefully they will be related and one will follow quickly from the other.  Not at genius yet, but the pangrams would help! Yesterday we had team QB.  He needed help with cocoon, which he used to be the one to get, and I needed help with oleic, innocence, lenience

Same 2fer for LB here.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Looking forward to hearing about the catacomb concert! That sounds interesting. 

They did get the air on just before my meeting yesterday, so it was a much, much better night of sleep.  Hopefully now we won't have to worry about it breaking down over the summer.  The old units had been working hard for about 16 years, so it was time.   Now we have a warranty, and parts should actually be more readily available, and they are quieter and more powerful and quicker to cool the house down.  It was a hassle, but I am glad! The HVAC whomever have to come out to inspect them next week and then a county inspector will have to come inspect them.   Then, that should be it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2022, 03:04:06 PM
Okay, I finally got both pangrams and to genius and finally found a 2fer after one million contenders.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 17, 2022, 06:11:33 PM
Congrats, ab_grp. Congrats also on getting your HVAC unit up and running. It must be quite a relief.

Got a two-fer and also the last bee word after much grinding of teeth.

Tomorrow's bird walk was canceled because the leader is sick, which turned out to be fortuitous in a way because the bathrooms in that location have been closed.

Just finished the crossword which wasn't too difficult, unlike the previous one. Concert info coming up tomorrow when I'll be on a computer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2022, 07:15:04 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! And congrats on your 2fer and QB! We each needed three words, but they overlapped, so no team QB, but at least we got to alpha.  Speaking of relief, how lucky not to have the walk going on as planned since there are no restrooms open! Yeek.  Please do let us know about the concert when you get a chance tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 18, 2022, 07:01:20 AM
Good morning!

A couple of pangrams and genius. I think I've done my good deed for the day as far as the bee is concerned.

Last words yesterday were your (!!) and yuca, which I found by resorting to form all possible four-letter words.

toxic/cravenly

The concert was Mass for the Endangered, dedicated to the environment and animals, both endangered. You can see a glimpse of the venue on the website https://www.green-wood.com/event/mass-for-the-endangered/2022-06-14/

The podium/stage is behind the two people; it was a very narrow space, with two chairs on each side of the aisle. Accompanying the music was a video choreography of nature--animals, birds, butterflies, whales, fish, asteroids and planets, trees and assorted vegetation moving across the ceiling and walls. At one point a giant turtle had taken up the entire ceiling as it floated past.

On both sides were arched entrances (no doors) leading to the crypts or graves; the last names of the interred family, in upper case letters, were above each of the entrances.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 18, 2022, 07:30:22 AM
QB. I guessed carroty but needed a hint for rotatory. After a million 3fers like ab_grp, settled on extraction-natively.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 18, 2022, 08:38:24 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL hints for yucca and yuca.  I only got yuca when I wondered if yucca had an alternate spelling.  Carroty and rotatory were wild guesses that took.

Today I have all three pangrams and Beta, but am a far cry from QB, with 20 (!!) words to go.

LB:  I had extraction-nervily.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, that concert sounded wonderful!  It makes me miss New York.  It's the kind of thing my husband and I would have attended.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 18, 2022, 09:01:08 AM
Good morning!

I think I have two pangrams and am at genius but haven't started the crossword yet.  Yesterday I also had yuca as one of the final ones that was guessed just by trying spelling variants, along with rutty and that danged curacy again.

I got the schmofficial LB solution, extraction-novelty.  Lots of different solutions again! I had so many other promising contenders! Hopefully I'll have luck again today but in a quicker fashion.

Langue_doc, that sounds like a really amazing experience! I imagine that the setting would contribute a lot of ambience.  Did you get to take the trolley or have to walk? And I saw that they had whiskey tasting as well! That sounds like a neat time altogether and probably very memorable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 19, 2022, 06:36:55 AM
Didn't make it yesterday. Will make a concerted effort today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 19, 2022, 07:53:12 AM
QB, needed hints because, among other oversights, I was spelling finial incorrectly and forgot the word file.

LB victuals-shirker, chicklets-suaver and a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 19, 2022, 08:45:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far.

As for yesterday's puzzle, several words that I knew I had entered, appear to be missing. Oh, well.

victuals/shaker

There's the crossword to be completed, and phone visits, so I'm not sure how much more time I'll get to spend on the bee.

Cathwen, if you find yourself in the NYC area in October, you might want to check out Greenwood's Halloween event, which I understand is quite out of the world, literally and metaphorically. I haven't seen it listed yet, so I only have second-hand reports of this event.

ab_grp, there were shot glasses of two different types of whiskey and two gins. I tried one of each (I'm not a whiskey person, and my gin drink of choice is a gin and tonic), and also assorted snacks -- pretzels, chips, mozzarella, and nuts. I brought my bottled water home because of the container, a large can called Liquid Death, which is supposed to contain mountain water from the Alps. On the narrow ribbon at the bottom of the can you are encouraged to "murder your thirst". The blurb at the top informs you that
Quote
This infinitely recyclable can of stone-cold mountain water cam straight from the Alps to murder your thirst.

Here are a couple of links showing the interior of the catacombs before https://www.green-wood.com/calendar/list/?tribe-bar-date=2022-07-18 and after https://www.green-wood.com/event/concert-in-the-catacombs-eddy-kwon/2022-07-06/ the seating arrangements.

During the bird walk this morning (details to be posted on the bird thread later today), we came across several mulberry trees including a few white mulberry ones, so there we were happily snacking on both types of mulberries. This was my first encounter with white mulberries which were surprisingly quite sweet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 19, 2022, 09:36:47 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

We slept in a bit, but I did get to genius with the pangram at least and started on the crossword.  Yesterday I had a bunch left when we quit for the day.  I managed to pick up a few more before we compared, but not many.  I still needed one of the pangrams (flatline) as well.  After comparing, we needed two more words, which I think my husband picked up both of: fine, flatfeet.  Ugh on the first one... the list was just too long to make sure I had all the obvious ones.  And I don't think I would have gotten the second without help any day of the week.  Sorry to hear you got ripped off on some of your words, Langue_doc! That is so frustrating.  I have seen some weirdness in my app lately with points and words not adding up correctly, etc.

Also, someone pointed out that there is a Stats tab now in the bee area.  It doesn't look super informative if you get to genius.  I mean most of my days say Queen Bee since we keep going with help until we get there.  Today it says Genius.  So, not too much info there.  Maybe there is more to come.

Congrats on your 2fers and on another one today, ciao_yall! And congrats on your 2fer as well, Langue_doc! I should have kept my big mouth shut yesterday wishing to get a solution more quickly.  I ended up with another very long list of contenders but no solution.  Close a few times!

Langue_doc, that is some powerful water! I would also save the bottle.  Help! My thirst has been murdered! I only wanted it slaked! As for liquors, I am not a big hard liquor person but would tend more toward whiskey.  We have some good Scottish whiskeys, and my husband bought me a bottle of Metallica's Blackened whiskey.  Each batch has an associated playlist picked by a band member, and the whiskey is "sonically-enhanced during the finishing phase".  I haven't tried it yet.  Either way, it sounds like a really nice event.  The links didn't work well for me, but I found some other pics of concerts in that setting.  Wow! What an experience! And that's neat about getting to sample the white mulberries.  Hopefully the birds weren't watching you have a little snack on their food.  ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 19, 2022, 05:14:11 PM
Good evening!

Yesterday I got involved in other projects and let SB drop.  I made genius, but missed a bunch of words that I surely would have gotten with more time.

Today I'm at QB, albeit with a hint for the last word.

LB:  I had archivists-sulker.  I found one today without too much trouble. 

Langue_doc, those events at Green-Wood sound wonderful!  We just may venture to NY for at least one event.  Thanks for the links!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 19, 2022, 11:15:30 PM
Blah, fell 30 short again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 20, 2022, 06:56:41 AM
QB and just with the Grid yesterday - not even the 2LL! Last word minicam. LB flaxen-nitpicky.

Going to the gym today for the first time since my knee injury. Not gonna be pretty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 20, 2022, 07:19:41 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word), genius, and a measly 15 words so far.

Didn't have time for the bee or Sunday's crossword after posting here yesterday.

cathwen, should you decide to go to an after-hours event in Greenwoood, feel free to PM me for parking information. The official closing time, which means that the gates are closed, is 7 PM.

ab_grp, we took the trolley (the one in the pictures on the website) as we had the dripping Liquid Death cans in our hands. It's a period trolley (perhaps refurbished?) with wooden seats. Had it not been for the cans we would have joined the walking group--there was someone leading the walk because they didn't want people getting lost and/or wanting to get lost after hours and then having to be rescued. Next time, I'll take my backpack so that I can join the walkers.

Happy solving!

ETA: ciao_yall, hope the knee gets back to normal soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 20, 2022, 07:52:21 AM
Good morning!

I managed to get to QB already! Yeah!! Yesterday, that was not the case, though we did have team QB.  I needed three Cs (caiman, cane, canine, I think). 

No luck on LB, so congrats on yours, ciao_yall! And good luck with your knee rehab. 

Cathwen, congrats on your additional 2fer from yesterday (day before?) and i know you said you also had one yesterday to be revealed, so congrats in advance!

Langue_doc, I had to look up the water.  Their website encourages "Don't be scared.  It's just water."  And, they have an interesting taste test video between their product and some of the most expensive beverages on earth, for which they took some liberties with the definition of "beverage."  They also have a "murder head death club."  That is some interesting water you've gotten into! I hope you get to join the walkers next time and don't get lost in the cemetery! Although if one does get lost, it seems as though having murder water in hand might be helpful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 20, 2022, 08:24:06 AM
Quick beta with pangram this morn.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 20, 2022, 12:51:46 PM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday I stumbled over canine and minicam.  Today, though, I made QB without too much trouble! 

LB:  I also had flaxen-nitpicky.  It took me a long time, but I finally found a 2fer today. 

Langue_doc, thanks for the offer of parking information.  I just may take you up on that if we go. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 20, 2022, 02:35:35 PM
Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, cathwen, and your QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 21, 2022, 06:25:03 AM
QB with grid, guessed at netty for the final word.

LB mantric-clough which, as it turns out, is another word for "ravine." Related to cleft, I suppose?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 21, 2022, 07:40:04 AM
Good morning!

Easy QB yesterday (although netty was a wild guess), but today I'm just over genius with the pangram and struggling.  I do not see a stunning success in the cards today. 

LB:  I had columnar-right.  Ciao_yall, I should have thought of clough!  It was my great-grandfather's surname and apparently it is of Anglo-Saxon origin and common in Lancashire (where he was from).   Our family pronounced it "cluff", but some pronounce it "clow". 

I have a 2fer today, but I think the second word is a tad questionable.  If I have time, I may look for another.

Anyway—happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 21, 2022, 08:01:51 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday was such a rare day of early QB that I didn't know what to do with myself.  I think my final words were lynx, entente.  Of course, I tried telnet to no avail.  So much for learning that one.

I got the same 2fer as cathwen.  Ciao_yall, those are some interesting words! I am not too surprised yours wasn't the schmofficial solution.  ;-)  Speaking of, I don't think any of us got that one (yet)?  Congrats on another 2fer today, cathwen! And good luck if you search for another.

I have a 3-hour seminar mid-day which seemed reasonable at the time but now seems very burdensome, so I hope it's recorded.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 21, 2022, 11:04:07 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius; there's my book discussion event tonight, so I don't think I'll have time for more puzzling.

Yesterday it turned out that I needed only two more words; I promptly got excellency and lynx.

columnar/ right

We had to memorize poems in school--I still remember the first line of Arthur Hugh Clough's poem (don't remember the title though)
Quote
Say not the struggle nought availeth
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 21, 2022, 10:20:01 PM
GWP, but many, many rejected words which should have counted.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 22, 2022, 05:44:58 AM
Good morning!

Found the pangrams early on, but it was a heavy-duty hike to genius.

Missed bodied and doobie; I think the former was rejected in a previous bee.

fester/rebouncing (autocorrect doesn't approve of the latter)

I've been procrastinating setting up the new CPAP. Today I'll have to hunker down, read the pages of info that came along with the machine, go online and register/set up/activate the machine so that my privacy settings are almost zero.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 22, 2022, 06:24:58 AM
QB, needed a hint for bootee (again!) and a few reminders. Thought I had tried boogie and it didn't take but oh well.

LB - just 2fer b4ss solutions briefs-scouting, cutoffs-sobering and lots of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 22, 2022, 07:18:30 AM
Good morning!

Not exactly a glory day for me yesterday!  I got discouraged early on, then got involved in other things and never got back to SB.  I missed some past tenses (betided, bodied) and some obvious words (beige, boob), but probably would never have guessed doobie

Today I'm four words from QB.

LB:  I had fester-rebouncing, which I did not expect to be accepted.  I suppose that if one can bounce, one can rebounce as well.  Ciao_yall, yesterday's LB seemed to lend itself to a number of b4ss pairs plus many 3fers!  I found it frustrating.  Today's 2fer was easier to find and consists of normal words. 

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 22, 2022, 08:29:15 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  We had team QB yesterday but each needed a few words.  I think I needed betide(d), beget, begot.

No luck on LB despite lots of contenders, so congrats on the rebouncing solutions! I think they should be pretty lenient with accepted solutions given what they come up with for schmofficial solution.  I mean, befogs? Get the hell out of here with that.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Good luck setting up the CPAP, Langue_doc.  It can be a pain, but hopefully will be worth it! I think my husband has set up a few in the past couple years, including because of the recall, but he seems happy with the one he has now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 22, 2022, 10:44:13 AM
Got a 2fer! It took a couple tries despite some promising contenders along the way.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 22, 2022, 10:52:36 PM
Not today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 23, 2022, 05:37:09 AM
Good morning!

A couple of pangrams and genius. There aren't enough hours in the day to look for more words.

Couldn't get back to the bee yesterday, but found authorized/dowdy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 23, 2022, 06:31:03 AM
QB w Hints, needed one for mimeo and a few other reminders. LB authorized-dewy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 23, 2022, 07:06:41 AM
Good morning!

Didn't really start the puzzles yet, but I have a pangram and about 100 points.  I guess there are more of them (points and pangrams)! Yesterday I got down to 4 words, but we didn't have team QB, as we were both missing ooze, ollie.  I know I was also missing melee, but I forget what the other one was.

For LB, I had authorized-dowry.  So, same base, several solutions so far.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 23, 2022, 07:58:05 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB-2 yesterday, then needed hints for meze (darn those alternate spellings!) and mezzo.

Today I'm just at genius with all three pangrams.  It's a long one today, and not sure I'll have the time or patience to finish (at least, not without hints). 

LB:  Like ciao_yall, I had authorized-dewy.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 23, 2022, 05:06:46 PM
Finally got to genius, and apparently I have all three pangrams now.  But I have quite a few words left!

Also got a 2fer earlier.  Congrats on yours, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 23, 2022, 10:45:02 PM
GW3P. Didn't think I'd make it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 24, 2022, 05:56:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. It turns out that I had all three pangrams yesterday, but didn't get around to the bee later in the day.

farthing/grovel

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 24, 2022, 06:38:01 AM
QBwH, didn't know fuddle was a word. LB farthing-glove.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 24, 2022, 08:59:55 AM
Good morning!

I've got a pangram and almost to genius so far but slept in a bit.  Yesterday I still had quite a few words left, but we did have team QB, so I was able to contribute at least.  Just too busy and interrupt-driven. 

For LB, I got forthright-traveling.  A bunch of variations already!

Part of what took up the day yesterday was taking more time to try out the chess feature.  I've enjoyed trying to play out the final moves of some interesting games.  I don't think I will ever be a grand master, but I appreciate the strategy insight.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 24, 2022, 10:03:02 AM
ab_grp, I haven't even looked at the chess games. I've been out and about partly because of the weather, and partly to catch up on the missed outings of the last couple of years. I missed two crosswords in a row this week. I just bailed out of a picnic followed by a performance in Central Park and another outing on Sunday. Tomorrow's another walk that involves a long subway ride followed by an equally long ferry ride. It's a park that I've never visited, so should be interesting.

Today's outing sounded interesting: https://nyclassical.org/cymbeline
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 24, 2022, 10:46:59 AM
Good afternoon!

Genius with pangram today.  Yesterday I got tripped up over tutted and duffel, and never did find luteal. 

LB:  I had fathering/glove.  It took me an age, but I finally found one today as well. 

Enjoy your outing tomorrow, Langue_doc! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 24, 2022, 10:05:37 PM
Couldn't devote quite enough time to get there today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 25, 2022, 07:26:47 AM
QBwH and a new word - nametape.

LB - saw handily but never noticed biotech so oh well. Did get a 2fer b4ss chelation-nobody and plenty of 3fers including dayboat-tie-echelon, chocolately-yob-blind.

Road trip for a job interview so plenty of car and puzzle time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2022, 08:48:58 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram and am working on crossword.  Yesterday I think I had four words left when we compared? But we did have team QB.  I needed help with attempt (ugh, had tempt!), nametape (ugh! I remembered there was a dumb word for name tag in here before but couldn't come up with this one because it is so dumb) tenement, manta.  Should have gotten the last two as well.  Oh well! I looked up nametape just now, and it is often spelled with a hyphen or as two words! I call foul!

No luck on LB despite a bunch of trying and reasonably good contenders.

Safe travels and good luck, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 25, 2022, 10:48:16 AM
GwoP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 25, 2022, 04:53:42 PM
Good evening!

Yesterday was another bad SB day.  I needed 2LL hints to find words I usually get (such as meet!!!).   My last word was nametape—and I agree with your assessments, ciao_yall and ab_grp.  Harumph.

As for LB, I had the "official" biotech-handily.  I have a 2fer today also.

Ciao_yall, good luck with the job interview! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 25, 2022, 06:05:36 PM
Evening!

Pangram and genius before leaving this morning.

Last word was nametape which I remembered from an earlier puzzle.

It was an interesting walk, despite the minimal walking because there was no shade along the paths. This was my first trip on this particular ferry route, which ran all the way from just north of the Battery to the new ferry landing in the Bronx. We sat on the top deck so that we could see the islands in the East River (Roosevelt, Randalls, Rikers, and the two uninhabited Brothers). There was what appeared to be a convention of jet skiers on the Brooklyn side, with more than 200 jet skis in the water, and police cruisers (watercraft) alongside. Our ferry didn't have many passengers, but there were long lines for the ferries that went to the beaches. The park was full of families who tried to replicate their backyards in the park; they had large tents, multiple chairs, barbecue equipment, entire stereo systems, and plenty of coolers bringing food. One family even had a structure that looked like a summer house with a porch in front. Several people were unloading plenty of stuff--food as well as furniture from their SUVs. One family had rented a UHaul van (must have been a party as this is graduation week for schools). Some of us sat in the shade of one of the trees as we didn't want to walk in the hot sun, and then decided to leave early. The rest of the group also joined us at the ferry landing, so we spent some time chatting (the ferry we, the first group wanted to board was canceled). I met people I had hiked with, and also interesting new people.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 26, 2022, 07:56:00 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, remembered fugu before having to go for hints. LB outlaw-whiskey.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2022, 09:33:12 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to pangram and genius and am working on the crossword.  Yesterday we did not have team QB, as we were both missing tofu.  I was also missing outthought, though.

No luck on LB despite good contenders.  Dang it, I had whiskey! That's a good 2fer, ciao_yall.  Congrats.  I wonder if it's the same as cathwen's.

Langue_doc, sounds like a nice trip! Seems very busy with jet skis and elaborate picnics.  I'm glad you had a good outing! I also meant to mention that I hadn't heard of that Shakespeare play Cymbeline before.  I wonder how they choose which plays to put on.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 26, 2022, 10:30:34 AM
Good afternoon!

I got to QB yesterday after consulting my list of odd Bee words to get the last one, fugu. 

Today I'm at Beta with six words to go. 

LB:  I had outwalks-stealthily.  I did see whiskey at one point, but did not connect it to outlaw!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2022, 10:38:06 AM
Congrats on your 2fer as well, cathwen! That's also a good one! I like when the words can go together.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 26, 2022, 11:20:31 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius this morning.

I don't think I would have found fugu (thought the correct spelling was fugue) or outfought. Outfought!? Outthought!?

I think I've found all possible words today. Missed the last couple of crosswords--probably more, but found today's Wordle word on my second attempt.

ciao_yall, good luck and safe travels.

ab_grp, I wanted to see Cymbeline because it was one of the first plays we had to read in my undergrad program. There are so many things going on in the city in summer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 26, 2022, 11:48:18 AM
GwoP again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2022, 06:11:12 PM
Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: glendower on June 26, 2022, 07:43:59 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on June 26, 2022, 11:20:31 AM

I don't think I would have found fugu (thought the correct spelling was fugue) or outfought. Outfought!? Outthought!?

Fugu is a puffer fish. Fugue is a piece of music.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 27, 2022, 06:28:16 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and genius. Now I'm at a loss, literally and metaphorically, for more words. Last word yesterday was one of the participial words.

fraction/nimbus

The fireflies are in session; on my way home from the evening walks, I see them emerging from the lawns, trees, and bushes. There used to be more of them in previous years, but that could be my imagination. The Northern mockingbirds are everywhere. I saw one feasting on mulberries in someone's front yard. There was another one sitting on a low nest in the park on Saturday. Neither seemed perturbed by the proximity of humans. They are in every park, and also in every yard on my street.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2022, 08:16:05 AM
Good morning!

I am at genius and think I have three pangrams.  I am also feeling pretty stuck and am at 21 words.  Yesterday I'm glad I took a look before we compared, because I needed a LOT of words and managed to get down to 5 left before comparing, at least.  I needed blin, baaing, and something else, I think, and we both needed gabbling, bubba.

For LB, I had ramification-nimbus, though I had fraction earlier, so I guess I did not make that connection! Congrats, Langue_doc!

And I am envious of your fireflies! I miss them.  I don't think I've seen any out here.  Maybe the mockingbirds are holding them at bay.  If they are true to their name, then I think we have some here.  My mother-in-law got spooked by one somewhere near her door one time.  I can't remember what noise it was making or any other details, so I guess it's not a very good story.  It probably wasn't even a mockingbird.  I couldn't quite tell from your description whether you are glad or not for so many mockingbirds.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 27, 2022, 08:33:42 AM
Good morning!

Same situation today as Langue_doc:  Three pangrams and genius, and flummoxed as to what more there is to be found.  I'll hold off looking for hints for a while, hoping that inspiration strikes.

Yesterday I needed hints for lubing, baaing, binning, and bugling

LB:  I had infraction-nimbusFraction is a lot more economical, of course.  I found a 2fer today.

I must look for the fireflies! Once we close our shades, I'm afraid I don't look outside very much at night.  Where I grew up, we called them lightning bugs.  I remember catching them in jars to watch them glow in the dark, then releasing them. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 27, 2022, 08:35:56 AM
QBwH, cranky about unban, unbanning. Those are not words. LB fams-subtraction.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 27, 2022, 09:34:10 AM
SB now includes Stats, (the first of the three listings on the top right-hand side of the page, just before Yesterday), which shows our performance on the bee.

Did someone refer to this earlier this month?

ab_grp, the mockingbirds are quite lovely, especially in flight. But they start their vocalizing soon after 4 AM and go on until well after sunset. Now that I have the windows open, I can hear them even from the bedroom which doesn't have windows opening out into the yard. They're relatively quiet today.

Hope you and cathwen get to see the fireflies, you perhaps in one of your parks, and cathwen in your yard. I still think they are magical.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2022, 09:40:56 AM
Cathwen, congrats on your different 2fer yesterday and another today! I also have fond memories of catching lightning bugs (we called them either) and thought it magical to see them flashing here and there in the dark backyard.

Ciao_yall, congrats to you, too, on another solution! The un- stuff always bothers me, as it seems inconsistent.  Why isn't unball(ing) accepted? If you ball up a piece of paper, can't you unball it? While I was still on my computer toward the end of the day, I just put un- in front of every word I had and ended up picking up a couple words that way! But that is not a fun way to play.

I guess I also thought gabling could be a word, meaning some architectural feature of a house? I did not try gabbling without assistance, since I did not think that was a word at all.

ETA: Langue_doc, I think I mentioned the Stats tab, but it was pretty uninformative (just what level you get to, and since we always kept going with help if needed to QB, it didn't wasn't too interesting).  As for the mockingbirds, I am not sure I would want to be graced with their beautiful presence if they were very vocal at unfortunately times.  But I also think fireflies are magical! I am just not sure they even exist out here.  I'll have to look that up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 27, 2022, 10:30:26 AM
Fireflies... I was born in New Jersey but moved to CA when I was four so had vague memories of them.

Went back to NJ at the age of 12 and was absolutely mesmerized by the real thing. Couldn't get over them.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2022, 12:07:15 PM
Just as a side note, I also lived in NJ until I was four!  But, I was born in PA and returned to PA after that until I moved here to the land of few fireflies.  They apparently need moisture, and that is not exactly something one thinks of as being a major characteristic of my area.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 27, 2022, 01:12:29 PM
I'm another mid-Atlantic native.  I was born and raised in Delaware, not all that far from the Pennsylvania border, and often went to New Jersey to visit my father's family and go to the shore (not the beach!).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 27, 2022, 02:08:25 PM
GW3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 27, 2022, 02:11:16 PM
I've been feeling guilty all morning about having caught fireflies as a child, but apparently, this doesn't harm the beetles, according to the Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/fireflies/

They need moisture and the equivalent of mulch, the latter for the larvae which take about a couple of years to emerge as fireflies. https://www.firefly.org/facts-about-fireflies.html

As for the bee words, I try all possible combinations with the result that I find words that I didn't know existed, and still don't know what they mean. This is how I came up with binning yesterday. Tried gabling, but that didn't work. I also try all possible combinations with suffixes and prefixes. Pardon the snark, but the so-called hand-curating of the permissible words often results in perfectly normal words not being accepted, and oddballs making it to the list.

QB!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 28, 2022, 05:19:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. It's a tricky one today, so I might not be able to find any more words.

Last words yesterday were undo and undid which I thought I had entered much earlier.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 28, 2022, 07:13:42 AM
QB - just needed the grid to remember dunno, cutout.

LB was 3fers only - huge-emirate-evolve, eagle-thrum-movie, trivial-laugh-home among others. Well, let's see what today brings!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 28, 2022, 07:43:19 AM
Good morning!

I got to pangram and genius, but it is definitely a tough one! Yesterday we sort of got to team QB, as in my husband got to QB by himself and then helped me along for my remaining three.  I think some of my final ones were outdid, outdo.

No luck on LB again, though I thought I had some good contenders.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 28, 2022, 05:05:35 PM
Good evening!

I needed hints for udon and coconut.  And it took me an age to find outdo, even though I had already found outdid.

LB:  I had the "official" might-travelogue.  I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 29, 2022, 06:34:14 AM
Morning!

QB - Needed a hint for wildland.

LB just 3fers including whodunit-talc-cap as well as whodunit, alpaca but no way to connect the two. Ships, as ab_grp calls them.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2022, 07:12:14 AM
Good morning!

I am not quite to genius yet but do have the pangram.  Yesterday I got down to one word but couldn't figure it out.  Appropriately enough, it was nitwit.  Husband got to QB again.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on your ships, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 29, 2022, 08:18:17 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram. Yesterday I needed a hint for twilit.

I had a weird LB:  platic-chowhound.  Platic was a stab in the dark after I found chowhound, and it took.  I haven't found a 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2022, 09:40:11 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! I have never heard of platic before.  I just took a look at the schmofficial solution.  Yep, pretty sure I never would have come up with whodunit!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 29, 2022, 11:01:39 AM
GWP yesterday, only halfway so far today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 29, 2022, 11:37:35 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were twilit and wildland. Remembered the former from previous puzzles, and the latter because I was looking for events in the wildlife refuge when I saw references to wetlands.

plaudit/touchdown; whodunit, indeed!?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 30, 2022, 06:06:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

Facticity!? Fatly!? I'm familiar with thinly sliced and thinly veiled (threats), but not fatly sliced whatever.

Off to get my second booster.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 30, 2022, 06:23:16 AM
Morning! QBwATHICG to find facticity.

LB just a 3fer zealot-trowel-limbic. And... on to today's.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 30, 2022, 07:58:29 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday I needed help for fatly and filially.  I did get facticity, but I think it was a wild guess made in desperation. 

Today I'm at Alpha, but out of steam and ideas. 

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, and none yet today!  Argh.  I have some good words, but not finding words with the leftover letters. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 30, 2022, 08:34:33 AM
Good morning!

I got the pangram and am nearing genius but switched to the crossword for the meantime.  We both needed help with facticity, and I needed help with a bunch of the -ly words since I had just stumbled onto that pattern when we gave up for the day.

LB has had some unusual words as part of its schmofficial solution.  Maybe today will be a better day!

Good luck with your booster, Langue_doc! My husband and I were just talking about boosters this morning.  I hope it all goes well and smoothly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 01, 2022, 06:42:14 AM
QBWATHICG but learned a new word villanelle. Maybe I'll use that form for my next budget memo.

LB howled-decaying as well as the rather Freudian gynecologic-chawed, gynaecologic-chewed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 01, 2022, 07:17:03 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday my last word (thanks to hints) was livable.  Darn those alternate spellings! 

Today I am at genius with the pangram. 

As for SB, I finally got chawing-goldeneye.  I used to sometimes see goldeneyes on the lake in the winter when I lived farther north.

No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 01, 2022, 07:46:03 AM
Good morning!

Almost to genius with the pangram today.  Yesterday I needed two words (avian, naive), but we had team QB.

Congrats on your various and sometimes strange solutions, ciao_yall, and on yet a different one, cathwen! I had a bunch of good contenders and no luck again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 01, 2022, 05:01:32 PM
I just wanted to alert those who haven't seen tweet from Sam or the games newsletter that tomorrow there are apparently a LOT of pangrams.

As for today, I did get to genius + but still have a couple words left.  And no cigar on LB yet.

ETA: Yay!! Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 01, 2022, 05:41:55 PM
Evening!

Above 200 words this morning. Founrd all the difficult words yesterday; last words were vain and vial.

Found a two-fer but can't remember either word.

Recovering from the boostr--a cup of tea and a tylenol this morning, and the same along with half a bagel just now.

Pardon the typos, this is the best I can do.

Back to bed.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 02, 2022, 06:52:37 AM
Good morning!

Langue_doc, I hope you're feeling better today! 

SB:  I needed help to find queueing, queuing, and teeing.  Today, though, I'm only at Amazing in spite of having found all six (!!) pangrams.  I don't think I'll have the energy or patience to try for QB, although Genius would be nice.  24 points to go until genius...ugh!

LB:  I had lexicon-newspaper, which was the "official" solution.  It took me ages to find that, but  I found a 2fer today right off the bat.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 02, 2022, 08:43:26 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius, but I think I only have 4 pangrams? I have no idea anymore.  Yesterday we did not get team QB.  I needed 4 words: gigging, intuiting, queuing, queueing.

For LB, I got coxswains-splicer after quite a few tries.  I didn't see either of the schmofficial words.  Congrats, cathwen, and on another today!

Langue_doc, sending you booster recovery wishes.  I hope you were able to spend cozy time in bed resting and are feeling much better.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 02, 2022, 08:55:53 AM
Good morning!

I think I have all the pangrams--lost count after a while because they just kept popping up. Slightly above genius, but that's it, I think, for today. The only unusual word so far is a scientific one that we all know, so keep trying.

Finished the crossword--it wasn't too difficult.

Thanks for the good wishes, cathwen and ab_grp. The brain is no longer addled, but it is still a day in bed.

The procedure was painless and quite efficient. The medical practice of my PCP and the sleep doctor got taken over by one of the hospital conglomerates, so I can go to any of their locations (all the boroughs and also Long Island) to get the shot. The advantages, in addition to the shot being administered by a trained nurse, are that the information gets entered in your patient portal, and the lot numbers, which my institution requires, are clearly visible. The first three vaccines have a purple cap, while the latest one has a green cap, according to the information in the patient portal.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 02, 2022, 10:05:50 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word was tingeing. Today I finally tipped into genius - Wow lots of words!

LB - coxswains-splicer as well. I did find lexicon earlier but then saw coxswains and that was the new direction. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 02, 2022, 12:26:09 PM
That's funny that we ended up with the same 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall! Congrats on another one today!

As for the bee, I apparently have 5 pangrams but still have a ways to go (twelve more words including the sixth pangram).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 02, 2022, 03:44:18 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Langue_doc, that's interesting that there's so much information in the patient portal! I hope you are feeling better after a day of recuperation.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 02, 2022, 11:54:09 PM
I fou d all five pangrams, but alas am still 28 short of genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 03, 2022, 08:09:24 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but no pangram yet.  Yesterday we didn't make it to team QB, missing picot, alcopop.  The sixth pangram I was "missing" was political, which I thought I had given all the other similar words I had.  Oh well!

For LB, I got joule-emphatic, which appears to be schmofficial.  I'll take it.  Hopefully I can get one today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 03, 2022, 08:57:43 AM
QBwH, learned a new word occipital and was reminded of a few bee specials such as catalpa, papilla, pitapat, politico.

LB was joule-empathic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 03, 2022, 09:16:47 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday was not a good Bee day for me, as I came down with a mild flu-like illness Friday and found it hard to concentrate. (Covid test was negative...and feeling a lot better today.)  Looking at the words I missed, I should/could have gotten most of them except for alcopop.  I didn't even know that was a thing! 

Today I am at Alpha.  It took me a a good, long time, but I did get the pangram eventually. 

LB:  I also had joule-empathic.  I have a 2fer today, too. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 03, 2022, 09:37:22 AM
Afternoon!

Around 30 points left; the letters have to be in the right configuration to find the pangram.

Made it to QB, but had to resort to the hints for the last word, alcopop. I thought that I was an ignoramus for not knowing this word, so it's a relief that this is not in everyone's vocabulary.

joule/emphatic

ab_grp, I am most appreciative of our patient portal. You get responses to your questions the same day; your test results are also uploaded as soon as the practice receives them.

cathwen, sorry to hear that you aren't feeling well. I can relate to the brain fuzziness symptoms. Glad that you are feeling better today, and even more glad that the Covid test is negative.

I'm still having flu-like symptoms, but I think I'm getting better. A major indicator of illness for me is the lack of any desire for coffee which is usually the first thing I consume as soon as I'm out of bed. Today is my third day of drinking tea in the morning instead of the usual coffee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 03, 2022, 10:48:20 AM
Got a 2fer! Still no pangram.

Cathwen, I'm sorry to hear you've been feeling ill but am glad you are feeling better and that it doesn't appear to be covid.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today!

Langue_doc, I am a big fan of patient portals, too.  I want access to my info! And right away! And to be able to review it or download it later.  Congrats on your 2fer! And I had no idea about alcopop.  Husband got that one.  I think I remember it being in there once before, and I didn't care for it then, either.  I'm sure I will miss it next time as well.  I hope you continue to feel better and wake up wanting coffee tomorrow!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 04, 2022, 06:50:08 AM
Happy Fourh!

Genius and then the pangram. Last word yesterday was unban--didn't think it was a legit word, but tried it in desperation.

neurological/lamb; carbuncle/ergonomic (the reverse order also works)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 04, 2022, 07:36:35 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning, but currently stumped.  Yesterday I needed help for the last word, attaboy, which I should have remembered from previous puzzles.

LB:  I had monogamic-crumble and uncage-embroil.  Lots of answers this time!  And I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 04, 2022, 08:11:51 AM
QBwH, a friend and I traded lists and he had buyout, then needed a reminder for banyan.

LB neurological-limb, neurological-lamb.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2022, 08:35:47 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 4 words left today, so at genius with pangram.  I think I'm about 2 points shy of alpha.  I also had unban as one of my last words.  We did have team QB, at least!

For LB, I had microbial-lunge, so yet another solution! That was an interesting puzzle.  Congrats on all of your solutions and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2022, 12:09:05 PM
Yay! Got to QB! I don't think any of the words were super difficult.

I have some LB contenders but have not had any further luck there, yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2022, 05:42:44 PM
Finally got a 2fer!  I was just about ready to pack it in for the evening.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 04, 2022, 07:33:15 PM
Congrats, ab_grp. I too managed to get all the words, and a two-fer.

Am now listening to illegal fireworks on my street and also on the nearby ones and hoping that my car is unscathed. Saw several displays earlier during my walk, all probably illegal, but didn't have to worry about them landing on my car. I do commiserate with the elderly and the sick people who have been putting up with the noise for at least ninety minutes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 05, 2022, 06:32:24 AM
QB, needed a hint for glottal. LB piquancy-youths.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 05, 2022, 07:33:27 AM
Morning!

135 points so far. Last word yesterday was luau which I've seen umpteen times before.

piquancy/youths

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 05, 2022, 08:14:09 AM
Good morning!

I haven't started the puzzles yet today.  Yesterday my final two words were four-letter ones.  One was luau, and maybe the other was haul? Congrats to you as well and thanks, Langue_doc!

Sadly, I got the schmofficial solution, quips-sycophant.  Well, not sadly, but I always like to find a different one if possible! Still, I will take it! Plenty of dry days.  Congrats on your solutions, ciao_yall and Langue_doc! Looking at my list, I am dismayed to see that I had youths on one line and piquant on the next, so obviously a connection was brewing, and the remaining letters were provoking some thought there, but no dice.

Langue_doc, I hope your car and neighbors are okay.  This area is like fireworks every day of the year, and given the number of fires... ugh.  It was supposed to rain pretty much all night, so we were hopeful that there wouldn't be any activity (or at least not much), but our neighbors were out there again.  Fun trying to watch anything compelling with all that going on! I do feel much worse for those who have post-traumatic or other reactions.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 05, 2022, 10:26:42 AM
Good morning!

I needed a hint for gulag yesterday.  Today I just made QBABM!

LB:  I also had piquancy-youths.  I have one today also.

I hope your car survived the fireworks, Langue_doc!  Although our town did not have fireworks this year for budgetary reasons, we had some firecrackers going off all around us.  I'm glad the Fourth is over.  I really hate the noise.  However, when we first moved to New York, our apartment in Battery Park City overlooked the Statue of Liberty.  We would stand at the window and watch the fireworks from New Jersey going off all around her.  That was quite the show!  And since we were watching from inside, the noise was tolerable.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 05, 2022, 01:25:18 PM
Quick BWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 05, 2022, 02:39:32 PM
Yay! Congrats on your QB, cathwen, and B, Parasaurolophus! I am down to one word and hope to find it before giving up.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen! I haven't looked at it yet but we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 05, 2022, 06:03:51 PM
Well, I did finally get a 2fer! Still the one word left on the bee, but I haven't given up hope quite yet.

ETA: got to QB, finally
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 06, 2022, 06:16:12 AM
QB, needed a hint for cancan.

LB was a very long and inelegant macrobiotic-crumple.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 06, 2022, 06:50:03 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM yesterday (it's been a looong time since that last happened) when I finally saw açaí and acacia, words that I rarely get right off the bat for some reason.

Today I'm at GwP, three words to go, totally stumped. 

LB:  I had patriotic-crumble, so there is some variety today!  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 06, 2022, 08:02:54 AM
Good morning!

16 words and 71 points so far; not sure if I'll be able to find any more words. Last word yesterday was banc.

optical/lumber

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 06, 2022, 08:18:08 AM
Good morning!

Found the pangram right away, but I have to head out to finally have an eye appt, so I will try to work on it then.  My final word yesterday was aback.

I was also in the patriotic-crumble camp for LB.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 06, 2022, 08:10:50 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 07, 2022, 04:48:56 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and genius. I don't think I have the energy to look for the remaining 100 or so points.

Missed chuppah.

Car and neighborhood survived the fireworks. I'm still amazed that parents with small children would think that lighting fireworks in residential areas would be such a good idea.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 07, 2022, 06:25:20 AM
Good morning!

Amazing with all four pangrams this morning, 12 points to genius.  Ugh!  If I ever get there, I think that will be it for the day.

Yesterday I needed a hint for captcha

LB:  I had the "official" kerchief-foxglove.  No 2fer yet today! 

Langue_doc, I'm glad the neighborhood was unscathed.

Today my grandson is 13!  A teenager!  And almost as tall as his mother and I are (5'2").  It seems only yesterday I was rocking him and singing to him (poor kid).  I sometimes miss those days, but now he is so interesting to talk to, and I like that even more!

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 07, 2022, 06:50:16 AM
QB, guessed at captcha but needed a hint for attach /facepalm.

LB kerchief-foxglove.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 07, 2022, 08:25:22 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten too far on the bee yet in favor of the relatively-easy-for-a-Thursday crossword, but I do have one pangram and about 88 points.  Of course, I have some work to do with three more pangrams and a billion more points left.  Yesterday I think I got to about three words left before we compared, but we didn't have team QB, as we both missed and had to look up hints for (and then look up the word based on the definition) chuppah.  I also needed first-letter help with attach, catchup.

No real time for LB, so congrats getting the solution, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Happy birthday to your grandson, cathwen! Becoming a teen is a big threshold to cross.  I know how you feel about missing the more cuddly days of youth but appreciating the conversations more. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 07, 2022, 06:32:29 PM
Well, I finally got to genius and think I have all 4 pangrams.  And I have a couple pretty good contenders but no 2fer yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 07, 2022, 11:49:13 PM
Stalled at amazing with just one pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 08, 2022, 05:32:11 AM
Good morning!

Almost genius, no pangram yet.

It turned out that I had all four pangrams; didn't realize until this morning that pelican was one of them.

NYT, I did not have
Quotea stroke of Genius yesterday.
I missed just a few words. Could you at least use the correct terminology or words for scoring well above genius/almost QB?

Happy solving!

ETA Pangram and genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 08, 2022, 06:17:07 AM
Good morning!

I gave up yesterday with ten words to go.  It was just too long and tedious, and when I hadn't found all the words by 5:00, I went to hints to find the rest.  The last word was celiac.

Today might be similar, even though it's a shorter Bee.  I'm almost at Beta with five words to go. 

Langue_doc, we definitely need to let Sam know about our Alpha and Beta categories! 

SB:  I had the "official" beam-musicology.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2022, 06:23:23 AM
Morning!

QBwatHICG - missed cancan (again, gah), cannellini, lenience and some new-ish words epicine, incipience, pellicle.

LB symbolism-mucilage.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2022, 07:25:56 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and managed to get to genius with some memory luck.  Yesterday I finally made it to genius with the pangrams and then still had something like 17 words left when we finally quit for the day! Husband had been at work, so no phone and about no progress on the bee, so since it was nearly 8 PM by the time he got home we just compared our lists.  Sadly, we did not get team QB, as we were both missing two words: ipecac, cannellini.  I think I thought we had the latter because the similar pangram was stuck in my head.  Oh well! He had to help me with cancan, lenience, epicine, incipience, but I was able to give him pellicle, which I guessed because I always think that there is a word like cellicle.

No luck on LB.  Congrats, cathwen and ciao_yall! I had symbolism but couldn't find a mate and wouldn't have found mucilage! And I had music but that's about it for the other.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2022, 05:53:49 PM
Just got QB and a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 08, 2022, 09:23:36 PM
GWP.

Tried the chess puzzles the other day. They were fun.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 09, 2022, 06:16:46 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet.

Last word yesterday was gainly, whatever that means. Found the usual suspects early on.

vicious/shameful

cathwen, must be exciting for grandson to hit the teens. Children grow up so fast. Reminded me of neighbor's kid who was a baby when I moved here, then graduated to saying 'hi' and 'bye' when I left for work, and then further graduated to bringing me food (solemn-looking child outside door, bearing plate of food, saying "Lang, do you like pork?", who now has his first summer job.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 09, 2022, 07:56:46 AM
Good morning!

Alpha with pangram this morning, two words left, but just not seeing them.  Yesterday my last words were nanny and nannying

LB:  I had the "official" viscous-shameful.  I also have a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, it is fun to see kids grow up and come into their own!  I had a great conversation with my grandson on his birthday.  He is passionate about marine biology and ecology and enjoys telling me about what he's learned, and I am always eager to listen.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 09, 2022, 08:41:29 AM
Good morning!

Stopped a bit past genius with the pangram to work on other puzzles.  Yesterday my final words were glazy, zingy, I think, and they were guesses.

I also had vicious-shameful.  Cathwen, congrats on getting another today, and good luck with your final two bee words!

Parasaurolophus, I agree that the chess thing is pretty fun (and educational for those of us who aren't great chess players)!

Your young neighbor sounds very sweet, Langue_doc. 

I have a friend call for a while today but am going to try to get more puzzling in to make up for all the housework I did yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 09, 2022, 08:42:17 AM
QB, needed hints to remember to put "-ing" on inlaying, nannying.

LB just a 3fer coif-famous-shovel. Just wasn't coming together.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 09, 2022, 02:14:31 PM
Genius, no pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 09, 2022, 05:42:20 PM
Got a 2fer! Still working on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: namazu on July 09, 2022, 06:29:31 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 08, 2022, 07:25:56 AM
Got the pangram and managed to get to genius with some memory luck.  Yesterday I finally made it to genius with the pangrams and then still had something like 17 words left when we finally quit for the day! Husband had been at work, so no phone and about no progress on the bee, so since it was nearly 8 PM by the time he got home we just compared our lists.  Sadly, we did not get team QB, as we were both missing two words: ipecac, cannellini.  I think I thought we had the latter because the similar pangram was stuck in my head.  Oh well! He had to help me with cancan, lenience, epicine, incipience, but I was able to give him pellicle, which I guessed because I always think that there is a word like cellicle.
I'm not an NYT Games subscriber, so I don't ever get to finish these, but I was curious whether anyone here knows how the word list is assembled (or why it seems so hit-or-miss).  I was particularly frustrated by this edition, because I tried apical, panicle, and Laplacian, but they were all rejected.  But pellicle is there?  Why pellicle and not panicle? They seem similarly technical.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 09, 2022, 11:51:06 PM
Yeah, the list of accepted/unacceptable words is... frustrating.

Found the pangram, am just five words short of genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 10, 2022, 07:40:17 AM
QBwH for wonton, newton. LB nought-temporary.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 10, 2022, 07:53:42 AM
Good morning!

I made QB yesterday with a one letter hint to find the last word, newton.  Parasaurolophus and namazu, it truly is frustrating to find words that you *know* are words, but that get rejected.  I was astonished at the rejection of apical.

Today I have three words until QB and may need help later, but will keep trying.  For now, I just don't see them.

LB:  I had megaton-neuropathy.  Ciao_yall, I saw temporary, but did not see nought!  Congratulations on your 2fer!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 10, 2022, 08:07:01 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (don't know how I happened on it) and genius, but that's it for today.

Last words yesterday were tweedle and tweedled.

nympho/outrage and then augment/trophy

Spelling Bee "hand-curates" their list of words according to an email I received from them. Don't know what that means other than "I make up my own rules, so don't question them."

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 10, 2022, 08:56:07 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius, but no pangram.  Husband reports having found it as his first word, so hopefully it will occur to me sometime today.  Yesterday we had team QB.  He needed twee (which he tends to miss), and I needed wonton, weld, welded.  I typically miss the first one for some reason but thought I had the others.

For LB, I had hangout-temporary.  So no overlap between solutions, and lots of different ones! I had quite a few promising contenders before finally finding that one, which didn't make use of any of them.  Congrats on all of your solutions! I don't know which I like best.  Maybe nympho-outrage.  In any case, congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc!

There is another word not in the puzzle today, of course.  And let's not forget how arbitrary the acceptances/rejections of various un-, non- and so forth are.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 10, 2022, 10:33:24 AM
Well, I got a 2fer! But no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 11, 2022, 06:27:59 AM
QBwH for bocci, biocide. LB entomb-brusquely.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 11, 2022, 06:33:25 AM
Good morning!

I needed 2LL help for binned and bodice yesterday.  I got doobie by dumb luck, just playing around with letters.  Today I am at genius with the pangram, six words to go. 

LB:  I also had entomb-brusquely.  I wonder if there were other solutions?  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 11, 2022, 07:07:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Probably that's it for today.

Missed bindi, biocide, and doobie.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 11, 2022, 08:21:26 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius, though with a word that was a guess.  And then I got my fastest crossword time! Not that exciting, but kind of fun.  Yesterday I think we had team QB.  I needed first-letter help to get the freaking pangram.  And I was missing biocide, bonbon, noob, the latter two of which I usually get.  I don't think I ever would have come up with the first one.  Husband was missing bodice.

I also got the schmofficial entomb-brusquely solution.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 11, 2022, 12:12:23 PM
Got to genius without the pangram yesterday, stuck in an early-game rut so far today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 11, 2022, 06:28:22 PM
One of the banned bee words is bended which I find quite frustrating because it is still in current use as in the expression on bended knee.

Here it is, in an opinion piece from the Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/11/biden-saudi-trip-post-publisher-fred-ryan/:

Quote
So why is President Biden now going to Jiddah on bended knee to shake the "pariah's" bloodstained hand? Once again, he is seeking votes.

Just venting...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 11, 2022, 11:26:45 PM
Pangram but a few points shy of genius today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 12, 2022, 06:26:48 AM
QBwH for 2 new words anoxia, taxon. LB bracelet-towing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 12, 2022, 07:32:28 AM
Good morning!

QB with hints for anoxia and (sigh) nonfat.  Today I have four words to go, but may need hints if I haven't found them by dinner time.

LB:  I also had bracelet-towing.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 12, 2022, 08:04:48 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram.  We ended up with team QB.  I needed help with afoot, and he needed help with fontina.

I did get a different 2fer but with a word I guessed: bacteriological-lown.  I am committing myself to looking up unfamiliar words it accepts for my solutions.  Apparently, lown means calm or quiet.  I had bracelet but couldn't find a mate!  Ugh!  That would have been a wee bit easier.  Congrats! And congrats on another today, cathwen!

I agree with you, Langue_doc.  I wonder if folks even bother submitting missing words anymore.  Of course, Sam and co. might not take usage from a competitor as evidence of good usage.  ;-) 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 12, 2022, 10:40:28 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius this morning.

Glad I didn't have the time to chase down the remaining words yesterday, because I wouldn't have found the x words.

ab_grp, I was particularly annoyed about bended because this was a feasible word in a recent puzzle and, as usual, I tried to see if the bee would accept it. I was tempted to try foxnation yesterday but decided against it ;-).

Got the inspection done, and also the complimentary full circle check, thanks to the dealer (I bought the car, used, from the dealer three years ago two days from today) and have been taking it there ever since. Got my hair cut last week, so other than the packing for about two weeks, I'm all set for my vacation (non-work-related workshop next week, and then visiting friends on the way back).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 12, 2022, 11:00:29 AM
Woo! Got a 2fer on my first try! I am guessing it will be schmofficial.

That's a lot of trip prep to get done, Langue_doc! Hopefully it's an enjoyable workshop and vacation. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 12, 2022, 11:34:42 AM
Congrats ab_grp!

Just got a two-fer, hope it isn't the same as the official one. QB too.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 12, 2022, 11:39:50 AM
Wahoo! Congrats on the 2fer and QB, Langue_doc! I still have a couple words left on the bee and am currently stumped but will keep at it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 12, 2022, 03:12:27 PM
Genius, no pangram in sight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 13, 2022, 06:27:10 AM
QBw2LL, last word mayhem.

LB cave-exhausting, excavating-gush. Hmm, kind of a short story there?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2022, 07:46:45 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and pangram and a bit more so far.  We had team QB, but I was missing lemma, mecca, mayhem, among others.  I usually get those!

For LB, my first one was cave-extinguish, but I thought it might be schmofficial so tried again and got excavating-gush.  I guess I was right!

I am trying to get used to bifocals.  I didn't realize it was a thing that they are so difficult to get used to and that there is so much brain training involved! But I like them so far and we don't have stairs or curbs to worry about.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 13, 2022, 08:52:56 AM
Good morning!

50 words and 219 points so far, but that's about it for today.

Last word yesterday was hammy--didn't think it was a real word, but tried it all the same.

excavating/gush--great minds think alike.

ab_grp, hope you get used to your bifocals and that they work for your eyes. I tried a pair a long time ago, and decided that I would be better off with two different pairs of glasses. Now that I'm decataracted, I don't have to worry about glasses for driving, but sometimes still resort to my old reading glasses.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 13, 2022, 08:58:16 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Beta and pangram so far.  Yesterday my last word was lamely, which I thought I already had.  And I didn't think hammy was a real word, either, Langue_doc.   I don't even know why I tried it!  (Desperation?)

LB:  Congratulations to those who found two solutions!  I had cave-exhausting.  No 2fer yet today, though!

Ab_grp, you'll get used to those glasses!  I've been wearing progressive lenses for a very long time and love them.  It did take a little adjustment in going down stairs, but now I don't even think about it.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 13, 2022, 10:19:35 AM
Found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2022, 11:59:39 AM
I just got a 2fer, which I do not think will be schmofficial.  Whew, that was a chore!! Congrats on yours, cathwen!

Thanks for the support for the bifocals, Langue_doc and cathwen.  I watched some videos and see that the adjustment and brain retraining can go more quickly if one wears the glasses as often as possible.  I guess these are considered progressive, since there is no bifocal line, which makes it a little more challenging to figure out what part to look out of for various tasks, and I am trying to remember to turn my head instead of only moving my eyes.  I had glasses/contacts before the lasik, but that was quite a while ago at this point.  I very recently picked up some cheap reading glasses from Amazon, so it is definitely an interesting change! I'm also getting used to glasses fogging up again and figuring out whether there is a smudge or some area is just blurry.  I don't need them for driving, and I am not going to wear them during exercising, at least not until I get better with spatial awareness!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 13, 2022, 02:19:21 PM
Got a two-fer as well.

ab_grp, isn't it amazing that you can watch videos on practically anything? It's just a matter of getting used to new eyes (post cataract) and new glasses, so you'll get the hang of your glasses soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 13, 2022, 03:55:46 PM
GWP plus one rejected pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2022, 04:17:57 PM
Langue_doc, I am so thankful for all the helpful videos on topics that I would never have expected would have required a video.  Thanks again!!

Parasaurolophus, I saw a complaint elsewhere about a potential pangram being rejected.  I haven't identified a second yet so will be interested to hear tomorrow.

Looks like I have 6 words to go on the bee and am not quite at alpha yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 14, 2022, 04:06:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and 136 points so far.

Missed demit, tempi, and another word. SB didn't think that pediment was a real word. Now that would have put me above QB.

wholesome/emigrate

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 14, 2022, 06:33:40 AM
Morning!

QBwH and new-ish words demit(ted), tempi. Crabby as well about pediment. LB was earthworms-sleigh. Also had a 3fer with interesting imagery given that I live near the Castro in San Francisco: growl-leather-rims.

Woke up last night - stuck at Amazing but did find a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 14, 2022, 07:32:48 AM
Good morning!

I had to get help to find impenitent, tempi, and temped (argh!) yesterday.  I am also annoyed about the rejection of pediment.  Parasaurolophus, was that the rejected pangram you meant?

LB:  I had girls-somewhat.  Then (playing around and neglecting my work) I found wormholes-stagiest and gloms-swarthier.  Lots of solutions this time!  Ciao_yall, that is an, er, interesting 3fer! 

Today I have both pangrams but am only just a little above genius.  As for LB, I have a 2fer; took me a while to find it.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 14, 2022, 08:28:21 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams before switching over.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help with tempi, impenitent.  I think there were 3 other words that I needed husband's help with.  I wouldn't have thought of pediment.

For LB, I finally got watertight-tremolos, so lots and lots of (nonschmofficial!) solutions! I don't think I saw any of the components of any of the 2fers mentioned here or the schmofficial one, despite having quite a lot of contenders that I thought were pretty good.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 14, 2022, 08:50:36 AM
QB soon after I posted earlier this morning. The second pangram was probably the most difficult word for me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 14, 2022, 10:22:35 PM
cathwen: pediment, yeah. Also midden.

Not quite GWP today, although there were so many rejected words that I'd be well into Beta, otherwise.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 15, 2022, 05:00:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; last word yesterday was rabbi.

whacking/gentry

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 15, 2022, 06:43:59 AM
QB, needed a hint for baba of all things.

LB yacht-twerking.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 15, 2022, 06:57:48 AM
Good morning!

Airboat and rabbi were my last words yesterday.  Today I am at QB-2 and stumped.

LB:  I also had whacking-gentry.  No 2fer today yet! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 15, 2022, 08:26:45 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  There is another pangram that is not accepted, though I guess I can understand why.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were missing a word that's in there today.  I would never have gotten airboat.

No luck on LB, so congrats on all your solutions!! I had some good ones, but no dice. 

I did something to strain my right thumb and am now getting an understanding of how important a thumb is (especially dominant hand) in everyday life.  It just hurts in a couple directions, but boy does that limit things and make some tasks a lot slower and more painful.  Hopefully it will get better in a day or two with some rest and coddling as much as possible.  I was just saying to husband a couple days ago that I wish I were ambidextrous (though, stupidly, this was mainly so I could do the bee or crossword with my left hand while brushing my teeth with my right... wow, what an important use case!), and he said I could train toward that, but I hadn't started yet.  I guess now's the time to try it out a bit.

Happy solving!   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 15, 2022, 02:12:34 PM
GWP.

Yesterday, it rejected 'abattoir'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 15, 2022, 03:36:38 PM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on July 15, 2022, 02:12:34 PM
Yesterday, it rejected 'abattoir'.

Yep!! Totally forgot about that.

Still no luck on LB and a way to go on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 16, 2022, 02:33:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Forgot yesterday's last word, but remember that bolded wasn't accepted.

ab_grp, hope your thumb heals fast. It must be difficult to do even basic things with an injured thumb.

Off today on my long trip, so don't know if I'll have any time for puzzles (probably not) but will try to check in every day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 16, 2022, 04:56:30 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I made QBABM!  A red letter day.  I can't remember what the last word was.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  I hope others had better luck than I did.  I found a 2fer today, though. 

Langue_doc, enjoy your trip!  And ab_grp, I hope your thumb heals quickly. 

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 16, 2022, 07:27:46 AM
Morning!

QBwH - missed bocce again! Gah. Today I am two 4Ls short of GABM and hope to find them myself.

LB - I found a 2fer b4ss pajamas-stunningly and plenty of 3fers such as jumpily-yang-gits, jangly-tips-stump. I recall thinking of the word jumpsuit but not actually noticing that it was there! Another gah.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 16, 2022, 07:32:56 AM
A gah here too, ciao_yall.  I saw both jump and suit, but never thought to put them together!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2022, 09:15:02 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were missing celeb, bloc, bleed?! Wow, congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

I had no luck on LB either and also saw jump, suit but didn't think of them together.  :-( Tough one! Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

And thanks for the thumb healing wishes, Langue_doc and cathwen.  It is really eye opening how many things we do throughout the day need either a thumb itself or at least not to have excruciating pain when moving other fingers toward or away from the thumb.  And then there's the screaming pain when touching it a certain way, which I can never replicate unless by accident!! Husband picked up a couple things at the drug store, and the stabilizer I wore during the night was a complete godsend, letting me sleep with no pain at all.  I'm giving it a break right now with some BenGay and then back into a stabilizer later.  I have no idea what caused this but would like to avoid it in the future.  It just makes me grateful for what I usually have and definitely more compassionate for others.

I hope you have a wonderful and safe trip, Langue_doc! An enjoyable workshop and relaxing vacation! Or whatever adjectives you are hoping for!

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2022, 11:15:43 AM
I got a 2fer pretty quickly, but it is a little odd, so I might try again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 16, 2022, 05:40:34 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 17, 2022, 07:46:33 AM
QB, was short two 4Ls and went to the grid. Got lede, lode.

World's longest LB beachcomber-refraction.

ab_grp, Some carpal tunnel syndrome in my 20's made me train myself to be ambidextrous. I'm not perfect but it comes in handy at times! Worth a try. It feels awkward at first - give yourself some time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 17, 2022, 07:53:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost genius.

I was at Starbucks earlier this morning where I saw one of our favorite words on their menu--Açaí tea and Strawberry açaí lemonade. Not being a frequenter at Starbucks, I probably missed seeing this word as I usually know what I want (espresso) before I get to the register.

Met some interesting people--old acquaintances as well as new, and am looking forward to meeting new arrivals today. I do have to complete the reading assignments and also learn how to manage in a dorm room. The bed/cot is rather high, so I used the chair to climb onto it, but forgot about the height this morning when I almost fell down when getting out of bed. There are no bedside tables which means that the kindle isn't within reach which means that I don't get to work on the bee before getting out of bed. I had a nice drive--I learned to avoid I95 by taking 15 all the way through until it meets the main drag in CT, and then several interstates. I was driving through very green corridors all the way to my destination--there were trees overhanging the road and also in the median on 15, and then there were trees and grass, plants, and occasional trees in the median on the interstates.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 17, 2022, 09:22:18 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Not quite to genius yet, though I do have the pangram.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed the first letter for kohl.  Shunn wasn't loading, so I was glad for the grid attached in the app.

For LB, I got bromantic-chef.  I was surprised it took the first word.  I tried many more times, and had refraction but could not get a mate.  Congrats on your super long one, ciao_yall!! And also thanks for the encouragement! Can you write with your non-dominant hand? I have played instruments with two hands so feel as though using both shouldn't be that big a deal, but it is difficult.  Probably good to keep at it even as and after my current injury improves.  That's a great skill to have.

Langue_doc, I don't think I have seen acai in the wild.  I'm glad you're having a good trip so far, though it is jarring not to have a bedside table or the usual bed set up.  Good thing you didn't fall out! Is 15 the Merritt Parkway? I used to take that up to a couple areas of CT for a regional conference.  Definitely a nicer drive than some routes! Though there can be tradeoffs, of course.  Enjoy the interesting people!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 17, 2022, 09:54:19 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM again yesterday!  Last word was idol.   I'm at Alpha today, but foresee the need for hints.

LB:  I had the (boring) "official" chamber-refraction.  No 2fer today yet!  Lots of good words, but no mates that I can see.

Langue_doc, we're just a couple of miles away from 15 (Merritt Parkway...then the name changes to Wilbur Cross).  Whenever we have a choice between 15 and I-91, we always take 15, which is far more pleasant.  Enjoy your conference!  And good luck getting used to the bed.  Not having a night table next to the bed would really annoy me. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 17, 2022, 05:15:42 PM
Congrats on getting QBABY again yesterday, cathwen! You are on a roll! I hope you can get your QB today as well.  I am struggling a bit, though I did get to genius after finishing the conversation-starting (loads of comments!) crossword puzzle.  And congrats on another 2fer today! I have a huge bunch of contenders, but I have not found a mate yet. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 17, 2022, 10:21:06 PM
I seem to have fallen well short today. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 18, 2022, 05:01:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and above genius today. Made it to above genius yesterday. That's it for games.

CT 15 starts as the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx, then becomes CT 15, and then gets renamed the Merrit Parkway and then the Wilbur Cross. There are several service plazas along the entire route in CT which makes it a very pleasant alternative to I 95.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 18, 2022, 05:54:22 AM
Good morning!

I needed a 2LL nudge yesterday to find teleplay and playlet, which jumped into my mind while driving to the grocery store.  Today I have three words to go and, as usual, am stuck.

No 2fer yesterday!  And none yet today.  Argh!

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 18, 2022, 06:27:58 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word was phyla. LB earplugs-smock.

Happy solving!

ab_grp, how's the thumb? Experimenting with ambidextrism? i can scrawl with my left hand, but since my right-handed writing is not that legible either it's not such a big deal. Anything takes practice... and headaches.



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2022, 06:41:06 AM
Good morning!

We are up early for husband's dr appt, so I did not get quite to genius yet.  I do have the pangram! And coffee! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with playlet, phyla, ethyl, payee.

No luck on LB! I had so many contenders and even recruited a helper out of desperation.  Congrats, ciao_yall! And congrats on yours today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, is this the first day of your workshop? Hope it is stimulating!

Ciao_yall, thanks for asking.  It's doing a lot better each day.  I can do most of the very important things again for self care without too much pain, which is something I am very glad for!!! For opening of hand, I can now use a scrunchie but not an elastic band.  For closing or gripping, I can hold my phone or a wine glass but not my 28 oz plastic cup for water (if it has liquid in it), maybe because of width.  I am still using the lesser stabilizer during most of the day and the stronger one at night but am trying to give it some breathing room. And it still hurts a little to touch, but not to the falling on the floor screaming extent.  So I still have no idea what happened to it, but it is doing way better!! My handwriting with my right hand ain't that great either, but I would like my left to at least look reasonable.  My husband is a lefty but was forced to learn to write with his right hand as a child (as too many are, unfortunately), so he can do both pretty well.  I am curious about how you trained yourself to use your left hand more prominently!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 18, 2022, 07:15:30 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 18, 2022, 06:41:06 AM
I am curious about how you trained yourself to use your left hand more prominently!

I'm not sure. As a kid I liked to be different, so I would do things left-handed just to be like the few odd lefties in my class. I have always done sports naturally left-handed so I might have been switched as a kid.

I had some carpal tunnel in my 20's on my right hand so started dividing the load between hands and still use the mouse with my left hand to this day. I'm sort of conscious of trying to use my left hand when I can just to keep things "even" if that makes sense.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 18, 2022, 08:16:09 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2022, 05:02:32 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Geez louise.

Ciao_yall, there is something to be said for switching it up a bit just to reduce the routine and enforce thinking.  Sometimes muscle memory fails me.  And I am so used to having everything set up for right-hand use (mouse included) that it's been a pain (har har) the past few days.  I have had some strains here and there that make it seem worthwhile to try to be more ambidextrous or at least move things around once in while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 19, 2022, 06:36:57 AM
QB, needed a hint for width of all things.

LB was just 3fers. Got close with comply-yawns-sour, procurals-swampy-yawn, laywoman-croups-sol.

Onward! Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 19, 2022, 06:45:02 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB with 2LL hint for the last word:  wedgie.  Today I am at Beta and struggling.

LB:  I had the "official" compulsory-yawn.  I found one today as well.

Ab_grp, good luck with the healing and the attempts to be more ambidextrous!  Ciao_yall, that's interesting that you played sports left-handed.  My husband is the opposite—he is left-handed, but learned to play sports right-handed.  As for me, in spite of the fact that my father was left-handed, I am pretty strongly right-handed.  Handedness is a funny thing!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2022, 09:50:04 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram but am also struggling.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I needed help with tweeted, teethed, and one more I can't remember that was 5 letters, I think.

For LB, I finally got the schmofficial one as well.  I thought for sure that pulmonary would work.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

And thanks for the the additional good wishes! I have been with several lefties through the years, and they all did various things with their right hands.  No one that I know of in my own family (blood-related) is a lefty.  It is interesting, indeed!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 19, 2022, 04:50:10 PM
Evening!

Genius, still have to find the pangram. I had a setback because of a NYT tech snafu: the words and points that showed up on the kindle and phone were missing on my computer. I emailed customer care who promptly fixed the problem, so I didn't have to type the words all over again on the computer.

Good workshops and people so far, but I wish the temperatures were lower.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2022, 05:00:03 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Langue_doc, I'm glad they were able to fix it for you.  It would be a pain in the rear to have to retype.  I will wish for cooler weather for you!

I saw a tweet by Sam that makes it sounds as though the Friday bee could bee (hee hee!) a little different.  For those who don't want to click, looks like two of three are true: 5 pangrams; fewer than 40 words; an S.   https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1549482624573288448
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 19, 2022, 10:25:22 PM
Blah, today's a bad bee day for me, I'm afraid!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 20, 2022, 05:39:59 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday I had to go to hints (and not just letter hints) to find indica and indicia.  New words for me!  Today I am at Beta with the pangram, which took me a good while to find.  I am now struggling.

LB:  I had the "official" quirks-stabilize, which sounds as though it applies to Langue_doc's situation yesterday with the Bee!  I have a 2fer today as well.

Ab_grp, I also saw Sam's tweet as well about Friday's Bee.  I'm guessing that the S is the one that is not true.  But we'll see!  Fewer than 40 words is plausible, but 5 pangrams seems a stretch.  Still, he has always resisted putting S in the Bee.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 20, 2022, 07:13:51 AM
QBwH, new word indicia. LB quirks-stabilize.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2022, 09:17:06 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we were both missing cicada, minyan.  The latter was hard to figure out even with Shunn and then hints from the community until I remembered it, finally! I didn't want to look it up by definition.

I also got the schmofficial 2fer.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

As for Sam's hint, I was going to guess that it will be 5 pangrams and an S.  Thinking about the possibilities in pairs, I figure it would be less likely to have an S and fewer than 40 words, and it may also be less likely to have 5 pangrams and fewer than 40 words.  I would be surprised at an S, though.  He did offer some bee swag if anyone could actually guess the hive!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 20, 2022, 09:22:15 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. This is all the puzzling for today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 20, 2022, 10:38:26 PM
Failed again today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 21, 2022, 06:33:20 AM
QB, took me forever including going over the hints several time to realize I didn't have bobble entered. Gah.

LB - just 3fers including the close clang-grump-potion, magician-nut-tropical, and a rather elegant gnu-umlaut-tropical.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 21, 2022, 07:25:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB, each needing one word (mine was botnet again).

No luck on LB despite many valiant tries.  You had some good 3fers though, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 21, 2022, 08:54:48 AM
Good morning!

My last words were boll, botnet, and bolt—my last word.  I was going crazy looking for that last word, because I was so sure I had entered it already!  I certainly had seen it. 

Today I have GWP, and don't see myself getting too far without help.

LB:  I had the "official" grump-politician.  (No comment.)  Today I haven't had any luck yet.

It's already been a frustrating morning.  Our condo has a new swimming pool—it is beautiful!—with a new wooden fence around the pool area, and a new gate with a locking device.  So I decided to go for a swim, but  I could not get the gate open!  It was obvious that you needed to push, pull, or squeeze the device in some way, but no matter what I tried, I could not open it.  I am extraordinarily inept at such things (and having arthritic hands doesn't help), so when I go down later with my husband, he'll probably open it right away, and I'll say, "Oh...".

Anyway—happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 21, 2022, 10:31:11 AM
Cathwen, congrats on getting the official 2fer! I haven't had any luck today yet, either, though I have some good contenders.  I'm sorry about the pool gate.  That is so disappointing!! Some gates are hard to open if you know how.  I'm sure that's especially true if you have arthritis.  I hope you get in and have a good swim in the beautiful new pool!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 21, 2022, 12:25:32 PM
Afternoon!

Genius and pangram. QB yesterday--the last word was one of the four-letter words I thought I had entered earlier.

ab_grp, hope your thumb is healing. cathwen, I think all you need is for someone to show you how to open the gate. Just a couple of hours ago, I couldn't get any water out of the faucet in the library despite waving my hands, positioning them at different angles, and holding my wrists in front of what looked like a sensor. Fortunately, the person who came in after me showed me what to do to get the sensor to work.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 21, 2022, 01:01:44 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! It is doing a lot better, so I mainly just wear the stabilizer at night so I don't accidentally do something dumb to it, and I avoid too much pressure on it.  But I can do most things fairly normally now.  I don't think I'll be holding weights for a bit.  As for sinks, I am hopeless on that count.  I swear I'm invisible.  And if I move my hands around to get the water on or the soap on, nothing happens until I walk away, and then everything starts going.  Some people just watch and laugh.  I'm glad you got some help and figured it out! And congrats on QB yesterday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 21, 2022, 01:23:16 PM
Glad to hear your thumb is improving, ab_grp!  And Langue_doc, I have also had trouble finding the sensors for water faucets. 

As for the gate to the pool, it happened just as I had imagined.  My husband and I walked down there, he took one look at the lock, and said, "I think it works this way."  And it did.  I tried it, too, and even I could do it.  So, tomorrow morning I will try once more to take a swim!  But talk about feeling dopey.

Still no 2fer today!  Lots of good words, but no solutions for the leftover letters. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 21, 2022, 07:10:41 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Cathwen, you probably loosened the gate lock, as they say.  Hope you enjoy a lovely swim tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 21, 2022, 10:40:02 PM
Close, but ran out of time today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 22, 2022, 06:35:27 AM
QBwH, last word pitapat. Forgot about that one.

LB conditionals-sambar.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 22, 2022, 07:13:08 AM
Good morning!

Also QBWH, last word maillot.  So far today I am at Beta, and have found all five pangrams!  That's enough of a victory for me.  I am struggling at this point to find more words.

LB:  Like ciao_yall, I found conditions-sambar.   I kept trying to find something to fit with balsamic, but did not see contraband (the "official" solution)!

No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 22, 2022, 07:20:44 AM
Good morning!

Just started and have one pangram today.  Congrats on finding all 5, cathwen! I guess no S was correct.  We had team QB again.  I needed taillamp, tattoo.

For LB, I finally got contraband-domicils.  The latter took forever to find as a mate! That was a tough one.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall and cathwen! I had to look sambar up.  Looks delicious!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 22, 2022, 09:57:33 AM
Got a 2fer! And finally got to genius, though I still only have 2 pangrams.  Eek.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 22, 2022, 11:08:07 PM
I, too, have only found two pangrams, but a third would push me to genius. Sigh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 23, 2022, 05:18:35 AM
Good morning! Almost genius and no pangram so far.

Missed telegenic and a few other words yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 23, 2022, 05:41:37 AM
Good morning!

Against all expectations, I got to QBABM yesterday!  Last word was eclectic.  Today I am at Genius with the pangram.

LB:  I found one, but I don't like it:  reknown-normality.  I had tried renown, saw normality, and had the K left over, so tried, just for the heck of it, reknown—and was stunned when it was accepted.  I found a 2fer today with normal words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 23, 2022, 08:18:09 AM
QB, needed hints for celli, lenience which are easy ones I have missed before.

LB - closest I got was a 2fer b4ss marionet-twinkly. Quick 2fer this morning, so back to the bee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 23, 2022, 09:14:56 AM
Good morning!

Got off to a good start while getting ready this morning and just have two 4-letter words left to go today.  Hopefully I can find them given that I have the whole day! I am probably jinxing myself.  Congrats on your QBABY yesterday, cathwen! That is quite a feat.  I ended up needing first-letter hints to get telegenic, genetic but managed to get the rest. 

For LB, I got teamwork-kinkily.  Congrats on yours cathwen and on another today! And congrats on yours today, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I think you said you were headed to vacation after the workshop, so I hope your travel goes well when you switch over!

Cathwen, did you get to try out the new pool?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 23, 2022, 11:25:51 AM
Yay! Got to QBABM! Still no real luck on LB, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 24, 2022, 06:07:08 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. QB yesterday.

aerial/lunchbox

ab_grp, the workshop (fun, not "work") ended yesterday. The heat is unbearable, especially in the unairconditioned buildings and the dorms. I decided to stay an extra day to explore and go for long walks, but the temperature's been in the 90's. I'm leaving to visit friends in a Boston suburb in about a couple of hours. Forecast today for Boston is almost 100 degrees. Thunderstorms tomorrow and "cooler" temperatures--high eighties!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 24, 2022, 07:13:40 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word coif, found just as I was about to rip out great hanks of hair in frustration. Congratulations on your QBABY, ab_grp!  Today I'm at genius with both pangrams.

LB:  I had the "official" bronchial-luxe.  Congratulations on getting a different one, Langue_doc!  I have a 2fer today, too, but it took a long time to find it.

Langue_doc, I hope your friends in Boston have air conditioning!  Enjoy your visit.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2022, 08:18:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to almost alpha with two pangrams so far.  I hope to get QBABM again, but I'm not as close as yesterday.  My last two were doff, coif.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! Maybe a coif would prevent you from ripping out your hair! I'm glad I looked it up just in case, because I thought it actually meant hair.  Oops!

No luck on LB.  I saw luxe and was thinking of bracheal, which wasn't in there, but that's as close as I got to the schmofficial solution.  And I had luncher.  But I thought relaxable might be my best bet.  Oh well.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen, and on another today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, I also hope you have some air conditioning in your future! It seems quite warm on the east coast right now.  Too bad the high heat probably made the idea of a long walk much less appealing. 

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 24, 2022, 08:26:42 AM
QB with help from a friend. Last word: comfy.

LB aerial-lunchbox

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2022, 12:45:31 PM
Got to QBABM! Whew!!

Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall! That was a tough one, I think.

Today also seems a bit tough to me so far, but I have some possibilities.  Friend call got postponed, so more time to get some puzzles done (and housework).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 24, 2022, 10:44:18 PM
Genius, no pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 25, 2022, 06:36:17 AM
QBw2LL, last words nighttime, meming. LB piquant-tombstone, banquets-stompiest.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2022, 08:17:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams so far.  I think yesterday my final words were minim, mitt.  Not sure I will get a 3peat QBABM.

Congrats on your two 2fers, ciao_yall! None for me again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 25, 2022, 08:24:53 AM
Good morning!

Not sure where I am today; recall finding the pangram and making it to either genius or almost genius around 4 this morning. Decided to rest for a few minutes last night after dinner with friends, and then woke up at 3:45 with the lights on. What to do, what to do, other than the bee. Then went back to sleep, and now am getting ready to have lunch with friends and then going to the museum.

I'm staying in air-conditioned comfort in a hotel, with a river view from my window, and traffic on the pike and the feeder roads in the distance, behind the trees.

Made it to QB yesterday, but didn't realize that there were two pangrams until this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 25, 2022, 11:34:14 AM
Good afternoon!

I made QB yesterday, albeit with 1L help for the last word, which I was sure I had already gotten—them!  Today I am at Beta with both pangrams.

LB:  I had the "official" piquant-tombstone.  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Congratulations, ciao_yall, on finding *two* 2fers yesterday!  Langue_doc, your accommodations for this part of your trip sound much more comfortable.  Enjoy the rest of your stay!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2022, 02:33:44 PM
Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours as well, cathwen, and on your solution yesterday!

Langue_doc, I'm glad you have air conditioning and a nice view.  I hope you have a great day out and about!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 26, 2022, 06:31:21 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius. According to the bee, I missed acne and ache, which I knew I had entered quite early in the puzzle. Aarrgh!

Hope you've been able to manage the gate to your swimming pool, cathwen.

I can't complain about the room other than the sliding doors in the shower, which have a mind of their own. When the shower stall is dry, the doors go all the way into their brackets, but once the water is turned on, the door slides back slowly and unpredictably in the most ghost-like fashion. On Sunday, I had to hold the door shut with one hand while using the other for soaping and rinsing. Yesterday, I learned to use my foot. I don't think my reporting this had any effect, because the door started creeping backward today as well, although much later than yesterday. Fortunately, I saw housekeeping two doors away yesterday and so got extra towels which I can now put on the floor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 26, 2022, 06:39:03 AM
QBwH, last word enchain. Okay there then.

LB just 2fer b4ss photobiotic-criminal, homophobic-charlatan and lots of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2022, 08:08:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with 2 pangrams.  Yesterday I still had a good number of words left when we compared.  Just ran out of time!

I got ophthalmic-carbon yesterday, and husband suggested -carbonara, so I guess that's 1.5 solutions.

Today I have a friend call mid-day.  We had a power outage or two last night, apparently, so various electronics have to be reset.  Whee!

Langue_doc, that is wacky about the shower! I cannot stand bad hotel showers that make me feel like I have to spend more time trying to prevent the floor from getting wet than from showering.  Ugh!! I hope someone can fix it for you.  Seems like there should be some way to lock it in place even if not.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2022, 10:35:44 AM
Got a 2fer, but I'm not super happy about it so may try again if I have time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 26, 2022, 04:19:36 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 26, 2022, 10:35:44 AM
Got a 2fer, but I'm not super happy about it so may try again if I have time.

Yeah I have a 2fer with a word I thought I made up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2022, 06:42:46 PM
I did get a more reasonable 2fer and QBABM! I'm sure this luck can't hold.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 26, 2022, 09:23:25 PM
Whew, GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 27, 2022, 05:29:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; QB yesterday.

euphemism/mobilizer

Off on the third and final leg of my vacation. Lovely spot, but no internet, so won't be posting for a couple of days.

I finally figured out the shower doors; if I don't touch them when they are dry, they stay put, but when wet, get going by sliding backward. Today was a good shower day because I didn't have to use any of my limbs to hold the door shut.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 27, 2022, 07:02:42 AM
QBw2LL, last word was taunt. LB phosphorous-sublimize which I put in as a joke but it worked. Gotta use it in a sentence today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 27, 2022, 08:29:13 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram, but it took a while to find! Yesterday my final words were taut, tautly.  I was really glad to find them!!

For LB, I got mobilizer-repush, which is kinda hokey, so next I got publisher-remobilize.  It's not that much better, but a little.  Ciao_yall, yours isn't bad! I don't know how the editors expected people to come up with rhizome, but I'm sure someone did.  Langue_doc's is pretty clean.

Speaking of Langue_doc, I hope you enjoy your final vacation destination! I'm glad you were able to get a good shower in.  Enjoy!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 27, 2022, 10:00:37 AM
GWP!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 28, 2022, 06:47:23 AM
QB, needed a hint for journo.

LB - not even a 3fer! Not even close! Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2022, 07:48:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed the first letter for aurora.

I had no luck with LB either!! I tried and tried and got close but no 2fer.  Hopefully today is another day!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 28, 2022, 08:27:31 AM
Good morning!

I needed help to find the last two words, dorado and journo.  Today I'm at Alpha with three words to go. 

LB:  I had the "official" birthmark-knowing, but still no 2fer today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2022, 05:22:49 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Egad.  Not a great one, but I will take it.

Cathwen, I think those were my two final words before the one I needed help with.  I hope you get your words today! I still have five left at this point.  And congrats on getting the LB solution yesterday!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 28, 2022, 10:50:45 PM
Quick GWP. Forgot about the Bee until just now, and I'm mega-tired.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 29, 2022, 06:10:23 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL help for navel and valance yesterday.  Today I'm at QB-2, hoping to get the last two words without hints.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, but I have one today.  Ab_grp, congratulations on yours, great or not!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 29, 2022, 06:29:49 AM
Good morning!

QB earlier this morning and QB yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2022, 06:33:41 AM
QBwH for cancan which I always miss, and the dictionary for valance.

LB - closest I got was maximalists-scour-rip, scum-maximalists-torpor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2022, 07:35:12 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram but not quite to genius yet.  Yesterday I needed first-letter help for canna.  So close! I thought I had tried it.  Husband did get QBABH.

For LB, I got tropicalism-maximum.  It works, but it's kind of a lot.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: Oops, meant to say congrats on your QBs yesterday and today, Langue_doc, and good to see you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2022, 04:09:10 PM
Got a 2fer! Another kind of weird one, but I got one.  And I did manage to get to genius but still have a couple words left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 29, 2022, 04:49:24 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 30, 2022, 05:27:28 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help from my list of Bee words to find goby.  Today I am at GWP, and finding this a tough one. 

LB:  I had the "official" touch-hyperdrive.  I found a quick 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 30, 2022, 06:05:37 AM
Good morning!

QB already this morning. Last word yesterday was oboe, which keeps cropping up every three days or so.

hyper/reproductive; product/thievery

Found a two-fer as soon as I looked at the puzzle this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 30, 2022, 06:46:38 AM
QBwH for bebop. LB just 3fers inlcuding pervert-third-douchey which reminds me of a singles bar.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 30, 2022, 07:10:37 AM
Haha, ciao_yall!  Love that 3fer!

Langue_doc, congratulations on today's QB already! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2022, 08:28:49 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Congrats on QB already, Langue_doc! I also needed help with goby yesterday! I don't think I ever would have gotten that.

For LB, I got herp-productivity.  Herp apparently has a couple different meanings.  I just tried it with the leftover letters and was glad it took.  Lots of solutions and a great 3fer from ciao_yall! Congrats on another one today, cathwen and Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2022, 06:27:02 PM
Finally got a 2fer! And we had team QB, but I needed help with a few more than he did.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 30, 2022, 09:27:47 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 31, 2022, 08:25:29 AM
Good morning!

I made QB yesterday only by typing in mako while trying random letter combinations.  Today I'm at QB-1 and hoping for a similar miracle.

LB:  I had the "official" clump-probation.  I have a 2fer today also.

I had a nice treat this morning—a female ruby-throated hummingbird visited our patio, lingering over the perennial sage that I planted three years ago. I have other flowers that are supposed to attract hummingbirds, but the sage is the one they like best.  It was a lovely way to start the day.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 31, 2022, 08:54:04 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last words ammo, mako, momma.

LB clump-probabtion but a rather clunky 10-4 today. May go look for a more elegant one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 31, 2022, 09:03:46 AM
Good morning!

Well above genius with two pangrams. Last word yesterday was wanna.

proclamation/numb

Found a two-fer.

cathwen, that's a lovely way to start your day. Incidentally, I too saw a ruby-throated hummingbird just a few days ago, flitting from one daylily to the next.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2022, 09:11:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and a bit beyond with both pangrams so far.  I think I needed help with amok, lawman, llano.  Congrats on your QBs yesterday, Langue_doc and cathwen!!

I also got proclamation-numb in LB and was surprised that it wasn't schmofficial.  Congrats on all your 2fers today, cathwen, ciao_yall, and Langue_doc!

Hummingbirds are nice little visitors! I'm not sure that I have ever paid much attention to what kind they are but will try to do so.  I am not sure what they are most attracted to here.  And daylily is a bee word!

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on July 31, 2022, 01:19:12 PM
BW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2022, 05:18:33 PM
Way to go, Parasaurolophus! I still have so many words left.  And no 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 01, 2022, 06:48:36 AM
QBwH and a few new words candela, clade, dace. And, of course, cancan again because in my brain it's always hyphenated like cha-cha and yo-yo.

LB quicksands-stob.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2022, 07:54:58 AM
Good morning!

Didn't quite get to genius yet (almost!), but I do have the pangram.  Yesterday we were two short of team QB (dace, clade), which I don't think I ever would have gotten.  I also needed help with candela, decade, decadence.  Ciao_yall, I have the same problem with cancan.

And congrats on your 2fer!! I had to look up stob.  I got close a couple times, but I just didn't see quicksand.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 01, 2022, 08:08:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; it's a slog today.

Didn't get any time to work on the bee after posting here yesterday, because of several phone calls.

quicksands/sabot

As for hummingbirds, the only species we get here in the city and probably in the eastern regions is the ruby-throated one. We used to see Anna's hummingbirds flitting in and out of the fuschia flowers when we lived in northern CA.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 01, 2022, 10:43:45 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, but needed help to find candela.  Today I'm at GWP, and I agree with Langue_doc, it's a slog.

LB:  I had the "official" quicksand-doubt.  I have a 2fer today.

I will have lots of time for puzzles today, as I am in the waiting room of a hospital as my husband undergoes a cystectomy, having been diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer in February.  He was in good spirits this morning, and his surgeon has a stellar reputation, but...eek.  They estimate that the surgery will take about five hours, so I will do a tour of the gift shop, the Au Bon Pain café, and try out all the comfy-looking chairs.  And do puzzles.  And read.  And pray.  There is every reason to expect a good outcome, so I'm not out of my mind with worry—only mildly anxious.

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2022, 02:42:44 PM
Gah... I'm sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis, cathwen, and I hope his surgery goes very well.  I'm sending you both lots of good wishes.  That is not an easy wait to endure, but things sound very promising.  Take care!!

And congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen! And again today, cathwen!

As for the bee, I got a bit past genius but haven't gotten much further.  I have gotten a lot of housework done this afternoon with some of the few hours this week that everyone's out of the house and I don't have to work around anyone.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 01, 2022, 10:46:36 PM
Courage, cathwen! I hope the surgery went well, and that he recovers apace.

(Pangramless genius for me, today.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 02, 2022, 06:08:59 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. I hate the repetitive puzzles--gah!

Didn't get around to looking for more words yesterday, but found the oxymoronic betrayal/loving.

cathwen, I hope the surgery went well, and husband is recovering. Sending you both good thoughts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 02, 2022, 06:45:07 AM
QBwH and a new word monad. LB belong-gravity.

Pretty quick GWP this morning so hoping for a QBABM but there is probably a new word lurking in there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 02, 2022, 07:51:19 AM
Yesterday, it accepted monad but rejected monadic.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2022, 08:36:06 AM
Good morning!

Got to alpha with the pangram today, so we'll see! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with adman, macadam, macadamia.  There were a couple not accepted again.

As for LB, I got betraying-gloving, which is boring but better than nothing.  Congrats on all the solutions!

Hope things are going well, cathwen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 02, 2022, 11:10:18 AM
Good afternoon!

First, thank you for the good wishes for my husband.  The surgery went well.  I am visiting now (he's snoozing), but he looks good.  I accompanied him and a nurse's aide for a walk—three laps around the hospital floor.  He will be home sometime this week (day to be determined).  But all is well, and he's feeling upbeat about managing and living with his new appliance.

Now, for SB:  I had all the time in the world yesterday (I was in the hospital for 10 hours), but threw in the towel at QB-5 and looked at 2-letter hints to find admin, doodad, indica, indicia, and mondo

LB:  I had lovability-yearning.  No 2fer yet today, though—I have one good word that leaves only a few letters, but can't make a good word with them.  You all know how that goes! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2022, 04:52:52 PM
I'm so glad to hear that the surgery went well and that your husband is resting and feeling well, cathwen! Being at the hospital all day is tiring and stressful, no matter how much time it purportedly gives for puzzling.  Congrats on your 2fer yesterday! I haven't found one today yet either (maybe you have by now), though I have some possibilities.  I am one dang 4-letter word away from QB, though.

ETA: Finally got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 03, 2022, 05:25:50 AM
QB, needed a hint for kiddie. LB organic-crumbly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 03, 2022, 07:32:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. Last word yesterday was peke, whatever that means; penultimate word was the pangram.

organic/crumbly; are organic baked goods crumblier than their non-organic counterparts?

cathwen, glad to hear that the surgery went well and that husband is recovering. All the same, it must have been a bit nerve-wracking the day of the surgery. Continuing to send you both good wishes for a speedy recovery.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 03, 2022, 08:42:17 AM
Good morning!

Husband had to get up early for a meeting, so I tried out the weighted blanket I got him for his birthday recently and here I am, several hours later.  I'm going to have to look at one of those for myself! But in any case, I haven't gotten very far with puzzles, though I do have the pangram and am nearing genius.  I figured peke is short for pekingese dog.  We each made it down to the one four-letter word kepi.  I don't think I ever would have gotten that without first letter help and it being only four letters and kind of remembering it!

I got the same 2fer.  I had crumbly forever but it took until evening to find a mate.  Once I did, it seemed obvious.  I don't know about the crumblyness of organic foods, but it's a good theory.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 03, 2022, 11:23:35 AM
Good afternoon!

I never did finish SB yesterday.  Deke, deked, dink, dinked, and keened were the words I missed.  Today I have two words to go; we'll see.

Yesterday's LB was unsatisfying in that I did get a 2fer, but one of the words didn't seem like a word.  I had manicuring-globy.  I had seen crumbly but not organic!  I have a similarly unsatisfying 2fer today in that one word is very iffy in spite of having been accepted.  If I have time, I'll try for a better one.

Ab_grp, Youngest Daughter has one of those weighted blankets and loves it!  I've never tried one myself, but I'm tempted to buy one.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 03, 2022, 03:27:34 PM
Cathwen, I hope you get your two bee words! I have four left now.  And congrats on a different 2fer and another today.  Weird or not, they're legit in my opinion since they don't accept things they should half the time! I don't have one yet today but have some promising contenders. 

As for the blanket, I have heard so many good things about them, and I found a recommended one on sale, so I figured might as well try it out.  The one I initially wanted to get was a lot more expensive, and who knows if someone will like the feeling of the weight? And the recommendations are different as far as weights.  Some say 10% of bodyweight, some say 6-10%, but I read some reviews indicating that it depends on the size of the blanket as well.  Apparently, some people thought that the heavier side of things was too heavy if the blanket was smaller so that the weight wasn't distributed across a greater area.  Lots to think about! I am not totally sure what the blanket weight and body weight have to do with each other since I think you are supposed to lie under the blanket.  Anyway, he liked the one I got (which is also supposedly a cooling blanket) and said he has had even more restful sleep with it the past few nights, but it's more a weight recommended for me than for him, so I picked up another two today also on sale, one of which is heavier and the other is larger.  It seems like we need our separate top blankets since we have different sleeping and heat issues along with the weights.  Might as well try a few scenarios out.  I think it will help me in the mornings when I wake up too early and really need more sleep but start thinking and having a hard time getting back to sleep, like this morning.  There was a Twitter thread just after Christmas about how addictive weighted blankets are which got me thinking in this direction and provided some recommendations.   If you have any questions, let me know.  I can tell you which one I got (off Amazon) too, if that helps. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 03, 2022, 11:11:44 PM
GwoP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 04, 2022, 06:29:35 AM
QB, needed a hint+Google for borzoi. Never heard of such a critter.

LB pricklet-toeholds.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 04, 2022, 06:46:03 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but don't think I have the pangram yet.

Missed borzoi and bobbing--I know that I typed the latter at least twice.

chords/spikelet

I too have been checking out the weighted blankets.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 04, 2022, 07:53:31 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram but not quite to genius yet.  Yesterday we almost had team QB, but borzoi got in the way.  We had to look at Steve G's hints in the community page, which is a last resort, and then there was still guessing involved.

No luck on LB, so congrats on your solutions, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Regarding the weighted blankets, I realized last night that it wasn't too nice to order 40 pounds of blanket at once for delivery.  Sorry, driver!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 04, 2022, 01:31:38 PM
Good afternoon!

I also got stuck on borzoi yesterday. I dimly remember having seen the breed while watching the Westminster Dog Show.  Today I'm at Beta, five words to go. 

LB: I first had pricklets-shod.  Then I found lordship-picket.  I was leery of pricklets, but if the LB gods say okay, then who am I to question.

No 2fer yet today! 

Good news:  My husband came home from the hospital today!  Hooray!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 04, 2022, 03:29:08 PM
Yay for your husband coming home, cathwen!! I hope his home recovery continues to go well.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday!

I have no 2fer today yet, either.  I did finally get to genius.  I was really not a fan of the crosswords yesterday (especially) and today.

ETA: Just saw that Sam posted that Saturday bee will have a bunch of pangrams and that "one of the pangrams, at 10 letters, is about as hard as they come," supposedly.  Just a heads up!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 04, 2022, 07:04:29 PM
BWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 05, 2022, 06:32:27 AM
QBwH for concoct, concoction, moonlit.

LB was just 3fers unfit-tweak-karmic, muckrake-eft-twain. Looked like a tricky solution - wonder if there were many others?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 05, 2022, 07:37:31 AM
Good morning!

I missed a bunch of words yesterday, all of which I usually get:  concoct, concoction, tilt, tomtit.  I missed moonlit, too, and remembered that I had missed it in a previous puzzle not long ago.

Today I am at genius with the pangram (which took me an age to find). 

No 2fer yesterday!  I have one today, though.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 05, 2022, 08:17:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were the pangram, onto, into.

Two-fer that I like today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 05, 2022, 08:35:54 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten too far this morning, but I finally found the pangram.  It took a while again!  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were missing till (ugh).  I needed help with ones I've found before like monotonic and some that just seem to escape me like moonlit.

That was a tough LB yesterday! No luck here, either, and I would never have found that solution.  Congrats on already having 2fers today, cathwen and Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 05, 2022, 05:20:08 PM
Whew, finally got a 2fer.  Still a good number of words left on the bee, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 05, 2022, 10:30:52 PM
Amazing with pangram. Ugh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 06, 2022, 06:15:19 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams (I think) and genius. That's it for today.

Missed a few words yesterday--acetal, lacteal, tacet, and a couple more. I distinctly remember typing tattle--the bee doesn't always register words that I've entered.

rejoice/exuberant

ab_grp, I immediately thought of you when I saw 20A in Friday's crossword.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 06, 2022, 08:54:15 AM
Good morning!

I think I have four pangrams but am still not at genius! Yesterday we needed help with lacteal, laicize, tacet

For LB, I got the schmofficial juice-exorbitant.  Congrats on a different solution, Langue_doc! Yep, I thought that crossword answer was quite timely!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 06, 2022, 09:02:02 AM
Morning!

QBwH, a few new words but then realized I missed little. Gah. So far 4 pans (I think) and still at Amazing.

LB jure-exacerbation.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 06, 2022, 09:24:19 AM
Good afternoon!

Two pangrams and amazing today.  If I ever get to genius, I'll be happy.  Yesterday I had to get 2LL hints for lacteal, calcite, and laicize.

LB:  I had rejoice-extubation.  I found one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 06, 2022, 10:01:34 AM
Finally tipped into Genius and a 2fer. Well, two that are variations on one another.

I thought it was important to share.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 06, 2022, 04:56:15 PM
GW3P. Oof, that was tough.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 06, 2022, 05:07:09 PM
I am definitely behind on the bee! I am still not to genius yet! And I still have a pangram left to find.  But I did finally get a 2fer.  And the blankets have arrived!! It's only 6 PM, but I kind of want to go to bed now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 06, 2022, 05:57:55 PM
They're all familiar bee words, ab_grp, except for one pangram, which although not a bee word, would still be a word that you might know.

I stopped at 60 words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 07, 2022, 08:19:33 AM
Good morning!

Between an unusually busy day yesterday and the length of the Bee, I only got to Genius with three of the five pangrams (missed pimiento and pentimento, which I would never have found on my own).  Today I have two words to go for QB.

LB:  I had midtowns-sluice.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 07, 2022, 08:45:05 AM
QBwH, new word pentimento.

LB midtowns-sluice, sluiced-downtime.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 07, 2022, 09:37:54 AM
Good morning!

I've been working more on the crossword so far this morning so am not at genius yet (almost) but do have the pangram.  The one I was missing was pentimento as well, and I thought maybe it had been in there before? I did finally guess it with a lot of help from Shunn.  But I had a bunch that I was missing on my own.  We almost had team QB, other than the missing pangram and onetime.

For LB, I got melodic-cutdowns.  Congrats on your solutions, cathwen (and another today!) and ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 07, 2022, 10:13:08 AM
Afternoon!

121 points so far. Missed tempi, onetime, and a couple more words.

sluiced/downtime

Crosswords were done last night. It's cleaning day, so no more puzzling, I suspect.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 07, 2022, 08:44:30 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 08, 2022, 05:45:51 AM
Good morning!

It's an easy one today--QB already.

Missed biotic and boho.

Happy solving!

ETA Just found a two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 08, 2022, 06:44:43 AM
QBw2LL and a wild guess at echoic.

LB sprawl-lazybones, lazybones-sprawl.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 08, 2022, 06:51:50 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday and again today!  Yesterday my last word was boohoo.  I got echoic by accident; I would have never tried it otherwise.

LB:  I also had lazybones-sprawl and sprawl-lazybones.  I have a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2022, 08:48:55 AM
Good morning!

Wow, congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen (and yesterday)!  I got the pangram and to genius but am now stuck and am hoping some time away will help.  I also tried echoic kind of randomly, thankfully.  We had team QB, but I had a friend call that took up a lot of the afternoon, so I didn't get as far on the bee as I would have liked (but the call was very enjoyable!).  I kept seeing bioethic yesterday.

Congrats on the 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen! Solutions that make sense.  I had no luck but do have some promising contenders today.  Congrats on already getting one, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2022, 05:15:42 PM
Finally got a 2fer! I had a long contender list that kept getting longer and decided to go back through sets of remaining letters to see if I could make a mate.  Tried a word, and it worked.  Still 5 words to go on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 08, 2022, 10:47:39 PM
AWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 09, 2022, 05:01:51 AM
Good morning!

Another easy bee today, just got to QB.

Last word yesterday was friary. Didn't think that fratty was a word, but tried it all the same.

lexicon/negativity; I prefer my solution to the official one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 09, 2022, 05:51:12 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word friary.  Today I'm at QB-2. Congratulations on QB already, Langue_doc!

LB:  I prefer both the official solution and Langue_doc's solution.  Mine consisted of two words that I consider iffy:  oxygenic-covenantal.  I have a 2fer today with normal words.

It's been a noisy morning.  Our old, non-functioning HVAC unit is being replaced, a 2-day process.  It began with the workmen showing up at 7:30 am (a half-hour early) and running a noisy machine for about 20 minutes.  (They're doing quieter work now.)  I'll be glad when the new unit is up and running. 

Anyway—happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 09, 2022, 06:24:04 AM
Ain't no such thing as an "iffy" word, as long as it shows up in a dictionary.

Stay cool, cathwen, hope your daytime temperature today is far below ours.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 09, 2022, 06:25:47 AM
QBABM! Wild guesses at fratty, affray. LB galactic-convexly. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 09, 2022, 07:10:08 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far but haven't done much else.  Congrats on another QB today, Langue_doc! Good luck on your final 2 words, cathwen! Yesterday we had team QB, each missing similar words. I was missing friary, itty, and he was missing fratty, iffy.  Congrats on your QB, ciao_yall!

Lots of 2fers, and I had so many components of each of them! Ugh.  I got anoxic-cognitively, finally.  Congrats! And congrats on another today, cathwen! I think if "iffy" can be in the bee then iffy solutions should be acceptable.  Ha!

Cathwen, good luck with your HVAC! It is such a process.  I hope it all goes smoothly.

I may have a lot of time for puzzles today.  We shall see!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 09, 2022, 09:57:27 AM
Yay! Made it to QBABM! I am struggling on LB, though.  Not many contenders so far.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 09, 2022, 06:47:01 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 10, 2022, 05:38:28 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and just above 200 points so far. That's probably it for today. Last words yesterday were acacia and acai.

The oxymoronic jailbreak/klutzy ...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 10, 2022, 06:51:19 AM
QBw2LL, could have done it ABM but I got impatient. Last word vivid. LB jailbreak-klutzy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 10, 2022, 08:18:49 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday my final ones were acai, audit.  Husband needed help with his final word (also acai) but almost got there.  He had a long day on site and didn't have as much time as I did, by a long shot.

No luck on LB again! I did have jailbait, which left turkey and Z.  Oh well.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!!

Cathwen, I hope your HVAC work is going well and you are staying cool!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 10, 2022, 12:02:56 PM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday I had QBABM for the third day in a row.  That won't happen today, though.  I'm at Beta, but absolutely stuck.  I foresee letter hints at least.  My last word yesterday was tutti.

LB:  I also had jailbreak-klutzy.  No 2fer yet today, though!

The HVAC unit is fixed and it's much more comfortable now.  They also replaced our thermostat with one that has giant blue digits that you can actually read (the last one was dark brown on light brown).  Let's hope there are no more bank account-emptying incidents for a good while!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 10, 2022, 09:00:31 PM
Two pangrams, no genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 11, 2022, 05:28:33 AM
Good moring!

Two pangrams and genius. It's a slow one today, and I'm out of ideas for more words.

Last word yesterday was denim. Didn't think dizzied was a word, but it was accepted all the same.

megachurch/hominy

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 11, 2022, 06:23:57 AM
QBw2LL, needed the nudge for demimonde, nominee. LB megachurch-hominy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 11, 2022, 06:25:13 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL hints yesterday.  Last words were demimonde and denim.  Today I'm at Beta and, like Langue_doc, out of ideas. 

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  Congratulations, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!  I do have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2022, 08:14:49 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten too far on the puzzles today, but I do have the pangrams.  I'm trying to keep puzzles available for what will apparently be a very long appt with the retina specialist to find out what's going on with my eye.  Yesterday we each got down to 2 words and had team QB.  I needed diode, doozie.

Congrats on your solutions yesterday, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! That seemed like a tough one.  I tried and tried but didn't get anywhere.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 11, 2022, 10:04:39 AM
ab_grp, hope your eye problems get the correct diagnosis and treatment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2022, 12:10:54 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! So far, no real news.  They did a bunch more tests and scans and injected me with dye and took more scans and don't really see anything going on.   The only thing the doctor could see was that the bad eye still has some slight attachment to a membrane, so there might be some tugging going on, whereas the good eye is fully detached.  I have to go back in September since he had no real baseline to work with in order to see if there is any change. Or if I have a shower of floaters before then, go back sooner.   They did check all the structures again, pressure, blood flow, and all looked totally normal.  He said the partial attachment stuff is often symptom-free and that if I hadn't had symptoms he wouldn't even have thought to have mentioned it or that anything was awry.  I am still not clear if I will get the vision back when the detachment is complete? But I guess since the eyes work together, stuff affecting one eye can really throw vision off.  It's kind of bewildering to me, but good news, I guess!

Bad news: I could not load the bee while I was there!! I did get the crossword done, but for some reason the bee part wouldn't load.  So I guess I better get to that as my dilation stuff wears off.  I am definitely looking forward to destressing.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2022, 01:19:39 PM
I did get a 2fer! Still not even to genius on the bee, yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 11, 2022, 10:41:40 PM
Blah, two pangrams, no genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 12, 2022, 05:36:32 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. Missed appetitive, epee, and ipecac--tried all kinds of spelling variants for the last one, but just couldn't come up with the correct one.

curing/galumphs

Happy solving!

ab_grp, hope you get your vision back--must be quite frustrating not to be able to use both eyes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 12, 2022, 06:54:58 AM
Morning!

QBwH for pepita and pitapat which I always miss. LB shlump-prancing, purchasing-glum.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 12, 2022, 07:32:13 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB-1 yesterday, then needed a hint to find appetitive.  Today I am at Beta with the pangram.

LB:  I had charming-galumphs.  Galumphing charmingly?  Several possibilities this time!  And ciao_yall, congratulations on having found two!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 12, 2022, 08:19:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for appetitive, which husband managed to remember, thankfully.  I also needed help for apiece.  Ugh!

For LB, I had hauls-scrimping.  Lots of solutions again!

And thanks again, Langue_doc.  Guess we'll see what happens, ha ha.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 12, 2022, 11:08:30 AM
BWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 13, 2022, 08:21:15 AM
QBwATHICG for dugong, godhood.

LB - 2fer b4ss amphetamines-stirfry, fattens-shrimpy. Not sure it would have taken stirfry but it did take shrimpy. And 3fers coming out of my ears.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 13, 2022, 08:47:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. It's another tricky one, so probably won't get any further today.

Last word yesterday was gong. Found the difficult ones much earlier.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 13, 2022, 09:36:05 AM
Good afternoon!

I got to QB-2 yesterday and finally looked at hints to find gong (argh!) and godhood.  I got dugong after consulting my list of weird Bee words.  Today I have three words to go and am stuck.

LB:  I did not find a 2fer yesterday!  I have one today, though.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 13, 2022, 10:29:32 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't gotten too far on puzzles today.  Neither of us has the pangram yet.  Yesterday I think I needed help with goth, unhung, godhood

No luck on LB despite a lot of very good words (or so I thought).  That was a tough one! Congrats on getting a 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 13, 2022, 04:41:03 PM
Holy cow! I finally got the pangram and made it to genius and found a longish 2fer.  I don't think the puzzle gods are with me today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 14, 2022, 06:55:52 AM
Good morning!

I did not finish SB yesterday—Youngest Daughter arrived in the afternoon, and what with ensuing chit-chat, catching up, and dinner, I never got back to it.  My missed words were employee, myeloma, and myope.  Today I am at GWP. 

It's great to have her here!  It has cheered up my husband considerably.

LB:  I had livened-drumbeat.  And I have a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 14, 2022, 08:36:28 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday I was also missing myope, myeloma.

For LB I had multivariate-embedment.  Ugh.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

And enjoy your daughter's visit! That's great that it helped cheer your husband up so much.  I hope he is continuing to recover and adjust well.

happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 14, 2022, 09:19:27 AM
QB - traded hints with a friend to get employee, myeloma, myope. LB livened-drumbeat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 14, 2022, 12:43:39 PM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and above genius. Missed laypeople.

cathwen, enjoy your visit with youngest daughter. Hope husband is recovering on schedule.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 14, 2022, 05:33:59 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 15, 2022, 05:56:02 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams (found the second one only because I mistyped) and above genius. Missed grandad, grandpapa (!) and a couple more words yesterday.

junctions/skewed

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 15, 2022, 06:31:34 AM
QBwH for all four variants of grandfather. LB junction-newsdesk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 15, 2022, 08:05:56 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find grandad, granddad, grandpapa, and pidgin.  This morning I'm at Alpha with three words to go.

LB: I had junctions-skewed.  I found a 2fer today also.

We are enjoying Youngest Daughter's visit.  We all went out to an iconic pizza place that people travel for miles to come to, so that was fun. It was the first outing (other than doctor appointments) for my husband, who is convalescing nicely.  The pizza place is located in an area with narrow streets and few places to park, so I had to parallel park for the first time in probably at least 20 years—so that was an adventure.  Fortunately, it went well, and no cars were harmed in the process.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2022, 10:17:20 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to genius with both pangrams after husband inquired whether there were just the two pangrams.  Thanks for the help! haha We also had some trouble with the various granddads yesterday (I think I had grandpapa but not grandpa (!) and not granddad, grandad, the latter of which looks weird to me) and pidgin.

And I also had junctions-skewed.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

I'm so glad the visit is going well, cathwen, and the pizza place sounds like a nice first non-doctor outing for your husband! Sorry to hear that you had to parallel park, but great that it went well.  I have no idea if I would be able to do that these days.  I've never been particularly good at it.  Part of it is that I have about zero spatial awareness, so the spot better be about two car lengths for me to feel like I can fit my tiny car into it! I get anxious even being in a car where someone is trying to parallel park in a small spot.  Anyway, pizza! Yum!! Good outing! Will your daughter be staying for a while?

Our youngest is heading up to college this week, and of course everything is ready and nothing is ready.  Luckily, they have stores there, of course, and there are family friends in the area in case something goes awry.  Should be interesting!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 15, 2022, 07:45:02 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 16, 2022, 07:17:49 AM
QBwALTHICG. javelina?

LB - just 3fers because it wouldn't take foxhound-dingler but it took all sorts of other weird words to make 3fers like foxhound-dingle-erf, foxhound-dirge-eld. Sometimes life just isn't fair.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 16, 2022, 09:08:25 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to a little past genius today, I think, with the pangram.  Yesterday I think our final word was elan, the only one we needed help with.  I was missing three others that husband had, but I was happy to get villanelle as the very first word I found! Hopefully I will never forget that one again.  As for javelinas, they are regional wildlife here.  Hunting fare, mostly, as far as I know.

I had foxhole but couldn't find a mate, darn it!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 16, 2022, 11:12:16 AM
Afternoon!

Genius and then the pangram. Last couple of words yesterday were ones that I thought I had entered much earlier--lave and vale. As for javelina and dugong in an earlier puzzle, I watch National Geographic and the Planet Earth documentaries, so am familiar with exotic flora and fauna, albeit on TV.

foxhound/dirgeful--didn't think that the latter was a real word, but didn't argue with LB once it was accepted.

As for parallel parking, even though there's plenty of parking where I live, I still have to maneuver my car on occasion, especially when I have to park near the subway station, as I had to earlier today. Fortunately mine's a hatchback, which makes things much more manageable.

Crosswords today and yesterday were slightly above average in terms of difficulty.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 16, 2022, 11:49:55 AM
Good afternoon!

For some reason, I just did not see linen and valve yesterday—words I usually get—and needed 2LL hints to find them.  Today I have four words to go, but will probably need help to find them.  Sigh...

LB:  I had the "official" foxhole-enduring.  No 2fer yet today.  Probably no time to look for one, either—it's a busy day.  Sigh again!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 16, 2022, 05:06:28 PM
I got ships on LB, and I have some good contenders, but no luck yet.  And I still have a few bee words left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 16, 2022, 08:26:26 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2022, 06:26:02 AM
QBw2LL, last word comet.

LB - Just 2fer b4ss builders-schleppy, hybrids-scruple and 3fers coming out of my ears.I got close with physic-crucible-eld, buildup-psyched-dry, psychic-curled-dib and many other close-but-no-cigar solutions.

Oh well, today is a new day! Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 17, 2022, 07:46:38 AM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2022, 08:56:12 AM
Good morning!

Got to GWP pretty quickly this morning, and I think I have 3 words left now.  I will cross my fingers! Yesterday was not so great.  I think I missed detect(ed), emcee(d), dotcom.  Oh well!

And no luck on LB for me, either.  Lots of possibilities, though!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 17, 2022, 09:32:34 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed 2LL hints yesterday to find coopt(ed), dotcom, and octopod.  Today I have three words to go.  I have a feeling I may need letter hints later, as I am stuck.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  But I found one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 17, 2022, 01:00:14 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius so far. Last words yesterday were detect and detected.

psychedelic/curb

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2022, 04:15:55 PM
Got to QBABM! Yay.  Still no 2fer, though I am so close! Congrats on getting one today, cathwen, and on getting one yesterday, Langue_doc! That was a tough one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 18, 2022, 06:23:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday, was the appropriate whew.

ab_grp, congrats on youngest going to college.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 18, 2022, 06:33:55 AM
QBwG. Lots of odd ones yesterday which kinda messed with my head so I went to the grid to see I was missing nohow, whey, whew.

LB jumble-entryway.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 18, 2022, 07:24:04 AM
Good morning! 

GwP this morning.  Yesterday my last word was also whew.

LB:  I also had jumble-entryway.  I found a 2fer this morning, too, although it's not a very economical one. 

Youngest Daughter's mother and step-father (I'm her step-mother) came to pick her up yesterday (they'd been vacationing not far away) and stayed for brunch.  I've always liked my husband's ex-wife, and her husband is really nice, so it was a very comfortable morning spent eating and chatting. I'm so glad we've been able to stay friendly all these years.  YD's visit was like a tonic for my husband, so we were a little sad to see her go. 

Ab_grp, has your daughter been delivered to college?  Or is that this weekend?  I hope the move-in goes well!

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 18, 2022, 09:08:15 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far as well.  I think my final two yesterday were whee, honeyed.

Argh, I got so close again on LB! Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen (and another today!).

Cathwen, that's so nice that you all get along.  It's definitely something to aspire to, but I can't say I see us getting together happily with husband's ex any time in the future.  I get along well with my exes so am lucky there.  Maybe it will happen after some space and time in our lives now that youngest is 18.  It's definitely a much better situation for the kids to have some friendliness, but I guess near civility is the best we can hope for at times.  That sounds like such a nice get together!!  And I'm so glad your youngest's visit brought so much joy.  Hopefully you can look forward to another visit!

Thanks for the good college wishes, Langue_doc and cathwen.  Our youngest headed up there super, super early this morning (like got up at 3 AM to give the cat some meds for the trip and started driving around 4:30) and got there safely.  The ex is on move-in duty since she is the one with family friends up there to stay with and is also from that area so is more familiar with it.  I am hopeful things will go well, though I wish youngest had heard back from the assigned roommate so they could have coordinated what they were bringing.  I will continue to worry for a while, I guess, but at least the trip went fine.  It doesn't sound like it rained nearly as much as was predicted, so that's good.  I am looking forward to hearing more about the move in, roommate, social activities the college is sponsoring, etc.  Should be an exciting time for everyone.  I didn't sleep very well, so I am looking forward to getting some sleep!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 18, 2022, 05:36:55 PM
I managed to get a 2fer earlier today but still have a couple words left on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 18, 2022, 09:49:50 PM
Whoops, forgot to finish my Bee today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 19, 2022, 05:43:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was fail.

implication/nude, dimple/education

ab_grp, hope youngest's roommate is more communicative.

cathwen, sounds like a lovely family gathering.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 19, 2022, 06:33:36 AM
QBwH for falloff, layoff. LB implication-nude.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 19, 2022, 07:22:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius at this point, but having a hard time.  Yesterday my last words were aloofly and (embarrassingly) fool, which I thought I had already entered.

LB:  I had the very uneconomical amplitude-education.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2022, 08:03:10 AM
Good morning!

Man, neither of us can find the pangram this morning.  We'll see after a bunch more coffee.  For yesterday, I think I was missing aloofly, calcify, falloff, but we had team QB.

For LB, I had pounced-delimitation.  Lots of solutions, none schmofficial.  Congrats on two of them, Langue_doc! And on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Thanks, Langue_doc.  No roommate had yet arrived when last we heard late last night.  I said a whiteboard on the door might be a good idea to notify any comers that there is a cat in the room in case the roommate shows up while youngest is out.  Still waiting on the edge of my seat, here! Maybe the person will never show up, and it will end up being a solo room.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2022, 11:26:15 AM
I think the coffee helped.  At least I finally saw the pangram and got to genius, and then I got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 20, 2022, 07:34:30 AM
QB, needed a few hints including for pontoon. Gah.

LB just a 3fer crackpot-tuba-autonomy.

Happy solving!

ETA: 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 20, 2022, 08:42:29 AM
Good morning!

Haven't done too much on puzzles yet today, but I have the pangram and am making my way toward genius.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were missing concoct, of all things.  I also needed help with toucan, octant, and a few others.  Hopefully I'll have more time today.

For LB, I was excited but ended up with the schmofficial solution, backup-promontory.  Congrats on already getting one today, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 20, 2022, 08:47:11 AM
Good morning!

I needed help for topcoat and coact yesterday.  Today I made QBABM!!

LB:  No 2fer yesterday.  Congratulations on yours, ab_grp!  No 2fer yet today, either.  I have two very good words that just don't mesh—argh!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 20, 2022, 01:45:47 PM
Afternoon!

Genius before leaving this morning, and just found the pangram.

Last words yesterday were concoct and contact.

Spent the day at the AAA Driver Improvement program workshop which will give me a 10% discount on my car insurance for the next three years. You also get points reduced, depending on the nature of the offense. I've been taking this course every three years for my insurance discount, but couldn't do so in 2020 because in-person classes were canceled. I could have taken the course online last year and earlier this year, but didn't want to spend 6 hours sitting at the computer.

I think I missed two crosswords in a row, and probably won't get to today's either.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 20, 2022, 04:59:55 PM
I did finally get to genius, but now it's showing I lost 7 words.  My app still shows them, but even after reloading my computer doesn't.  Ugh.  Oh well, not a huge deal.  And I haven't gotten a 2fer yet.

Cathwen, I hope you get your 2fer! Sounds like you're close.  And congrats on your QBABY!!!!

Langue_doc, that sounds like a neat program.  I don't think I have heard of it! I'll have to look into it. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 21, 2022, 07:44:12 AM
Good morning!

I can't remember what my last word was yesterday, but it was an obvious 4 letter word.  Babe, I think?  Not sure.  Today I'm at QB-2.

LB:  I had the very uneconomical vanquish-homomorphism, and it took me an age to find it.  I did not even see improv!  I found a 2fer today more quickly.

Ab_grp, how frustrating that the syncing loses your words! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 21, 2022, 08:10:05 AM
Fell a little short yesterday, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 21, 2022, 08:10:31 AM
Morning! QBw2LL, last word beachy. LB improv-vanquish.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 21, 2022, 08:12:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far and then switched to the crossword.  Yesterday I needed help with words I usually get (or don't) like abbacy, allele, cabal(a), but we did have team QB.

No luck on LB.  Congrats, cathwen! That's a great pair, even if it's a bit longer.  I didn't see any of the solution words.  Congrats on another today!

Thanks about the syncing.  I know it doesn't just happen to me, and luckily it almost never does in my case, but it was just weird yesterday. 

Happy solving! 

ETA: congrats on your 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall!
And today's another day for all of us, Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 21, 2022, 08:30:15 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday and today. Last word was eyeball.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 21, 2022, 04:27:55 PM
Wow, congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc!

I think I still have 4 words left but am right at beta.  And no luck on LB so far despite some ideas.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 22, 2022, 05:22:56 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and 173 points so far. Don't recall my last words in yesterday's bee.

aspic/cyberpunk

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 22, 2022, 06:31:53 AM
QBwH for words I should have gotten like payee. LB crybabies-spunk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 22, 2022, 06:44:10 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL yesterday, last word attempt.  Today I am one word away from QB and trying hard not to look at hints.

LB:  I also had crybabies-spunk.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 22, 2022, 08:42:25 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with (I think) all the pangrams.  Good luck getting your QBs today! Yesterday I failed on the final word.  I just could not get it.  Papaya! Argh!!!! Husband got QBABH.

No luck on LB, even with a helper while we were grilling.  Congrats on all your solutions! And on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 22, 2022, 11:56:56 AM
Got a 2fer! Yay! Still creeping along in the bee, though.

ETA: Never mind, got QBABM!!! Wooooo! The last 10 or so words came quickly, thankfully.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 22, 2022, 10:41:20 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 23, 2022, 06:57:08 AM
Good morning!

Almost there with the pangram and just a couple or more words to go.

Last word yesterday was infirming.

boroughs/seizable and then the more economical roughs/seizable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 23, 2022, 07:30:26 AM
Good morning!

I'm about where Langue_doc is this morning—two words to go until QB.  I got to QB-1 yesterday, then went to letter hints to find griffin.  Ab_grp, congratulations on QBABY yesterday!

LB:  I also had roughs-seizable.  No 2fer yet today, despite many good words. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 23, 2022, 07:40:35 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius but am trying to save some puzzles for my doctor's appt.  Hopefully this one has wifi.  Yesterday my final words were frag(ging).  I really got lucky toward the end.

For LB, I got the circular schmofficial solution(s) globalizes-shrug-globalize.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!

ETA: I forgot to mention that my husband has additional games in his app now.  In the middle of the screen where he and I see the spelling bee, he now also has Wordle (in-app), Vertex (web), and something else on the web that has a link there.  We were speculating about this the other day because I pointed out that my bee icon seemed to have moved to the left rather than still sitting in the center, and I wondered if they were going to add more puzzles to the app.  It would be nice to have LB included! I am not clear on why they don't.  Anyway, the app hasn't changed for me yet, but I wanted to mention it in case anyone else sees a change.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2022, 07:59:36 AM
QBwH for fifing, infringing which I should have gotten OMO but whatever, I get impatient. Not much success with yesterday's LB just a 2fer b4ss boughs-sleazier. And lots of 3fers.

Oh well, today is a new day!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 24, 2022, 06:17:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above 200 words, but that's it for today as I'm out of ideas.

Last word yesterday was mondo.

flowerpot/taxied, and then pixilated/direwolf

ab_grp, I've been getting all the games on my phone and kindle. The wordle and chess games are relatively recent, but the others--the two crosswords, LB, SB, Vertex, Tiles, and Sudokus have been there since I started my subscription. I start with the bee (in bed) and then work on Vertex while at my desk drinking coffee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 24, 2022, 07:57:03 AM
QBwH for mondo, minnow. LB just a 3fer but quite a haiku - sounds like a posh party gone a bit wild: aperitif-flowed-dox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 24, 2022, 08:51:38 AM
Good morning!

Not nearly to genius yet, and I think I still have a pangram yet to go.  We did have team QB yesterday, but I was missing mondo as well.  Husband was missing his mind.  har har

No luck on LB! Great job on getting two 2fers, Langue_doc!! And that's a funny 3fer, ciao_yall.

Langue_doc, do you mean you see all the puzzles in the actual app on your phone/kindle? When I go to the NYT puzzle website (https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles) they are all there (crosswords, bee, LB, sudoku, tiles, vertex, wordle all on the main page, chess on its own page).  But in the actual app, I only get crosswords and the bee.  Husband now gets Wordle there, too.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 24, 2022, 10:54:07 AM
Good afternoon!

Last words yesterday were idiom and minim. Today I have four words to go, but it has been/will be a hectic day, so I will probably seek hints later this afternoon.

LB:  I had the "official" flowerpot-taxied.  No 2fer yet today, though.  Congratulations on getting two, Langue_doc! 

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Just got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 24, 2022, 09:45:08 PM
Three pangrams, but not quite done yet. I'll finish tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 25, 2022, 06:28:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius. Last word yesterday was nineteenth--took me a while to find it.

ab_grp, I think I have the NYT website on the kindle and phone, so probably that's what I've been using for the puzzles.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 25, 2022, 06:57:43 AM
Morning!

QBwH for a few oddball words chitin, hitchhike, kente, ketch. I always thought hitchhike was two words.

LB chemistry-yolk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 25, 2022, 07:30:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and pangrams so far.  The crossword was super easy for a Thursday.  Yesterday we each had a couple words left, and neither of us had kente, so no team QB.  Had to look that one up (again?).

I got chemistry-yolk as well, and I definitely suspected it was schmofficial! It just popped out too easily and cleanly not to be.

Langue_doc, okay that could be it.  Thanks for checking.  I did get Wordle today in my app, but I don't have the other icons linking to the web that my husband has yet. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 25, 2022, 08:05:48 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on August 25, 2022, 06:28:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius. Last word yesterday was nineteenth--took me a while to find it.

ab_grp, I think I have the NYT website on the kindle and phone, so probably that's what I've been using for the puzzles.

Happy solving!

I have the link to the website, rather than the app. LB doesn't show up on the app, rrom what I hear.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 25, 2022, 12:12:10 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday to find tiki, hitchhike, and kente

QBABM today, thanks to a lucky guess for the last word!

LB:  I also had chemistry-yolk, which is the "official" answer.  I have a 2fer today, too.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 25, 2022, 04:50:23 PM
Thanks, ciao_yall!

Cathwen, congrats on our QBABY and 2fer and on your 2fer yesterday!

I still have a couple words on the bee and have come close to a 2fer today, but nothing yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 25, 2022, 10:50:35 PM
Finished yesterday's, fell short again today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 26, 2022, 04:49:54 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram yet. Last word yesterday was colleen, which is usually a word that takes me forever to find.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 26, 2022, 07:23:07 AM
QBwH and learned a new word - coulee - after multiple hints and Googling.

LB - just 3fers. Got close with mad-doldrums-stink, rum-modals-stink, and was rather proud of nasturtium-milks-sod but alas.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 26, 2022, 08:53:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram, but the pangram took a while! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with coulee, colleen, nucleon.

No luck on LB, though the schmofficial components go well together!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 26, 2022, 08:54:03 AM
Good morning! 

QBABM yesterday with last word a wild guess—nucleon.  Today I have three words to go.  I may need help.

LB:  I found outdrinks-slam, which sounds like a scene from a depressing movie or TV series.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 26, 2022, 09:08:53 PM
Beta, no pangram yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 27, 2022, 07:29:53 AM
QBwG, last word dean. I remembered dace from a previous puzzle.

LB complexity-yous. Didn't think the second word would take but hey, try everything!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 27, 2022, 07:53:44 AM
Good morning!

I got dace yesterday entirely by accident.  Then I remembered having seen it before.  I needed help to find deejay/ed and ennead.  Today I am two 5L words away from QB and thoroughly stumped.

LB:  I also had complexity-yous and was surprised when the second word was accepted.  I then looked for something else and found the "official" music-complexity.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 27, 2022, 07:58:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were both missing dyne.  I was also missing decency, yenned.

I got the same 2fer as yous people! With the y and the u and s leftover, I figured I'd try yous but didn't think it would take it.  Whee! Cathwen, I like your 2fer from two days ago (and for two yesterday and another today)! I think I had outdrank at one point. 

And congrats on your QBABY 2 days ago! Hope you find your words today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 27, 2022, 08:19:19 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Last words yesterday were decency and needy. The pangram was quite difficult to spot--I think I found it only because the letters were aligned properly after one of the many reshufflings.

exoticism/multiply, then complexity/yous

This week's crosswords have been relatively painless.

Happy solving!

ETA: QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 27, 2022, 02:23:03 PM
Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and QB today, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 27, 2022, 11:05:15 PM
Alpha, I think. Can't be missing much.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2022, 08:15:41 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius (but only one pangram) before switching to the crossword.  Yesterday, we each got QBABO!

No luck on LB, sadly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 28, 2022, 08:34:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; didn't realize that there are more pangrams today.

phantoms/squir(m/t)!

Happy solving
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2022, 08:49:54 AM
QB with grid, last word title which is kind of embarassing because I had already found tittle.

LB phantoms-squirm.

Really? More than one panagram today? No wonder I'm stuck at Amazing with one P, and even with some pretty crazy words I thought I made up.

Oh well. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 28, 2022, 09:17:09 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday; I had been stuck at QB-2, then looked for words in -ée and found gelee and melee.  Today I have three words to go, one of which has to be the other pangram.  It took me ages to find the first one!  I may need hints today.

LB:  I had phantoms-squirt.  Playful ghosts with water pistols?  I found a 2fer pretty quickly today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2022, 11:09:54 AM
Congrats on all your 2fers and on another today, cathwen! And on your QBABY! Good luck with your final words today! I just got a 2fer but haven't gotten back to the bee yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2022, 09:23:32 PM
Failed today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 29, 2022, 05:38:09 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on August 28, 2022, 09:23:32 PM
Failed today.

Ain't no such thing as "failed" with respect to the games. These are, after all, only games, some of which are designed to trick the players so that the person who came up with the puzzles can pat him/herself on the back and say "how clever of me".

I'm glad that I didn't pursue the bee after posting here yesterday morning, because I wouldn't have found the second pangram or a couple or more of the remaining words.

As for today, made it to above genius with two pangrams.

breathe/eulogize (I think)

Good morning and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 29, 2022, 05:58:48 AM
Good morning!

I second Langue_doc's statement that there are no failures.  Sometimes we get all the words, other times we are stymied.  Yesterday I fell three words short before resorting to hints to find heeltap, heptathlete, and—the second pangram which I would never have found on my own—phablet

Today promises to be worse.  I haven't even made genius yet (I'm at amazing) and I have only one of the pangrams.  Congratulations, Langue_doc, on having found the second!  I'm finding today's SB difficult.

LB was better.  Yesterday I found breathe-eulogize, and I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 29, 2022, 07:20:37 AM
QBwATHICG - and learned new word heeltap.

LB - tougher-realizable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 29, 2022, 08:46:18 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams, finally.  Yesterday, we almost had team QB, but we were both missing phablet, which is a ridiculous "word" and can get right out of here.  I was also missing bathe, heeltap, theta.

For LB, I had the schmofficial trailblazer-rough, but I'll take it.  Congrats on your solutions and on another 2fer today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 29, 2022, 09:19:55 AM
Finally got that second pangram and made genius! 

Congratulations on your 2fers, ab_grp and ciao_yall!  Lots of variety this time.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 29, 2022, 10:46:17 PM
Failed again today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 30, 2022, 05:09:41 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius, but that's it, I think, for today.

whiled/dormant, whirled/dominate

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 30, 2022, 06:49:06 AM
QBwH for outdoor, gah. LB whaled-denominator.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 30, 2022, 07:35:26 AM
QBwH for aurora, outdoor.  Today:  Genius with pangram. 

LB:  I had whirled-dominator.  I also found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 30, 2022, 07:54:11 AM
Good morning!

Haven't started puzzles yet since I have another dr appt and figure I will have time to sit around.  Yesterday we didn't have team QB, as we needed help for orotund again.   I also needed help with aurora, outdoor.

For LB, I also had whirled-dominate.  Congrats on your solutions and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 30, 2022, 05:47:02 PM
Got a 2fer! Probably schmofficial.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on August 30, 2022, 10:26:49 PM
Blah, fell well short.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 31, 2022, 04:59:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Didn't get back to the bee yesterday, but korma!?

basketry/young

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 31, 2022, 06:21:31 AM
Morning!

QBwH for korma, morocco. Whatever.

LB close 2fer b4ss bakery-youngest and plenty of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 31, 2022, 07:57:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday we almost had team QB (again!) but were both missing morocco (again!).  I was also missing backcomb, roam but did get korma, as it is a favorite.  I was glad to see it accepted!

I also got the schmofficial 2fer, basketry-young

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 31, 2022, 08:13:04 AM
Good morning!

Korma was my last word yesterday, for which I needed a first-letter hint.  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I also had basketry-young.  No 2fer yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 01, 2022, 06:29:22 AM
QBwH for golem and a few other oddballs I overlooked.

LB - 2fers. Got close with curlicue-enquiry-yoga and 2fer b4ss conger-reliquary, colleague-enquiry.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 01, 2022, 07:36:55 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was the first day of classes, so not much time for puzzling.  Around 5:00, I was missing five words, so went to letter hints to find molt, memo, motel, molly, and motet.  These are words that I usually get.

Today I am at QB-4 and stuck.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  Annoyingly, I found both the words in the "official" answer, but did not connect them.  I do have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 01, 2022, 07:50:45 AM
Good morning!

Relatively easy QB today. I didn't get back to the bee yesterday--I think I would have missed at least a couple of words had I persevered.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 01, 2022, 08:14:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram or a bit more so far.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday I managed QB, finally! Whee! I think motel, motet were some of my final words.  Not sure why they took so long.

No luck on LB, though.  Between the Q and the ER and the NG and OU and AI and whatever else was conspiring, no dice.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 01, 2022, 06:44:59 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 02, 2022, 04:56:52 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 02, 2022, 05:58:05 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find grody and ropy.  Today I'm at GwP with dim hopes of QB without hints.

LB:  I had the "official" cower-raunchily.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 02, 2022, 06:20:30 AM
Yesterday - QB-1 ABM then needed a hint for rigor. Facepalm.

LB - lower-raunchily.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 02, 2022, 08:45:19 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius, no pangram.  Husband eventually found it, at least.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with grody, prior, priory, rigor.

No luck on LB, either.  Congrats on your 2fers cathwen and ciao_yall and on another today, cathwen! I was nowhere near the solution(s).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 02, 2022, 05:36:08 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Kind of long though.  And I finally got the pangram but still have several words left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 02, 2022, 11:10:18 PM
Blah. Pangram, but a few short of genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 03, 2022, 07:08:56 AM
QBwH for hogan, longan.

LB was lots of 2fer b4ss including mandible-extrude, admirable-exuent, interminable-exude and a bunch of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2022, 08:18:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday I got busy and had a couple left at the end, and we didn't have team QB because of nonagon, nonagonal.  Guess it's been a while for those.  I also got tripped up on longan, agelong, and others, but I was happy that I remembered galangal right away!

For LB, I got extremum-multiband

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 03, 2022, 10:06:07 AM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and above genius. That's probably it for today as I'm visiting friends.

I spent most of the morning sitting on the deck, birdwatching interspersed with chatting. A few minutes ago, while working on the bee, I looked up to see what the buzzing near my left ear was. It was a hummingbird which first hovered between me and the plant on the table before taking off.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 03, 2022, 10:29:21 AM
Good afternoon!

I'm not quite at genius, but I have one pangram.  This might be a slow day. 

Yesterday I got to QB-4, but never got back to it because I had to rush my husband to the emergency room.  He had been feeling off all day, and in the afternoon I took his temperature (thinking he looked flushed) and it was 103.4!  Yes, Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend.  The doctor's staff told me to take him to the ER, where they put him on fluids and antibiotics.  After lots of blood work and a CT scan, they determined that it's a kidney infection.  He may be released tomorrow or Monday; he seems to be better today, but not 100%.  I'm in his hospital room now, and he is sleeping.

LB:  I had intertextual-limbed.  No 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, how lovely to have the hummingbird visit, and so close! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2022, 10:44:12 AM
Cathwen, I'm sorry to hear about your husband and the trip to the ER! Good thing you took his temperature.  I hope he recovers well and can rest (you too on the resting!).  Congrats on your 2fer yesterday.

Langue_doc, enjoy your visit! And nice to have been visited by a hummingbird, too. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2022, 04:28:59 PM
Whew, finally got a 2fer! Still have to get back to the bee, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 03, 2022, 09:19:19 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2022, 08:20:23 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with a couple pangrams so far.  I think I have all of them but will find out later.  And I got the crossword done.  Whew.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help with nigiri, inurn(ing).  I needed help with a few others as well.

For LB, I had virtuality-yeoman, which appears to be schmofficial!

Got a friend call later, so time to get puzzles done...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 04, 2022, 08:45:11 AM
QBwH for inurn(ing), unrig(ging). LB just 2fer b4ss vermilion-naturally and several 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 04, 2022, 02:31:08 PM
Afternoon!

A few pangrams and well above genius.

cathwen, sorry to hear about your husband's medical problems; hope he's recovering.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 04, 2022, 10:49:50 PM
Four pangrams, still nine points shy of genius. I'll try to finish it tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 05, 2022, 06:16:31 AM
Good morning!

Even with hints, I did not get the last two words yesterday: titivate and titivated.  Today I have one 8L word to go and am flummoxed. 

LB:  I had the "official" judges-spinach.  And I found a 2fer today.

My husband comes home from the hospital today!  We're supposed to have heavy rain this afternoon, so I would be very happy if he were released before it starts.  (The hospital is about a 25 minute drive in good weather.).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 05, 2022, 08:42:07 AM
QBwH for titivate(d). LB judges-spinach.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 05, 2022, 09:16:46 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram plus a bit so far.  We slept in a little, which was good.  Yesterday I had a ton left when we compared, including titivate(d), vitiate(d) and a bunch more, but we did have team QB! And it was nice to talk to my pal for a bit.

I got the same 2fer yesterday.  Congrats on another today, cathwen! And I am so happy to hear about your husband coming home today! I was a little worried yesterday.  Hope you can get out of there and beat the rain and that he continues to heal.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 05, 2022, 09:20:13 AM
Finished yesterday's Bee fairly quickly this morning. I'm nearly at GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2022, 04:47:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. Turned out that I missed only nonillion which I might have found if I had gone back to the bee later in the day. Oh, well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 06, 2022, 05:32:00 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word wildwood—which was a wild guess, as I associate Wildwood with the Jersey shore.  Today I am at QB-1 four letter word and am stumped.  I need to try all kinds of combinations.  How hard can that be?

LB:  I had the "official" purview-washtub.  I have one today, too.

My husband came home from the hospital yesterday.  We had heavy rain in the forecast, but it was merely cloudy all day...until I started the drive home.  Then the rain came down in torrents!  Fortunately, all the cars slowed down and there were no idiots driving recklessly in poor conditions.  Towards the end of the drive, the rain stopped.  We were joking that we must be on vacation, because almost every vacation we've ever taken has started with rain, often heavy.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2022, 06:35:04 AM
QBwH and wildwood is not a word!

LB - preview-washtub.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2022, 08:29:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I almost made it but could not find idol for the life of me without a hint.  And same here on Wildwood, cathwen!

Congrats on your 2fers cathwen and ciao_yall and on another today, cathwen! No luck here despite a lot of trying.  I'm glad your husband got home safely, though sorry to hear about the rain and vacations as well.  Hopefully the vacations still turned out well and his recovery at home will also turn out well after the rainy start!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 06, 2022, 09:03:01 AM
Yeah, wildwood prevented my QB yesterday. Oh well.

GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2022, 10:08:19 AM
QB-2. Trying not to check hints for an ABM but running out of random letter combinations to type in.

I do have a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2022, 10:11:26 AM
We've seen wildwood in at least a couple of puzzles.

QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 06, 2022, 10:27:16 AM
Finally found that last word on my own (no hints!) and got to QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2022, 01:55:15 PM
QBwG and a wild guess.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2022, 04:50:32 PM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on all your QBs.  I hope to get there when I get back to the bee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 07, 2022, 05:23:52 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. The bee now shows pangrams in boldface, so you know how many you've found in the current puzzle.

hyacinth/hombre and embryonic/cheat

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 07, 2022, 06:44:59 AM
QBwG, guessed at fitly. LB hyacinth-hombre.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 07, 2022, 06:46:03 AM
Good morning!

The one word that I was missing yesterday, and that had me stumped, turned out to be lilt.  This is a word I often don't see for some reason, but when I got back to the puzzle yesterday afternoon, it jumped out at me. Today I am at genius with one of the two pangrams.

LB:  I had embryonic-cheat.  I have a 2fer today, too, although if I have time I may look for a more economical pair.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 07, 2022, 07:27:47 AM
Good morning!

Not even to genius yet, with only one pangram.  Yesterday ended up being so busy that we both gave up with just a few words left.  We had team QB, but I don't remember which ones I was missing off the top of my head.  I was definitely happy to see the bold pangram yesterday! That would have helped a lot a few days ago.

For LB, I had recombinant-thy.  Lots of solutions, and none the schmofficial one!  Congrats on another one today, cathwen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 07, 2022, 11:30:20 PM
Foundered on t9day's. 128, one pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 08, 2022, 06:44:31 AM
QBwH and a new word andiron. LB pother-revitalization.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 08, 2022, 07:38:24 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and above genius. QB yesterday.

trivialization/hept (whatever that means)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 08, 2022, 08:31:56 AM
Good morning!

Tough one this morning for me.  Husband got all 3 pangrams pretty quickly.  I got one after a while and then finally another one, but no third yet.  And neither of us are at genius.  Luckily the crossword was easy.  Yesterday we both had quite a few left at the end of the day again.  I was really happy with myself for remembering dirndl but managed to forget raid, radio, radon, ordain.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!!! Top notch!

And congrats on your 2fers.  No luck here.  I thought I had something with elephant for a while and kind of got stuck on that.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 08, 2022, 11:21:02 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday I needed help for doornail and dolor.

Today: It took me ages to get to genius and to find all three pangrams.  I now have nine words to go and can see hints in my future.

LB:  I had epithet-trivialization. Lots of possibilities today!  No 2fer today yet, though.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 08, 2022, 09:23:03 PM
Pangram, but fell well short again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 09, 2022, 04:37:01 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and almost genius so far. I didn't get back to the puzzle yesterday, so will have to look up the missing words.

As for the previous day's LB, I think the second word was nept or something similar; I wrote down the words on a scrap of paper while waiting for my doctor's appointment, surprised that the word was accepted, and wondering what it meant.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 09, 2022, 05:43:11 AM
Morning! QBwH for nonet (gah). LB yolks-stumbling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 09, 2022, 08:39:41 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius so far, but no pangram yet for either of us.  Yesterday we had a bunch left again and needed help with hooey.  At least I finally got all three pangrams and to genius! Geez. 

I almost forgot I got a 2fer last night! I had tried stumbling forever and couldn't get a mate but finally came up with oinks-stumblingly.  The official one is definitely making me regret not trying a little harder on that mate.  I am curious about Langue_doc's!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 09, 2022, 10:02:55 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday was not a good puzzle day!  I finally gave up in the late afternoon and looked at hints to find eyeteeth, hotpot, opponent, phono, poppet, tooth, toothy, and tonne.  We were having some windows replaced yesterday, so I am going to attribute my lackluster performance to the constant pounding and various other noises that lasted all day long.  (But the new windows are in, they look great, and we're looking forward to not having cold air leaking in this winter.)

Not only that, but I didn't find a 2fer yesterday, either!  Ciao_yall and ab_grp, congratulations on yours! 

Today, though, is better.  I am one word away from QB, and I have found a 2fer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 09, 2022, 10:42:16 AM

Quote
I am curious about Langue_doc's!

ab_grp, I didn't find one yesterday. The trivialization/nept (or something similar) was from the previous puzzle. All I recall was that it was a four-letter word which, much to my surprise, was accepted.

QB today--all familiar words.

I had a weird thing happen to my puzzles on Wednesday. Around 9 PM, I could no longer access the games, but was instead directed to a screen that prompted me to subscribe at a low introductory rate. Clicking on the "subscribe" link didn't work because the link told me that I was a subscriber and hence not eligible for this rate. Although I was sure that my subscription was still current I couldn't find any link to my games subscription nor could I subscribe to the games. This was the case on all three devices. Around midnight, the games were back on, but I lost my crossword chain because I usually complete the crossword before bed. I did complete LB and SB before the snafu but am still waiting for a response from customer care. Aaargh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 09, 2022, 11:38:37 AM
Wow, good luck on QB, cathwen, and congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Cathwen, now that you have your winter windows and your A/C all taken care of, you should be in good shape year-round!  And congrats on your 2fer today!

Langue_doc, now I get it.  I did see your solution from the previous day but didn't link that update to that 2fer.  And sorry to hear about your subscription issue.  I hope they figure it out and can clean up the consequences to your streaks and stats.  I wonder if it's tied at all to what we experienced yesterday morning (Thursday).  The first time each of us accessed our apps, we got a screen welcoming us back to the NYT crossword, saying our free trial had ended, etc. and asking us to subscribe or play a free game (I took a screenshot).  Usually this just means I had gotten logged out, but I noted at the bottom that it said I was logged in! I just restarted the app, and it was fine.  Same thing happened to my husband, with a slightly different screen and message, and it also went away when he restarted it.  Same/similar thing you saw Wednesday night? 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 09, 2022, 10:51:32 PM
Few points short, no pangram; will finish tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 10, 2022, 07:38:35 AM
QBw2LL for a few nudges. LB canebrakes-snowplow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 10, 2022, 09:02:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius before leaving for a bird walk this morning.

broncos/spacewalk, and then the more economical spacewalks/snob.

ab_grp, I think I had something similar to the screens you describe, but in my case it was on all three devices and also opening a new tab didn't help. Things did get back to normal, but so far no response from customer service.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 10, 2022, 09:45:40 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got the pangram right away and was humming right along and then had a hard time getting to genius, but I got there for now.  Yesterday I think I had three or so words left when we compared.  We didn't have team QB, because we were both missing cocoon somehow.

For LB, I got knowable-escaper.  Lots of solutions again!

Langue_doc, I will keep my fingers crossed that customer service helps you out.  And I hope you had a nice bird walk!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 10, 2022, 02:41:31 PM
Found a 2fer! Now to get back to the bee...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 10, 2022, 03:10:24 PM
Good evening!

QB yesterday with last word coconut.  Today I have three words to go and will need hints, as it's getting late.

LB:  Wow, so many solutions!  Here's another: cowpoke-enablers.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 10, 2022, 10:47:44 PM
No luck finishing yesterday's or today's.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 11, 2022, 07:49:14 AM
Good morning!

QB today. The few words that I missed yesterday were all words that I had entered much earlier, such as heal, healed, hell, hill, and a few others. Aaargh!

flutier/random; effortless twofer today.

ab_grp, customer care finally got back to me with the suggestion that I log out and then log in, but the puzzles somehow were reset after the two+ hours of frustration.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 11, 2022, 08:35:31 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram fairly easily, so I will hope for QB.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc! And it sounds like you joined cathwen in having one yesterday as well.  Congrats! I was missing three yesterday: hippie, phalli, phial.  We had team QB, but I don't think I would have gotten the latter two without the help.

For LB, I had altimeter-refound.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc! And another today!

And I am so glad customer service was able to help eventually, but nicer if they could have spared you the frustration and time invested.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 11, 2022, 08:45:45 AM
QBwH and I challenge us all to use the word phalli in a sentence. And phial?

LB altimeter-refound and a 2fer today as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 11, 2022, 12:02:03 PM
Good afternoon!

QB today, QBwH yesterday to find phial and phalli.

LB:  flutier-random.  And a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 11, 2022, 05:00:21 PM
Got a 2fer! Kind of a weird one, so I might try again, but I will also just be happy to have this one.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall and cathwen! And on your solutions yesterday! It's kind of funny that two of us got one solution, two of us got another solution, and neither were the schmofficial one.

And congrats on your QB, cathwen! I still have a couple left to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 11, 2022, 06:01:14 PM
I found phial quite early on in the puzzle as it is a familiar word. I don't think I've ever used it, but I've seen it in several novels and other 19th and early 20th century writings. I didn't get phalli; no amount of hints would have helped me with this word despite the fact that -us ending words use -i for the plural endings as in cactus/cacti. I tried Philadelphia, knowing quite well that it wouldn't be accepted. Needless to say, I'm frustrated that the bee failed to register some of the words that I had entered.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 12, 2022, 05:03:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words yesterday were vend and vended.

infrequent/thanks

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 12, 2022, 06:31:53 AM
Morning!

QBwH for devotee, dividend, invitee. Darn those ee words.

LB infrequent-thanks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 12, 2022, 07:18:17 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius after a quick start and then a desperate search for additional points.  Ugh! Hopefully some momentum will come back later.  Yesterday we had team QB.  Nonevent was my final word.  Whatever.  There is a word (AFAIK) today that isn't accepted.

For LB, I got frequents-shaikh.  Sounds like I missed the more obvious solution! Congrats, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

We had to get up early, so I have extra time but am also tired.  We'll see how it goes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 12, 2022, 07:54:29 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, with nonevent as the last word.  Today I'm above genius, probably Beta, but it's not looking like a QBABM day.

LB:  I had the very inefficient frequents-sharkskin.  No 2fer yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 12, 2022, 09:21:01 AM
BWP yesterday, closing in on GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 12, 2022, 10:25:40 AM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on your different solution, cathwen!

Good luck Parasaurolophus!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 12, 2022, 03:57:19 PM
GWP, do7btless thanks to your well-wishes, ab_grp!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 13, 2022, 04:11:20 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius, but I think that's it for today. Last word yesterday was teeing.

maximizations/scuba

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 13, 2022, 06:29:17 AM
QBw2LL, last word was entente. LB was also maximizations-scuba.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 13, 2022, 07:23:05 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram right away, but it took a while to get to genius.  Not a good sign! We had team QB again yesterday.  I think teeing was one I also needed help with.  And is tinning not a word? I think there's one today that used to be accepted but isn't now.  I always missed it, now I found it, and I don't think it's in there anymore.  :-( Maybe I'm wrong.

I also had the same 2fer as you fine folks. 

Parasaurolophus, congrats! 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 13, 2022, 01:36:54 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with help to find tingeing. Darn those alternate spellings!  Today I am at alpha with four words to go for which I will probably need hints.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  And none again today yet.  Argh!  Congratulations to those who got one!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 13, 2022, 10:31:17 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 14, 2022, 05:42:09 AM
Good morning!

QB today. The letters have to be in the right configuration, at least for me, to see the pangram.

Didn't get back to the bee yesterday, so missed a few words--coital, tailcoat, and a couple more. I was surprised to see coital because the bee doesn't accept coition.

Couldn't find a mate for maypole and another word with the y in the middle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 14, 2022, 06:38:59 AM
Good morning! 

I needed 1-letter hints yesterday to find tikka (which was in a recent puzzle) and toolkit.  Today I am at QB-2.

After not finding 2fers the last two days, I did find one today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 14, 2022, 06:39:16 AM
QBwH for tailcoat, tiki, toolkit.

And just 3fers yesterday - got close with loaf-facetime-eponym and a few others.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 14, 2022, 08:22:24 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius plus a bit so far.  We had team QB again.  I think I needed help with toolkit, tailcoat, iliac, tactic, tactical.  I think I always miss tailcoat, but I should have gotten the latter several of them.  And, after finally remembering ocotillo after missing it every time, it's not in there anymore! ARGH!!!

No luck on LB despite a ton of promising contenders.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 14, 2022, 05:13:16 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 15, 2022, 04:49:33 AM
Good morning!

Four pangrams and well above genius. Last word yesterday was poncho.

grouped/deviant

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 15, 2022, 06:45:28 AM
Morning!

QB, needed a hint for canyon /facepalm. LB grouped-deviant. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 15, 2022, 08:15:19 AM
Good morning!

Looks like I got all the pangrams and am at genius.  Yesterday we bailed with one word left each but had team QB.  He needed anyhoo, as I suspected, and I needed chancy, which I think I keep missing.

No luck on LB, though I did have grouped and dismissed it in light of what seemed like better contenders.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 15, 2022, 10:40:26 PM
GW4P.

I'm glad found pangrams are now in bold.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 16, 2022, 04:44:23 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1L hints for ghee and gilt (argh!).  Today I'm at Beta with both pangrams.  Parasaurolophus, I agree that having pangrams in bold is very helpful!  And congratulations on getting all four of them yesterday!

LB:  I did not find a solution for yesterday's LB.  I do have one today, though. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 16, 2022, 04:49:55 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and well above genius so far. Last word yesterday was gelled.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2022, 07:37:50 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to somewhere a bit past genius and then got the crossword done.  Yesterday we had team QB again.  I seemed to have missed variants of words I had.  I mean I had eight but not eighth, eightieth, and I had gelid, gelee but not gelled.  Also somehow missed gelt, though I thought I had that one.

And argh!! I had sexology among other contenders but couldn't pull off a 2fer.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 16, 2022, 07:53:42 AM
QBwG, can't remember the final word. Maybe digit?

LB - Had 2fer b4ss hogs-sexuality, textualist-theology and 3fers coming out of my ears including the very close gait-thus-sexology.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2022, 09:46:13 AM
Yay! Got a 2fer on the first try! I'm glad it was easier than the past few days.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 16, 2022, 10:31:03 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 17, 2022, 05:59:50 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find cootie, neocon, concoct (and I had concoction!)—words I usually get.  Ecotone, which I might not have gotten without help, was my last word.  Today I have only two words left to go.

LB:  Ab_grp, congratulations on getting a 2fer on your first try!  Mine was the "official" boardwalk-knife, but it took me a little while to find it.  I found a 2fer today relatively fast (although not the first try!).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 17, 2022, 08:02:49 AM
QBw2LL, last word was cootie. LB - just didn't get there. Saw walk-knife but didn't see board. Had a 2fer b4ss forward-drinkable.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 17, 2022, 09:27:26 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got the pangram and to genius or a little more this morning.  Yesterday we had team QB again.  I think my last word was also cootie, and I also needed help with neocon, nonce.  I did remember ecotone this time.

Thanks, cathwen! Definitely an unusual event for me.  I also got the schmofficial one.  I figured it must be since boardwalk just popped right out at me and easily left knife.  Congrats to you as well and on another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 17, 2022, 10:56:08 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius before going on my bird walk, which was slightly later than the usual crack-of-dawn outings. I think my last word yesterday was niece.

boardwalk/knife

Saw the elusive Connecticut warbler in addition to other birds.

Happy solving!

ETA: twofer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 17, 2022, 04:24:47 PM
Got a 2fer (not on the first try this time).  One of the words is appropriate today.

Langue_doc, neat that you got to see an elusive bird! Looks like a little guy.  And congrats on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 17, 2022, 06:31:22 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2022, 07:44:07 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius and got the crossword done.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I was missing goth, unhung, unthought.  Congrats Parasaurolophus!

For LB, I had the schmofficial quahog-grievance.  My grievance was that they apparently thought it was okay to accept covariance but not equivariance, and I wanted to use the latter since it used up so many letters!! Maybe it wouldn't have yielded a solution anyway.

Friend call this afternoon, so hopefully I will make puzzle progress this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 18, 2022, 08:32:19 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, with gong as the last word.  Also made QBABM today!

LB:  I had quahog-grievance also.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 18, 2022, 08:53:56 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word was unthought. LB was quahog-grievance as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 18, 2022, 09:54:32 AM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 18, 2022, 02:05:29 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Just got home from a couple of outings so haven't had the time to look at yesterday's word list.

overcharge/enquire

ab_grp, I'm assuming that you checked out the bird. Warblers are quite small, so it never ceases to amaze me when the expert birders can easily identify them by a combination of colors, eye rings, eye patches, wing feathers, and other characteristics that I don't see. With a few exceptions, they appear to me to be mostly yellowish birds or birds with some yellow feathers.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2022, 02:34:25 PM
Langue_doc, yep I did take a look, and it does look quite small in the pictures! I'm surprised people can actually spot half of these birds, let alone identify them.  It's great that you got to see one.  I hope today's outings were also enjoyable.  And congrats on a different 2fer yesterday!

Cathwen, congrats on your QBABYs! And on another 2fer today!

Still a couple words left on the bee and no 2fer yet.  I have a couple contenders, but nothing too amazing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 18, 2022, 02:54:54 PM
QB and a twofer. Missed yesterday's crossword and will probably miss today's as well because of phone calls.

I'll post the list from this weekend's outings on the bird thread. Today's highlight was seeing a flock of hummingbirds in a wilfflower-y area. We stayed there for sometime hoping to see the yellow breasted chat, which is the size of a robin.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 19, 2022, 03:40:21 AM
Good morning!

Four pangrams and QB.

bratwursts/spritely

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 19, 2022, 07:18:36 AM
Good morning!

Holy crow, Langue_doc! I got the 4 pangrams and to genius, but I still have a ways to go.  Yesterday we had team QB again.  I somehow missed atilt, tallit, villa but at least I remembered daylit, daylily since those ones have bitten me in the past.

And congrats on your 2fer! I had part of the schmofficial one, bylaw, but I didn't get anywhere with it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 19, 2022, 08:19:13 AM
QBwG, last word was allay. LB writeup-plausibly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 19, 2022, 10:17:05 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday.  I thought I had two words to go, but when I typed in diva, the Queen Bee screen popped up.  Today I have the four pangrams and am above genius, but probably will need help later.

LB:  I had beltways-sirup. Spellcheck does not like sirup.  It keeps correcting it to syrup or sit-up.   I was trying for something with bratwursts, but did not see spritely!  I have found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 20, 2022, 05:31:22 AM
Good morning!

Slogged my way up to genius (easy pangram), but that's it for today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 20, 2022, 06:36:52 AM
QBwG - last word billowing.

LB - just 2fer b4ss impound-draught, pompadour-righting and lots of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2022, 07:50:11 AM
Good morning!

Finally crawled to genius after getting the pangram pretty quickly.  Sounds like Langue_doc's experience! Yesterday we had team QB again.  I think I missed bigwig, gown(ing), wino, willow.  Just ended up being a busy day again and the puzzle felt tough.

No luck on LB despite lots of contenders again.  I definitely do not think I would have found diaphragm.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 20, 2022, 09:56:10 AM
Good afternoon!

GWP so far today, with seven words to go.  Yesterday I caved and looked at hints to find owing (and I even had owning!) and wining

LB:  I had the "official" diaphragm-mount.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2022, 10:46:34 AM
Congrats on getting the solution yesterday, cathwen, and on another today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 20, 2022, 09:52:52 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 21, 2022, 06:35:24 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and just 10 or so points left for QB. It wasn't too bad yesterday, after the uphill struggle to get to genius, as I found the remaining words without much difficulty. I still don't know what haram means (I thought harem was the correct spelling), but it was accepted, and who am I to complain?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 21, 2022, 06:37:59 AM
Morning! QBwH for mammoth, marmot, mortar which I should have gotten ABM.

LB - accidentally got a leak for the scmhofficial solution so didn't look for another.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 21, 2022, 07:08:35 AM
Good morning!

Like ciao_yall, I should have gotten QBABM yesterday, but caved and got help to find mammoth and motorboat (and that after seeing both motor and boat!  Argh!).  Today I'm a at Beta with both pangrams and finding it a struggle. 

Langue_doc, I got haram by accident and was surprised when it was accepted.  I assumed it was an alternate spelling for harem, but apparently it means ''forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law.'  Another word for my Bee list!

LB:  I had the "official" junta-apologize.  I have found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 21, 2022, 08:11:56 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten too far today.  I see that I am missing a pangram as well.  Hopefully I will be able to make the same kind of progress you all have! Yesterday we had team QB again.  Haram was definitely one of my missed words, so I appreciate the definition, cathwen, because I also thought maybe it was an alternate spelling! In hindsight, I have heard that one before somewhere, spoken, not just in the bee list.  Too bad I had no chance of remembering it.  The only other one I was missing was roam, somehow, despite getting some of the ones that are a lot more difficult for me.  Ugh.

As for LB, no luck.  I could not figure out what to do with the J and definitely did not think of junta! Congrats on getting that solution! And congrats to cathwen on another today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 21, 2022, 12:28:58 PM
Bee is cruising along - 2Ps and well into genius but stuck after the grid. I don't want to dip into the 2LL.

LB - 3fers coming out of my ears and several 2fer b4ss solutions. I think it's going to be one of those weeks.

Lately I have been trying Wordle. I find it pretty easy compared to LB but famous last words, amiright? My starting word is peach.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 21, 2022, 03:22:07 PM
I managed to get the second pangram and get to genius but am stuck for now.

But I did finally get a 2fer after many tries!

Good luck, ciao_yall! And I hope you enjoy Wordle.  It has its easy days and its difficult ones.  There is definitely some strategy to it, particularly when there are many possibilities to whittle down.  There was a pretty interesting article on first-word choice that I think I linked upthread.  Have fun!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 21, 2022, 03:24:48 PM
I don't think I'll make it to QB today.

As for haram, I know the word from "Boko Haram", so just looked up the meaning of the name which roughly translates as "education is forbidden".

It never ceases to amaze me as to why words that many of us consider to be normal are banned by the bee whereas haram and many other words of foreign origin are perfectly legit. There's a word that shouldn't have been accepted in today's puzzle because of the pearl-clutching, but more on that tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 22, 2022, 05:38:04 AM
QBwH for a few odd ones I had overlooked. LB permutation-nought.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 22, 2022, 05:59:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; it's a short, but tough one today.

Missed flatfeet and icefall.

The puzzlemakers appear to have no problems with fellate while disapproving of coition!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 22, 2022, 07:43:37 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram right away but only just got to genius.  I agree, it's tough! Yesterday we had team QB again.  I think flatfeet, leaflet, icefall, leftie were my final ones.  Langue_doc, I agree with you about what they will accept or not.  And thanks for the reminder about Boko Haram.  I have heard it in that context, so maybe that's where I remembered it from.

For LB, I had repairmen-nought.  Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

Retina specialist round 2 this morning, so I have to get notes together since he is an oddball.  I want to be sure I get my questions in.  Apparently husband's colleague saw this specialist when he had a major retina incident and said he seems to be a good doctor and surgeon but is very weird and a little hard to deal with.  I'm just glad it wasn't just us.  He seemed to react strangely a few times.  Anyway! We'll see what happens today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 22, 2022, 08:08:41 AM
Good morning! 

Today's SB is a toughie, I agree.  I just clawed my way to Genius with the pangram, which was my first word. Now I am stuck! 

Yesterday was a busy day, so I didn't progress well, and had to look for hints at the end.  I did not think that flatfeet was a word, so that was an "honest" miss, but I wanted to slap my head when I realized that I hadn't put down lift and left.  I kept seeing them and thinking, no, I've already found those.  Sigh...

LB:  I had hemp-purgation. Looks like another day with a good bit of variety!  I have a 2fer today as well.

Ab_grp, good luck at your appointment this morning!

Langue_doc, thanks for looking up "Boko Haram".  Education is forbidden...that is chilling.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 22, 2022, 08:26:38 AM
ab_grp, hope your medical appointment goes well. Sometimes you can encounter a physician who is medically proficient, but has poor people skills, so the written notes sounds like an excellent idea.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 22, 2022, 10:26:51 AM
Thanks for the good wishes! Still in the waiting room but got QBABM, 2fer, and solved crossword.  Now what? Ha maybe i should come to the doctor more often.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 22, 2022, 02:21:09 PM
Good gravy! I think that took about 3.5 hours at the actual office, of which 10 mins was with the doctor, if that.  And he was an oddball again.  It was very, very packed, and I guess there was an emergency.  It's kind of a branch office, so one doctor from the main office in nearby bigger city comes each day to see patients there.  Anyway, no news.  My eye apparently looks pristine.  I have to go back in 3 months.  I will need to bring more puzzles next time, because they did not last past the first waiting room.  Poor husband ended up shopping most of the time, making his way to two grocery stores and two chain stores and then sitting in the parking lot for quite a while.

Still have to do Wordle, Globle, Duolingo, sudokus, exercise...   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 22, 2022, 09:10:47 PM
M ysuboptimal day spilled over into the Bee, so I'll finish my last seven points tomorrow. Blech.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 23, 2022, 05:51:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and above genius. Last word yesterday was natant--found all the words, phew!

divorce/emulsion

ab_grp, that was a long wait; I think we should start a thread on doctor's offices and their idiosyncrasies.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 23, 2022, 06:41:16 AM
QBwATHICG to find natant. LB conundrums-silver.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2022, 07:36:36 AM
Good morning!

Didn't really get too far yet but I do have the pangram and am on my way to genius.  I forget what my last word was yesterday, but the final five were 4-letter words, and the several before that were 5-letter words.  Maybe aunt? Congrats on your QB too, Langue_doc!

For LB, I had dulcimer-reconvenes, so half-schmofficial, for better or worse.  Lots of solutions already!

Langue_doc, that doctor thread would be a good one, and I'm sure it would draw plenty of stories.  I may add some more after this morning, as I am off again, to another facility, to get routine medical testing done.  Last time I was there was a few weeks into the pandemic here, and there was almost no one at the facility, so I was able to get everything done quickly.  We'll see about today.  Part of it is fasting blood work, so no coffee yet.  :-(  I am still sore from sitting so long yesterday.   I thought the 3-hour sitting spells of grad school classes were behind me. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 23, 2022, 08:39:43 AM
Good morning!

QB with 1L help yesterday to find the last word, hatha.  Today, thanks to 2.5 hours in a cancer unit sitting with my husband as he got blood tests and then his immunotherapy infusion, I made QBABM, echoing ab_grp's experience yesterday. 

Ab_grp, I'm glad the doctor found nothing wrong with your eyes, especially after the long wait. 

LB:  Another variant!  I had slumlords-servicemen.  I also have a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 23, 2022, 09:35:53 PM
Blah, not today! I'm very close, but just can't see anything else.

Edit: Nope, had a last look and got to GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 24, 2022, 07:54:35 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius this morning after getting the pangram right away.  We had team QB again yesterday.  I missed baobab for the first time in a while, along with bazaar, ragbag.  He missed bazoo and a few others.  The absolutely only reason I found that word was because we've been watching Frasier, and Frasier's dad sometimes tells him to shut his big bazoo.  I don't think I've heard of it elsewhere.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

And congrats on your other solution posted yesterday (interesting pair!) and on your 2fer yesterday.  Also, I hope your husband's tests and treatments went well.  I'm sure it's not easy.  As for my eyes, I am definitely glad they look pristine but am still frustrated not knowing why I have vision loss.  He did give me an Amsler grid for self-monitoring until my next appointment.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 24, 2022, 09:29:02 AM
QBwHaaWG (Queen Bee with Hints and a Wild Guess) for bazoo. LB wombat-trueing.

Got a 2fer today already but Bee is slow.

I have started doing Wordle. I don't find it very challenging but maybe I have been lucky? My starting word is peach.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 24, 2022, 09:51:06 AM
Good afternoon!

Boar was my last word yesterday, with bazoo as a just-fiddling-around-desperately surprise.  I have a few words to go today.

LB:  I had browbeating-gum.  I found a 2fer today relatively quickly.

Ab_grp, my husband's immunotherapy is going very well, so far.  He's now almost as he was prior to the chemo and surgery, although he's still experiencing some fatigue.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 24, 2022, 10:56:15 AM
BWP
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 24, 2022, 12:03:44 PM
Awesome, Parasaurolophus! I need some of that mojo today.

I did manage to get a 2fer after a few tries. 

Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen, and on the one from yesterday! I'm really glad to hear that your husband's immunotherapy is going so well.  It sounds like quite a lot of progress. 

And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today as well, ciao_yall!  I think Wordle is pretty easy most days.  It can be difficult when several words have every letter in common except one.  Then strategy is involved.  There is also a newsletter I referred to upthread from the NYT in which they report on which were the hardest and easiest Wordles of the week.  And you can try the Wordle bot to see how good your choices are (after you solve).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 24, 2022, 02:27:16 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius, but am truly stuck.

QB yesterday, but got brogan and bazoo, the meanings of which are still obscure to me, by putting letters together.

Fauna-themed wombat/trueing and then numbat/towering.

Went on a bird walk and then decided to extend my trip for an errand. The errand was successful, but the subways are snarled this weekend with the X train for instance going on the Y tracks between some of the stations, and then the Z tracks before getting back on the X tracks. Other trains were also either rerouted or curtailed with the result that the return trip which should have taken just over an hour ended up taking more than 2.5 hours, and with me having to walk the entire length of the train when I got off because I had counted on taking another train which would have put me at the correct end of the train. This wouldn't have been too bad if it had been an isolated incident, but yesterday on my way home from an appointment, the train stopped with half of the first car (in which I was) past the station, so the doors couldn't be opened. Eventually the conductor came to each car, opened the rear door of the car I was in to see if anyone needed to exit. At the next station, the train's brakes got activated so that only the first half of the first car was in the station. We had to wait for maintenance/service person to come to the station, fiddle with the controls that were in the huge black box-like structure on the platform, and check several times with the driver before the train could start. Several trains were backed up in both directions for a very long time. It took me about a couple of hours to get home. The joys of riding the subway in New York! Today on my way out, there was a man smoking a cigarette inside the train. Fortunately an MTA employee happened to be in the same car so I asked him to intervene.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 25, 2022, 06:24:13 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 25, 2022, 08:00:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. Missed a few easy words yesterday, but found

ladybug/geography, and then graphed/doubly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 25, 2022, 08:09:28 AM
Good morning!

I did not finish SB yesterday—my missing words were intro, nitro, nutrition, turf. Today I am at GWP. 

LB: I had graphed-doubly.  Congratulations on finding two, Langue_doc!  No 2fer for today so far.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2022, 08:13:25 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram right away, luckily, and to genius after a bit and then did the crossword.   I thought it was a cute theme today! A nice change.  Yesterday I just gave up on the bee.  I don't know what it is, but these days I just hit a wall at some point.  Husband got QBABH.  I was missing turf, notion, roti, tortoni, rotini, tofu.  I guess I was just not seeing food for some reason!

For LB, I also got graphed-doubly.  Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc!  And your two 2fers the day before! You are on a roll.  Sorry to hear about your travel issues.  What a pain in the neck.  I can imagine! And smoking on the train is... bold...


Congrats Parasaurolophus! That was quick!

Happy solving!

ETA: Congrats on your 2fer as well, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 25, 2022, 08:29:50 AM
QBw2LL - I think my last word was rotini. LN bedbug-graphology. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2022, 09:50:42 AM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on a different solution, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2022, 02:45:16 PM
And I got to QBABM! Hurrah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 26, 2022, 05:46:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. QB yesterday--remembered the oddball words from previous puzzles.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 26, 2022, 06:06:53 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday (last word latke), and Alpha this morning with two short words to go.  I am now stuck, so I hope that the words come to me later.

LB:  I finally found umbra-aphrodisiac.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 26, 2022, 06:29:49 AM
QBwH for teacake even though I got teakettle on my own. Gah.

LB ambhibious-scrod but earlier I got umbraphobic-cads which should have taken but did not. Oh well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 26, 2022, 07:42:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to GWP plus a bit so far.  Yesterday I was so happy to get to QB.  I think kettle, teakettle, teacake were the last three for me, and I am pretty sure I missed the latter before. 

For LB, I got cupboards-shim.  Lots of solutions again! Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 27, 2022, 06:49:07 AM
QBwG, last word lorry. LB requote-epiphany.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 27, 2022, 07:21:24 AM
Good morning!

QB, last words allay and amyl.  Three words to go today, but may need help later.

LB:  I also had requote-epiphany.  I have a 2fer today, too, but I don't like the second word.  If I have time later, I may try for a new combination.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2022, 08:15:06 AM
Good morning!

I am really struggling today! I got the pangram right away but am inching toward genius with 10 or so points to go.  Husband is in the same boat.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, cathwen, and good luck with your final words today! I forgot amyl again, as well as moola, but we had team QB.  Weirdly, it was missing molly even after refreshing and reloading the app, even though I clearly had it in my list since it's in the spreadsheet of my word list that I copy from the website to count points.   At least I have definitive proof!

Argh I almost got the schmofficial 2fer.  I had the second word and words near the first word.  And I had lots of other contenders but did not have either word that cathwen and ciao_yall had in their 2fer.  Congrats! And on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 27, 2022, 10:52:20 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. QB yesterday, but don't recall the last words.

requote/epiphany

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 27, 2022, 06:39:42 PM
Close. I'll finish tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 28, 2022, 06:39:42 AM
QB, needed a hint for banyan.

LB intoxicates-struth which yes, is a word! Other attempts included exotic-chanceurs which I guess is French so it didn't take. And 2fer b4ss houri-intoxicates, cruxes-stanchion, thane-excursion, raunchiest-toxin.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 28, 2022, 06:45:43 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius. Missed loblolly yesterday--aaargh!

neurotoxic/chaos

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 28, 2022, 07:58:08 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a one-letter hint to get nylon.  Today I have both pangrams and am above genius. 

LB:  I first had authenticates-sexor, which I did not think was a word.  Later I found exotica-authenticators.  I found a quick 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 28, 2022, 08:17:11 AM
Good morning!

I did get the pangrams and to genius this morning.  Yesterday we almost had team QB, but we needed help with loblolly, which I agree is definitely an aaargh.  I also missed abbacy (again! third time?!), nylon, ballboy, banally.

I felt like I was so close to a 2fer yesterday but got nothin'.  Congrats on all your different solutions! And on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 28, 2022, 07:08:54 PM
Made it to GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 29, 2022, 05:02:05 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was unhinging--found the two oddballs much earlier.

buckshot/target

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 29, 2022, 06:47:01 AM
Morning!

QB, needed the 2LL for gigging even though, like Langue-doc I remembered the two oddballs from a previous puzzle.

LB - just 2fer b4ss. breakthrough-scab, boughs-stacker, touchbacks-surge, egret-touchbacks.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 29, 2022, 07:11:23 AM
Good morning!

QB with 1L hints for nunchuck...then I remembered nunchuck as well.   Today I am above genius with both pangrams, but running out of steam.

LB:  I had bucks-shortages.  I found a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 29, 2022, 07:50:05 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius.  Yesterday I needed help with hinging, hung, and all the un- words.

No luck on LB, either.  Congrats on all your solutions and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 29, 2022, 07:03:12 PM
One pamgram, still far from genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 30, 2022, 04:28:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius, but that's probably it for today. Last word yesterday was tallit--was quite pleased with having found netizen quite early.

Happy solving!

ETA: found a twofer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 30, 2022, 06:46:37 AM
Morning!

QBwH, not a fast brain yesterday for some reason. Last words were tanzanite, titan. Did get netizen though.

LB boutique-empowered.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 30, 2022, 07:06:54 AM
Good morning!

Tanzanite and netizen were my last two words yesterday, found with hints.  Today I have one 5L word to go, and cannot imagine what it can be.

LB:  I also had boutique-empowered, but no 2fer yet today!  Congratulations, Langue_doc, on having found one!

I'm convalescing from my usual post-vaccine reaction.  I had a flu shot two weeks ago, and yesterday had the new Covid shot, and both times I have had overnight chills, muscle aches, and a high fever.  This morning I am merely achy and a little woozy.  I know it will be over soon—maybe even by this afternoon.  Better than the flu or Covid, though, in any case.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2022, 07:17:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB again.  I was missing tanzanite, titillate, tain.  I don't recall the latter word being in there before but could be wrong.  And where did attaint go now that I remembered that one?!

I had empowered but couldn't get the mate yesterday.  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen! And congrats on yours today, Langue_doc!

Cathwen, I hope your side effects go away soon.  Don't go jumping around in the meantime! ;-) At least we get used to the expected recovery over time, I guess.  Definitely better than covid or the flu! Husband got his covid and flu shots on Monday and again had no trouble except for being a little worn down.  I just saw that you only have one bee word left, so good luck!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 30, 2022, 10:45:36 AM
Quote
Cathwen, I hope your side effects go away soon.  Don't go jumping around in the meantime! ;-)

Or zumba! Hope you're feeling better and free of the side effects.

As for tain, I don't think I've seen it before; got it by trying different letter combinations. It apparently refers to the tinfoil that is used as a backing for mirrors.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 30, 2022, 11:28:27 AM
Tain probably comes from étain, 'tin' in French, since it involves tinfoil.  It must have been in a previous Bee at some point, because it is in my list of Bee words. So is attaint, but that was rejected yesterday.

Don't worry, no jumping around for me today!  : )
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on September 30, 2022, 08:08:38 PM
Blah, I've fallen just short again. I'll try to finish in the morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 01, 2022, 05:51:27 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on September 30, 2022, 08:08:38 PM
Blah, I've fallen just short again. I'll try to finish in the morning.

Made it, phew! On to today's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 01, 2022, 07:41:12 AM
QBwH and a new word that I probably keep forgetting annular.

LB - just 2fer b4ss and 3fers. Close-ish with foundations-shark but oh well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 01, 2022, 07:43:20 AM
Good morning!

Hurrah, Parasaurolophus, and good luck!

Made it to genius with the pangram plus a little so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  He needed raja, and I needed llano.  Guess it's been a while for that one.

Lots of attempts at LB but no luck.  I did not have either part of the schmofficial solution.  Maybe today I will get a 2fer!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 01, 2022, 08:26:15 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Beta with the pangram, but now flummoxed.  Yesterday I stumbled over annal, which I usually get. 

LB:  I first had trunkfish-hoard.  Trunkfish was a desperation try and I was surprised when it took.  I learned that it is a type of fish native to the Caribbean—so I have expanded my pitiful range of ichthyological terms.  Later I tried again and got the almost-official fastidious-shrink. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 01, 2022, 08:47:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Last word yesterday was lunula, which I've encountered countless times.

fastidious/shrink

When I looked out the window just before 9, it had stopped raining. Decided to go for a walk because the weather forecast this morning predicted no rain until after 2 PM contrary to yesterday's forecast which called for rain all day today. Guess what? Had a nice walk for almost an hour, then the rain came down in torrents, so had to walk for about 10 minutes in pouring rain, wearing a raincoat which stopped being a raincoat after three washes, and clutching my binoculars so that the lenses wouldn't get waterlogged. It was a good walk though with plenty of birds. I could have sheltered under one of the many large trees, but decided that it was better to get soaked and get home rather than wait not knowing when the rain would end.

Happy solving, and stay dry!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 01, 2022, 09:55:29 AM
I managed to get a 2fer! And am near alpha but not quite there yet.

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc, and on your two 2fers, cathwen (and another today)!

Langue_doc, sorry to hear that you got soaked.  It's hard to decide whether to just get moving and deal with it while having an end in sight or wait and possibly end up stuck for much longer or be in a worse position.  I'm glad you got some good birding in despite that. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 01, 2022, 09:17:51 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 02, 2022, 08:09:49 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, with a measly 15-word list. It's a tricky one today, so probably no QB.

Last word yesterday was infinitive.

brighten/nyloned, and brightly/yonder (I think these were the words--didn't write them down)

Twofer today.

Bird walk scheduled for today was canceled because of the rain, so it's a stay-at-home and catching-up-on-chores day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 02, 2022, 08:29:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram but am stalled for now.  It does seem like a tricky one.  We got to team QB again, with my missing word being vivified (again).  I think he was missing diffident

Got blonder-rightly after first trying brightly and dumbly thinking I couldn't get a mate.  Looking at my chicken scratch, I think I wrote down that there was an H left instead of an N, so that might be part of it.  Congrats on your two 2fers, Langue_doc! And on another today!

Sorry to hear about your bird walk cancellation, but I hope the time at home is enjoyable (other than chores).

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 02, 2022, 09:03:20 AM
QB with a hint for vivified. Was with my hiking group yesterday and we made a point of using the word vivified as often as we could.

LB brightly-yonder.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 02, 2022, 11:39:13 AM
Good afternoon!

QB with a hint for identified and vivified.  I guess we all stumbled over that one!  Ciao_yall, I must try using vivified in a sentence, too!  QB-2 today.  This is a short one, but difficult.

LB:  Yesterday I had blonder-rightly.  No 2fer today yet, though!  Congratulations on finding one, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 03, 2022, 05:14:22 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and a long slog to genius. Missed eggcup yesterday. eggcup!? Oh, well.

capitular/rhomb

Easy twofer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 03, 2022, 06:49:02 AM
QB, just the grid to guess at eggcup.

LB - only thing I got was a 2fer b4ss thump-parabolic. Not even a 3fer!

Oh well, happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 03, 2022, 06:56:31 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday; with help, got penne (a word I almost never miss) and eggcup.

Today is going to be a slog.  I'm at genius with only one of the two pangrams. 

LB:  No luck yesterday, but I got a quick 2fer today! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 03, 2022, 09:29:54 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and a bit past genius.  We each think we found a word that isn't accepted but should be today.  Yesterday we each got to QBABO, with my final word being penne and his being pence.  I tried eyecup on a whim, but I guess that's a thing.

For LB, I must have been thinking along the same lines as Langue_doc.  I got capitular-rhombi, so a bit less efficient.  And congrats on 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 03, 2022, 07:54:04 PM
Two pangrams, no genius.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 04, 2022, 05:39:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed cardioid, toroid, and a couple of other words yesterday. It's annoying that perfectly legit and acceptable words are excluded, but the bee expects us to know obscure scientific or foreign words!

acquisitions/spork (a battered spork was one of his prized antique acquisitions)

ab_grp, what was the not-accepted word?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 04, 2022, 08:42:08 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram plus a bit so far.  I had quite a few left yesterday when we compared but somehow managed to get the more sciencey ones.  We almost had team QB but needed help with corrida.  Langue_doc, I thought acidotic might be in there.  It appeared to be in the dictionary and etc.  Maybe I watch too many crime and med shows!

And once again I was apparently thinking along similar lines, but I got the same one this time (acquisitions-spork).

We didn't have any internet this morning until now and may not later thanks to some Xfinity servicing in the neighborhood, so at least I got a start on a journal article review. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 04, 2022, 09:10:16 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday was not my best SB day.  I needed help to find corrida and adroit, and then, despite hints, did not come up with cardioid or toroid.  Today I am at genius with the pangram, but I'm finding today's SB difficult also.  Ugh!

LB was better:  acquisitions-spark. After some hair pulling this morning, I finally found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 04, 2022, 09:12:39 AM
QB with lots of hints and help from the dictionary. Last word toroid

LB acquisitions-spark.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 04, 2022, 07:50:58 PM
Blah, failed again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 05, 2022, 05:07:51 AM
Good morning!

85 points so far. Last word yesterday was gnocchi; I was quite pleased with myself for having found chignon much earlier.

overdraw/whimsy

Happy solving!

ETA: QB, all I needed was a single word that I should have found much earlier.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 05, 2022, 05:32:16 AM
BWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 05, 2022, 06:03:00 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram this morning, three words to go.  Yesterday I needed letter hints for oncoming, noncom, and cooing, which I always seem to miss.

LB: I also had the "official" overdraw-whimsy.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 05, 2022, 06:54:17 AM
QB, Needed a hint for chino.

LB was so close! I found whimsy-year-roved, overdrives-shaw-whimsy and other 3fers but just didn't see the 2fer. Oh well. Onward.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 05, 2022, 10:58:15 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius and pangram plus a bit but then made the mistake of doing a Windows update that took 2 hours.  ! I am behind a bit, and our schedule has been turned upside down.  After a bad night's sleep, it's great to get up super early and then find out that a work activity has been pushed back 4 hours.  Yesterday I missed a bunch but somehow managed to get the more difficult words, again.  Congrats on all the QBs yesterday and today!

And congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen.  I've got a long list of contenders but didn't manage to see either word from the schmofficial solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 06, 2022, 06:30:58 AM
QB with Grid, last word tibia.

Another close one with zebra-agent-scion, zebras-scientist-tog but no 2fer. Did have beacons-stargazing and recognizes-stab.

Oh well, let's see what today brings!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 06, 2022, 06:47:14 AM
Good morning!

Only 20 or so points left. Last word yesterday was habitat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 06, 2022, 08:26:11 AM
Good morning!

Briar and tidbit were my last words yesterday.  Today I'm at Beta with the pangram and struggling. 

No 2fer yesterday—I did see zebra, but did not see agnostic.  And no 2fer yet today! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 06, 2022, 08:48:45 AM
Made it to QB yesterday, despite travelling. Haven't started today's yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2022, 09:05:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Haven't made it to genius yet, but I do have the pangram.  Yesterday I think I needed help with tidbit, bait.  It was a pain in the rear day.  Congrats on your QB, Parasaurolophus!!

I also came close on LB but did not see agnostic, unfortunately! I thought stargaze might lead somewhere. 

FYI, I saw a tweet from Sam (https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1577667140110487556):

Quote
Hey #hivemind!! Which is preferable:

1) Z in the center, multiple pangrams

OR

2) V in the center, LOTS of pangrams + longer finds ..... and it's nearly 300 points to Genius

Excited for y'all to find out

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 07, 2022, 05:19:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Last word yesterday was mammon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 07, 2022, 06:36:49 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word was poolroom. Nowhere on LB - that's a rarity. But a few quick 3fers today so maybe I'll break this dead streak.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2022, 08:19:16 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram (after finding a couple that were not accepted) and then to genius.  Husband got to QBABH yesterday, but I needed help with aroma, manna, poolroom, romp

I also got nowhere with LB.  I definitely did not see bankruptcy! Good luck, ciao_yall.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 07, 2022, 08:42:45 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram this morning.  Yesterday poolroom was my last word. 

LB:  For the third day in a row, I cannot find a 2fer!  I did not see bankruptcy yesterday.  Today I see many words, but they all involve letters on the same side.  My husband and I are going to NYC today, so I'll have time to work on it on the train.  I'm hoping for a breakthrough!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2022, 04:58:48 PM
Finally got a 2fer! But I have several words left on the bee.

I hope you had a good trip into "the city" and also had some inspiration, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 07, 2022, 05:55:28 PM
Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp!  Alas, I am still struggling, and will probably give it up for the evening. 

It's good to be back in NYC, but the little bar/restaurant we used to go to is under new management and, while the food is good, the atmosphere is not as cozy.  And another restaurant we used to frequent is no longer there.  So I almost feel that I know but don't know the city anymore.  Tomorrow I'm going to have to re-acquaint myself with subway and bus routes!  (I do remember most of those, however.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 07, 2022, 06:56:29 PM
Blah, didn't spend enough time on it today. Pangram but unfinished.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2022, 06:56:42 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (second word) and 110 points so far.

Last word yesterday was dace, which I finally remembered from an earlier puzzle. I found haka by accidentally typing the wrong letter. It never ceases to surprise me that what I think of as obscure words keep finding their way into the bee list, whereas words such as dickhead, which would have been a second pangram, keep getting banned.

skeletonize/expire

I turned off the alarm because I didn't feel like getting up early for a bird walk, but more are coming up this long weekend.

Enjoy the weekend, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 08, 2022, 07:56:23 AM
QBwH for haka, caddie. Just 3fers on LB including prize-expels-stonk and why I never saw skeleton is beyond me.

Quick 2fer this morning so back to it.

Happy solving, birding and whatever you all get up to today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 08, 2022, 09:14:50 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday we didn't get team QB.  I was missing haka, chica.  I do remember the first one but don't think it has been in there often, and I never try the second one because similar words are not accepted.  With you on the second pangram, Langue_doc!

For LB, I got a ring of skeletonize-experts.  Congrats on getting a quick one today, ciao_yall!

It's very cool and rainy here.  A good day to turn off the alarm! I'm glad you have other bird walks to look forward to this weekend, Langue_doc, and I hope you can figure out the subway and bus system and find some new cozy spots!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 08, 2022, 12:08:35 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with haka as my last word.  Just made QB on today's puzzle, too.

LB: I never did get a 2fer yesterday, but I have broken my losing streak (3 days!!) by finding one today.  Not a quick one, like ciao_yall, though!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 08, 2022, 07:29:02 PM
Blah, found the pangram ten forgot to finish. Again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 09, 2022, 09:10:13 AM
QBw2LL, last word was canyon /facepalm. LB blotch-harmonium.

3fers and a 2fer b4ss so far this morning. I hope to start a winning streak but who knows.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 09, 2022, 09:31:41 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and 220 points so far. QB yesterday--don't recall the last word(s).

blotch/harmonium

Went on a bird walk this morning. Plenty of birds but a most uninspiring trip leader.

Hope you have good weather, ab_grp! Cool but sunny here, all the way to mid-week.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 09, 2022, 10:41:44 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I only have two pangrams but finally managed to get to genius.  Yesterday I think I was just missing one word but then found it right at the last minute and got QBABM (yahoo).  Yahoo!

I tried and tried and could not get a 2fer! It's kind of ironic that the schmofficial solution included halibut, given that I spent hours online yesterday afternoon looking at halibut and other fish online to order.  :-( Oh well.  Today is another day.  Congrats on your solution, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Thanks for the weather wishes, Langue_doc! It is still cool and rainy here, even more than yesterday.  It's supposed to clear up midweek.  Since it's usually so sunny, I guess it's a nice break to get some perspective and feel like there is really a transition to fall.  I miss that from the east coast.  I'm glad you had a good bird outing despite the trip leader!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 09, 2022, 11:31:15 AM
Good afternoon!

Yoohoo was my last word yesterday.  Today I'm at Beta with all three pangrams. 

LB:  I had outcharm-minilab.  I was really surprised that minilab took, but I'm not arguing. I have a 2fer today, but it's not very economical. 

We're back from NY.  The event we went down for was at our former church, which bought and gut-renovated another building, so this was a consecration ceremony; my husband was recruited to sing with the choir, as he had when we lived in New York.  People we hadn't seen for years recognized us and greeted us warmly.  The ceremony was long but beautiful.  But there was drama when the smoke detector started blaring!  The bishop (who looks like Santa Claus and, fittingly, has a jolly disposition) got up and said, "Don't worry!  It's just the incense!" Nevertheless, I think we were all expecting the fire brigade to come charging up the aisle.  They did not, fortunately. 

Ab_grp, I hope you have good weather!  Langue_doc, that's too bad that your trip leader was uninspiring, but at least you got to see many birds.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 09, 2022, 12:56:33 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Congrats on yours as well, cathwen, economical or not, and your different solution yesterday! And it's great that you were able to see and spend time with old friends from your church.  Also good that the fire brigade didn't have to make an appearance! I wonder how often that happens with the incense.  I hope your husband enjoyed his time with the choir again.

Oh I finally got the third pangram as well.  Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 09, 2022, 07:03:59 PM
Two pangrams, but fell a few short of genius. Might try again tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2022, 04:32:38 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and 205 points so far. Missed a few words yesterday--didn't get back to the puzzle after the Sunday phone visits.

cows/sublimation

Easy twofer, but unusual first word.

cathwen, that sounds like an interesting trip--glad that it was the smoke alarm and not the fire alarm.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 10, 2022, 05:21:16 AM
Good morning!

Two words to go to QB.  Yesterday I used hints to find aptly (argh!) and palely.  I hope to find my two words today without hints—but we shall see.

LB:  I had a very uneconomical waistcoats-subluminous.  The second word was a wild guess.  Langue_doc, congratulations on finding a much more sensible (and economical) 2fer!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 10, 2022, 06:44:14 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word papally. LB outclimbs-swan but I had a 2fer b4ss as well that I was bummed couldn't count cows-somnambulist.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 10, 2022, 06:56:35 AM
Quick genius this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2022, 08:11:06 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams but now my computer is about to update again, so I'm trying to say hello first! Yesterday I had a couple I was missing, including papally, teletype (even though I had teleplay, type... argh), but we did have team QB.

For LB, I got the same as Langue_doc, cows-sublimation.  Cathwen, that is quite a mouthful of a 2fer! And congrats to ciao_yall on a different 2fer as well.  No schmofficial ones. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2022, 11:37:11 AM
QB and a nice outing.

Now to get to work.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 11, 2022, 06:25:52 AM
QBwH for chitin which I forgot about. LB was kiwi-impracticalities.

Fast route to genius and 2fer today so now to eke my way to QB. Maybe I'll achieve ABM? The drama is killing me. (ETA I think I have 3 words to go).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 11, 2022, 07:19:36 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram this morning.  Yesterday I needed 2LL help to find igniting, my last word.

LB:  I had wreaks-simplicities.  I found one today, too, after a bit of a struggle. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 11, 2022, 08:26:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday I thought I had a bunch left but was just missing igniting, tight, twig.  Not sure how I missed those.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!!

Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen! I tried and tried with no payoff.  And congrats on both getting another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 11, 2022, 12:57:43 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and almost QB; QB yesterday, but don't recall the last few words as I found the list without much effort.

watersilks/scamp; didn't think that the former was a word, but who am I to argue with LB!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 11, 2022, 04:54:35 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Still a ways to go on the bee, though.  Dentist appt ended up taking time (though results were fine, thankfully!!).

Good luck, Langue_doc! And congrats on yet another LB solution yesterday!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 11, 2022, 07:36:19 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2022, 08:02:04 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I had a few left (including falloff again!!), but we had team QB.

For LB, I had the schmofficial solution, chia-adjustable.

I did the crossword but found out that some of the highlighted words were incorrect in my app, which is kind of annoying.  Did that happen to anyone else?  Someone mentioned it in the comments, but I'm not sure which platforms it affects.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 12, 2022, 08:22:07 AM
Morning!

Recovering from the booster--can't even type. Pangram and above genius, this morning, back to bed. Don't remember the twofer.

Langue_Doc, why on earth did you schedule the booster for early in the week?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 12, 2022, 08:38:39 AM
QBwH for falloff. And chia-adjustable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2022, 08:42:12 AM
Hope you recover quickly from the booster, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 12, 2022, 12:12:32 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday with afoul as my last word.  I'm within a couple of words from QB today. 

LB:  I also had the "official" chia-adjustable.  No 2fer yet today, in spite of some decent contenders.

Langue_doc, I hope you feel better soon!   I also had a strong reaction to the most recent booster, but it was mainly overnight.  No fun!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2022, 04:36:57 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Congrats on your QBABY yesterday, cathwen! Wishing you good luck today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 12, 2022, 08:01:35 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2022, 06:39:31 AM
QBwG, last word was heeled I think. LB bambino-outfoxes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 13, 2022, 09:06:56 AM
Good morning!

Man, I am struggling today.  I am not to genius yet but do have the pangram.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were missing haka again.  And though I got them last time, this time I was missing deadhead(ed), dacha and also lech.

For LB, I had infamous-subtext, which appears to be schmofficial.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 13, 2022, 09:38:05 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw1L hint for last word, lech.  Today, I agree, is quite a struggle!  I just got to genius, but it took a long time.  I can't imagine reaching QB today without hints.

LB:  Darn! I saw both outfoxes and subtext yesterday, but did not see the words that went with them!  Today I have a 2fer, although it seems a little odd.  If I have time (ha!), I'll try for something more normal.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2022, 09:49:47 AM
Quote from: cathwen on October 13, 2022, 09:38:05 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw1L hint for last word, lech.  Today, I agree, is quite a struggle!  I just got to genius, but it took a long time.  I can't imagine reaching QB today without hints.

LB:  Darn! I saw both outfoxes and subtext yesterday, but did not see the words that went with them!  Today I have a 2fer, although it seems a little odd.  If I have time (ha!), I'll try for something more normal.

Happy puzzling!

I saw outfoxes pretty quickly, then made a 3fer amino-outfoxes-sub. Stared at it and wondered if bambino was a word, and the rest is history.

Congrats on a 2fer today - weird counts!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 13, 2022, 11:43:45 AM
Afternoon!

cathwen and ab_grp, I was relieved to see that you found today's bee to be a struggle--I attributed my difficulties to the aftereffects of the booster. Thank you both for your good wishes. Yesterday felt as though  I had been run over by a train, so other than drinking plenty of water and taking tylenol as instructed, and a few forays onto my desktop, I slept most of the day.

I found the pangram early on, but it was an uphill struggle to get to genius. There were times when I thought I'd never make it to genius, which would have been my first non-genius bee.

I missed ahead, but distinctly remember typing this word quite early in the puzzle.

Found the twofer at one in the morning--bambino/outfoxes; the solution for the previous day was adjustable/ethic

I'm way behind with the crosswords; missed wordle yesterday; it took me 6 minutes to solve the easy sudoku, which usually takes me around 3 minutes.

Still under the weather with a temperature and poor coordination. I hope that there aren't any more new variants as these boosters will probably be the death of me.

On that unhappy note, happy solving!

ETA: found a twofer this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 13, 2022, 02:10:47 PM
I'm sorry this booster has been taking it out of you so much, Langue_doc! At least today sounds a bit better, but continued good wishes to you! Good luck with any puzzles you feel like catching up on.  Yesterday was probably a good day to miss Wordle, in my opinion.  I think the crossword today was a little tough (and a little annoying), even for a Thursday.  I am amazed that you still got a 2fer for yesterday's! Congrats on that and on getting another today!

Congrats to you as well for your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

I finally straggled across the genius line but haven't returned to the slog yet.  And I have some good-ish contenders but no 2fer to report.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 14, 2022, 08:33:11 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius.  The two pangrams took me a bit.  Yesterday I had a heck of a lot of words left, and we still didn't have team QB.  We needed help for noir, coir.  I needed help for confront, contrition, rotor, and some others.

No luck on LB! I tried and tried and had so many good contenders.  Lots of compound words, just not the right one.  Darn it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 14, 2022, 09:00:46 AM
Good morning!

It was a steep climb to genius this morning, but little by little, I have gotten to Beta with both pangrams.  I don't see QB in my future without help.  Yesterday was difficult, too; I resorted to hints for citric, nitric, ricin, and triton, which was my last word.

LB:  I had blowdowns-sacristan.  No 2fer yet today, in spite of some terrific words!

Langue_doc, I hope you're feeling better today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 14, 2022, 09:07:13 AM
Morning!

QBwH for rococo and a few other easy ones I had overlooked. LB catbirds-slowdown.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 14, 2022, 12:26:41 PM
Afternoon!

Slow climb to almost 300 points with two pangrams, but that's probably it for today. Missed a few words yesterday.

railbird/downcast

Thanks, cathwen and ab_grp--I'm almost human today. Can't even begin to think of what things would be like were I to get infected with any of the variants.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 14, 2022, 08:18:40 PM
Not even close today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 15, 2022, 04:08:03 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (second word) and 94 points. Missed a couple of words yesterday. Annuli?! But not croft?

hemp/pointblank

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 15, 2022, 07:57:58 AM
Ruing? Absolutely not! It's 'rueing', and that's final.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2022, 08:43:21 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius with pangram so far.  We didn't make it to team QB again.  I think we were missing inurn, inurning, unilingual.  I had a couple others I can't currently recall.

No luck on LB despite a ton of trying again! I had embankment, phile.  Ugh.  But I also had two ships: alphabet~kimono, and pamphlet~boink.  Not that that counts for anything.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

Have to go to a follow up medical test this morning that I am not looking forward to.  Maybe I'll get time to puzzle while there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 15, 2022, 10:44:15 AM
QBwH for annulli... okay that is not a word. Or it is a word, obvi, but still... QB-1 today and really don't want to go to the 2LL or hints but alas, I may need to.

LB just 3fers including hip-plomb-blanket, khaki-implementation-nob. Only 3fers so far today as well, but the day is young.

And ab-grp, "ships" do count! Great finds!

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 15, 2022, 12:50:00 PM
Good afternoon!

I didn't make it to QB yesterday—I missed annuli, guar, and linguini.  Today I have three words to go. 

Parasaurolophus, I agree about ruing!  It should be rueing

LB:  Frustration!  I had both bibliophile and embankment, but did not put them together!  Argh!  So, no 2fer yesterday, but I finally found one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2022, 03:52:34 PM
Ciao_yall, I'm glad you are a ship fan too! Thanks! I did find another ship today but still no 2fer.  So close, dang it.  Cathwen, congrats on yours!

I still have two words left to QB.  Good luck to us all!

Langue_doc, I hope you are feeling better today. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 15, 2022, 06:27:11 PM
QB--I don't think there were any difficult words today.

ab_grp, thanks, I'm almost back to normal--went on a bird walk this morning. Hope your medical tests were painless and that the results are positive.

I have an early morning and probably a long day, so might not get to the puzzles or the fora until much later in the day.

Happy solving for tomorrow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 16, 2022, 04:26:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Don't recall yesterday's last word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 16, 2022, 05:12:51 AM
Good morning!

One of the two pangrams, and two words to go.  Yesterday my last two words, found with letter hints, were kowtow and mako.

LB:  No 2fer yet this morning, but yesterday I had shanties-semiology..

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 16, 2022, 08:16:51 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the second pangram and got past genius.  We each got QBABO yesterday with similar last words.  My final one was kowtow, and mako, amok were among the others. 

Tried and tried again on LB to no avail.  I did have mahogany and ships: histology~mane.  Congrats, cathwen!

Hope you enjoyed your bird walk, Langue_doc! I'm so glad you are feeling so much better.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 16, 2022, 08:55:10 AM
QBw2LL, last word kowtow. Just 3fers yesterday but got close with egotism-manly-yah.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 16, 2022, 08:53:10 PM
Close, but I'll have to finish it tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 17, 2022, 05:33:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Thanks to those of you who mentioned the second pangram yesterday, I looked for and found it, and then made it to QB.

sexual/liquefying (I think)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 17, 2022, 06:53:02 AM
QBwH for gazillion. LB just a 3fer quai*-influxes-saying and a 2fer b4ss which might not even be a word but hey quails-sexifying.

Happy solving!

* quai is an alternative spelling of quay.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2022, 07:28:56 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and finally to genius.  It seemed to take a bit, but then I got a few more after.  Still not quite at alpha.  Yesterday we each got to QBABO again! My final word was gonzo.  As for the two pangrams, I had gazillion right off the bat, but if I hadn't known about a second I might not have found analogizing!

And still no luck on LB despite many attempts.  Congrats on an interesting combo, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 17, 2022, 08:12:40 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 17, 2022, 08:21:37 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday my last word was the second pangram, analogizing.  This morning I'm at Beta with the pangram.  Five words to go, but where are they? 

LB:  I had sexual/liquefying.  No 2fer yet today! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 18, 2022, 02:14:03 AM
Good morning!

Genius, no pangram yet. Easy romp to QB yesterday--last word was hutch.

francized/dight (in case anyone is wondering what these mean, I haven't a clue)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 18, 2022, 06:58:46 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram today, but I had a hard time finding it.  I'm kind of stalled at the moment.  Yesterday, my last words were touched and thudded.  I had both touch and touché as well as thud, so I was a bit annoyed with myself for not seeing them sooner.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  Congratulations on yours, Langue_doc, even though the meanings are opaque!  I have a 2fer today, but the second word is, to my mind, a little iffy.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 18, 2022, 08:32:56 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius with no pangram yet.  I had thought of several pangrams, none of which were accepted.  I thought that was a joke at first.  Husband had the same experience but eventually found the accepted pangram.  We each got to QBABO again yesterday, but I'm guessing that streak ends today! I think my last word was thou.

No luck again yesterday, but I didn't much time with drama going on.  Congrats on your solution, Langue_doc! I have no idea.  Looks like francized means to make foreign words easier to spell (is that meant to be ironic?!), and dight is an archaic word for clothed or equipped.  Good to know in case we need to use these in everyday sentences! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! Iffy works!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 18, 2022, 08:54:55 AM
Morning! QBwH for tutee which I always forget.

LB - close but it wouldn't accept the spelling franchized-digit. Langue_doc I took a wild guess at frantic-crazed-dight. Dight means to dress up/adorn.

I had many 3fers such as ranch-crafted-digitize, fir-ranched-digitize, eft-ranched-digitize, chafed-digitizer-ran, fed-digitizer-ranch but argh with the compounds!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 19, 2022, 06:49:37 AM
Hola!

QBwH for deadfall, flatbed.

LB prevailer-ramshackle, repriever-ramshackle. Losing streak broken!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 19, 2022, 07:10:15 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for deadfall and flatfeet.  (That's a single word??) Today I'm at Beta with the pangram.

LB:  I had revamp-pricklish.  I was surprised that the second word was accepted, but I'm not arguing.  Ciao_yall, congratulations on not one, but *two* combinations! 

No 2fer so far today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 19, 2022, 08:16:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday the pangram was my 51st word!! I still had quite a few left when we compared, and then we needed Shunn for a couple (deadfall, delft).  I did remember flatfeet this time, and husband missed it this time. 

For LB I had mavericks-shlep.  I thought the first word had to be part of the schmofficial solution and was right but also wondered if I had cathwen's solution because of the iffy second word.  Wrong on that count! Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen, and on both of yours, ciao_yall! Lots of solutions! Wow! I am glad to have my losing streak broken as well, but it also comes with breaking my winning QB streak.  Hmm.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 19, 2022, 08:25:31 AM
Good morning!

QB and an easy twofer.

Missed defat, defatted, and deadfall. I recall coming up with the first two in an earlier puzzle. Autocorrect keeps trying to correct the first word, so I'm not sure how this one made it to the bee list!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 19, 2022, 09:39:17 PM
Another failure I'll have to finish in the morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 20, 2022, 04:34:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (phew!) and above genius. Last word yesterday was caiman.

wrathful/limbo

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 20, 2022, 05:36:47 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, which took me a while to find.  Yesterday my last words were maniac and minicam, both of which I usually see fairly early on. 

LB:  I had faithful-lobworm.  The second word was (as you might have suspected) a wild guess that took.  A lobworm is apparently a kind of earthworm. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 20, 2022, 06:36:55 AM
Morning!

QB, Needed a hint for catmint. LB just 3fers yesterday awful-limb-broth, with-harmful-lob.

Let's see what today brings. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2022, 08:23:08 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram after a few and got to genius.  I was so happy to get catmint!! But we needed help for minyan yet again, and I missed a couple others, but no real standouts, just ones I should have gotten.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, Langue_doc!

No luck on LB.  Congrats on your solutions, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2022, 11:15:45 AM
Got a 2fer after a bunch of tries! I forgot that I also got a ship yesterday: airflow~thumb
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 20, 2022, 11:16:03 AM
Aaargh! I need just one four-letter word to get to QB. Easy twofer which I found while waiting at the service place for the video of the innards of my car to pop up on my phone.

ETA: Congrats ab_grp. We must have posted simultaneously.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2022, 01:42:40 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Congrats to you as well, and I hope your hunt for the final bee word is successful! I am curious about the video of the innards of your car.  They send that to you? That's pretty cool!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 20, 2022, 09:17:26 PM
Whoops, forgot all about it today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 21, 2022, 05:33:53 AM
Good morning!

Five pangrams so far and about 40 points left.

Last word yesterday was pall, which I knew I had typed in much earlier; had to go through the entire list to see what other words were possible only to see this word missing; penultimate word was appellee.

pulverized/doxes

ab_grp, I suspect the video has two purposes: to demonstrate that they are actually doing the work billed, and also to show the necessity for additional work. I think the last time at this place was for the inspection, so I had to watch the video of the mechanic going through the steps. This time, the mechanic (they are all trained to narrate) pointed out that all four tires had been removed, the tire depth checked (showed the actual depth on all four tires), then showed me the dirty cabin air filter and the engine air filter (I saw the dirty filters, but didn't actually see them pulled out) both of which needed replacing. The innards are quite grubby, so at some point they need to be cleaned. They also replaced the dead battery on one of the fobs--I'd taken two batteries and both fobs, but was told that I should wait for the battery to die on the second one before replacing it. The service place is at the dealers from where I bought the car, used, about 3 years ago, so I've been happy with the work done so far. The last time I was there, early July, they had just brought out the new coffee machine (the coffee/tea/snacks area was empty during the covid days) and this time there were magazines on the coffee table. I spent some of the time watching a documentary on the Grévy's zebra, followed by one on kangaroos raising their young, interspersed with some reading and puzzling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 21, 2022, 07:04:32 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word lapel. Also got LB puliverized-doxes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 21, 2022, 08:17:58 AM
Good morning!

Got four pangrams so far and made it to genius.  Yesterday I got to QBABM, last words were paella, kale, allele.

For LB I got explosives-supersized.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! I found a bunch of good words but not pulverize(d).

Langue_doc, that is pretty neat! I have gone to places where they will bring in your air filter to show how gross it is (not like I'd know if it were actually my air filter, of course), but nothing as extensive as your video.  Is that in an app or something? Glad you got to enjoy the waiting area more, too.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 21, 2022, 08:37:08 AM
Quick BW3P so far this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 21, 2022, 09:00:43 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with appall as my last word.  Today I have all five pangrams and one 7-letter word to go! 

LB:  I had oversized-duplex.  Congratulations on the other solutions!  No 2fer yet today, though.

We spent part of the morning at the oncology center for my husband's immunotherapy infusion (I always sit with him while this is happening).  The man in the chair next to his overheard me talking about Spelling Bee—he also does SB every day!  We were comparing words recently missed and laughing about them, but of course, we did not say anything about today's puzzle.  Anyway, it was an unexpected bit of conviviality that cheered both my husband and me up a bit. 

Langue_doc, that car dealership's service center really has its act together!  I also go to the dealership for service; they're excellent, but I have never encountered a video before.  Maybe next time, if this is now a "thing"! 

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Just found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 21, 2022, 09:31:39 PM
Made it to four pangrams and alpha, but that's it for me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 22, 2022, 02:27:35 AM
Hello from the 2 AM can't-sleep-do-puzzles zone!

QB with hints for dividend, vivid. LB wholistic-cream. So far at GwP and a few 3fers.

cathwen my husband is also going through treatment, but they won't let me back in the patient area. He gets to ring the gong next week but I won't be able to go with him to film the moment, so I hope he gets the staff to let him.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 22, 2022, 05:32:06 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with last word (1 letter hint) divvied.  Today I'm at Beta with the pangram.

LB: I had rhotacism-mewl.  Congratulations on yours, ciao_yall!

Ciao_yall, the oncology center did not allow visitors in the patient area until maybe April.  Masked, of course.  He doesn't really need me now, as immunotherapy does not tire him out the way chemo did, but I go anyway.  He'll be on immunotherapy for a year.  Does "ringing the gong" mean that your husband's treatments are ending?  All the best wishes for remission and health!  And I hope you got back to sleep after your 2am puzzles!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 22, 2022, 06:40:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius, but that's about it for today because some of the accepted words were ones that I tried out just for the heck of it.

Last word yesterday was device. Despite the word count, yesterday's puzzle wasn't too difficult.

whimsical/loiter

Glad you were able to wait along with your husband, cathwen. Moral support, especially while waiting for treatment is probably as important as the actual treatment.

Sending good thoughts to your husbands' health and healing, cathwen and ciao_yall.

As for the innards video of the car, the service place has been doing this for at least a couple of years now, if not more. Soon after you complete the paperwork, you get a text and also an email from the service advisor with his/her contact information. Then, after a long wait, you get a text (and an email) letting you know how far along they are with your car. The text also invites you to click on the link provided so that you can watch the video. I think during the last visit it was just the video to show that the work was being done. This time (and on a previous occasion) the video was accompanied by a recommendation and estimate for further work. You just accept or decline the recommendation. Once the car is ready, you get another text.  All in all, a painless experience, as far as I'm concerned.

I had planned to go on a bird walk, but the subways I need are all snarled this weekend, so I might just drive someplace and look for birds on my own.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 22, 2022, 09:21:35 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and then finally to genius.  Yesterday I had a bunch left when we quit for the day.  I had been hemming and hawing on a journal article review and spending too much time on it, and it was finally due, so I ended up wordsmithing all day.  Ugh!! At least that's done.  Anyway, I was missing (in)convenience(d), so I think between just those three it was 45 points.  Congrats on doing so well on it!

And congrats on all your 2fers! I totally forgot to even look at it until later.  So many weird and interesting ones!

Continued good health to cathwen's husband and ciao_yall's husband! I have heard of ringing the gong and hope that the moment gets captured somehow.

That is a really neat opportunity, Langue_doc! I would love to watch what's going on.  Sorry to hear about the subways, but I hope you get your birding in if you are looking forward to it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 22, 2022, 09:54:42 AM
Hi all, they don't let us back there for "patient privacy." I guess you can accidentally see nekkid patients a little too easily back there.

I mean, you see people coming and going from the front wanting room so unless they have a secret VIP entrance for special patients, which is doubtful, you would know who was coming for treatment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 22, 2022, 04:36:51 PM
Got a 2fer, finally! Sadly, I still have something like 16 bee words left so need to get back to that after being hair stylist to the husband.  Well, hair cutter, at least.

It's interesting how different facilities (or even areas of facilities) approach patient privacy.  It's got to be a tough balance to strike.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 22, 2022, 10:17:09 PM
Blah, will finish tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 23, 2022, 08:08:44 AM
Good morning!

Got a pangram and to genius so far.  I managed to whittle my long list down to just a few before comparing, and we had team QB, but I was missing (ac)claim, iliac, mimic.  Well, better than having 16 left, I guess.

For LB, I got the schmofficial fictional-logjams.

Friend call this afternoon, so lots of puzzling and Duo to get to!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 23, 2022, 08:53:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB-1 yesterday, then looked at my Bee words to find lilac, which I usually see!  (I must have missed it some time ago, or it would not be on my list of missed/weird words.). Today I am at Alpha, but not seeing the two remaining words. 

LB:  My 2fer was close to the "official' one—fanatical-logjams.  Congratulations on yours, ab_grp!  I have one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 23, 2022, 09:46:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; probably need only (ha!) three more words today.

Last word yesterday was acyclic; some of the words were just wild guesses, which helped me to get to QB.

fictional/logjams

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 23, 2022, 10:16:51 AM
QBwH for callaloo which I can remember if it pops up day to day, but it's been a while so back into the deep subconscious of "bee specials" it goes.

LB factional-logjams.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 23, 2022, 09:21:49 PM
I'm a non-completing roll, it seems.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 24, 2022, 05:19:05 AM
Good morning!

Genius but no pangram yet.

Last words yesterday were apian and palapa.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 24, 2022, 06:46:39 AM
QB, needed a hint for pupal.

LB - just 3fers coming out of my ears, a ship cupcake...polarity and 2fer b4ss solutions particularly-yoke, cockup-peculiarity, cupcake-eroticly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 24, 2022, 07:45:05 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got stuck on the "pins":  unpin, pinup..

LB:  I had the "official" popular-rickety.. I found one today, but the first word was a wild guess that took.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2022, 09:07:19 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Didn't manage genius yet this morning so far (pangram and 22w/111p) after being a dumb person and looking at Duolingo to see how I did in the tournament and inadvertently starting this week (which means I put myself into a difficult group and will have to work a lot harder this week!).  Ugh.  I will be getting back to puzzling now that I have gotten a week's worth of points that won't help in this group.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with appall, fillip, puli

And I had rickety as one of my contenders but did not get a mate.  Congrats on your ship, ciao_yall! I also had one with turkey~political.  And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

Wishing you luck, Parasaurolophus!

happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 24, 2022, 09:21:22 PM
Well, the dry spell continues. I guess I'm probably just not spending enough time on it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 25, 2022, 05:19:56 AM
Good morning!

QB--easy puzzle today.

Last word yesterday was tiny.

rockaways/surged; surges are quite common in the Rockaways, but rockaway(s) and tiffany (in the bee) are proper nouns and hence shouldn't have been accepted.

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/rockaway-beach-and-boardwalk/facilities/beaches

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 25, 2022, 06:45:39 AM
Morning!

QBwH and it turns out tiffany is a real word meaning a sheer cloth. And this, kids, is why I think I have only QBAMed twice. That... and alwayas needing a reminder for ratify and a few other common words. What's up with that? Any cognitive scientists on the thread?

LB courageous-skyward, scourges-skyward.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 25, 2022, 06:50:25 AM
Good morning!

QB with help to find inanity and ratify.  Today I have three words to go.  Congratulations on QB already, Langue_doc!

LB:  I had rockaways-surged..  A rockaway is apparently a kind of cart, but I have always associated it with a certain section of Queens (thus as a proper noun).  It was a wild guess.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 25, 2022, 07:57:47 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius pretty quickly with pangram, and I think I am also down to three words now.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! Hope to join you! We also needed help with tiffany, which I never would have guessed by myself (as a common noun) in a million years.  I think the only other one I was missing was trinity.

Congrats on your 2fers! Argh, I feel like I was headed in the right direction for the schmofficial solution with the contenders I had.  I also think of Rockaway as a proper noun.  Glad you tried it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 25, 2022, 10:05:46 PM
Whew--just barely broke my losing streak. GWP!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2022, 05:10:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and 20 or fewer points left.

Last word yesterday was time--I seem to get the obvious words only at the very end.

Quote
QBwH and it turns out tiffany is a real word meaning a sheer cloth. And this, kids, is why I think I have only QBAMed twice.

I often get to QB by trying every possible combination, including proper nouns and words that haven't been accepted in previous puzzles. I tried tiffany just for the heck of it, and when it was accepted, assumed that it was one of the two variants for the lamp. Today I tried a proper noun and another word that the bee considers obscene, but both were predictably not accepted. Last week or the week before, I tried the name of one of our previous mayors even though I knew that the name was such an oddball that it would be turned down. That and trying all possible combinations is the secret to QB, rather than an extensive vocabulary list.

Forgot all about wordle yesterday, but solved today's around 1 this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 26, 2022, 05:27:45 AM
Good morning!

Beta with pangram this morning.  Yesterday titmice was my last word, ironic since I had seen some tufted titmice in the morning. 

LB:  No solution yesterday, but I found a quick 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2022, 07:37:36 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word titmice.

LB - close but no cigar with tum-marque-exposed, marque-exposed-dat.

Let's see what today brings.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2022, 08:29:28 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I almost caved on my last word, but got it and QBABM (titmice, one of the banes of my existence).  Husband got QBABH as well, with one of the easy 4-letters as his last word.  I'm pretty sure it was item.  Congrats on breaking your streak, Parasaurolophus!

No luck on LB yesterday despite a lot of trying, and I don't think I would have found the schmofficial solution.  But I did get one on my first try this morning! Congrats on yours as well, cathwen! Maybe same one. 

Got very lucky with Wordle as well this morning, so I am afraid to see what the real day brings.  ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 26, 2022, 01:21:41 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2022, 04:51:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius, but I'm stuck now.

Last word yesterday was icing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 27, 2022, 07:29:44 AM
Morning!

QB-1, even with hints. I was missing condoning which I could have sworn I put in. Oh well.

LB workshop-placid.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2022, 07:35:43 AM
Good morning!

Haven't really started this morning due to a work emergency for husband, but I will get to it shortly.  No pangram yet.  Yesterday I got to QBABM and was very excited about that.  I think my final three were dicing, idiotic, connoting.

Yesterday's schmofficial solution came right away, workshop-placid.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 27, 2022, 08:44:13 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday incognito, found with 2L hints.  Today I stand at QB-1 and am stuck! 

LB:  I also had workshop-placid.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 27, 2022, 10:29:59 PM
Didn't get there today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 28, 2022, 06:10:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Missed farad yesterday--I might have seen or even used this word in a previous bee.

potfuls/stemware

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 28, 2022, 06:57:40 AM
QBw2LL, remembered farad for my last word. LB flowerpot-traumas.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2022, 08:03:11 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius today but no pangram yet.  Yesterday's took me forever!! I had a few words left at the end of a yuck day, including farad.  Ugh.

And I got really close on LB again but couldn't put it together.  Congrats, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! (and cathwen, in case I don't get back here today)

I have my covid vaccine for sure this afternoon and maybe flu shot.  They wouldn't let me schedule it because it's been less than a year (Nov 2021).  Same happened to husband, but they gave it to him anyway, though I'm going to the health dept and he went to a pharmacy.  I haven't been to the health dept before and am hoping it will be a model of efficiency (fingers definitely crossed on that).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 28, 2022, 11:47:06 AM
Good afternoon! 

I did need a hint to find the last word yesterday—farad.  Today I'm at Beta with only a few words to go, but since the afternoon is rolling on, I might resort to hints. 

LB:  I had the "official" stamp-powerful.  Congratulations, ciao_yall and Langue_doc on yours!  I have not yet found a 2fer today, and it's not for lack of trying. 

Ab_grp, I hope you have minimal (or no) side effects from your vaccine(s)!  And that the health department is the model of efficiency that you hope for.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2022, 03:08:59 PM
Thanks, cathwen! It went better than expected in my opinion and worse than expected in husband's, but I managed to get both vaccines.  It really only took about 20 mins past my appt time.  Hopefully if I refrain from commenting specifically I will gain karma toward swift recovery.  ;-)

And congrats on your 2fer yesterday! Good luck with one today.  I need to get back to puzzling.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2022, 04:40:11 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Still 5 words left in the bee, but at least I did get the pangram earlier in the day.  I was wondering if I ever would, but it was just escaping me for some reason.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 28, 2022, 05:12:35 PM
Messy 2fer here as well. Back to the bee. Normally by now I would start looking at the hints but going out to dinner with some friends and the wife has expressed an interest in the Bee, so I'm leaving it undone to see if she gets anywhere with it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 28, 2022, 10:38:41 PM
I haven't finished today's Bee, but I'll get there in the morning. Didn't really have the time to devote to it today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 29, 2022, 06:07:08 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LLH yesterday.  As soon as I found efficient, I saw inefficient, and that brought me to QB.  Today I am at Alpha, but completely stuck.

Speaking of stuck, I never did get a 2fer yesterday.  I had a number of very good words, but could not make them work with the leftover letters—so I am eager to see the solutions you all found.  No 2fer today yet, either. 

Ab_grp, I'm glad the vaccines did not hit you very hard!  Is your husband feeling better today?

Ciao_yall, dinner out with friends sounds great! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 29, 2022, 09:24:10 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius today but just one pangram so far.  We had team QB last night, but I think I needed about 3-4 words at that time.  I know incline, inefficient were some, but I can't remember any others from the list that I missed. 

For LB, I got canker-reputably

Cathwen, thanks! Husband got his vaccines a couple weeks ago and had no issues at all.  Yesterday he was my driver and emotional support animal and was mostly aggravated by some unregistered folks who were holding things up, ill prepared, not wearing masks, etc.  ;-)  He also had to deal with me whining and moaning and groaning, of course.  I am doing okay.  After feeling like someone took baseball bats to my arms last night, I didn't sleep too well.  It's funny looking at the stats on my trackers.  My resting heart rate and average heart rate were each about 10-14 beats per minute higher than normal, respiration up almost 2.5 breaths per minute, temperature's up but not into fever range yet.  Anyway, being warm and not being able to get your heart rate down can make sleep difficult, as well as not being able to do the typical flip-flop back and forth from one side to the other since they both hurt.  Skin sensitivity is not too bad right now.   I am wondering if there are also some times of months when it may not be a great idea for women to get these vaccines just from the inflammation perspective, and I believe that is more of a factor this time than previous.  But I am still upright and honestly not feeling too terrible.

Hope dinner went well, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 29, 2022, 09:37:09 AM
Morning! QBw2LL, last word clientele. Also got canker-reputably.

So far, GwP but LB is a tricky one today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 29, 2022, 12:27:30 PM
Afternoon!

Found two pangrams and needed only 8-9 points this morning when I left for a bird walk. Needless to say, this was not a crack-of-dawn outing! Last word yesterday was clinic.

canker/reputably

Sending good wishes for a speedy recovery from your shots, ab_grp.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 29, 2022, 04:23:19 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! I think I'm doing better.  Chills and skin sensitivity are (thankfully!!) much less awful, and I feel less feverish (it was pretty low anyway), so maybe that means it is passing! If so, it seems to have moved through much more quickly, which is good and bad.  I am definitely tired and am hoping for better sleep tonight.  My flu arm is not as bad as the covid arm anymore.  Woot!

I hope you were able to get your final points and that you enjoyed your more timely bird outing! I still have 7 words, including pangram. 

And congrats on your 2fer yesterday! I guess we all got the same non-schmofficial one! I have a bunch of contenders today but no solution yet.

ETA:  got a 2fer using words I thought I had tried together.  Hmm!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 29, 2022, 10:35:46 PM
Finished yesterday's, but haven't finished today's yet. Still a few short. Will regroup in the morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 30, 2022, 09:29:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but am at a loss for (more) words.

Last words yesterday were opah which I tried for the heck of it, and hoodoo which I finally remembered.

Tried jukeboxing, which didn't work, and then junking/gearbox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2022, 09:32:41 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday I had 3 words left before we compared, and I got hooded from my husband despite having hood.  We needed help with opah, daphne.  Good luck, Parasaurolophus!

For LB, I had the schmofficial solution, juking-gearbox.  I had both words and thought I had tried them together long before that!

Doing much better today.  Still sore but a much better night sleep, and I think the worst has passed.  I have a call with a friend today that I'm glad to still be able to do!

Happy solving!

On preview: Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! And on QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 30, 2022, 09:35:05 AM
Morning!

QBwH, needed reminders for hoodoo, headphone. LB junking-gearbox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 30, 2022, 02:11:21 PM
Good evening!

Got to QB today.  Yesterday I needed a 2LL hint to find daphne, my last word.

LB:  I did not see gearbox!  I had juking, even (as well as junking).  Oh well!  I do have a 2fer today, though.

Glad you're doing better today, ab_grp! 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2022, 05:15:37 PM
Thanks cathwen! And congrats on your QB and 2fer.  Happily I am joining you in both today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on October 30, 2022, 09:32:15 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 31, 2022, 05:26:45 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were byte and lilt, which I thought I'd entered much earlier.

climbs/strophe

ab_grp, hope you're feeling much, much better.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 31, 2022, 05:34:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius (which was a struggle) so far.  Yesterday eyeteeth was my last word.

LB:  I had brothers-simplistic.  Already some variety, as neither Langue_doc nor I have the "official" solution. 

I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2022, 08:19:37 AM
Good morning!

Finally made it to genius with the pangram.  I'm glad to hear I am not the only one struggling today! I got to QB yesterday, with last words eyelet, byte, yeti.

For LB, I have a third nonschmofficial solution to add: prosthetic-climb.  Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen! Yours is quite different, cathwen! Congrats on another today, as well.

Thanks, Langue_doc! Still continuing to do better.  I thought I was mostly over it yesterday but had a pretty sweaty night.  Maybe today is the day! I do feel a lot closer to normal.  Mostly arm pain at this point, but we shall see.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 31, 2022, 08:54:27 AM
QBwG, last word billet.

LB - adding blemish-helicopter to the non-schmofficial list.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2022, 09:59:23 AM
That's a great 2fer, ciao_yall! Very different!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2022, 05:09:48 PM
Got a 2fer! Still 6 bee words to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2022, 08:26:03 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams pretty quickly today! Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with manhattan, photomap, photon.

For LB, I got warhorses-slightly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 01, 2022, 08:40:45 AM
QBwH for a new word [photomap. LB earwig-ghostly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 01, 2022, 10:16:54 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for photomap, a new word for me also.  Today I'm at Beta, but foresee the need for help later.

LB: I had lightyears-sow.  So much variety with this one!  No 2fer today as yet.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 01, 2022, 10:34:51 AM
Afternoon!

Found both pangrams quite early on, but am not sure if I'll get to QB. Missed the photo word yesterday.

growls/stealthily

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2022, 05:29:24 AM
Good morning!

QB--all easy words today.

Missed the m-word yesterday--not sure if I want that word in my vocabulary.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 02, 2022, 06:33:16 AM
QBwATHICG for melodeon. Let's all use that today in a sentence, shall we?

LB - just 3fers. Closest I got was charitable-epoch-half, fireable-epoch-hat, fop-pitchable-ear. I really liked blotch-hairpiece-elf, pitcher-flab-barhop.

Well, let's see what today brings. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2022, 08:34:41 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram pretty quickly today again but not much time or luck since.  Congrats on already beecoming QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday we also had to get help (Steve G help, since Shunn didn't even do the trick) for the M word.  Glad we're not the only ones who had trouble with that one.  Aside from that, I also needed help with bellmen, noblemen, manhattan.

No luck on LB despite feeling really close with a couple contenders! I was nowhere near the schmofficial solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 02, 2022, 11:12:37 AM
Good afternoon!

QB today, but yesterday needed help for embed/ded, mooed (all of which I should have seen), and melodeon.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, and none so far today, despite a number of good words.  I'll keep trying...

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2022, 04:43:32 PM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on your QB as well, cathwen! I still have some left to go but will hope it works out well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 02, 2022, 09:53:11 PM
Blah, don't have it in me today. I think I often founder on this one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2022, 04:59:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; don't have the energy or time to chase down the remaining words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 03, 2022, 07:50:47 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for the last word, cicada, which I was sure I had entered previously—so the need for a hint was a little deflating.  Today I am above genius with the pangram and stuck.  The Bee has already rejected two words that I *know* are words, so that is a little annoying.

LB:  No solution yesterday!  Ab_grp, congratulations on yours!  I got a quick 2fer today, though. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2022, 08:32:09 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram pretty easily again, thankfully.  Yesterday I made it by the skin of my teeth to QB, just before we were about to give up and compare.  My final word was addict.  Cathwen, if you think you already entered it, then I definitely think it counts.  At least, I count it when it happens to me! Though I know what you mean about feeling a little let down about it.  I will be interested to hear tomorrow about today's rejected words!

For LB, I got crump-polyphobia.  It was a tough one, and there were a lot of other contenders that I thought were more likely to lead to a solution.  I got the latter word first.  Congrats on yours today, cathwen, and thanks!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 03, 2022, 09:47:02 AM
QBwH for cattail which in my brain is two words.

And another big 3fer day...

broch-hail-lumpy
bap-phylum-macro
parabolic-chum-may
phobic-curly-yam


... among others and 2fer b4ss. A few 3fers today as well - think it's gonna be one of those days.


Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 04, 2022, 07:44:33 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find unroll (argh!) and larrup, which I found only by playing with letter combinations in frustration.  Today I'm just shy of Beta, but not holding out high hopes of finishing unaided.

I was annoyed yesterday that purpura and parula were rejected.  Parula is a kind of warbler.  Given the obscure (to me) fish names SB often allows, I was surprised that it was rejected.

LB:  I had the "official" overbought-taxed.  I also found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2022, 08:57:15 AM
Good morning! 

Not to genius yet, but I do have the pangram.  We also got tripped up on larrup yesterday! And I was missing upon.  Ugh.

No luck on LB despite some good contenders! Congrats, cathwen, and on another today!

Happy solving!

ETA: Forgot to mention that I had looked up purpura and feel like this isn't the first time that it appeared but wasn't accepted, but I had not heard of parula, as far as I know!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 04, 2022, 09:10:42 AM
QBwH for a new word larrup which I would use in a sentence today but already forgot what it means.

LB - just close 3fers reverb-bought-taxed, overtaxed-dough-hob, brought-taxed-dove. Let's see if I can break the 3fer streak today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2022, 11:05:44 AM
Got a 2fer! And I finally got to genius.  Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2022, 02:09:12 PM
Afternoon!

Didn't think I'd find the pangram or get to genius, but I did. That's it for today.

Missed larrup; I agree that it's annoying to have words that are in common use rejected while obscure words seem to be legit. It isn't surprising though because the bee claims to "hand-curate" the list of words which is a weaselly way of saying "we get to decide/choose; don't bother to ask for any rationale for our choices". I've given up getting frustrated over their arbitrary list of words.

We saw the northern parula on several of our walks until sometime in October. They've gone south for the winter though.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Parula/overview

Scroll down for the reason behind the naming of the bird.
QuoteBefore this species received the name Northern Parula (a diminutive form of parus, meaning little titmouse), Mark Catesby, an English naturalist, called it a "finch creeper" and John James Audubon and Alexander Wilson called it a "blue yellow-backed warbler."

Incidentally one of the participants on the last bird walk informed us that titmice as well as titmouses are both considered legit plural forms of titmouse.

I've been puzzled by the different pronunciations of the bird's name--one of the bird walk leaders stresses the first syllable parula, whereas at least three other leaders stress the second syllable parula. It turns out that either pronunciation is fine:
QuoteSome bird names are hard to pronounce, and the Northern Parula has started its share of lively debates. Most people say "par-OOH-la" or "PAR-eh-la," while others say "PAR-you-la."

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 05, 2022, 07:00:48 AM
Good morning!

A very impure QB yesterday with help from the hints.  Last words were litchi and oilcloth.  Today I have one word to go until QB and hope to find it without caving. 

LB:  I had breakfasts-somatic.  I found a 2fer today, after a bit of a struggle.

Langue_doc, I don't think I've ever seen a parula warbler!  Lucky you!  As for pronunciation, the variation I always hear is for pileated woodpeckers:  Is it PIE-leated or PILL-eated?  My daughter-in-law says PILL, I say PIE.  Apparently, like PAR-u-la and par-U-la, both pronunciations are correct.

Anyway...happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2022, 08:29:13 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram, looks like 3 words left.  Good luck, cathwen! I needed help with litchi as well and don't remember seeing that variant (?) before.  And we both needed help with oilcloth.  There were a couple others I needed help with as well that I can't recall.

I had breakfast(s) and tried so hard to find a mate and just failed.  But (had to go back and add this because I completely forgot until I looked at my notepad) I did have briefs-smokestack.  Congrats, cathwen, and on another one today!

Regarding the parula, it looks like it is blue-backed and yellow-fronted.  Is there a bird reason why they call it blue yellow-backed? Maybe I just need more coffee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 05, 2022, 09:11:51 AM
QBwH for catchall. Already at QB -2 ABM but may need to hit the grid.

LB carbombs-stack. Was only getting 3fers out of breakfast. Today a few good contenders so hope something will shake loose.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2022, 09:14:55 AM
Good morning!

Easy romp to genius. Missed chocoholic and loach, which according to the web,
Quoteare fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa.

Why loach is acceptable, whereas parula, which I've seen in several of the NYC parks, isn't part of the accepted list of words is a mystery.

firebombs/stack; found breakfast(s), but couldn't find a mate.

QuoteAs for pronunciation, the variation I always hear is for pileated woodpeckers:  Is it PIE-leated or PILL-eated?  My daughter-in-law says PILL, I say PIE.  Apparently, like PAR-u-la and par-U-la, both pronunciations are correct.
I think I've heard both; this isn't one of our common birds, so I don't recall which pronunciation was used on the bird walks. As for parula, the first time I heard the word was on a walk in Battery Park, long before the pandemic, pronounced as parula, by a highly experienced birder. I was surprised to hear the alternate pronunciation by equally experienced birders on subsequent walks.

ab_grp, good question about the bird names; it appears that some of the names are sort of "last resort" names because the more descriptive ones have already been taken. Will get back to you on this with some examples later. In this instance, it could be because "blue-backed" has already been claimed for at least a couple, if not more, bird names.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2022, 11:41:14 AM
Got a 2fer! It's lopsided, so I may try for another if I have time.

Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! And I'm sure the avian nomenclature can be complicated, especially since there are similar bird species and so much variety within species.  Maybe the blue yellow-backed warbler isn't as bluely backed as a blue-backed bird should be.  I see that there's a black-throated blue warbler that seems blue backed, but again they don't call it that.  Hmm.  I guess they can't just go back and rename previously named birds if a new bird comes along that fits the name better.  I look forward to any additional examples!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 05, 2022, 08:22:06 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 06, 2022, 08:00:04 AM
QB-1 so hit the grid and remembered ablaze. LB phi-infamously.

So far, GWP and a 2fer with a word I thought I made up but hey, it's a thing. So it counts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 06, 2022, 08:17:32 AM
Good morning!

I got all the way to QB-1 then needed help to find bazoo.  Today I'm at Beta.

LB:  I also had phi-infamously.  I have a 2fer today, but relatively normal words—ciao_yall, I'm looking forward to seeing your "made up" word tomorrow!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 06, 2022, 08:30:05 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram.  I tried several other things I thought might be the pangram, but they were not accepted.  Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but for some reason both needed help with mezzo despite getting the less obvious ones.

I had the same 2fer, though I did not expect it to be schmofficial! Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen.  And congrats on your solutions today! Ciao_yall, I am also looking forward to hearing what you found.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 06, 2022, 11:13:06 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius; last word yesterday was bazoo which I found by playing with letter combinations.

fashions/slumpy (didn't think that the latter was a word or that it would be accepted)

Went on a gull identification walk this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 07, 2022, 03:53:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius; last word yesterday was impair.

formulate/expire

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 07, 2022, 06:16:33 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram today, only four words to go, but they are currently invisible to my eyes.  Yesterday I put SB down and never got back to it—missed impair, impala, malarial, rampart, and taillamp

LB:  I had the "official" forearm-multiplex.  Congratulations, Langue_doc, on your different solution!  As for today, no 2fer yet.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 07, 2022, 08:19:40 AM
Quick GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 07, 2022, 08:25:33 AM
QBwH - taillamp is one word. Okay. LB foram-multiplex, foxtail-lumper. A foram is a type of crustacean. Tried it and was surprised it took.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 07, 2022, 08:27:39 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius + with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I was missing taillamp, which I'm pretty sure I always miss.  I guess I thought paramilitia, paramilitarial might be pangrams, so I tried them right off, but no luck.  Maybe they're not even words.

For LB, I got profile-extramural.  Lots of variety again (and two for ciao_yall)! I have a promising contender for today, so hopefully I can turn that into a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 08, 2022, 06:31:47 AM
QBwALTHICG for tacet, and a wild guess for taxa. LB just 2fer b4ss naturalistic-cozy, zirconia-altruistically and a bunch of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2022, 08:38:17 AM
Good morning!

Wow it took me a while to figure out the pangram, but I finally did and managed to get exactly to genius.  Happy to be there for now.  Yesterday I was missing acetate, eave, and we were both missing tact.

No luck on LB despite some good contenders! I was nowhere near ultrasonic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 08, 2022, 10:01:27 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed 1L help yesterday to find cadet and acetate.  Today I have three words to go.  Ab_grp, it took me a long time to get the pangram, too.

LB:  I had czarinas-stoutly.  I have one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2022, 10:59:24 AM
Got a 2fer on my first try! I guessed at the mate, though, and wasn't sure it was a word.  Maybe I will try again later if I have time.

Cathwen, that's a great solution! I thought I might get somewhere with zirconia, but no dice.  Congrats on another today! Good luck with your final words.  Husband hadn't found the pangram yet, last I heard.

I also found two ships yesterday crazily~snout, zanily~courts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 08, 2022, 12:07:24 PM
Afternoon!

Found the pangram early on, but it took me a while to get to genius.

Missed exacta yesterday.

consular/ritzy; so many different solutions so far!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 08, 2022, 08:35:19 PM
Stumped at a pangramless 'great'.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2022, 04:41:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was logroll, which I remembered at the very end, and which I had missed on at least a couple of previous bees.

wealing/groundhog; found the latter first, and then tried various combinations with the remaining letters.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 09, 2022, 06:34:12 AM
QBwH for longhorn. LB whaler-grounding.

Enjoying the mental peace before I hit the election news.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 09, 2022, 07:01:27 AM
Good morning!

QBw1L help for gorgon, longhorn, and oolong.  Today I have only a few words to go.

LB:  I had howling-gaudier.  Another day with lots of variety!  After a bit of a struggle, I found a 2fer today.

Ciao_yall, I sympathize with wanting mental peace before hitting the election news.  I had to look this morning, and I am trying to discipline myself not to look again until lunch time. One happy thought is that all those annoying campaign ads are over!  If I were Queen of the Universe, they would be banned. But alas, I am not, and so I simply mute them.

But I digress.  Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 09, 2022, 07:46:14 AM
Good morning!

I was struggling and then all of a sudden hit a streak and shot past genius by a fair bit but then went to other puzzles.  Good luck, cathwen!! Yesterday we had team QB by some miracle, but I needed help with guru, long, longhorn, unhung.

For LB, I also had wealing-groundhog.  Found the latter and was trying to find an -ing, so I just tried the remaining letters with it.  Today I also got a 2fer on my first try! Much more normal words.  Congrats on all the varied solutions yesterday and on another today, cathwen!

I looked at the races that were of the most personal interest to me last night (all went the way I wanted them to, luckily).  I haven't read about the big picture yet.  More coffee needed first.  I am kind of surprised that I wasn't bombarded with notifications about it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 10, 2022, 04:48:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Missed alcopop which I've probably seen before, and pale, which I knew I'd entered quite early on.

blacksmith/harp

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 10, 2022, 05:02:11 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was plop.  Today I'm at alpha with two words to go.

LB:  I also had the "official" blacksmith-harp. I have found a 2fer today also.

Lots to do today!  Middle Daughter and Grandson, who is now a teenager, and reportedly now taller than both his mother and I (5'2"), are arriving tomorrow for the weekend.  What with my husband's cancer appointments, their summer schedule, and then Covid (them, not us), we haven't seen them since April!  I can't wait to see them! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 10, 2022, 06:37:32 AM
Morning! QBwATHICG because for some reason I could not remember lollop. Ended up reading the dictionary.

LB blacksmith-harp. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2022, 08:21:42 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and finally to genius after a little work.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I was missing alcopop, lollop, paella.  I would never have gotten the first of those, so I'm glad husband remembered it from a previous bee.  I should have gotten the other two.

Also got the schmofficial solution.  Blacksmith appeared to me right away, and luckily its mate was very obvious then.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

And I hope your visit with Middle Daughter and Grandson goes well! I didn't realize it's been so long since you had seen them.  Sounds like he will be able to reach stuff from higher shelves for you soon. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2022, 02:29:42 PM
I got a 2fer fairly easily again but am totally stuck on the bee.  Ugh! Hopefully some more words will become apparent at some point.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 10, 2022, 02:49:12 PM
Congrats on your twofer, ab_grp!

I think I'm missing just one or two words in the bee, most likely along the lines of alcopop, so I've given up for today. There's still the crossword to be done.

cathwen, enjoy your visit with Daughter and grandson!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2022, 03:02:48 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! And thanks for the reminder to go back to figure out the crossword big picture.  I solved it in record Thursday time but had no idea what the heck the next step was and totally forgot to revisit.  I just read the blog and finally get it.  Hopefully you are quicker to catch on than I was!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 10, 2022, 09:55:05 PM
GWP just before bed, as I do.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2022, 06:05:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and finally, genius. I think that's it for today. Missed hangul.

bowed/declaration

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2022, 07:35:58 AM
Good morning!

Not yet to genius, though I do have the pangram.   Eldest is out visiting my mom, and that included some unwelcome excitement initially (of the she-can't-be-located type) and now a lot of boring work figuring out her phone situation.  Anyway, we also missed hangul, though husband guessed it after as much help from Shunn as was humanly possible.  I was also missing hangnail, unhang, unhanging, unhinging, though at least I got unhung this time!

For LB, I am with Langue_doc in getting the non-schmofficial solution of bowed-declaration.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2022, 10:56:29 AM
QBwALTHICG for hangul. LB incidental-lowbrow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 11, 2022, 12:01:49 PM
Good afternoon!

Last word yesterday was also hangul, found thanks to hints.  Today I'm at Alpha, but not sure I'll get to QB unless I get some fast hints.  Daughter and Grandson are due any minute now!

LB:  I had blower-rededication.  No 2fer yet today, and I might not have time to spend more time looking. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 12, 2022, 06:21:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; didn't have the time to finish yesterday's bee, but saw that at least three words that I had entered don't appear in my solution list.

citizen/nowadays

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 12, 2022, 06:29:26 AM
Good morning!

I didn't finish the Bee yesterday.  Codicil and collard were the two words outstanding.  Today I'm at Beta and stuck. 

LB:  No solution yesterday!  I did see citizen, but did not find nowadays.  No 2fer yet today, either.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 12, 2022, 07:29:16 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2022, 07:36:28 AM
Good morning!

I also made it to GWP, though I am having trouble seeing other words.  Yesterday I had a few missing including codicil, corolla, railcar, railroad.  And we didn't have team QB, thanks to dildo, for which we needed much help from Shunn.  Ugh.

No luck on LB! I didn't really have any good contenders, either.  Congrats, Langue_doc!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 12, 2022, 08:00:43 AM
QBwH for corolla. Maybe I should make a list of bee specials, but somehow it's more fun to find them - even with hints.

LB citizen-nowadays.

QB-3 and a 2fer for today. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2022, 08:42:16 AM
Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours yesterday and today, ciao_yall! Good luck on your final 3 bee words!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 13, 2022, 05:32:08 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Missed foofaraw.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 13, 2022, 06:03:13 AM
Good morning!

Echoing Langue_doc, my last word—found with 2L help plus a wild guess—was foofaraw.  And today I'm also at genius without the pangram.  Allegedly, there are 11 more words waiting to be found, but I'll be darned if I can see them. 

LB:  I finally got a 2fer:  hijacker-rouges.  No 2fer yet today—I'm finding this one particularly difficult.  But hope springs eternal!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2022, 08:30:48 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram.  It took a while! Too many things that looked like pangrams but were missing a letter.  Yesterday I managed to get foofaraw (after spelling it wrong) but missed a couple words (waif, warrior), and we were both missing wallaroo again.  Husband finally remembered it as I was loading Shunn. 

For LB, I had a slight variation: hijacker-rigorous.  Didn't try today yet, but it sounds tough!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 13, 2022, 10:10:50 AM
Morning! QBwATHICG for foofaraw, wallaroo. LB was hijacker-rouges.

Got a 1fer today. Wow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2022, 10:21:39 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 13, 2022, 10:10:50 AM
Got a 1fer today. Wow.

WOW! I think that is our first? Congrats, ciao_yall!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 13, 2022, 12:05:05 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on November 13, 2022, 10:21:39 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 13, 2022, 10:10:50 AM
Got a 1fer today. Wow.

WOW! I think that is our first? Congrats, ciao_yall!!

It wasn't too difficult. Put on your academic hats, and you'll all spot it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 13, 2022, 12:44:05 PM
I also got a 1fer! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2022, 12:57:16 PM
Count me in for the 1fer as well! Yay! I wonder if that will be the schmofficial solution.  Maybe I'll try to find a 2fer as well if I get time.  That was exciting, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 13, 2022, 03:32:01 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 14, 2022, 04:22:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed dietetic and eidetic--I think I've seen both before.

lexicography--woohoo!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 14, 2022, 07:26:31 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday dietetic and eidetic were also my last words, found with 2LL hints.  Today I am at Alpha with five words to go.

LB:  I also had lexicography!  No 2fer yet today.  I thought I had one, but then noticed that one letter was unused.  Back to square 1!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 14, 2022, 07:35:10 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 14, 2022, 08:14:55 AM
QBwATHICG for eidetic. And lexicography - I recall it was once almost a solution, b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 14, 2022, 08:21:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram pretty easily today also.  Yesterday I was missing a few words such as deice(d), indecent, dietetic, eidetic.  Ugh! We did have team QB, at least.

Also got lexicography! I guess that's what all the buzz on Twitter was about that I should have paid attention to earlier.  I see there was a 2fer solution provided, but I never did find a mate for geographic(al), and I certainly don't think I would have found calyx.

Cathwen, I hope your visit went well or is still going well if it's still ongoing!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 14, 2022, 02:59:10 PM
Whew, finally got a 2fer after a lot of tries.  And I'm down to 3 words on the bee but am currently stuck again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 15, 2022, 06:34:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius so far. Last word yesterday was cabala, which I've seen umpteen times before.

prefaced/division

NYT Games has been eerily silent about the onefer.

Happy solving!

ETA: QB--familiar words all, and twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 15, 2022, 07:06:08 AM
Morning! QBwH to remember allele. LB provisioned-deface, prefaced-division, preface-envisioned.

Quick 2fer this morning and so, back to the bee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 15, 2022, 08:10:41 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday!  Last word was blah.  Today I have only a few words to go.

LB: I also had prefaced-division.  I found one today, but not quickly, like ciao_yall!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 15, 2022, 08:22:07 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams pretty quickly.  Congrats on your QBABY, Langue_doc! Yesterday I almost had QBABM but couldn't find the last word (allele, again!!) by the time we quit and compared.  We did have team QB at least.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

For LB, I had faced-disproven, which I think is a new one to the list.  Tons of solutions! Congrats on so many, ciao_yall! And congrats on all your 2fers today! I haven't looked yet but hope it is as easy for me.  I guess I am also surprised not to have seen more hullabaloo about the onefer!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 15, 2022, 08:13:26 PM
AW3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 16, 2022, 04:22:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and QB. Last words yesterday were infill, infilling.

swatch/humidor

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 16, 2022, 05:48:38 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday—last word fiddling—and a quick QBABM again today. 

LB:  In a reversal of Langue_doc's 2fer, I had humidors-swatch.  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 16, 2022, 07:13:53 AM
QBw2LL to remind me I had forgotten to enter flood at the beginning. LB swatch-humidor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 16, 2022, 07:16:07 AM
Very quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 16, 2022, 08:30:48 AM
Good morning!

I'm a bit past genius with pangram today.  I think I have 3 words left.  Congrats on your QBABY again today, cathwen! Got to QBABM yesterday! Woo! I think offing was my final word.

I guess no one got the schmofficial LB solution? I had watch-humidors, but better would be the ring swatch-humidors (or humidors-swatch), I guess.  I don't remember what symbol I was using for rings.  Maybe just listing as three words like swatch-humidors-swatch.  Oh well, who cares.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 17, 2022, 04:25:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius; I'm afraid that there's another pangram lurking in there. Last word yesterday was lilt--I think this was the easiest puzzle so far.

hybrids/sawlike; couldn't find a mate for whiskey(s)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 17, 2022, 04:34:38 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram today so far, but it took me a while to get there.  Yesterday my last word was lulu.

LB:  I had whisker-readably. The second word was one of those desperation tries that you don't think will be accepted, but it was.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 17, 2022, 07:18:33 AM
Good morning!

Also got to genius with pangram, which took me a bit to find for whatever reason.  Yesterday I got QBABM with last word highlight.

No luck on LB despite many, many tries.  I definitely was not too near the schmofficial solution (maybe askew), but I was also not near either of your solutions.  Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen (and on another today)!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 17, 2022, 08:39:51 AM
QB needed the grid to remember glug. LB whisker-readably.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 18, 2022, 05:28:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; last word yesterday was taillamp, which I keep forgetting until the very end.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 18, 2022, 07:25:35 AM
Good morning!

To genius with pangram and a bit beyond so far.  Yesterday I still had a couple left when we compared but fortunately figured out taillamp just in time.  I always miss that one! I'm glad I'm not the only one who has some trouble with it.  I think I was missing inapt, pipit, plain.  Oh yeah, and pitipat! I guess I am out of practice on that one.

For LB, I had the schmofficial victim-markdown, which appeared to me quickly, with the latter word coming first.  Hopefully today will be a success again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 18, 2022, 07:35:12 AM
QBw2LL, last word taillamp which I remembered from a previous bee.

LB - nowhere, just 5s and 6s! I saw mark, down, but never thought to put them together. It's those compounds that always get me.

Well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 18, 2022, 10:52:07 AM
Good afternoon!

Last words yesterday were panini and inapt.  Today has been a struggle, but I'm at Beta with the pangram.  I might need help to get to the end.

LB:  I also had victim-markdown.  No solution yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 19, 2022, 05:02:07 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram yet. Last word yesterday was cirri---corny pangram!

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 19, 2022, 05:11:03 AM
Good morning!

Above genius with pangram, which it took me a while to find.  Yesterday it got late and I got help to find cryonic, rococo, and ricin.

LB:  I never found a 2fer yesterday!  I had remixed, but did not find globular. I have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 19, 2022, 08:50:35 AM
Good morning!

I had the opportunity to be awakened in the middle of the night thanks to a work call from husband's site that he had to have a teleconference about.  Three damn AM! Took forever to get back to sleep, then I woke up when he got back to bed, so I am not in great mental shape today.  Anyway, I got the pangram but didn't get to genius yet.  Yesterday we each got down to 1 word, which we needed help with (so no team QB): coir.  Again.

Cathwen, I had globular but not remixed.  Maybe we can consider it a team 2fer! Congrats on getting one today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 19, 2022, 09:07:05 AM
QBABM! Last word nori. My new thing is to wait until after dinner to hit the grid and hints. LB globular-remixed.

Slow start today - pangram but not genius, and 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 19, 2022, 02:00:32 PM
QB and a twofer; crossword was completed last night, and surprisingly, I found the Wordle word in my third attempt.

The above sounds like bad prose, but I don't have the energy to fix the sentence.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 19, 2022, 04:17:39 PM
Congrats on your QBABY and the 2fer yesterday, ciao_yall!

And congrats on your QBABY and 2fer today, Langue_doc! I also managed to get the Wordle solution in 3, but only hours after initially considering it and thinking it wasn't a real word. 

Meanwhile, I am nearly at genius (3 points to go!) and have a few LB contenders, but yuck.

ETA: Okay, got to genius and got a 2fer! Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 20, 2022, 07:45:17 AM
QBw2LL, needed a few reminders and retries - adapt, apparat, rapt. Still aiming for ABM - I am not "allowed" to go to the grid until after dinner.

LB goalpost-thrifty, apologist-thrifty.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 20, 2022, 08:23:37 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius with the pangrams this morning.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing rattrap.  I tried ratpack, packrat again just in case.

For LB I had the schmofficial flashlight-trophy.  Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 20, 2022, 08:33:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius before leaving for a walk this morning. Last word yesterday was park, which took me quite a while to find, despite having found carpark much earlier. Autocorrect is getting upset with carpark as I'm typing this!

polygraphs/shift

ab_grp, hope you're caught up with your sleep.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 20, 2022, 12:42:20 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with apparat as the last word after a 2LL hint.  Today I am at Alpha and just found the second pangram. 

LB:  I had apologist-thrifty and frap-physiologist.  Lots of variety this time!  I did not think frap was a word, but apparently it is a nautical term meaning 'to bind tightly.'   

We had a nice walk today at one of our state's nature centers.  It was chilly and windy, and the terrain was moderately challenging, so we didn't walk as long or far as usual—but it was a nice walk nevertheless.  We hope to go back when the weather is nicer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 20, 2022, 07:00:30 PM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 21, 2022, 04:19:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but that's probably it for today.

Missed libelee, which I've seen before, and tubule. tubule!?

foams/scripture, factious/sperm, pomfrets/sauciest

I thought Monday's crossword was a tad bit difficult for a Monday.

Happy solving, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 21, 2022, 05:36:04 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram and slowing down.  Yesterday my last words were belittle and beltline.

LB:  Again, lots of variety!  Congratulations on your three 2fers, Langue_doc!  I had performers-sauciest and foursomes-spastic. No 2fer yet today.

I haven't tried the crossword yet this morning—now you've made me curious!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 21, 2022, 08:24:28 AM
QBwH for reminders for libelee, beetle. Nubble was a wild guess.

LB famous-scripture.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 21, 2022, 09:10:12 AM
Good morning!

I am struggling again today, no pangram, no genius.  Husband got to genius but no pangram.  Yesterday I was basically missing a bunch of compounds (beeline, beltline, bluebell), but we were both missing nubble.

Congrats on all your varied solutions! I did not manage to get any of them despite quite a lot of trying.  Hopefully today will be better.

As for the crossword, I thought it was tougher because some answers were nonsense and this topic is also not really in my wheelhouse.  I got hung up on the spelling of a proper name as well.

Thanks for the sleep wishes, Langue_doc! I'm getting there.  It takes forever to get back to good sleep these days.  It didn't help that the 3 AM night was the third day of early mornings for that work stuff, but it was definitely the worst!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 21, 2022, 10:23:13 AM
Can't modify, but I got a 2fer! And finally got to genius, no pangram still, at 40 words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 22, 2022, 03:16:19 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius, but don't think I can come up with any more words today.

Missed oocyte.

charm/movability

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 22, 2022, 06:22:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and almost at Beta, but now completely flummoxed.  Yesterday my last word was bocce, and I got oocyte only with 2LL help. 

LB:  I also had charm-movability.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 22, 2022, 06:56:10 AM
QB, needed a hint for bootee. Of course, I did try bootey.

LB chroma-availability.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 22, 2022, 08:37:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the two pangrams.  Yesterday we didn't have team QB, needing Shunn for help with byte, oocyte.  I was also missing decoy(ed), toyed, and I think that's it?

I had the schmofficial archival-lobotomy.  Congrats on all the solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2022, 02:53:22 AM
Good morning!

The pangram, my last word, took me to QB. All buoyed up, I tackled LB, only to find a twofer on my first attempt.

I must have missed a couple of words yesterday but won't have time to look for them until later.

Happy Thanksgiving, and safe travels to those of you who will be traveling. I have to hit the road in two or three hours.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 23, 2022, 05:38:10 AM
Good morning!

Also a fast QB this morning with the pangram (weirdly) as my first word.  Yesterday I needed help to find alkane, alkene, and nankeen

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, but I found one quickly today.  Not as quickly as Langue_doc—perhaps my third try. 

Langue_doc, safe travels!  You must be on the road by now.  And safe travels to everyone else as well.  It's just the two of us this year, so it will be a little bit low key.  However, I plan to use the good tablecloth, the china, crystal, and silver nevertheless. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2022, 06:49:46 AM
Same as cathwen - QB with hints for alkane, alkene, nankeen.

Just 3fers number-rivet-thank, thumb-brink-knave. Do I really want to know what an ambivert is? My porn filter is turned off.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2022, 07:34:57 AM
Good morning!

Not to genius yet, though I do have pangram.  Husband is in the same boat.  Congrats on the QBs already! That gives me hope.  We also needed help with nankeen yesterday.  I also needed alkane, alkene (again!), as well as kennel(ed).

For LB, I got the schmofficial solution right before bed!! I decided to give it one more try and while brushing my teeth came up with ambivert (I don't know what it means), which was in there and led directly to the solution.  That was a weird one! Hopefully today will be a victory as well.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Langue_doc, I hope you have safe travels and a Happy Thanksgiving! I am not traveling, and this will probably be the lowest key Thanksgiving we have ever had, but we'll see what the college student is up to.  We have also done the good china and etc. when it's just us.  Hope you enjoy it, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2022, 10:46:37 AM
Yeehaw! Got QBABM and a 2fer.  Now if only I could figure out the sudokus.  I think they changed how one of the settings works.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2022, 07:52:10 AM
QBABM! Last word enema. LB joints-squeaky.

Thankful for all of you being a part of my morning routine.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 24, 2022, 08:41:00 AM
Good morning!

Ab_grp and ciao_yall, congratulations on QBABY!  I got there, too, with last word  ahem

Today I have two words to go. 

LB:  I also had joints-squeaky.  I have a 2fer today; the first word was a wild guess.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!  And I also am very grateful that you all are part of my morning routine. 

And happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2022, 09:27:35 AM
Good morning!

I am thoroughly struggling again! I do have the pangram but am not to genius.  Yesterday ahem was my last word, too.  I had such a hard time, and then a bunch just came in a row, and I was thrilled to get the final one!  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Count me in for joints-squeaky, as well.  I was just glad to find one.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

I am very, very thankful for this group of puzzling friends as well! I look forward to our conversation every day.  Happy Thanksgiving!

And happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 24, 2022, 04:48:40 PM
QuoteI am very, very thankful for this group of puzzling friends as well! I look forward to our conversation every day.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Me too!

Now that I am turkeyed and desserted, I have no recollection of how I got to QB this morning. I don't think it was easy as it took me  a while to find the last few words.

Just got a twofer. I think there was only one solution yesterday, which we all seem to have found.

We had our meal quite early, which is typical for my hosts' extended family. Hope you're all spending Thanksgiving with family/friends who are warm and loving, which is what the holiday is all about.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 25, 2022, 06:39:40 AM
Good morning!

QB with help yesterday to find puli and (!!!) upon, which led to a head smack.  QB today as well!

LB:  I had locknut-throwback.  I was leery of locknut, but I remembered an incident on the Merritt Parkway involving a flat tire and the inability of the tire changing guy to get the tire off because the locknut key was missing. We had to be towed to the nearest dealership just to have our tire changed!  (We now have a locknut key.)

Anyway......happy puzzling, and happy recovery from Thanksgiving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 25, 2022, 08:33:33 AM
QBwH for a few I should have gotten earlier but overlooked: lollop, pronoun, unpin.

LB was just 2fer b4ss blunt-throwback, walnut-throwback, unbolt-throwback. Quick 2fer this morning.

Friend gifted me a turkey carcass today so stock will be simmering soon.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 25, 2022, 09:48:30 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally made it to genius today with pangrams.  Congrats on your QBABY today and yesterday, cathwen, and to yours as well, Langue_doc! I was nowhere near yesterday.  At least I did finally make it to genius.  And somehow even though husband was also struggling, we made it to team QB.  I was missing old favorites such as lollop, lollipop, unpin, porn(o) and also pillion, which I don't recall having heard of (but must have).  We both thought prion was newly accepted.

For LB, I had throwback as my main contender and tried so hard to make it work but totally forgot about knurl! Congrats on your solutions, cathwen and Langue_doc! And congrats on getting a quick one today, ciao_yall!

Since we had such a low-key dinner, it was mostly the cleaning beforehand to prepare for our visitor that we are recovering from.  Well, that and hearing some of the college student's stories of the first semester living away.  I think it's time to up the life insurance policy.  And maybe invest in some sedatives for myself.  I definitely have my share of stories of bad decisions and unsafe circumstances, not just from college, but whew.  But we had a great convo and a lot of laughs and more this morning over brunch.  We will try to work on the tree this afternoon before they head back tomorrow to their mom's.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 25, 2022, 11:16:38 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was purr.

I too had locknut/throwback.

Happy solving, and enjoying the long weekend.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 26, 2022, 06:55:58 AM
QBwH to find paprika. LB clamber-regifted.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 26, 2022, 07:05:23 AM
Good morning!

Ciao_yall, we must be on the same wave length.  My last word was also paprika.  And my LB combo was clamber-regifted.

Today it took ages for me to get to genius, even with both pangrams.  I'm now a bit above genius, 15 words to go, and quite sure I won't make it without help.  But I'll persevere a little longer.

I do have a 2fer for LB, though. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2022, 09:14:17 AM
Good morning!

Well, I am not at genius again, but I do have both pangrams.  I think I'm just over 200 at the moment.  I salute your perseverance, cathwen! Yesterday we almost had team QB but were both missing kippa, which I don't think either of us would have gotten, so you both are well beyond us!

And congrats on your 2fers! I did not get anywhere with it, though I had climber at one point.  Congrats on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 26, 2022, 10:13:37 AM
Pangrams and genius. I don't think I'll have any time today to work on the puzzles. Haven't even looked at the crosswords since Tuesday night.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 27, 2022, 06:44:22 AM
QBwH and 2 new words heliacal, litchi. Kept trying lichee, litchee.

LB - got a hint for warlocks-snipe after going in circles with 3fers using wrinkles, earlock, snowplow...

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 27, 2022, 07:36:13 AM
Good morning!

I did not make it to QB yesterday, even with hints—the one word that threw me was heliacalLitchi also gave me some trouble, as I keep wanting to spell it lichee or litchee. Today I am at genius with the pangram. 

LB:  I had warlocks-spine.  Like ciao_yall, I kept trying for something with wrinkles and snowplow, to no avail.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 27, 2022, 09:16:27 AM
Good morning!

Took me a bit to get to genius, but I finally got there and do have the pangram.  We had a few left to go after comparing, needing help for calcite, litchi, helical, techie, titillate.  Husband had helical, but he pronounced it in a way that I thought it was spelled heliacal, so we were a little confused as to how we had the same # words and different points after comparing lists. 

For LB, I had powerlines-sack, which I thought might be schmofficial.  Guess not! Congrats on yours as well, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 27, 2022, 04:34:05 PM
Evening!

Pangram and genius this morning. Just got home having braved bumper-to-bumper traffic, heavy merges at several on/off ramps and toll plazas, and heavy downpours almost all the way back. Whew! I can't complain because I got to visit with very nice people, and also got some birding done.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 27, 2022, 05:02:23 PM
Glad you got home safe, Langue_doc! That does not sound like a fun drive.  Hope you get to relax this evening.  But I'm glad you had fun before the drive.

I still have no 2fer and still have 5 bee words left.  Trying to get a ton of stuff done today since we may have a water outage tomorrow and then the whole discolored water thing.  The alert states our neighborhood but homes in areas other than our town will be affected, so who knows.   Better to be prepared.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 28, 2022, 07:14:58 AM
Good morning!

It was a struggle to get to genius, but now I think I just have a couple or more words left.

Good luck with the water outage, ab_grp. Hope the repairs get completed soon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2022, 07:57:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I managed to guess my final word just before we compared (okra), so I guess QB.

I had that weird phenomenon again last night of deciding to look at LB one more time before bed and immediately getting a 2fer.  I opened it, saw zenith all of a sudden, and then saw hamburger right after! That is so weird.  I know it works for math problems and proofs and that sort of thing, but I guess it must translate somehow to this task as well.  I will keep this in my toolkit!

Thanks for the good water wishes, Langue_doc! It's certainly better to have had a heads up than just suddenly have no water.  But it's funny how much water we use for different things in a day! Husband called this morning to see if some clarity could be gained about location, but it does apply to our area, and they have no further info about when it might start, how long, etc.   Not a huge surprise on that part.  Got so much done yesterday that there's extra time for puzzles today!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 28, 2022, 09:00:28 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday was not a good puzzle day for me.  I needed help to find dolor, droll, okra, warlord and wallaroo.  And my last word?  Word!!!!  I had seen that so many times, but failed to enter it. 

Today I have five words to go, all shorter ones. 

And I failed to find a 2fer for LB also, and am not having any luck so far today.  But hope springs eternal!

Ab_grp, did we have different puzzles yesterday?  Mine didn't have hamburger or zenith.  I hope your water isn't off for long! 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2022, 09:04:17 AM
QBwH for wallaroo -gah! LB zenith-hamburger.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2022, 09:13:19 AM
Quote from: cathwen on November 28, 2022, 09:00:28 AM
And I failed to find a 2fer for LB also, and am not having any luck so far today.  But hope springs eternal!

Ab_grp, did we have different puzzles yesterday?  Mine didn't have hamburger or zenith.  I hope your water isn't off for long! 

Thanks, cathwen! Me too! And is it possible that your LB didn't reset from the previous day? What letters did you have? I bet you would have gotten the solution along with us!

I was really happy to get wallaroo this time.  I think that's a first.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 28, 2022, 10:53:33 AM
Ab_grp, I thought you were talking about SB.  My LB letters were the same as yours—I just didn't see either hamburger or zenith.  Gah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2022, 11:20:54 AM
Quote from: cathwen on November 28, 2022, 10:53:33 AM
Ab_grp, I thought you were talking about SB.  My LB letters were the same as yours—I just didn't see either hamburger or zenith.  Gah!

Ahh! Makes sense.  Well, I didn't see either of them all day, either.  Maybe watching Pretty Little Liars in the evenings and trying to figure out the ridiculously contrived mystery sharpens my LB skill briefly.  I'm glad I didn't accidentally do today's puzzle and give it away!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on November 28, 2022, 07:12:45 PM
GWP. It's been a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2022, 05:43:13 AM
Busy day yesterday so not too focused. QBwH for a lot of words I should have gotten. I think the last one was giggle. Had a few 2fer b4ss glowier-ranches, sawhorses-slicing and close to the shmofficial cowers-sigh-hangnail.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2022, 05:43:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was linen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 29, 2022, 06:16:36 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius for me, too—but there are two pangrams, and I haven't found the second one yet!  Yesterday I needed some help to get to QB; last word was niggle.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, but I found one today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2022, 09:01:54 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius, but only with one pangram.  I have no idea what the other one is right now.  Yesterday we would have had team QB but we each needed the same word, exec.  Ugh!! Not a difficult one! I also thought exigence would be in there.  It's in the dictionary, but I guess not.  Seems to have some support, though.

No luck on LB yesterday, even with my bedtime attempt.  I didn't see either of the schmofficial words.  Ciao_yall looked close.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen! Hope that bodes well for the rest of us!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2022, 09:41:39 AM
Twofer!

As for the second pangram, it was aaarrrgh!!!!

ab_grp, I'll PM you a hint, open message only if you're desperate.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2022, 09:50:40 AM
Thank you, Langue_doc! I am very glad to have your hint if needed! Congrats on your 2fer!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first try! Yahoo!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 30, 2022, 04:17:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams; just need two or three more four-letter words. Last words yesterday were emcee and acne.

perfecting/goad

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 30, 2022, 06:57:11 AM
QBwH and learned a new word minicab. LB perfecting-gonad, shortened to perfecting-goad.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 30, 2022, 07:35:37 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with ambience as my last word.  I had not realized that there were two spellings!  Today I have a couple of words to go.

LB:  I had perfecting-go[n]ad, perfectioning-gad, and codifier-repainting.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 30, 2022, 08:33:58 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday I had suspected that the other pangram might be a variation of some sort of the first pangram (just because I could not see absolutely any other possibility) but couldn't figure out how to spell it, so Langue_doc's hint kept me going in the right direction rather than trying to hunt down other words! We almost made it to team QB again but needed help with cabana.  I also needed help with niacin, iambic, eminence, imminence (and ambience). 

For LB, I also had perfecting-goad, which seems to be the popular answer though not schmofficial! I didn't see either component of the schmofficial solution.  Congrats on all the 2fers (and multiples!)!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2022, 05:25:55 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius; that's probably it for today.

Last words were dino and land.

Couldn't find a mate for frenzied.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2022, 06:30:26 AM
QBw2LL, last word inlaid.

LB - couldn't find a mate for zipline. Not even a 3fer! Oh well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 01, 2022, 07:07:44 AM
Good morning!

Genius with one of the two pangrams this morning.  Yesterday I got to QBABM, last word nada.  I was just about to look at hints when I took one more glance, and there it was.

LB:  I had hazardful-lupine.  I was leery of hazardful, but it took, so I won't complain.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2022, 08:49:17 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangrams today.  Yesterday we each got to QBABO after each having one 4-letter left.  Husband's last word was dint, which he thought was some weird variant of dent (I think this is related to his accent, as his short e's often sound like short i's).  Since he found his final word first and said it was odd, I was looking for a weird word but eventually found nada.  I have a hard time with the Spanish words since not that many are accepted! Just got to try them, I guess.

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying! I also thought frenzied was one of my better contenders.  Congrats, cathwen! And again today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2022, 04:13:19 AM
Good morning!

Slogged my way to genius with the pangram, and then quickly found two more.

Last words yesterday were incur (found incurring early on into the puzzle) and narc (which I've seen numerous times before).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2022, 05:38:03 AM
QBwATHICG for arnica. I really should make a list of all the "bee specials" I regularly miss like nankeen but it's such a nice zing to remember them!

LB - just 3fers including bum-majority-yank, majority-yuk-knob.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 02, 2022, 06:35:01 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find accruing and nuancing.  I got arnica by consulting my list of odd Bee words.  Today I am at Beta with the three pangrams. 

LB:  I had the "official" bunkum-majority.  I have a 2fer today, but the second word is weird.  I may look for another solution if I have time.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2022, 08:58:44 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with two pangrams so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help for arnica, crania, craning, narc, runic, uncaging.  I keep thinking arnica is a proper noun.

ARGH! I had majority and tried bunkam since that seemed like the only possible mate.  Dagnabbit, I should have tried to see if I was spelling it wrong.  I'm kind of going to give myself that one.  Congrats, cathwen, and on another today! Hope you find a second one if you go for it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 02, 2022, 04:06:16 PM
GW3Pv today
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2022, 04:46:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; probably no more puzzling today as I find today's kind of puzzles to be quite boring.

Last word yesterday was virility.

Twofer on my first attempt.

outmatch/hardwire; whiteout/timecard

Today's crossword which I completed last night wasn't too bad for a Saturday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2022, 07:28:21 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but no pangram yet.  Yesterday husband got to QBABH and had to help me with virility.  So close.  I felt pretty dumb with trivially being my final pangram (his, too), and then it still took me a while to add virally, vitally to my list after having their partner words! They were my final two that I got by myself.

No luck on LB, though I had weird but didn't think of adding the o as legitimate.  Ugh, again should have tried it.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc, and on another today! I do have a good contender that I think might have a shot, but I need more coffee, apparently.

I agree, the crossword was not bad today.  At least that's one victory!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 03, 2022, 07:50:01 AM
Good morning!

It took me ages to find virality as the third pangram.  And then my last word, virility, should have occurred to me right away, but didn't—when I went to hints, I actually groaned.  Today I have five words to go and cannot imagine what they can be.  It took me a while to find the pangram, too.

LB:  I first found homeward-dutchie, a word I'd never heard of, but apparently it has something to do with cannabis.  Then I found outmarch/outmatch-hardwire.  No 2fer yet today—I have found some good words, but am having trouble with the remaining letters. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2022, 08:33:10 AM
QBw2LL, last words larva, larval.

Just 2fer b4ss yesterday humidor-rewatch, and a few 3fers cut-thermidor-raw, what-timid-douchier.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2022, 10:50:15 AM
Got a 2fer! My contender ended up working, but I had to think differently, and apparently I got up too early this morning.  Congrats on getting three yesterday, cathwen! I'm sure you'll make it work today.  And you as well, ciao_yall! You always have interesting 3fers, too. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 04, 2022, 08:17:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Didn't bother to complete the bee yesterday.

mentoring/suds and then shrouds/shipment

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 04, 2022, 09:14:29 AM
QBwH for a new word epode. LB odorous-shipment. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2022, 09:17:04 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram.  Luckily it was a lot easier for me to find than yesterday's! Yesterday I found it as my 57th word, despite having tried potatohead and even dopehead, which probably should have helped.  But at least I got it eventually.  I think I needed two words when we compared, atop, heptad.  But we did have team QB.

For LB, I initially saw midshipmen and then shipment and ended up with shrouds-shipment as well.  Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall, and on another today! Several solutions already!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 04, 2022, 09:18:44 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find last word, peapod.  Today I'm at Alpha, but having trouble finding the remaining words. 

LB:  I had midshipmen-notorious.  Lots of variety this time!  No 2fer so far today.

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2022, 06:06:49 AM
Good morning!

Easy romp to genius, but no pangram yet.

Last words yesterday were conic and dino, despite finding the latter in a puzzle just days ago. I tried potatohead too, without any success.

vocalism/methyl; machos/sylvite; vocalisms/stealthily

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2022, 06:41:30 AM
Morning! QBwH for ecocide. LB vocalist-thyme.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 05, 2022, 08:00:01 AM
Good morning!

QB almost ABM, with a 1L hint to find djinni, which should have occurred to me as soon as I had jinni.  Today I have two words to go; the pangram was my first word.

LB:  I also had the "official" vocalist-thyme.  Congratulations on so many combinations, Langue_doc!  I found a 2fer rather quickly today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2022, 09:00:11 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB-5 with pangram so far.  Yesterday I was running around too much and ended up on the phone with a friend for 2.5 hrs so have too many I missed to list.  Husband had jinn(i), but we forgot about djinn(i).  I also missed dino after finding it the other day. 

And no luck on LB, either! Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen, and your many 2fers, Langue_doc! Wow! And congrats on a quick 2fer today, cathwen!

Husband has his first cardiac stress test today, so that should be interesting.  He is trying to keep himself busy since he can't have coffee or breakfast or take his meds.  I wish we could just get it over with.  I am not really sure what to expect, except he has morning and afternoon appts, treadmill this morning, which I will be taking him to. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 06, 2022, 04:39:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius, but have a book discussion tonight, so that's probably it for the bee.

Last word yesterday was guilty--found the other two relatives much earlier.

finances/shorty; feats/synchronic

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 06, 2022, 05:35:07 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word truly.  Today I'm well past genius with all three pangrams.  I'm missing some of the shorter words, but having trouble finding them.

LB:  I also had finances-shorty.  Congratulations on two 2fers, Langue_doc!  So far, I do not have a 2fer for today's LB.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2022, 06:42:54 AM
QB, needed a hint to remember lulu. LB shorties-sanctify.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2022, 08:03:12 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams.  Husband got to QBABH, but I had to give up and needed help for lulu, utility.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! I'm sure you'll find the other words today.

For LB, I got honorifics-safety.  Congrats on all the varied solutions! And on multiples again, Langue_doc!

We got called back to the cardiologist for an appt this morning, so I don't know what the day will look like. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 06, 2022, 04:56:28 PM
GE3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2022, 03:48:36 AM
Good morning!

Short and sweet bee today, got to QB without much effort.

Last word yesterday was cued--I had to review the word list on my desktop to come up with the last four-letter word only to find that somehow, the bee didn't register cued which I had entered much earlier in the puzzle.

ab_grp, sending good thoughts for the cardiology appointment/follow-up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 07, 2022, 08:18:01 AM
Good morning!

QB today, and QBwH yesterday to find puled and coulee

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  But I have one today.

Ab_grp, I hope that your husband's appointment went well and that he's okay.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 07, 2022, 08:43:37 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Congrats on your QBs already, Langue_doc and cathwen! I hope to join you at some point but still have a bit to go.  Yesterday we each needed help to find updo, duple.  Sorry to hear the site was giving you an issue and not keep tracking of your entries, Langue_doc! It's a pain to try to figure out what's missing if you already entered it. 

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying! Looking at the schmofficial solution, I am not going to be too hard on myself.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Thanks for the kind wishes, Langue_doc and cathwen! Unfortunately, as we suspected, they don't move your results appt up several days for no reason.  Husband failed the stress test, so he has to go into the cath lab today (have to leave in 20 mins or so).  He may or may not need another stent and may or may not need some attention to the stent he got after his heart attack.  Most of the heart works great, but some of the blockages they found back then may be causing some issues.  Anyway, it should be outpatient, but if it gets complicated or something goes awry he may have to stay overnight, so we've been busy getting things ready since we found out.  I will update later!

Happy solving! 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 08, 2022, 01:09:25 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram, genius, and then the other pangram. I think I might have just a couple more words left.

The stats function of the bee has been inactive for weeks now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 08, 2022, 02:19:25 PM
Good evening!

QBABM yesterday, last word nabob.Today I got to QB, but only with a little help for the last two words.  And it took me ages to find the second pangram!

LB:  I had the "official" carnival-ladybug.  I found two 2fers today. 

I did all my puzzles today, then learned that due to The NY Times strike, people were being asked not to do the puzzles as an expression of solidarity with the strikers.  Oh well...too late now.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 08, 2022, 02:39:51 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

Got to genius and both pangrams (finally... one took a while) so far.  Guess we all had that experience.  Yesterday my final word for QBABM was banjo.

Ugh, yesterday I had ladybug but no mate.  Congrats, cathwen, and on two today! No luck yet on that either.

Speaking of luck, things didn't go great yesterday for husband (well, he came out of the angio fine, no emergency there, but an additional stent was not going to do the trick).  So we are relocating to a city, not sure which yet, for a week, not sure when, possibly tomorrow, so he can have either a quadruple or quintuple bypass.  So, that was a surprise and a rough day and night and etc.  I think we have more or less digested the news now, but it's frustrating to have no idea at all when we might have to pick up and go or where to so I can make my own arrangements to actually have a roof over my head.  He got some preop testing today, pulmonary function test and carotid ultrasound, so now we wait to hear about logistics. 

In any case, I guess I also missed the news about not doing the puzzles today but was glad to have them through several more hours of medical waiting.

I also haven't looked at the bee stats lately and didn't realize that they have been inactive.  Hmm!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 08, 2022, 02:47:23 PM
ab_grp, sorry to hear that things are a bit tumultuous at the moment, but sending you good wishes for husband's bypass surgery, and for the relocation. I hope you find the right hospital and also the right surgeon. Can you get some time off from work so that you can take care of the logistics and also the stress?

I knew that the NYT was going on strike, but wasn't aware of the request to refrain from reading the paper or working on the puzzles. It appears that it is a 24-hour strike, so perhaps we could work on the puzzles tomorrow?
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/07/media/new-york-times-strike/index.html

As for the pangrams, I found the weird one first--tried the combo just for the heck of it and was surprised to find that it was indeed a word!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 08, 2022, 02:53:48 PM
So sorry that the news for your husband wasn't better, ab_grp.  The fact that everything is up in the air—which city, which hospital, where to stay—must be very stressful on top of worrying about the surgery itself.  In the meanwhile, I'm sending all my best wishes for him and for you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2022, 04:56:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above 300 points.

Don't remember the last word yesterday, but made it to QB. I found non-apology by trying combinations with the prefix non-, and was surprised to see that the bee accepted the word, which autocorrect keeps correcting as in the line above!

As for the NYT strike, I'm not sure if refraining from the puzzles will be of any help to the strikers as these, along with the subscription to the newspaper have already been paid for. In addition, for me, the bee is the only thing that I can do before coffee and also something that I resort to when I wake up in the middle of the night, as I did around 3.30 and then 5.40 this morning, so I would consider it punitive as well as ineffective to refrain from reaching for it.

ab_grp, sending you good thoughts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 09, 2022, 06:22:36 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday with hints for galop and goop (and I already had goopy!).  It took me ages to find nonapology; I didn't think it was one word, and apparently my iPad doesn't think so, either, because it took me several tries to write it as one word just now.  Today I am well into Beta but struggling. 

LB:  I had southward-devoir and various-swathed.  I have a 2fer today also.

Like Langue_doc, I have decided that my boycotting the puzzles will (a) have no effect whatsoever on the strike, and (b) just annoy me. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2022, 09:30:27 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangrams.  I think yesterday we had team QB, and I needed help with papaya. Husband needed galop, which I think is a sneaky one that I happened to remember.  We both found nonapology first and somehow both math majors struggled with polygonal.  As it turned out, we were both trying polygonally instead for some reason. 

Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen! I had no luck.  And congrats on another today!

Thanks, Langue_doc and cathwen, for your good thoughts.  It was a gigantic surprise and really overwhelming to think about from just about every angle.  I think we both have periods of calm execution and others of panic, probably normal.  I am glad to have a day or two to try to get some things done in the background to prepare.  Still no info about where or when, though we may get that today if the results from yesterday's tests are back and they can call around and get it scheduled.  Lots of little (and big) things to do.  I am very, very fortunate that work is not an issue right now.  Plus, I guess I will have quite a lot of free time next week if everything goes well, as he will have to stay in the hospital for 4 days or so, and I'm sure he will be pretty well out of it.  I have to say, having grown up with open heart surgery and bypasses being such major and doom-filled events on TV, I am really dreading this, but apparently things have really advanced, and the success rate is about 98%.  I'm sure the recovery will not be easy, but hopefully he will benefit and was told he is an excellent candidate with a strong heart.  Anyway, thanks for the kind words, and sorry for the rambling!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 10, 2022, 06:13:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Don't remember my last word for yesterday's puzzle, but was not too happy about gannet https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Gannet/overview# not being accepted. Today's puzzle too didn't accept a word that I thought was quite legit.

brothel/lumina

ab_grp, vent/ramble away even if you don't have the time or energy for puzzling.

I have a bird walk later today, but it's Santa Con, so hope I don't have to deal with drunken revelers on the way out and back.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2022, 09:31:48 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius but no pangram yet.  I had a ton left yesterday when we compared, but we managed to almost get to team QB.  However, even with Shunn and Steve G hints we had to google the Steve definitions to figure out the final two words.  We both remembered galangal being in there before (I think I tried galagal, oh well) but do not recall gamelan very well.  The gannet is an interesting looking bird!

And I would never have gotten the schmofficial solution, but I did have brothel and couldn't find a mate.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

And I hope you enjoy your bird walk without bad behavior interfering.  I have not been to a Santa Con, but it doesn't sound like something I'd want to experience the aftermath of.  Thanks for the support!! Husband's cardiologist called after hours last night, and it looks like we will not hear from the surgical group until Mon or Tues.  Kind of glad to know that the weekend is ours to just enjoy together without fearing news that requires immediate packing.  Having a little break from the stress would be good.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 10, 2022, 03:11:31 PM
Good evening!

Not a great puzzle day for me yesterday or today!  I did make QBwH both yesterday and today.  Yesterday my final word was nametag.  I kept misspelling gamelan, but finally figured that out.  I was also annoyed that gannet was rejected.

LB:  I had brothel-luminal. I found a 2fer today also.

Langue_doc, I remember SantaCon!  The revelers are kind of cute until they start drinking, but they start that early and then become annoying. 

Ab_grp, I do hope that you and your husband can enjoy the weekend without stress!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2022, 04:55:58 PM
Got a 2fer on my first try! I haven't gotten back to the bee, though.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen! And thanks!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2022, 05:00:03 PM
Hi all - was having computer issues so nice to be back! Still had my phone so kept up with puzzles.

Yesterday I learned a new word gamelan and got the official abnormal-luthier.

Today QBAM but just 3fers and 2fer b4ss.

Ah, I missed you all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2022, 06:12:19 AM
Good morning!

QB and a twofer this morning. Last word yesterday was trinity; surprised that tyrannic wasn't accepted.

dogmatic/clover

I bailed out on the bird walk yesterday as I didn't have the energy to ride the subway.

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 11, 2022, 09:42:58 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Congrats on already getting QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday, husband had to give me help with the pangram! I just could not see it.  His idea of a hint was something related to The Big Lebowski, which I am just not nearly as much of a fan of, so that took a while to help.  Then I think I needed help with 3 words at the end, array, cynic, trinity.  We both tried tyrannic as well.  I have found that it often doesn't take -ic words that I think it should, favoring -ical I guess.   

I also got dogmatic-clover and am not hugely surprised to see that it's schmofficial given how quickly it came together. 

Sorry to hear that you didn't get to do the bird walk, Langue_doc. 

Glad to see you back, ciao_yall! I was wondering how you were doing.  Sorry to hear about your computer.  And congrats on your QB today as well!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 11, 2022, 10:06:31 AM
QBAMBM yesterday - last word itty. Close 3fers yesterday dramatic-clover-reg, dramatic-clove-erg.

Happy solving!

Still getting used to the new keyboard. And my new mouse is paired but doesn't work, even after restarting so IDK.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2022, 10:17:16 AM
ab_grp, I too found the pangram hard to spot--I think the only reason I found it was because of the configuration of the letters after one of the shuffles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 11, 2022, 11:25:05 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find the last word—and the pangram—intricacy

LB:  I had the "official" dogmatic-clover. I have a 2fer today also. 

Welcome back, ciao_yall!  Good luck pairing the mouse.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 11, 2022, 11:37:07 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 11, 2022, 10:17:16 AM
ab_grp, I too found the pangram hard to spot--I think the only reason I found it was because of the configuration of the letters after one of the shuffles.

Thanks, Langue_doc! I don't know why it was so difficult, but boy howdy.  No rearrangement seemed to help.

Got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, cathwen, and also on yours that I forgot to mention earlier, Langue_doc! Possibly the same ones again today.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 11, 2022, 01:48:14 PM
Twofer and a Split Decisions in the NYT! My day is made.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 11, 2022, 04:20:42 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 12, 2022, 03:57:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Last word yesterday was nomad.

Quick twofer.

junkyard/driveway

ab_grp, sending you good thoughts on the logistics of the temporary move and the surgery.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 12, 2022, 05:05:53 AM
Good morning!

One word to go this morning—argh!  Yesterday my last word was mammon.

LB: I had the "official" junked-driveway.  I also have a 2fer today. 

Thinking of you and your husband today, ab_grp.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 12, 2022, 08:00:47 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 12, 2022, 08:38:37 AM
QBwH for monad. LB was junkyard-driveway.

Happy solving! Off to see if I can save my hard drive.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 12, 2022, 09:47:12 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to past genius with pangram, but husband only has one word to go.  Good luck on yours, cathwen! Yesterday we each needed one 5-letter that ended up being the same one, which husband guessed with help from Shunn: nohow

For LB, I had the schmofficial solution along with cathwen.  I like the other solution, too! Didn't even see junkyard.  Congrats on your 2fers today too, Langue_doc and cathwen!

And thanks for the continued good wishes! I think they are overnighting the packet of results to the surgical team today, but we are supposed to hear from them today or tomorrow, so I am not sure what the schedule is.  Be prepared, I guess.  Still trying to get things done in the background.

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 12, 2022, 04:49:28 PM
Got a 2fer pretty easily again.  I suspect that I'm being lulled into a false sense of security.  Two more words to QB.  Hopefully we at least have team QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2022, 05:09:19 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius, but that's probably it for today. Last word yesterday was liege.

strongboxes/sheaves and then heaves/strongbox; I prefer the latter as you really need to heave to move the strongbox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2022, 08:58:35 AM
QB, needed the grid to remember eightieth, liege. LB vagrants-shoeboxes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2022, 09:59:33 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got the pangrams and to genius or so.  Yesterday I managed to get QBABM, though I did ask husband if my final word was a compound or not, so I supposed that's a hint.  It was eightieth, one of the banes of my existence.

For LB, I also got heaves-strongbox.  I started with strongboxes and didn't make the connection to sheaves.  Ugh! Congrats, Langue_doc!

Looks like we have to make the long drive to Other City for an in-person consultation (only) for Thursday.  At that time, they will decide whether the surgery will have to be soon after or can wait until the new year.  I would guess it will be sooner rather than later given the rate of blockage, but I have no idea.  Not sure what time yet so we will probably either stay there tomorrow night or Thurs night rather than drive up and back in one day.  We'll see.  He also has an appt with his cardiologist for the angio follow up tomorrow afternoon, so I am not sure how that timing will work out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2022, 01:25:46 PM
Twofers but not much progress on the bee.

ab_grp, hope things go well during the consultation. The holidays probably throw the medical team's schedule off, so sending you good thoughts for the scheduling and the surgery.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 13, 2022, 01:46:45 PM
Good evening!

QBABM yesterday; last word thigh.  I got to QB today, but only with help.

LB: I had strongboxes-sheaves. I have one today, too, with the second word being one of those what-the-heck-I'll-try-it words. 

Ab_grp, it must be some relief to have at least the initial consultations scheduled to get the ball rolling on your husband's surgery.  I think that being up in the air is very stressful. Continued good thoughts for him, and for you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2022, 04:38:24 AM
Good morning!

I almost groaned when I saw the letters, but it was a quick run to genius, the second pangram, and then QB.

Missed allocable, ballcock, and also a few other words that I knew I had entered.

pilot/turnback; blackout/timber

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2022, 08:14:19 AM
QBwALTHICG and a new word, ballcock. I'm sure I've seen it before but must have forgotten. LB pilot-turnback.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2022, 09:01:32 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but just with one pangram.  Congrats on already getting QB, Langue_doc! That is a long puzzle! And not necessarily a fun kind.  Yesterday I had a bunch left I think, but we had three left after comparing that we needed hints for: allocable, callaloo, cookbook.  Ugh.

I almost forgot that I did get a 2fer until I saw the schmofficial solution and remembered that I had a solution including the second word.  I got backlot-turnip.  Congrats on 2, Langue_doc, and on yours as well, ciao_yall!

We are heading to Other City this afternoon for consult tomorrow morning at 10.  It will be weird to be elsewhere, as we have not even eaten outside our house in several years (other than me briefly eating in the hospital cafe last week... dismal place! no one there).  Hilariously, I also just got called for jury duty for tomorrow.  Hopefully they will see this as an excusable absence, but I don't know.  I have to call them in addition to also finishing packing, a guy is here to look at our roof that appears to be leaking, and the materials that were supposed to be overnighted to the surgical group have still not arrived, so we have to stop and hopefully pick up whatever is needed on the way from the cardiologist.  Luckily that appt was canceled.  Busy day!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2022, 09:38:10 AM
ab_grp, keeping fingers crossed and also sending you good thoughts and wishes that the consult and everything else goes smoothly.

As for jury duty, here you just go online and upload the relevant documentation such as medical appointments and the like.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2022, 11:06:42 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Here the jury service is really something else.  I will spare the details, but I finally got through and had to send an email with whatever documentation I have, which is just the email with directions saying they will see us tomorrow.  The judge will apparently decide what my status is based on that.  I asked if I could be arrested, but they said they don't do that, so that's good.  I really wish it could be a bit more concrete of a "you're excused", but what more can I do.  Guess I'll get back to packing.  I really appreciate the good thoughts and wishes!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 14, 2022, 09:29:18 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 15, 2022, 04:31:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and well above genius. Last word yesterday was foodie.

mockup/periodical

ab_grp, sorry to hear that you have to deal with the logistics of jury duty while coping with the upcoming surgery. Perhaps husband's doctor's office could write a letter about the urgency of the appointment in Other City and that you also needed to be there. Continuing to keep fingers crossed that all goes well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 15, 2022, 05:16:41 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for the last word:  edified.  Today I have one word to go. 

LB:  No solution yesterday!  Congratulations on yours, Langue_doc.  No solution yet today, either.

ab_grp, I hope that all goes well with your husband and your call to jury duty—certainly they will have to excuse you.  I was called in March, but I deferred it to September because I had to drive my husband to and from chemo.  Then when September rolled around, my husband could not drive post-surgery and I asked for another deferral.  At that point, the Director of Jurors (or whatever the title was) emailed me with more questions about my husband's condition, and whether other family members could help (the nearest one is two hours away).  Finally, she excused me from *all* jury service due to the uncertainty of his condition. 

Happy puzzling!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 15, 2022, 08:38:08 AM
Morning! QBwH, last word fogie. LB no 2fer but a b4ss roadmap-pluckier and lots of 3fers. My favorite was dip-plumeria-acock and I was bummed that I couldn't make a 2fer out of it with adock.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 15, 2022, 09:35:57 AM
Genius, no pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 15, 2022, 01:38:30 PM
Pangram and we'll into alpha now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 16, 2022, 04:00:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; it's a sloggy one today, so not sure how many more words I'm going to find. Last word yesterday was genteel, which I should have recalled much earlier because it was in the bee just a few days ago.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 16, 2022, 08:24:26 AM
QBwH after my attention span ran out.

LB just a 2fer b4ss forums-sibilant and a 3fer balm-munitions-surf.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2022, 09:08:00 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  And yesterday I got QBABM! Last word was gentled, which I just guessed as I was adding -ed and -d to everything I had.  The day before I had way too many to count.

No luck on LB either day.  Sounds like they were tough ones!

So surgery will be next Fri.  Looks like we will be in Other City from next Wednesday until possibly the new year.  Hopefully we can head home sooner than that but are booking it just in case so I am not homeless toward the end.  It will be an interesting Christmas! The surgical group seems very good.  The surgeon and surgical PA seem to complement each other well.  He got a lot of his preop stuff done while we were there.  I still haven't heard about jury duty but got an additional note from the surgery group that I should be excused since the surgery is scheduled and etc.  I am really flummoxed that this case (and yours as well, cathwen!) would not be immediately excused with sympathy.  I figure here the ratio of possible jurors to criminals must just be too low.  Really, you do not have enough people available? I know everyone is probably trying to get out of it due to Christmas and related celebrations (sure, I'd like that, too) or their children being home from college (would be nice to have that visit), but this is a medical emergency.  He's not having a boob job.  Anyway, we'll see, but this is souring me even further on that whole thing.  Especially since I have been summoned more often and have served more often than anyone I know! Thanks again for your support and kindness, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 16, 2022, 09:48:14 AM
ab_grp, it must be a relief to have the surgery scheduled, even though the recovery would be smack in the middle of Christmas. As for jury duty, I find it troubling that responsible law-abiding people have to jump through hoops instead of making just a phone call explaining the conflict. I would suggest contacting your elected official to apprise them of the situation so that you have someone on your side just in case the court people are not very competent and/or short-staffed.

I probably have just a few words left on the bee. I looked at LB, and promptly closed that tab.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 16, 2022, 11:04:57 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with entente as my last word.  Today I am at genius and not finding this an easy SB at all.  Langue_doc, it sounds as though you're really close to QB! 

LB:  I had flotation-numbrous.  I didn't think that was a word, but it took.  I have a 2fer today, too, which I found just as I was about to throw in the metaphoric towel.

Ab_grp, the high quality of your surgical team is very reassuring.  Having faith in your medical team makes the whole thing less stressful than it would be otherwise.

As for jury duty, I bet the Official Juror Person gets all kinds of excuses all the time, many of which are flimsy, others outright lies.  Think of all the lame excuses we as professors get from students!  Still, it is annoying to have to justify yourself when you know that (a) the situation is serious, and (b) you are telling the truth. In your case, the procedure for asking to be excused seems unnecessarily complicated. 

Now to see if I can at least get to Beta on SB.  Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 17, 2022, 05:16:04 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and an uphill climb to 200 points. I don't have the energy or inclination to go chasing for more words today.

Don't recall the last word in yesterday's bee, but found several common words (patriot, portray, portrait, potato, and a few others) after I had almost given up. I think the last word was a rather innocuous one because I recall thinking that I should have seen it much earlier in the puzzle.

Happy solving!

ETA: twofer, after a dry spell.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 17, 2022, 06:21:34 AM
Good morning!

I never did finish the Bee yesterday.  The remaining words were papyri, partita, portrait, portray, raptor, and rattrap.  Today I am at genius, but missing the pangram. 

LB:  I was about to give up, then found the "official" unzip-photobombed.  I got a 2fer today on the first try!  That hasn't happened in a while.

I graded all exams yesterday and entered course grades in Banner.  So far, no complaints.  Now I can turn my full attention to preparing for the holidays. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2022, 08:03:02 AM
Good morning!

I didn't get to genius yet and don't have the pangram, either! Geez.  Husband doesn't have it either.  Yesterday I think I got down to three or four words by the time we compared.  I know I was missing patio, portrait, tapir.  And we both needed Shunn and Steve G to finally guess partita.  Question: I saw that Shunn had there being one 7-letter compound starting with p.  But the only 7-letters were patriot, pitapat, portray, partita.  I guess the first three could be broken up into words, but I didn't think of them as compounds.  Am I being dumb, or does anyone know which one he might have been referring to? Or both?

Yesterday's LB looked quite difficult! Congrats, cathwen! I don't think I would have found that one.  And congrats on yours today, as well as to Langue_doc!

Just an update that I logged into the juror portal to upload the subsequent letter from the surgical group and found that the judge had excused me.  Later, I got a text and email to that effect, also indicating that I am excused for the remainder of my term (rest of December).  Hooray for that, at least.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 17, 2022, 09:11:08 AM
Hope you found the pangram cathwen and ab_grp. I was immediately reminded of one of your responses to my recent complaint in a post not too long ago. This is sort of a hint, but not quite.

As for Shunn, I don't think I've ever consulted it, but I do agree that there were no 7-letter compounds in yesterday's bee. Perhaps Shunn was thinking of an earlier puzzle? The only p-initial compound was paratroop. Perhaps rattrap?

ab_grp, glad to hear that you have been excused from jury duty. You didn't need the hassle this particular week, did you?

Enjoy the holiday prep, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2022, 10:12:47 AM
Usually I make it to Genius ABM for the Bee. But yesterday was also a slog for me and I just made it to Amazing! Finally went to the hints and realized I missed a lot of easy words, but did learn a new one partita. Seems like a lot of folks were going through that. Maybe because the last few days were so short?

And, no 2fer but a close 3fer unzip-pot-thumbed.

Today, Amazing but no pangram but I did get a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2022, 01:52:13 PM
I made it to genius but still no pangram.  I will see if I can find or recall the post you are referring to, Langue_doc.  Anything helps!

Congrats on your 2fer today, ciao_yall! I haven't found one yet but am hopeful.

Cathwen, I meant to say congrats on finishing your school work! I hope you get to relax while holiday prepping!

Langue_doc, thanks also for easing my mind about the 7-letter compound starting with p yesterday.  I took a screenshot and it definitely listed only one compound p, and that at 7 letters.  Maybe it did mean 8, for paratroop.  There was a 7-letter r listed as well, for rattrap.

ETA: Finally got the pangram!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 18, 2022, 05:05:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and just genius; there's probably another pangram or two given the number of points for getting to genius.

Made it to QB yesterday, after all. Last word was cranial. As for the pangram, I found anarchic first, and was reminded of the recent discussion on words such as tyrannic not being accepted. I tried anarchical just for fun and was surprised when it was accepted.

congruent/trivial

Off for a bird walk. It's Audubon's Christmas bird count weekend in town. It's cold today, and the walk is in a windy location, so I'm going to be overdressed for the weather, most likely.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 18, 2022, 08:43:32 AM
Good morning!

One word shy of QB yesterday—even with help.  The missing word was arnica.  I know I've seen this before, but I just didn't see it yesterday.  Today I'm at beta with all three pangrams, but struggling.

LB: I had a less economical version of the "official" answer: convent-triangular.  I have a 2fer today, too, that is very uneconomical!  If I have time, I may search for another one.

Langue_doc, enjoy your bird walk! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2022, 08:54:48 AM
Good morning!

Not to genius yet, and I only have two pangrams.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing arnica (again!) and arcana.  Thank you, Langue_doc, for that help! It must have primed something, because the pangram appeared to me, and I was also able to give husband a similar hint, so he finally got it.

You all are some smarties.  I had no luck with LB despite having components of all the solutions.  Argh! Just couldn't put them together.    Congrats on another today as well, cathwen!

Langue_doc, I hope your bird walk goes well and that you see lots of them! And lots of different ones.  Stay warm!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 18, 2022, 09:10:59 AM
Yesterday topped out at Amazing ABM, no pangram. That's two days in a row I haven't achieved Genius ABM before I finally hit the grid and hints to get QB. New word arnica.

LB covet-triangulate. Quick 3fers this morning so hope a 2fer will pop out soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2022, 10:37:16 AM
Finally got the third pangram as a guess and got to genius. 

And I got a 2fer on my first try! Happy for that after a few days of failure.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2022, 05:33:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram which came easily, and then quite a slog to above genius.

Yesterday I found orangutan early on because of the letter display after one of the shuffles, and then argonaut, which I remembered from reading about Jason and the Argonauts as a child. I'd always assumed that the latter was a proper noun, so was surprised to see it accepted. Didn't get around to the rest of the words after getting back, but would most likely not have seen guarantor or rotgut, despite having encountered the latter in more than one bee. There were just a few other missed words.

cubits/scholarly

There weren't too many birds for our count yesterday, but we did see a common loon flying over the water, a pair of black ducks, a few cormorants, a great blue heron flying rather low in what appeared to be a leisurely bird saunter, a pair of red-tailed hawks, a cooper's hawk, assorted other birds (blue jays, titmice, chickadees, goldfinches, gulls, and a few more), a downy woodpecker that seemed to be following us, and a red-tailed hawk (probably not the pair that was flying overhead) sitting on a tree. The other group saw an orange-crowned warbler and a kestrel, but didn't see the loon. After the walk, one of the participants was heading toward the fountain near cathwen's old stomping grounds to see the redhead duck that had been sighted there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2022, 08:55:40 AM
Not a great puzzle day for me yesterday - blaming this head cold. Only got to Amazing with one pangram ABM, then hit the hints for QB. Last word rotgut. Today at least hit GwP so maybe my brain is coming back?

LB - 2fer b4ss bush-historicaly then lots of 3fers  including chart-torus-stability and with a hint realized I could make chorus-stability.

Let's see how today goes. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 19, 2022, 08:56:50 AM
Good morning!

I managed to get the pangram right away, but it was a guess.  Got to a big past genius.  Yesterday I got guarantor right off the bat, then orangutan later on, and argonaut took me a while (I also thought that was a proper noun).  I think I had four words left when we compared, aurora, gargantuan, rotgut and the one we both needed, untag.

For LB, I got chorus-stability right away, which was refreshing.  Different solutions already, as neither of us had the schmofficial one, either.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

And that sounds like a lot of birds to me! And lots of colorful-sounding ones.  How many did you expect to see or usually see?

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2022, 03:20:43 PM
QB, but stuck on LB.

Here is the octopus argonaut; this was the one most likely on the bee list and not the Jason related one:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/argonaut

ab_grp, we usually see far more birds in that park, species as well as numbers, so it was rather disappointing not to have seen the usual population, even though it's winter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2022, 04:25:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was honor.

Twofer already!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 20, 2022, 07:16:53 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was so hectic—I didn't get back to the Bee until late, when I had five words missing.  With hints, I found hatha, wroth, wahoo, and whatnot. I completely missed athwart, so did not make QB. Today I am at Beta with the pangram. 

LB:  Nothing yesterday! Today I found a 2fer without too much trouble. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2022, 08:47:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and then finally got the pangram.  I thought of it as soon as I closed my phone.  Not sure why it took so long.  Yesterday I was missing athwart, hoorah, throat, and we were both missing torah, whoa.  Good job on QB, Langue_doc!

No luck on LB, though I did have hotdog and brains on the line below it and also some that I thought were better contenders.  Congrats to you both on your 2fers today, Langue_doc and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2022, 09:19:57 AM
QBwATHICG and a new word - athwart.

LB - found brash-hotdogs-swain and with a hint realized I could make brainwash-hotdog. I was fooling with brain, hogwash... never did make the connection. Still blaming this cold.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2022, 04:05:46 AM
Good morning!

Quick romp to genius, the pangram, a 5-letter word, and QB. Last word yesterday was tootle. And a twofer already.

bumps/skewering

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 21, 2022, 04:54:57 AM
Good morning!

Also a fairly fast QB this morning.  Yesterday I resorted to help to find toilette, lilt (!), and evictee.  .

LB:  I also had bumps-skewering.  2fer this morning, too.

Lots to do today!  Cleaning (ugh!), wrapping presents, baking (my happy place).

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2022, 08:51:04 AM
Good morning!

Got got genius with pangram and a bit more.   Husband had trouble finding the pangram but got to QBABH! Congrats to you both on your QBABYs too, Langue_doc and cathwen! Yesterday I think he also had QBABH.   I was missing velvet, collet and never would have found the latter without help.

I was so excited to have a different LB solution, but it's the schmofficial one.  brewski-impugn.  Waah!  Congrats on your solutions and on your 2fers today! You are both on a roll.

Hope your Christmas prep goes well, cathwen!

We hit the road today, not looking forward to that.  Still, it will be better than the way home.  I will be looking forward to getting home in some number of days, though! We are booked for 12 nights, but I really hope he does well and we can get home a good bit earlier than that.  It doesn't sound like things will get much better for a couple weeks, so might as well be in the comfort of our own place.  I've got the hold mail on, and I think I have successfully rescheduled delivery of the few Christmas gifts I had ordered.  The shoes I ordered in November have been stuck in Memphis since 11/30, so who knows with those.  Anyway, I should be able to check in most days, but I'll have my tablet instead of PC, so you will have to look forward to far fewer words from me.  ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 21, 2022, 09:38:53 AM
QBwH and a new word collet, the definition of which I have already forgotten. LB bumps-skewering. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2022, 09:55:24 AM
ab_grp, sending you good wishes for the road trip, the surgery, and the stay away from home. Happy cleaning and baking, cathwen.

I've been monitoring the weather which hasn't varied much from pouring rain and mid-to-high fifties for tomorrow and Friday, with a precipitous drop to the mid-twenties sometime on Friday, resulting in a flash freeze (never heard this expression before). So I might brave the rain/wind/thunderstorms on Friday and leave so that I get to my destination before the flash freeze instead of leaving on Saturday morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 21, 2022, 12:46:09 PM
Good plan, Langue_doc.  We have to pick up Youngest Daughter at 5pm at JFK on Saturday.  It's supposed to be sunny but extremely cold.  When she moved to LA, she left a heavy winter coat here, so we'll take that with us! 

Normally, it's 2 hours to JFK if the traffic is light and the roads are good. If all that rain freezes on Saturday and we're dealing with black ice, the trip down will be dicey.  If she even makes it!  The storms in the midsection of the country might wreak havoc with plane schedules.

Ab_grp, it looks as though you are making some contingency plans, too.  I hope all goes well--for your husband, you, and traveling in whatever terrible weather lies in your path!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2022, 06:26:38 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram; don't recall yesterday's last word (or any of the words). I'd been preoccupied with the prep for my book discussion group (I had volunteered to lead the discussion on a long and complex poem).

ploughman/notary

cathwen, that's a long round trip, even in good weather, because of the route to the airport. Hope the flight comes on time, and the roads are clear. I wouldn't worry too much about traffic, given that it's Christmas Eve.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 22, 2022, 06:52:40 AM
Good morning!

Genius, almost Beta, with the pangram; I think this is going to be a slog today, as I'm not seeing words that must be there.  Yesterday I skated to QBABM fairly easily, with last word dryad

LB:  I had the "official" anthropology-yum.  Congratulations on finding a different solution, Langue_doc!  I have a 2fer today as well.

Thanks for the good wishes on our trip to JFK!  Part of me wants to stay home and prepare a nice dinner to be ready as soon as they get home, but I hesitate to let my husband drive alone.  He's been fine—but I'm a worrywart and always think of "what if."  So now I'm planning something like soup and salad, both of which can be made in advance, and the soup heated quickly.  Things will work out. 

Anyway, enough of my ramblings.  Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 22, 2022, 08:31:27 AM
QBABM, last word hardhat. LB was anthropology-yum.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2022, 11:08:32 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally slogged to genius after getting the pangram quickly.  Yesterday I did make it to QBABM, with last word hardhat.

I also got the schmofficial LB solution.  Congrats to all and to Langue_doc especially!

Good luck on the JFK round trip, cathwen, and on your holiday drive, Langue_doc.  I hope the weather stays pretty good for you and that the trips are safe.

We finally got here without too much traffic trouble last night and were looking forward to ordering dinner since there's no restaurant.  Got the luggage cart and carted 12 nights of luggage and some food up, took a sip of water, went to open wine, fire alarm went off.  Out we went.  Luckily we were back in quickly.  Fire alarm went off again before I got the wine open but turned off quickly.  I then prioritized the wine! No further issues, and dinner was a feast. Today we walked to the hospital to try out the route for tomorrow's 5:30AM reporting time.  Now hanging out and trying to relax.  Neither of us slept well and probably won't again tonight.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 23, 2022, 05:27:24 AM
ab_grp, sending good wishes for husband's surgery and speedy recovery. The fire alarm situation doesn't sound good, especially if someone recuperating from surgery needs to rush out the door every time the alarm goes off.

Amazing, no pangram. Missed a few words yesterday.

Off on the road trip soon--the wind advisory seems to have been downgraded from yesterday, but it's still going to be a loooong drive.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2022, 07:28:19 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram and to genius.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for mammalogy.

I tried a lot on LB but no luck.

Thanks for the good wishes, Langue_doc! It's been a long day already! On our way to check in. There was a person, exclaiming loudly, and being escorted out by security and then after our first check in when we went to the surgical check and she appeared again. The surgical check-in nurse had to call security again and take us up a back way to preop so that she would not get in the elevator with us. She was definitely amped up about something or on some thing I guess. It was a little nerve-racking because it made me think of some of the more violent Grey's Anatomy episodes.  Anyway, we got to see the behind-the-scenes of the hospital a bit! He got all hooked up and shaved in whatever order and took another shower and we met with a surgical team again and they wheeled him away so they are going to call me pretty much every hour. I'm back at the hotel since it's attached to the hospital and I can get there in about two minutes.  Trying to watch veep and eat breakfast and have a bunch of coffee. I hope your drive goes well!

Happy solving!

ETA: got a 2fer! And update 1 from the OR nurse was good!  Still a couple hours to go, of course, but good to hear.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2022, 08:37:31 AM
Morning! QBwH for palmy, papally which I guess are words. I took a wild guess at mammalogy earlier. LB octave-explaining.

ab_grp, enjoy Veep and glad everything sounds good at the hospital.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 23, 2022, 08:43:22 AM
Good morning!

It took me ages and ages to find the pangram today.  It was one of those situations where you work and work, then get up and go out and run errands, then come back, and it hits you in the face.  I'm currently at Beta.  Yesterday I needed help to find galop (which has been in the Bee recently!), laggy, and magma.

LB was the "official" octave-explaining.  I found one today, in spite of being a little dubious about the second word.

Ab_grp, it sounds as though your husband is in great hands with a team that is well-organized and mindful of your need to be informed—and not subjected to loud ravings.  Glad all is going well so far.  Continued good wishes for the surgery and recovery!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2022, 06:06:29 PM
Congrats to you on your 2fers yesterday, ciao_yall and cathwen! And on another today cathwen! I'm interested to hear what you got, because I think both of mine have been in there before. My second word is not one that I personally use ever, though.

Thank you both for your good wishes! The surgery actually took less time than dissipated. They had to make a few adjustments to the plan but it went very well. I just spent a couple hours over there but he is pretty much 99% drugs right now and has to get up at six for various physical therapy help/traumas, and I could really use the sleep as well.  They said he is making quicker progress than any other patient, but he's also probably a bit younger. I wish I could take his pain away. But despite the pain he was able to sit on the edge of the bed and put his feet on the floor and then stand up and then take one step so that is huge progress! He seemed to make a lot of progress just while I was there and had a lot of his tubes take it out, and etc. Anyway, thanks very much again for all the good thoughts his way because I think they have definitely helped! I know they have helped me! I know he feels like things are really terrible right now, but really this is a very successful outcome compared to what we feared could possibly happen.  His surgeon had to go right back into the operating room for an emergency surgery unfortunately. But I was really impressed with the cardiac critical care unit nursing staff as well.

Also, I am definitely enjoying Veep again! I made it through season one before heading over there, so I'm gonna try to finish season two tonight while I have some wine and leftover steak! Thanks again for the excellent recommendation, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2022, 07:54:38 AM
Morning! QBwH - in fact, needed several hints to get heel. Gah.

LB frequent-taxiway. I recall seeing taxiway before.

Anyway, Merry Xmas and Happy Channukah and whatever else you might be celebrating!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 24, 2022, 08:15:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and above genius. According to the bee, I had "a stroke of genius" yesterday. I have to disagree though as I had more than a stroke of genius!

ab_grp, sounds like husband is making good progress. Sending good wishes for continued progress and a speedy recovery. Can the doctors give him strong pain medicine? Hope your fire alarm is behaving now.

cathwen, good wishes on your drive to JFK and back. It's much colder in the city than where I am now, further north. This morning's temp in my neighborhood was 8 degrees, in the minuses with the windchill.

Sending you all Christmas Eve wishes. I'm looking forward to Christmas Eve services at one of the churches here and Christmas Eve dinner. Tomorrow is Christmas Day breakfast/brunch and Christmas dinner.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2022, 09:17:11 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I didn't start beeing yet in case husband feels like working on it together.  And I kept nodding off while trying to find my final words heinie, thane, thee, thine.

I also got frequent-taxiway!

Glad your trip was safe, Langue_doc, and I hope your airport drive is too, cathwen!

Merry various holidays to all!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 24, 2022, 09:19:21 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed hints to find heath, henna, and ninetieth, words I usually get.  Argh.  Today I am stuck at QB-1.  I may need help to find that last stubborn word.

LB:  I also had frequent-taxiway.  I found a 2fer fairly quickly this morning.

Ab_grp, your husband seems to be doing very well, considering what he's been through.  Taking that first step is not easy after surgery, especially given the kind of surgery he had.  It is reassuring to have a good cardiac care team at a hospital that, from what you've said, is very well organized.  Continued good wishes!

Langue_doc, we'll be leaving in a couple of hours.  It is very cold here (but up to a toasty 14º from 7º this morning).  We'll bundle up.  We'll have a simple supper tonight (due to all the running around)—although she might want to eat as soon as she gets off the plane, so we'll just play it by ear.  But tomorrow will be more elaborate.  Although not ridiculously so.  I just don't have the energy. 

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Holidays to all of you!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2022, 08:24:33 PM
Got to QB earlier, but still no luck on LB despite good contenders.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Husband is doing worlds better today even though it was probably more painful than yesterday.  He sat in a chair a couple times for a few hours and went for several brief walks.  Getting 3/4 chest tubes out really helped with breathing pain.  I also brushed his hair, and he brushed his teeth.  I think small normalities like that probably help.  He even ate dinner! Hopefully he'll have a good night sleep and tomorrow will be even better. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 24, 2022, 10:11:28 PM
Struggled manfully to GWP tonight.

Glad to hear your husband is doing well, ab_grp! And:if you liked Veep, definitely check out The Thick Of It (provided you haven't already).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2022, 07:23:12 AM
QBw2LL, last word bonobo. No 2fer just b4ss blanket-theoretical, blanker-ricochet. And lots of 3fers.

Will be off FB for the next few days so have a great few days and happy solving! Will be with you in spirit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2022, 09:59:26 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Whew, finally made it to genius with all the pangrams.  I doubt I will get QBABM two days in a row with this long puzzle.

No luck on LB yesterday.  Maybe today!

Thanks for the good wishes and the recommendation, Parasaurolophus! I looked it up, and it looks great.  It's now on the list.

And enjoy your time off, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 25, 2022, 12:24:20 PM
Afternoon!

Dreary puzzle choice today by the NYT, especially because people hosting Christmas are going to be busy all day cooking, cleaning, entertaining.  NYT, you come across as someone who hates Christmas.

Just made it to genius, three pangrams so far. More socializing and Christmas dinner starting soon, so no more puzzling today.

ab_grp glad to hear that husband is making progress. Hope you have a Christmas celebration of sorts, despite being in a hospital setting.

Merry Christmas all, and Hanukkah greetings to those of you who observe the holidays.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 25, 2022, 01:00:24 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word bobbin.  Today, though, I have 11 words to go and almost certainly will need help to get to QB, if I have time to look for it. 

LB:  I had the "official" bloat-thickener..

Ab_grp, what good news about your husband!  I'm glad to hear he's on the mend.

Youngest Daughter arrived last night—the plane came in right on time and the flight was uneventful.  Traffic to JFK hit a minor snag, but it was smooth sailing on the way home.  It's great to have her here.  Tomorrow we head for Middle Daughter's house.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2022, 04:38:23 PM
Got a 2fer! And I'm down to 9 words on the bee, but I suspect I have more time than most today.

Cathwen, I'm glad Youngest Daughter got in fine and your drive wasn't too bad overall, and I hope your time at Middle Daughter's is great as well!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 25, 2022, 10:31:28 PM
Oof, finally GW3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 26, 2022, 07:23:37 AM
Good morning!

I didn't even come close to QB yesterday.  I never really got back to the Bee due to all the cooking, chatting, etc., so I was still at QB-11.  Today I have three words to go, so there is some hope that I might find them if I have the time before we leave for Middle Daughter's house in a couple of hours.  After that...

LB:  I wish I'd seen the "official" gingerbread-housing! But instead I found brushing-godhead.. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on December 26, 2022, 08:04:51 AM
Quick GWP this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2022, 08:30:38 AM
Good morning!

I didn't start the bed yet but hope to have as good luck as you both!

For LB, I had headbangers-serious.  Congrats on yours, cathwen, and I agree that the official one was a good one!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2022, 01:20:14 PM
Afternoon!

Genius and pangram earlier today. That's probably it for today as there's another round of socializing and eating in a few hours.

Never found the fourth pangram yesterday, nor did I make much progress after getting to genius.

rebound/dashing

cathwen, glad daughter arrived safely. Hope you're enjoying visit with other daughter.

ab_grp, hope husband's recovery is smooth and that the pain is under control.

Hope you're all continuing to enjoy the holidays. ab_grp, sending you warm greetings especially because you're in an unfamiliar environment and away from the usual festivities. Hope you got a tree and have a Christmas celebration after you get home.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2022, 10:54:01 AM
Good day!

I haven't gotten to genius with the pangram yet. I stopped to do the crosswords too so I will probably work on that a bit later. Husband actually worked on the bee yesterday and did pretty well so we did have team QB. I forget what words I was missing, but I think I was only missing two. I'm glad he was feeling well enough to do that!

No luck at all on Letterboxed unfortunately. I did try quite a bit. Maybe today!

Thanks for the continued Good wishes Langue_Doc. He's definitely progressing in a good direction but he does have little kinks here and there. I don't know if I wanna call them a setback because they are expected like trying to get over general anesthesia is not fun for the body. But he did get his central line out yesterday and he will probably not get his other pleural tube out until tomorrow so I'm not sure if he will get discharged tomorrow or Thursday but those are the possibilities right now. We will probably stay over here at least one night afterward anyway just to be close to the hospital. There are some logistics I hadn't really considered until basically the middle of the night last night which were how he will get  From the hospital to here, though he has some ideas, and there is a transport wheelchair available, how he will get around the hotel, how I will be able to pull the pick up truck out of the tight little parking space he managed to back into, how I will get the pick up truck into the garage, etc. I guess I can figure out those later. Obviously, I am thankful for the overall outcome here!  And yes we do have a tree. Luckily when the youngest was home briefly for Thanksgiving, I figured we better get that decorated then because who knows what schedules would be of course we didn't even know about this at that point, so I am glad we decorated it then.   It really doesn't feel like Christmas here at all. I have seen almost no decorations at the hotel, or the hospital, which is kind of strange, but also kind of good because it would feel a little forced I guess.

And I hope you are enjoying your festivities as well! It sounds like plenty of socializing, and good food!

I did try to correct most of the dictation transcription mistakes, but apologies for the run-on sentences and so forth.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2022, 01:52:51 PM
Afternoon!

ab_grp, glad to hear that husband is progressing, although the progress appears to be slow. Good luck with getting the pickup truck out of the tight spot and other transportation logistics. It sounds as though you'll be home in a couple of days, which must be a relief. I wouldn't worry about sentence structures and typos, considering that you're writing on your phone.

Got to amazing this morning. Missed vanpool yesterday. vanpool?! Gah!

I got horndog on one of the LB days, but couldn't find a mate.

Sending good wishes to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2022, 03:48:08 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! And I totally agree about vanpool.  I had meant to complain about it myself. The other word I was missing was villain, which I consider a legitimate miss. 

Husband seems way better today and can walk laps without a walker and at a pretty good pace.  He should either be discharged tomorrow or Thursday, so I hope to be home by Friday.  Luckily, the physician assistant said that husband can do small driving things like pull the pick up truck out of its spot. Just not actually driving anywhere or too much twisting around. We also found out that we thankfully do not have to come back here in two weeks for his follow up! We will go to his local cardiologist for the check up and then do a phone call with the doctors up here. Hooray! I am definitely a little nervous about getting him home, but hopefully we'll be fine once we get there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 28, 2022, 05:42:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Missed adenine and wahine yesterday.

Today's LB looks much more difficult than yesterday's.

ab_grp, that's good news about husband's progress, and not having to drive to hospital city for the follow-up appointment. Keeping fingers crossed that all goes well with the discharge, the trip home, and above all, maneuvering the pickup from the tight spot!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 28, 2022, 06:23:54 AM
Morning! Back at the computer after a brief trip to visit family.

Team QB with sister who guessed adenine with the 2LL, but I got the spelling correct. LB jujitsu-upwardly. I may have created a new addict.

ab_grp getting him home will be so good for his progress. Hospitals are miserable places. Familiar and comfortable surroundings mean so much to a patient.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 28, 2022, 08:27:49 AM
Good morning!

My grandson and I completed the Bee yesterday together; last word innie, which I was sure I had entered before.  Today I am at Beta with the pangram.  Grandson hasn't yet looked at it.

LB: No solution yesterday, but I found one today.  Congratulations on finding one, ciao_yall!  I thought yesterday's was very challenging.  I certainly didn't see jujitsu.

That's good news about your husband, ab_grp.  And that you will not have to make a long drive back for follow-ups.  I'm sure he'll be relieved to get home—and although he's walking around the hospital, if my husband's experience is anything to go by, he'll be walking around a lot more once he's home.  And that will help the healing (rather than sitting all the time, or lying in bed). 

We're heading home from Middle Daughter's house today, and Youngest Daughter will fly home tomorrow.  It's been a great visit. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2022, 08:35:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we didn't get team QB. We were  both missing nannied, innie, and I was also missing adenine, weenie.  I had tried weinie because I thought I remembered two spellings.  Close!

No luck on LB again.  Congrats, ciao_yall! I hope you enjoyed your quick family visit.  And I also think being home will be helpful!

Thanks, Langue_doc.  Sounds like the tube is out, and he is being discharged! I am so happy and also nervous to be his caretaker! I don't know if I've mentioned, but we had several fire alarms the other night when I got back after visiting hours, and had sat down with my side little microwaved meal. They all got turned off before I could even leave the room, but it was really annoying and made me wonder if it would be happening in the middle of the night as well!. And now we've got thunder toddler above us Who I hope will check out today.

Congratulations to you and your grandson on the bee yesterday, cathwen! And I hope your trip home goes well and I'm so glad you had such a nice visit. He is definitely walking around so well almost without any assistance at all. I helped him take a shower last night so Hopefully that will be easier without all the tubes that have to be kept dry!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 29, 2022, 05:13:58 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. Made it to QB yesterday with natant.

pundits/shoebox

ab_grp, glad to hear about husband's progress. It sounds as though you'll be home earlier than expected. Hope the fire alarm is behaving, and a safe trip home.

cathwen and ciao_yall, glad that you had good visits and puzzling with family. cathwen, that sounds like too short of a visit with daughter who flew into JFK!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 29, 2022, 06:29:47 AM
Good morning!

I am at genius with the pangram today.  Yesterday I went to 2LL help to find adman, myna, madman, tatty.. We got home in the very late afternoon and I was just out of steam. 

LB:  I had pundits-shoebox, too.  Langue_doc, I like our solution better than the "official" one!  No 2fer yet today, though.

Best wishes for your husband's return home, ab_grp, and for getting that truck out of the tight parking spot!

Langue_doc, yes, the visit was short.  I wish we'd had another day with both daughters.  We ended our visit yesterday with a game of Clue, which I hadn't played in ages.  Lots of acting sneaky and laughing as we camped it up!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2022, 09:38:31 AM
QB - went to the grid for layman, landlady. Also had pundits-shoebox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2022, 10:32:41 AM
Good day!

Finally got to genius with Pangea.  Yesterday I was missing 4 or so.  I think I was missing amyl, lantana, and we were both missing myna, mandala.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats all around! I agree that one is better than the schmofficial one.

I will update more tomorrow, but husband got discharged yesterday before noon, and we didn't get to leave until after 5pm due to administrative mistakes.  Ugh.  He did well here in the hotel overnight, and I have to start all the packing and loading shortly.  Hoping to head out in 3 hours or so, but who knows.  Between the checkouts and check ins would be good.  Thanks again for all the good wishes! Hopefully I'll get him home safely.

Cathwen we watched Clue the movie yesterday! My brother and I also used to camp it up quite a bit while playing.  Sounds like you all had fun!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2022, 05:43:18 AM
Good morning! Pangram (whew!) and just above genius. Don't have the energy to look for more words.

Made it to QB with pool, which I thought I'd entered much earlier.

Hope you made it home, ab_grp, without any delays or hassles on the road. Hospital administration policies are a nightmare as I discovered when ex-husband needed pain medication following surgery. Despite the signs in the hospital room advising one to contact the nurses' station if pain medication was needed, it took us a good couple of hours before they would bring the pill, all because it was the end/beginning of a shift. I must have talked to the nurse at the station at least every 20 minutes. The discharge too was delayed, again because whoever needed to sign off on the paperwork wasn't available.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2022, 10:01:28 AM
Morning! QBw2LL, last word hellhole. Finally got a hint for quadratic-clown after a deep hellhole of 3fers and 2fer b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 30, 2022, 10:04:38 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed help to find ollie and ogee yesterday.  Today I am at Beta with the pangram (which took me a good while to find).

LB: I had the "official" quadratic-clown.  I found a 2fer today, too. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2022, 11:54:28 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Neither of us have the pangram yet, and neither of us are at genius yet.  So much work to do, and our morning routines have to be adjusted due to all the restrictions on lifting, reaching, etc.  We're getting there.  Yesterday I honestly was so freaking tired and stressed out by the time we compared that I have no idea what we were missing.  I don't think we made it to team QB.  I know I was missing words such as gigolo, ollie, piehole, hellhole.

And no luck on LB again! Can't believe I had quartic, clown and couldn't see quadratic.

Gosh, I'm really sorry to hear about the pain med delay, Langue_doc.  I think that is much worse! Shift changes can really throw a wrench into things.  Our delay was just annoying, wanting to finally be out of the hospital, not having to be masked constantly, wanting to be able to go back and relax as best we could together in the hotel for the afternoon/evening before heading out the next day and all the packing and driving that requires, wanting to order a nice meal to actually eat together after a week.  Rant to follow, skip para if you'd like. 

As I mentioned, he got discharged before noon, and a nurse went over all the discharge instructions and new medications and follow up appointments.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of pointing out that the PCP listed for him is someone I had never heard of.  Neither had husband, and he googled and confirmed that the doc was not part of his PCP's group or anything like that.  So the "care coordinator" (most inappropriate role title ever in her case) had to be called and said she'd come by in 15 mins.  Seemed to me we could just make the appt ourselves after getting out of the hospital, but no.  However, several hours later she still hadn't come.  At the same time, we were waiting for a walker.  The hotel was connected to the hospital, so I suggested just borrowing a transport chair to get him over there and bringing it back.  But one of the PAs had a great idea to order a walker (four wheel version with hand brakes and a seat he could sit on to rest if need be).  That way he could also use it if needed to get better walks in.  When I got there, the walker had supposedly been delivered already.  Hmm, where was it then? So that had to be called in again.  Finally, about 1:30, the guy called from the med supply company and said he was here and coming up with it.  Hooray! But uh oh, we were then told that they'd ordered the wrong walker.  This one was just a front wheel walker.  This was now about 2:30.  The nurse came in to say there is supposedly a liaison coming with the correct one.  Around this time, the "care coordinator" showed up.  I asked if we couldn't just go with the transport chair idea so we could leave, and then I could bring it back and come to get the walker when delivered.  Or could the company deliver it to the hotel? According to the "care coordinator", "my answer would be no."  Well, FU, lady.  Supposedly the walker would arrive in another half hour.  Well, we had missed lunch, so he ordered his and I went down to Subway.  I thought maybe I should just wait around, but what if they didn't come in a half hour? I was already starving.  And according to the nurse, the "care coordinator" had given up and gone home because too many things had gone wrong in her day.  !!!  Sure enough, they didn't get there until nearly damn 5 PM.  And we ended up having to just sort out the PCP thing ourselves anyway!! Long story short, we could definitely have left before noon, but they suck.  The walker is pretty sweet, though.  He was able to walk all the way back without issue, including up hill, which he had not done before.  He really walks pretty well and hasn't used it at all at home, but it was nice to have it with us for the ride back and for other outside appts where he might not have a chance to sit and rest as needed.  Now I am on my second load of laundry, have to get an order in for a bunch of stuff we couldn't have shipped before because we were leaving town, have to get groceries in, etc.  But I am SO thankful to be home.  We found out we actually do have to go back in three weeks for the follow up! Argh!!!! So I will make that reservation.  Just thankful to have some time before that.  We had no issues driving, and I was able to pull out of the parking space around the monster truck parked next to us, and I backed it into the garage as well.  Hooray.  Whatever leak in the master shower/bath area did not seem to continue while we were gone, thankfully.

Well, I thought I had posted this about 3 hours ago.  Oh well! Hopefully better sleep tonight and a smarter tomorrow.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and ciao_yall! And another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2022, 02:05:05 PM
ab_grp, glad you're both home, but that's outrageous as well as unprofessional behavior by the so called care coordinator. I would lodge a strong complaint along with a request that husband is assigned a different one, if needed, for the follow-up visit.

Sending you a PM hint for the pangram in case you're still stuck.

QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 30, 2022, 02:17:02 PM
Wow, ab_grp, that is some story.  I wonder how long the "care coordinator" will stay in her job?  Perhaps she is overworked, due to the after effects of the pandemic and resulting staff shortages, but getting the PCP wrong and not correcting it?  And then going home because everything had gone wrong?  And that whole walker story...oh my.  I can only imagine what a huge relief it is for you to be home.

When my husband was in the hospital, it seemed to take an eternity to get him discharged.  The doctor had signed off, and all we needed was some administrative stuff to get done.  We were ready to go around 2, but didn't get out of there until 5.  I thought that was annoying, but it wasn't anything compared to what you experienced!  But I was so rattled even by that that I got lost in the parking garage and could not find the car for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only 5-10 minutes.  Meanwhile, my husband was waiting with a nurse's aide by the door at the pick-up spot.... (Note:  I can get lost in the most obvious places.  I would suspect incipient senility, but I've always been like that.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2022, 02:46:42 PM
Thanks for the kind words, Langue_doc and cathwen! It was just such a dumb reason to be stuck there.  The poor cleaning lady thought he had been discharged as well, so she came in and was cleaning around us.  She was just doing her job, but it just added to the feeling that we would just be living out the rest of our days in that hospital room.  I told husband to not hesitate to call the nurses whenever he needed something so they wouldn't forget we were in there. 

Langue_doc, we will be providing feedback for sure.  There were some other medical incidents that we mentioned to the nursing supervisor who came to see us during the long for-no-reason stay, and there we also mentioned some nurses who went above and beyond who we will want to praise more formally as well.  Thanks for the pangram hint! I may need to go there. 

Cathwen, that is so funny (now) about getting rattled and not being able to find your car.  I was so tired and dumb by the time we got around to getting dinner that I was trying to help by cutting some steak for the poor man and it was so spongy! I thought it must be the cheapest cut of steak in the world.  I felt so bad for suggesting we try a different restaurant to order from, even though he had enjoyed others before he went in for surgery.  I finally realized... it was a dark brown bread! It was vaguely in the shape of a steak, and it was with some shrimp.  We had ordered a sirloin and shrimp.  I still can't quite believe how long I tried to cut that "steak" up before I realized.  I hadn't seen the steak among the other containers.  There were a lot of other dumb moments, including lots of getting off on the wrong floor or getting on the staff elevator by accident, of course, but I am still shaking my head at this particular incident. As far as the "care coordinator" and her job longevity, several staff mentioned her in ways that did not encourage confidence.  The fact that the nurse even told us she went home early for that reason says something! Maybe she should be called the "I don't care coordinator" haha.  I should put that in the feedback.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 31, 2022, 05:19:01 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was honor.

It's easy to get rattled even when not under a major stress situation. When I drove up last week, I didn't realize that I was under so much stress (it was the day of the strong winds advisory) until I got lost at the usual exit, which I should know even without the GPS. I got lost again, a couple of miles from my destination. All along the route, I was checking the trees to see the wind levels, which presumably contributed to the stress.

I find it surprising that hospitals don't factor in the stress levels of patients recovering from major surgery and also their caregivers who have to take them home when they make the discharge process so inefficient and detrimental to the welfare of the patients who are made to wait unnecessarily for hours in considerable discomfort.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2022, 09:02:48 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram and to genius! It was tough to find again for some reason.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I had a bunch I was missing, including honor, horror, rhino, rotini, tortoni, tinhorn.  Don't think I ever would have gotten that last one.

No luck on LB again! I thought cafeteria(s) might lead to something.

Langue_doc, sorry to hear you got lost in a familiar area.  Being rattled really throws things off.  It's hard to drive in those situations, especially with bad weather that you're worried about. 

I agree that they could make things a lot easier, and I feel like this happens also in restaurants.  Like once they've gotten what they need from you, they don't care if you exist anymore (unless they need the table, or the room in this case).  I also thought they should consider a way to issue a temp handicap parking placard for the drive home or for some period of recovery.  That would probably be pretty helpful.  It was kind of funny that when they finally wheeled him off for surgery, they just left without saying anything.  I finally asked some random person in the pre-op area if I'm supposed to leave? And how do I get out of there? We had been hustled up the back way, as you may remember, due to the interesting lady who required security several times, so I was distracted for a couple reasons and also was not sure of the correct way to head out.  There are lots of little (and big) things medical institutions could do to make patient care (and caregiver physical/mental health) a lot better.  But, I am glad for the surgical outcome and general care he received.

In any case, we got much better sleep last night so are hopefully both on the mend.  I can't believe it's NYE, as we kind of missed Christmas, and this came up quickly.  Hopefully we can stay up until midnight! I still have to do charitable donations.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 31, 2022, 09:11:31 AM
Morning!

QBwH for tortoni which I thought I tried, but maybe I spelled it as tortini? LB drafts-sociable.

Why are hospitals, which are supposed to take care of people, so lousy at taking care of people? Argh.

Anyway, happy new year and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2022, 09:46:33 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! I can't often remember if it's tortoni or tortini.  I saw your NYE plans on the other thread.  I don't have anything to add there, but wow! Sounds like a great trip! I hope it's fantastic! And very cool to have the runway view.  Hopefully not the runway noise. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 31, 2022, 12:47:23 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for nitro, rototill, and tinhorn.  Today was a bit of a struggle, and since we're going out tonight, I just sought 2LL help and finally got to QB. 

LB:  I had foldable-esoteric.  I have a 2fer today as well. 

Langue_doc, I get lost so easily that high winds and the threat of worse would certainly rattle me enough to get lost even with GPS.

Ciao_yall, I checked the NYE thread—enjoy your trip to Hawaii!  That is on my one-of-these-days list. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 01, 2023, 08:58:47 AM
Ugh. In the middle of packing we got a message that our flight was cancelled! So we rescheduled everything, went out to a local restaurant and to bed early.

QBwH and a new-ish word, monomodal. LB was pretty close with a 3fer few-walkout-through then got a hint to consolidate it to few-walkthrough.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 01, 2023, 09:03:02 AM
Happy New Year!

Pangram and above genius. Hope there aren't any more pangrams today as I'm out of ideas for more words. Missed monomial and a couple more words.

walkthrough/heft

Had a nice long video chat with relative and two kids who did a show and tell of their Christmas presents, mostly books and paint brushes, paints, and a few toys. Pre-teen whose birthday is coming up and who got a book for Christmas on camping in the wilderness showed me a list of possible presents--bear-skin jacket, hatchet, matches (to light a fire at the campsite), night-vision binoculars, etc. Mom and I pointed out that the first one was probably difficult to find as well as illegal, I pointed out that I would be in serious trouble if I sent the second, Mom and I noted that it was probably illegal to ship matches, and Mom also came to my rescue by noting that the binoculars were probably quite expensive. I found an inexpensive tent for two on Amazon, so that's what she's getting for her birthday.

Went for a walk and saw a peregrine falcon fly down by the water's edge and then get into the water for a bath. The bird seemed quite happy--will post details on the bird thread later today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2023, 09:35:07 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram.  Pangram was thankfully much quicker than previous days, but it took me a while to get to genius! We missed team QB.  I think we were missing monomania, llano, idiom.  I was also missing almond, but I forget what else. 

No luck again on LB! I didn't really get much time to look, which sounds dumb given that we were up until after midnight.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

And that sounds like a nice video chat.  Always interesting to talk to youngsters and hear their thoughts! I can only imagine trying to send a hatchet to a child as a birthday present.  The tent sounds like the best option out of all of her ideas! And I'm glad you could start off the new year with a bird sighting!

Ciao_yall, what a let down! I hope you will still get to go, just on a different flight.  Hopefully it won't eat too much into your vacation, but ugh!!

We did nothing exciting, ate the same things and watched the same things, but we did manage to stay up past midnight and we were together! Most of my friends and loved ones are on the east coast, so I just celebrate with them at that time since nothing happens out here to mark the change to the new year.

Happy solving and happy 2023!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 01, 2023, 10:05:22 AM
Good afternoon and Happy New Year!

QB yesterday with help for dolma, monomania, and monomial. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.  Whenever E is the central letter, it always amazes me how challenging it can be to find words with E, given that it's the most frequently used letter in English.

LB:  I had walkthrough-heft also.  No 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, the choice of a tent was a great decision.  Safe, legal (unlike the bearskin jacket!), and relevant to the girl's interest in camping. 

Ciao_yall, what a disappointment that your flight had to be rescheduled!  Dinner out and early to bed sounds like a lovely, cozy evening. 

Ab_grp, just being with your husband must have been the best way to celebrate 2023. 

Uncharacteristically, we went to a NYE party.  I don't really like such parties, but this was a small gathering of people who belong to my husband's choral group—so, not wild and crazy, and interesting to talk to.  The hostess prepared an excellent dinner, accompanied by lots of laughter, eating, talking, and some moderate drinking.  A little before midnight, we turned on the TV and watched the ball drop in Times Square.  We all agreed that you would have to be nuts to go there on New Year's Eve.  We also noted that most of the people were very young.   Anyway, I did have a good time.  Today will be lazy!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2023, 11:03:28 AM
Congrats on your 2fer too, cathwen! And that is a great observation about the bee with a central E.  So true! Your party sounds just right.  Not too big, not too crazy, just an enjoyable celebration.  My brother was just texting me about having gone to Times Square once.  I said I have not and would not ever go there for NYE.  It looks cold, I don't know that there are great bathroom options, and crowds make me anxious! It looks exciting, but if there ever was a time for that in my life, that time has passed.  We met a nurse during preop testing who had been to NYC once and just for that purpose.  I know that is something that folks around the country really see as part of their bucket lists!

And yep... given that we weren't even sure we'd be back for NYE and had our hotel res through 1/2, this was a great evening.  I had the brilliant idea of trying to get the live stream of the ball drop up on my phone, but there were a few minutes left, so we kept watching our show while trying to keep an eye on it.  Naturally, we missed it and only came in at New York, New York.  So we watched a replay for our own midnight.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 01, 2023, 02:33:25 PM
I too found today's bee to be difficult. It wasn't just the e, but also the w which didn't seem to pull its weight.

As for NYE, I would never venture into Manhattan after 1 or 2 PM on that day, just because of the crowds and the bathrooms (lack thereof). I've been to St. Patrick's Day parades which are quite different and also fun. When I lived in Philly, we would go to a NYE party hosted by the relatives of a close friend of mine, who would travel down from northern NJ for the event. The guests at the first party were people known to the hosts, including a couple of academics, my friend and her husband, and a guest, also an academic, of one of the invitees. The guest and I ended up becoming good friends and would spend time in Ocean City where she lived for a while, and also in Philly. Sadly, she passed some years ago. The last party I went to was when we ushered in 2000. I remember these parties fondly because of the good company, good conversations, and good food.

Channeling another thread--I fondly remember Borders and Barnes & Noble, not just for the books and cafes, but also for the bathrooms. I knew the location of all the branches along the main drag(s) in Manhattan. Now whenever I go to Manhattan, I have to see what bathroom facilities are available near my destination(s).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 02, 2023, 05:29:04 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Made it to QB yesterday, but don't recall the last word or two.

lawsuits/semicolon (I think)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2023, 06:07:45 AM
QBwH to remember colonel. LB was economical-lawsuit.

Let's see if we make it to Hawaii today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 02, 2023, 07:10:33 AM
GW2P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 02, 2023, 08:37:26 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1L hint for last word:  ocean.  Today I got to QBABM!

LB:  I also had economical-lawsuit. I have a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, I also used to plan my shopping trips in Manhattan around bathrooms.  Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Barnes & Noble were always dependable.  Otherwise, it was a little dicier. 

Bon voyage, ciao_yall!  Enjoy Hawaii!

We're leaving for New Orleans tomorrow, spending tonight in the TWA Hotel because our flight is an early one.  I'm really looking forward to the trip, although I really should be working—I was offered a second course at the last minute when the instructor assigned to it suddenly couldn't do it, and I foolishly accepted.  Eek!  Well—it will work out, simply because it has to.

Happy puzzling, everyone! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2023, 09:38:54 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius but just with 1 pangram so far.  Husband has both.  Wow, congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with aeon, colonel, locale.  Congrats on your QBABY yesterday, Langue_doc!

And congrats on all the 2fers! I am still having no luck, though I have a pretty good contender for today.  Congrats on yours today, cathwen!

Lord & Taylor is one of my mother's favorite bathroom stops in NYC! I trust her clean bathroom finding skills and have made use of their hospitality myself on numerous occasions.

Crossing my fingers for your flight, ciao_yall! I've never been to Hawaii but hear it is beautiful. 

And I hope your New Orleans trip goes well and smoothly too, cathwen! I've never been there at this time of the year.  Now I'm getting hungry.  I'm sure the course will work out.  Enjoy your trip.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2023, 03:10:58 PM
Hey I got QBABY and a 2fer with my first contender! Feels like I haven't had a 2fer in quite a while.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2023, 07:14:05 PM
Made it to Hawaii! Got QBABM on the plane. And a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 03, 2023, 05:36:42 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was fictive, which I didn't think was a word, but tried it just in case.

forum/mobilization

cathwen, I was in New Orleans around this time of year several years ago and remember having a good time. Good luck with the prep for the extra course--I was once offered a course on a Sunday, with classes starting the following Tuesday.

As for the bathrooms, the Lord & Taylor on Fifth Ave closed several years ago. Even before its closing, I would rely on the bathrooms in the MidManhattan branch of the library (it now has a new name and new bathrooms) which is almost across the street, at 40th and Fifth, and also the ones in the main library, on Fifth, between 40th and 42nd. In the good old days, you could also walk into any hotel lobby and use the bathrooms, including the fancy ones in The Plaza.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2023, 09:26:39 AM
Morning! Last word yesterday civic, LB forum-mobilization.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2023, 09:38:56 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday I got to QBABM, and I think my final word was effect! I also had effective for the longest time before finding the second pangram, ineffective.  Who knows.  I guessed fictive early on, must have recalled it somehow.

I also got the schmofficial forum-mobilization.  The second word came right away, and I was glad to find the appropriate first one!

Langue_doc, can you still just wander into the Plaza et al.?

Congrats on getting to Hawaii, ciao_yall! And on your QBABY and 2fer!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 03, 2023, 10:46:58 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word entice.  Today I'm at Beta with the pangram. 

LB:  I also had forum-mobilization.  I have one today, two, but raising an eyebrow at the second word. 

Congratulations on making it to Hawaii, ciao_yall!  I hope you have a fabulous time! 

We just got into our hotel in New Orleans.  It's fine...but a little on the has-seen-better-days side.  My husband joked that perhaps they would give us a discount in return for repainting.  Not sure how much exploring we'll do today, as thunderstorms (maybe tornados!) are predicted.  The rest of the week is supposed to be nice, though. 

The TWA Hotel at JFK last night was fun—lots of 1960s memorabilia, with 60s rock playing throughout.  The room was small, but cute.  It had a rotary telephone!

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2023, 10:57:11 AM
So glad you got there safely, cathwen! From my recollection, a lot of the hotels in NOLA could use some updating.  Part of their charm? Maybe.  I had read about the possible tornadoes in the South and didn't even connect it with your trip, so I hope you don't experience those! I didn't realize what the TWA hotel was.  That is so cool! Seems like a really neat idea.  And congrats on your QBABY yesterday! I'm sure another is around the corner today, especially if you stay in to escape the weather! And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2023, 05:24:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was rarity.

I didn't get around to LB as I had to finish my reading for the book discussion.

ab_grp, the Plaza Hotel changed hands several years ago, and is probably no longer accessible to people who just wander in and out. I also recall Lord & Taylor going downhill a few years before it closed--bathrooms were limited to just one, or at the most, two floors and the stalls were also fewer in number. So far I haven't had any trouble finding bathrooms during my infrequent jaunts to Manhattan, because I know the ones in the library, Central Park, Columbus Circle, a few other locations, the doctor's office, and the Met.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 04, 2023, 06:40:59 AM
Good morning! 

Also above genius with both pangrams.  Yesterday I did not finish the Bee and see today that I missed atria, barbarity, bubba, rarity, and tibia.  Today I may face the same fate, as we'll be out and about most of the day. 

LB:  I had bounciest-thang.  I raise my eyebrow at thang, as that seems like slang to me.  But...if LB likes it, then fine.  I found a 2fer today also. 

While our hotel does not live up to the elegance of the photos on the web site, we like it.  It's cute and has an inner atrium with a fountain, and a lounge with comfy chairs and a bar.  The nasty weather never materialized yesterday, so we took one of those hop on-hop off bus tours to get a sense of what was where in the city, and what we want to explore in more detail.  Our tour guide was excellent, too.  We walked up Bourbon Street last night (kind of rowdy, not our style, but sort of fun anyway) after a dinner of fried catfish (me) and jambalaya (husband).  I plan to eat seafood every single night here, because my husband does not like it and so I never cook it at home.  I'm not sure what adventures, specifically, await us today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2023, 08:46:46 AM
QB and a twofer.

Sounds like you're having a good time, cathwen.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2023, 09:22:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with one pangram and then got the second.  Yesterday I had three words left when we compared (baba, rarity, burrata).  We both needed the third one, and we needed Steve G's help for that! I don't know why I keep missing it.

No luck on LB! Cathwen, I like your 2fer better than the schmofficial one! Congrats on another one today!

And I'm so glad you are enjoying your trip! The hop on, hop off bus tour sounds like a great idea.  My ex and I took one of those street cars through the Garden District and other places, and it was great for the most part, but apparently it was not round trip.  It ended out somewhere or other, and we had to wait for another trolley to come around.  They would only take some specific amount of money for the fare, and the convenience store nearby would not change money for us, so we had to buy some dumb gum.   Then the trolley broke down at some point on the way back! We ended up just walking.  Lots of adventures to have around there.  If you ever want a seafood date, sign me up! I hope you get to have all the seafood your heart desires.  And I think Bourbon Street has become less appealing the older I've gotten, but it also seems to have kind of gotten worse over the years, too.  If you are looking for restaurants, I saw a Twitter thread with lots of recommendations today that I can pass on.  Here, I'll just include it in case: https://twitter.com/cblatts/status/1610392025039536129   Have fun, whatever you do!

Langue_doc, thanks for the updated bathroom info.  I will run that by my mom so she is aware, as she is a creature of habit (me too) and hasn't been to NYC in a while.  Hope you had a good book discussion!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 04, 2023, 09:59:05 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word barbarity. Like the evidence of barbarity committed against the native Hawaiian people is pretty apparent and recent here.

LB with some tiny hints bunchiest-toga. I also found thang and was surprised it took, but didn't match it to bounciest.

Quick 2fer this morning so back to the bee and vacationing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2023, 11:06:59 AM
Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, ciao_yall!

And I totally forgot to say congrats on your QBABY and 2fer, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 04, 2023, 10:39:31 PM
Looks like I'm stuck in a completion rut again.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2023, 04:43:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius. Last word yesterday was violin.

spheric/cajolery (couldn't find a mate for jalopy)

Thanks, ab_grp.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2023, 09:23:37 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have 3/4 pangrams but did make it to genius.  Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but were missing voile and needed Shunn for that.  I was also missing nonevent, novelette.

I also tried jalopy to no avail and did have spherical but never saw cajole(ry).  Oh well.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

Time to try to track down the few packages I ordered before our trip that I couldn't change delivery on.  No idea where those went! One I ordered 11/28 that got stuck in TN for weeks, and supposedly got delivered the day before we got home.  But our mail was held, and no package was here, and no package has arrived.  Another was to be delivered 2 days ago but there was a delivery error while here in our town, and it was returned to sender! WTF! Can I get a little joy, please.  My favorite little present did get delivered, at least.  We did receive a total of two cards, which is better than the 0 I managed to send out.  I meant to bring them with me and forgot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2023, 11:01:35 AM
QBwH needed a reminder for invitee, among others. Gah. LN psychic-cajolery.

Quick 2fer this morning with one of those "I wonder if it's a word - hey, it took!"

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 05, 2023, 09:22:47 PM
GW3P.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2023, 09:05:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram plus a bit before doing other puzzles.  Yesterday we were both missing fugu, fugue, guileful and needed Shunn.  I also needed help with guff.  I thought maybe lungful would be in there, but maybe that's only used in the plural form?

No luck on LB again yesterday.  But I got one quickly today! Woohoo!

Also got the Wordle in 2.  So now what? Plenty of time for housework, I guess.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 06, 2023, 10:07:10 AM
Morning! QBwH, newish word guileful. LB molecule-earthwork.

Between late last night and early this morning I achieved QBABM, yay me! I like the shorter ones for that reason. Oh and a 2fer. So no excuses to check the gizmo today. May as well enjoy paradise!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2023, 10:18:01 AM
Congrats on your QBABY and your 2fers yesterday and today, ciao_yall! I hope paradise is treating you well.  Enjoy!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2023, 12:13:59 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and well above genius this morning. I probably have just a couple more words left. Last words yesterday were feign, feigning.

chuckle/earthworm, and then modified the first word to muckle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 06, 2023, 12:57:24 PM
Good afternoon!

QBw2LLhints yesterday; last word fugu.  Darn those fish names!  Today I have six words to go.  Congratulations on QBABY, ciao_yall!

LB:  I had earthworm-muckle, which is apparently a Scottish term for 'a large amount.'  I found a 2fer today right away.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2023, 01:15:49 PM
Found the last word and also got a twofer.

I wanted to take a second look at the Tudors exhibition at the Met. Fortuitously street cleaning was suspended today so I got there before the crowds.

I'm the second person on the waiting list (there are more than thirty on that list) for an architecture walk tomorrow-- hope two people drop out so that I get to go on that walk.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2023, 02:13:59 PM
Wow, congrats on another QBABY and 2fer, Langue_doc! That's great that you got to the Tudors exhibition and again and that you have a good chance at the architecture walk tomorrow.  I hope you are selected and that the weather is amenable.

I bet a QBABY is also in your future cathwen, and yeah on getting the 2fer right away!

Congrats to you both on your 2fers yesterday involving muckle.  Never would have guessed that one!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 06, 2023, 02:45:45 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 07, 2023, 05:38:08 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was maxima.

rambling/golfed; flamingo/orbed

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2023, 08:59:06 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram, plus a bit.  Yesterday I couldn't quite make it and needed help with tomcat, but at least we got team QB.

Yesterday I had marbling-golfed.  Congrats on two different 2fers, Langue_doc! Today I got one really quickly again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 07, 2023, 10:39:13 AM
QBABM, last word was tomato. LB embargoing-golfed.

Today's bee looks like a slog - I'm well into genius but many words to go! I need a strategy to deal with these long ones because it is easy to overlook words when the list gets long.

Did get a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 08, 2023, 06:05:45 AM
Good morning!

Easy romp to QB. The kindle seems to have messed up my entries yesterday--I see that I missed belie, which I knew I had entered before the past tense form. Oh, well!

bourgs/sprinkle

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 08, 2023, 08:26:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  It was a little tough to get to genius, and husband felt the same way, so congrats on already getting to QBABY, Langue_doc!! Hopefully we will join you.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with boil(ing).  Dang it, so close! Ciao_yall, it is hard to keep track when there's such a long list. 

I had the schmofficial bogus-sprinkle.  I tried spelunk thinking that must be part of the solution, but it didn't take it. ! No 2fer yet today, but I have some contenders going.  Seems a little tough, but maybe something will occur to me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 08, 2023, 10:34:30 AM
I got a 2fer but am not jumping for joy over the second word.  Might try again...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 08, 2023, 10:53:09 AM
QBwH for boodle. LB bogus-sprinkle.

Stuck today at QB-3 but I do have a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 08, 2023, 05:41:02 PM
Good evening!

Yesterday was very busy, so I did not finish the Bee.  Not only that, but I didn't get a 2fer, either!  I had sprinkle, but did not see bogus.  Congratulations to those who got it, and also to the QBs!

Today before leaving for the airport I got to QB, and I also got a 2fer. 

We're home now—we had a great time and hope to go back someday.  But I'm now glad to be home.  Ciao_yall, are you still in Hawaii?

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 09, 2023, 05:52:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost QB. I need either a five-letter word, or five four-letter words. Last word yesterday was luau, which I've seen umpteen times.

glazier/runouts, organizes/sultan

Happy solving!

ETA: QB-- all it took was a five-letter word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2023, 09:10:28 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram. Congrats on your QBABYs, cathwen and Langue_doc! I hope to be as successful as you both! We both needed help yesterday for caudal, and I was also missing calculi.

For LB, I also had glazier-runouts and never went back to find another.  Congrats on both of yours, Langue_doc! And congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Cathwen, I'm glad you got home safely and had such a nice trip. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 09, 2023, 10:15:14 AM
QBwH for caudal, calcul here as well. LB organizes-salute. It wouldn't take my first try for the second word, which was obscene. 2fer today as well which is a bit long so may go back and try to shorten it. Or not...

Yes, still in Hawaii. Went scuba diving yesterday and it was wonderful, but sad to see the coral in such rough shape. Still some beautiful fish and got to hear the whales underwater! Very cool.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 09, 2023, 12:09:53 PM
Good afternoon!

Last word yesterday was cicada.  Today I need three more words.  I may need letter hints!

LB: I had naturalizes-slog.  Lots of variety this time! I have a 2fer today also.

Hawaii sounds wonderful, ciao_yall!  It must have been thrilling to hear whales. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 10, 2023, 05:24:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but I'm already exhausted trying to find words with today's letters. Last word yesterday was kabob.

farthing/gleamed, flamed/dithering

Effortless twofer already.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2023, 07:54:42 AM
Good morning!

I got to genius with the pangram but am also exhausted.  I'll try again later.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with cuckoo, cockatoo, sensing a pattern here.

I also had farthing-gleamed yesterday for LB.  Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc, and another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 10, 2023, 08:29:03 AM
Good morning!

Here's another exhausted puzzler at genius with the pangram.  How can there be that many more words in this puzzle?  Ugh! Yesterday I needed help for babka, cockatoo, and kabob.

LB:  I had flamer-righthand.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 10, 2023, 10:05:44 AM
QBwH for a few reminders. Last word cuckoo. LB grandfathering-glam.

Last full day in Hawaii - leaving tomorrow! Going to see a friend's plumeria farm - talk about living the dream...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2023, 05:45:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed photog yesterday.

dint/throwback

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 11, 2023, 05:51:25 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning.  Yesterday my last words were rapport, hoorah, and (of all things) tooth. I got photog by accident.

LB:  I had the "official" botch-handiwork.  Congratulations on your solution, Langue_doc!  I have a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2023, 09:18:54 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram, maybe a bit past.  Yesterday I needed help with aorta, grog, propagator, and we both needed help with hoorah.

For LB, I had throwback-kind.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc and cathwen (and another today)!

Safe travels, ciao_yall.  I hope you are not caught up in the plane issues at the end of your trip as well.

Happy solving!

ETA: Did anyone else have login issues yesterday with NYT games? I was fine on bee and LB, but sudoku kept telling me to subscribe or login, and this morning Wordle told me I had only one day streak to add to?!!! I guess my streak is gone.  Luckily, I don't care that much, but that's annoying!

Also adding that I thought topograph was a word and could have been another pangram yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2023, 09:41:59 AM
QBwH, last word gotta. LB botch-handiwork.

Plenty of plane time today so will hopefully achieve QBABM and a 2fer before landing.

Catch you on the other side!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 11, 2023, 11:12:21 AM
Safe travels, ciao_yall!

I also had topograph yesterday as well as well as orthograph, both of which were rejected.  Sigh.

Ab_grp, I did not have trouble with the puzzle site(s) yesterday, but this morning the sudoku site was going nuts!  Finally, I was able to access it.  I haven't had any trouble with Wordle or anything else.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2023, 02:11:24 PM
Cathwen, thanks for the info about the wonky site.  I wonder what is going on.  Strangely, I do Wordle in my phone app and do sudoku on the web site on my computer, so I don't think I was just not logged in on one or the other device.  I didn't see any big postings online, so I guess maybe it's just little weirdnesses here and there.  Oh yeah... I did notice that they added an option in the app to share that you got QB! Anyone else see that?

Also, I'm glad you also thought topograph should work, and orthograph is a good one, too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 12, 2023, 06:24:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed limn yesterday--tried all kinds of variations and permutations to find the missing four-letter word, but forgot all about limn!

variable/enchants (I think)

ab_grp, I usually do the puzzles when they come out at 10 PM, wordle at midnight if I'm still up, and the bee as soon as I get up, so I must have missed the snafu that you experienced during the day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 12, 2023, 06:57:15 AM
Good morning!

I'm at Alpha, missing five words.  Yesterday I got to QB with a one letter hint for my last word, penmen

LB:  I had the "official" crushable-event.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2023, 08:26:32 AM
Good morning!

I got to genius with the pangram and moved on to other puzzles for the moment.  Yesterday we both needed help for impenitent, penmen, and I also needed help for tempt, tenement.  I was glad to remember some previous pains in the neck.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!!

For LB I got vulnerable-etchers.  I have some contenders today, but nothing too exciting yet.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, Langue_doc and cathwen.  And congrats on another today, cathwen!

Thanks for the additional app/site data, Langue_doc! I'm glad it didn't affect you.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 12, 2023, 11:14:09 AM
Morning! QBwH learned a new word impenitent but had forgotten mentee. LB vulnerable-enchants.

Nice to be home, but laundry awaits!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2023, 05:39:59 AM
Good morning!

Whew! Finally made it to genius after finding the pangram quite early on in the puzzle. Missed nanabot and a couple of other words that I knew I had entered. Note to self: remember nanabot which I've seen in previous bees.

Didn't get around to LB because I had to spend more than two hours trying to get through to Verizon (see venting thread).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 13, 2023, 06:47:00 AM
Morning! QBwH to remember natal, natant. Maybe I should make a list of words I often miss. LB was the slightly racy romanticly-yep. I didn't think it would take that spelling but okay.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 13, 2023, 06:54:01 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help to find llano, which I have seen before and usually get.  By some miracle, I remembered nanobot, which I have missed in the past.  Today I have just squeaked into Beta.

LB:  I had proem-militancy.  I have one today as well.

Langue_doc, I'm sorry that Verizon has been such a nightmare.  Ugh!

Ciao_yall, I like your 2fer!

Lots of course prep to do today—we'll see how far I get with the Bee and other puzzles.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2023, 08:24:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but both needed help with onto, of all things.  I also needed help with nylon.

For LB, I got compiler-ranty, finally.  I think I had about 30 possibilities by then?! Neat that we all had different ones and that none are the schmofficial one.  I had to look up proem.

Yes, Langue_doc, what a pain in the neck to deal with!! You'd think they could have separate customer service for the two systems.  That whole password issue... argh! I have been having very good customer service lately, so I hope the universe's balance didn't tip poorly against you because of it. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2023, 08:46:00 AM
Congrats on all the twofers. Just got one today.

It's Friday the thirteenth, so I'm waving my magic wand to ward off spells.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2023, 09:39:25 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! I just got one, too.  It's a little long so probably not schmofficial.

Speaking of Friday the 13th, I listened to a news podcast this morning in which the presenter said that even though that is the date, he is not "suspicious."  In any case, thanks for keeping the bad stuff away!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 14, 2023, 06:10:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I don't much care for the repetitive bees, so I'm not sure how much energy I'm going to have to look for more words. Last word yesterday was uneaten.

lumbago/overturn

QuoteI listened to a news podcast this morning in which the presenter said that even though that is the date, he is not "suspicious."

Hoo boy! Epic vocabulary fail!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 14, 2023, 08:21:54 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, beyond all expectations.  Last word unlet.  Today I am at genius with both pangrams, but like Langue_doc, may not have the energy to slog my way to 330 points. 

LB:  I had unmoveable-ergot.  I have a 2fer today also. 

What a vocabulary fail, ab_grp!  Perhaps the presenter is suspicious of superstitions!  Thanks for sharing that.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2023, 08:45:12 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius, but just with one pangram so far.  Yesterday we got team QB, but I was missing lunate, lunette, lunulae (pattern?) along with tutee, uneaten.  Ugh.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

For LB I had government-turntable.  Close to schmofficial but a bit longer.  Lots of solutions again! Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen (plus another today)!

I really like that news presenter and think he's pretty smart, but I have heard a bunch of similar vocabulary or pronunciation issues in podcasts lately.  I just wonder why they don't do whatever the equivalent is of proofreading and re-record parts with errors, but I have no idea how podcasting works.   Maybe it's too much trouble.  Maybe people don't care about the record of the spoken word as much as that of the written word? I make enough such mistakes myself but wouldn't really want them out there for posterity.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2023, 10:04:07 AM
Morning! QBwH for a few reminders for longer words. But also forgot tutee. Gah. Long one today.

LB ungovernable-emote, unmoveable-ergot. Strange 2fer with a word I thought I made up but keeping it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 15, 2023, 08:13:53 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday and also today.

I seem to have hit a snag with the crossword--it's probably just a letter gone awry.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2023, 08:59:23 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus a bit with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were both missing nada.  I know I was missing a few others, including the grand(d)ad pair.  Yuck.  Congrats on persevering to QBABY yesterday, Langue_doc, and today again!

For LB, I finally got a kind of weird one, catboat-thinkful.  Oh well, they accepted it.  Congrats on your two from 2 days ago, ciao_yall! I am interested to see what you got yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2023, 09:47:14 AM
QBwH and a new word indicia. LB I have bobcat-thinkful. Lesson learned - try everything!

Quick 2fer this morning with another word I thought I made up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 15, 2023, 10:10:12 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed help to finish the Bee yesterday.  Last words circadian, indicia, cadging, arcadia. Today, though, I made QBABM!

SB: I had the "official" flint-touchback But I like the other solutions better!  I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2023, 12:12:24 PM
Quote from: cathwen on January 15, 2023, 10:10:12 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed help to finish the Bee yesterday.  Last words circadian, indicia, cadging, arcadia. Today, though, I made QBABM!

SB: I had the "official" flint-touchback But I like the other solutions better!  I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

I found circadian on my own, yet needed a hint for cardiac despite all the news about Lisa Marie Presley. Gah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2023, 12:28:26 PM
Speaking of news, it was kind of funny that husband told me midday that there was a recent John Oliver short I should watch about trash that was timely because of a Better Call Saul episode we had just watched the previous night.  I had already found both pangrams, but he had only found one, so after I watched the clip and saw that the lead singer of The Cardigans was featured, I mentioned that it was very timely! I waited a bit and then asked casually how long the pangram he had found was, and he said it was 7 letters (carding).  I laughed and told him to let me know when he found the other one.  Still took him a while, but he eventually clued in.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 15, 2023, 01:10:40 PM
GWP, finally.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2023, 08:24:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to somewhere past genius with the pangram.  Husband is marching toward QB and got QBABH yesterday.  I tried yesterday but had to give up and get help for blatant.  Congrats on your QBABY yesterday, cathwen! I think I missed saying that.

No luck on LB, unfortunately. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2023, 09:06:31 AM
QBw2LL to get nudges for baba, tabla. LB inform-muscliest. I thought I was making it up but it took, so it counts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 16, 2023, 11:26:54 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. I think that's it for today as I just got home from visiting a friend who was in a college town not too far away for a conference. Last night we went to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant for dinner, which was quite an experience. Imagine eating all kinds of sushi, sashimi, and the like--we could have ordered many more dishes but had to stop because we could only eat so much. The bill included every single item we had ordered, so two of the people in the group each took one of the copies as a souvenir!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2023, 11:54:05 AM
Ciao_yall, congrats on your interesting 2fer! If it works, it works!

And Langue_doc... that all sounds like a feast I would have liked to have been part of! Oh boy.  I have a couple souvenir receipts like that.  I am ready for lunch now.  We had found a good sushi/sashimi place here in the desert, but it closed.  I miss mackerel sashimi the most.  I'm glad you had a good visit!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 16, 2023, 12:06:14 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word blip.  I finally got to QB today, although not entirely by myself (1L hint for last word).

LB:  I had triform-musclemen.  Ciao_yall, they were the muscliest musclemen!  It does pay to try words you think aren't words!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 16, 2023, 02:48:09 PM
GWP. Whew, I'm back.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2023, 07:03:33 PM
QB - 1. Trying get this ABM but I may cave...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2023, 07:21:44 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on January 16, 2023, 07:03:33 PM
QB - 1. Trying get this ABM but I may cave...

Needed a hint to remember gavage. LB quantum-mockery.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2023, 07:57:29 AM
Good morning!

QB--it was a slog to find the pangram and get to genius but found the rest of the words without much effort.

QB yesterday--last word was naive.

I had the NYT solution for LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2023, 08:42:01 AM
Good morning!

No pangram and not to genius yet.  Ugh!! Husband doesn't have it either.  Sounds like it was a kind of tough one.  I did join him in QB yesterday, thankfully.  Finally got my last word (avian) just as I was about to give up.  We had pretty much the same group of last words.  Congrats yesterday and today, Langue_doc! Whew!!

No LB solution, again.  I had some good contenders! But I didn't have either of the official solution words.  Congrats, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 17, 2023, 09:13:19 AM
Good afternoon!

(Can it possibly be afternoon already?)  QB yesterday, but couldn't figure out the last 4-letter word, so went to 1L hints.  It was eave!  I felt like bonking my head with a dictionary.  Today I have 2 words to go, but cannot find them. 

LB:  I had the "official" quantum-mockery.  I have one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 17, 2023, 10:28:08 PM
Fell a little short today. Oh well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 18, 2023, 07:19:42 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. It's a difficult one today. Last word yesterday was maraud.

doubter/rafting; breadfruit/tango

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 18, 2023, 08:13:43 AM
Good morning!

Got both pangrams but not yet to genius.  We almost made it to team QB yesterday, and I almost made it to QB myself, but we were both missing amour.  Oh well.  Or, ouh well.

I also had doubter-rafting yesterday. Congrats on two, Langue_doc!

We had a friendly little power outage and extended internet outage yesterday that made trip prep a little more difficult than usual since it was also a very dark and rainy day.  But in a couple hours we are back off to hospitalville for the 10 minute follow-up appointment tomorrow morning.  Luckily the precip seems to have stopped, and hopefully the roads are dry since there were several fatal accidents yesterday due to the little bit of rain that we got.  Hopefully this long trip is worth it! I am sure I will at least check in briefly while we are away but just a heads up.  Due back tomorrow evening.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 18, 2023, 08:18:07 AM
QBABM - tipped into genius with dumdum, last word aura.

LB doubter-refraining, doubting-grafter.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 18, 2023, 02:19:06 PM
ab_grp, hope you made it safely to hospital city. Seems that someone local could have done the follow-up.

Found a not-too-economical twofer, but I liked the first word, so decided that what I liked trumped economy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2023, 05:38:36 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I didn't get around to completing the bee yesterday--had to catch up on my readings for the book discussion. I might not have found at least a couple of the words, so I'm glad I didn't waste time looking for them.

playboys/supernova

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 19, 2023, 07:17:30 AM
Good morning!

I never did check in yesterday.  Tuesday I needed help for dumdum and maraud; yesterday I got to genius, but did not ever get back to the puzzle.  Today I have one 5-letter word to go!  I'll look for that later.

LB:  I had doubter-rafting on Tuesday, and supernova-ably yesterday.  No 2fer yet today.

Classes started yesterday, but today is the first day of my synchronous online course.  I have been scrambling!  I've taught the class many times in the past, but never online.  And I've been teaching online for along time, but asynchronously.  So in addition to firming up the syllabus and all that stuff, I've been frantically trying things like the whiteboard, screen sharing, etc.  My husband has been a willing guinea pig this week as my fake "student"  as I explore the various features of Webex.  Wish me luck!

And happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 19, 2023, 07:22:31 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a reminder for taiga. Maybe I should make a list of bee specials. LB playboys-supernova*, supernova-ably.

Happy solving!

*langue_doc, that is among the more awesome solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2023, 09:00:45 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Since I had to do the driving yesterday, I still had a few left when we compared, and we we both needed help with three: gelati, taifa, titillate.

No luck on LB, so congrats on the awesome solutions!

We got here without trouble and are just sitting around for another hour until the appointment.  Hopefully we can get on the road in early afternoon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2023, 04:50:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was lunula.

The crossword seems to be rather easy for a Friday.

Good luck with the synchronous course, cathwen. My online courses have all been asynchronous which seems to work well with the content and format of my courses.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 20, 2023, 05:51:42 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word annul.  Today I'm well above genius with the pangram. 

LB: I had the very uneconomical exclamation-nobility.  No 2fer yet today!

Langue_doc, the class was kind of a jolt.  All those gray squares!  We're apparently not permitted to require that cameras be turned on, although I strongly suggested that they do so.  (Have to tread carefully here.). I thought that the class went miserably, but then later I got two nice notes from students.  Monday should be better, when they have actually studied something and have something to say. (One hopes.)

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2023, 09:04:08 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but no pangram yet.  Yesterday I was missing cannula (which I tried but had spelled wrong) and lunula, and we were both missing ulna.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

No luck on LB again, despite some good contenders.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

And I hope your class goes well.  That seems daunting to launch for the first time, but it sounds like you have done your best to prepare.  Hopefully they will engage at a level that feels comfortable to you.  I'm sure you are an excellent professor!

I also thought the crossword was easier than usual for a Friday.  I'm glad, as I have some catching up to do post-travel.  Luckily the appointment was fairly brief but productive, the hotel let us keep our room an extra hour so we could eat some of our Subway lunch before heading out, and we made good time.  The PA said that husband is recovering leaps and bounds better than most, which is not terribly surprising given that he is probably a good bit younger than most and has more mobility and strength to start with.  I'm glad he has been so compliant with his discharge instructions and is really doing so well! He put his own t-shirt on for the first time yesterday and has figured out a way to get out of bed on his own more or less successfully.  He still can't lift/push/pull more than the gallon of milk but can extend his range of motion somewhat, so that will help a lot.  And no more anti-embolism hose! Woohoo! Hopefully that is our last trip for this purpose, as his coming appointments and cardiac rehab will all be local. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 20, 2023, 10:02:34 AM
Yesterday QBABM, last word lunula. LB was excitable-emoney which I thought I made up but it took so hey, it counts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2023, 07:52:00 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram after a bit and finally got to genius.  Yesterday I needed help with apogee, and we both needed help with ogee, falloff.

No luck on LB despite many tries.  Some were good possibilities! I did have volcano, but oh well.  Ciao_yall, I never would have guessed emoney would be in there.  Congrats! And congrats on your QBABY!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 21, 2023, 08:00:26 AM
Good morning!

ab_grp, you're up early! Glad to hear that husband's recovery is ahead of schedule.

Pangram and genius. I'm glad that I didn't have the time to complete the bee yesterday because I don't think I would have come up with falloff and galop (I think I've see the latter before).

novelas/screwup

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 21, 2023, 08:38:42 AM
Good morning!

I missed three words yesterday:  agog, falloff, and floe.. Today I have clawed my way to genius with the pangram. 

LB:  I had overwrap-proconsul.  I found a 2fer today also. 

Ab_grp, I'm so glad to hear that your husband is recovering so well!  What a relief. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 21, 2023, 08:39:05 AM
Morning!

QB-1 ABM then needed a hint for falloff. LB 2fer b4ss convulses-sprawl and a zillion 3fers but no 2fer.

Hiking group today -we go about 7 miles then get ice cream.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2023, 08:58:25 AM
Good morning!

Still not at genius and no pangram.  Same for husband.  Yesterday I think I was missing arcana, arnica.  I cannot remember if we had team QB or not! I think so.  Busy day.  Funny that so many of us had issues with falloff the other day.  That one just can't stick for me, apparently.  I was glad to remember the galop spelling, but I'm sure that will go away eventually.

And no luck again on LB! I tried! Ugh.  Maybe today.  Congrats on your different 2fers from the day before, Langue_doc and cathwen (and another yesterday)!

Thanks for the kind words for husband! I passed them along, and he appreciates it! And we did wake up early yesterday, just couldn't sleep too well.  Today I made up for it, though! It is not my preference to get up at sunrise.  But, we try to take advantage of it when it can't be avoided.

Hope you enjoyed your hike, ciao_yall! I am not a big ice cream person, but that sounds like a good reward.  It reminds me of the Appalachian Trail through hikers and their stop in PA.  I have hiked the trail there at that point but have not eaten the half gallon of ice cream (I was just doing a day hike, so that would have been a bit much!).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 22, 2023, 09:31:18 AM
Morning, all!

QBwH - oddly enough I got all the tricky words but ended up needing hints for easy ones. Gah. Last word was cardiac I think. LB armchaired-redoubt, armchair-redoubt.

Ended up not going out for ice cream after the hike (long story) but picked some up on the way home. The Half Gallon Challenge? (https://www.visitcumberlandvalley.com/blog/post/half-gallon-challenge/) OMG. With Sausalito prices that would cost about $75 so even if I thought I could eat all that ice cream I'd go broke! Glad to hear your husband is recovering well.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2023, 09:58:26 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius before going on a walk this morning.

I was doing phone visits yesterday afternoon and evening, so didn't get around to working on the bee after finding the pangram and getting to genius. I might have found the remaining words as they looked familiar--found the difficult ones much earlier.

I had good intentions of going on a bird walk--one that didn't need registration--but turned off the alarm when it went off at 6 AM, as I couldn't fall asleep until after 2. I'm registered for a bird walk next weekend and for a regular walk, also next weekend  (one on Sat and the other on Sun), so I didn't have any regrets about catching up on my sleep. Did go on a walk by myself and saw the heron in its usual spot, a peregrine falcon, and a host of other birds--will post details later on the bird thread.

chariot/thumbed

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 22, 2023, 11:05:39 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed hints for canard, circadian, and arcadia(n), which was in the Bee recently.  Today I have two words to go.

LB:  I had drumbeat-trochaic.  I found a 2fer today, too.

Ciao_yall, the hike must have been fun, even if you did not go out for ice cream!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2023, 04:24:09 PM
Wow, congrats on all your 2fers, ciao_yall, Langue_doc, and cathwen! And on another today, cathwen! You are really on a roll, too, with the bee!

I'm glad that you still got to have some ice cream, ciao_yall, and thanks!

And I hope you enjoyed your solo bird walk, Langue_doc.

I am still toiling away at the puzzles without much payoff.  I'm finding it hard to get back in the zone again.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 23, 2023, 04:57:09 AM
Good morning!

Getting the pangrams was easy, but getting to genius, not so.

Last words yesterday were intact and tiny.

I have the NYT solution for LB--found the second word without much effort, but then it took me ages to come up with the first one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 23, 2023, 07:22:02 AM
Good morning!

My last two words yesterday were acetic and ninny.  Today I have four words to go.

LB:  I had the "official" jalapeño-outfoxed.  Like Langue_doc, I found the second word first.  Today I found a 2fer on my first try.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2023, 08:56:32 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams, 3 words to go.  Yesterday we had team QB except... neither of us got the pangram! We had to get help from Shunn (which has been having weird pop ups, so I had to open it in another browser).  Argh.  Other than that, I needed help with cynic, intent, tine.

I managed to get a 2fer right before going to bed! But it was just the schmofficial one.  I also got the second word first.  And I also got one today on my first try! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday, Langue_doc and cathwen (and another today!).  I wonder if the schmofficial one was the only one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2023, 11:14:10 AM
Team QB with a friend - I think the last word was initiate. LB jalapeno-outfoxed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2023, 05:11:46 AM
Good morning!

I have 186 points, so don't know if I need a slew of four-letter words, a five or six-letter word, or a combination thereof. Didn't think that the pangram was legit, but that was indeed the pangram, much to my surprise.

Last word yesterday was habit.

marking/goblet

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2023, 06:35:13 AM
QBABM, last word baht. LB blanketing-grom, bomber-retalking, marketing-globe.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2023, 09:09:27 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but no pangram, again.  Husband did get the pangram, at least.  Sounds like it will be trouble.  I have a couple words (including a potential pangram) that were not accepted.  Yesterday we each managed to get to QBABO, both with the final word habitat.  I meant to bring up attaint the other day, because I swear that used to be accepted and is not anymore?

For LB, I got the schmofficial marketing-glob.  Congrats on your 2fers, and wow... 3 for ciao_yall!! Nothing yet today.

I have another long call this afternoon, so we'll see what I can get done around that.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2023, 11:53:12 AM
QB and two twofers. It's a superficially tricky pangram, just do the mindless thing which might prompt it to emerge.

I had the same reaction to attaint being rejected several times in the past few weeks. I'm not sure if it was ever accepted, but it is a tad bit archaic. However, far more people would be familiar with this word than the numerous obscure and discipline-and-foreign language-specific words that are used with such abandon in the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 24, 2023, 01:34:49 PM
Good afternoon!

Last words yesterday were blah, baht, habitat, and hubbub, for which I needed a hint.  Today I made QB.

LB:  I had marketing-globe.  Congratulations on your multiple answers, ciao_yall!

Attaint *was* accepted in the past—I have it in my list of Bee words.  I wonder why it is now on the reject list?  It seems there was another word recently that had been accepted but is now rejected, but I can't remember what it was.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2023, 04:53:35 PM
Okay, now I get it re: pangram.  I can't believe myself sometimes! So I got that, still a few words left on the bee.  Got a 2fer, though!

Congrats on you QBABYs, Langue_doc and cathwen!

And thanks for the attaint info! I remember when I first saw it in there (well, I think husband found it, and I thought... what!).  It's like telnet.  I finally remembered it pretty consistently, and then it went away.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2023, 02:15:27 AM
QB, needed hints to remember mildew(ed.) LB moralizes-showmen.

Since we have tipped into the next day's puzzles I got a head start. Genius, 2fer but broke my 29-day streak in Wordle! Wah!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 25, 2023, 05:39:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was denim. Didn't think that windmilled was a word, but who knew!

moralizes/shown; normalizes/show

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 25, 2023, 06:58:07 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, last word melee.  Those -ee words always trip me up.  Today I'm at Beta with the pangram, five words to go.

Telnet!  That was the other Bee word that used to be accepted but was rejected recently.  Just when you begin to remember the odd ones, they go away! 

LB:  I had moralizes-shown.  I found one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2023, 09:14:17 AM
Good morning!

Got to pangram with genius so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were both missing linemen and needed Shunn's help for that.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! I have trouble with the -ees as well.

For LB, I had harmonizes-swole.  Several different ones all around! And congrats on two, Langue_doc! And on yours today, cathwen!

Congrats on your 2fer today as well, ciao_yall! Sorry to hear about Wordle!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on January 25, 2023, 08:39:52 PM
GWP today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 26, 2023, 05:37:16 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and just a few words left for QB. Last words yesterday were ought and goth.

boule/emphatic; phobic/cumulate

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 26, 2023, 08:45:37 AM
Good morning/almost afternoon!

I needed help to find bourg, burgh, and burgoo yesterday.  Today I am missing one 8-letter word.  I hope to find it eventually without help, but who knows.

LB:  I had photic-clubmate and photobiotic-cumulate.  Lots of solutions yesterday!  Today I have two 2fers; my first one had a word that I didn't think was a word, so I looked for another combination and found one. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 26, 2023, 09:25:43 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a Facebook spoiler for burgoo which I never would have found on my own. LB phobic-cumulate.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2023, 09:42:16 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and finally have all the pangrams.  Yesterday I needed help with burg, bourg, burgoo.  And burgoo kept us from team QB.  I guess I may never remember that word.

And no luck on LB despite plenty of trying! You all got so many solutions, and all different from the schmofficial one as well! Congrats! And congrats on two more today, cathwen! Wow!

I don't think anyone has mentioned the new look of the ranks page on the bee yet (or I missed it)? Now it has points to the next level and points to genius.  Looks like it's only in the app right now, though? I wonder what else they might start providing the option to display.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2023, 06:49:46 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius but there are far too many points still left to expend more time/energy on today's bee. Last words yesterday were bialy and tilt.

QuoteI don't think anyone has mentioned the new look of the ranks page on the bee yet (or I missed it)? Now it has points to the next level and points to genius.  Looks like it's only in the app right now, though?

The new look (on the kindle and also the computers) appeared for only half a day. It's been back to the old look. I don't use the app, so perhaps the new look is only for the app? The bee has introduced an annoying feature--when getting back to the puzzle, you get a screen that tells you that you've reached genius, and then you have to click on another link to continue with the puzzle. It's rather time-consuming because most people probably don't get to QB in one sitting. Aaargh!

walkthrough/hoagie; I have a twofer today, which is my compensation for not getting to complete today's bee (I think it's quite unlikely given the number of points).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2023, 08:15:06 AM
QBwH and a new-ish word lability. LB walkthrough-hie.

Long bee today but got a quick 2fer. Maybe I should start making a list of words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2023, 08:44:10 AM
Good morning!

Not to genius yet, but at least the pangram came quickly.  We had team QB yesterday, but I can't remember all the words I was missing.  I'm sure it included lability, bait, vitally, viably....  I had to spend some time fixing a mistake with my car registration.  Ugh!!

And no luck on LB! Maybe today.  Good work on your 2fers yesterday and today, ciao_yall and Langue_doc (and yours made me hungry!).

Langue_doc, I noticed this morning that the new app feature with the rankings was gone again.  So I guess they were just trying it out? I looked on Sam's twitter and didn't see anything.  On the NYT Games twitter, I noticed it has a post about what's not allowed in the bee, including "anything too informal"... like wanna, gonna, dunno (was that in there)? Anyway, I haven't seen any mention of the brief change anywhere yet, which is kind of odd, but I'm probably just missing it.  And I agree that it is super annoying to have to click past the genius achievement screen each time you return.  That is what happens (kinda sorta, haha) when you get to QB, with more screens to click through to get to the word list.  I wonder if they did that to make genius seem like more of a big deal given that it is supposed to be the top rank or winning rank or whatever.  Previously, you'd get to genius and get the brief hooray and then just keep going (or not). 

I will be taking husband to his cardiologist appt this afternoon (in the truck, not my car).  Not sure if I will be going in with him or will have time for puzzling in the waiting room.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2023, 09:54:37 AM
QuoteOn the NYT Games twitter, I noticed it has a post about what's not allowed in the bee, including "anything too informal"... like wanna, gonna, dunno (was that in there)?

Haha! They haven't eliminated the words above, at least not in any of the recent bees. Do they still include the line about how they diligently "hand-curate" the words in the bee list?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2023, 01:00:47 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 27, 2023, 09:54:37 AM
QuoteOn the NYT Games twitter, I noticed it has a post about what's not allowed in the bee, including "anything too informal"... like wanna, gonna, dunno (was that in there)?

Haha! They haven't eliminated the words above, at least not in any of the recent bees. Do they still include the line about how they diligently "hand-curate" the words in the bee list?

It was really just a link to a 2020 article about the bee with some bullet-point reminders about what is not included.  They do mention in that article that Sam is the curator and lends the human touch to it. 

Quote
"And yes, sometimes naughty words show up," he continued. "If they're really bad ones, I will just not use the word. But very often, there are infelicitous words that are unavoidable because their letters are so common. For example, ENEMA and DILDO happen to come up a lot. In cases like that, we usually just shrug and leave them off the official answer list."

I know that there was a while where enema was not accepted, but I didn't recall that about dildo.  I have reread this part several times and think my brain must be clunky.  These words do not appear to be in the category of so bad that he will not use them.  But he will also leave them off the official answer list.  It's unfortunately too late for coffee at this point, so I am not sure if any further clarity will come. 

Anyway, here's the tweet https://twitter.com/NYTGames/status/1618963533080707072 (https://twitter.com/NYTGames/status/1618963533080707072) and attached article https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html).  The specific rule about informal words is listed in the article as:

Quote
Nothing so informal that players might say, 'That's not really a word ... '

Well, I don't consider wanna, gonna, journo, photog, ... to be words.  I don't know.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2023, 01:49:07 PM
My beef with the bee is that there seems to be no rhyme or reason for deciding which words are acceptable, and which aren't. I too don't think that gonna, wanna, and other abbreviations which are used only in speaking (and not in writing) should be included in the list of acceptable words. I recall my surprise when I saw that dildo was accepted, but not coition. On the two occasions when I wrote to the bee about words that I thought should have been included I got the same five-paragraph blather of how they "hand-curate" the words, hence my disdain for the so-called rationale for choosing the word lists. There seem to be some contradictions between what Sam says and the words that are or aren't accepted by SB.

End of rant.

QuoteI have reread this part several times and think my brain must be clunky.

It isn't your brain, just the inconsistencies with the word choices and also the abrupt changes regarding a word's acceptability (see the discussion on attaint). One never knows what changes lie in wait for us!

ab_grp, hope the medical appointment went well. It must be a relief not to have to drive to hospital city.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2023, 05:13:09 PM
I have had my worst bee performance ever today. Normally I get to GWPABM. Today, with the grid and the 2LL I am still 1 point away from Genius!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2023, 05:31:54 PM
Finally got a 2fer!

Ciao_yall, I feel ya.  It took me foreeever to get to genius, and I am totally stumped.  What other words (or "words") could possibly be in there?! Good luck!

Langue_doc, thanks! The appointment went fine, and he was able to negotiate cardiac rehab at home since he has already been doing a bunch of walking and has been through cardiac rehab before so understands the type of protocol.  He's thinking about getting a stationary bike.  I haven't been on a bike in years, so that sounds like a safe one to try! As for the curation, it's certainly subjective, though I guess it would be by definition to some extent.  I know that they have introduced some kinds of diverse or diversity panels for other NYT games but am not sure about the bee.  Maybe it would be good to have a bunch of people of various ages, backgrounds and cultures, etc. vote on which words to accept or not.  Of course it would still not make everyone happy, but at least it wouldn't be one young man (even a very intelligent one, it seems).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2023, 08:40:42 AM
QBwATHICG and I finally relented to making a list of words. Of course, as I was making my list, I entered ones that I didn't even notice should have been on today's bee! GAH!

LB railed-dumbfound.

As far as the Bee list goes, Sam was once on a podcast about the Bee and shared some background. Sam does have a team of editors. Apparently there is a methodological approach to seeing how frequently a word has appeared - as a newspaper, they have a media database so they can search for word usage.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2023, 08:47:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus with the pangram (first word for me, a little longer for husband) pretty easily today.  A nice change from yesterday! I had a few left when we compared but was proud to have remembered tantara.  I remember my first bee encounter with that word and looking it up only to find that it's a short form of taratantara and wondering why that's not accepted! We almost had team QB but needed help with nonart, which I think is nonsense.  I don't feel bad about missing that.  But I was also missing jinn(i) again and ninja.  I think that's it.  Well, it's a lot better than I thought I'd end up with.   And I remembered rotini, tortoni this time!

For LB, I got uniform-mandible.  Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

And thanks for sharing that about the podcast.  I don't think I heard that one.  If that infrastructure is in place, I don't think it's working as well as it could. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 28, 2023, 09:26:09 AM
Good afternoon!

I never did get back to the Bee yesterday and missed the following words:  initiator, nitro, nonart, notator, rotini, tantara, tantra, titration.  Today the pangram was the first word I saw, but I now have two words to go and am flummoxed.

LB:  I had inbound-dreamful.  I was skeptical of the second word, but it was accepted.  Lots of solutions this time!  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2023, 09:43:26 AM
GwP and my new list of words is, so far, useless.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2023, 12:04:29 PM
Afternoon.

Didn't think I'd find today's pangram, but just did, which put me just above genius.

Missed nonart and a few other words yesterday. nonart?! The team of editors must be hand-curated otherwise they wouldn't come up with a list of words that defy logic and usage. I don't see words such as baht appearing frequently. I also don't see gonna, wanna, and their ilk being used in standard writing. ab_grp, I like your idea of having a team of editors that spans age, gender, and culture.

dumbfound/derail

Just got back from a bird walk, so don't think I'll be getting back to the bee. There's an entire crossword that needs to be tackled.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2023, 03:18:42 PM
Got to QBABM! Yay!

Still no huge luck on LB.  Congrats on your additional solutions, Langue_doc and cathwen, and on another today! 

Langue_doc, thanks for mentioning the crossword.  I had totally forgotten to complete it (and had barely started)! And yes, a hand-curated group may not be a big help in mitigating the effects of hand-curation of the list! Hope you enjoyed your bird walk.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 29, 2023, 09:05:07 AM
QB, needed a hint for paella. I think what gets me is the odd letter combinations like ae. LB skylight-topaz.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2023, 09:11:37 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday I got to QBABM, and I think my final words included aleph, alphaPaella often gets me, too, ciao_yall!

And congrats on your 2fer! I had no luck.  I was a little surprised that a word was considered acceptable that some singers got some backlash for using recently.   

Another long call this afternoon, so I'm trying to get the afternoon deadline puzzles done ASAP.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 29, 2023, 09:25:36 AM
Good afternoon!

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  I stumbled over both paella and palapa, words that I have gotten in the past.  Today I am at Beta with both pangrams. 

LB:  I also had skylight-topaz.  No 2fer yet today! 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 29, 2023, 12:28:59 PM
Afternoon!

Pangrams (first two words) and just above genius. Managed to get to QB with palp--found the difficult words without much difficulty later in the afternoon.

Nursing a blister (result of long walks two days in a row wearing the same hiking boots). ab_grp, yes, the bird walk was quite interesting as I enjoyed not only seeing birds and having them pointed out to us, but also catching up with people I'd met in previous walks. Today's walk, with another organization, was also enjoyable, as here too I got to catch up with people I'd met on previous walks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2023, 04:52:38 PM
Congrats on also getting a 2fer yesterday, cathwen! I hope you get one today.  No luck here, yet.

Sorry to hear about your hiking boot blister, Langue_doc! But it sounds like you had a good time with the birds and the people.   Hopefully you'll have some time to rest your feet.

I had a nice call with my friend, but before that I made the dumb mistake of trying to fit exercise in quickly.  Anyway, now I am enjoying ibuprofen, a heating pad, and Ben Gay on my lower back.  I hope it works itself out with a little care and stretching.  Ugh! Being healthy is dangerous.  The two of us are quite a pair at this point.  We're going to go enjoy the good weather and sit on the patio for a bit and hope to figure out some more words in the bee and maybe get a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 30, 2023, 04:56:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Didn't get around to completing the bee last night because I wanted to get the crossword done. But antarctic?! I saw that word, but didn't even think of trying it because for me that's a proper noun.

ab_grp, hope you feel better soon. Nothing like a good massage therapist, if you can find one in your area and if your insurance covers the treatment.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2023, 09:29:45 AM
QBwH and added more to my list. I think my last word was runic. No 2fer yesterday but close 3fers including hamachi-inkblot-tar, chai-inkblot-tram.

Let's see what today brings. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2023, 09:44:56 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got the pangram and to genius.  It took both of us a while on the pangram again today! Yesterday I had a few left, including runic, antarctic, cataract, attractant, tantric.  At least I got a couple that I usually seem to have a hard time with, like arnica.  Maybe it was prompted by the back issue.  We didn't have team QB, as we both needed help for uric, unfortunately.

No luck on LB again!

That's a good suggestion about the massage therapist, Langue_doc! If it persists, I will definitely keep that in mind.  Thanks! It usually resolves itself in a day or a couple days.  I was surprised at how little it impacted my sleep last night, actually.  Seems mostly to be an issue while sitting.  I'm planning to try to do a stretching routine this afternoon if things feel amenable. 

Happy solving!

ETA: I forgot that I made a note to mention that I think cria should have been bee-accepted yesterday.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2023, 10:52:32 AM
Can't modify anymore, but I did manage to get a 2fer on my second try!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 30, 2023, 05:47:39 PM
Good evening!

I needed help to find arnica and circa yesterday. Today I finally made QB, albeit with a slight nudge for the last two words.

LB:  I did not find a 2fer yesterday.  I had inkblot, but did not get mariachi.  However, I found three 2fers today! 

I hope your recover soon from your exercise, ab_grp! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2023, 05:20:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was tatty.

moguls/stingray, and then after seeing cathwen's post, tried for a second pair and found imaginations/sultry.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 31, 2023, 05:52:49 AM
Good morning!

I needed letter hints to find hyphen and hyphenated—the pangram and last word.  It was driving me crazy!  Today I have a good way to go, but I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  Langue_doc, my solutions are even different from yours!  I first had sanitarium-monology; then taming-gloriously; then luminous-straying.  No 2fer yet today, though. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2023, 08:58:39 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius, but no pangram again! I am kind of enjoying these challenges.  Usually the pangram is easy and the other words are hard to find in total.  We'll see.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I was missing natty, netty, yeah, they, hyena.  Not great! The pangram was elusive for quite a while.

For LB, I found yet another solution: luting-gastronomy.  Tons of solutions! Congrats on your 2 and 3 respectively, Langue_doc and cathwen! Wow! None schmofficial so far.

Thanks, cathwen! My back is getting better day by day.  I guess sometimes you need a rest.  It's easy to want to push it, but that's not how things work anymore.  I've been meaning to ask how your hip is faring?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 31, 2023, 09:34:56 AM
QB, needed a hint for papaya while there was one sitting on the counter. LB gyrations-slum

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 01, 2023, 05:30:18 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. Missed pinniped (which I've seen before) and weepie. Finding 54 words on a work day is far too time-consuming for most of us!

fudge/exorcism

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 01, 2023, 06:59:17 AM
Good morning!

QBWATHICG, which is to say, two-letter hints for a bunch of words.  I had to go to hints to find pinniped, which I dimly remembered from a previous puzzle, and which was my very last word.  Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but I may not progress very far on my own.  This course I agreed to teach at the last minute is taking up gobs of prep time!

ab_grp, you asked about my hip.  I walk very well and have excellent range of motion.  However, I still get occasional twinges in the groin and thigh, usually after getting up from a sitting position. I'll be bringing this up with my doctor when I see him on Saturday.  But basically, doing pretty well.  I hope your back continues to improve!

LB:  I also had the "official" fudge-exorcism.. No 2fer yet today, although I have some good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 01, 2023, 08:01:23 AM
Morning! Guessed pinewood ABM, but had to go to hints and add pinioned, weepie to my Magic List. LB fudge-exorcism.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2023, 08:23:05 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I was missing dino, and we were both missing opioid, weepie and needed help with those.  It took me forever to find pinewood.  I had a couple that I thought were words that were accepted elsewhere, like owie, wowie, downpipe, wipedown, wideopen

Absolutely no luck on LB.  The letter arrangement just totally stymied me.  I had a couple words, but no real contenders.

Cathwen, that's great! Sounds like your hip is fairly well back to normal? Are you allowed to Zumba again (if you wanted to!)? I'm not sure how that works.  I hope your doctor can give you some idea about what's going on with the twinges.   Thanks about my back, too.  Better and better! It's more stiff than anything at this point with a little pull here and there, but I would guess tomorrow it will feel near 100%.  I won't be doing any explosive movements anytime soon!

Husband went off driving himself for the first time in quite a while.  He has to get a chest x-ray per the cardiologist and blood work for the PCP.  He is having a twinge himself, in his upper right chest.  That is to be expected, but he gets a little nervous about it now and again, so it will be good to have a look-see at what's going on in there.  Otherwise, still doing great! I hope the drive goes well, but Friday will be 6 weeks, so it's about time, and I'm not sure he's any safer with me driving the truck. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 02, 2023, 06:06:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. It's a wordy one today.

It took me quite an effort to find the last word--tinge! I had to sit at the computer and go down the list of words to see if if there were any more possible words.

pathetic/congruent; euphoric/cognate

ab_grp, sounds like husband has made considerable progress to recovery. cathwen, hope the doctor can help find a solution. There's nothing like physical therapy (for me, at least) because part of the routine is putting the large heating pad on the affected body part at the beginning, and then the therapist doing some massaging and stretching at the end.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2023, 08:32:45 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  It seemed like it took a lot of words to get to genius.  Not sure why! I don't remember some of the words I was missing yesterday, but I know minimizing was one, and we were both missing gimme.  This despite my just having seen Sam tweet a screenshot of that word repeated, apparently as a reference to a song.  Oh well.  I don't usually pay attention to his bee screenshot tweets because they sometimes give things away!

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying! Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc!! Maybe today will be the day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 02, 2023, 08:45:09 AM
QBW2LL, last word ignited. Lots of 2fer b4ss including hangup-practitioner but finally got a hint for neuropathic-cog.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2023, 01:21:00 PM
Good afternoon!

I ran out of time (and ideas) yesterday so resorted to 2LL hints to find gimme, ignite/ing, teeming, and tinting.  Today is not much better—Beta with pangram, but six words to go. 

LB:  I had hepatic-congruent.  Congratulations on two solutions, Langue_doc!  I found one today, despite some fruitless struggling this morning.  This afternoon I came back to it, and there it was.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2023, 05:27:57 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram.

Didn't have the time or energy to complete the puzzle yesterday--don't think I would have found durag anyway!

Easy jockeying/grape.

I have to take the subway for a doctor's appointment. The highs are going to be in the low twenties, so the trips and transfers should be fun, with non-riders stretched out across several seats. 

At least, tomorrow's bird walk was rescheduled because of the weather, so self, stop complaining.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2023, 08:23:07 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and past genius pretty easily today, thankfully.  I managed to get most of the words yesterday, but we failed to get team QB.  We were both missing augur, and I was also missing angora, ran, orang.  At least I managed to find grand(d)ad this time.  One of them actually got me to genius.

I am kicking myself over LB! I finally came up with jockeying before bed and just couldn't come up with a mate! Argh!! Congrats, Langue_doc!

And oof, sounds like quite a chilly morning to be running around the city, Langue_doc.  I hope your trip and appointment go well and that you stay as warm as possible.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2023, 08:33:14 AM
QBwH and a few new words to add to my magic list because I overlooked them. Gah. LB jockeying-grape.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 03, 2023, 08:49:21 AM
Good morning!

Not in top form yesterday.  I needed 1L hints for agar, agora, durag, radon, and grand(d)ad. And then I went to hints to find guar.  Today is better—I'm at QB-1 and trying not to go to hints.

LB:  jockeying-grape, like everyone else.  No 2fer today yet. 

I wish you well on your chilly trip to the doctor tomorrow, Langue_doc!  I am also going to the doctor, but that will entail nothing more than running from my front door to the car, then from the parking lot to the office, and then back again.  My husband got me a heavy goose down parka for Christmas for the extreme cold we'll be having. 

When I lived in Upstate NY, I remember that we had had a string of days at zero and below.  One day I went shopping downtown, and as I walked around, I felt hot.  I loosened my parka and scarf and took off my hat.  Then I looked at the time and temperature sign at the bank: 22º.  I guess it's all relative!  22 above zero felt toasty! 

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2023, 07:07:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius, but that's probably it for today. Last word yesterday was envelope--took me quite a while to find it.

anticoagulant/thumb--found an easy twofer already.

The trip to the doctor's wasn't too bad as I had to remind myself that "cold" meant freezing or below freezing, and that the weather reports of cold blasts that were too cold for people to get out were merely hyperbole because people still had to get to jobs, schools, pick up kids from school/daycare, and so on. I had to leave enough time to find parking near the subway station which is quite a challenge, so got to my appointment an hour early. I didn't have to wait as I was seen by the assistant, the X-ray tech, and then the physician right away. Fortunately, I was just given the options (therapy, injections, or surgery) without having to choose any of them. I was in the subway station for my trip back a good 15 minutes before the start of the originally scheduled appointment!

Hope you have good news/reports from your doctor, cathwen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2023, 09:06:46 AM
Good morning!

Got two pangrams and to genius so far.  Yesterday I was missing envelop, voodoo, and we were missing delve(d), veld.

For LB I finally got the schmofficial mucho-obligation right before bed.  I got the second word and then was a little surprised (btu happy) that the first word was accepted.  Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

And I'm glad your trip to the doctor went well and hope your choice is easy to make when you do.  That is amazing, being headed home before your appointment was officially supposed to start! I love when that happens.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 04, 2023, 09:37:10 AM
Morning!

QBwH for delve(d), envelop. LB was a 2fer b4ss thumbnail-logic  until I got a hint for mucho-obligation.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 04, 2023, 10:58:29 AM
Good afternoon!

Envelop was my last word yesterday.  Today I'm at genius with all three pangrams. 

LB:  No solutions yesterday, so congratulations to everyone else!  I did find one today, though.

Langue_doc, I'm glad the timing of your trip to the doctor worked out so well.  I put on my heavy down parka (the one I think of as my "Ithaca Jacket"), and that kept me toasty warm on my morning trip to the doctor.  The visit was okay.  He's sending me to a cardiologist because it's been years since I've seen one, and I have an alarming family history.  Better safe than sorry, as they say!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2023, 09:14:38 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius after getting the pangram fairly early on and then struggling pretty hard.  I was excited to see that it was a "short" puzzle.  Silly me.  Yesterday we got team QB.  I missed chica, chitchat, hematite.  I usually miss the first two but tried hemite so was at least close for the third.  I noted down that I would consider adding hamachi, mamacita given the others that are accepted.

No luck on LB again! I swear I try watchtower every time it's there, except not this time, apparently. 

I'm glad your appointment also went well, cathwen.  I am definitely growing more into the better safe than sorry camp about getting medical tests and checkups on a timely basis.  Your down parka sounds nice and warm!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2023, 10:02:50 AM
Was out late last night so by the time I was ready to finish the Bee, it was past midnight. Was missing chichi, chitchat, emaciate, mahimahi, maim, titmice. LB wraith-hockeys.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2023, 10:34:26 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall! Dangit, I got hockeys but never made anything out of it.  Good one! I was excited to finally get mahimahi, titmice since I almost always miss them.  Hope you had a good night out!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2023, 12:23:06 PM
Afternoon!

Almost there with the Pangram as my first word. Made it to QB yesterday, found the difficult words much earlier.

watchtower/risky, then cowcatcher/risky.

Twofer today.

My hip has been sort of out since Friday. I had good intentions of going to the ER for an MRI, but didn't think I'd find parking. If things don't improve, I might have to make an effort tomorrow. The nearby ERs are a nightmare for most normal people, but have heard that they're good for gunshot wounds.

Happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 05, 2023, 02:26:30 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

My last words, thanks to 2LL hints, were tatami, hematite, and mimetic.  I got to QB finally today, but it was a struggle. 

For LB, I first found wraith-hockeys; then skywatch-heriot (didn't know that was a word!); then hotcakes-skywriter.  Why yes, I was avoiding work. Why do you ask?

Langue_doc, I hope that hip improves, also that you find a reasonable place for an MRI. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2023, 03:12:38 PM
Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc, and on another one today! And QB yesterday! I'm sorry to hear about your hip but hope it isn't ailing because of a gunshot wound. ;-) Do you think you tweaked it or something more? I hope you are able to get some help tomorrow.  There are hip stretches I find helpful when I have hip pain or it feels out of joint, but it sounds like it's more than that.   

And congrats on your QB, cathwen! And three 2fers! Wow! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2023, 05:22:31 AM
Morning! QBwH, last word mahatma. My new list of missed words is getting long but still not useful.

LB - 3fers coming out of my ears and a 2fer b4ss beauts-symphony. Finally went to hints for myths-subpoena
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 06, 2023, 06:16:47 AM
Good morning!

QB with 1L help for mammoth and (!) hath.  It took me a while to find the pangram this morning, but now I'm at Beta with five words to go.

LB:  I had myths-subpoena, then found eyebath-homophonous.  I had homophonous first, then wondered if eyebath was even a word...and it took.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 06, 2023, 06:22:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (whew!) and above genius. Missed haboob yesterday. Are we supposed to know all the weird weather words?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weird-weather-how-to-tell-a-williwaw-from-a-haboob/

ambush/honeypot; found the latter first, and then saw that the remaining letters just arranged themselves into the latter.

cathwen and ab_grp, thanks for the good wishes. Stretches help if I know what the problem is--I have several back problems for which I've been getting therapy and have all the exercises. This is a new one which is far more debilitating than the ones I have, so at some point I have to go to the ER because I don't think I can get to the spine specialist who is a long drive away. I'm dragging my feet because I have to stop and get gas (which would be an effort given my state) and am also concerned that I'll be surrounded by people using the ER as a place to detox, get some rest and food (as happened on a previous visit), which adds to the time I'll have to wait before being seen by a physician.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2023, 08:22:06 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram and finally got to genius.  I thought that I had the pangram right away, but apparently that was not a real word.  Not sure why it's so difficult for me today! Yesterday I think we had team QB, and I was missing loath, moolah, oath.  As for haboob, that phenomenon is not a stranger to this region, and it got me to genius.  It's one of those weird words that sticks out, I think.  Langue_doc, thanks for sharing that guide to weather words! I am very interested to learn some new ones and find out differences between the ones I have heard of.  Thankfully, the haboobs I have seen up close have not been as consequential as what's described there!

For LB, I had so many good contenders that I was sure would get me somewhere, but I finally ended up with a weird one: aptonyms-subhouse.  Okay, whatever! Congrats on all your solutions!! I don't think I had any of the words in any of them.  Congrats on another one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, you're right that sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what the actual issue is.  If you already have back issues and see someone(s) for that, you probably know the old tricks and if the ER is the only option, but that is really rough!! And it seems not great to have to drive yourself when you're ailing.  I wish I could help! I can certainly understand the reluctance to go sit around and wait there.  I am wishing you the best and hope you stay safe and can get some relief!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2023, 05:14:20 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed fanfic yesterday.

deform/majorization

ab_grp, thank you for your kind words! I'm feeling much more human today--on Sunday I was convinced that I'd be stuck in a wheelchair the rest of my life.

cathwen, I've been meaning to ask if you are familiar with ithacating when discussing the weather. We (in three different states) when discussing the recent cold blast chuckled because we remembered winters that were colder and lasted much longer than the ones we're currently experiencing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2023, 06:46:12 AM
Morning! QBwH for fanfic, lain. Gah.

LB fjord-demonization.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2023, 08:14:31 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram right away but still not to genius.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing calculi, laical, fulfill, and of course fanfic.

I also got the schmofficial fjord-demonization after trying for way too long with dramatization, then monetization which was a ship with fjord.  Thankfully I figured out the correct mate.  Whew! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Langue_doc, I'm so glad to hear you are feeling a little better.  Hip and back pain can be so debilitating, and given how many possible causes, and then the secondary issues that arise from compensating for the initial injury by moving differently... it's a mess! It's hard to be in pain and feel as though you can't move normally (or much at all).  I hope it continues to get better!!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 07, 2023, 01:03:09 PM
Good afternoon!

I needed hints for fanfic and lanai yesterday.  Today I have about five words to go.  It took me a little while to find the pangram!

LB: I also had deform-majorization.  And like ab_grp, I tried mightily to find a mate for dramatization!  No 2fer yet today. 

Langue_doc, I am indeed familiar with the terms ithacating and ithacation!  The winters were long and very cold when I lived there.  My first year there it snowed in October, then again in May—I hadn't realized that that was even possible!  I also was stunned when my winter coat was not warm enough.  I then bought my first heavy goose down parka.  And decent boots.  But I loved living there! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2023, 05:27:05 PM
I finally got to genius, but geez... I still have a bunch of words left! And a lot of 4s! What the heck!

Cathwen, it was so frustrating trying to get dramatization to work! It was hard to let go of that one and try other things.  I was so excited when I found it. Argh! Congrats on your solution! I hope you ended up finding one today.  I am still trying.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 08, 2023, 05:22:30 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB with help for titivate and kvell.  Today I have just squeaked into Alpha, but am now completely stumped. 

As or LB, I had the "official" wildfire-eponym.  I found one today also.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2023, 07:20:31 AM
Good morning!

Didn't get to puzzle much yet, but I got the pangram and am getting toward genius.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but were missing kvell.  I was excited to remember titillate but then missed titivate, along with tattletale, allele, valve.

I almost forgot that I had finally gotten the schmofficial solution of wildfire-eponym right before bed! It was another day of trying and trying.  Congrats on yours and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2023, 08:53:44 AM
Can't modify, but I finally got to genius and got a 2fer!

I also meant to ask if anyone has opinions on the new sudoku format on the website (now I, at least, can't switch between easy, medium, hard puzzles on the puzzle screen but have to go back and select a different one).  I think I prefer the old way.  Why have to go back and forth? I'm not sure why they made this change.  Any ideas?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2023, 09:15:13 AM
Morning! QBwH and a new word titivate. LB I achieved a 5fer, couldn't find anything else and finally went to the hints for wildfire-eponym. Sort of ironic because a few days ago I was playing with synonym, homonym and the -ous forms.

Quick GwP and 2fer today.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2023, 10:12:23 AM
Pangram and genius, and twofer.

Am still waiting for the X-Ray results in the waiting room of the most disorganized ER.

Aaargh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2023, 10:21:39 AM
Arghing empathetically (and emphatically!) with you, Langue_doc! I hope you get your results back soon, get some info/treatment, and get home! Congrats on your 2fer!

And congrats on yours as well, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2023, 06:27:22 PM
Thanks, ab_grp. No fracture, thankfully, but I would still need to see the orthopedist to find out what actually happened. The physician, one of the worst I've encountered, was dismissive when I asked if I could get a CD of the x-ray. Aaargh again!

Missed titivate, kvell, teakettle, and a couple of familiar words yesterday.

ab_grp, I did notice the new sudoku format, but didn't pay much attention to it because I usually start with the easy one and then progress to the more difficult ones after that. I'm still annoyed with the change in the bee--once you get to genius they make you click on continue and then on keep playing every.single.time! The NYT games people think that the subscribers have so much time on their hands that they complete the puzzle in one fell swoop or that they have such a leisurely lifestyle that they should be thankful for the extra step involved every time they return to the puzzle.

End of vent.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 09, 2023, 08:15:05 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a few new words added to the list - tommyrot, toroid, torridity. LB hackneyed-divot.

Langue_doc hip/lower back stuff is so annoying, and soft tissue diagnosis can be tricky. Hope you find the solution soon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2023, 08:19:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, which I found only because one of the other words reminded me of this one, and then genius. It's a draggy one today, so I'm not sure if I have the energy to find the rest of the words. I think I have around 250 points.

Missed tommyrot, toroid, and torridity.

hackneyed/devotion

Found a twofer.

cathwen, ah, the winters upstate. Fortunately for me, who likes to walk even during blizzards, I found a good winter coat and also a good pair of winter boots in the stores downtown. Those stores have long since gone the way of the dodo.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2023, 09:45:36 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius plus, but no pangram yet.  I saw that Sam tweeted that if you're having trouble finding the pangram today, don't worry! There will be lots of pangrams on Saturday.  Well, I guess the pangram is difficult for a lot of people today.  I think husband is in the same boat.  Yesterday we failed to achieve QB, both missing toroid, torridity, tyro.  I was also missing ditto, toro, and (ha) omit.  I think we were both missing another word that started with a different letter, but I can't figure out what it was right now. 

For LB, I got the schmofficial hackneyed-divot after not really getting any good contenders for a while.  Whew.  Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Langue_doc, I'm sorry that they didn't take better care of you.  It's incredible how put off medical folks seem to be sometimes when we ask for our own dang info!! I was surprised at how much was provided in the medical portal regarding the open heart surgery (like very specific surgical details, every type of anesthesia and when it was turned on/off, all the notes made by the nurses and other staff during post-op care, etc.), but I guess it's due to some record portability guidelines.  Seems like that should be more universal.  Did they give you anything to help with the soreness until you see the orthopedist? Good that it's not a fracture, even if you didn't gain more of an understanding of the cause. 

And both of the puzzle changes require an extra step, which makes me nuts.  Why, also, do you have to hit "Play" to start LB? I mean, why do they think I'm on that webpage? Just to look cool? I guess I could just be checking yesterday's answers and not ready to start, but it's not like some timer starts when you land on the page (or at any point), so why have to click yet another button? I wonder if all these extra clicks help them keep track of user actions to inform design.  Sadly, they are poor design themselves, in my book.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 09, 2023, 01:08:00 PM
Good afternoon!

I found tomtit (which I usually see) and toroid with 2LL help yesterday.  I don't know what possessed me to try torridity—it was a stab in the dark.  Today I have only two words to go, but may have to resort to hints if I can't find them by the time I need to start dinner.

LB:  I had hackneyed-devotion.. I found a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, what an appalling experience.  I hope that someone figures out what is wrong with your hip!  I had an awful experience at an imaging center in NY, when I lived there—disorganization and staff with weak English skills, such that we could barely understand each other—and a potentially serious diagnosis hanging in the balance.  (It turned out not to be serious.). But, ugh.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 09, 2023, 09:54:37 PM
GwoP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 10, 2023, 08:12:25 AM
Morning!

Finally found the pangram yesterday, and needed a few hints for some easy words to schlep to QB. LB quartzite-epoch.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2023, 08:31:13 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius pretty easily today with pangram.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, and the pangram was one of the words we needed help with again.  I am not sure I ever would have guessed it.  What's up with not accepting macking? I thought that was it.  And no kingmaking either, I guess.  We were also missing miking, gamin (I just don't think about that spelling).  And I was missing manga, caking.  Oh well!

Congrats on getting the schmofficial 2fer, ciao_yall! I thought that one was pretty tough.  I had some good contenders but don't think I would have figured it out.

And hi, Parasaurolophus! Good to see you!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 10, 2023, 08:43:18 AM
Good morning!

I finally got to QB with 2LL help to find kicking (!!) and mimicking.  Today I got to genius pretty easily, and now am at Beta, but having trouble finding more words. 

LB:  I also had quartzite-epoch.  After a good deal of frustration earlier this morning, I came back to LB just now and found an immediate 2fer. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 10, 2023, 01:26:32 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Missed gamin, gimmick, and a few other words which I knew I had entered, such as caning, miking, and a couple more. I found the pangram because nicking suggested nickname, which then led me to the pangram.

I had the NYT solution, which isn't surprising because of the letters involved.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2023, 03:04:36 PM
Got to QBABM! Yay! Feels like it's been a while.

On the other hand, I still haven't had any luck with LB after a number of contenders.  Congrats on getting one immediately, cathwen! Maybe it will pop out at me at some point.  And congrats to you and Langue_doc on also getting the solution yesterday. 

Langue_doc, I was reading through the words from yesterday this morning to try to identify what I had missed, and saw naming, nicking at the end there and thought I should have put that puzzle together yesterday, but nope. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 10, 2023, 09:33:55 PM
Whew, GWP again. I'm back.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 11, 2023, 08:11:15 AM
QBABM! Last word biff which I entered on a lark. LB extols-scribing.[/]

Errands and dinner party prep await.

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2023, 08:54:15 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius, but only 4 pangrams so far.  I don't remember what got me to QBABM yesterday, unfortunately! Just glad I got there.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

And congrats on your 2fer! I tried and tried and kept getting to one letter left, or ships, but no solution. 

Enjoy your dinner party!

Congrats to you as well, Parasaurolophus!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 11, 2023, 09:44:17 AM
Good afternoon!

I should have made QBABM yesterday, but could not figure out the very last word—which turned out to be one I've gotten zillions of times, alfalfa.  I did get biff by just fooling around with letters.  Today I have four of the five pangrams and have five words to go.

LB:  I had the "official" exercising-goblet.  I have a 2fer today also.

Ciao-yall, you are the dinner party queen!  Have a great time tonight.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 11, 2023, 02:42:50 PM
Afternoon!

Four pangrams so far. Last word yesterday was file.

obsolete/exercising

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 11, 2023, 03:47:08 PM
QB and a twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2023, 05:05:43 PM
Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen and Langue_doc (and on your QB as well)! I could sure use just a wee bit of your brainpower.

ETA got a 2fer and the final pangram! Still several words to go, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2023, 08:40:39 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus, but the pangram took a bit.  Yesterday I finally got the last pangram (contempt), but we failed to get team QB.  I was missing concept, penmen, and we were missing tempt, of all things.

For LB, I got the schmofficial behemoth-hairstyle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 12, 2023, 08:43:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was compete.

hairstyle/embryo

I also have a twofer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 12, 2023, 08:52:09 AM
Good morning!

My last word yesterday was the fifth pangram, noncompete.. Today I am at genius with the pangram (which took me a good while to find), and have dim hopes of finishing without help.

LB:  I had behemoth-hairstyle.  I have one today also. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 12, 2023, 09:53:36 AM
Morning!

QB, needed a hint for penmen which I thought I had already tried but oh well. LB shambles-sorority.

Dinner was nice. Lots of wine plus mango salad, shrimp curry and mango cheesecake. Good to see old friends again.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2023, 08:10:09 AM
Where is everybody?

GwP, then our neighbor came over and I never did get around to QB. LB extract-technicolour, technicolour-rax which it turns it is a word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 13, 2023, 08:27:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but with only 2/3 pangrams.  Yesterday we failed again to get team QB, missing hiya.  I was also missing cantina, titan.

I managed to get an LB solution right before bed again: luxuriant-touche.  Congrats on two, ciao_yall!

And I'm glad your dinner party went well! Sounds like a great menu! Maybe everyone is recovering from the Superbowl.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 13, 2023, 09:33:28 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwHelp yesterday to find chianti, cantina, hiya, and chichi (last word).  Today I have two of the three pangrams and am at genius.  With 345 points, QB seems like only a dim possibility.  But we'll see. 

LB: I had luxuriant-touché.  Congratulations on your two 2fers, ciao_yall!  And now we all know a new word: rax.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 13, 2023, 09:46:02 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangrams quite early on, but then it took me quite some time to get to genius. I think that's probably it for today.

Missed chitin and a couple of words that I should have found without any difficulty.

luxuriant/techno

Found a twofer just now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 14, 2023, 07:40:07 AM
QBwH and a new word draconic. LB after 3fers coming out of my ears including chimneys-scrum-mack, and a 2fer b4ss muckrakers-shiny I finally got a hint for keychains-serum. Darn compounds.

Physical therapy, mani-pedi, yoga and a board meeting call-in. PT and the Board meeting are mandatory, let's see if the others get squeezed in.

Happy Val's day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2023, 08:31:12 AM
Good morning!

Not to genius yet, and no pangrams! Husband got to QBABH already! Yeek.  Yesterday was a team QB bust again, as we both forgot corrida.  I was also missing dino, dorado, draconic.  Never would have gotten that last pangram, I don't think.

At least I did get a 2fer right before bed again after trying and trying! munchkins-smeary  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall! Hope you get your mani-pedi in.

Happy Valentine's Day and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 14, 2023, 12:20:35 PM
Afternoon!

I didn't think that I'd ever find the pangram, but I did. Not sure if I'll make it to QB. Missed a few words yesterday. Words such as road and other familiar ones that I distinctly remember typing didn't seem to have registered.

machinery/yucks

Happy Valentine's Day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 14, 2023, 12:38:02 PM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday I needed help to find canard, circadian, rand, and draconic (last word).  Today it took me an age to find the pangrams.  I finally made it to QB. 

LB: Some variety this time!  I had amnesiac-churchkey.  No 2fer today yet, although I have some good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 15, 2023, 06:20:40 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. Found the first pangram yesterday because I mistyped the word. I didn't realize that there was a second pangram until I noticed the misspelling and typed what I thought was the correct spelling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 15, 2023, 06:25:32 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a desperation attempt that turned out to be the second pangram (hiccuped) and my last word.  Today I'm at Alpha and need two more words.  It took me a while to find today's pangram.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, and none yet today!  But lots and lots of good words that don't seem to fit together.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 15, 2023, 07:19:56 AM
QB-1 then finally needed a hint for hiccuped which I thought I tried. LB was 3fers coming out of my ears until finally got a hint for warmth-honeybun. Compound words get me every time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2023, 07:50:40 AM
Good morning!

No pangram yet (again), but I did get past genius.  Yesterday, I had to get a hint of an h to get my final three words, hiccup(p)(ed).  Ugh.  Oh well!

For LB, I got the schmofficial warmth-honeybun after lots of tries.  I have some good contenders today but haven't put too much time in yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2023, 04:46:16 AM
Good morning!

Short one today, so not-too-difficult QB.

Last word yesterday was dodo, which took me to QB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 16, 2023, 05:28:45 AM
Good morning!

A surprisingly quick QBABM today.  Yesterday I went to one-letter hints to find peapod and gooey

LB:  I had prevaricate-eyebolt, which was a wild guess.  Today I do not yet have a 2fer.  I have a couple of long words, but no other words that use the remaining letters. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 16, 2023, 06:34:22 AM
Morning!

QBwH for some new words doggo, odea. LB was prevaricator-reliability which I think is my record for the longest 2fer ever.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2023, 06:42:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram but then switched over.  Congrats on the QBs! I hope to join you.  Yesterday I was missing dopy, odea, popped, and we were both missing poppa

I also had prevaricator-reliability for LB after many contenders and many tries.  At least something finally worked.

I should have several billion hours to wait around at the retina specialist today, so maybe I will get somewhere with the puzzles.  Hopefully since nothing has changed he will just say see me in 6 months or a year unless there's any change.  I'm not really getting anything out of these appointments other than a sore back for sitting for so long.  But it's nice to have the scans in case he sees something changing that I don't.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2023, 09:01:00 AM
Good luck with the medical appointment, ab_grp. Hope they find that things are working as they should.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2023, 10:56:25 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! No change, although I was able to read an additional line with the problematic eye.  I think I was just trying harder.  But now my next appt is in 6 months unless something changes, so that's good.  It only ended up being about 2 hours this time, but that is way too long for a 2 minute appt, and given how busy it is and how much more in need others are, I'm fine with holding off.

But I did get QB! No wifi, so LB wouldn't load.  I'll get to that shortly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 16, 2023, 08:05:33 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 17, 2023, 07:36:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius; I think that's it for today.

Last word yesterday was cirri.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2023, 07:48:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday I was happy to get to QB, and I think my final words were pricy, cyclic.  I guessed rick, kicky pretty late in the game. 

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying! Argh!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a couple days ago that the change in bee rankings is back, maybe for good this time? And now sudoku has appeared in my app! Still no LB, though.  I wonder what the hold up is with that puzzle. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 17, 2023, 08:22:40 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with last word pricy.   Today I have both pangrams and seven more words to go. 

LB:  I did not have a 2fer yesterday, despite much trying.  I did find one today, though. 

Ab_grp, I'm glad your eye appointment went well (except for the outrageous wait time)!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 17, 2023, 08:44:49 AM
Morning!

QBwG, was missing pricy. In my brain it had an "e" but when I saw I was missing a P-5 I started fooling with letters and voila.

LB was 3fers out of my ears - me and my compound word mental block! juleps-smart-toke, julep-prams-stoke, julep-porks-steam and many others.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2023, 07:32:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Didn't get around to working on the puzzles yesterday but did find the second pangram.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2023, 07:36:20 AM
Morning!

QBwH for biennia, biennial. Just 3fers until I went to the hints for myocardium-manhunt.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2023, 08:13:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but no pangram.  Husband is the opposite.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, both missing appealable.  I also missed biennia(l).

No luck again despite a bunch of contenders.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Cathwen, thanks! And this wait time was actually the shortest I have had there.  Most of the appts are at least 3 hours (well, the appt itself is just a few minutes, but I am stuck there for at least three hours).  He's only in this office twice a month, and people travel fairly long distances for the appts, so I guess I'm lucky to get one at all, but I am still glad to have a few months off.  The waiting rooms are always totally full, so as I heard about 40 times from various other patients at my last appt, it's "musical chairs" and "a waiting game." 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 18, 2023, 01:14:10 PM
Good afternoon!

QB today (although it took me ages to get the pangram), and QB yesterday with a hint for the last two words: bleep and baleen. 

LB:  I had mythomaniac-curd.  I have a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 19, 2023, 07:57:35 AM
Good morning!

Got past genius with pangram so far.  I don't know why it took me so long to find the pangram yesterday, but finally after lunch I went to unlock my computer, and it just popped into my head.  Anyway, we got team QB, but I was missing annul, lunula, land, null.  I had thought ulnal was in there before, and husband remembered landau (which I then remembered because I know we looked it up).  The other day, I thought bannable (as in bannable offense) should be considered.

No luck on LB again.  Ugh! I had plenty of contenders and was hoping it would click, but no joy.

Long chat coming this afternoon, so I better get on to sudokus and LB and back to the bee.  I did get crossword and Wordle done.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 19, 2023, 08:27:44 AM
Morning!

QBwH for invalid, undid which I should have gotten but oh well. LB has been tricky this week! Ended up going to the hints for philologic-cursive.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 19, 2023, 08:28:24 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with annuli as my last word (found with 2LL hints).  I, too, was surprised at the rejection of landau and ulnal. Perhaps I am confusing it with ulnar?  But landau is in my Bee list of missed words, so I'm surprised it was not accepted.  Today I am at genius with the pangram and five words to go.

LB:  I had philologer-recursive.  I also have a 2fer today.

Busy day today!  It's my husband's birthday.  Normally, I would be in the kitchen all day baking and prepping some wonderful dinner, but he wants to try a new steak house—so that's what we're doing.  He requested biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast, so I did get to make him something special!  The rest of my day will be spent cleaning, as Middle Daughter and Grandson are arriving tomorrow afternoon until Wednesday.  Of course, it's going to be cold and rainy while they're here—sigh. 

Anyway—happy puzzling!




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 19, 2023, 03:43:47 PM
Evening!

I think I might have just one or at the most two four-letter words left. Yesterday I missed only annuli--thought I might have missed more words, so didn't try to complete the bee--oh, well! Tried landau several times.

Twofer.

Happy dinner, cathwen, and also a good visit with daughter and grandson.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 20, 2023, 05:55:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was peel, which I thought I'd entered much earlier.

oximeters/slang

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2023, 06:26:28 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word was pullout. LB regimentals-sox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2023, 08:29:59 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and finally to genius.  Yesterday we failed to make team QB, missing putout, which we both thought we had entered.  I also can't believe I missed lollop! But I was happy to remember tupelo.

No luck on LB again! Congrats on your solutions, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

I hope your husband had a happy birthday, cathwen! Biscuits and sausage gravy sounds like a wonderful treat, and so does a night out at a steakhouse! Hope your visit goes well, too, and that the weather is better to you than predicted.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 20, 2023, 09:11:21 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday.  I needed help for autopoll, peloton, putt, and tupelo.  Today I have five words to go, but little time for searching, as Daughter and Grandson arrive in a few hours, and I would like to do a little more dinner prepping so that I can relax when they get here.

LB:  I had the "official" neologism-matrix.  No 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 21, 2023, 05:57:01 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was gonna.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 21, 2023, 06:24:19 AM
QBwH, last word nonagon. LB brutal-lifehack.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 21, 2023, 07:16:32 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram pretty quickly.  Husband got to QBABH already but doesn't do any other puzzles.  Still, it gives me hope.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, both missing gonna.  Ugh.  I was also missing monogamy, mynah, naggy.  I thought maybe gyno could be accepted.

No luck on LB despite trying.  I do have some good contenders today, but no success yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 21, 2023, 08:14:54 AM
Good morning!

I missed mammon and nonagon yesterday.  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  No solution yesterday, and none yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 21, 2023, 04:00:20 PM
GwoP
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2023, 05:29:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; it's a difficult one today, unlike yesterday's easy bee. Last word was teethe.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2023, 07:09:20 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM as well.  I think my final words were the teeth trio and then tech, hell, thee.

And I managed to get the schmofficial solution right before bed! walks-spritzing

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 22, 2023, 08:10:26 AM
QBAM here as well. Last word huddle. LB also walks-spritzing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 23, 2023, 06:49:04 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram, but the pangram took me a while for some reason.  It was husband's first word.  Who knows.  All about the arrangement of the letters, I guess.  We failed to get team QB, missing tinily, titling.  I was also missing pipit, tying.

For LB, I finally got patrimonial-launce.  The second word was a total guess from remaining letters but apparently means sand eel.  I had gotten so close with other contenders but kept getting ships, like pounce with material, lacrimate, or terminal.  I don't think I ever would have gotten the schmofficial solution.

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 23, 2023, 07:02:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I didn't get around to continuing with the bee yesterday because I had to go for an MRI which left me exhausted--don't know why because I've had MRIs before-- and at least a couple at this location.

palmier/recount

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 23, 2023, 07:20:19 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was a hectic day, so I did not finish the Bee.  I missed igniting, lilt/ing, pipit, pitting, tying, tiling.. Today I''m at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I had clamour-reprint, and it took me a good while to find it. No 2fer yet today! 

Langue_doc, I've never had an MRI, but my daughter-in-law finds them tiring also.  Apparently they are very noisy, and she finds it tiring to listen to.  I hope that yours leads to a diagnosis and an effective treatment.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 23, 2023, 07:27:37 AM
QBwH for a new word tinily. LB was 2fer b4ss operatic-column, nocturnal-limpet, premature-economical, crop-penultimate and lots of 3fers but finally got a hint for copout-terminal.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2023, 07:55:53 AM
Good morning!

Gave up on the bee for now to do other puzzles, but I'm almost at genius.  No pangrams yet! It rejected the ones I have tried that i think should have been accepted.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I remembered nametape this time but missed pentane, type, both of which I thought I had tried or entered.

For LB I got grievous-substant.  I am looking forward to someday again finding a solution that I know both words of rather than guessing, but I'll take it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2023, 08:54:48 AM
Good morning!

Almost genius without the pangram. I'm probably never going to find the pangram or even make it to genius--this will be a first for me not to get to genius. Last word yesterday was pant.

vintages/suborn, gunboat/trivet

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 24, 2023, 09:04:38 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM today—but it took me a while to find the pangrams.  Yesterday I needed 2LL hints to find patentee, my last word.

No LB solution yesterday, and none so far today.  Ugh!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 24, 2023, 09:56:49 AM
Morning!

Weird words in QB so needed lots of hints. I mean apeman, apemen? Come on. LB invigorates-sub.

Quick 2fer today but QB is kind of a slog.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2023, 10:10:36 AM
I got a 2fer! And I know both words today! Woo. 

Kind of glad I'm not the only one struggling to find the pangrams.  But cathwen has led the way to QBABH (congrats!), so hopefully we will follow at least somewhat in that path.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 24, 2023, 12:41:07 PM
Found a 2fer, at last! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2023, 02:31:45 PM
Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen!

I finally struck pangram gold and nearly shouted out loud.  Finally got to genius! Whew.  Five words to go.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2023, 04:03:24 PM
Congrats you pangrammers!

Genius, but no pangram alas, and that's it for today as I have an early morning bird walk and there's also the crossword which comes out at 10 tonight.

Tomorrow, of all days this week and the next, is going to be the coldest of them all with temperatures hovering below freezing.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2023, 04:51:38 PM
I hope you can stay warm tomorrow morning, Langue_doc, and that you enjoy your earlybird bird walk! Maybe the pangrams will pop into your head tonight as well.  You never know.  I will send you a hint in case you are interested.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2023, 05:17:33 PM
ab_grp, a hint would be most welcome.
The walk is scheduled to last no more than three hours, so I should be able to stay warm.


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2023, 08:01:45 AM
Good morning!

I'm almost to genius and have 2 of the pangrams so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.   Man, did it take forever to get the pangrams!! I was missing bedim(med), bovid, oboe.  Hopefully I can pick up some steam on today's at some point.

I got the schmofficial 2fer yesterday, shadow-wrinkly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 25, 2023, 08:59:53 AM
QBw2LL and a wild guess at bovid. LB shadow-wrinkly.

Still working on the bee and Saturday crossword but got a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 25, 2023, 10:18:16 AM
Good afternoon!

Last word yesterday was oboe.  How I got divebomb/ed relatively quickly, I'll never know.  Bedim/med was a wild guess.  Today I have three words to go and just do not see them!  It took me ages to find the third pangram.

LB:  I had wonkish-hardly.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2023, 02:27:27 PM
I'm happy to say that I also managed to get a quick 2fer! And I just, finally, got the third pangram and to genius.  Ugh!! Still quite a few words to go, somehow!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 25, 2023, 04:53:16 PM
Evening!

Found the three pangrams before getting to genius. Thanks to ab_grp's hint, found the pangrams yesterday.

I think I had the NYT LB solution.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2023, 07:59:04 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius pretty quickly this morning, so hopefully that's a good sign.  Got Wordle done and almost done the crossword.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, missing taut, ulna.  I was also missing nail, nautili, undulant.

For LB, I had cowardice-equines.  I was kind of surprised that that wasn't the schmofficial solution!

Langue_doc, I hope you had a nice bird walk without any divebombing!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2023, 09:01:10 AM
Morning!

QBwH for nautili. My list of words is getting longer. LB was cowards-sequin.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2023, 10:03:56 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangrams quite easily and am now well above genius. Last words yesterday were anti and luna. I was quite pleased with myself for having remembered nautili from an earlier puzzle.

cowards/sequin

ab_grp, yes, it was good birding, albeit a bit cold. I had to swap gloves three times--I had brought along my regular ones, the slightly warmer ones, and also the padded really cold weather gloves.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2023, 05:22:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was veld.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2023, 06:20:20 AM
Morning! QBwH for nouvelle. And got a hint from a friend for overjoyed-dashiki which I never would have gotten on my own.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 27, 2023, 06:38:04 AM
Good morning!

Same as ciao_yall—I needed a hint for the last word, nouvelle.  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I had the "official" overjoyed-dashiki.  I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2023, 07:32:36 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius pretty quickly, so hopefully that bodes well for the rest.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing venue, venule.  I got nouvelle but was somewhat surprised that it was in there given that (what I think of as) similar words aren't.

Argh, I was kind of close on LB.  Dashiki was one of my contenders, and I had joy(s) but never saw the mate.  Congrats, cathwen, and on another today!

Langue_doc, I'm glad your bird outing went well, though that is a lot of pairs of gloves to have to bring along! We spent some time outside this morning (though it's a little chilly, in the 40s) while doing puzzles and coffee, and there was a tiny bird in the tree next to us being very vocal.  Then another little one, different kind, stopped by, so they were doing some kind of duet.  Eventually they left, which was good for puzzling because they were pretty distracting though cute.  Another one ended up coming by with a shriller call, and our fingers were starting to freeze, so we moved on.  I would have liked to try to identify them, but they're so small, and they were up in the top of the tree.  I could see their coloring to some extent.  We have binoculars out on the other side of the house, but maybe I should keep some there as well.  I'm sure they're just regular birds, though.

Husband goes back to work today after 3 months and is dreading it.  His doctor put in a preference for remote work through May, so hopefully he won't have to go in to site every day.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2023, 07:52:38 AM
QB!

As for nouvelle, I found this word just because I try everything under the sun, so to speak--foreign words, slang, proper nouns, abbreviations, and the like. I was quite surprised that it was accepted, but when I'm doing the bee, it just means one word less to look for.

ab_grp, hope husband can work from home most days.

Here is the link to merlin, the free bird app--you could also download the sound app that's part of the package. I think when you download the app it asks for your region--eastern US, etc. so that's all you would need to do once you've downloaded the app.
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2023, 08:23:17 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! And I have now downloaded the app, which is such a cool idea.  I will try it out tomorrow morning if we are able to sit out then.  My ex-husband had a bunch of bird feeders, and I had found a neat book for him that played bird sounds to help to identify them, but this is way better!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on February 27, 2023, 08:59:17 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2023, 04:50:49 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was rawly.

cyphers/submit

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 28, 2023, 05:26:21 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word waywardly.  Today I'm above genius with the pangram.

LB:  I had bumps-stitchery.  But no 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, that was a rewarding birding expedition!  As for Merlin, I use it all the time on walks.  Sometimes I just put it on the sound identification to run continuously, so that whenever I hear a bird call I'm not sure of, I can look quickly and see if Merlin picked it up. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2023, 07:18:44 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, missing dyad.  I was also missing dryad, drywall, kayak, yawl

Got a 2fer on my first try yesterday: butchers-scrimpy.  Not the best, but I will take it.  Congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen (+1 today)!

Langue_doc, thank you so much for Merlin.  I put it on this morning while we were out, even though there were no birds very near us, and it picked up 5 or so! I love that a new one pops up as it's identified and that it highlights which ones it hears at a particular time.  I'll have to try the visual ID, but so far the pictures that popped up have matched the birds we've seen in the area. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 28, 2023, 09:07:26 AM
QBwH, last word waywardly. My "list of shame" as I call it is getting longer and longer, but has come in handy. LB bumpers-stitchery.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2023, 05:25:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and a quick QB. Last word yesterday was rabbi.

divulges/skylark

ab_grp, glad to hear that you're having fun with merlin!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 01, 2023, 05:34:37 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on your quick QB, Langue_doc!  I still have four words to go.  Yesterday I got to QB with 1L help to find briar, which I should have seen.

LB: I had skydiver-regular.  No 2fer yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 01, 2023, 06:10:49 AM
QBwH for rabbi, facepalm. I kept seeing rabbit and wishing there was a t. The "list of shame" grows. LB gulags-skydiver.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2023, 07:01:55 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing biradial, briar

No luck on LB.  Congrats on three different solutions, Langue_doc, cathwen, and ciao_yall!

A couple birds from yesterday showed up along with some new birds.  I tried cathwen's idea of leaving it on in the background for a bit while I was puzzling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 02, 2023, 04:48:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but it's a tricky one today. Last word yesterday was gigging.

Easy twofer. I think I got a twofer yesterday as well, but can't remember either word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2023, 07:20:48 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.  Yesterday we failed team QB, missing nuking, and I was also missing winnowing and ginkgo (which I tried about 50 times and even googled and apparently still spelled wrong... and then almost spelled incorrectly here again). 

No luck on LB, again! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, Langue_doc! Even if you can't remember your solution! I have to take a screenshot if I'm away from my notebook, and even then I sometimes forget that I even solved it by the time I check in here the next day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 02, 2023, 07:41:06 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help to find nuking and winnowing.  Today I have two words to go. 

LB:  I had the "official" gecko-ombudsman.  I have one today also. 

Langue_doc and ab_grp, I can never remember my LB solutions if I don't write them down immediately.  And when I look at the grid later, you would think the words would pop into my head—but they don't. 

Happy puzzling, and may the notebooks always be at hand!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 02, 2023, 08:49:01 AM
Morning!

QBwH, had to add winnowing to the list which I keep in a note on my phone. And my LB was a strange manbag-geoducks. I screenshot them so I can remember.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2023, 05:44:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Almost gave up on the bee last night when I stumbled on the last word, ecotype, while reading about the latest in the Ohio train derailment.

factor/rhyming

I usually do the puzzles in bed, so the only place to write the LB solution is on the side of the kleenex box, as long as I can reach for a pen or pencil. No screen shots for me--I'm still a writing-by-hand person. If the solution doesn't get written, then it's goodbye to the two words, unless they somehow stand out like yesterday's solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2023, 07:18:59 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and a bit farther and finally all the pangrams.  We had team QB, but I was missing ecotype, poet, both of which I should have gotten!

No luck on LB yet again.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

It's funny how easy it is to forget even a very recent solution! It would be nice to really be able to take a mental screenshot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 03, 2023, 07:50:35 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, with tepee and teepee as the last words—words I usually get right away.  Today I am past genius with all three pangrams, but eight more words to go.

LB:  I also had factor-rhyming.  And I finally found a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 03, 2023, 08:54:52 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, ecotype was a wild guess. Needed a nudge for factor-rhyming.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2023, 07:10:53 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius, but I only have one pangram.  Same for husband.  We have both reported trying other potential pangrams that got rejected.  Hmm.  Yesterday, we failed to achieve team QB, both missing vivace.  I also missed (in)attentive.

No luck on LB yet again! I tried and tried. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2023, 07:22:00 AM
Good morning!

ab_grp, you're up early!

Pangram and well above genius so far. Thanks to ab-grp's post, I now realize that there's a second pangram.

Last word yesterday was vain; found the difficult words much earlier; found vivace by typing all possible combinations and permutations; tried venetian and vatican knowing well that they would be rejected--I think I had a forlorn hope that the former would somehow make it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 04, 2023, 07:47:28 AM
Morning! QBWATHICG for vivace. LB deliverance-ephemera(l).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 05, 2023, 08:29:24 AM
Team QBWATHWCG at dinner last night with friends. Last word mezzotint. LB czarism-mirthful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2023, 08:46:45 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram pretty easily today.  Yesterday I got down to 5 words, and we failed to get team QB.  I needed minim minimize, monotone, and we needed mezzotint, mini.  I am sure I am not the only one who tried timezone, and I also tried monotonize (so not sure why I missed monotone).  For that second pangram, we had to get the first three letters, Steve G's definition, and Steve G's hint, and then husband guessed it.  Ugh!!

No luck on LB, and I definitely wouldn't have gotten the schmofficial solution.  Congrats, ciao_yall!  But I did get a 2fer on my first try today!

We have started getting up earlier and earlier, partially because now that husband is back on site a couple days a week he wants to be sure to get some riding in on his exercise bike.  The first day up before sunrise was painful for me as a night owl, but now we are regularly getting up before then and earlier.  And going to bed earlier! It is weird for me but not so bad.  I do feel more productive.  Today, however, I gained another year of age, and I slept in to a normal time.  I am aiming for QBABM and need all the brain cells I can get. 

We sat out doing puzzles, and I turned Merlin on, but then I forgot to turn it off when we drove to get the mail and then drove around to give my car battery some action.  I noticed when I got back that there were several new birds, but now I'm not sure if they're for real or not! I am going to start a spreadsheet of bird encounters, in any case.

Hope you enjoyed your dinner with friends, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 05, 2023, 08:58:43 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QBwH yesterday to find ointment and mezzotint. .  I also tried timezone and noontime and was chagrined when they were rejected.  Today it took me ages to find the pangram!

LB:  I had the "official" czarism-mirthful.  I don't know what made me think of czarism—desperation, I guess.  Still no 2fer today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 05, 2023, 10:46:44 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangram and got to well above genius before leaving for a bird walk this morning.

I found the second pangram yesterday just because I've been trying to educate myself on art. I also tried timezone and monotonize several times--on the kindle and also on the laptop. Last word was time.

fulcra/azimuth (don't know the meaning of the latter, but do recall having seen it in print on several occasions)

Speaking of art, I missed the Edward Hopper exhibit at the Whitney. The show ends today, and given the choice between being indoors or outdoors, I opted for the latter.

ab_grp, 🥳🤩🎂🎉

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2023, 03:03:47 PM
Thanks for brightening my day, Langue_doc! We have been fortunate to have a really nice day, and it sounds as though you got to appreciate the good weather as well, though it's a shame not to also be able to see the art show if you had wanted to.  Congrats on getting that second pangram yesterday! And I had azimuth(s) as my main contender but could not get a mate.  Every time there's a z I hope that word will be in there.  I'm so glad that you were able to get the 2fer from it!

I am closing in on QBABM but am still not there.  I have some time left, but we'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2023, 04:46:17 PM
Yay! Got QBABM! I didn't get catarrhed this year!!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 06, 2023, 05:42:14 AM
GW2P early this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 06, 2023, 07:28:46 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help to find although (!) and gulag.  Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!  Today, like Parasaurolophus, I am at genius with both pangrams.

LB:  I had the "official" vibraphone-elf.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2023, 07:28:56 AM
Morning! QBwH for glottal. And needed a hint for vibraphone-elf. I have never even heard of a vibraphone!

Quick G2P and 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2023, 07:39:55 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius pretty quickly again, so I will hope for another QB today but am not holding my breath.  Yesterday my final word was hath.

I saw vibraphone right away yesterday, and the mate was easy, luckily.  Congrats, cathwen and ciao_yall! Today again I got one on the first try! I know this won't last, so I will be happy about it for now.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2023, 12:08:08 PM
Afternoon!

Found the pangrams and made it to almost QB before leaving this morning. Last word yesterday was luau.

Wasn't aware of the existence of vibraphone--hope it isn't something naughty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2023, 07:23:45 PM
QB-1. Really don't want to go to the 2LL.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2023, 05:40:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost genius. Last word yesterday was flak.

warthogs/swivel

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2023, 07:14:54 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram pretty quickly again but went on to other puzzles.  Husband only has one word left! Hopefully he will get to QB.  Hopefully we all will.  Yesterday I did get QBABM! My final word was fining.

For LB I had whit-travelogs.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc! Nothing has jumped out at me today, yet. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 07, 2023, 08:21:48 AM
QBwH, last word finagling. LB whitest-travelog.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2023, 09:34:51 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 07, 2023, 05:40:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost genius QB. Last word yesterday was flak.

warthogs/swivel

Happy solving!

QB and a twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 07, 2023, 01:06:34 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with finagling as my last word.  QB today also, with hint for last word.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, and none so far today, either!  Wah!  Congratulations, Langue_doc, on finding one!  And to those who found one yesterday also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2023, 01:30:52 PM
Congrats on your QB and 2fer, Langue_doc, and on your QB, cathwen! I had a call with a pal earlier but am going to renew my efforts, and I hope to follow in your footsteps.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 07, 2023, 04:47:28 PM
Well, got to GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 08, 2023, 05:28:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was moil.

grandpa/atomical (remembered the former from a previous puzzle)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2023, 05:47:05 AM
QBwH for colorific. Yet it didn't take coliform? Gah. Found anatomical on my own, then got a hint to get grandpa-anatomical. Kept seeing grandma.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2023, 06:55:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram, but it was a bit of a slog, so I am not sure about QB today.  But I did manage to get QBABM last night, last word colorific, same for husband.  I did not know that was a word but am glad I guessed it.  I was sure the remaining 9-letter would have to be a compound, but I guess not.

I was so close with LB! I had grandpa, agronomical, so maybe I would have eventually made the mate.  Congrats on your 2fers! Oh yeah, I did get a 2fer on my first try today! I cannot believe I forgot that.  It was only about 15 minutes ago.  Need more coffee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 08, 2023, 07:15:20 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, and a slog for me as well.  I found the pangram early, but getting to genius took an age.  Yesterday I made it to QB-1 then needed a hint for colorific.

I guess I'm going through an LB dry spell.  No 2fer yesterday, despite having found grandpa!  Argh!  And no 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2023, 05:07:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Missed battement yesterday.

Saw a pair of eastern towhees on my walk yesterday. And also assorted flowers. Spring is definitely in the air.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2023, 07:26:07 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and to genius and on to other puzzles.  Yesterday we got team QB, but I was missing amebae, abet(ment).

I guess I got luck on getting the 2fer right away yesterday.  Velocity popped right out at me, and then I immediately saw yakuza but thought it was a proper name.  Glad I tried it! I'm sure that is the end of that streak.  Nothing so far today.

Langue_doc, I am glad you are enjoying the weather, but I just heard that there is a polar vortex event for later this week or early next week in the mid-Atlantic, so I hope it doesn't change that too much!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2023, 09:51:36 AM
Morning! QBWATHICG for battement. And got hints for velocity-yakuza which I thought was a kind of Japanese robe at first.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2023, 02:41:47 PM
Got a 2fer! Hoorah.  Still a few words left on the bee, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 09, 2023, 03:50:56 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 10, 2023, 04:41:54 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram this morning.  Yesterday I needed help to find queue/d and quaalude.

LB:  After a long dry spell (no 2fers for four days in a row), I finally got one today.  Hooray!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2023, 05:13:46 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (finally) and genius. Missed quaalude--I think I might have seen it before, but the only aa words I can think of are naan and aardvark.

ab_grp, the forecast is for rain this evening and night, turning to snow showers in the morning, and then rain until around noon. Tomorrow's bird walk has been rescheduled to Sunday, so all's well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2023, 07:46:35 AM
Good morning!

Still working my way to genius but also trying to get other puzzles done.  I do have the pangram.  We had team QB yesterday, but I was missing endue(d), lune, quad.  I also stumbled across another word by accident (unladen) on one of the sites I check for totals.  I had no idea the words were actually on the page and could be seen if you moused over a particular area.  Good to know for the future! I will avoid that.

I got the schmofficial solution again yesterday, charcuterie-enjoy after finding the second word first.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen! Glad your dry spell has ended!

Langue_doc, I'm glad to hear that the new wintry weather won't put too much of a damper on your outings. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 10, 2023, 07:49:52 AM
Morning!

QBWH for unladen which is embarrassing for thisMonty Python (https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ea90975f-f51e-40d4-b793-63712eb78b03/gif) fan. First word I saw was quaalude. Not sure what that says about me.

LB - after many 3fers and 2fer b4ss I went for the hints to get charcuterie-enjoy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2023, 04:56:29 PM
Finally got a 2fer! But still quite a ways to go on the bee.

As for unladen and others, I have kind of given upon looking for those words (unless I'm really close to QB), because there are just too many that aren't accepted, and it gets my goat.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 11, 2023, 06:38:35 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was catalpa.

delays/silkworm

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2023, 07:34:56 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and a fair bit past genius.  Did you get QB already, Langue_doc? Wow! Congrats!! Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing anticipant, canna, catcall, catnap, tactical.  Should have gotten some of those, given others I got!

For LB, I got milkier-roadways.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 11, 2023, 08:36:01 AM
Morning! QBWH for anticipant and a few others. LB silkworms-someday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 11, 2023, 09:55:53 AM
Good afternoon!

Lots of distractions yesterday, but I got to QB with some help for catalpa, incant, can clinical.  Today I have a few words to go, but am currently stymied.

LB:  I had keywords-salami.  Lots of variation this time!  I'm still working on today's LB; no 2fer yet.

ciao_yall, thanks for that Monty Python clip!  I am also a fan.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2023, 09:22:43 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 12, 2023, 03:32:19 AM
Good morning!

QB and a twofer. My excuse is that I couldn't sleep. I hate it when we move the clocks forward as my sleep gets messed up for over a month.  Last word yesterday was lathed.

quilt/transform

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 12, 2023, 08:21:31 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius.  I think I have two words left, so hopefully I will join Langue_doc in the QB club (congrats!!).  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing two words: lethal(ly).

No luck on LB, so that gloriously brief streak has been broken.  Maybe today will get me back on track.  I have some good ideas so far.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, Langue_doc!

I am unhappy with the clock changes as well.  I woke up and couldn't figure out what the "real" time was to try to decide whether to go back to sleep, so I just got up and am now sad for it.  I hope we all recover more quickly than usual.

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 12, 2023, 08:57:26 AM
Morning!

Not a great day for NYT puzzles. QBwH for thee (gah) and needed hints, after a zillion 3fers and 2fer b4ss for the pretty straightforward quilt-transform.

Quick 2fer this morning so back at it?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2023, 03:14:56 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Last word yesterday was mete.

prominence/elevator, then compliant/travel

Was up at 4, and had to remind myself that it was actually 3 in the morning. It's going to be a rough week with about 4 hours of sleep two days in a row. Aaargh!

On that note, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2023, 08:11:38 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram right away but then really had to struggle to get to genius.  Yesterday I tried and tried and tried but could not get the final word, moiety.  Husband was also missing that one, and nothing helped.  We tried the first three letters and various commenters' definitions and hints.  Just not a word we know, I guess.  My hat is off to you, Langue_doc!

For LB, I got proclaimer-revent.  Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc!

I am really sorry to hear that the time change is being so rough on you.  I hope it evens out sooner rather than later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2023, 09:09:58 AM
QBABM-1 then had to hit the dictionary for moiety. Gah. We are all Sam's b****.

LB trampoline-evict and a quick 9-7 this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 13, 2023, 10:33:07 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word memo.  Today I'm at genius with the pangram. 

LB:  I had compliant-travel.  No 2fer yet today, though, despite some good words. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2023, 06:26:40 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Last words yesterday were xenon and fine.

activator/rhombus

I found moiety quite early into the puzzle. Entered moity first, which was rejected, and also didn't look correct visually, so promptly entered the correct word.

Thanks, ab-grp, for commiserating with me on the time change. The getting-adjusted happens every single year. I recall that my academics suffered one spring semester because it took me so very long to complete my assignments after the time change.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2023, 08:03:33 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram right away and to genius, but that's it so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing fennel, infix, nonillion, xenon.

No luck on LB, and I never would have gotten the schmofficial one.  Brouhaha? I hope someone got that one! Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

Langue_doc, do you think that your extended vocab comes mostly from reading? From reading anything in particular? I think I do okay, but maybe expanding my reading selection would help here.  And believe me, as someone who has had terrible sleeping problems and highly, highly values her sleep... any disruption is terrible, and to have to anticipate it twice a year is a burden.  It sounds as though it doesn't affect you as much in the fall, though? Do you find any difference in the spring depending on the weather? I would guess it might be easier to adjust if there is some sun to help say when the day is, rather than just ambiguous gray, but I don't know. 

I hope you east coasters do not get too badly affected by the snow and etc. storm.  Stay warm! My mom is out and about this morning and has reported flurries so far in her area.

Youngest arrives today for a brief visit through early Friday, spring break at the U.  We can finally take the Christmas tree down and put all of that away.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2023, 08:30:58 AM
QBABM-1 and then finally had to get a hint for felon. Gah. LB activator-rhombus.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 14, 2023, 09:15:26 AM
Good afternoon!

Not a good puzzle day yesterday.  I needed hints for words I usually get:  info, loonie, innie, online (last word).  Today I'm at Beta with the pangram and stuck.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, so congratulations to those who succeeded!  I kept trying to get something to pair with rhotacism, but without success.  I did find a 2fer without much trouble today, though.

Add me to the chorus grumbling about Daylight Saving Time.  I also hate sleep disruptions, and I dislike dark mornings. 

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2023, 05:25:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. Last words yesterday were roar and gala.

ab_grp, yes, my vocabulary is due to my extensive reading and also the insistence on the part of the schools I attended on correct spellings. Both schools (parochial) had us memorize spellings; this was also reinforced at home by my mother who was a school teacher. I know what a certain word looks like in print, which helps with the puzzles. Unlike most people I know, I find it difficult to process books auditorily, so I've never attempted listening to books, but instead only read them, which again lets me see the words as opposed to only hearing them.

As for the time change, I can adjust to the change in Fall, because I get to sleep an extra hour in the morning. It's the spring change that gets me down--must be my body clock, as there's nothing I can do about it. One year I tried getting up progressively earlier about a month before the time change, which helped.

Glad that youngest will get to see the tree. Hope husband has recovered and can do pre-surgery activities.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2023, 08:00:01 AM
QBWH for a new word logogram. LB pincers-subway.

Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2023, 09:13:59 AM
Good morning!

Got pangrams pretty quickly, but genius took a bit again.  Yesterday I was missing alarm, mural, and we were both missing augur, logogram.  The latter is a tough one, but I think it has been in there before.  Maybe someday I will remember it.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats, ciao_yall! And on another today!

Langue_doc, thanks! Husband is recovering very well, still has some activity restrictions in the chest area, like lifting very heavy stuff, but he can do most everything again, which is very helpful!! And luckily youngest was able to help decorate the tree during Thanksgiving break, so we are looking forward to help un-decorating it.  We got some new storage bins to replace the crumbling cardboard boxes used in moving years ago.  This kind of exciting visit activity is why I win stepmother awards.  Luckily, youngest has always been game to help out with just about anything.

I can understand the loss of an hour being worse.  Either way, it throws me off because the light/dark isn't the usual, but I just get mad losing an hour (even if I also gain an hour... human psychology). 

And it totally makes sense that reading and also correct spelling are such key elements.  I think those helped with my vocab development as well.  I don't know why it's kind of stalled.  I probably read more specialized language these days.  I do think listening to audio books has helped a little with words I had only seen in print that I did not realize I was pronouncing incorrectly! But that is a relatively new foray for me, and I don't find it as fulfilling or satisfying as reading print.  Although I don't find it difficult to listen to audio books, I am one of those people (maybe you are, too) who pretty much has to read in any situation.  Sitting somewhere near a magazine, sign, box, anything? Gotta read it in the absence of anything else to read.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 15, 2023, 09:19:25 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM today!  Yesterday was less good—it got late so I went to hints for aurora/l, guar, gall, and magma. 

LB:  Like ciao_yall, I also had pincers-subway.  I have a 2fer today as well.

Ab_grp, I'm so glad to hear that your husband is recovering well!  And have fun with dismantling the tree. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 16, 2023, 06:07:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I hate these repetitive puzzles--didn't we see something similar just a few days ago? Last word yesterday was puppet.

fixations/squawk

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 16, 2023, 08:45:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and then finally got the pangram.  Husband only has one 4-letter left! He really sped along today.  I hope he gets QB.  I got there yesterday with last word peptide.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

I also got the schmofficial fixations-squawk.  I was just glad to get one since everyone seemed to have solved it so quickly!

We did get the Christmas tree down and stowed and even reasonably organized the ornaments in the sturdier bins.  Thanks, Cathwen! Today we don't have much on the agenda, other than that I am going to try to observe crocheting and learn how to do that, since the knitting gene skipped over me entirely.  I can cast on and do one row, and then that's it.  Since youngest likes to go thrifting, I am hoping to unload a ton of clothes that don't fit me anymore.  Lots of jeans! Then we will probably play cards or something later.  I pinched something in my shoulder area or overworked my tricep or something, so I am in BenGay mode again for the moment.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2023, 09:04:45 AM
QBWH for puttied.   LB fixations-squawk

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 16, 2023, 01:16:53 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word tippet.  I'm beyond genius and I have the pangram, but nine words to go.  Ugh!   

LB:  I also had fixations-squawk.  This appears to be the only solution!  I found a 2fer today as well.

Ab_grp, I am thinking of getting back into knitting (not that I was ever very advanced) after the semester, or perhaps crocheting.  And sewing.  I used to make a lot of my own clothes!  I would love to make things again. (I also plan to fully retire at the end of the semester, so I'll have time!)

Anyway—happy puzzling, all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 16, 2023, 04:14:13 PM
Cathwen, congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today! I guess that probably is the only solution.  I had a very, very patient teacher for about an hour and a half this afternoon, and I learned several crochet stitches.  But I think it will be a while before I can do much (if I even keep up with it).  Being able to make your own clothes has got to be so liberating.  I envy those who can knit or crochet without thinking, just while watching TV or chatting or whatever! I was focusing so hard that I feel like I need a drink or a nap at this point.  And congrats on your retirement plan!! That is so exciting and wonderful! I hope you will still stay with us, become an even more impressive puzzler, and share your adventures.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 17, 2023, 05:28:11 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were maim and aide--it's usually the obvious ones that take a long time to find.

alphabetic/cower; whitebait/tropical

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2023, 06:39:06 AM
Good morning!

Last words yesterday were dammit, midi, and tatami.  Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I had pathetical-lowbrowPathetical seemed iffy to me, but I'm not arguing.  Congratulations on finding two, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2023, 07:38:23 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG for a new word dimity. LB lowbrow-whitecap.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2023, 07:43:59 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and a bit past genius. Yesterday I was way behind, though! Just ran out of time with all the arts and crafts.  I'll blame it on that.  Husband got QBABH, but I was missing mediate(d), dammit, dimity.  I see that the latter has been in there one other time, June 2021 I think, but I do not remember it at all.

Congrats on all your 2fers! Wow!! And two for Langue_doc! I kept getting close but had no luck in the end. 

Youngest ships out this morning, so hopefully I'll be back on the puzzle train or at least will have a little more time.  Having a brief visit was nice, though it's nice to have routine as well!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2023, 07:37:42 AM
Good morning!

Nowhere near genius yet and only two pangrams.  Ouch.  Husband found the third but is still not near genius.  But I did get the crossword, Wordle, etc. done.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing cede(d), colleen, locoweed.  Never would have gotten the last one, but I should have found the middle one given the day!

I got the schmofficial forked-devilishly, but it took a while.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2023, 07:47:19 AM
QBwH - locoweed is a word? LB forked-devilishly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 18, 2023, 08:36:00 AM
Good morning!

QBwH here also.  And I echo: locoweed??  At least I don't feel stupid for missing that one.  Unlike cocoon/ed, which I got with 2LL help, and should have seen.

Today I'm at genius and have all three pangrams.

LB:  I also had forked-devilishly.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2023, 12:55:37 PM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and genius; that was quite a slog, so no more puzzling today. Missed locoweed, whatever that is. Perhaps a cousin of tumbleweed?

Went birding this morning, will post later on the bird thread.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2023, 05:14:18 PM
Oh my dearie, I finally got to genius.  I had 30 words left until recently but have managed to whittle it down to only 16 left, including a pangram.  I am exhausted!!

I had some ideas for LB but nothing yet.  I will try on that a little more.

As for locoweed, husband said something about cows getting into it and showed me a picture, but I still think it's BS.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2023, 04:39:10 AM
QBwH, last word locoweed. How does anyone get QBABM? LB prolongs-sanctum.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2023, 05:50:52 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram which I didn't think I'd ever find. Yesterday's tally was 51 words--the first pangram was capacitator, then the other two. I was surprised that participator and capri (as in capri pants) weren't accepted.

Locoweed apparently includes a whole bunch of poisonous plants
https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/logan-ut/poisonous-plant-research/docs/locoweed-astragalus-and-oxytropis-spp/

QuoteLocoweed gets its name from the Spanish word loco (crazy) which is how the abnormal behavior of poisoned animals has been described. This "locoed" behavior results from locoweed-induced neurologic damage.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 19, 2023, 07:55:43 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LLH yesterday to find carpi, pitapat, portrait, trattoria.  But what sent me to the definitions was carioca, which I would never have gotten otherwise.  Langue_doc, I was also surprised that participator and capri were rejected.  Today I'm at genius, but missing four words, and I am mystified. 

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  Ciao_yall, congratulations on yours.  I have a 2fer today, though.

Langue_doc, thanks for the locoweed research!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2023, 08:05:29 AM
Good morning!

Managed to find the pangram right away, and thankfully genius did not take all day.  Whew.  I'm kind of stumped now, though.  Yesterday was a total failure.   Obviously, I won't list the 30000 words I still needed.  We also did not nearly get team QB.  I think we needed 6 or so words.  My missing pangram was capacitor (first one I got was patriotic), and I also thought capri would be in there.  Oh yeah, we had to look at every possible hint in the comments to get carioca, and it was only the Steve G hint that changing the cs to ks would make it sound like embarrassing yourself singing on stage (or something to that effect) that helped us finally guess it.  I tried to see if that had ever been in there before, but I don't know.  Usually the bee solver says if that group of letters has been a puzzle before and what the center letter is, but I am not sure if this set has ever been in there together.

I also managed to have no luck on LB.  Congrats, ciao_yall! Congrats on yours today, cathwen!

Happy solving!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2023, 04:53:07 PM
Well, I got QBABM a bit ago, but no 2fer yet despite a lot of contenders! Argh!

ETA: 2fer! Maybe whining helped!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 20, 2023, 03:24:27 AM
Should have been QBABM but... circumstances. Last words floor, lulu. LB referendum-mascot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 20, 2023, 04:50:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. It wasn't too bad yesterday--burl got me to genius, and then found the rest of the words without much difficulty. The last couple of words were ones that I thought I had entered much earlier.

comforters/sundae

I have gaps in my crossword streaks, and will probably have more gaps this weekend and the next.

ab_grp, glad you made it--I saw your posts and was rooting for you to get to the finish line on both puzzles.

cathwen, I've been thinking of taking up my knitting and sewing again. I also got a crochet starter set a year ago, which is still in the box, unopened. I do have to get started on hemming at least four pairs of pants so that I can wear them before the weather gets hot.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 20, 2023, 05:46:44 AM
Good morning!

Like ciao_yall, I should have gotten QBABM yesterday, but did not.  I needed help to find bull (which I was sure I had, since I got bullfrog early on), bulb (duh!), and bulgur, which I kept misspelling with -ar

Today I have only two words to go, so I'm hopeful that I'll make QBABM today.  But I often get stuck on the short, obvious words (see above), so we'll see.

LB:  I had founds-sacrament.  Lots of variety this time!  I also found a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, I have a number of knitting patterns for babies who are now in middle school—so many projects planned but never executed.  I used to enjoy knitting, so I am looking forward to getting back to it—and learning to crochet as well.  As for sewing alterations, hemming pants is not hard, but having discovered a wonderful and inexpensive tailor in a neighboring town, I am very tempted to just take some pants to her.  She did a beautiful job on shortening the sleeves of a lined jacket (this is beyond my ability).  However, I do know how to hem, so I will probably do it myself.

Did I mention that I will probably retire for good at the end of the semester?  I have been working part-time for the last 15 years, full time for the 30 years before that, and I am just tired of it.  I will be 75 in April, so time to get out of the way and let younger people take over!  So, I will have time for creative projects.  And hemming those pants.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2023, 07:26:25 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and a bit past genius.  Yesterday I had three words left and realized one was a 4, so I was trying 4s and ended up finding fluff, then bluff, and I was so excited to finally find lulu! Good luck, cathwen... you're so close!

For LB, I got fad-documenters.  A variety of solutions again! Comforters-sundae sounds cozy.  Congrats on all your solutions and on another today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, thanks for the vibes! They helped! Youngest left a crochet needle for me to try further with.  When we were going over basic stitches, it was unclear whether that skinny one or a wider one would be better.  I was making my stitches too tight to go back through.  I still have a ball of yarn that someone from another discussion board sent me 20+ years ago with a set of knitting needles.  I had intended to try to make a blanket for my friend's baby.  I just couldn't even do that.  Even crocheting, I don't understand how people can do that without looking since you have to go through the previous stitches, and I couldn't do that while staring hard at it.  Maybe it's like folding a fitted sheet correctly... not going to happen.

Cathwen, that is so exciting about retiring.  I hope you have time for all you're looking forward to! That must be kind of a weird feeling, coming up so soon.  I wish I could hem jeans myself, but I think a sewing machine is probably needed.  I have hemmed pants using staples and paper clips before, but that is not a long-term prospect.  ;-)  But if you can hem at all, like making clothes that must be a very freeing feeling.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2023, 08:50:06 AM
Sorry, it just occurred to me that I didn't share that I got a 2fer on my first try earlier this morning! I totally forgot about it.  Going to write it down now so I don't forget by tomorrow! Luckily I have a screenshot.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2023, 01:57:56 PM
And I got lucky and got QBABM! I hope everyone else is having good luck today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 20, 2023, 02:55:14 PM
Woohoo, ab_grp!
I too got a twofer and QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2023, 03:56:45 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 20, 2023, 02:55:14 PM
Woohoo, ab_grp!
I too got a twofer and QB.

Hurrah! It's a good club to join (and I am not surprised)! Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 20, 2023, 10:11:40 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 21, 2023, 01:13:22 AM
QBwG for winging which I already thought I had. LB timbers-squarely. Happy solving!

ETA: I want to wrap up in a comforter and eat a sundae.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 21, 2023, 04:39:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius. Don't remember the last word from yesterday's puzzle--must have been a commonplace word.

timbers/squarely (having grown up on pirate stories, I kept thinking of "shiver me timbers" and having people walk the plank)

cathwen, that's quite a career. Enjoy your retirement. One of my colleagues went on a roadscholar cruise just before the pandemic and had very good reports about her experience.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2023, 06:33:06 AM
Good morning!

Got pangrams and am trying to steam on to QB.  We'll see.  I think my final word yesterday was hewn.

For LB I had the schmofficial miserable-equity.  Congrats on your piratey solution, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! I have one today as well.  Woohoo!

I have heard good things about Road Scholar trips as well. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2023, 11:31:26 AM
Good afternoon!

Yesterday I got stuck on the last word, hieing.  I've seen it before.  Argh!  Today I have both pangrams and am a bit beyond genius. 

LB:  I also had the "official" miserable-equity.  And I have a 2fer today. 

I'll check out the Road Scholar programs!  My husband, especially, wants to do a lot of traveling while we are still able.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 21, 2023, 06:46:48 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2023, 12:32:05 AM
QBwH for donee. LB proverbial-lucid.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2023, 05:24:29 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost QB. Last word yesterday was nodded.

proverbial/lucid

Happy solving!

ETA QB
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2023, 06:35:04 AM
QBABM and quick 2fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2023, 07:33:09 AM
Good morning!

One more word left to QB! Ugh so close! But I have all day so am crossing my fingers.  Congrats, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! Yesterday I almost got QB.  I also had one word left.  And we compared and we seemed to have the same list so were missing the same word but for some reason didn't compare our points this time.  You probably guessed that I was missing doyen and he was missing doyenne.  I got that one pretty early on but didn't even think of a variant or whatever that might be called.  ARGH! I will try not to make that mistake again, and we will go back to our usual comparing points and # words as well as reading them out loud to each other!

For LB I had cupboard-deliver.  I thought I had the schmofficial one when I looked this morning, but I just looked now at my notepad and found otherwise.  Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc and ciao_yall (and another today)!

Happy solving!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2023, 09:17:51 AM
Got QBABM.  They were easy words today! Not sure why it took so long to see that last one.  I hope I can join the 2fer crowd as well! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2023, 10:23:24 AM
Sorry I keep missing the modify window! But I did get a 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 22, 2023, 10:29:11 AM
Good morning!

Not a good SB day yesterday; there were some words I should have seen, but I probably never would have gotten yondDoyen(ne) tripped me up, also.  But today I have QB!

LB:  I had the "official" cupboard-devil.  Also a 2fer today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2023, 03:45:44 PM
Shakespeare! I didn't think yond would be accepted, but tried it just the same.

QuoteCome hither, nurse. What is yond gentleman?
Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 5

QuoteNightly she sings on yond pomegranate tree.
Act III, Scene 5

QuoteYond light is not daylight, I know it, I.
Act III, Scene 5
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on March 22, 2023, 09:13:32 PM
GWP.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2023, 04:59:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Last words yesterday were tide and tided.

zits/sunflower

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 23, 2023, 07:16:34 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, last word deity.  Today I have the pangram and two words to go. 

Langue_doc, thanks for the quotations from Shakespeare illustrating yond!

LB:  I had frowzier-runlets.  I was skeptical of the second word, but a runlet is apparently a small stream.  The first word reminded me of my childhood, as my mother would call me "frowzy" when I was disheveled, or at least not neat enough to suit her.   

I found a 2fer today, but I don't like the second word (it seems iffy), so I may try for another one if I have time.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2023, 07:18:46 AM
Good morning!

Took me the pangram to get to genius, but I finally got there.  Not sure this will be quite as easy as yesterday.  From social medial, seems like that one might have been the easiest ever! My last word was fitted.  Husband's was fidgeted, and that was late in the game for me, too, which is kind of funny.  We both found fidgety, fidget as our first two words and then abandoned that root, I guess.

For LB I had the schmofficial sunflower-ritz.  Congrats on your different 2fer, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

Oop just saw cathwen's.  Congrats on your other different 2fer! My mom used frowzy as well.  That is an interesting combo.  And congrats on another today! Good luck if you try for a second one.  And good luck with your final bee words!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2023, 08:59:46 AM
QBABM! Last word tiff. LB was zits-sunflower which I realized could also be sunflower-ritz.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2023, 05:13:42 PM
Finally got to QBABM! Boy howdy, that was some work.  And I have a bunch of contenders but no 2fer yet.  I will keep at it. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 24, 2023, 02:47:43 AM
QBwH for ovular. LB justifies-sparkish which I didn't think would take but it did.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2023, 04:25:58 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (whew!) and genius. Didn't think that I'd find any more words, but just added 20 or 21 points after resuming the bee on one of the computers. Last word yesterday was afoul, which I thought I had entered much earlier.

jukes/shapeshifter (found the latter first), and then justifiers/sparkish, and then realized that justifies would be more economical.

Frowzy is an apt description of dishevelment.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2023, 07:22:47 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram (which took a little bit).  Yesterday I was glad to get to QB after a lot of effort with last word afro.  It was also husband's last word.  Guess it hasn't been in there for a while.

No luck on LB! Darnit! Congrats on your 2fer ciao_yall, and your two or three 2fers, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 24, 2023, 07:43:46 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB yesterday with 1L help to find falloff.  Today I am at QB-1 and just can't find that last word.  Maybe later?

LB:  I first had justifies-sparkish, then found the "official" upshift-tearjerker.  I don't have a 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 25, 2023, 02:19:13 AM
QBw2LL and a wild guess at logy. LB bushwhack-kempt.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 25, 2023, 05:35:45 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1L help for, embarrassingly, hotly.  Today I'm above genius with the pangram, which took me an eternity to find. 

LB:  I also had bushwhack-kempt.  I have a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 25, 2023, 06:10:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I don't think I'll have much time for the bee as there's still the crossword to tackle.

Missed logy and mothy--I've seen the former before.

Found bushwhack right away (remembered the bushwhacking hikes) and then the mate kempt.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 25, 2023, 07:59:31 AM
Good morning!

Finally, finally got the pangram and to genius.  Yesterday I got to QBABM with last word otology.

No luck on LB! Again! I had some good contenders but couldn't make them work out.  Congrats on all your solutions!! And congrats on getting another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 26, 2023, 12:35:45 AM
QBwH and a new word rotatory. LB watch-hydrogen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 26, 2023, 04:01:41 AM
Good morning!

QB today and also yesterday. There's only one slightly offbeat word today, but you'll get it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 26, 2023, 06:13:29 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, with help for roar, which I was sure I had already put down!  QB today, too; commentary tomorrow.

LB:  I had wench-hydrogenate.  I have found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 26, 2023, 08:13:34 AM
Good morning!

Husband and I each got to QB-1 after about 15 minutes, so I am assuming this will be a QB for everyone day again.  Congrats, cathwen and Langue_doc! He and I have different final words left, so hopefully we will both get them.  Tomorrow (Monday) is going to be as easy as it gets, according to Sam, so several easy puzzles recently (unless he's being untruthful... I did check the calendar, but it's not 4/1 yet).  As for yesterday, husband got to QB but I got busy and then tired and failed.  I was missing arroyo, mayor, yarrow

No luck on LB again! Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen (and on another today)!

I have a long friend call in the afternoon so am not sure where I will get with puzzles but am at least hoping to figure out my final word!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2023, 02:23:28 AM
QBw2LL for pfft. LB videography-yow. Quick 2fer this morning.

QB-1 right now. Let's see if I can ABM.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2023, 05:44:42 AM
Good morning!

QB. Traveling, so broke my wordle streak.

Birds aplenty, haven't seen so many bald eagles in one spot until now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2023, 07:22:39 AM
Good morning!

One more word to go.  Husband got QB already.  I am not sure I agree with Sam that this is as easy as it gets.  I think yesterday's was easier.  But, I guess it depends.  Yesterday we both got to QB.  My last word was efface, and his was pfft (which was my penultimate).

No luck on LB, but our phone call went even longer than expected, so it was a fair sacrifice.  Congrats, ciao_yall, and on another today.

Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc, and happy travels! Enjoy the bald eagles!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2023, 07:23:20 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 27, 2023, 05:44:42 AM
Good morning!

QB. Traveling, so broke my wordle streak.

Birds aplenty, haven't seen so many bald eagles in one spot until now.

Happy solving!

My Wordle streak is at 39.

QB-1... really hoping to ABM it today. pfft.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2023, 08:50:46 AM
Got my word.  Yay! QB.  Good luck, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2023, 12:33:50 PM
Good afternoon!

Got to QB-1 yesterday and needed a hint for pfft. (Really?)  Today I'm also at QB-1 and hoping for QBABM.  Langue_doc and ab_grp are giving me hope!  Hope that the last word is not as weird as pfft.

LB:  I had the "official" videography-yew.  No 2fer yet today!

Langue_doc, what a treat to see all those bald eagles!  One is enough of a thrill, but many...

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2023, 05:04:13 PM
QuoteGot to QB-1 yesterday and needed a hint for pfft. (Really?)

This has been a longstanding pet peeve--the bee people claim rather pompously that they "hand curate" their list of words with the result that legitimate words that are in common use are excluded at the expense of words (i) that are used only in speaking such as gonna, dammit, (ii) archaic words such as yond, (iii) scientific words that are known only to those familiar with those subjects, (iv) words of foreign origin, again selected rather indiscriminately, and last but not least, (v) words such as pfft which defy any logical classification.

Twofer, weird second word, but it was accepted, so it counts.

As for wordle, I usually get quite large streaks, which routinely get broken because of an early morning event on a weekend.

cathwen, I've been seeing the occasional bald eagle flying overhead, but this was the first time that I saw several circling overhead, among some red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures. I had to keep looking at the picture on Merlin, just to make sure that I was identifying them correctly and also keep referring to the two displays illustrating the various raptors in the refuge. This morning, while driving, there was another bald eagle sitting on a nest on top of a platform. I had a good view because of a stop light--only one lane was open because of construction, so cars had to wait for the traffic from the other direction to clear the road before the light changed.

ab_grp, you made it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 28, 2023, 01:50:08 AM
QBwG for motif. Yeah, just hide that f on the end of the word. LB plight-troubadour.

Quick 2fer this morning but the bee is a slog today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2023, 05:56:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. That's it for today.

bought/tripodal

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2023, 06:53:55 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams pretty quickly, but I'm still 10 or so points from genius.  It's one of those off-schedule mornings with husband having to go to site early.  Yesterday my final word was firm, of all things.

For LB, I finally got a 2fer while we were making dinner: droplight-tabu.  I just tried the first word, but after husband explained what it was (like one of those lightbulbs in a cage on a long extension cord that you can hang near a workspace), I know my dad had one at one point and I just had no idea what the name for it was.  Congrats on your solutions, ciao_yall (and another today) and Langue_doc!

Speaking of birds, I forgot to mention that there's one that Merlin keeps recording but never while I'm looking at the app, and it's got a cool name and is very pretty.  Anyway, it happened to land in the bare branches of the tree above us yesterday and called out while I was looking at the app, so I finally got to see it. 

Hoping to get some more coffee, as I obviously need it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 28, 2023, 10:29:04 AM
Good afternoon!

QB with help to fine motif.  I know it's been in the Bee before, but I just didn't see it.  Also, I used to teach French from a textbook called Motifs, so I really have no excuse.  Today I am above genius and have both pangrams with about five words to go. 

LB:  Like Langue_doc, I had bought-tripodal.  No 2fer yet today, so congratulations to ciao_yall for a quick one! 

Ab_grp, what did Merlin say your bird was? 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2023, 01:14:21 PM
Cathwen, it was a pyrrhuloxia.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pyrrhuloxia/id   Kind of cute! Husband offered to take a picture of it, but I made the mistake of saying no, I have a good picture in the app.  Of course, with a picture of the actual bird I could at least tell if it was a guy or a gal.  Next time! And congrats on your 2fer from yesterday! Good luck today.

No 2fer for me yet, but I did finally make it to genius. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 29, 2023, 02:00:44 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word, tactual. LB glaze-execution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 29, 2023, 05:57:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

ab_grp, that's quite an interesting bird, it looks like a punk cousin of the cardinal. May I suggest getting an ebird account, and reporting your bird sightings? You don't have to use your real name nor do you need to include your address when you report bird sightings. The Cornell Lab website has a free tutorial on ebird. I think I'm listed as one of the numerous "anonymous ebirder" or something similar.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 29, 2023, 08:11:21 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius but not much further.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB.  I know I needed auto(crat), actuator, and we needed outro, oracular, lull and something else.  Husband did not get coloratura, but that was actually my first word! I just like the sound of it.  I think I first heard it in mid-adulthood when I took my mom to a performance by a small group that included one.  I would guess a lot of people haven't even heard that word before.

I almost got a 2fer, kept circling it but could not make the sale.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I will look into that! I hope they don't require any proof or accuracy.  Being new to bird looking (I don't know if I could say I'm a bird watcher at this point), I believe that was the correct ID for the bird, but who knows.  It is a cool bird, and I told husband this morning to take a pic if he sees it again while we're out.  I love cardinals, so I'm glad to have this cousin of sorts in my area.  This morning we had a lesser goldfinch with a bright yellow belly up in the same tree.  I did get a pic of that one, though I'm not sure how good it is. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 29, 2023, 08:56:02 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, but only with help to find actuator, curaçao, occult, outro, and tactual.  Today I have one word 8L word to go.

LB:  I finally got the "official" glaze-execution.  No 2fer yet today, but a lot of "almosts." 

ab_grp, I have never seen a pyrrhuloxia (having lived all my life on the east coast, with only occasional visits to the southwest.)  But, like cardinals, they look like elegant birds.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 30, 2023, 01:37:14 AM
QB w Grid! Last word doxed. Darn those alternative spellings or it could have been an ABM. LB was nowhat-trickle which I tried on a lark because whatnot was SS.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 30, 2023, 05:06:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Last word yesterday was one of those easy four-letter words. I did remember the various spellings of dox. As for the previous puzzle, I remembered coloratura, but had to look up the spelling before typing the word.

ab_grp, you could look at the ebird reports in your neck of the woods (look under the usual hotspots in your area https://ebird.org/hotspots) to see how other birders report their findings. Photos and sound recordings are always helpful. If the bird you report is off the charts, someone from the Cornell Lab will get in touch with you, just to make sure that you didn't misidentify the bird.

So many easy hikes coming up for Sunday (rain and thunderstorm on Saturday), but I'm registered for a paid bird walk, so will have to miss the walks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 30, 2023, 06:01:21 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for the last word, étouffée.  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  But I did get one today.  The second word is iffy, so I may try for another. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 30, 2023, 07:16:42 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius.  I think I have 3 words left to QB, so I will cross my fingers.  The days have been busy, so I am not super confident if I don't get there in the morning.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, both missing toed.  So close. 

No luck on LB, again.  Congrats ciao_yall! I did get a quick 2fer this morning.  Congrats on yours, cathwen!

Thanks for that tip, Langue_doc! I got a little nervous after reading that these spottings help to populate Merlin, but I did see that there is a fair amount of info required for submission, and it's good to know that they follow up on outliers.  I hope you enjoy whichever walks or hikes you end up doing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 30, 2023, 08:31:45 AM
Got to QBABM! Yay!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 31, 2023, 01:24:32 AM
QBwH for callback, kickback. Just 3fers such as armful-lingo-oboy, ships foraying::album and 2fer b4ss foraying-gumball yesterday but after seeing the hints? I don't feel so bad.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 31, 2023, 05:35:32 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help from my Bee list to find likable and balalaika.  Congratulations on your QBABY, ab_grp!  Today I have three words to go.

LB:  I first had fumbling-goray.  I had never heard of the second word before; apparently it means 'white or fair-skinned.'  Then I tried again and found the "official" bulgogi-infirmary.  Youngest Daughter brought home a recipe for bulgogi from an international fair when she was in fifth grade, and I've been making it ever since.  Otherwise, I would never have thought of it.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 31, 2023, 07:54:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but the pangram took a bit.  Yesterday my final word was bilk.  Thanks, cathwen! I was pleasantly surprised to remember balalaika this time after missing it before.  Good luck today!

For LB I also got the schmofficial bulgogi-infirmary.  I saw the second word first and was happy that the first one was accepted with it! I have only had it a few times here at home when we got into Korean cooking for a bit, so I will have to stop by your house for dinner, cathwen.  And congrats on both 2fers! I had not heard of goray either, but good to learn a new word (even if I'll forget it).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 31, 2023, 12:31:06 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. I think the last word yesterday was one of those familiar four-letter words.

I'm away from home--one of my outdoors organizations had organized a lunch at the CIA (not the spy one) where they offer prix fixe lunch at a discounted rate through the end of March. It was also a good time to visit because the students who prepare and serve lunch are about to graduate and hence much more experienced than they would be at the beginning of the semester. I decided to make it a two-day trip, so visited the FDR library before lunch, and might even go back because I didn't have the time to see the entire exhibit. Tomorrow's outings depend on the forecast, which is rain and thunderstorms. We'll see.

I think I'm spring breaking with a vengeance.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 01, 2023, 03:13:44 AM
QBwH, last word briny. Lots of 3fers yesterday including facelifts-swan-nimble but a 2fer today.

Crossword puzzle is a bit weird.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 01, 2023, 06:49:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2023, 07:35:27 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius and then onto other puzzles.  Yesterday we were both missing briary, and I was also missing briny.

No luck on LB! Argh.  I feel dumb to miss webcasts-semifinal during the Final Four.  The closest I could come with the tougher letters was webcams.  I had about 40 tries and no luck! Persistence did not pay off.  Congrats on getting one today, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, it sounds like a nice trip! I would love to have lunch at that CIA sometime.  I hope your outings today are not foiled by weather.

While I was recording Merlin today and getting a pic and recording of a different bird, pyrrhuloxia came back up but was somewhere around the corner.  I tried to sneak around, but I think I scared it away due to moving across gravel.  I thought maybe my giant magenta snuggy would make it think I was a cardinal friend, but no dice.  I will try looking in that tree next time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 01, 2023, 08:33:37 AM
Good morning! 

QB yesterday with help to find binary (which I should have seen) and briary, which I never would have. Today I am only two words away from QB.

LB:  No solution yesterday, but I have a 2fer today!

Ab_grp, I'll be eager to learn what the new bird is—it will surely return. 

Langue_doc, the whole Hyde Park visit will be wonderful. When we lived up the river, my husband and I would often spend Saturdays driving down the Hudson, visiting various sites.  The FDR Library and home are must-sees—and also the Vanderbilt Mansion!  Lunch at the CIA will be excellent. 

My cousin is a CIA grad, and it kept him out of Vietnam.  As a new inductee, he was in the mess tent stirring a big pot of stew (or something) when an officer came in and asked, "Does anyone here know how to make souffléed potatoes?"  "I do, sir," my cousin answered.  "Then come with me."  My cousin had to make them for one of the generals, who was pleased with the result.  My cousin was then hired to cook for the top brass and spent his two years in Tokyo doing just that.

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 01, 2023, 09:11:34 AM
Cathwen, the other bird we were taking pics of and recording was one that is around here often.  I can tell because it's quite the loud mouth.  Cactus wren: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cactus_Wren/id#  It says it's similar in size to a spotted towhee, and I think towhee was a bee word at one point (one I did not get), so hurrah.  This cactus wren is really loud.  I think I mentioned a loud mouth before.  When it sits above us in the tree and yammers every few seconds, it's very difficult to get any puzzling done! The other loud mouth that comes around (not as bad, though) is Gambel's quail: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gambels_Quail/id

And that is a neat story about your cousin! He must have been a good cook.  Does he cook professionally now or still like to cook, at least? Congrats on your 2fer, and good luck on your final two bee words!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Parasaurolophus on April 01, 2023, 11:28:28 AM
I cancelled my subscription. I've been meaning to for a while, in light of their stoking the anti-trans moral panic.

But my remaining subscription will last into November. So. I may continue the games until then. We'll see.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 02, 2023, 02:57:14 AM
QBwH for militiaman. LB firth-hemophiliac.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 02, 2023, 08:10:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  I ran out of time yesterday and had a bunch of words left.  I think militiaman was the only one we were both missing, though.

No luck again on LB.  Congrats, ciao_yall! I thought homeplate might be part of the solution since they sometimes have timely ones (opening day MLB), and then I got homeopathic and was sure that would be a hit.  Nope.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 02, 2023, 08:34:25 AM
Good morning!

I am also at genius with the pangram, and now stuck.  Yesterday I needed a nudge to find natant, which I was sure I had put down earlier.

LB:  I had amplifier-reclothe.  I have one today as well.

Ab_grp, the cactus wren's eastern cousin, the Carolina wren, is also a loudmouth!  We have a number of them around here, and their sassy song makes me smile.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_wren

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 02, 2023, 10:50:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Made it to QB yesterday. The last word was attain--this, despite vainly trying attaint several times.

photometric/calf

cathwen, that's a lovely story about your cousin. I recall visiting the Vanderbilt museum/house years ago with ex-spouse, and also the CIA. When I walked in, I recalled the lobby, the restaurants, and also the classrooms which were exactly the way they were all those years ago. The classrooms and kitchens are worth looking at (needless to say, you can only look at the kitchens and the prep sites through the glass walls). The FDR museum was quite moving. I mentioned to my lunch mates that there was no mention of FDR's lady friend, but when I went back after lunch to see the downstairs exhibits, saw the single plaque noting that Laura Mercer was with FDR when he died and that Eleanor was quite upset because the visits were facilitated by their daughter Anna.

As for birds, I do not want to hear about the Carolina wren 😉! I hear them first thing in the morning, long before sunrise because they've taken over my neighbor's trees.

Today was a good birding day. As I was getting my things out, I came across another birding group, on its way out (they bird at 6:30 in the morning) who told me about the bittern https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Bittern/id they had seen along one of the ponds. The leader, who I know from previous walks even showed me the picture he had taken. When we meandered to that spot about a couple of hours later, the bird was still there, under a flowering cherry tree, all stretched out, facing us, and continued to stay in the same pose for quite some time. We also saw other birds including a kestrel https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/id. More on the kestrel I saw yesterday later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 03, 2023, 12:22:58 AM
Morning!

QBwH for betook. LB - started with cot-tantalize-exhibit then got a hint for calzone-exhibit. But quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 03, 2023, 05:16:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and well above genius. Last word yesterday was boob.

laicize/exhibition (I think)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 03, 2023, 05:41:48 AM
Good morning!

QBABM this morning!  Yesterday I needed help to find bootee (which has been in the Bee before), but kopek/kopeck were words I would never have gotten on my own. 

LB:  I had laicize-exhibition.  I found a 2fer rather quickly this morning also—ciao_yall, I wonder if it's the same one?  We'll find out tomorrow!

Happy puzzling!


Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2023, 07:39:24 AM
Good morning!

One more word to go today, dangit.  Congrats, cathwen! Hopefully I'll figure mine out soon.  Yesterday we were both missing kopec(k) and would also never have gotten them.  We needed the first three letters and a bunch of guessing.

For LB I also had laicize-exhibition, but it took me a long while.  Today I also found one quickly! They could very well all be the same solution.

Regarding birds, cathwen, I am sure I have heard that Carolina wren call before, maybe from many years living in that area.  Very chatty! And Langue_doc, that's already quite a variety of birds between the bittern and kestrel! One grand, the other petite.  Sounds like the bittern found a photogenic place to stretch out, too.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 03, 2023, 09:14:15 AM
Yay I got QBABM! Whew.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 04, 2023, 01:24:45 AM
Congrats ab_grp!

QBwG and a word I thought I made up dimity. LB halves-skewering. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 04, 2023, 05:31:42 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was doomy--didn't think this was a word, but who knew?

halves/skewering

Weird dreams last night. First I dreamt that I was on a bird walk, but got left behind, and then caught up with one of the leaders, walked quite a ways along what I thought was the wrong direction, and then was told that the leader was going home, and I should find my way to the rest of the group. Then as I was walking along, had to get out of the way of a large jeep full of unruly passengers driving on the sidewalk, and then finally found the train station and a train to NYC, which brought me to St. Patrick's (none of the train or bus stations are near the cathedral) where a mass was about to begin, and there was the prelate surrounded by assault-weapon toting security guards--remember thinking that this must be new and how difficult it must have been for the employees to learn how to operate these weapons.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 04, 2023, 08:29:15 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday my final words were tidy, ditto.  I don't know why they were escaping me.  Thanks, ciao_yall!

For LB, I had whisker-revealing.  So I guess we didn't all have the same one! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall (and another today) and Langue_doc!

That is a weird dream, Langue_doc! It's funny to think of where all the pieces could have come from and how they all came together for this narrative.  Could you figure out the theme? The latter part reminds me of being in Rome during Holy Week and flying home on Easter, with all the airport guards and their frightening weapons.  I had never seen that before.  I don't think it was specific to the holiday. 

Husband got called into work last night, so we didn't get to bed until the wee hours.  :-( !! Certainly, what I needed was less sleep.  At least I got some brussels sprouts made and got some items checked off today's to-do list, but I am dragging.  I've also been trying a new sleep-enhancing wearable, but it doesn't seem to be working correctly, so that's on the to-do as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 04, 2023, 12:39:47 PM
Good afternoon!

Just got to QB today. Yesterday was QBABM, last word toddy.

LB:  I had whisker-revealing. I have a 2fer today, although I had to struggle to find it, unlike ciao_yall!  (Congrats!)

Langue_doc, that was some dream! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 05, 2023, 12:20:39 AM
QBwH for marinara, minyan. My list of words is growing. LB foci-indubitably.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 05, 2023, 05:09:24 AM
Good morning!

QB with 2LL help to find the last word, mirin.  Today I am at genius with the pangrams, but I have a loooong way to go. 

LB:  I also had foci-indubitably.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 05, 2023, 05:31:32 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. As cathwen so eloquently put it, I still have a loooong way to go. I hate the repetitive bees. Last word yesterday was naan and another common four-letter word.

candytuft/tabloid

ab_grp, there's a good reason for the first part of the dream. I've been unhappy with one of the birding organizations--it's been a combination of incompetence, unprofessionalism, and virtue-signaling with the result that they (i) forgot to send the reminder/directions for the meeting place for the paid event, (ii) the person leading the walk was unfamiliar with the terrain and had not bothered to scout the area (I had to lead the way and also direct the group to the birdy spots/trees, (iii) led the walk as a regular beginner bird walk despite the walk being listed as a very specific bird behavior walk, and (iv) still leave me off the mailing list for this walk so I still don't have the usual bird list (this despite talking to the leader who I've met on other walks and who I like, and also having followed through with an email). The woman in my dream is quite professional and someone I like and get along with--I volunteered for this outfit the summer before the pandemic when she was my "colleague". As for the rest of the dream, I can attribute the scenarios to having to watch my back when on the subway, and recently deciding to stay away from Manhattan because of the arraignment.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 05, 2023, 08:13:23 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but only one pangram so far.  Yesterday I did get to QBABM, though! Last word was mirin.  I was glad to find minyan after missing it every other time.

For LB, I also had foci-indubitably.  I had a bunch of other contenders that I thought might work, but no luck.  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen (and another today), and on a totally different one, Langue_doc!

And that's interesting about the dreams, Langue_doc.  Sorry to hear you have had such a bad time with that group.  Sounds incredibly frustrating! Any optimism about a change in leadership? Ugh.  And I was thinking of you with the arraignment.  Not an area I'd like to be in.  I'm glad you're avoiding it.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 06, 2023, 01:42:55 AM
Morning!

QBwH for denounce(d). LB with a little nudge for cavernous-splash.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 06, 2023, 05:17:46 AM
Good morning!

Easy pangrams, but a difficult climb to genius. Missed unceded yesterday.

upheavals/scorn

ab_grp, after the former director retired a few years ago, things have been going downhill with respect to their insistence on "diversity". I like many of the leaders, so have been reluctant to complain. I had to point out in one of their surveys that the focus of this organization should be on birds and their environment and not on the skin color of the members or who does what to whom in the bedroom. This particular one did get back to me yesterday, but despite my liking and respect for this individual, was a bit put off by the "woke" pin on his backpack, and also by his reluctance to use the terms "male" and "female" for birds. I do belong to a couple of other groups, so will not be missing much by not renewing my membership with this particular organization.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 06, 2023, 08:10:22 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams, not near genius yet.  Yesterday I missed 5 words: (d)educe(d), neocon.  At least we got to QB, but I shouldn't have missed those.

For LB, I also got upheavals-scorn.  Congrats, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Langue_doc, it sounds like the focus has shifted, but it's unfortunate if members feel reluctant to address issues that may have arisen because of it.  I think it's a hard balance to strike and can be a difficult topic to have a productive discussion about.  Was there any response to what you pointed out in the survey? I'm glad there are other groups that are a better fit. 

We are all in backwards day today.  We woke up too late to be able to do much before husband's meeting, so we prioritized breakfast and delayed coffee and puzzling and even greeting the day.  I (thankfully!) have my coffee now and need to catch up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 06, 2023, 11:53:40 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed help to find deduce/d yesterday (and I even had educe/d!).  Today I'm at alpha with both pangrams, but running out of steam.

For LB, I had the "official" cavernous-splash.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 06, 2023, 02:57:26 PM
Finally got a 2fer and to genius.  Looks like I have 7 more words.  But at least I finally got the crosswords done and am almost done with sudokus.  I am really out of sorts today!

Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, cathwen.  I'm sure you will get one today! And good luck with your remaining bee words!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 06, 2023, 03:25:20 PM
It's a difficult bee today, ab_grp. I don't think I'm going to find the rest of the words, and at this point, I'm beyond caring. There are things to do tonight before going to bed. It's an early morning tomorrow, and an interesting walk on Sunday for which I'd have to sit in the subway for almost a couple of hours each way.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 07, 2023, 03:29:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed two or three words yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 07, 2023, 07:30:55 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find adobo, bolo, bacilli, lobo.  Today I have both pangrams and four words to go, but can't imagine what they are. 

LB:  I did not find a 2fer yesterday, and have not found one yet today.  Hope springs eternal...

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 07, 2023, 07:33:48 AM
Good morning!

We had to skip puzzling again, but I got to genius pretty quickly while getting ready.  I only have one pangram, though.  Yesterday I was missing two words.  Husband had one (bola), but we both missed (aboil). 

For LB, I had breaking-glitch, but now I'm confused because those don't seem to have been the letters yesterday at all. ?! Nor the day before? What! Hmm.  Haven't had coffee so will have to look into this.

I have a meeting this afternoon so hopefully will still get somewhere with puzzles.  I hope your early morning went well, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 07, 2023, 09:47:13 AM
Yesterday's QBwH for aboil, bocci.

LB - did anyone else get a different puzzle loaded during the day? So because I hadn't finished the first puzzle except for a 2fer b4ss crawled-divebomb I went to the hints to get wildcard-divebomb after a quick backlight-tern.

Today - Genius but just one pan, but a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 07, 2023, 10:00:26 AM
Ciao_yall, sounds like you saw the same thing I did! As I reported previously, my 2fer solution did not make sense with what was posted as the official solution since it had totally different letters.  I thought I was going nuts, but I guess something must have happened on the site.  I'm glad you saw the other letters as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 08, 2023, 02:08:59 AM
QBwH for paginal, painkilling. LB wrench-halibut.

Quick 2fer today but LB is a slog. Oh and I achieved a 51-word streak in Wordle!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 08, 2023, 05:49:13 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help to find paginal.  Today I'm above genius with the pangram.

LB:  I saw wrench yesterday, but did not see halibut!  Instead, I found two iffy words (but they were accepted, so...):  twitcher-ruinable.  I got a quick 2fer today, though, with normal words.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 08, 2023, 08:07:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I totally ran out of steam after my work call and was missing a few.  We were both missing paginal and needed to go to the community hints for that one.  Painkilling took me a while. 

For LB, I finally happened upon wrench-halibut right before dinner.  And I got one already this morning, probably the only one, but who knows.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Congrats on your wordle streak, ciao_yall.  Mine keeps getting erased for no reason.  But at least I feel less antsy about keeping it intact now! I still do it every day, though.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 08, 2023, 11:03:56 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. Didn't get back to the puzzles after posting here yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 09, 2023, 04:10:37 AM
Good morning!

Finally found the pangram which got me to genius. Missed moneymen (didn't think that was a word).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 09, 2023, 04:16:16 AM
Morning!

QBwH for monotone which drives me batty because I kept seeing mononym. LB quotations-swampy.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 09, 2023, 07:53:35 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning, and a good way to go.  Yesterday I went to 2LL hints to find mentee and tonne

LB:  I also had quotations-swampy.  I found one today, but it isn't very economical, so I may try again.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 09, 2023, 08:58:05 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram but not to genius yet.  I got up late.  Yesterday I was missing a few (moneymen included), but we failed to get team QB because of metonym (though husband had the longer word... gotta try it with and without a y!).

I also had quotations-swampy

I read that today's crossword is not fun or clever.  It received a 0 ducks rating.  Eek.  Definitely looking forward to that slog. 

Happy solving, and happy Easter to those who are celebrating! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2023, 04:45:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were cami and marm.

mail/loveworthy (I think)

Belated Happy Easter to all. I was at a subway station platform, waiting for the train when a woman with a very decorated Easter hat started chatting with me. She was on her way to the Easter parade, and was proud of the fact that she had decorated the hat herself.

As for the crosswords, I've been out and about these past couple of weekends, so my streak is back to 1--no regrets, though.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 10, 2023, 05:56:12 AM
Morning!

QBwH for cataract, maraca and tramcar which I thought I had put in but it didn't take? LB whare-emotively. I thought I made up whare but it turns out it's a Maori traditional tribal dwelling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 10, 2023, 07:13:39 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a 2LL hint for ratatat.  It's been in the Bee a number of times, but sometimes it doesn't register in my brain as a word. 

LB:  I had the "official" overwhelm-morality.  But before I found morality, I had martiality, which I thought was weird, even if accepted.  Why I didn't see morality right off the bat is anyone's guess.  No 2fer yet today!

Bird news:  Saturday my husband and I went to an Audubon center to walk the trails.  As we were about to leave, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, turned to look...and it was a bald eagle chasing a hawk of some kind!  We stood mesmerized as the eagle swooped and soared in search of...lunch?  Or maybe just chasing the hawk out of its territory?  I didn't get a good enough look at the hawk's markings (it was moving very fast!) to determine what kind it was.  Perhaps red-shouldered, as I've seen them there before, but I'm not at all sure.  But, the bald eagle!  Seeing one is always a treat and always takes my breath away.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2023, 08:19:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday the day just got away from me, even though I don't think I did much.  It was a good rest day! But I was missing several words when we compared lists, and we failed team QB due to ratatat.  Weird to suddenly forget that one.

For LB, I finally got whomever-rivality, which I finally guessed not thinking that the latter was a word.  I tried so many compounds and had a bunch of good contenders.  Never saw overwhelm, though.  Lots of interesting solutions and new words today.

Wow, cathwen, that must have been a pretty cool moment to see! I wouldn't want to be in the way of those birds or caught in the middle of their little issue.

And I guess I forgot that there were Easter parades, Langue_doc! Or maybe I never knew.  Sounds like a fancy hat!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2023, 08:56:07 AM
QB.

cathwen, that must have been quite a sight.

ab_grp, the Easter parade is quite an event-- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/04/09/nyregion/easter-parade-manhattan.html

This is probably behind a paywall:
https://www.nydailynews.com/photos/ny-easter-parade-2023-new-york-city-fifth-ave-20230409-b4sywnxp5nbibifg7lj236abfy-photogallery.html

The church in the background is St. Patrick's.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2023, 09:59:23 AM
Langue_doc, that is some affair! The outfit spectacle kind of reminds me of the Mummers Parade in Philly.  Looks like people have a lot of fun, and I didn't realize it had such a history!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 10, 2023, 01:34:16 PM
New game alert!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/crosswords/games-digits-beta.html

Click on the link at the end of the article. I have an event this evening and tons of work, so am resisting the temptation to proceed with the game after having clicked on the link.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 10, 2023, 02:19:22 PM
Got to QBABM! And I feel like I'm close on LB...

Thanks for sharing about the new game, Langue_doc! I have tried it out a bit.  It reminds me of one that game out during all the Wordle/globle/artle/numble? Whatever that number one was called.  I am not good at these despite my background.  Maybe something good to practice!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 11, 2023, 06:38:55 AM
QBwH - so meetup is one word? Okay.

LB - was really close with blush-hem-macerated before getting a hint for blushed-demarcated.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 11, 2023, 07:45:46 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, with mutt as last word.  Today I'm at Beta with the pangram.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday.  I had blushed, but did not see demarcate.  No 2fer yet today, either--sigh!

And thanks for pointing out the new game, Langue_doc!  It's a bit like the math section of a French game show, Des chiffres et des lettres. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2023, 08:00:26 AM
Good morning!

I'm a bit past genius with pangram so will try for QB again today.  We'll see.  Yesterday, my final words were muumuu, teem, umpteen.  I was very glad to find them!

Though I struggled mightily, I did not get a 2fer.  So close! I saw blushed-demarc, but demarcate just didn't come to mind.  I am not sure why.  I guess it's not a word I use or see that often, though it's not totally unknown to me.  Ugh. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 11, 2023, 11:12:48 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram (finally) and genius. Last words yesterday were menu and mute.

I couldn't get the hang of the new puzzle, so am not sure if I have the patience to find out the details.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 11, 2023, 04:57:22 PM
I got to QBABM this afternoon but haven't managed to get a 2fer yet.  Still trying!

And I'm not sure about the new puzzle, either.  It reminds me of my husband's favorite kind of calculator that basically requires you to think backwards from the end goal.  I am much more of a brute force math person. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 12, 2023, 04:53:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Last word yesterday was midi.

Not sure about the new puzzle; besides, I'm still behind on the crossword. The weather calls, so I need to be outdoors.

Happy solving!

ETA: More pictures from the Easter parade.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/style/easter-parade-manhattan-fashion.html
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 12, 2023, 05:16:23 AM
Good morning!

Not a great puzzle day yesterday.  I went to 2LL help to find dammed, edema, mecca, macadamia—all of which I've gotten in previous puzzles.  Today I am at Alpha with two words to go.

LB:  No solution yesterday!  I have one today, though.

I am enjoying Digits.  I got three stars for all the problems yesterday, although the last one took a lot of time. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 12, 2023, 06:13:59 AM
Morning!

Not a great puzzle day for me, either. Needed a hint for edema. LB stuck on 3fers including forwards-sight-sib until getting a hint for forbids-sightsaw.

And I blew my Wordle streak after 53 so back to zero.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 12, 2023, 07:16:12 AM
So far today: GwP; missed Wordle; weird 2fer with something that turned out to be a word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 12, 2023, 08:12:24 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius or so with the pangram so far.  Seems like I was lucky to get QB yesterday.  My last word was academe.

I struggled mightily again on the LB yesterday but did not get a solution.  Hopefully today will work out better.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 13, 2023, 04:41:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was unpin.

Couldn't find mates for necromancy or necromantic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 13, 2023, 06:32:58 AM
QBwH - I missed penne despite it being on my grocery list! LB was a wild guess cyborg-geminate but it took so, hey. Learned a new word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 13, 2023, 08:49:41 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and past genius.  We each have 2 words left, but we have different # points left.  Yesterday I did get QBABM after nearly giving up! I think my final three were unpegging, unpeg, penguin.

And I almost gave up on LB after many tries but finally got manage-embryotic right before bed.  Congrats, ciao_yall! I kept trying cybernetic and such, b4ss.  Missed cyborg!

Dentist this afternoon, but I can't remember if they have good wifi or not, so not sure if I'll be able to puzzle then.  Hopefully it will be a short appointment.  We sat outside longer this morning to puzzle while enjoying the weather, anyway.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 13, 2023, 09:56:44 AM
Good afternoon!

Last word yesterday was penguin.  Today I'm at genius with the pangram, and four words to go. 

LB:  I had genic-combinatory. No 2fer yet today!

Ab_grp, I hope your dentist appointment is short and painless!

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 14, 2023, 03:26:53 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (early on) and finally genius. Long day today, so that's probably it for puzzles.

Last word was woodcock--I thought of the word much earlier but for some strange reason, didn't see the c, and kept telling myself that if only there was a c in the puzzle, I could enter the word. This, despite entering other words with c in them. Remembered locoweed (patted me on the back for doing so) and vaguely remembered having a discussion on that word.

ab_grp, hope your dentist's appointment was painless. Which reminds me that I need to schedule one soon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 14, 2023, 04:56:12 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday my last words were dwell/ed, wowed, and locoweed.  I vaguely remember having seen locoweed before, but I needed a hint to find it.

LB:  No solution yesterday, in spite of having seen inform, match, and box.  Argh!  I have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2023, 06:26:58 AM
QBwH, Needed a hint for locoweed as well, which was on my list but I guess I never checked it? LB just 3fers hibachi-informant-tox, and played around with boxcar, matrix but got a hint for inform-matchbox.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2023, 08:28:22 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram (which took a bit) and then to genius.  Yesterday I never got my final two words, which ended up being wedded (should have gotten that one!) and the much despised locoweed.  Congrats on getting that one, Langue_doc!! I hope it eventually secures a place in my mental bee list.  We did have team QB, though.

And no luck on LB despite a lot of trying.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Thanks for the good wishes on the dentist appt, cathwen and Langue_doc! I think they must have helped.  It's sad having to tell myself to be a big girl and go get it done, but I did get a good report.  Unfortunately, my rock star hygienist is likely leaving (though I may be able to make some appts with him separately in the future).  I am not surprised, because he has had other (related) ambitions and seems as though he would be an amazing teacher or professor.  And his father, the dentist who founded the practice, is retiring further, so there is a new dentist that I got to meet (in addition to a previously new one I have seen a few times).  He seems fine.  It's funny that the dentists don't really matter so much to me.  I guess they would more so if I had to have real dental work, which I thankfully have not had to do here (yet).  My hygienist has someone who flies out here from Maine for appts with him! I remember a colleague in NJ telling me that she still flew out to her old dentist twice a year in Wisconsin or some such, and I thought she was insane.  But I get it now.  Anyway, it went fine, and I do appreciate the support! I just dread it so much.  It's funny, my hygienist says he feels the same way about eye appts, which don't bother me at all.  He brought in a new hygienist to start taking over for him, someone he handpicked, and husband will have an appt with that fellow in the coming weeks, so husband will be my guinea pig.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 14, 2023, 12:34:54 PM
2fer, but now SB is down on the website!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 14, 2023, 02:09:42 PM
Congrats, ciao_yall! I am close with some contenders, but I have not joined the club yet.

Luckily, it looks like the bee is back up and buzzing again.  I have a hard time believing that there are 7 more legit words in there.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 15, 2023, 07:00:53 AM
Good morning!

I needed 2LL help to find my last word, gooey, which I could have sworn that I tried but was rejected.  Today have four words to go and am stuck.

LB:  I had lawn-neuropathy, which took me an age to find.  I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 15, 2023, 07:59:20 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, both missing oenology.  I was missing a couple others as well (anally, eely, nylon).

I also got lawn-neuropathy after many tries (but well before bed this time!).  I had unworthy but didn't see its mate.  This morning I got a 2fer on my second try! Congrats on yours, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 15, 2023, 09:35:35 AM
Morning!

QB with help from the new Spelling Bee Buddy. Last word leanly but I didn't need a definition. I knew I was looking for an le--ly word and took a wild guess. LB unwrap-polythene and a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 15, 2023, 01:36:14 PM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and above genius before going birding earlier today. Missed a few points yesterday.

Happy birding!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 16, 2023, 07:25:58 AM
Morning! QBwSBB (with Spelling Bee Buddy.) Last words dolor, wildwood. LB clownfish-hazy and a quick 2fer with a word I thought I made up.

Happy solving, birding, dentisting and whatever else is up for this week!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 16, 2023, 07:44:07 AM
Good morning!

Slow going today but have two pangrams so far and am moving in the right direction.  Yesterday I struggled my way to QBABM again! I was so happy to finally see wryly.  Ugh!! I remembered wildwood this time because our previous discussion about thinking it was a proper name from down the shore.

I also got clownfish-hazy.  Congrats on yours today, ciao_yall!

Got the crosswords done but I haven't started on LB or Wordle yet and haven't done much on the bee.  Should have some more time today, but we shall see. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 16, 2023, 07:53:55 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL help to find my last word, dowdily.  Today I have all three pangrams and only two words to go, but I may eventually need help to find them, because they are hiding from me.

LB:  I also had clownfish-hazy, and today got a 2fer on my first try.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 16, 2023, 09:07:26 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was dryly.

I'm paying the price for being out and about during the height of the allergy season.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 16, 2023, 01:46:13 PM
At least I finally got to genius, but I am still missing a pangram.  You are so close, cathwen! Good luck! And congrats on your superquick 2fer!

Langue_doc, sorry to hear that the allergy monster caught up with you.  I have definitely been there.  I hope they clear up soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 17, 2023, 05:23:07 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams, fifteen words, and 100 points. Didn't get to finish the bee yesterday, but no regrets as I wouldn't have found at least a couple of the missing words.

blocking/gauche

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2023, 07:01:10 AM
Good morning!

Got the three pangrams and past genius so far.  I missed a few yesterday, and we both missed some as well.  We would never have found ambulette! We couldn't even figure it out with the letters and clues.  Fail!

And a fail on LB as well.  I had some of the words in the schmofficial solution and in Langue_doc's (congrats!) but not their mates.  Argh! I tried.

Maybe today will be a better puzzle day!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 17, 2023, 07:07:35 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help to find bumblebee and bubba.  Today I'm at Beta with all three pangrams. 

LB:  This is another with several solutions!  Mine was chalking-globule, which I found on the first try.  I have a 2fer today also (but not found on the first try).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 17, 2023, 08:07:08 AM
QBwSBB - and a new word ambulette. LB chanking-globule so that's 2 for 2 on new words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 17, 2023, 03:34:56 PM
I also had chalking, darnit.  I guess if I had persisted in just about any direction, I might have hit a mate.  But I did get one today.  Congrats on yours, cathwen!

And I only have one more dang word on the bee but just can't see it.  I will keep trying.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 18, 2023, 06:24:12 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius, but that's it for today. Missed hiragana; I was surprised that ablaut wasn't accepted in a recent puzzle, but aargh was. So much for hand-curating words instead of relying on a reputable dictionary!

bewails/strumpet

I'm surprised that words that are derogatory to women are acceptable. So many vents this morning!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2023, 07:58:37 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius or thereabouts so far.  Yesterday we also failed to get hiragana, but that was the only one we were each missing, so I don't feel too badly.  Sorry for saying argh in my post yesterday morning, but I hadn't gotten to aargh yet in the puzzle.

For LB I got timewarps-sublime.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc! I haven't heard strumpet in a while.  Both different from the schmofficial one!

Just saw that I did not finish the medium sudoku yesterday.  Oops! Add that to the list.  At least I have crosswords and Wordle done.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 18, 2023, 08:57:30 AM
QBwH - had a bit of a spoiler so found hirigana but then needed hints for the 3 pa words pariah, paragraph, paragraphing. 3fers and 2fers coming out of my ears, then got a hint from a friend for stumbler-ripsaw. Compounds always get me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 18, 2023, 11:56:03 AM
Good afternoon!

I was annoyed at aargh and hiragana yesterday, both of which I needed hints for.  Today I am at genius with one of the two pangrams. 

LB:  I had timewarps-slub.  No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 18, 2023, 01:39:52 PM
Got a 2fer!

And congrats on your variation from yesterday, cathwen! Good luck today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 19, 2023, 04:13:04 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius, but that's it for today. Missed myelin (whatever that means), lenity, tinily, and a couple that I should have seen.

Ambulettes are quite common here in the city as these are the only accessible transportation services for the elderly and people in wheelchairs. Ambulettes have ramps that can lift/lower wheelchairs.

dysfunctions/slim (slum)

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 19, 2023, 06:42:38 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find myelin (a guess) and lenity.  Today I'm at Alpha with both pangrams, only a few words left, but they are hiding from me.

LB:  I finally got the "official" 2fer yesterday:  mild-dysfunction.  I do not yet have one today. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 19, 2023, 06:54:42 AM
QB and a twofer, probably the official one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 19, 2023, 07:42:35 AM
QBwH for lenity - new word! But how does anyone get QBABM? LB mild-dysfunctions.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 19, 2023, 08:02:54 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius or a bit past so far.  Yesterday we were both missing lenity and myelin.  I had been having good luck getting to QBABM, but they've been throwing some new words (to me) in there lately! I guess it's good to expand the vocabulary.

I also got the schmofficial mild-dysfunction.  Congrats on getting a different one, Langue_doc! And congrats on another today, even if it ends up being schmofficial.

I have probably seen ambulettes but didn't realize that that was what they were called.  Interesting!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 19, 2023, 02:11:09 PM
Finally got a 2fer! Four more words to go on the bee. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 20, 2023, 04:49:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Last word yesterday was denude.

dwarfs/solecism

QuoteBut how does anyone get QBABM?

It isn't too difficult as long as there aren't any weird words such as aargh (which I found, just by typing this after the unsuccessful argh), and the ones in recent puzzles. I usually get to genius with or without the pangram(s) before getting out of bed. Being a voracious reader helps as does trying all possible combinations with the letters in the puzzles.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 20, 2023, 07:42:33 AM
QBwG, wild guesses for endue, endued.

LB with hints and some new words microworlds-safe, welfarism-melodic. I did enjoy the visual poetry of my 3fers frolic-crawdads-some, farms-social-lewd.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 20, 2023, 08:02:01 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on April 20, 2023, 04:49:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and well above genius. Last word yesterday was denude.

dwarfs/solecism

QuoteBut how does anyone get QBABM?

It isn't too difficult as long as there aren't any weird words such as aargh (which I found, just by typing this after the unsuccessful argh), and the ones in recent puzzles. I usually get to genius with or without the pangram(s) before getting out of bed. Being a voracious reader helps as does trying all possible combinations with the letters in the puzzles.

Happy solving!

Yeah, I always get genius pretty quickly. QB with some level of hints and reminders during the day. And I'm learning new words.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 20, 2023, 08:35:32 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but neither of us could get our final two words.  Mine were eunuch, unceded.  Oh well, I tried.

I also got dwarfs-solecism yesterday.  I never would have gotten welfarism.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Husband used to have a photography business on the side and brought his camera out today for puzzling time in case we saw any interesting birds.  He managed to get a blurry photo of one that I saw in Merlin at the same time and was going to tell him to try to get: male Lazuli Bunting (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lazuli_Bunting/id).  Pretty! And apparently rare here.  Other interesting birds in the area recently were Scott's Oriole (listed as rare here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Scotts_Oriole/overview) and Hooded Oriole (listed as uncommon here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Oriole/overview).  Well, I guess rare and uncommon at here at this time of the year or some such.  He's hoping that our new hobby of sitting and letting birds come to us will also help him get his photography chops back.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 20, 2023, 02:39:15 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

QB yesterday with help to find eunuch and undue.  (And I even had endue)!   Today I got to QB-3, then had a lot of work to do, so went to hints to finish,.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday, and none so far today.  Congratulations, everyone, on yours! 

Ab_grp, those are some great sightings!  Yesterday, my husband and I saw a female ruby crowned kinglet.  She put on quite a display for us, allowing my husband to get several good photos.  (He's taking his new camera on our walks to practice for our trip in May.).

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 20, 2023, 05:13:13 PM
QB-2... trying not to go to hints but I've already hit the 2LL and Spelling Bee Buddy. And I do have a 2fer today but it's a weird one. I think they all will be weird ones.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 21, 2023, 05:23:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was phenom, which I happened to hear while riding the subway earlier this week, but didn't know what it meant until I looked it up after getting home.

ab_grp, those are lovely birds. Do post your sightings along with the photos on ebird. Birds that used to be "uncommon" are no longer so because of the changing weather patterns.

cathwen, if I might ask, where are you going?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 21, 2023, 06:26:09 AM
Good morning!

QB with hints for anemone, pompano, and mammon.  I had a lot of work yesterday and got impatient, so I went to 2LL hints. These are all words I've gotten before.  Today I am beyond genius with the pangram. 

LB:  Another day without a 2fer! And no 2fer yet today, although I have some good contenders.

Langue_doc, we're going on a cruise that starts in Barcelona and ends in Reykjavik.  One stop on the way is at Caernarvon in north Wales, and the excursion we've signed up for is a bird watching expedition, which we are both very much looking forward to.  It's an extravagant vacation, but we haven't been much of anywhere for several years, and while we're still healthy, we decided to splurge.  Future vacations will be way more modest. 

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 21, 2023, 07:12:32 AM
cathwen, that sounds like a fun and well-deserved vacation. Do keep us posted on the interesting sites/sights, and also on the birds you see on the expedition.

cathwen and ab_grp, in addition to posting your bird sightings here, might I suggest also foraying into the bird thread to post your bird sightings there? That thread has not been very active until about a couple of days or so.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 21, 2023, 07:22:59 AM
QBwH for a new word phoneme. LB exurban-nodulize. I was adding -ize to anything I could think of.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 21, 2023, 08:10:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  At least one word I thought might be accepted isn't.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB again, missing pompano.  I was also missing apeman/men

I got the schmofficial solution, idolize-exurban (second word first), right before dinner.  I was hoping exurbanize would work, but no.  Congrats on your variation, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I thought about the bird thread but am such a dilettante with it at the moment... I don't want to just post a drive-by post and not go back to it! I hope we can get some good pics.  Today was a little windy, so few birds right in our line of sight.  That's good to know about the rarity! There was a (also marked rare) Cassin's Finch in the area, but we didn't see it.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cassins_Finch/id

Cathwen, that sounds like an amazing vacation! I think a lot of people never splurge on that kind of thing or wait on it until it's too late.   I have been fortunate to be on a few trips that are really memorable.  Being so immersed in different everything can really enrich and maybe change your life.   And it sounds like a wonderful itinerary! Can't wait to hear all about it and live vicariously through you and your husband.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2023, 04:33:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word was villa. I was surprised/annoyed that alluvial wasn't accepted.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 22, 2023, 06:45:56 AM
Good morning!

I'm beyond genius today, but I'll be darned if I can find the pangram.  Yesterday my last words were tali and tallit, both of which I now remember from previous Bees.

LB:  I had the "official" womb-beneficiary.  I found one today also without too much trouble. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 22, 2023, 08:07:41 AM
Good morning!

Past genius, but I'm over here without a pangram as well.  Same for husband.  Hopefully as the day unfolds a pangram come into focus.   Yesterday we failed to get team QB again, missing aril, which I usually get these days.  I was also missing raita, tiara, travail, others that I usually get! Oh well.

For LB I also had womb-beneficiary.  Congrats on another today, cathwen! I have some good contenders so hope to join you.

Bird of the morning after a long dry spell of mostly doves of various flavors... pyrrhuloxia! Unseen but heard very clearly, probably less than 10-15 feet away.  It landed on a low branch right in the tree in front of us, but there's so much greenery that we can't see anything in there, and if we try to get up we end up scaring the birds away.  Husband did get some good pics of a cactus wren perched on top of a tree yesterday while we were walking around the driveway.  Yes, we stopped walking so he could run in and get the good camera.  I guess that counts as cardiac rehab, if your heart rate gets up due to excitement.  Verdin was also around, unseen, and unheard by me this morning, as was "rare" red crossbill.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 22, 2023, 08:21:44 AM
Morning! QB needed a hint for ritual. Gah. And I also tried alluvial. Just 3fers yesterday including airforce-eyebrow-women but finally got a hint for womb-beneficiary.

GwP today. It's a tricky one. And a 3fer so far so home to tie it down.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2023, 10:13:00 AM
It's a tricky pangram today--I stumbled on it only because the letters were arranged in a certain way after one of the reshufflings. Think foreign.

Went birding, and following my advice to y'all will post on the bird thread this afternoon. Nothing spectacular or out of the way today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 22, 2023, 05:53:29 PM
QB and a two-fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 23, 2023, 06:32:09 AM
Good morning!

Past genius, but without the pangram (again).  Yesterday I needed hints for leitmotif, also motile.

LB:  I had molecule-enwraps.  Today I found a 2fer on my first try!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 23, 2023, 07:44:16 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and past genius to QB-2.  I'm hopeful! Yesterday I got to QBABM! I was down to two words, one of which was still the pangram.  We were about to start comparing, when I saw my 5-letter.  Motif! I felt better that at least I got all the non-pangrams.  But then of course I realized what the pangram was! Whee!!!!

For LB I got warmups-somnolence.  Congrats on yours, cathwen, and another today!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a quick 2fer as well!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 23, 2023, 09:21:26 AM
Morning! QBwSBB, last word motile. I like having an intermediate step before going for hints. Today's pan - not there yet.  So GwoP. Or GxP?

LB - ended up going for hints. Lots of 3fers including warmups-sole-econ, crumples-swan-nor and other close ones. Got hints for columnar-respawn, opulences-swarm.  Tricky!

But a 2fer this morning so all is right with the world.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 23, 2023, 12:25:49 PM
Afternoon!

Past genius, but no pangram yet. Last word yesterday was mote.

columnar/rewraps

ab_grp, that's quite a list of exotic birds in your yard!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 24, 2023, 03:52:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I'm at my word limit for today, I think. Last word yesterday was one of those four-letter words that I should have seen quite early.

befriends/shaving

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 24, 2023, 06:36:15 AM
QBwH for lowland. LB befriends-shaving.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 24, 2023, 07:04:19 AM
Good morning!

The pangram yesterday finally occurred to me—why I didn't see it earlier is a mystery.  But my last word was deadwood.  Today the pangram was my first word, and I'm now at QB-1. 

LB:  I had the "official" feverish-handbag.  No 2fer today yet!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 24, 2023, 07:33:27 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and a bit past genius.  Good luck with your final word, cathwen! Yesterday I was so close but couldn't figure out deadwood.  We did have team QB, though.

For LB I also got befriends-shaving.  I have a couple contenders but nothing yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 25, 2023, 07:36:40 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius so far.  Yesterday I failed again by one word, accrual.  We did have team QB.

For LB, I had the schmofficial solution, jumbles-sinkhole.  The latter took me forever.

Husband got yanked onto a call abruptly, so no outdoor puzzling and birding today.  (yet?)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 25, 2023, 07:43:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. It's a draggy one today. Missed arco. Arco?!

jumbles/sinkhole, and then a more efficient jumbos/sinkhole

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 25, 2023, 08:06:05 AM
Morning! Needed a hint for corral of all things. LB jumbles-sinkhole.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 25, 2023, 09:25:50 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, got corolla only with 1LL help.  And I used to drive a Corolla!  Today I'm at genius with all three pangrams, but I have a way to go to QB.  Lots of work to do today—I may not have much time to work on it.

LB:  I finally got the "official" jumbles-sinkhole.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 26, 2023, 07:44:37 AM
QBwATHICG for libidinal. And needed a nudge from a friend for linebacker-reflexive. Compounds get me every time!

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 26, 2023, 08:25:52 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to QB-3 so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I failed to get gangland, idling, bandanna.  That last one always gets me.  I guess it's been too long since I had to remember that spelling.

For LB I also got the schmofficial linebacker-reflexive.  It took me a while to see all of linebacker after having reflexive as a promising contender for most of the day.  And I have a 2fer today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 26, 2023, 09:15:26 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwATHICG to find ladling, libidinal, and the alternate spelling, bandanna.  Today I am at QB-3 with all three pangrams. 

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  I had reflexive, but did not see linebacker.  I found a 2fer today fairly quickly. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 26, 2023, 09:23:50 AM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and genius. Missed libidinal and bandanna--oh, well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 27, 2023, 07:17:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams (one of them is an aargh!) and above genius. Missed axon, taxon, and a couple more x-words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 27, 2023, 07:36:12 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams but not to genius yet.  I went on to other puzzles and am trying to finish the crossword currently.  Yesterday I managed to get QBABM at the last minute! My final word was anoint.  We thought axion, anoxia might have been in there.

For LB I got catchup-powerful

We decided to go furniture shopping yesterday since we haven't bought literally any furniture for this house in about 7 years and most was hand-me-downs.  It's exciting, but I am just not a big spender and am trying to get used to the thousands of dollars required to furnish a house even partially.  I am also both an easy customer and bad customer because I don't particularly care about the style (focus on comfort and function), but I am definitely not into southwest decor, unfortunately! I think we may have found a loveseat and dining room table set, but there's more research to do and decisions to make.  Everything is so customizable on the couch, but I sort of just feel like saying just sell me the one on the sales floor and let me be done with it! I guess I am no fun.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 27, 2023, 07:37:56 AM
QBwH and a new word taxa. LB powerful-latch.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 27, 2023, 01:45:00 PM
Good afternoon!

Last words yesterday were anoint and doodad.  Today I am at QB-3, but not having much luck finding the remaining words.

And no success with LB, either—although yesterday I had powerful-latch.

Ab_grp, good luck with the furniture shopping!  It's like shopping for shampoo—too many choices. One's head begins to spin. 

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2023, 04:59:41 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. That's probably it for today. Last word was fifteen.

ab_grp, comfort and function override all other considerations, so good luck with your furniture shopping/decision-making!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2023, 08:10:09 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday we fell short, both missing fifteen.  I was also missing (in)finite, somehow.

And I managed to fail to get a 2fer as well.  I had half of the schmofficial jetways-soupcon solution, and I will let you guess the half.

Thanks for the furniture shopping support! There are definitely about a billion options, even for one particular couch model.  It's staggering.  I also can't let the decision-making take mental energy away from my puzzling!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 28, 2023, 08:30:53 AM
QB, needed a hint for fiend despite thinking several times "Oh, but for an r to make fried, friend." And also needed a hint to get jetways-soupcon. Gah.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 28, 2023, 10:33:46 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, but only with hints for infinite and identified.  Today I am beyond genius with the pangram.

LB:  Like everyone else, I found jetways yesterday, but did not see soupçon.  I did find a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 28, 2023, 03:27:05 PM
QB and a twofer.

This link popped up on my Kindle after getting to QB https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/upshot/spelling-bee-buddy.html

I have my own rules for games, so will not be relying on hints for the bee, but posted the link just in case it might be useful to someone. Here is another one--https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/24/upshot/spelling-bee-words.html--I distinctly remember missing tinily and lenity just a few days ago!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 28, 2023, 04:46:41 PM
Just got a 2fer! Congrats on yours, cathwen and Langue_doc!

And Langue_doc, congrats on your QB, and thanks for the hint links.  I hadn't seen that site before! I also really like the spelling bee words part of it to see % getting words (just from visitors to that hint site, though) and, even better, definitions! Nice to have them all in one place for the hardest words in the puzzle.  Also, I wish you could "play" previous puzzles to try out the hint piece without actually doing it on the active puzzle.  I am avoiding it because of that, but it looks cool! I might load it on my phone in case we want to try that when we compare tonight and don't have team QB (as I expect).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 29, 2023, 05:36:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but don't think I can find any more words with today's letters.

Last words were minx and mint.

favorite/embalmed

Twofer already!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 29, 2023, 05:45:35 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram, not many words to go—but I have hit a brick wall.  Yesterday I did not finish the puzzle—but I did finish writing a final exam, so that feels like a major victory!  Words I missed were eminence, entice/ment, imminence, innie.

LB:  I had drifter-removable.  I have a 2fer today also.

I have checked out the spelling bee buddy—thanks for the link, Langue_doc! 

In addition to finishing the final exam, I also sent in my official letter of resignation to my supervisor, who wrote a very nice letter back.  Part of me thinks:  Whee!  All that free time!  And:  Aaargh!  What will I do with all that free time?  I'm sure I'll figure it out!

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 29, 2023, 07:45:06 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and a bit past genius.  Yesterday I didn't think we would make it, but we did get team QB, so I didn't get to try out the bee buddy yet.  I missed entente, icemen, innie somehow.

For LB I also got drifter-removable, and I have another today.  Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen!

And cathwen, big congrats on finishing writing the final, and even bigger congrats for submitting your resignation letter! You're almost free! Lots of puzzles (and probably other activities) await!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 29, 2023, 08:00:17 AM
QBwH because I never seem to get innie, mentee on my own. LB fabler-remotivated. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on April 30, 2023, 09:15:29 AM
Good morning!

Not to genius, no pangrams! I did get the crosswords and Wordle done, but no real excuse.  I think husband found two of the pangrams so far.  Hopefully I will wake up eventually.  Yesterday I almost made it to QB but was missing acquit and just couldn't see it despite the pangram! But we did have team QB, so I still didn't get to try bee buddy.  With today's long list and us each having long phone calls, maybe today is the day.

For LB I had fanatic-caramelized, so I guess a variation on the schmofficial solution.

I forgot to mention that according to Merlin there is a great egret around! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/overview#  I am kind of guessing that's a false positive since if there's anything we do not have here, it's water.  But who knows, apparently if you are in a non-breeding area you can still see them when they migrate, though that is listed as late summer.  In any case, we did not lay eyes on it if it was here, but we will keep an eye out!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on April 30, 2023, 09:30:22 AM
QBwATHICG for cinquain. LB frantic-climatized.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on April 30, 2023, 10:00:04 AM
Afternoon!

Pangrams (2) and genius. I don't have the energy to chase after the remaining 100 or so points. Last word yesterday was cinquain.

frantic/caramelized

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on April 30, 2023, 12:31:13 PM
Good afternoon!

QB with help to find cinquain, and, annoyingly, cancan and titanic.  Today I clawed my way to genius with two of the three pangrams, but I'm not hopeful of making much more. 

LB: I had frantic-caramelized, frantic-climatized, and fanatic-caramelized.  But no 2fer yet today!

Has anyone been playing Digits?  I love it!  I hope it becomes permanent. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 01, 2023, 04:54:08 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Missed a few words yesterday, but made it to above 300 points.

poking/graveyard

Easy wordle--found the solution on the second try.

cathwen, I finally got the hang of Digits, and have been getting all 15 points the last couple of weeks.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 01, 2023, 06:16:36 AM
Good morning!

I ran out of time yesterday and missed a bunch of words, found only through 2LL help.  Then one whose definition in hints I had to look up—nacelle.  Today it took me a long time to find the pangram, but now I stand at QB-2. 

LB: I didn't find the 2fer yesterday, but I have one today, even though the second word seems odd to me. 

Last day of classes today—oof.  Then the grading begins. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 01, 2023, 06:29:36 AM
QBwH and help from hubby for nacelle. LB poking-graveyard.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 01, 2023, 08:01:16 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius, still no pangram (and none for husband).  Yesterday with each having a call of several hours length, we had a ways to go by the time we compared.  And, several words I know I entered had disappeared.  So, we failed to get team QB but did get to try out the bee buddy! I thought it was helpful and like the various hint info given on the page in addition to the constantly updating personalized hints.  I also like that each personalized hint seems to have a link to a reader hint for that word as well and that they have a section on hints for words starting with each letter and such.  I would have liked to get further without help, but it was a good opportunity to try it out, and I think that will be our go-to from now on when we fail to achieve team QB.

No luck on LB! Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen, no matter what! And good luck on your final day and start of grading!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 02, 2023, 05:02:17 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Missed teletype which I've seen before, and according to the bee, also missed bleep which I knew I had entered quite early in the puzzle.

inquests/sparkish

cathwen, happy retirement from teaching!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 02, 2023, 06:31:18 AM
Morning! QBwH for poppet. LB needed a hint for quipsters-shank but had 3fers coming out of my ears.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 02, 2023, 07:40:44 AM
I tried the bee buddy just to see how it worked. It showed me that I had four words left, and then when I clicked on the hint button, displayed the first two letters. I would have found these words anyway, including the one that I knew I had entered much earlier, but it's good to know that there is help when you are stuck.

So, QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 02, 2023, 07:59:44 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday was another failure.  I could not get the pangram! I even guessed topbelly.  Ugh!!!!! What in the world.  Anyway, we failed to get team QB and used bee buddy again.  It told us good job on finding however many Ls but there were more left! So we figured out that it was lollop, an old friend.  I figure it's got some good scaffolded help and just makes it easier than using Shunn's site where we have to count how many we have of each, etc.  It's nice that it personalizes based on our progress.  Yesterday it told us something like good job on finding X.  Only Y% of users found that one! There is an even less common word that starts with N (that was nacelle) that only Z% found.  Kind of more interesting than just looking at a grid.

For LB I got a schmofficial variant: quipster-rethank.  I wondered if that's the one cathwen got because she mentioned not being sure about the second word.  I will stay tuned.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 02, 2023, 09:45:48 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, but with help to find the last word, which was 4 letters and driving me crazy!  It was épée!  It's a word I often overlook.  Today I am at QB-1 and just can't find that last word, so congratulations on your QB, Langue_doc!

LB yesterday was inquests-sparkish. Sparkish was the word I thought was a little odd, but I agree, ab_grp, that quipster is odd, too!  I found a 2fer today without too much trouble. 

I have also tried the Bee Buddy and like the hints.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 03, 2023, 05:56:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was nanobot which I knew I had entered much earlier.

lamp/production

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 03, 2023, 06:19:48 AM
Good morning! 

A bit beyond genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I tripped over nanobot and attaboy, which I never think of as a real word.

LB:  I also had lamp-production.  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 03, 2023, 08:04:12 AM
Good morning!

Again no pangram and not to genius yet.  Husband has the pangram.  I had to sleep in a little since I was up for a while during the night.  Yuck.  Bad timing, since husband has to go in earlyish today.  But we did get a few minutes outside, at least.  Yesterday we used bee buddy to find oaty, tony.  I think it has a little work to go on some of the hints it gives (e.g., it said O was the most common first letter among the words were missing, which isn't quite true), but we are enjoying its help.  I was missing a couple others, including nanobot.

No luck on LB! Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen (and on another today!).  Cathwen, I was thinking rethank was more a of a weird word than quipster, but they are both a bit unusual.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2023, 08:33:29 AM
QbwH for natant which I missed for the zillionth time. I actually got all the weird ones like attaboy, nanobot... LB was proclamation-noud which I thought I made up. Turned out it's an obscure word for "knot."

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on May 03, 2023, 10:15:41 AM
I have been pretty spotty on LB lately, but yesterday's 2fer cracked me up: compliant-turd
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 03, 2023, 12:04:39 PM
Quote from: onthefringe on May 03, 2023, 10:15:41 AM
I have been pretty spotty on LB lately, but yesterday's 2fer cracked me up: compliant-turd

LOL! any 3fers? They make great little haikus.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 04, 2023, 04:17:12 AM
Good morning!

364 points. When I tried to continue with the puzzle on the computer, SB informed me that I had 12 words, so I had to refresh the page on the Kindle and then back to the computer where it now has the correct word count. This is the second day in a row that I've had this discrepancy between the Kindle and the computer.

Needed help with geotag and vlog to get to QB. The bee buddy hint for the former was rather obscure as was the one for nanobot the previous day, which I found by retyping the word that I had entered much earlier.

I don't think I have the time or energy to chase down more words, so that's probably it for today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 04, 2023, 04:57:51 AM
Good morning!

QB with help to find legato, goatee, and vlog.  Today I have all five pangrams and am close to Alpha, but running out of steam.

LB:  I had the "official" unlawful-limerick. I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!




Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 04, 2023, 07:23:25 AM
QBw2LL - last word gotta. LB unlawful-limerick - team effort with my daily puzzle partner.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 04, 2023, 07:57:50 AM
Good morning!

At first I had no pangrams, then suddenly I had all of them and was past genius.  Before I even got up! But now I am also in the weeds.  We'll see.  I think I have 8 words to go.  Bee buddy helped us get our final words yesterday, some the same as others here: geotag, vlog, tollgate, lovage, I think.  I am enjoying working with the buddy, so I don't mind failing to get team QB anymore (at least right now).

No luck on LB, so congrats, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I hope your tech issues are over! That's annoying and frustrating.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 05, 2023, 04:58:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was tenth, which I thought I had already entered.

Tech issues continue; I need the Kindle at my desk so that I can report the problem. Just a few minutes ago, the bee on the computer showed that I had 7 words, so I had to retrieve the kindle and refresh the page. Now the computer shows the correct word and points counts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 05, 2023, 06:42:37 AM
QBwG, last word thine.

LB - did anyone else get two puzzles? I solved the first one quickly with breaking-glitch. Later I happened to open it up again and, lo and behold, new puzzle! Since time was running short I got a hint for refreshments-savory. I had found savory pretty quickly but the coffee had long worn off.

Quick trip to GwP and 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 05, 2023, 08:14:50 AM
Good morning!

QB with hint for my last word, nightie.  Today I have two words to go. 

LB:  I had refreshments-savory.  Ciao_yall, I did not see the first puzzle that you saw yesterday!  I did get a rather fast 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 05, 2023, 09:16:05 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram and a bit past.  Yesterday we had team QB, so no bee buddy.  I think I was missing eight.  How?!

Ciao_yall, okay thank you! I also swore I had one puzzle all day on my computer and then a different one on my phone when I solved later in the evening! And the funny thing is that now that you mention it, I think breaking-glitch was the solution I got the other time everyone had a different puzzle than I did! Sadly, I did not manage to get the very same solution again, somehow.  But I did get a 2fer today.  Congrats on your solutions!

Sorry to hear that your tech issues continue, Langue_doc.  I hope they can get them figured out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 06, 2023, 05:22:51 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Last word yesterday was minimum.

poultice/empathy

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 06, 2023, 09:21:44 AM
QBw2LL and a wild guess for nuncio. LB automatic-cheaply.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 06, 2023, 11:22:41 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram and a bit further so far.  Yesterday we tried and tried with bee buddy and hints and finally had to look up our final word, nuncio.  Never would have gotten that one, though I have heard of it.

For LB, I got polymathic-cute.  Congrats on your solutions, Langue_doc and ciao_yall!

I slept in after a bad night of sleep and feel better now but am way late on my day! Still have to get the sudokus done by 4, but I did get crossword done.  Merlin listed a couple new-to-us birds, but no sightings (I will list but don't have time to link right now): summer tanager (pretty red bird! wish we saw that one), western meadowlark, northern mockingbird.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2023, 08:55:33 AM
Good morning!

Got pangrams and a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday, bee buddy had to help us with two words: flail (?!), carioca.  Not sure we will ever get the latter without help.

For LB, I had the schmofficial glum-microwave.  And I have another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 07, 2023, 08:59:48 AM
Morning!

QbwH for carioca, focaccia after grumbling that it wouldn't take carciofi. LB needed a nudge for glum-microwave. Not sure why I never saw micro- - maybe because I was looking for an n?

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 07, 2023, 03:02:21 PM
Afternoon/Evening!

Pangram and above genius this morning. Missed carioca and a couple more words, but did get the difficult ones quite early.

Have been birding two days in a row with bird-watching groups, and by myself on shorter walks on two more days last week.

ab_grp, hope you get to see the summer tanager--it's quite a sight, far redder than the cardinal. We saw a scarlet tanager yesterday, and four or five more today. I also saw one on the short walk on Thursday--these were all in different parks/nature preserves. I remember seeing the summer tanager on one of the migration walks in Central Park last year.

cathwen, hope all's well with you.

ETA: QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 07, 2023, 05:04:02 PM
Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! And I'm glad you've had some good luck out on your walks.  Red is my favorite color, and I love cardinals, so I am definitely hoping to see the summer tanager! One thing I wondered... with a mockingbird around, what if there aren't any other birds at all? It's just doing the calls of all these cool birds.  Absurd, but these are the dumb scenarios my mind comes up with.  ;-)

I have also been thinking of cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 07, 2023, 06:51:13 PM
Good evening!

QB today, with help from Spelling Bee Buddy.  Yesterday I missed focaccia and one other that I can't remember. 

LB:  I did not get a 2fer yesterday.  I do have one today, though!

Well, yesterday and today have been...special.  My husband and I were watching the coronation when they played a hymn that had been one of our wedding hymns.  I moved over to him and took his hand; we looked lovingly into each other's eyes; then he said, "I'm shivering."  I thought he meant shivering with emotion remembering our wedding!  But no—he was literally shivering, and the shivering went to bone-wracking shakes.  So, after a call to the doctor, off to the ER we went. It's another UTI.  I think he'll be okay when the antibiotics work their magic, but right now, he's not doing great, and I'm worried.  He had another shivering/shaking episode this afternoon.  It took a while to stop, but by the time I left, he was better and just wanted to sleep.  Today, by the way, is our 28th wedding anniversary. 

I am grateful for Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and the games for keeping me sane.  Lots of sitting around and waiting in a hospital!  Langue_doc and ab_grp, thank you for your thoughts!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 07, 2023, 06:59:13 PM
cathwen, sorry to hear about husband's medical episodes. Sending good wishes for good doctors, diagnosis, and recovery.

Happy Anniversary!

Wanted to write about the coronation (I love pomp, rituals, tradition, parades, and pageantry), will do so tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 08, 2023, 05:22:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was alley.

ab_grp, if the calls are from the northern mockingbirds, they (the birds) must be imitating calls around them which would lead one to suspect that there are scarlet tanagers in the area. You could look up the sightings on ebird for your area to see if any have been reported.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 08, 2023, 08:39:01 AM
QBw2LL, last words blobby, lovably. LB got as far as whisper-roc-caribou then went for hints to get screwup-phobia.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 08, 2023, 08:41:08 AM
Quote from: cathwen on May 07, 2023, 06:51:13 PM
Good evening!

QB today, with help from Spelling Bee Buddy.  Yesterday I missed focaccia and one other that I can't remember. 

LB:  I did not get a 2fer yesterday.  I do have one today, though!

Well, yesterday and today have been...special.  My husband and I were watching the coronation when they played a hymn that had been one of our wedding hymns.  I moved over to him and took his hand; we looked lovingly into each other's eyes; then he said, "I'm shivering."  I thought he meant shivering with emotion remembering our wedding!  But no—he was literally shivering, and the shivering went to bone-wracking shakes.  So, after a call to the doctor, off to the ER we went. It's another UTI.  I think he'll be okay when the antibiotics work their magic, but right now, he's not doing great, and I'm worried.  He had another shivering/shaking episode this afternoon.  It took a while to stop, but by the time I left, he was better and just wanted to sleep.  Today, by the way, is our 28th wedding anniversary. 

I am grateful for Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and the games for keeping me sane.  Lots of sitting around and waiting in a hospital!  Langue_doc and ab_grp, thank you for your thoughts!

Happy anniversary! We will be 29 years on May 14th.

He is lucky to have you caring for him right now. Hug each other tightly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 08, 2023, 08:47:31 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus with pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for help with dumb old loblolly.

For LB I guess the solution was a ring, but I got the other side of it from the schmofficial one: phobias-screwup.  The site is displaying a little differently for me now? There's a "..." that I have to click on to bring up "Yesterday", which I then have to click on.  Hmm.  Maybe they're redoing it.

Langue_doc, good idea on checking ebird! I didn't really think it was just the mockingbird.  I have an absurd mind, but it keeps me entertained.  We always hear the birds right around the corner, and I envision that it's just the mockingbird trying to lure us over there, where we'll see some giant bird shadow waiting for us...

Cathwen, I am so sorry to hear about your husband's medical stuff!! I was worried not hearing any updates from you and am sorry that your husband is ailing.  I hope the antibiotics have kicked in and he's much more comfortable and doing much better! It's always fun when this happens on a weekend.  So sorry to hear that it happened on your anniversary weekend, but that also just seems to happen.  I hope you get to celebrate your 28 years on another date! Poor guy, sending all my best.  I hope you were both able to get some rest.  I have had the games as company on several occasions myself at various hospitals and know what you mean. 

And happy 29 years coming up for ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 08, 2023, 10:22:09 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on May 08, 2023, 08:47:31 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus with pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for help with dumb old loblolly.

For LB I guess the solution was a ring, but I got the other side of it from the schmofficial one: phobias-screwup. The site is displaying a little differently for me now? There's a "..." that I have to click on to bring up "Yesterday", which I then have to click on.  Hmm.  Maybe they're redoing it.

Me too. My muscle memory is all goofed up. I keep hitting "restart" instead of "delete."
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 08, 2023, 12:53:38 PM
Good afternoon!

Thanks for all the good wishes for my husband's health and for our anniversary.  He still has a fever, and if it continues to go down, he may be able to go home in a couple of days.  Labor Day weekend, anniversary weekend...he sure can pick the times for getting sick!  We'll celebrate later.  What he's worried about now is the choral concert he's supposed to be part of next Saturday.  He will undoubtedly miss rehearsal on Wednesday, and Friday dress rehearsal is iffy.  Fortunately, the group has a good tenor section, so if he cannot sing Saturday, no tragedies will ensue.

Ciao_yall, happy upcoming anniversary to you!

Now for SB:  I can't remember what my last word was, but I used the Bee Buddy to help me to QB.  Maybe belay?

LB:  I had phobias-screwup. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 09, 2023, 05:01:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was biblical.

cathwen, glad to hear that the fever is going down. It's a good sign to be worrying about the rehearsals. Did you watch the choir at the coronation?

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 09, 2023, 08:42:23 AM
QBwG, last word I think was kickball. LB after plenty of 3fers and 3fer b4ss I went to the hints and got vulnerable-edify. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 09, 2023, 08:48:02 AM
Good morning!

Two words left to go, and I do have the pangram (though it took a minute).  Yesterday I almost made it to QB but couldn't think of biblical.  We did have team QB.

I also had the schmofficial solution for LB, vulnerable-edify.  And I have another today as well!

Cathwen, I hope your husband is continuing to feel better!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 09, 2023, 09:47:43 AM
QBABM and a quick 2fer. But I missed the Wordle.

cathwen, hospitals are so difficult. So not a healing place. I hope he can come home soon.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 09, 2023, 11:08:35 AM
I just got QBABM too! Whee.

Sorry to hear about Wordle, ciao_yall.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 09, 2023, 11:11:18 AM
Good afternoon!

I made QBABM yesterday!  The last word occurred to me while I was sitting on the sofa, reading email, not even thinking about SB:  Lilac!  Whatever triggered that to bubble up into my consciousness, I cannot guess.  I just made QB today as well. 

LB:  No solution yesterday, and none yet today so far!  Ugh!

My husband is doing a lot better today—no fever, so I'm hoping they'll send him home tomorrow.  Or Thursday. Fingers crossed!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 09, 2023, 02:38:50 PM
Finally found a 2fer! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 10, 2023, 02:53:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words were anal and annal.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 10, 2023, 07:08:06 AM
QBABM - last word finial. LB apricot-turnkey.

Happy solving and happy homecoming to Mr. Cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 10, 2023, 08:17:13 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday I got QBABM with final word alfalfa.

For LB, I also got the schmofficial apricot-turnkey.  I had some other good contenders that didn't pan out.

Hope your husband feels well and can come home, cathwen! Hospitals are very good places to be when things aren't going so well, but it really seems as though recovery accelerates outside of them. 

Langue_doc, did you share your coronation pageantry thoughts somewhere?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 10, 2023, 08:47:35 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help from Bee Buddy to find the last word, infill.  Today I have three words to go.  I'm trying to save them for the hospital.

LB:  I *finally* got the "official" apricot-turnkey.  No 2fer yet today, though.

My husband is steadily improving.  He has a nasty bacterial infection that requires intravenous antibiotics, but since he's recovering well, they may be able to send him home and have him to go to an infusion clinic for the remainder of the treatment.  (Infusion clinic—that's a new one for me.). He's dying to get home, and I can't wait to have him back!

In other news, I have graded all final exams and turned in my grades.  Whoopee!  No complaints so far, and it's been two whole hours.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 11, 2023, 05:29:23 AM
Good morning!

QB (I'm still in shock). First and last words were zigzag and algal.

whup/plagiarized

ab_grp, haven't forgotten about the coronation comments. It looks like a very busy three weeks because I'm trying to get in birding while the migration is still in progress. I'm also behind on the bird reports.

I wanted to fit in yesterday's crack-of-dawn bird walk with one of the bird groups. Found a parking spot, got on the train, and transferred to the one that would drop me off at the meeting place. Announcement to the effect that there were major delays on that line and that we should get on the train that I had transferred out of. Time's ticking away, so when I got off 15 or so blocks from the meeting place, I stopped at the agent's booth to see if there were any buses I could take from that stop--none, as I should have known. Then a woman who was in the same compartment asked if I was going on that particular bird walk (she had recognized me from a previous walk in another borough), and suggested that we walk a few blocks and take the train. We did so, knowing that we would be very late, but decided that we would try to catch up. I stopped to ask a small group if they had seen a group with binoculars and was pleasantly surprised when they pointed us in the right direction, and even more surprised to see a small group, most definitely not ours. One of the people in the group assured me that we could join them, highly recommended the leader, and that we didn't have to pay. My subway companion and I stayed with them and had a very pleasant outing, and we also saw several birds, some of them at close range and for considerable stretches of time. Never saw or encountered the group that we were going to join. This was a group from Westchester, about 35-40 miles away!

cathwen, thanks for keeping us updated on husband's progress. As ab_grp noted, home is where you get to recuperate, away from the chaotic (for patients) environment of hospitals. Sending good wishes for continued progress, and coming home soon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 11, 2023, 06:46:55 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday—last word glia.

LB:  I had the "official" whup-plagiarized.  A fitting combo for a group of academics!

Husband is home and doing well.  I'm glad not only to have him here, but not to have to make the half-hour trip to the hospital.

Langue_doc, that was some NYC transportation adventure!  I'm glad that you caught up with a birding group and had a good outing. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 11, 2023, 08:06:52 AM
QBwG and a wild guess for glia. Since it didn't take glial yesterday I wasn't sure what was missing. LB whup-plagiarized and a quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 11, 2023, 08:45:59 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and some past genius.  I think I have 4 words left.  Seems like a tough one today in some ways.  Yesterday we went to bee buddy for help with glia.  I don't think I would have found that one on my own.  Like ciao_yall, my husband tried glial; however, he did not then try glia.

I also had the schmofficial whup-plagiarized.  I also thought it was fitting, cathwen! Congrats on another today, ciao_yall!

Cathwen, I am so happy to hear that your husband is home and resting.  Being in the hospital is tiring, going back and forth to the hospital is tiring.  It is such a relief to be home.  I hope whatever IV meds he needed are done or that the infusion clinic is a good solution.  I had not thought of that! In any case, continued best wishes for his recovery and for you both to get some rest.  I'm also glad you got your final bee words! Congrats!

Langue_doc, that is definitely an adventure! And awesome that serendipity stepped in and led you to another birder from your group and then to another welcoming bird group! It's wonderful that you had good birding luck as well. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 12, 2023, 07:06:04 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with Bee Buddy help for the last word, infinite—and I had finite!  I should not have needed help!  Today I have three words to go.

LB:  I had the "official" lumbago-orchid.  No 2fer yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 12, 2023, 07:18:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I think last words were gift, gifting.

Coronation and bird reports coming up soon (today or tomorrow).

cathwen, glad to hear that husband is home. Hope you both get some much-needed rest.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 12, 2023, 07:46:10 AM
QBwG, last word feigning. LB dumbo-oligarch. I was surprised it took dumbo but oh well.

Does anyone else get a little message saying "are you sure you want to restart?" Gah. I don't like the new interface.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 12, 2023, 08:28:23 AM
Yes, I'm getting that message also, and I don't like it, either.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 12, 2023, 08:42:12 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and a bit past genius.  I think I have four words left.  Yesterday I made it to QB! Final two words were a total guess and one I thought I had: teff, fence.  I guess I'm the only one who didn't remember teff!

For LB, I got hamburg-godchild.  I thought marigold might lead somewhere, but no luck.  Congrats on all your solutions!

I meant to mention that message asking for confirmation to restart LB.  I guess they had to add that since they moved the restart button to where the delete button was.  They probably got some flack.  But I don't like it either! What a pain.  I don't understand what is optimal about the new design, except that now all the buttons and actions for the current puzzle are in one place, and they have the set up for a menu that I assume will eventually have more entries than just Yesterday.  Maybe it will also have a link to a forum or some such? This puzzle style is still different from their others, and they still don't have it in the app.  Maybe they are trying to pull it into the fold.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 13, 2023, 09:05:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but just one pangram so far.  Yesterday I needed husband's help with novae, and we both needed bee buddy for avocet.

Yesterday I got the schmofficial solution for LB.  I got settled on jinxing being the best contender pretty early, but it took me forever to find gearshift.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2023, 10:07:06 AM
QBw2LL, last word vacant. LB was nowheresville until a friend pointed me to gearshift, at which point I saw jinxing. Gah.

Tricky one today. For some reason it didn't take zen. But it was taking jefe, gaijin and other weird words yesterday. So... IDK.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 13, 2023, 12:10:46 PM
Afternoon!

Just a few words left. Last words were cava and vacant.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 13, 2023, 01:59:56 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find ovate, novae, and convect.  Today I got to QB, but only with a little help.

LB: I got jinxing-gearshift with a hint for gearshift.  Like ab_grp, I got jinxing early on, but did not see gearshift before the hint!  No 2fer yet today.  I have a good word that leaves two letters, but I can't find a way to make them into a word.  It's probably something obvious that will make me take that big American Heritage dictionary and bonk myself on the head when I see the answer tomorrow.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 13, 2023, 02:18:59 PM
Quote from: cathwen on May 13, 2023, 01:59:56 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find ovate, novae, and convect.  Today I got to QB, but only with a little help.

LB: I got jinxing-gearshift with a hint for gearshift.  Like ab_grp, I got jinxing early on, but did not see gearshift before the hint!  No 2fer yet today. I have a good word that leaves two letters, but I can't find a way to make them into a word. It's probably something obvious that will make me take that big American Heritage dictionary and bonk myself on the head when I see the answer tomorrow.

Happy puzzling!

I think we both have the same word....
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 14, 2023, 07:56:41 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find candela, dancehall, and nacelle (last word).  Three words to go today.

LB:  I did not get a 2fer.  I found computable, with n and x as extras, but could not find a word with them.   Ciao_yall, was that your word, too?  I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 14, 2023, 07:59:58 AM
QBwHaHfH (QB with Hints and Help from Husband), last word nacelle.

LB - no 2fer. Yes, cathwen computable with the nz. I did get a 2fer b4ss compute-emblazon.

2fer this morning and back to the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 14, 2023, 08:49:37 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and a little past genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy help with clade, nacelle.  I need to remember the latter!

I did manage to get a 2fer! unpotable-eczema  I also got stuck on computable and figured it was what you were both stuck on as well.  It was difficult to drop it with only two letters left!! And I got a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 14, 2023, 03:01:09 PM
Evening!

I probably have just a word or two left, but don't think I'll find it/them. Missed clade and nacelle.

Saw four or five sandhill cranes today--a couple sitting on a nest and one of the pair later engaged in what appeared to be a territorial dispute. It was worth a 6 AM departure and a four-hour round-trip drive.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2023, 02:15:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Missed automata. Another long day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 15, 2023, 06:09:44 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find autumn and taut, which I usually get fairly fast.  Oh well!  Today I have the pangram and five words to go.

LB:  I first found the "official" choruses-skewing, then found a much less economical workhorses-securing. I have found a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, I did not know that sandhill cranes were this far east!  That must have been quite a sight.

My husband and I went to a trail we call Turtle Town yesterday and saw the usual painted turtles and what I think was a solitary sandpiper.  My husband took photos; the only other candidate would be a lesser yellowlegs, but this seemed like a smaller bird, and the legs were not yellow.  The green heron was there also, and kept perching as if posing for pictures.  We didn't walk far—he's not up to our usual 2-mile walk—but it was good to be outside, and I think he felt better afterwards. 

Anyway—happy puzzling!



Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 15, 2023, 07:43:46 AM
QBwSBB for antonymy. New word! LB cukes-showering.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2023, 08:12:25 AM
Good morning!

Not quite to genius yet, but I do have the pangram.  Had to get up and take my car in for a recall notice (again) for shrapnel in the air bag.  I had the initial fix done 8 years ago! Anyway, no coffee yet, either, and I didn't get to work on any other puzzles.  We needed bee buddy help for outman, which I thought at first was a noun instead of a verb and had no idea what it meant.   Looking at the reader clue for that word cleared it up.  Emphasis on second syllable.  Duh.

For LB I had knowing-grouches.  Lots of variety!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 15, 2023, 11:18:01 AM
I had knowing/grouches too--tried to visualize know-it-all grouches.

cathwen, the bird is most likely a solitary sandpiper which is much smaller than a lesser yellowlegs. As noted by you, the latter has distinctly yellow legs. We saw several of both species yesterday (stream/swamp/marshy area) and the former earlier this morning. Glad to hear that husband is out and about. Hope the infusion appointments go well.

Today's highlights were seeing a couple of chicks standing up and trying out their wings in their nest. Parent red-tailed hawks were probably the ones we saw flying earlier in the walk. We also saw a barn swallow with a feather in its beak which didn't make it inside the nest box (https://blackrun.org/nest-box/). The partner in the nest kept poking its head out, but no amount of trying or encouragement could get a long inflexible feather held upright in a beak into a small round hole. A few minutes later the bird had to contend with a couple of what looked like potential squatters.

Now shrapnel in the airbag sounds like a whole cluster of incompetences/malfunctions. Hope the manufacturer gives you a replacement soon.

Had to get up at 4:30 yesterday and 4 today. At least today's walk was a short morning walk in the city, aimed at people who needed to be at work between 9-10.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 15, 2023, 03:18:21 PM
Got a 2fer! Finally!

And past genius, but still a ways to go on the bee.

Langue_doc, apparently the cause of explosive metal shrapnel in my airbag (Takata) is "airbags that use ammonium-nitrate-based propellant without a chemical drying agent" https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-recalls-defects/takata-airbag-recall-everything-you-need-to-know-a1060713669/  Supposedly the initial remedy repair from 2015 takes care of it, but after whatever settlement they are now replacing whatever altogether.  67 million have been recalled! Apparently over 30 people have been killed, which doesn't sound like a lot in comparison, but I feel like safety devices shouldn't have explosive shrapnel when deployed and would rather not find out.

I forgot to mention that we also actually bought furniture yesterday! We were going to go today but wanted to avoid having to deal with picking up my car and etc.  So we bought the loveseat, dining table and chairs, and added a coffee table.  And husband saw a bedframe he liked and a couple other odds and ends (some cute and comfy swivel chairs and a chess/backgammon table ?!), but I convinced him that we do not need to go totally nuts all at once.  So we bought it on Mother's Day, and it should be ready in 6 weeks, or right around his 50th birthday.

Langue_doc, I'm glad you got to have two days of good bird walks, though super early.  Glad it was worth it! That's funny about the bird with spatial awareness issues. 

Cathwen, I'm also glad that you and your husband were able to get out for a walk and hope that he continues to feel much better.  Each little bit helps.  Sounds like you saw a fair amount of feathered friends as well.

We missed spending time with the birds this morning with the car drop off and actual rain that prevented outdoor puzzling.  I just asked my husband a few days ago when it last rained, and he said the fall!

   
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 16, 2023, 05:13:55 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last words yesterday were opted and another familiar word that I should have seen earlier in the puzzle.

encrypts/squib

ab_grp, congrats on the new furniture.

Belated Mother's Day to you all! I was up and about birding that day so forgot all about it (my mother is deceased).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 16, 2023, 05:45:51 AM
QBwG, guessed at octopod. LB encrypts-squib.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 16, 2023, 06:20:13 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find co-opt/ed.  I got octopod on a guess.  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB:  I also had encrypts-squib.  No 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 16, 2023, 08:38:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed help from bee buddy for pome, which I guess we forgot about.

I also got encrypts-squib.

Thanks, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 17, 2023, 05:51:48 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Last word yesterday was inlay.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 17, 2023, 06:17:57 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram, but the remaining words have me stumped.  All 4 and 5 letters.  How hard can it be?  Yesterday idly, dillydally, and diddly were my last words, thanks to SBB.

LB:  No 2fer yesterday!  But I have one today. 

Today we're driving to Middle Daughter's house to hear Grandson play in his school's orchestra.  He and a friend will be performing a viola-violin duet (GS plays viola) as part of it.  I've heard him practice, but I've never heard him play in a concert format, so I am very excited! 

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 17, 2023, 08:30:49 AM
QB-1, went to the grid and remembered dahlia.

LB was close to the 3fer with kinetic-chafed-dog then got a hint for ketogenic-chafed. Never would have gotten that on my own.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 17, 2023, 08:33:47 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we both got to QBABO.  I think my final word was allay.

No 2fer here, either.  I tried! I don't think I would have gotten ketogenic

Congrats on getting one today, cathwen! And enjoy the recital.  That's neat that they are doing a duet.  Youngest (who is visiting briefly on post-semester college break before heading back up for work during the summer) also played viola.  I don't really know that many folks who play it, as most seem to pick violin.  Anyway, I am sure GS will be wonderful, and you are sure to love it regardless. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 18, 2023, 04:40:10 AM
Good morning!

Four pangrams and well above genius. Last word was appropriately omega.

rituals/smokey

Enjoy the visit and the recital, cathwen. Relative's pre-teen also plays the viola and just participated in a recital.

Happy solving
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 18, 2023, 08:13:38 AM
Morning! QBwG to remember cameo. LB was not coming together for me - got hints for rituals-smokey.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2023, 09:28:27 AM
Good morning!

Got 3/4 pangrams and past genius.  I think I just have 4 words left.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for mecca.  That's funny about omega, Langue_doc!

I am so mad about LB! I had a few good contenders, but I had malarkey, tour, and -ism and totally failed to put it all together.  Congrats on your solutions!

happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 18, 2023, 10:10:08 AM
Good afternoon!

Three pangrams and past genius, but nine words to go.  Oof!  Yesterday I got some help from SBB to find magma.

LB:  I had the "official" tourism-malarkey.  And I found one quickly today. 

Grandson's concert was fun, although his duet was shorter than we had expected. Still, it was fun to see him.  He looked very solemn and serious!  The school district has a robust music program, I am happy to say, with lots of kids participating between orchestra, band, and chorus.  While no one is ready for Carnegie Hall yet (although the chorus was quite good), they all put in a good effort, and despite a few cacophonous instances (it's middle school), did very well in all.  Grandson will be continuing with music in high school next year.

Happy puzzling!





Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 18, 2023, 10:26:33 AM
Cathwen, I'm glad the recital went so well! They typically don't include very long pieces at that level, but it's great that GS was able to show his talent off to an adoring crowd.  [redacted long thing about eldest's band experience and how wonderful it was because I know I ramble on too much]  I hope GS gets to enjoy a similar pathway and all the pride, confidence, and self-growth it can bring. 

And congrats on getting malarkey's mate! And another today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 19, 2023, 03:53:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were gull and bulgur.

preformative/elect (I think)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 19, 2023, 06:43:13 AM
Good morning!

Last words yesterday were glug/glugging.  Today I am beyond genius with the pangram, but still have five words to go. 

LB:  I had the "official" comparable-elf.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 19, 2023, 07:40:33 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and past genius... I think I have 4 words left.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for bulgur.

For LB, I also had preformative-elect!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 19, 2023, 09:11:22 AM
QBw2LL, last word luging.

LB got close with compactor-revive-elf then a hint from a friend for campfire-elevator.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 20, 2023, 07:58:13 AM
Good morning!

Took a bit to get the pangram and then another bit to get to genius.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I was missing ninepin, pepped.

I tried mightily with LB to no avail.  I thought bereavements would get me somewhere.  All I got was a ship with wombat and something else I forget now.  And all I have today is a ship! Hopefully that will change.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 20, 2023, 08:54:33 AM
QBw2LL, last word pepped. LB with a nudge for tubeworm-mavens which I thought I made up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 20, 2023, 09:14:29 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwSBBH to find ninepin and panini.  Today I clawed my way to genius with the pangram (which took me a long time to find), six words to go. 

LB:  I had wombat-turnovers.  I'm really struggling with today's LB—no 2fer yet. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 20, 2023, 09:22:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word was dapped.

wombat/turnovers here too.

Just got home so don't think I'll have time for more puzzling today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on May 20, 2023, 09:52:41 AM
wombat-turnovers as well — I was determined to make "wombat" work.

schmofficial today
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 20, 2023, 10:31:36 AM
Congrats on all the wombat mates! I can't remember what I kept trying to make work with it, but I guess I missed the obvious.  Argh!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 21, 2023, 03:48:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Needed help with arhat to reach QB.

Going on the rescheduled hike--weather looks lovely. Have been losing my crossword streaks, but the outdoors calls.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 21, 2023, 05:34:16 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find chihuahua and arhat, but also the last word—which I was sure I had gotten before—catch!  Today I have both pangrams and am at QB-2, but stuck.

LB:  I did not find a 2fer yesterday!  I had overpack, crackerjack, jackpot...but could not find mates.  Mojito never occurred to me.  Today, though, I have a 2fer.

Enjoy your hike, Langue_doc!  We're probably going for a walk later, since it is a nice day. 

Happy walking and puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 21, 2023, 08:26:24 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams, and I think I have 4 words left.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for arhat, chica.

No luck on LB here, either.  I had a ship of jackpot~overtime but could not come up with mojito.  Gotta add that to the J list in my mind.

Have a good hike, Langue_doc!

And a good walk, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 21, 2023, 09:31:05 AM
QBwH for chihuahua. LB was working with jackpot-trio-overtime then got a hint for mojito-overpack.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 22, 2023, 07:35:47 AM
QBwH, last word banc which I didn't try because, you know, French. LB princeling-ghouls.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 22, 2023, 08:08:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Needed help with a couple of words yesterday to get to QB. I might have to resort to BB today too as I'm pressed for time.

Lovely outing, glorious weather, most scenic surroundings, and last but not least, a wonderfully appreciative group of people. Two of us from this organization planned and organized this event, so I was gratified to see that my fellow hikers were happy with this outing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 22, 2023, 08:29:54 AM
Good morning!

Got a pangram and above genius but can't find the other.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I was missing boba, catacomb.

I had shlep-procuring yesterday.  More variety!

Glad you had such a nice event, especially one that you organized, Langue_doc! It's always a good feeling to see your efforts well received.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 22, 2023, 12:40:36 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwBB to find bobcat and banc.  Today I am at QB-1.  It took me ages to find the two pangrams!

LB:  I had chophouses-splurging.  More variety!  No 2fer yet today, though.

Langue_doc, I'm glad your event went well! 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: onthefringe on May 22, 2023, 04:36:12 PM
lots of variety yesterday — I had lurching-gropes. I like chophouses-splurging better though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2023, 08:27:21 AM
Good morning!

Finally got all 3 pangrams but still 13 points left to genius.  But I had other puzzles to get to! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for hottie.  Ugh.  I had a hard time finding neolith, and husband had a hard time finding hotline.

I had foxglove-exurban yesterday.  The latter took me a while, even though I swear I used that word as part of a solution not too long ago.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 23, 2023, 08:40:59 AM
Morning!

QBwH for thee, telethon. LB foxglove-exurban and yes, ab_grp I also recall this as a solution some time back.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 23, 2023, 09:31:56 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwBB help for last word:  litho.  Today I have all three pangrams and eight words to go. 

Congratulations on those who found a 2fer yesterday!  I did not.  I had fox and glove, but not foxglove.  Today, though, I found a 2fer fairly quickly.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 23, 2023, 09:49:19 AM
LB interface has changed again. Now it blocks the screen after I solve it so I can't screenshot it unless I redo it and stop before I hit the final enter.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 23, 2023, 10:07:32 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on May 23, 2023, 09:49:19 AM
LB interface has changed again. Now it blocks the screen after I solve it so I can't screenshot it unless I redo it and stop before I hit the final enter.

Yuck! Good to know.  Thanks for the heads up.  I noticed this morning that when I hit "restart" it gives me a full-screen "are you sure you want to start over" instead of the little pop up it had recently added.  And when I was doing the easy sudoku this morning, it initially had an ad covering the bottom part of the puzzle! They must be doing some fooling around.

Oh yeah! Since I'm complaining, how is nonillionth not acceptable?! I had to learn nonillion just for the bee, and now...?!! There's at least one not accepted today as well.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 23, 2023, 02:39:43 PM
Afternoon!

QB with help. I knew it was going to be a long day. Needed BB for neolith. Now the bee has a link to play the previous day's puzzle.

ab_grp, that's an impressive reading list!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 24, 2023, 06:20:31 AM
QBwH, last word belie. And LB hint for world-dystopian. Quick GwP and 2fer this morning so all is right with the world.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 24, 2023, 06:24:06 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 24, 2023, 07:43:39 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and a bit past genius.  Yesterday, after getting to genius with all the pangrams, I apparently forgot how long the puzzle was, didn't get back to it, and had a ton of words left when we got to our brief evening puzzling time.  Oops.  We still almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for iambi.  Thanks for the heads up about the link to previous bee, Langue_doc.  Is that just on the app? I will take a look later.  I don't see it on the web interface right now but might not be looking in the right place.

For LB, I had windsails-sporty.  Congrats, ciao_yall, and on another today!

Langue_doc, if you are referring to the what have you read thread, I do listen to a lot of books (and podcasts), but I do not really try to absorb them extensively or think too critically about them.  You do much deeper reading than I do! And I can listen while doing other things.  I definitely could not sit and read that many books in that time period.  But thank you!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 24, 2023, 10:19:36 AM
Good afternoon!

QB with help to find iambi and amebic.  But my last word was became!  Ugh!  Today I have the pangram and five words to go, but I may need help to find them.

LB:  I had parlays-sitdown. Lots of variety!  I have a 2fer today, also. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 25, 2023, 05:41:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Had to resort to BB to find the last couple of words.

ambushes/soldier

ab_grp, the link to the previous days puzzles shows up on the computer https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee, but not on the Kindle. I rarely use the phone for puzzling.
QuoteStatsPlay Yesterday's Puzzle Hints More

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2023, 07:29:54 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and finally to genius.  I almost forgot that I got to QBABM yesterday! Last words were duvet, deceit.

I also had ambushes-soldier for LB.

Thanks, Langue_doc! Mine still doesn't show that on the computer! I wonder if they are just rolling it out to select subscribers to gauge some reaction first? Or maybe I would need to totally clear my cache and so forth.

Anyone else see yesterday's puzzle option for the bee?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 25, 2023, 08:05:17 AM
ab_grp, see if this link works: https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee/2023-05-24

When I click on the link I get this yellow page--just clicked on the link so that I could post the following:
QuoteSpelling BeeMay 24, 2023
Edited by Sam Ezersky
PAST PUZZLES
Wednesday
May 24, 2023
You have 191 points.
Play
Edited by Sam Ezersky
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2023, 08:21:16 AM
Thanks, Langue_doc! Yep, I got that same yellow page when I clicked on your link.  Because I got QB I can't really play that one (well, I guess that's true for all of them since we always use bee buddy at the end), and I can't see a way to reset it to start over (which would only be fun for older puzzles anyway).  It does give you the list of that day's answers, which is new, so you can look at that while you're playing and not just check back on them the next day.  But can you also go back to older puzzles? "Past puzzles" is not clickable for me, and I don't see any place to find any other than yesterday's.  But at least I can get to yesterday's now!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 25, 2023, 08:41:01 AM
Good morning!

QBwBB to get eidetic and deceit.  Today I am at genius with the pangram, and three words to go.

LB:  Congratulations, ab_grp and Langue_doc, on finding normal words for LB!  I had an odd 2fer:  bulimious-shadier.  The first word was a wild guess and I was surprised when it was accepted.  Today I had an easier time finding a 2fer with relatively normal words. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 25, 2023, 08:45:45 AM
QBw2LL, last word tutee. LB dialer-rhombus and a quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 25, 2023, 09:09:11 AM
ab_grp, you can play previous puzzles from last week and the current one. I'll have to get on the computer to see what to do to get the link. Will do so tomorrow morning as I have to leave now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 25, 2023, 09:13:14 AM
Langue_doc, I just found a place to get to the previous puzzles: https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee/hub  When I finished my sudokus and went to all games, I saw that "Past Puzzles" was in the Spelling Bee tile and led to this page.  I am still not sure how to reset the previous puzzle to play again, but we're going in the right direction.  Thanks again for the heads up!

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen and ciao_yall!

ETA: Got a 2fer!

ETA2: I can get to yesterday's puzzle in the app now, but not to previous puzzles, so I guess things are being rolled out piecemeal.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 26, 2023, 05:41:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Didn't have the time to complete the puzzle yesterday.

ab_grp, the Kindle now shows you the link to the previous day's puzzle. I think you have to use the NYT website on the computer to access the puzzles for the previous week and also the previous days of the current week.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 26, 2023, 06:03:50 AM
Good morning!

I needed SBB help to find biotin, nitro, rotini.  Today I am at QB-1.  It's a 4L word, but I'll be darned if I can find it. 

LB:  I had the "official" zygotes-scrawl. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 26, 2023, 08:55:24 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and past genius to QB-1 as well! But mine is a 6-letter word.  Well, cathwen and I have team QB! Yesterday we needed bee buddy's help to get bobbin for some reason. 

For LB I got the schmofficial zygotes-scrawl as well.

Thanks, Langue_doc.  I noticed that it's kind of annoying that I can't just click on yesterday's answers (which I use when I post which words we were missing, since I can never remember until I see the list).  Now I have to go to yesterday's puzzle and through all the clicking rigamarole and reveal the answers.  I may go back to using nytbee.com for that.  I have been using that recently for totals instead of Shunn since I no longer need Shunn for help (thanks, bee buddy!).  Since I have yesterday's loaded there still at the start of the day, I can just click to show answers on that site in one step.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 26, 2023, 10:17:07 AM
QBw/Grid, last word inhibit. LB zygotes-scrawl.

Quick QB-4 and 2fer today. Will it be an ABM day? Let's find out!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 27, 2023, 08:57:29 AM
QBwG, last word bocce. LB frown-neighborly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 27, 2023, 08:59:12 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram and a bit more so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! I had thought I needed a 6, but it was actually a 5 (celeb, which I saw and realized I did not already have). 

No luck on LB! Darn it! Congrats, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 27, 2023, 11:33:02 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. I think yesterday's last word was coke.

Went on an interesting architectural walk yesterday in a neighborhood that I've never visited before. I've gone on walks with this leader before, so was looking forward to this event. The weather was most cooperative!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 28, 2023, 07:53:31 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius before leaving this morning. There's probably another one, given the number of points to get to QB. Last word yesterday was goat.

Checked out the time/distance for a walk I'm co-leading next month. Fortunately, traffic wasn't too bad considering the route and this particular weekend.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 28, 2023, 08:10:31 AM
Good morning!

Husband and I each have 2/4 pangrams and are a bit past genius.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I was missing agog, along, longan.

For LB, I got kibitzed before dinner and then managed to see lovesick as I was brushing my teeth before bed, and I realized they went together! Thankfully! And I have another 2fer today.

Langue_doc, sounds like you have had some nice outings this weekend! I have never gone on an architectural walk but went on an architectural boat ride in Chicago years ago that was really interesting.  Just lots of things I didn't know or really think about.  I'm so glad you had such nice weather and a good guide for it.  And great that you got your walk scoped out and things look good there! I saw that the guy targeted by Central Park Karen while birdwatching (Christian Cooper) got a new show on National Geographic called Extraordinary Birder and had an article in the NYT a couple days ago about birdwatching: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/opinion/birds-freedom.html  I didn't get a chance to read it yet, but I figured I'd pass it on in case you hadn't seen it and were interested.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 28, 2023, 10:16:25 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG including Googling a list of fruits to find longan. LB lovesick-kibitzed after a solving friend pointed out I was very close with the rather saucy loved-dick-kibitzes. Quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on May 28, 2023, 12:15:41 PM
¡Hola de España! 

We've been traveling, so not much time for puzzling.  I got to QB only with substantial help from the Bee Buddy, quickly last night.  Today I'm at genius with only one pangram, and probably will not get much further.

LB:  No solution yesterday, but I found one today.

Langue_doc, that must have been an interesting walk!  Ab_grp, I noticed that article in the Times, but have not had a chance to read it yet.

We're in Barcelona now, but will leave tomorrow.  We've met some other people who will be on the cruise, and they've all been vey nice.  And I really like Barcelona—and I love the fact that almost all the signs are in Catalan. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 28, 2023, 12:49:22 PM
cathwen, glad that you're on vacation, cruising.

I resorted to BB to find the missing pangrams and another word that I think is too exotic to be included in the bee.

Here's the link to the NYT article
QuoteWhat's in a Word
According to the teaser,
Quote
Can You Guess These 10 Wacky Words From the Scripps Spelling Bee?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/05/26/us/scripps-spelling-bee-quiz.html?searchResultPosition=1

ab_grp, yes, I did see that article about the birder. He's on the board of the NYC Audubon. Long ago, before the pandemic, I remember chatting with him on one of the bird walks. Unfortunately, although he's still in the news, unleashed dogs are still running around in the ramble, and dogs are routinely walked in the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, also in Central Park, despite signs noting that dogs are not allowed.

The architectural walks are part of one of my hiking group events/walks. Most of the hikes these days are organized around a theme or location, with the leader commenting on history, architecture, and other details during the walk which makes it much more interesting than just walking. I should have taken notes on Friday, and also on other walks with this leader because some of the buildings we saw had very interesting antecedents. For my upcoming walk, I have to brush up on my history of this area and also research the architecture/architects associated with this area. Walks are posted on Meetup, and are limited to a certain number of participants, so one just signs up as soon as the event is online. Other than the annual membership, there are no other expenses unless we are visiting a place such as a museum that requires admission tickets or transportation charges from the central bus and/or train stations.

Found a twofer after a long dry spell.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 28, 2023, 02:02:43 PM
Quote from: cathwen on May 28, 2023, 12:15:41 PM
¡Hola de España! 

We've been traveling, so not much time for puzzling.  I got to QB only with substantial help from the Bee Buddy, quickly last night.  Today I'm at genius with only one pangram, and probably will not get much further.

LB:  No solution yesterday, but I found one today.

Langue_doc, that must have been an interesting walk!  Ab_grp, I noticed that article in the Times, but have not had a chance to read it yet.

We're in Barcelona now, but will leave tomorrow.  We've met some other people who will be on the cruise, and they've all been vey nice.  And I really like Barcelona—and I love the fact that almost all the signs are in Catalan. 

Happy puzzling!

¡Hola! Me gustaba Barcelona mucho!

Did you get a chance to see the Sagrada Familia?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 29, 2023, 08:13:09 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius or so.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing two pangrams.  Husband had one of them, infinitude, and of course had to smack himself (figuratively) when I came up with the fourth one based on that.  I am not sure I even knew finitude was a word, but I guess it makes sense? It has a line under it, though.  Hmm.  He thought finetune(d) might be acceptable, but I guess they are hyphenated.  Good try, though.

For LB, I finally got phantasm-majority.  I thought that might be schmofficial, but I guess not!

Cathwen, I'm so glad to hear that you have set sail and are enjoying your trip! I wondered when that was coming up.  Bon voyage! Or buen viaje, I guess! Sadly had to look that one up.  Can't wait to hear about your adventures!!

Langue_doc, that's a neat little walking group idea.  I guess Meetup is an app.  I think you mentioned it on the hiking thread, at least.  is this a leisurely stroll with architectural detail? Or an exercise walk? I would guess it might get difficult in certain areas of the city at particular times of the year to stay in a cluster.  How do you all hear all the details that are being shared with wind, space, and other city noises? If you are going somewhere that requires transpo or entry, does the admin take care of arranging all that, so you just show up and pay up?  If so, that would appeal to me.  As long as I don't have to figure out logistics for group activities (and the choices made are reasonable), I'm happy. 

Ciao_yall, your sauce 3fer almost made me lose my coffee! hahaaa...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 29, 2023, 09:07:02 AM
Morning!

I thought I was doing great until I realized I only had 1 of 4 pangrams! So I made up finitude and voila! Needed the 2LL for fifteen though. LB rajah-hypnosis. Quick 2fer this morning.

ab_grp you were asking about Meetup? I found it through a friend on WW and joined a bunch of hiking groups. Have made a lot of new friends and acquaintances! Always lively discussion and good exercise.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 29, 2023, 10:01:51 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Needed help with finitude, infinitude, and heff (or was it haff?).

hypnotism/major

ab_grp, I've been a member of the hiking groups that now use Meetup to list their events for at least a couple of decades, so I know several people who are also members of more than one group. Some of these groups are behind a paywall which means that their listings on Meetup are visible only to members in good standing (who have coughed up their membership fee). You just sign up for a Meetup account on your computer--I think I use the app and not the website on the phone--and you get notified as soon as an event is posted by one of your groups. I'm not sure if you can see what's listed on this website, but do give it a try: https://www.meetup.com/outdoorsclubny/
Here's another one: https://www.meetup.com/amcnynj/

Details of where to meet, how to get there (subway, bus/train schedules and fares, etc.) restroom locations, what to bring along, etc. are provided in the write-up for each event.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 30, 2023, 07:25:13 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius or thereabouts.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for keno.

For LB, I got the schmofficial bequeath-horizon, but it took a while! I kept going down the wrong road.

Thanks for the info about Meetup, ciao_yall and Langue_doc! It sounds like a nice opportunity for folks wanting to get out and about and also meet some people.  Are the people usually people you would want to meet? I guess it depends what kinds of outings you sign up for.  I looked at the ones around my area and had no idea there were so many going on! Sounds like they don't actually make arrangements for transportation or buy tickets for the group but do provide pretty thorough DIY info.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 30, 2023, 10:22:20 AM
QB with just the grid - last word innie. LB bequeath-horizon.

ab_grp Yes, I have met a lot of interesting people and have had great conversations and made real friends. Fairly wide range of ages, but the ones I gravitate to seem to be in the 40+ range, with a few young "old souls." Just keep trying and you'll find your crowd.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 30, 2023, 11:15:41 AM
Afternoon!

Easy QB today. Missed enoki and noogie yesterday.

ab_grp, trip leaders are volunteers so don't get involved with transportation and related issues that paid trips routinely handle. We do need to sign waivers acknowledging that the organization is not responsible for injuries or other adverse effects from the trip. I've met interesting people on these walks--I once found an apartment through a fellow hiker when I lived in the midwest. Another fellow hiker who lived within walking distance would have me over for a movie and dessert on occasion. I've also been asked out on dates here and also in the Midwest. Nice people, so stayed friendly with them without getting into any complications. A fellow hiker from my midwest days was surprised (probably peeved) that the person who had asked her out on a date had also approached me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on May 31, 2023, 06:37:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. QB yesterday.

unmaintained/dowager (sounds like an oxymoron)

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on May 31, 2023, 09:11:50 AM
QB, needed a hint for cacti /facepalm among others. LB groundwater-remain. Quick 2fer today.

Speaking of Meetup, the person I trade SB and LB results with, and occasional hints, is someone I met on Meetup! We were on a lunch break on a hike, sitting near each other, and noticed our bright yellow phone screens.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on May 31, 2023, 10:11:25 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for vivace.

I also got unmaintained-dowager yesterday for LB.  Always glad to be in such esteemed company!

Thanks again for the Meetup info, ciao_yall and Langue_doc! It sounds like a great resource.  Nice that you have been able to meet good people over the years in various circumstances and stay in touch or not as you wished.  Langue_doc, sounds like there was even some (mild?) drama there to spice things up among the smoother relationships! I guess that's inevitable.

Oops, I just realized I never posted this from a few hours ago!

Happy solving!

On preview: That's a cool connection to make, ciao_yall! Sounds like you have stayed in touch for a while, because I remember you mentioning meeting her.  I didn't realize it was due to Meetup!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 01, 2023, 06:57:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was rotgut.

ropes/sanctify

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2023, 08:28:16 AM
Good morning!

No luck with pangram yet and not to genius.  Pangram was husband's first word, so I am not too daunted.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for wroth.

For LB, after trying a thousand things, I finally got portents-scarify right before bed! Congrats, Langue_doc! Some variety already.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 01, 2023, 08:58:24 AM
Morning!

QBwG and a wild guess for wroth. LB forties-synaptic.

ab_grp, Langue_doc, re: Meetup. I had been trying to get my husband to go along. He never wanted to. "I like to walk at my own pace. I don't like making small talk."

Finally got him to come along a few times, either on the hike itself or afterwards at the post-walk-drink-hangout. He had a great time! "Pace wasn't too fast, so if I wanted to stop and look at something I could catch up. And I met some really interesting people!"

Still, every time I ask him if he wants to come along... "I like to walk at my own pace. I don't like making small talk."

Meh.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 01, 2023, 09:34:11 AM
Ciao_yall, congrats on yet another different 2fer! Your husband's perspective sounds pretty familiar.  I would probably be reluctant to go, as I also like to walk at my own pace not feel like I have to make small talk (if conversation arises organically, great), but then I'd probably enjoy it and yet be reluctant to go the next time.  Ha! The post-walk-drink hangout does sound more like my speed.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 02, 2023, 06:56:32 AM
Good morning!

Genius but no pangram. QB yesterday--don't recall my last couple of words.

backup/porting

Twofer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2023, 07:45:06 AM
Good morning!

Slowly made my way to genius and then just before end of puzzle time I saw the pangram! Thank goodness.  Tough one today.  We needed bee buddy yesterday for geoid, gigolo.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! The second word is certainly familiar (and one I often miss), but we had to look up the first one.

I could not let go of bankrupt(ing) as a contender yesterday and failed to get a 2fer.  :-( Congrats on yours and on another today, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 02, 2023, 08:05:48 AM
Morning!

QBwH for geoid, gigolo, dogie. I got doggie and kept thinking of the song "Git along little dogies" but didn't think to try it. LB backpacking-grout.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 02, 2023, 09:03:47 AM
Got a 2fer!

Congrats on yours from yesterday, ciao_yall. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 03, 2023, 06:28:25 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, wild guess at yenned. LB subclimate-extol.

Hiking today with Meetup group and will see my SB/LB solving friend! Hope I'm at least at genius before I get there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 03, 2023, 07:37:57 AM
Good morning!

After a great deal of toiling, I got almost to genius (50+ words in!) and no pangram, then finally got the pangram and over the line.  Hard to believe there's only one with all those words and points.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for acidy, cynic.  I didn't realize the first one was a word.

For LB, I got obtuse-exclaim.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall! Variety! And I have another 2fer today.

Enjoy your Meetup hike, too, and time with your solving friend!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 03, 2023, 11:24:57 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. I can't access the words I missed yesterday because the bee wants you to continue solving the puzzle. Aaargh!

I know I had a twofer yesterday--if I can only find the scrap of paper on which I wrote my solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 04, 2023, 07:51:21 AM
Good morning! QB and also QB yesterday. I wouldn't consider the pangram to be a real word. Words that I thought were acceptable didn't make it to the list.

exclaims/subtotal, and economizer/radish from the previous puzzle

As for meetup, you have to be selective about the groups and also the hike leaders because often you find cliques and also leaders who cater to people they know. I've hiked long enough with these groups to know which ones to avoid. Side conversations are sometimes a problem too because most of the walks/hikes I join have a theme--history, architecture, and so on--so it's an annoyance when you can't hear the leader. I'm also not comfortable with some of the groups blocking sidewalks so people who have the right of way have to get around us. I keep apologizing to people, especially when they have walk or run on the busy streets because of a large group of people blocking their way. There are so many different groups so you can try out the group and/or hike leader to see if it would be a good fit for you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 04, 2023, 08:00:56 AM
Good morning!

Wow, QB already today, Langue_doc? Congrats! And for yesterday, too! I have not had much luck either day.  I finally found the pangram today but am still not at genius (though I got the crossword done).  Yesterday I had several words left, and we needed bee buddy for iota, I think.

Yesterday for LB, I had headcase-economizer.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

And yes, I was wondering how it worked in the city with trying to hear what the leader was saying and trying to maneuver as a group, stopping and starting and clustering.  I would be apologizing to everyone, too! I'm not surprised to hear about the cliques, sadly, but it's good if you know who to avoid and who to get a spot with. 

Long friend call this afternoon, so who knows what I might accomplish puzzle-ly, but I will give it my all. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 04, 2023, 11:23:42 AM
Long day of hiking and conversation. So far I have enjoyed all the Meetup groups, though admittedly it's just a few. Came home, went out to dinner and came home to still incomplete puzzles.

QB with lots of hints for words I hadn't seen in a while like torii. LB was also tricky - got hints for randomize-echoes, headaches-sermonize.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 05, 2023, 04:49:03 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I'm not sure I can find any more words today. I think my last word was bandanna. Now that it requires several steps to see the previous day's list of words, it's quite an effort to get to that list this early in the morning.

I probably found a twofer, but don't know where I wrote down the words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2023, 07:58:30 AM
Good morning!

We both got the pangram and to genius pretty quickly, which was a nice change after the past few puzzles.  I think I have 3 words left, so we'll see.  Yesterday we both had long calls and ran out of time but almost got team QB.  Needed bee buddy for midrib.

No luck on LB despite my efforts.

As for looking up previous day bee answers, I am back to looking at nytbee.com again, as that is the easiest way to find them.  I have a tab for it and tend to use that site to count word lengths that are left at the end of the day since we don't need Shunn anymore with bee buddy on hand.   I agree that it is way too much of a PITA to go through the bee itself to get to yesterday's answers now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 05, 2023, 08:48:02 AM
QBwAHTHICG and a new word midrib. If I still haven't gotten QB after the grid, then 2ll, then initial hints I look at the "who got how many words" to see if there are really obscure ones. Like midrib which involved looking for a list of botanical terms.

LB with community clue for garbled-definition after lots of 3fers and 2fer b4ss. If you go into the bee community and scroll to the 30's for "Recommended" there is a reader named Cynthia who posts a Letter Boxed subthread and people give hints.

For now, QB-3 and nowheresville on LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 05, 2023, 09:56:34 AM
Got to QBABM! Yay! It feels like it has been a while.

I don't know why I'm more reluctant to look at LB 2fer hints.  I guess because the bee has a finite and specific list, so I want to find all of them, whereas there are (possibly) several inroads on LB. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 05, 2023, 10:25:35 AM
QB-1 right now, trying not to look at the grid or the hints. I know it's a 5L though.

I try to look at the LB hints in stages - can I get it with just the first letters? Did the person put the definitions down one line so I can avoid looking at them?

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 06, 2023, 02:58:57 AM
QBABM! Last word cooed. LB after finally finding a 3fer blimp-ponytail-lock finally went to the hints for clickbait-toponym which I don't think I would have found on my own.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 06, 2023, 07:21:35 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last words yesterday were detect, detected.

I too don't like to look for LB hints. Unlike the hints in BB, which I've had to resort to on a few occasions recently, the LB hints don't seem to be official. I gather one has to have enough time and patience to plow through the comments section every day.

I'm also not happy with the way the bee wants us to "share our accomplishments" instead of letting us continue with the puzzle after getting to genius. On occasion, my friends and I might discuss a certain puzzle, but when we talk there are so many other topics that are far more interesting than the puzzles.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 06, 2023, 07:59:46 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM even before finishing getting ready today, which has to be rare for me if not a first.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM, but my last word was octet.

I had no luck on LB despite a lot of effort.  But I got a 2fer pretty quickly today!

I also don't have any interest in sharing my puzzle stats to social media or to friends.  I would rather not have to do extra clicking to get past that.  On the Nextdoor app, it also prompts me to "keep your neighbors in the know" (or something to that effect) when I take screenshots of posts.  No thanks, Nextdoor! I am saving this drama for my own purposes.  If I wanted to share the screenshot of the Nextdoor post back on Nextdoor, I'm sure I would have, but thanks for the intrusive suggestion.

We spent more time outside this morning than usual because there is big construction vehicle action going on at our neighbor's.  He texted my husband last night to ask if the vehicles could go through our property to get to the back of his, no problem.  We spent some time watching the excavator doing its thing.  I really didn't want to come in, but work calls and so forth.  I got some good video, at least.  Those things are pretty handy! I'm sure I'll be back out there checking out the action again later.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 06, 2023, 09:22:05 AM
Attention crossword enthusiasts:

I just came across this Stanford study on how people solve crosswords and thought I would pass it along in case you want to check it out and possibly participate: https://iliad.stanford.edu/experiments/teaching/crosswords/crosswords/
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 07, 2023, 05:40:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was tinct.

ab_grp, thanks for the link. I might consider participating in the study.

Staying indoors because of the weather advisory.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 07, 2023, 06:26:21 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word ziti. 3 quick 2fers violable-expertly, bore-exploratively, bye-explorative.

Yes, thanks for the study. I might block out 1/2 hour and do the puzzles. Except I don't always do them all at once - I like to poke at them during the day.

Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 07, 2023, 08:35:21 AM
Good morning!

Well, today was not the quick QB again, unsurprisingly.  I did get the pangrams and past genius.  Yesterday I think civet was my last word.

For LB, I got exploitative-every.  Congrats on your 3 2fers, ciao_yall, wow!

Welcome about the study! I am really keen to participate, but I wanted to find out more about how long the link lasts.  Like ciao_yall, I might want to work on one difficult puzzle on and off, or I might want to do one puzzle and then come back for another.  I hope that's possible.  It sounds like a really neat study.  And I am always willing to do crosswords for a good (or any) cause! If I get time today, I might go for it.

Hope the air clears up out there soon, Langue_doc.  I saw that NYC had the worst air quality in the world last night? Yick.  We have had a bunch of smoke around as well, but who knows what from.  We (well, husband) actually went outside late Monday night to see if something was on fire because it smelled so strongly inside the house.  It has smelled like mesquite, so everything smells like grilled food.  That's great, but not long term.  I am also wondering about breathing so much of it in, though our air quality ratings are not nearly as poor as on the east coast.  Stay safe over there.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 08, 2023, 06:47:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, genius, and almost QB. Last few words yesterday were four-letter words that I thought I had already entered. I recall BB had a rather strange hint for teem, one of the words I found quite early in the puzzle.

jointed/diarchy

The skies continue to be hazy. Events are being canceled across the board, so I don't have to take my name off the lists. There's an event on Saturday that I'm hoping would be rescheduled because it came as a sort of gift for being a member of another organization.

ab_grp, hope the snakes on your property have move on to better accommodations!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 08, 2023, 08:05:11 AM
Good morning!

I'm at the same, pangram and now at QB-2, I think.  We ended up with team QB yesterday, but I am not sure what I was missing.  I think they were amyl, layman, laymen, lemma.

Got a 2fer this morning, which I almost forgot about!  Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc! I just couldn't figure one out. 

I really hope the winds come move the smoke elsewhere soon, Langue_doc.  I saw that breathing the air is like smoking 5-10 cigarettes? Hope you get your Saturday event rescheduled as well.

And thanks about our unwanted visitors!!!! To say I was not thrilled to hear of the sightings was a gross understatement.  I know some people are all about that stuff, but no thank you.

Husband started a new job today (well, went back to an old job that will hopefully be better for mental and physical health), so things are a bit out of order this morning.  I may need some extra coffee today.

Happy solving!

ETA: Got to QBABM! Woooooo
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 08, 2023, 09:51:09 AM
Morning!

QB-1 then needed a hint for mettle. Gah. LB joyride-enchant.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 09, 2023, 06:50:36 AM
Good morning!

Haven't gotten the pangram or to genius yet, but we didn't do puzzle time yet, so I hope to get there shortly.  Yesterday I had QBABM, and I think my final word was yappy.

For LB I had famous-sportily.  Congrats on yours from the other day, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 09, 2023, 09:30:55 AM
Morning!

QBwH for baggage, payee and stuck at Amazing today.

LB needed hints for polyamorous-sift, tulips-styrofoam. I had found amorous then tried polyamory, polyamorism, etc then lost the plot. 3fers today.

And I missed Wordle as well.

So my puzzle biorhythms are way off today.

Hope y'all have a better solving day than me!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 09, 2023, 10:46:07 AM
Got a 2fer!

I still have had no luck with the pangram and can't get past Amazing either. 

Ciao_yall, thank you for mentioning Wordle! I had totally forgotten to do it or to finish the crossword.  We only had 10 mins outside for puzzling this morning, and I never got back to those puzzles.  Sorry you busted on it today.  I got lucky with the starting word that my random word generator provided. 

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 10, 2023, 05:46:17 AM
Good morning!

QB the last couple of days and also twofers.

I seem to have misplaced my house keys so have been rather preoccupied. I think I'll have to ask the landlord to get me a new set, so until then, I'm stuck indoors.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 10, 2023, 08:25:31 AM
Good morning!

Finally got two pangrams, then to genius, then the third pangram.  Yesterday I could not see the pangram at all.  I think I missed it last time, too! I must have a mental block against it.  I also needed help (again) for jinn(i), and we needed bee buddy for inurn (again).

Yesterday I had endowment-tackler, and I have another 2fer today!

Langue_doc, sorry to hear your keys are on walkabout! I hope you locate them.  And I hope the air is clearing up a bit so when you find them you might be able to go out again! Did you check your door lock? ;-) It would be nice to be able to cast a spell and locate things.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 10, 2023, 09:02:58 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word main. I had zero patience yesterday after missing Wordle and went right to the hints for LB so had workload-decrement, endowment-tackler, wonderment-tackle.

Today, things are back in line. Already at Genius, Wordle in 4, and a 2fer.

Baking a birthday cake for a friend who is a really good cook so I'm a little intimidated!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 11, 2023, 06:00:30 AM
Good morning!

QB today. Missed a few words yesterday, but it takes several steps to locate the missing words, so I don't know which ones I missed.

endowment/tackler and compact/thoroughly (two different puzzles)

ab_grp, fortunately, the landlord gave me the key to the front door and also found one of the keys to my two doors. Even more fortunately he was just a state away when I reached him, so all's well. I'm still looking for the lost keys because I also have library cards for two different libraries and a couple of other access keys on that keyring.

Now that I have the keys I can go for a walk. All I did yesterday was to go to Home Depot to get duplicates for the keys--I got extra keys made, and now have to think of a way to hide these so that I'm not locked inside as just happened, or locked out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 11, 2023, 09:15:19 AM
Good morning!

Got 2 of the pangrams and past genius.  Husband has all 3.  Congrats on getting QBABY, Langue_doc! Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but needed bee buddy for baaed.  The reader clue was worth it, though: "Was it something ewe said?" Hahaha.  I should have checked my list, because I was missing bide(d), which I thought I had.  I was also missing deadbeat, abed.

For LB I got outcrop-pharmacology.  I found the latter first and was determined to make it work.

So glad you were able to get your keys from your landlord and get some duplicates made, Langue_doc! It's hard to figure out what to do with them to keep them safe and available to you.  I hope you are able to find your other keyring to get your other stuff back.  I also hope you enjoy or enjoyed the walk and fresher air.

Ciao_yall, I'm sure your cake turned out wonderfully!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 11, 2023, 10:31:36 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last words tibiae, baaed. LB crump-pathology.

Cake was yummy but a bit misshapen. I'm not good at frosting.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 12, 2023, 05:36:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were initial and initially.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 12, 2023, 07:19:30 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! Whee.  Yesterday we had to use bee buddy for natality.  It took me forever to get attainability.  Right off the bat, I thought attainably, later tintability, neither accepted.  Finally, lightning struck. 

For LB, I finally got cromulent-trophic right before bed after pursuing dead ends. 

Yummy and misshapen is pretty much a good descriptor for all the cakes I make, ciao_yall! My youngest is very artistic and a wonderful froster, but the actual horrors I have created when I have had to do it myself... eek.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 12, 2023, 07:49:57 AM
Congrats, ab_grp! I too made it to QB and a twofer which I should write down before I forget the words.

Getting my ducks in a row for a couple of outings this weekend and the next, and also for my Northeast non-academic workshop coming up in a month.

ETA: requested an absentee ballot for the upcoming city elections, so I'm feeling quite virtuous--today was the deadline.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 12, 2023, 09:52:10 AM
QBwSBB, last word natality. I like having the intermediate steps before going to the hints.

LB was stuck in a 2fer b4ss slog with houri-incomplete, incomplete-euchre before resorting to hints to find incomplete-euphoric.

Genius and 3fers so far this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 13, 2023, 05:27:06 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius so far. It's a long one today. Last word yesterday was pipet.

purgative/entailed

Happy solving!

ETA: easy twofer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2023, 06:23:43 AM
Good morning!

Got pangrams and to genius so far.  Yesterday I got QB and my final words were pixie, pixel, tipple.

No luck on LB, so congrats, Langue_doc, and on another one today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 13, 2023, 09:17:01 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word tipple. LB was in a loop of 2fer b4ss applaud-divergent, divulgent-trap and finally went to hints for unplug-gravitated. May be one of those days again as I already have a 2fer b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2023, 09:25:43 AM
I forgot that I had a ship yesterday, gravel~pundit.  That's as close as I got.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 13, 2023, 12:28:52 PM
Good afternoon!

I missed plié and tippet yesterday.  Genius with both pangrams today—-and a way to go. 

No 2fer so far, and none yesterday.

We got back from our cruise last night.  We had a great time! One highlight was going to a bird reserve park in Wales and seeing a huge colony of guillemots, plus several choughs, which are an endangered species.  (They look like crows with red beaks and red legs.)  Another highlight was the roof tour of Santiago de Compostela, which was at once terrifying and exhilarating.  (You walk across, up, and down several slanted roofs. But I lived to tell the tale! My husband has a fear of heights, so he did not participate.)

I've been doing the puzzles on and off (mostly off), but I'm back now! And I see that the fora have a different look. The Reply box seems less clunky. 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 13, 2023, 12:53:17 PM
Glad to see you, cathwen! I've been thinking of you, and it's great to hear that your cruise went so well.  The roof tour sounds especially interesting.  I looked that up and think I probably would have been with your husband safely on the ground.  Good for you!

There's a thread about the changeover, but I think it happened around lunchtime (my time) yesterday.  I clicked on some page, and suddenly I had to log in again and there was a totally different look.  I like it, but I feel like the preview and post buttons got switched? Or maybe my brain is just having an issue.  Anyway, it's great to see upgrades, and it seems to appeal pretty broadly.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 13, 2023, 03:26:54 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on June 13, 2023, 09:25:43 AMI forgot that I had a ship yesterday, gravel~pundit.  That's as close as I got.

Here's cathwen, back from the ship expedition! Good to see you back, and also good for you for braving the heights and doing the roof tour. Do keep us posted on other highlights one at a time, along with your puzzle solving.

Made it to QB, with some help from BB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 13, 2023, 08:16:30 PM
Just came across a new game in the NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 14, 2023, 06:29:17 AM
Good morning!

Not quite to genius yet, though I do have the pangram.  We had team QB yesterday.  I had been missing mania, monomania but got the second one as soon as husband said the first one. 

For LB, I finally got one right before bed! Junctions-snackbar

Quote from: Langue_doc on June 13, 2023, 03:26:54 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on June 13, 2023, 09:25:43 AMI forgot that I had a ship yesterday, gravel~pundit.  That's as close as I got.

Here's cathwen, back from the ship expedition! Good to see you back, and also good for you for braving the heights and doing the roof tour. Do keep us posted on other highlights one at a time, along with your puzzle solving.

Maybe I manifested cathwen's return with that LB ship! What else should I try to manifest? ;-)

And thanks for passing along that game, Langue_doc! I will try it out today.  It kind of reminds me of that game that I think you recommended a while back, Red Fish?

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 14, 2023, 06:41:32 AM
Good morning!

Genius but no pangram yet. It's a tricky one today. I don't remember my last words in yesterday's bee--it takes too many steps to locate the word list.

subjunctions/snark

ab_grp, the other game is Red Herring--thanks for making the connection.

Our walk--the one I've been planning with a co-leader is on, but I have to edit the write-up first. Do send us good wishes for good weather.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 14, 2023, 07:46:51 AM
Good morning!

QB with SBB help for amnio, ambit, bantam.. Today I am at genius with the pangram, six words to go. 

LB: After much hair-tearing, I finally got abjurations-sack. Lots of variety this time!  I have a 2fer today also.

We came home to find our patio plantings in sad shape.  However, phlox is blooming in profusion between the patio bricks in a certain area! Brought by birds, most likely. The unintentional flower garden!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 14, 2023, 08:37:54 AM
QBwSBB for nimbi, maintain. LB with a nudge to get banjoists-truck, junctions-snackbar.

Today's looks tricky as well. Hasn't been my week for LB! Oh well, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 14, 2023, 08:46:34 AM
QB. Last words yesterday were ammonia and monomania, thanks to BB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 15, 2023, 04:31:42 AM
Good morning!

QB -- short and sweet bee today. Last words were wahine and adenine, thanks to BB.

Connections comes out at midnight, so now it's three short puzzles to complete before retiring.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 15, 2023, 06:46:36 AM
Good morning!

Last word yesterday was heehawed, which I didn't see until the end even though I had heehaw early on.  QB today.

LB:  I had the "official" backpedal-length. I have a 2fer today also.

Now to tackle Connections and finish Digits.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 15, 2023, 07:05:24 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 3 words left, so I hope to join the QB club.  Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen! Yesterday we had team QB.  I was missing adenine, dead, henna(ed), wadded.

No luck on LB.  I don't think I would have found backpedal, so congrats! I did get a 2fer today!

Thanks again for Connections, Langue_doc.  Not sure where I got Red Fish instead of Herring (Dr. Seuss, I guess).  I will probably keep it for after solving the other puzzles if I get time before end of day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 15, 2023, 08:56:56 AM
Morning! QBwSBB, last word adenine. LB went for hints for backpedal-length. Lots of compound words this week.

Today I'm at QB-1 and a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 16, 2023, 05:29:50 AM
Good morning!

Genius, no pangram yet. I think last word yesterday was lulu.

moralize/enclasp

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 16, 2023, 07:16:29 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for duly.

For LB I had craps-solemnize.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc! I have one today, too.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 16, 2023, 09:15:40 AM
Morning!

QBwH for bubba. LB craps-solemnize.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 16, 2023, 09:22:14 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with a BB hint for laudably. I am two words short of QB today.

LB: I also had craps-solemnize, also solemnize-earpiece. I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 17, 2023, 06:03:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and 55 words so far. Missed tritium and yttrium yesterday.

metrological/luv, metalogic/curve

Happy solving!

ETA: QB and a twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 17, 2023, 08:34:09 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with tritium as the last word, thanks to BB.  Today I have four words to go.

LB:  I had augural-locomotive, but no 2fer yet today. 

Congratulations, Langue_doc, on you QB and 2fer already!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 17, 2023, 08:40:19 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and have 2 more words left.  Crossing my fingers! Congrats, Langue_doc! Yesterday we had to get help from bee buddy for amity, tutti.  I managed to remember yttrium but forgot tritium.  :-(

For LB, I took the long route with meteorological-lucrative.  Lots of variety so far! I have another 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 17, 2023, 09:43:01 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for tritium. I did remember yttrium from a prior puzzle. LB augural-locomotive.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 18, 2023, 04:36:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius.

owns/subjugated

Hike today--more event than hike, but looking forward to the event and also seeing familiar and new faces.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 18, 2023, 05:57:40 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find botnet and butt(!).  Today I have three words to go and am stumped.

LB: snows-subjugated. I have a 2fer today also.

Langue_doc, enjoy your hike/event!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 18, 2023, 07:09:58 AM
Morning!

QBwH for botnet and also needed an LB hint for towns-subjugated. Not a great LB week for me last week. Let's see how this week goes.

Hike today with a Meetup group I found through a friend I met on WW.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 18, 2023, 09:00:48 AM
Good morning!

I think I have two words to go again.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing botnet.

For LB I had towns-subjugated.  Congrats on the various solutions!

Langue_doc, is this the event you co-planned? I think you were asking for good weather wishes, so I am sending them and hope it's a wonderful time!

Have a good hike as well today, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 19, 2023, 05:26:10 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Missed kinda and nankeen.

fetch/horseplay--saw the latter first, and then it took me awhile to find a h-ending mate.

Hike/event was Juneteenth-related in a historic area with 18th and 19th century buildings hosting events such as basket-weaving, waffle-making (old heavy waffle irons which had to be placed on live coals in the fireplace, broom-making, tin smithing, period games and toys, two very old sewing machines, and so on. There was also a reenactment of the proclamation ending slavery. Waffles were good, especially with home-made butter and strawberries.

ab_grp, my outing is scheduled for the weekend--rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for the entire weekend, and rain on Thursday and Friday. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 19, 2023, 06:49:42 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy and (reader clues and guessing) for nankeen.  That's a tough one.

No luck on LB.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

Langue_doc, that sounds like a nice event! And interesting history to learn more about.  The waffles also sound delightful! I'm sorry to hear about the weather forecast for your outing, but so much can change in a couple days out there.  It's always hard for me to figure out flower delivery for my mom thanks to the variability.  In any case, I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 19, 2023, 07:20:10 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB - remembered nankeen but was missing a KI-6. Looked on the ranked list on SBB and realized I was missing a strange one, so took a wild guess at kiddie. LB chafes-sportly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 19, 2023, 08:46:30 AM
Good morning!

QBwSSB to find kiddie. Nankeen was in my list of Bee words, and kinda was a stab in the dark.  Today I have one word to go, and it's driving me crazy.

LB: chafes-sportly. No 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, the Juneteenth event sounded wonderful.  Fun, but with a serious note.  And waffles! 

Happy puzzling, everyone!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 20, 2023, 06:06:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were teeth, teethe--teehee!

Off to PT to get my back and legs straightened out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 20, 2023, 07:05:41 AM
QBABM! Last word theft. LB betwixt-trapezius with a nudge or I never would have tried betwixt.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 20, 2023, 07:21:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed our little buddy for lethal and needed that and the reader clue for theft.  Yoiks.  Some days just don't work out so well.  Congrats on your QBABY, ciao_yall!

And congrats on getting the schmofficial solution.  I had trapeze and thought subtext might be helpful but had no luck other than that.  I had pretty much forgotten that betwixt was a word. 

Hope your PT helps, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 20, 2023, 09:32:50 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw2LL help to find theta. Five words yet to find today. 

LB: No solution yesterday. Betwixt didn't even enter my mind.  No solution yet today, either.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 21, 2023, 05:00:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Last two words yesterday were with the help of BB.

I had a twofer, but don't recall the words--will post them later today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 21, 2023, 06:11:08 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for motto, odeum.

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 21, 2023, 07:11:03 AM
Morning!

QBwH for moue, odeum. LB with some help to get monarch-helipad, microchip-panhandle. Plenty of 2fer b4ss and 3fer solutions, though.

Is it me or has LB gotten trickier in the last few weeks?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 21, 2023, 10:12:40 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for moue, odeum, dumdum. Today I am at QB-3 with both pangrams. 

LB: No 2fer yesterday, either, and once again, none so far today.  Ciao_yall, I also have been wondering if LB has been getting more difficult. I've been finding it so, at any rate, whether it is deliberately set up that way or not. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 21, 2023, 10:52:58 AM
By the way, if you want hints for LB, if you go into the comments and sort on "oldest" the LB helpful hints thread is usually # 1.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 21, 2023, 12:38:39 PM
Yesterday's LB: microchip/panhandle

Went on a walk organized by one of my hiking/outdoors groups. I left the group after about 3 hours, as I don't like to walk fast, especially on sidewalks because of the asphalt. It was a lovely day weather-wise, and also the surroundings where we walked through parks and some city streets along the Hudson River. I heard one of the women behind me tell her companion about the bee and how to play it, so quickly joined in. We did switch to other topics, but it was fun to talk about the bee because both of us tackled it first thing in the morning, and were content with getting to Genius. I now have a huge blister so am sort of hoping for the predicted thunderstorms to materialize from tomorrow on--I'm signed up for a not-too-strenuous event on Friday and have to do a final trial run tomorrow for my weekend walk. I think the forecast is for rain starting tomorrow and for rain and thunderstorms from Friday on through the end of next week.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 22, 2023, 06:17:11 AM
Good morning!

I am having very little luck so far but got up too early.  Hopefully I will get somewhere with it once we get coffee and get to puzzling shortly.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for curacy, yucca.

And no luck on LB again! I thought vegetarians was a good contender.  I was having fairly consistent success for a while there (finally!), but it seems the past few days have not been kind.  Maybe they are more difficult!

Langue_doc, sorry to hear about your blister, and I hope the weather shakes out in your favor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 22, 2023, 06:50:03 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; familiar words but took me a while to find them. I don't remember the last words in yesterday's puzzle but did make it to QB.

gyrations/skive--tried the latter just because of the letters, and was surprised that it was accepted.

ab_grp, hope you get to take a nap today. Thanks for your wishes weather-wise. As for the blisters, I ordered three different products from Amazon, and am waiting for them to be delivered this afternoon. In the meantime, I'll have to do with the bandaids and gauze I have because I need to do a final scouting of the route.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 22, 2023, 08:06:23 AM
QBwSBB for actuator and I got a few hints but don't recall what they were for. Did remember tocatta.

LB with a nudge for gingko-overstay. Lots of weird solutions lately. How quickly did we all find vegetarians and then get bummed that skoy would not work? (Raises hand.)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 23, 2023, 07:33:17 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing bootee, echoic.  I thought bioethic might be in there (but would be another pangram), and I guess coact(or) went away (from two days ago)? Maybe we already talked about that.

No luck on LB yet again despite some contenders.  Yep, ciao_yall, I tried skoy! Sometimes it works to just put the remaining letters together, never know.  Might as well try. 

Langue_do, if any of the blister solutions work well, please let me know! Husband just got a big one on his foot.  I hope something helps you and that the route scouting goes or went well.  I never did get a nap but did sleep a little better last night.  Hopefully I can catch up a bit this weekend, though they say it doesn't really work that way.  Definitely feeling a bit more alert though, thankfully!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 23, 2023, 09:31:34 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find echoic.  I also tried bioethic and coactor and was surprised when they were rejected.  Today I am at genius with the pangram, but it's kind of a slog.  I may need help later.

LB: I had boards-scholasticism.  I have a 2fer today also.

As for the previous puzzle, yes, I tried skoy after finding vegetarians.  I was so frustrated to have such a good word with four remaining letters that I couldn't do anything with!

Sending healing thoughts for those blisters!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 23, 2023, 09:47:28 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word techie. And got a strange 2fer birds-scholasticism but it took so I kept it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 23, 2023, 01:53:25 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram which got me to genius before leaving for an event this morning. I know I made it to QB yesterday, but am not sure if I had to resort to BB.

bombastic/chordal

Thanks, cathwen and ab_grp.

ab_grp, I ordered moleskin and Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal Waterproof All Purpose Adhesive Bandages for Wound Care or Blisters, 10 ct, but learned subsequently that moleskin shouldn't be applied onto blisters. I also needed something right away so applied a leftover bandaid, 2.25x3" (this is the size of the bandaid after removing the sealed paper covering)  from an old CVS assorted pack of bandaids. Much to my surprise, I was able to walk for about three hours yesterday in uneven terrain, and the bandaid also survived this morning's shower. Since the blister is mostly on the sole just behind the big toe, with a bit on the side by the bunion area, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to hike until the blister had healed. I do wear thick hiking socks even in warm weather, so a large bandaid along with thick socks should help with your husband's blister. If you don't have the large rectangular ones, you could try a couple of thinner ones, applied side by side until you get to the drugstore. I haven't used the product I purchased, so cannot comment on its efficacy or lack thereof.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 24, 2023, 03:39:30 AM
QBw2LL, last word zanily. LB fluoridation-nohow.

Lange-doc and ab_grp, you can also put Vaseline on the blister underneath the ordinary Bandaid. Still, I highly recommend those poofy blister care bandaids like those Lange-doc ordered.

Moleskin works to protect areas that can get blisters if you don't have one already. You can also cut a piece into a donut shape so that the blister itself is bare but the skin around it is raised so the moleskin around the blister absorbs the pressure of the shoe and not the blister itself.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 24, 2023, 08:07:08 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram.  We needed bee buddy for gangling, lallygagging, zanily.

I finally got a 2fer right before bed again, wolfhound-dilator.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall! I have some contenders today, but nothing solid yet.

Thanks for the blister care tips, Langue_doc and ciao_yall! I will pass them on to my husband.  I think he is putting some weird pressure on his insoles at the ball of his foot but am not sure what exactly he's doing.  The left insole actually wore down in that area, but the right foot has the blister in that area.  He wears different shoes for biking, so these are only walking and rowing.  Seems like that might happen if you pivot or turn or something like that.  Anyway, he switched shoes, so hopefully he can protect this blister for now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 24, 2023, 08:13:53 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for gilling, gangling, sanity. Today I have the pangram and am a few words shy of QB.

LB:  I had northward-dutiful. Lots of variety with this one!  I have one today, too, but it took some time.

I am filing the blister recommendations away for the future.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Caracal on June 24, 2023, 09:18:24 AM
Quote from: cathwen on June 24, 2023, 08:13:53 AMGood morning!

QB yesterday with help for gilling, gangling, sanity. Today I have the pangram and am a few words shy of QB.

LB:  I had northward-dutiful. Lots of variety with this one!  I have one today, too, but it took some time.

I am filing the blister recommendations away for the future.

Happy puzzling!

I have not gotten to genius in the 11 days since our baby was born. I'm still doing it, but I think something must be broken in my brain...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 24, 2023, 09:36:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far. I should have seen the pangram early on, but didn't. I made it to QB yesterday, but probably needed BB. Too many things going on--missed several crosswords in a row.

Welcome to the thread, Caracal, and congratulations on the new baby. It's understandable that your brain's been on the frizt these days.

As for blisters, I remember having to wear sock liners back in the days when I lived in the Midwest. We would get to the meeting place, take off the shoes we were wearing, slather vaseline on our feet, put on the sock liners and then the hiking socks over them. I think I still have a pair of sock liners somewhere. These days though, I've been wearing Smartwool socks, the PhD ones (I'm not kidding), which seem to have gone down in quality since the original company sold the business. They used to be all wool, didn't pill, and were quite comfortable even in summer, but now they seem to be only 50% or so wool. I've not needed vaseline since switching to Smartwool socks. The recent blister was the result of something wedged between the sock and the shoe.

On that note, happy solving, and good weather. Our forecast was for scattered thunderstorms, so we rescheduled the hike, but it's been dry since early morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2023, 08:21:39 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for xenon.

I finally got a 2fer right before bed again! husbands-steadfastly

Congrats on your baby, Caracal!

Langue_doc, that sounds like some serious hiking prep.  I also find I tend to get blisters mostly when something in the shoe or sock area is off, bunched up or something along those lines.  Sorry that your hike got rescheduled, but I guess better than canceled? Of course the weather was fine after that decision was made!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 25, 2023, 09:03:19 AM
Morning!

QBABM!!!!! Last word coin. LB husband-deftly.

Congrats on the new baby, Caracal and welcome to the thread! We're here 24-7 so jump on in.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 25, 2023, 09:50:59 AM
Congrats on your QBABY, ciao_yall!! And your 2fer, of course!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 25, 2023, 10:25:48 AM
Good afternoon!

First of all, welcome, Caracal, and congratulations on the new baby! 

I went to help yesterday for neon and nonillion and felt foolish, as I've gotten both of those words easily in the past.  Congratulations on QBABY, ciao_yall! Today I have four words to go, and only one of the two pangrams.

LB:  I had undefendable-ethyls. I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 25, 2023, 12:11:20 PM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and above genius. I had to resort to BB for nonillion, which I've found quite easily in previous puzzles and for another word.

Hike went well, but there were several cancellations, which was understandable because today was the rescheduled date and also because there were a couple of other events by the same organization. We had a small cohesive group, and the co-leader and I covered all the structures/points of interest we had planned to stop at without having to rush.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2023, 06:22:07 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for vial.  I also needed help from husband with lineal(ly), lanai.  After getting the latter forever, I now seem to miss it each time.

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying.  I had liquidation, stagnation, so I guess I was somewhat close to the schmofficial answer, but stagflation is just not a word I think of very often.

Sounds like your hike did go well overall if you were able to hit all the major highlights, Langue_doc! Congrats! I hope your blister did okay.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 26, 2023, 07:01:36 AM
Good morning!

QB--all familiar words, but some of them were difficult to spot. QB yesterday.

ab_grp, thanks, the blister's almost gone, thanks to the bandaid.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 26, 2023, 08:20:22 AM
QBwH for allele, villanelle. LB songful-liquidation which I thought I made up, and a quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 26, 2023, 08:41:00 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for naively.  QBABM today! 

LB: I also had songful-liquidation and was doubtful about the first word.  I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 26, 2023, 04:54:11 PM
Managed to get to QBABM with a 2fer, finally!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 26, 2023, 05:14:50 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on June 26, 2023, 04:54:11 PMManaged to get to QBABM with a 2fer, finally!

WOOHOO!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 27, 2023, 05:57:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius.

forks/straighten

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 27, 2023, 06:24:31 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday my final word was minion after a string of 4-letters (in the puzzle and while doing the puzzle!).

I also got forks-straighten.  Big news! LB is in the app now, at least in my iOS app! Yay!

Quote from: ciao_yall on June 26, 2023, 05:14:50 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on June 26, 2023, 04:54:11 PMManaged to get to QBABM with a 2fer, finally!

WOOHOO!
Thanks! I was very excited! Seems like it's been a while since that has happened.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 27, 2023, 07:07:45 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday with millionth as my last word.  Today I am at genius and have found all four pangrams. Four words remain, but I am stumped.

For LB, I also had forks-straighten. It's funny that all of us had the same solution which is different from the « official » one!  No 2fer yet today, despite having found some good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 27, 2023, 09:25:00 AM
QBwH for motion. LB foresight-tank.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 27, 2023, 09:54:25 AM
Quote from: cathwen on June 27, 2023, 07:07:45 AMQBABM yesterday with millionth as my last word

motion, million, and millionth were my last words. Go figure!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 28, 2023, 05:00:14 AM
Good morning!

QB. Resorted to BB for dooryard yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 28, 2023, 06:57:32 AM
Good morning!

Got one pangram and a bit past genius.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! We needed bee buddy for dorado, dooryard, okra, and something else.

No luck on LB again despite much trying!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 28, 2023, 09:35:57 AM
QB with BeeBuddy help for dryad and dooryard. Today I have both pangrams and two words to go. 

LB: I had fathoming-general yesterday.  After much frustration, I finally got one today. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 28, 2023, 10:01:16 AM
QBwH for dryad which is one of those strange words I sometimes remember. LB fathoming-golfer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 29, 2023, 05:12:32 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. Last word yesterday was info.

chomp/partible

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 29, 2023, 05:54:49 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find fifing, piffling. Today I am at genius with the pangram and have a way to go.

LB: I had chimp-protectable, a good combination! Jane Goodall would approve. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 29, 2023, 07:39:53 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word folio. LB phlebotomic-crap, improbable-etch. Thought I made up phlebotomic but it took so hey!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2023, 07:49:13 AM
Good morning!

I haven't really gotten started on the bee.  No pangrams! Boy.  I woke up late and had to hustle.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for fifing, fillip, and I also needed help with piffling.

For LB I got phlebotomic-crab, so close to ciao_yall's first one.  Congrats on all the solutions!

Husband is trying out new socks to possibly help with blisters, so I will report back if he has good info to share.  I think he said they are double layer and made by Wright, but he was running out the door as I was trying to grill him for info.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 29, 2023, 03:39:26 PM
Got a 2fer!

And I finally got to genius plus but still have another pangram to go and a bunch of words left.  Criminy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on June 30, 2023, 04:12:10 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Needed BB for plena and napoleon.

sonic/complexity

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on June 30, 2023, 07:15:13 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius.  We needed bee buddy for a few words, sadly, including plena, napoleon but also bebop and some easy one.

For LB I had lexicons-symptom.  Variety already!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on June 30, 2023, 07:58:41 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with substantial help from BB to find apnea, napoleon, paella, plena, and lollop, my last word.  I keep missing paella!.  Today I am at genius, but the pangram has so far eluded me. 

LB: I had yet another combo: complexities-spiny.  No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on June 30, 2023, 08:23:39 AM
Morning!

QBwH for napoleon. LB complexities-sync.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 01, 2023, 07:58:53 AM
Morning! Am I alone here?

QBwG, last word decoded. LB numeric-checkbox. I found checkbox pretty quickly but needed a hint for numeric.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 01, 2023, 08:08:31 AM
Good morning!

We were outside doing Merlin and puzzles.  I am past genius with the pangrams so far.  I almost forgot that I got QBABM yesterday just as we were about to compare! My final word was emceed, which I should have gotten earlier.

No luck on LB again.  Yuck.  I have a good contender today but am afraid it may be my downfall if I cannot find a mate or let go of it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 01, 2023, 08:42:36 AM
Good morning!

Not a great puzzle day yesterday! Hints gave me coyly, emcee/d, mollycoddle/d. Ab_grp, congratulations on QBABY!  Today am at genius with the pangrams.

As for LB, I also went to hints to find numeric-checkbox. No 2fer yet today. 

Happy puzzling!

ETA:  Just got a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 01, 2023, 09:27:36 AM
Got a strange 2fer today but keeping it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 01, 2023, 12:45:28 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius earlier today. Resorted to BB for emcee, mollycoddle, and their past tense forms. I might have found the former pair, but for the life of me, wouldn't have come up with the latter yesterday, despite having come up with this word on my own in at least one previous puzzle.

Went on a hike this morning--chatted with people I've hiked with before and also people I met for the first time today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 02, 2023, 08:10:59 AM
Good morning!

Only 6 or 7 points left. Last words yesterday were believe and icicle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 02, 2023, 08:37:30 AM
Good morning!

Boy howdy, I am having trouble waking up today.  I am almost to genius, but no pangrams yet.  Good luck, Langue_doc! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with beeline, civil, clinic.

No luck on LB yet again.  Maybe today!

Glad you had a nice hike and got to chat with some folks, Langue_doc! I hope your blister is doing better.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 02, 2023, 08:47:29 AM
Good morning!

Last words yesterday were libelee, incline. Today I have three words to go and am stuck.

LB: I had mortgager-relaunch. I was skeptical about mortgager, but it took.  No 2fer today yet, in spite of a number of good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 02, 2023, 09:15:41 AM
Morning!

Yesterday one of my Meetup groups known as a "Drinking Group with a Hiking Problem" decided to skip the hiking part and have a picnic yesterday afternoon. The weather was fabulous. Managed to drag husband along and he really had a nice time. All the ladies love him.

Team QB with a friend yesterday. Last word celli. LB changeout-tremolo.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 03, 2023, 04:52:53 AM
Good morning!

QB; missed cortado yesterday--no amount of prompting would have gotten me to the solution, so I'm glad I didn't try BB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 03, 2023, 05:38:49 AM
Good morning!

QBwBB help to find corolla, cortado, orator (last word).  Cortado was a wild guess based on the hint.  Today I have the pangram (which took me ages to find) and have three words to go.

LB: No solution yesterday—but I found one today.

Ciao_yall, that sounds like a fun group!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 03, 2023, 07:16:47 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for dotard, cortado.  I should say that we also needed Google for the latter.  All the reader hints were about the same and provided no additional helpful info, so it is what it is. 

And I had no luck on LB yet again despite a lot of attempts.  Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen! I will cross my fingers.

Ciao_yall, that group does sound like a lot of fun.  And I'm glad your husband enjoyed it as well!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 03, 2023, 09:17:41 AM
Morning!

QBwH for cortado, among others. LB needed hints for outwear-reactively.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 03, 2023, 05:41:55 PM
Got to QBABM and a 2fer! Yeah!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 04, 2023, 05:10:58 AM
Good morning!

QB; last word yesterday was mocha.

tombs/squelcher

Happy Fourth!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 04, 2023, 06:33:48 AM
Good morning!

Got up not too long ago, so just one pangram and not quite to genius yet.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday my final word was cameo.  I was surprised to get QBABM because it wasn't looking promising earlier.

I got the same 2fer, tombs-squelcher.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 04, 2023, 07:44:09 AM
Good morning!

I needed hints yesterday for coho, emcee. I should have remembered emcee because it was just in a recent puzzle.

LB: I also had tombs-squelcher. I have a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling, and happy Fourth!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 04, 2023, 09:49:36 AM
Morning!

QBwG for coho, emcee - great minds think alike, cathwen! Got a nudge for retombs-squelch.

Quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 05, 2023, 06:05:13 AM
Good morning!

QB despite a tricky pangram. Last word yesterday was tomcat. I just stumbled on diatomic and then diatom just before the last word.

conformist/thump

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 05, 2023, 07:17:53 AM
Good morning!

Not yet to genius, and no pangram.  Tomcat was our final word as well, but we needed bee buddy for it! It took me a while to find diatomic.  I saw it while taking a break during exercising, luckily.  Husband got that one first but is more science-oriented, I guess.

For LB, I finally made frustum-microphonic work.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 05, 2023, 07:21:11 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday; last word dotcom. Today I have three words to go, one of which is the pangram. 

LB: Yet another solution: compositors-sunfish. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 05, 2023, 09:03:04 AM
Morning!

QBwH for tomcat. There's always at least one I should have gotten. LB frump-photonics.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 06, 2023, 05:27:04 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius (finally!). Last word yesterday was loonie, which I think I saw in a recent puzzle.

trawled/dozing

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 06, 2023, 06:23:18 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word was also loonie. I now remember having seen that before. Today I am at genius with both pangrams. 

LB: Another trawled-dozing. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 06, 2023, 06:32:12 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams but not to genius yet (about to go puzzling).  Congrats on your QBABY as well yesterday, cathwen! We needed bee buddy for enfeeble.  And that pangram can go right to heck.  That took forever because they are so inconsistent.

No luck with LB despite a ton of contenders.  I guess they don't think diagonalize is a word.  Oh well.  Congrats on both your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 06, 2023, 09:27:47 AM
Morning!

QBwH for felon... there is always the one. LB ended up going to community hints for trawled-dozing and a few other odd ones. I had warlord-dignitize but I guess dignitize isn't a word? Should be.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 07, 2023, 05:15:41 AM
Good morning!

QB; last word yesterday was the other pangram, which I found thanks to BB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 07, 2023, 07:19:16 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for airplay.

No luck on LB yet again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 07, 2023, 08:31:03 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help from my Bee list to find riyal. I keep forgetting that alternate spelling.  Today I have two words left to find.

LB:  I had vulgarity-yokel. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 07, 2023, 10:05:16 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word radii. Found lapidary on a wild guess then looked it up to see what it meant.

Needed a nudge for vulgarity-yoke but quick 2fer this morning so maybe I'm not losing my touch?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 07, 2023, 04:24:14 PM
Just got a 2fer and then QBABM all of a sudden! Good (and surprising) start to the weekend.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 08, 2023, 05:07:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (finally!) and genius. It's a tricky one today. Last word yesterday was wangling.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 08, 2023, 05:59:08 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with BB help for wangling. Today I am at genius with the pangram, which took me a while to find.

LB: I had wordcraft-typhoid. I found a 2fer today also. 

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2023, 07:59:41 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and past genius.  I think I have 2 or 3 words left.  Yesterday I was surprised to get QBABM after finally guessing wangling, but I didn't like that puzzle, and it didn't feel much like a victory.

I had the schmofficial solution yesterday, which I was surprised was schmofficial: forward-diptych.  I also had wordcraft as a contender but couldn't find a mate.  Congrats, ciao_yall, and on another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2023, 09:57:00 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last words wangling, waging. LB forward-diptych.

So far, GwoP and a long 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2023, 10:08:35 AM
Oops I realized I congratulated ciao_yall instead of cathwen in my earlier post.  Sorry about that! But congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today as well, ciao_yall!

Funny that we all had trouble with wangling.  I did not think that was a word.  I'm sure Sam is getting some grief about it.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2023, 10:24:06 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 08, 2023, 10:08:35 AMOops I realized I congratulated ciao_yall instead of cathwen in my earlier post.  Sorry about that! But congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today as well, ciao_yall!

Funny that we all had trouble with wangling.  I did not think that was a word.  I'm sure Sam is getting some grief about it.

Agreed. I just guessed it when I saw I was missing two wa- words. I kept thinking wrangling.

Just found the pan so now I am QB-2 with Grid. Trying not to go to the 2LL.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 08, 2023, 11:01:38 AM
QBw2LL and a wild guess at the last word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 08, 2023, 04:41:42 PM
Managed to get to QBABM and get a 2fer again!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 09, 2023, 09:15:01 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius or a bit past with pangrams so far.  Yesterday got to QBABM with final word hamate (guess).

For LB I got the schmofficial gaucho-overdrive.  I have some good contenders today but nothing yet.  I do have a ship.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 09, 2023, 09:38:36 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word hematite which was a wild guess. LB tougher-recuperative.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 09, 2023, 10:05:27 AM
Good afternoon!

QB with SBB hints to find theta, mahimahi, hamate. Ab_grp, congratulations on your QBABY!  Today I am at genius with both pangrams, but a good way to go until QB. 

LB: I had gauche-evaporative. Lots of variety!  I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 09, 2023, 10:45:03 AM
Afternoon!

QB. Missed hamate yesterday.

Twofer, also twofer yesterday which I wrote down somewhere--not the official one though.

Happy solving!

I think it was tougher/recuperative.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 10, 2023, 03:36:22 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were detect, detected.

dampener/requotes

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 10, 2023, 07:01:44 AM
Good morning!

Getting toward genius with the pangram at the moment.  Seems to be taking a bit! Yesterday I had a long call in the afternoon but probably would not have gotten to QB anyway, so hats off to you, Langue_doc! We needed bee buddy for several words.  Ugh!

Yesterday I finally got a 2fer with tampers-squadron after ships of several kinds like sequestered~tampon.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 10, 2023, 09:28:28 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last words incident, incidence. LB quoted-dampeners.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 10, 2023, 10:14:15 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwSBB to find deice/d, eidetic. Today I am at genius with the pangram, four words to go.

LB: I had unrequest-tamponed, then found dampener-requotes. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 10, 2023, 12:53:58 PM
Wow, lots of 2fer variation! And two for cathwen! Congrats!

I did a search but didn't come up with anything.  Do any of you do cryptic crosswords? I feel like that topic or something similar was mentioned at some point, but maybe not.  Pal on call yesterday told me she enjoys those, so I thought I'd see if anyone has a good source for interactive online puzzles.  If not, I'll just google around some more.  I have tried them in the past and found them to be very difficult.  She said they are for her, too, but she feels good when she can figure out any of the answers! She still gets Games magazine (or whatever it's called these days), and they have an app, but it's not interactive! Even the puzzles on the website have to be printed out.  I would prefer to do something like the NYT app.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 11, 2023, 05:36:52 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was rotatory.

jankiest/tuxedo; found the latter first and then tried junkiest which was rejected, and finally jankiest just for the heck of it which was accepted much to my surprise. Tried junkies, which reminded me of certain threads, so quickly retreated from that avenue.

Thanks, ab_grp. As for the cryptic crosswords, I think I've seen the links when I'm on the games page, but don't recall seeing a discussion here. What with the new games (short and sweet) and the readings for my book groups, I don't have much time for additional puzzling. I keep losing my crossword streaks, and will probably lose my streaks in other games when I'm traveling next week.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 11, 2023, 06:15:30 AM
Good morning!

Getting to genius, and I do have the pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for toothy.

Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc! I was so close.  I thought about janky and words ending in -est and had tuxedo.  Ugh!! That was a tough one.

And I totally understand having only so much you can fit in, puzzle-wise.  Especially if you will be traveling!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 11, 2023, 08:01:02 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG which finally involved reading the dictionary to discover hortatory. LB jankiest-tuxedo.

Errands today so I must be hortatory to myself to get showered and off on my way.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 11, 2023, 09:12:08 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

It got late yesterday, so I turned to BeeBuddy to find toothy, apathy, rotatory, and throaty (my last word).  Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: I also had jankiest-tuxedo. The first word was a wild guess after junkiest was rejected and junkies didn't seem to be leading anywhere.  I found a 2fer today.

As for cryptic crosswords, I am not very good at them. Puns and anagrams, yes, but not the cryptic crosswords. I like trying them, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 11, 2023, 11:28:07 AM
QB-1 ABM. Really hope it's not a weird one so I can ABM it. I did get a quick 2fer this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 11, 2023, 12:24:46 PM
Ciao_yall, I'm in the same boat.  QB-1 and a quick 2fer! I thought I had QBABM but had written down the wrong total # words.  Darn it! Good luck to us both!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 11, 2023, 02:31:44 PM
QB--haven't had a chance to look at LB.

cathwen, I've been meaning to ask you about CT-15 aka Merritt, aka Wilbur Cross. Last year, on my way out this time of the year, I was happy to see the tree-lined lanes. On my way back, however, less than a couple of weeks later, I was dismayed to see the trees cut down along long stretches of the route, and more trees readied for demolition. These were fully grown trees providing plenty of much-needed shade. When I drove up this way in December, there were saplings along some of the stretches of this route. Would you know why the old trees were cut down? I'll be driving thataway this weekend, so have been thinking about the poor trees that were cut down.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 11, 2023, 02:51:07 PM
Just to update, got QBABM.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 12, 2023, 04:54:43 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. Last word yesterday was tacet which I remembered from previous bees.

potluck/keratin, crackle (tackle)/eruption; couldn't find a mate for crackpot.

Happy solving!

ETA QB--all familiar words!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 12, 2023, 06:23:59 AM
Good morning!

With a little more persistence, I could have gotten ciabatta and efface yesterday, but I went to BeeBuddy to find them. Congratulations on the QBs!  Today I have the pangram, four words to go. 

LB: reputation/nickel; pluckier-rotation (or ration); cockler-reputation. No luck today so far, though!

Langue_doc, the removal of trees has bothered me as well, but apparently many of them were diseased and thus hazardous. An article in CT Insider from March 2023 explains: 

https://www.ctinsider.com/politics/article/lawmakers-critical-dot-clear-cutting-trees-along-17810156.php

I agree that it is heartbreaking to see all the trees go, but after reading the article, I understand why it had to be done.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 12, 2023, 07:41:20 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and genius, but the pangram took a while.  Congrats, Langue_doc! I still have a ways to go.  And good luck, cathwen! Yesterday I thought I had QB with tibiae (which I think I forgot last time), but it ended up that I finally got it with feta.

For LB I had plucker-ration.  Lots of variety, though cathwen got mine.  Congrats on all the multiple solutions!

I forgot that I have a meeting this afternoon so won't have all the time in the world for puzzling.  I may have to skip it, though I guess I can puzzle on my phone.  It's an org that I really liked and was glad for at the start but which has now been infiltrated by the same old people who take over every org in my professional space, so I no longer feel as though I have much opportunity to contribute.  I don't know what to do about this kind of thing, but it's disheartening.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 12, 2023, 08:56:13 AM
Morning!

QB-1ABM then finally needed the 2LL for acetic, which I have gotten before. Kept thinking ascetic. LB plucker-ration.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 12, 2023, 01:50:44 PM
Yay! Got to QBABM! And I managed to get a 2fer within a few tries.  Just in time for the call.  Now I will have nothing to do.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 13, 2023, 05:34:43 AM
Good morning!

Just a couple of words left today. Last word yesterday was entity.

cathwen, cutting down trees that have outlived their lifespan makes sense. I recall a tree walk in Central Park where we were told that the plane trees that replaced the diseased elms have a life span of around 120 years or so. I think it was Robert Moses, long deceased, who oversaw the tree plantings so it's probably time for new trees.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 13, 2023, 08:07:36 AM
Morning!

QB almost ABM, wild guess at netty (?) then needed a hint for mentee /facepalm. LB vehicular-ritzy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 13, 2023, 08:15:42 AM
Good morning!

Almost to genius (decided to work on the crossword), but I do have pangram.  Yesterday I got to QB with feint.

I also had vehicular-ritzy, which I guess turned out to be schmofficial.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 13, 2023, 12:45:18 PM
Good afternoon!

I got to QB yesterday with a hint for mentee, a word I always seem to miss. Today I am at genius with the pangram, and four more words to go.

LB: Congratulations on the 2fers! I did not find one.  I don't know how I missed ritzy. No 2fer yet today, either, in spite of a couple of very good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 14, 2023, 04:42:58 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed cichlid yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 14, 2023, 06:11:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I was missing childhood, igloo.

For LB, I finally got the schmofficial woeful-lipstick right before dinner.  I had been looking for -ful words but hadn't even seen the latter until just then.  Whew.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 14, 2023, 06:52:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far.  Yesterday I needed hints to find cichlid. A new word to add to my Bee list!

No LB solution yesterday, although I did find woeful. How I then missed lipstick is beyond me.  No 2fer yet today!  Argh.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 14, 2023, 09:03:13 AM
Morning!

QBwH for cichlid - always something, isn't it. Also woeful-lipstick.

HOA board meeting and hiking group later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 15, 2023, 05:10:49 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. That's it for today--off on my trip. cathwen, I'll wave to you as I'm going along 15.

Last word yesterday was moola.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 15, 2023, 05:22:53 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find maxima. Today I have the pangram and am a bit above genius.

No 2fer yesterday, but I have one today!

Langue_doc, enjoy your trip!  I'll wave back.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 15, 2023, 08:09:08 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram eventually and to genius eventually and will keep at it.  Long puzzle! Yesterday I got to QBABM again! My final word was bamboo.

No luck on LB despite what I thought were some very good contenders.  I'm very familiar with comorbidity but doubt that I ever would have thought of it.  Congrats on getting one today, cathwen!

Have a great trip, Langue_doc!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 15, 2023, 10:31:04 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for maxilla. LB got a nudge for comorbidity-yaks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 16, 2023, 07:30:20 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with BB. QB today too, with BB. It's going to be a busy afternoon and evening, hence my resorting to shortcuts. Couldn't fall asleep last night, despite my good intentions of going to bed before midnight, so turned to Wordle--found the solution on my second try.

Rain all morning, and probably rain most of the week. So much for walking and exploring the area.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 16, 2023, 08:11:52 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word inattentive. LB chords-swankier.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2023, 08:37:35 AM
Good morning!

Still not to genius yet, but I finally have both pangrams.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for dative, initiative, inattentive.  Congrats on your QBs and Wordle, Langue_doc! I felt lucky to get it in 3 today.

No luck on LB yet again.  Congrats, ciao_yall! Maybe today.

Sorry to hear about all the rain, Langue_doc.  I hope it clears up some for you or leads to other (good) adventures.

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 16, 2023, 09:55:55 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwBB, last word inattentive. Today I'm beyond genius with both pangrams.

LB: I also had chords-swankier. I have one today as well.

Sending wishes for sunshine, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 16, 2023, 12:38:05 PM
Finally got to genius and got a 2fer!

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 17, 2023, 07:04:16 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram thus far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for notator, orotund, tandoor.  I will probably never remember that middle one.

For LB I got fright-thousand.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 17, 2023, 09:18:45 AM
Morning!

QBwH and new words arrant, orotund. LB grounds-starfish.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 17, 2023, 09:36:53 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for tantara, nonart, and orotund, which seems to have stumped everyone. Today I have only two words to go, but where they're hiding is a mystery to me.

LB: frogfish-handout. I had the much more normal starfish, and missed grounds! I had never heard of a frogfish before, so my ichthyological knowledge is expanding.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 17, 2023, 10:17:17 AM
Afternoon!

QB with BB, same story yesterday.

The sun's out, but quite muggy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 18, 2023, 06:16:03 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word arcadia. LB furbabies-shouty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 18, 2023, 06:18:04 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram, not quite to genius yet.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for acidy, didact(ic), and maybe one more? Should have gotten the latter, at least.

No luck on LB again! I had safety but probably wouldn't have thought of biosafety and looked for rh- words but didn't think of rhubarb.  Oh well!

I hope the mugginess clears up some for you, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

ETA: Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!  I think I like your solution better than the schmofficial one.  When I previewed my post it said another post had been added, but it didn't show anything new. ?!  Not sure how I'm supposed to try to view the additional post(s), so I just posted and came back to edit.  The old software or what have you would show new posts when I previewed.  Maybe I just didn't have enough coffee yet.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 18, 2023, 07:48:54 AM
Good morning!

Unexpectedly, I got to QBABM yesterday! Last words were arcadia and carat. Today I'm at QB-3 with the pangram.

LB: I love ciao_yall's pair! Shouty furbabies! Mine was refurbish-statutory. I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 18, 2023, 12:22:29 PM
Afternoon!

QB with BB's help.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2023, 07:57:15 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed conceit, nontoxic, tontine, niteTontine hasn't been in there in a while! And I had tried tonite with no luck so didn't even think about the shorter part.

For LB I got bromide-equant.  Didn't know the latter was a word but tried it with the remaining letters.  Many better contenders got me nowhere.

We get our furniture today, finally, so lots to clear out of the way.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 19, 2023, 09:43:36 AM
Good afternoon!

QB with 1L help to find conceit, notice, tontine. Today I am well above genius with the pangrams, but stuck on the remaining words.

LB: I also had bromide-equant. I had to look up the equant, as it is a new word for me.  Today I have not yet found a 2fer, but I have some good contenders.

Enjoy your new furniture, ab_grp!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 19, 2023, 10:09:07 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new-but-forgotten word tontine. LB - after zillions of 3fers and 2fer b4ss I went to the hints for quotidian-number.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 19, 2023, 10:31:44 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Will have to rely on BB later tonight.

Congrats on your new furniture, ab_grp.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 19, 2023, 02:09:27 PM
Thanks about the furniture! Kind of a funny (or sad) thing is that the guys who delivered it said they had been here four or five years ago? I realized they delivered the only other piece of furniture we have bought since we lived here, a loveseat recliner to read on together on, back on Valentine's Day 2017.  I told them as much.  They have good memories! Said we'll see them again in a couple years when we buy more furniture, I guess! We have already put the new furniture to work, but the leather love seat is a little deep for me (like my feet don't touch the ground), so I will make some adjustments with pillows and blankets and try not to slip off onto the floor.  Even though we don't care that much about style or decor, I feel a little more like an adult having a real coffee table instead of a storage container.  This probably sounds ridiculous. 

I am having some real trouble with the bee today.  I have barely been able to get anywhere since genius.  And no 2fer yet.  Congrats on your solutions yesterday, cathwen and ciao_yall! Cathwen, thanks to you looking up the word neither of us knew rather than just using it and abandoning it unknown, I have now looked it up as well.  ;-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 19, 2023, 03:16:54 PM
Finally went to SBB and hints for LB. Tricky ones today!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2023, 06:12:48 AM
Good morning!

Got past genius with pangram so far.  I actually made it to QBABM yesterday.  I think my final words were pinioning, phono.  Husband also made it a minute later with the same last word (the latter).

No luck on LB despite much effort!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 20, 2023, 07:23:43 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! I caved and went to hints to find phono, opinion, pinion, pinioned. All words that I should have gotten on my own. Today I sailed to genius with the pangram rather quickly, but now I am stuck.

LB: I had carbonics-satisfy. Quick 2fer today as well.

Yesterday my husband and I took a walk for the first time in about two weeks; it's just been too hot and muggy to spend time outdoors. We saw a number of painted turtles, some of them with just their little heads sticking up through the algae-covered pond. Others looked like algae-covered rocks until you looked more closely. There were two mother wood ducks with a whole bunch of little ones swimming around. So cute! It was great to be outdoors again.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 20, 2023, 09:49:08 AM
Morning!

QBhH for pinioning which I guess is a word. After a tangle of 2fer b4ss bonfires-sanctity, sot-beneficiary, and 3fers coming out of my ears I finally went to hints for cybernetics-sofa, obeyers-satisfaction.

2fer this morning with a word I thought I made up.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 20, 2023, 02:33:26 PM
Afternoon!

QB thanks to BB.

I've missed several crosswords in a row, excluding the ones on Monday and Tuesday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 20, 2023, 04:36:50 PM
Got a 2fer! Couple more words to go on the bee.

Langue_doc, I could have happily skipped today's crossword, so in my opinion you are not missing out.  Just not one I was a fan of.  Sometimes Thursdays are more clever than enjoyable.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 21, 2023, 06:20:49 AM
Good morning!

Didn't really start yet today, but it looks like a long one.  Yesterday I almost got to QBABM, but we did have team QB at least.  I was missing halva.  Darn those other spellings!

For LB I had industrials-shop.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 21, 2023, 09:13:55 AM
Morning!

QB-1ABM even with some oddball words. Finally relented to checking the grid and I was missing valve. Gah.

LB protonations-should. Thought I made up the word but it turns out it's related to physics.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 21, 2023, 09:42:17 AM
Good afternoon!

I needed BB help yesterday to find halva and helve, a word I'd never heard before. Today I am at genius with one of the two pangrams and a way to go yet.

LB: I had populations-shard. No 2fer yet today, though, despite some very good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 21, 2023, 11:16:06 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. I've seen helve before--the first time I missed it, but have remembered to enter it on at least three subsequent bees.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 22, 2023, 03:32:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Didn't get back to the bee yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 22, 2023, 06:51:33 AM
Good morning!

Genius with the pangram this morning. I don't have many words to go, but they are, so far, eluding me. Yesterday I ran out of time and needed a 2LL nudge to find coca, cranny, rayon, macro, arcana, and canyon, all of which I should have seen and have gotten before. But my last word was monocracy, which I would probably never have guessed.

LB: I had the "official" iceberg-greyhound. I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 22, 2023, 08:13:32 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and genius.  Looks like I have 5 words to go.  Yesterday was not great.  It took me a long time to find the second pangram (monocracy).  We each needed a bunch of words when we finally compared.  By some miracle, we had team QB.  I know I was missing some pretty easy ones (or ones I usually get), like canna, carny, coronary.  I got the harder ones! Ugh.

No luck on LB again! Congrats, cathwen! And on another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 22, 2023, 10:26:34 AM
Morning!

QB with hints, last word macro. Probably could have done it ABM but when they get long I am ready to be done.

LB - after a rather unwieldy 2fer b4ss neighbourhood-dicey I got a nudge for iceberg-greyhound.

Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 22, 2023, 03:09:33 PM
I finally made it to QBABM after quite a lot of wheel spinning! Haven't tried LB yet.  Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 23, 2023, 05:04:30 AM
Morning!

Pangram and genius. Might not have internet for the next few days.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 23, 2023, 08:09:09 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday I got QBABM with final word mohel

For LB I had harmful-locknut.

Hope your non-internet days are good ones, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 23, 2023, 08:55:59 AM
Morning!

QBwG last word emcee. LB comfort-thankful.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 24, 2023, 07:06:22 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius or a bit past so far.  Yesterday we each had a few left but almost had team QB.  We needed bee buddy for amour.  I think I had tried amor and given up.

For LB I had the schmofficial sympathizer-rev or ring sympathizer~revs.  Lots of good long contenders before that went nowhere!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 24, 2023, 09:04:10 AM
Good morning!

We spent yesterday at the Yankees' game, so I only really got to the Bee—I needed a hint for the last word, murmur.

LB: No 2fer yesterday, but I found one today.

I'm not a huge fan of any sport, but I like going to baseball games in stadiums (as opposed to watching games on TV). I like to watch the people, and I can get into the game when it's happening in front of me (and my husband's enthusiasm is contagious). I have one requirement: Seats in the shade. That meant that we were in the nosebleed section, under an overhang, but we had a good view of the field, and it was nice and shady. Lunch was hot dogs and beer! How could it not be? A good day, but tiring. And the Yankees won.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 24, 2023, 09:37:46 AM
Morning!

QBwH for paradrop, ramrod. LB sympathize-ever, sympathizer-rev. Today, 2fer with a word I thought I made up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2023, 07:09:09 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but only one pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for rowan.

For LB I had aitch-herpetology, and I have another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 25, 2023, 07:51:39 AM
Morning!

QBwG and a wild guess for rowan. LB ceil-lithography.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 25, 2023, 09:18:00 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for barbarian. Today I am at genius with one of the pangrams.

LB: I also had aitch-herpetology. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 25, 2023, 11:42:16 AM
It took me forever to get the second pangram, but I finally got to QBABM!

Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen (and another today)!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 26, 2023, 07:03:42 AM
Good morning!

Somewhat past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I was excited to finally remember minyan for QBABM.

For LB I had abjure-entitlements.

Lots of hours of meetings today.  Ugh.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 26, 2023, 08:17:35 AM
Morning!

QB with a little nudge from SBB, last word anytime. LB bluejeans-strim and a quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 26, 2023, 08:26:41 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a hint from SBB to find inanity. QB today already.

LB: I had the "official" unjust-terminable. I have a 2fer today.

Ab_grp, I'll be sending endurance vibes for your hours of meetings today! Ugh!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 27, 2023, 07:10:32 AM
Good morning!

I think I just need a word or two today to complete the bee. Reached QB yesterday, and also the previous days, but with BB's help for the religious words on those days.

rapids/stinkbomb

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 27, 2023, 07:21:50 AM
Good morning!

Got past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I almost made it to QB, but at least we had team QB.  I needed tinging.

For LB I had drinks-spambot, which appears to be schmofficial.  Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc, and welcome back!

Cathwen, thanks for the endurance vibes! The content was good, but the amount of time just throws the whole day off.  Lots to catch up on today! And I'm glad to have more time autonomy!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 27, 2023, 07:40:45 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word titling. I did look at SBB but all it did was cheerfully remind me I was missing a ti-word. LB rapids-stinkbomb.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 27, 2023, 07:44:57 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for last word, thinning. Today I made QBABM!

LB: I had bombards-stinkpot, and pardons-stinkbomb.

I'm glad your meetings, long as they were, were beneficial, ab_grp!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 27, 2023, 07:48:02 AM
Ciao_yall, you can access a reader hint from the SBB hints, though sometimes the reader hints are not that helpful if you absolutely do not know the word (but might have been here).

Congrats on getting QBABM today, cathwen, and your two 2fers! And thanks again.  :-)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 27, 2023, 03:06:42 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on July 27, 2023, 07:48:02 AMCiao_yall, you can access a reader hint from the SBB hints, though sometimes the reader hints are not that helpful if you absolutely do not know the word (but might have been here).

Congrats on getting QBABM today, cathwen, and your two 2fers! And thanks again.  :-)

Yes, I know about reader hints. But it reminded me I was missing a ti, which I knew, and then I suddenly flashed on the word so I didn't need to go any further.

2fer today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 28, 2023, 07:50:06 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and past genius so far.  Yesterday I almost got to QBABM again, but we had team QB again.  I needed venule.

For LB I had harboring-getaway, and I got one pretty quickly today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 28, 2023, 08:20:38 AM
Good morning!

A rare QBABM yesterday, last word nylon. Today I am at genius with the pangram with a few words to go.

LB: I also had harboring-getaway. I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 28, 2023, 09:02:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (second word) and well above genius. QB yesterday--remembered venule from an earlier puzzle, but found a couple of -ly ending words only by indiscriminately attaching the suffix.

browbeat/thingy; harboring/gateway (getaway)

Stay cool!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 28, 2023, 09:34:37 AM
Morning!

QBwH for nouvelle. LB beignet-throwaway.

QB-3 and quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 29, 2023, 07:37:15 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for pizzazz, pizazz. LB grief-fabulation.

Hiking group today through the City.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 29, 2023, 08:24:03 AM
Good morning!

About 30 or so points left today. QB yesterday.

negotiator/refutable; unfair/renegotiable (why do these remind me of certain emails?)

Twofer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 29, 2023, 09:01:36 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with the pangrams so far.  At least one possibility was not been accepted, though! Yesterday I got to QBABM! Last word was tippet.

For LB I had forget-tribulation.  Congrats on your solutions, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

Happy solving!

ETA: Had to update pangrams.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 29, 2023, 12:44:45 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwSBB to find pepita, pizazz. Darn those alternate spellings! Today I'm beyond genius with all three pangrams. Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp!

LB: I had abrogation-noteful. I did not think the second word was even a word and was surprised when it took. No 2fer today yet, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 30, 2023, 08:07:31 AM
Morning!

Not a great puzzle day yesterday, but I did hike 8 miles so that took up some time.

QBwH for commode. I hate when I miss the easy ones. LB I was stuck with a 2fer b4ss shackle-expedite, expedites-shackle before looking at the hints and realizing I could have done hackle-expedites.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2023, 09:56:24 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I tried to get to QBABM but missed dotcom, medico.  I think I miss the former fairly often, and I thought of the latter but figured it was Spanish brain so didn't try it.  At least we had team QB again.

For LB I got hackle-expedites right before bed.  I had also just tried expedites- and realized shackle didn't work and got disappointed but luckily saw the correct solution before restarting it.  Took quite a few tries all day to finally get it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 30, 2023, 10:10:00 AM
Afternoon!

Just a couple of words left. Made it to QB yesterday--took me quite awhile to remember dietetic.

hackle/expedites as well.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 30, 2023, 10:22:26 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday to find dotcom, mimetic, titmice. Today I have only a few words to go, but no pangram yet!

LB: Not a good day yesterday—-no 2fer! Congratulations to everyone else! No 2fer today yet, either. Argh!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 30, 2023, 11:16:56 AM
Good bee luck to you both for your final words, Langue_doc and cathwen! Cathwen, I'm sure you will see the pangram soon.  And I hope you get your 2fer today.

Ciao_yall, I hope you enjoyed your hike!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 30, 2023, 04:38:45 PM
Thanks, ab_grp. QB and a twofer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2023, 07:01:29 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I missed (p)hooey, and I don't think I would have stumbled upon them in finite time.  Ugh.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

And congrats on your 2fer as well! I would never have gotten the schmofficial solution.  I have never heard of oxlip, as far as I can recall.  I did try oxtail but thought luxuriate would be the ticket.  Not for me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on July 31, 2023, 07:55:15 AM
Good morning!

QB--words we've seen before. Last word yesterday was happen.

I wouldn't have thought of oxlip, although I did try oxtail. I found the prosaic parochial/luxuriate.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on July 31, 2023, 08:14:07 AM
Aww, man! Maybe I eventually would have gotten to your solution, Langue_doc. Congrats! And congrats on another QB!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on July 31, 2023, 08:25:04 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find payphone and phooey. I am a little beyond genius with the pangram today, but have a way to go.

LB: I had parochial-luxuriate. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on July 31, 2023, 09:12:22 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL because I realized I kept wishing I could put in hyphenate but forgot to just put in hyphen.

LB circled around roc-chapel-luxuriate, luxuriate-epoch before getting a hint for parochial-luxuriate.

Let's see how today goes - Genius and 3fers but haven't had coffee yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2023, 07:18:51 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to or a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday we failed to get team QB, needing bee buddy help with cringy.

No luck on LB, though I don't think there's a chance in heck I would have gotten the schmofficial solution, again! They are really digging into the weird words recently IMO.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 01, 2023, 08:23:58 AM
Good morning!

QBwH; last word arnica. Today I have both pangrams and am beyond genius.

LB: I had enriches-scumbag. I have a 2fer today, too, but the first word seems iffy, even though it was accepted.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 01, 2023, 08:30:37 AM
Morning!

QBABM! Last word narc.

LB - Had 2fer b4ss coming out of my ears such as hernias-scumbag, finally got a hint for brunches-sigma. Yeah, they have been trickier lately.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 01, 2023, 09:18:06 AM
Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen!

And congrats on your QBABY, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 01, 2023, 10:33:23 AM
Afternoon!

QB today with help from BB. Last word yesterday was arcana.

rhumba/agencies

QuoteNo luck on LB, though I don't think there's a chance in heck I would have gotten the schmofficial solution, again! They are really digging into the weird words recently IMO.
Indeed!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2023, 07:08:03 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for a few: lieu,endue(d).

For LB I got astronauts-scrimpy.  Langue_doc, congrats on your rhumba- solution! I had that part but couldn't find a mate.  I don't know whether to feel happy that I was on the right track when this happens or kick myself that I didn't pursue that lead further...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 02, 2023, 08:09:58 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB to find endue/d, leucine. Today I'm a bit beyond genius with the pangram.

LB: Lots of solutions this time! I had impost-truancy. Impost was a guess, and I was surprised that it took.

I'm sad that Digits will be going away on August 8. I've enjoyed that puzzle. I wonder how long Connections will remain? I like that one, too.

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 02, 2023, 08:48:48 AM
Morning!

QBwH to find leucine. And after a zillion 2fer b4ss solutions I went to LB hints to find the rather odd rainstorms-scrumpy, astronauts-scrimpy.

Quick run to genius and a 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 02, 2023, 02:09:21 PM
Afternoon or evening!

Pangram and above genius. Don't remember the last words from yesterday's BB list.

constraints/stumpy

I too will miss Digits. The puzzles have become much easier since the announcement of its demise. In addition to Connections I've been doing Red Herring, probably only available on Kindles. The latter is slightly more complex because there are left-over words, hence the "red herring" moniker.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 02, 2023, 04:43:36 PM
Got a quick 2fer! Still slogging away at the bee, though.

I never ended up getting too into Digits but do enjoy Connections now that I've figured out the trick.  Red Herring is a lot of fun with some additional challenge to it.  Thanks again for introducing me to it, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 03, 2023, 06:18:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and just above genius. It's a slow one today, despite the familiar words.

QB yesterday, thanks to BB for acetal and lacteal.

swings/squarely, liqueurs/swaying

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 03, 2023, 06:27:31 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and headed toward genius.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with abettal, abject, ejecta.

For LB I had inquiringly-yawners.  Congrats on your two 2fers, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 03, 2023, 07:00:25 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, but only with help to find ablate, abettal, éclat, ejecta, lacteal. Today I am at genius with the pangram, but really stuck with five words to go.

LB: swingers-squarely, wings-squarely, swinger-reliquary, squarely-yawing. Lots of solutions this time! I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 03, 2023, 09:17:25 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word lacteal. LB wings-squarely.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 04, 2023, 06:50:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were minima, maintain.

carnivorous/sixty

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 04, 2023, 07:39:44 AM
Morning!

QBwH for trimaran. LB carnivorous-sixty as well, Langue-doc.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 04, 2023, 07:42:23 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for trimaran, tamarin.  I also needed help for martin, which I guess I still don't immediately recognize as a non-proper noun.

I also got carnivorous-sixty for LB!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 04, 2023, 07:58:03 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find tamarin, trimaran. Today I have one of the pangrams and am beyond genius.

LB: I had carnivorous-syntax. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 04, 2023, 10:16:34 AM
I made it to QBABM!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 04, 2023, 05:57:48 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on August 04, 2023, 10:16:34 AMI made it to QBABM!

Woohoo! I almost did then needed hints for an easy word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 05, 2023, 05:34:52 AM
Good morning!

Made it to genius soon after 3 AM. Couldn't fall asleep after waking up around 2:30, hence the early start to the bee. I just found the pangram, so that's probably it for the bee. I also found a twofer. Most days I don't even look at LB until I'm fully awake, but I did, in the middle of the night, and much to my surprise, found an easy solution.

Needed BB for bedhead.

borough/headwind

Happy solving!

ETA: QB
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 05, 2023, 05:47:59 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! I got to QBABM as well, with baaed as my last word, tried in desperation. But...the pangrams were bighead/ed? Is that really one word? I got it by fooling around with unlikely combinations and was surprised when they were accepted.  Today I am past genius with the pangram, only three words to go. I'm hoping for another QBABM, but I often get tripped up on easy words, so who knows.

As for LB, I also had borough-headwind. I found a 2fer today, but it doesn't seem very economical, so if I have time, I may try for another one.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 05, 2023, 08:30:38 AM
Morning!

QBwH for baggage. LB doughier-rainbow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 05, 2023, 08:32:56 AM
Good morning!

Got to somewhat past genius with the pangram (which took me a minute).  Husband got to QBABH.  Congrats on your QBABY as well, Langue_doc! Though I'm sorry you couldn't get back to sleep! Yesterday my final word was baba.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! I don't think any of the words were difficult, but some were weird enough (spelling-wise, like baaed) to be tricky.  I didn't care for the pangrams, though I think they might have been in there before? Just glad to have found them.  Good luck today!

And congrats on your 2fers, Langue_doc and cathwen! No luck for me.  Congrats on another today, cathwen, and maybe more!

Happy solving!

ETA: congrats on your 2fer too, ciao_yall! And a different one at that! I don't know why it tells me there is a new post but won't show it before I post mine? I am still not used to this software, I guess.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 06, 2023, 08:24:39 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the second pangram and to genius.  Yesterday I made it to QBABM! Final word was whey.

For LB I had routs-watching.

I started out the day with two different shoes on so am hoping things improve.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 06, 2023, 09:11:17 AM
Morning!

QBABM! Last word weeny. LB watching-grouts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 06, 2023, 09:32:39 AM
Congrats on your QBABY and 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 06, 2023, 09:59:42 AM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and genius before leaving for my walk this morning. Last word yesterday was wend, which I thought I had entered along with its past tense form.

causing/growth

QuoteI started out the day with two different shoes on so am hoping things improve.
Oh, dear!

I was lingering in one of the areas frequented by birds in the birding hotspot when I came across a small group of people with binoculars. This was an extension of their early morning bird walk, so decided to stroll along with them especially because I know the leader of the walk. As we were sitting down on some logs, a few other birders, also familiar to me and the bird walk leader happened upon us one at a time. We had interesting conversations, some of them related to birds. It's funny how someone tells you that they saw you on such-and-such a walk, and remind you of an incident or conversation from that walk.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 06, 2023, 10:12:31 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM again yesterday—last word nohow. Today I have one word to go, so I'm hoping for another QBABM...but we'll see.

LB: I had watching-grousing. No 2fer today so far.

I hope things have improved after the shoe incident, ab_grp! Langue_doc, whenever my husband and I walk one particular trail, we often run into people who like to chat about the birds they've seen. Also other wildlife—a bobcat supposedly appears from time to time, but we've never been lucky (?) enough to see it.

Happy puzzling, walking, birding, hiking, etc.!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 07, 2023, 05:57:37 AM
Good morning!

QB--all familiar words. Last word yesterday was galling.

Couldn't find a mate for chivalry, so gave up on LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 07, 2023, 07:23:42 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Congrats on your QBABY, Langue_doc!! Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed a couple words like gangland, hangnail.  I think I got all of the harder words!

Got a 2fer this morning! No luck yesterday, though I did have eyeful at one point.  My prime contender was vehicularly, but I couldn't get any mates from that or from removing the -ly.

Hopefully this 2fer and having the same shoes on my feet will bode well today.  I did get better sleep, so that is probably part of it.

It's neat that you ran into some previous acquaintances, Langue_doc.  I feel like I should make a "birds of a feather" joke but will refrain.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 07, 2023, 08:08:18 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with galangal as my last word, thanks to my Bee list. Today I'm a bit beyond genius with the pangram.

LB: No solution yesterday! I had eyeful, but did not see overachieve. I found a 2fer today, though.

Ab_grp, I hope that the 2fer and having the same shoes on your feet mark the beginning of a good day!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 07, 2023, 08:37:35 AM
Morning!

QB-1 ABM, then needed the 2LL for inhaling. LB got as far as archival-louche-eyeful then got a hint to find overachieve-eyeful.

At QB-3 and a quick 2fer so far today. Let's see how far I can get ABM and which easy word trips me up...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 07, 2023, 05:00:30 PM
Quote from: cathwen on August 07, 2023, 08:08:18 AMAb_grp, I hope that the 2fer and having the same shoes on your feet mark the beginning of a good day!

Thanks! Much more productive day, and I managed to get to QBABM! Congrats on your 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 08, 2023, 05:15:21 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Last words yesterday were illy, aioli.

fictional/larked

I have a twofer today, which just jumped out at me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2023, 07:16:53 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram but not yet to genius.  Yesterday I think my final word was something like load.  I had a couple easy 4s at the end.

For LB I had relocked-defiants.  Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 08, 2023, 07:59:18 AM
Morning!

QB-2 ABM then looked at the 2LL to realize I was missing loyal, loyally. LB fictional-larked.

GwP and 2fer today. Maybe I won't get impatient and achieve QBABM?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 08, 2023, 09:15:05 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with help for dahlia (which I thought I had already), daylily,and aioli, my last word.

Today I have five words to go, but may resort to SBB because I have a lot to do today and may run out of time.

LB: I had deferential-lock and fictional-larked. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 08, 2023, 04:57:16 PM
Got a 2fer! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, ciao_yall and cathwen!

I still have 8 or so words left on the bee, though.  This one is tough for me!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 09, 2023, 06:10:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I'll have to resort to BB today as I won't have much time for puzzling.

Last words yesterday were teenage, teenaged, thanks to BB.

chomps/strongbox--that seemed to be the only solution given the letters in the puzzle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 09, 2023, 07:11:32 AM
Good morning!

QBwBBH to find gnat, gâteau,and gadget,my last word. Today I have four words to go, but may need help later if I run out of time. (Lots to do today!)

LB: I also had chomps-strongbox.

I'm getting ready for a visit tomorrow from an old friend from grad school—we haven't seen each other since before the pandemic, which explains "lots to do today." Really looking forward to it—-even if it does cut into my puzzle time!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 09, 2023, 07:24:17 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for teenage(d), gadget

Got the same LB solution.  I agree, it's probably the only one but would be interested to hear if there are others!

Good luck with your visit preparations, cathwen! That's exciting to look forward to!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 09, 2023, 09:00:31 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL for agenda. Drives me batty when I get the weird ones like gateau and overlook the easy ones.

LB chomps-strongbox. One of my Facebook friends uses all the hint sites to find multiple solutions and that seems to be his only one as well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 10, 2023, 06:39:18 AM
Good morning!

QB thanks to BB. Last word yesterday was yenned, again with BB's help.

trowels/stumpage, towels/sugarplum

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 10, 2023, 07:29:28 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for leadenly.

No luck on LB! Congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc!

Since we were talking about it before, my husband said that he likes his new bamboo socks for avoiding blisters (wearing them under thicker socks), so I asked him for the link in case any of you want to look into them or similar "SERISIMPLE Bamboo Men sock Breathable Sock Quarter Thin Ankle High Sock Comfort Cool soft": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9WGNBLD

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 10, 2023, 07:59:56 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, with ennead from my Bee list, and leanly with 2LL help. I couldn't believe I missed it. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had outwears-sugarplum. I found a 2fer today also.

Good to know about the bamboo socks, ab_grp. I don't hike, at least not much—-I mostly walk moderately vigorously or amble—but I recently bought some Cuddlduds socks at Kohl's and find them very soft and comfortable. I don't know how they would hold do on a long/strenuous hike, but for walks on the trails, they're perfect. I'll check out bamboo socks, too.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 10, 2023, 08:19:10 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for leadenly. LB towers-sugarplum.

So far, GnoP and a few 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 11, 2023, 05:26:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were boba and bola, thanks to BB.

ab_grp, thanks for the socks information. cathwen, hope you're having a good visit with your friend.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 11, 2023, 07:41:36 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for bola.

For LB I finally got the schmofficial quoted-diversify after a lot of trying.

I hope the sock recommendation might help! I queried further and found out that although he used to wear them (under athletic socks) for walking (we walk on pavement), he now basically wears them during all his physical activities (rowing, stationary bike, jump rope...).  They initially made squeaking sounds when he walked but after washing are silent.

Sending more good fried visit wishes, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 11, 2023, 08:16:28 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help for nabob and llano. Today I am at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I also had quoted-diversify. I found a 2fer today as well.

Thanks for the friend visit good wishes, ab_grp! We've been having a great time just catching up. Lots of talking and laughing. She'll leave today, and I'll be sorry to see her go.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 11, 2023, 08:32:01 AM
Morning!

QB-1 ABM then needed the grid to realize I was missing aloe. Nudge for quoted-diversify.

Happy  solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 12, 2023, 05:58:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius. Don't remember last words from yesterday's bee.

wormfish/harken, knife/earworms/she (I just had to use earworm(s))!

Off on a hike/walk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 12, 2023, 06:36:56 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LLH for tutti, which I usually get, and quiddity, which I wouldn't have gotten in a million years. Today I am at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I had the "official" framework-knish. No 2fer yet today, in spite of some good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 12, 2023, 09:01:37 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for quiddity and also wouldn't have gotten it in a million years.

No luck on LB.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and Langue_doc (and enjoy your hike/walk!).  Watch out for earworms!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 12, 2023, 09:37:21 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG for quidditch. LB wormfish-harken.

Langue-doc I really wanted to make earworms work as well, but then saw wormfish and the rest was history.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 13, 2023, 08:04:43 AM
Morning!

QBwH for pellicule. LB circled around longbows-strap-ply before finally getting a hint for portrayal-longbows.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 13, 2023, 09:09:48 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to somewhat past genius so far.  Yesterday I needed help from bee buddy for collie, ollie, pomelo

No luck on LB again! Congrats, ciao_yall! I did get one today, though!

Happy solving!

ETA: This is the second time I am trying to post this after an error...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 13, 2023, 12:56:57 PM
Afternoon!

QB thanks to BB. I had to resort to a google search to find pellicle yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 14, 2023, 04:43:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I had to resort to google to find cortado.

handlebar/righty

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 14, 2023, 05:17:43 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help for doodad, cortado. The second word was a wild guess.  Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had brighter-randily, blighter-randy. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 14, 2023, 07:14:31 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram and am headed toward genius.  Yesterday we also needed bee buddy for cortado, which husband finally guessed after the reader clue.  Tough one!

Yesterday I also had brighter-randily.  Congrats on a totally different one, Langue_doc, and on two for cathwen (and another today)! I feel like I'm close today, at least.  We'll see.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 14, 2023, 07:54:11 AM
Morning!

QBwH for cortado and a few other oddballs I overlooked but should have gotten. LB blighter-randy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 15, 2023, 04:27:01 AM
Good morning!

Easy run to QB today. Missed enby.

quashing/grumpy

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 15, 2023, 06:49:11 AM
Good morning!

I also missed enby yesterday, and only got it by trial and error, despite 2LL hints. And I needed 2LL hints for gooey and begem. Today, though, I sailed to QBABM.

LB: (s)quashing-grumpy also. I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2023, 07:22:30 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Congrats on your QBABYs, Langue_doc and cathwen! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for ogee, eggnog, begem, enby.  I guessed the latter from the first letter and length but was surprised it was accepted.

Yesterday I also had squashing-grumpy after going down many other roads.  Congrats to both of you and on another today, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 15, 2023, 08:36:53 AM
Morning!

QBwH for begem(?) and gooey(gah). LB squashing-grumpy.

Today I am three 4Ls away from QBABM but got a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 15, 2023, 09:29:30 AM
Morning!

QBwH for begem(?) and gooey(gah). LB squashing-grumpy.

Today I am three 4Ls away from QBABM!!! and a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 15, 2023, 10:10:44 AM
Got to QBABM and 2fer as well!

Congrats, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 16, 2023, 04:58:11 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Don't remember the last words from yesterday's puzzle.

frenetic/clough (I was surprised that the latter was accepted because the only 'clough' that comes to mind is Arthur Hugh Clough, the poet.)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 16, 2023, 06:27:12 AM
Good morning!

I don't have a pangram and am working toward genius. My final words were those involving teeth and then tithe.

For LB I had horticulture-engulf.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Oh and flaneur was the focus of one of my word of the day emails yesterday!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 16, 2023, 07:57:10 AM
Good morning!

Found the pangram while waiting for my car to be serviced, then got past genius. Three words to go! Yesterday was one of those rare QBABMs, last word eighth, which is weird because I had eight, eighty, and eightieth early on.

LB: I had cornflour-righten, which I did not think was a word. Lo and behold... I also have a 2fer today, also thanks to the wait at the car dealer's.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 16, 2023, 08:37:24 AM
Morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word thee. LB furore-ethnologic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 17, 2023, 04:55:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Needed help for lammed and medaled.

publican/north--much more intuitive than the NYT solution, IMHO!

ab_grp, that gave me a chuckle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 17, 2023, 07:28:00 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with limeade, limed, and some 4-letter that is not currently popping out of the list at me.

No luck on LB.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc, and I agree it's smoother. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 17, 2023, 10:52:10 AM
Good afternoon!

Pangram and past genius so far today. Yesterday I needed help for edema, limeade, and edamame, which was my last word.

LB: I also had publican-north. No solution yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 17, 2023, 09:00:01 PM
Hola! Forgot my charger so a bit late to the party.

QBw2LL and a wild guess for limeade, then a hint to remember edema. LB thorp-publican which I thought I made up. Then realized publican-north made more sense.

Hope everyone had a good solving day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 18, 2023, 04:41:45 AM
Good morning!

QB.
Last words yesterday were yecch and chyme (which I tried out of desperation).

Easy jubilantly/yoke.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 18, 2023, 05:56:17 AM
Morning as well!

QBw2LL to remind me I was missing emcee, mecca. LB jubilantly-yoke.

Quick QBABM and 2fer today. Now what am I gonna do with myself?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 18, 2023, 06:30:47 AM
Good morning!

Just got up so no real luck yet, except I did get the pangram and a couple words.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I needed help with yec(c)h, chyme, acme.  Husband had remembered chyme from another puzzle, but I never would have gotten it.

I also had the schmofficial jubilantly-yoke, after many tries.  Once I got it, I figured it must be schmofficial.

Congrats on your QBABMs, Langue_doc and ciao_yall (and your 2fer)! Woohoo!

I am going to go get a tdap shot at the local pharmacy to check that process out, so maybe I will have time to work on it there.  I hope to just get in and out, though.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 18, 2023, 02:22:23 PM
Okay, after much to-do, I have finally managed to get QBABM and a 2fer.  Wooha.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 19, 2023, 09:03:07 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius.  I think I have 3 words left.  Yesterday I got to QBABM with expo.  I think husband and I each had that one, phono, pooh in our final few words.

For LB I had whale-encountered.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 19, 2023, 09:41:02 AM
Morning!

QBABM, last word phono. LB tower-relaunched.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 19, 2023, 11:03:28 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, phono was also my last word. Genius with pangram today, and probably won't get any further (going to a music festival in a few minutes).

LB: I had tower-relaunched. No 2fer yet today, but I have some good contenders.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 19, 2023, 02:12:24 PM
Afternoon!

QB. Last words yesterday were phono, hippo.

walnut/torched

Went on a rather disorganized bird walk, but saw some birds and it wasn't a long or complicated commute, so no complaints.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 20, 2023, 08:55:45 AM
Good morning!

Got one pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with aflame, flail, infill.

No luck on LB again! Nice to have so many solutions yesterday.

Hope you enjoyed your music festival, cathwen!

And glad you had a good bird walk despite the disorganized state of it, Langue_doc!

I've got a chat with my middle school pal today so will have a chunk of puzzleless time.  Our HS reunion was last night, but we're both in other parts of the country dealing with other things and didn't go.  We will have our own reunion and hopefully get to look through some pics on the socials.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 20, 2023, 09:26:48 AM
Morning!

QBwH for femme. There's always one word, isn't there? LB yuzu-unobservant.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 20, 2023, 10:38:17 AM
Afternoon!

Above genius, but no pangram yet.

Last words yesterday were file, filename.

subzero/observant/toy

ab_grp, enjoy your mini-reunion/chat with your schoolmate!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 20, 2023, 12:42:36 PM
Good afternoon!

I had to give up on SB yesterday; missed filename, film, naïf. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: No solution yesterday (tried mightily to get something to go with subzero), but I have a 2fer today.

I did enjoy the music festival, ab_grp, and getting there was half the fun! One of the other chorister spouses picked me up in a fire-engine red 1980 MG convertible. With a scarf around my head and sunglasses, I felt quite glamorous zooming along in a hot car!

And do enjoy your chat with your friend, ab_grp! Langue_doc, I'm glad that your disorganized bird walk was nevertheless satisfying!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 21, 2023, 06:12:33 AM
Good morning!

QB. Needed help with linocut yesterday.

costumiers/swab, subatomic/crew

cathwen, that ride sounds like the movies of yesteryear.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 21, 2023, 06:26:30 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far. Congrats on already getting to QB, Langue_doc! We also needed help with linocut (never would have gotten that) and a 4L that I can't recall. 

No luck on LB.  So congrats on two 2fers, Langue_doc!!

That sounds like a very cool trip to the festival, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 21, 2023, 08:07:59 AM
Good morning!

Genius with the pangram so far today. Yesterday I needed a wee nudge for licit, illicit, occult and an out-and-out hint for linocut.

LB: I had subatomic-crew. Congratulations of two of them, Langue_doc! I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 21, 2023, 09:11:07 AM
Morning!

QBwH for linocut. LB subatomic-crew.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 22, 2023, 06:26:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for denied, minx, I think.

No luck on LB again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 22, 2023, 08:12:50 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find denim, midi, nominee. Today I'm at genius with the pangram and stuck.

LB: I had muled-dragonfly. No 2fer today, yet!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 22, 2023, 09:52:55 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word mimeo. LB unframed-dogly which took so hey.

So far, QB-2 and a quick odd but legit 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 22, 2023, 01:38:38 PM
Afternoon!

QB quite early this morning. Last word yesterday was demimonde.

I think I had a twofer, but can't remember the words.

I just had to take another look at the Van Gogh cypresses exhibit https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/van-gogh-cypresses before it closes at the end of the week. Here is the back story on how he ended up in the asylum where he painted several of the paintings in the exhibit. https://www.biography.com/artists/van-gogh-paul-gauguin-ear

Sad to say, there were a few unruly people--one of the people waiting in the non-member line for the entrance tickets butted into my members-only line demanding that she get a student discount and kept arguing with the person behind the counter who was scanning my card into the system. There was a similar negotiation going on at the adjacent counter by visitors who were clearly not students and who had no student ID. Later I was hit on the head with a water bottle, presumably by a disgruntled visitor who wanted to shovel her way in front of me. I was tempted to tell her that this would be considered a felony in our state and that there were cameras everywhere so she wouldn't be able to claim that she had accidentally let the bottle make contact with my head.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 23, 2023, 05:42:03 AM
Good morning!

Only a few words to go for QB. Last word was tattoo.

vuvuzela, my foot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 23, 2023, 06:26:59 AM
Good morning!

I'm at genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I was missing lookout, toll.

Agreed on vuvuzela!

And thanks, Langue_doc, for sharing that article.  I look forward to reading it, though I'm sorry to hear about your experience.  I can't say that I would expect someone to be hit in the head with a water bottle at an art exhibit.  Should we be happy that people are apparently overexcited about art? (no) I would have a hard time keeping my temper in that whole situation, so my hat is off to you.  Hope your head is ok.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 23, 2023, 06:53:32 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram this morning. Yesterday my last word was loot, which I had certainly seen earlier and must have neglected to enter.

LB: For some weird reason, vuvuzela popped into my head yesterday, so I had the "official" vuvuzela-anonymity. I have a 2fer today as well.

Langue_doc, your experience at the Met shocks me. There have always been boorish people trying to cut in line and/or claim discounts that they do not deserve, and that is certainly annoying; but hitting you on the head with a water bottle? That is truly beyond the pale. Ugh!

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 23, 2023, 09:25:50 AM
Morning!

QBwH for kowtow. LB got vuvuzela-anonymity practically at the first try. I saw anonymity but had to look up the proper spelling of vuvuzela.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 24, 2023, 04:48:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I don't think I'm going to find any more words today. Last word was teff, which I found by stringing together letters at random. I have a vague recollection of seeing this word several months ago.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 24, 2023, 07:28:40 AM
Good morning!

Slogging along toward genius, but I do have the pangram.  Yesterday we also had trouble with teff and needed bee buddy for that and pfft.  I had forgotten pelf and a couple others.  Not sure how husband remembered that one.  It's been a while, I think!

For LB I had the schmofficial chivalrous-sex after trying vicarious-sexaholic which was not accepted! WTH.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 24, 2023, 08:41:18 AM
Good morning!

QBwH, but really, pfft is a word? I think I've seen it in the Bee before, come to think of it, but I don't like it! I needed help to find flauta, and pelf was a random guess. Today I have six words to go.

LB: I also had chivalrous-sex, but I am amazed that vicarious-sexaholic was rejected, ab_grp! Harumph! I have not found a 2fer today yet.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 24, 2023, 09:15:04 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for flatfeet which I thought I had tried earlier? Agreed, cathwen and ab_grp on pelf - wild guess as well. LB chivalrous-sex and a 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 24, 2023, 01:11:25 PM
I was also surprised at the rejection of sexaholic. Sexercise(s) didn't do me any good either so I just gave up. Pfft has appeared more than once, and pelf goes back to the Shakespearean era--I was surprised to see that it was legit.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 24, 2023, 04:11:25 PM
Ah, sexercise is another good one! I don't think I realized pelf was from the Shakespearean era.

I finally got to genius.  Yikes.

Also wanted to note that Connections now appears in my app.  Anyone else?

That just reminded me that I didn't finish the crossword yet! Argh! I just got off a call. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 25, 2023, 04:53:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius--phew! Missed hamartia, which I think I've encountered before.

Venting about the bee's hoity-toity editors--in a recent puzzle, coition wasn't accepted, but the following day, the more graphic fellate was. I recall the former to have been legit several months ago.

ab_grp, hope you finished your crossword. As for Connections, I too wanted to comment on its elevation to the "puzzle" status. I do miss Digits. Here's today's article on Connections, which I haven't read. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/26/crosswords/new-game-connections.html

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 25, 2023, 06:35:37 AM
Good morning!

I think I'm a few points from genius and only have two pangrams so far.  Yesterday we also needed help for hamartia (I do think that's been in there but would never have found it) and circa, haram, which we should have found.

For LB I finally got hugs-syndication and figured that would be schmofficial, but I guess not.

Thanks for that article, Langue_doc! I shall take a gander.  It is definitely strange what the bee eds decide is appropriate or inappropriate to include.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 25, 2023, 08:00:41 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius so far, but it's a bit of a slog today. Yesterday I needed help for arhat, maraca, and hamartia, which I had to look up after seeing the definition.

LB: I had syndication-naught. I found a 2fer today also.

I'm glad that Connections is now a permanent feature of the puzzle page, but like Langue_doc, I also miss Digits. I wonder why they deleted it? One of life's mysteries.

Happy puzzling!

 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 25, 2023, 09:14:50 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG for hamartia. LB dynastic-cough.

Slogging through SB today but did get a quick 2fer.

I like Connections - quite clever! And Wordle as well. Not a fan of the numbers ones like Digits or Sudoku. I'm a good math person but I find the puzzles rather... I dunno... the words are always entertaining.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 26, 2023, 03:06:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and 221 points so far. Needed help for binning, binging.

Scouting a familiar area with a fellow hiker for a possible hike in Fall, so I won't have much time for puzzling today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 26, 2023, 05:52:38 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram today, five words to go. Yesterday I got beltline and beige(!) with 2LL help. Then I had one word left, and couldn't for the life of me figure it out. Finally I looked at the answers—it was binning! I was convinced that I had tried that, and that it had been rejected. Guess not!

LB: I had the "official" brochure-exclaim. I have a 2fer today.

Happy scouting, Langue_doc, and happy puzzling to all!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 26, 2023, 07:15:34 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB yesterday, last word benign. LB brochure-exclaim.

So far today I have Genius w/o Pangram, 3fers, Wordle in 3 but stuck on Connections.

Going hiking today and will see my NYT Puzzle friend so we'll see how it goes.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 26, 2023, 08:57:27 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but the pangram took longer for some reason.  Anyway, I only have 2 more words to go now, so hopefully I will get to QB.  Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but needed help with being.  I immediately kicked myself because as I was loading bee buddy I thought "I bet it's something dumb like being" but "knew" that I already had that word.  Maybe it was subliminal.

For LB I had exclaim but couldn't find a mate.  Just didn't get much time with it yesterday.  Maybe today will be better.  Congrats, cathwen and ciao_yall!

Enjoy your hike scouting, Langue_doc!

And enjoy your hike, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 27, 2023, 04:32:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Needed help for unpeeled and duple.

curtail/landform

Scouting resulted in a scheduled walk for a date in September. There are military installations in this park-like location going back to the colonial era which were then adapted for use during the Revolutionary and the two world wars because of the changing history and technology.

Another outdoors event today, so probably no more puzzling.

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 27, 2023, 08:56:19 AM
Good morning!

I'm past genius with the pangram but having some trouble now.  Yesterday I actually got to QBABM! My final two were duple, lede

No luck on LB.  Closest I got was a ship, manifold~curt.

Sounds like a neat hiking area for September, Langue_doc! I'm glad you were successful and hope you enjoy your events today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 27, 2023, 09:20:17 AM
Morning!

QB with 3 letter hints from my hiking friend. Last word peplum.

LB had a 2fer b4ss dram-malfunction and a bunch of 3fers, then went to hint for mudflat-tricorn.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 27, 2023, 11:41:05 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last words meddle/d. Today I am past genius with the pangram, but may need help to finish.

LB: I also had curtail-landform. No 2fer yet today, although I have some good contenders.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2023, 07:19:06 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for amyl, biblically.

No luck on LB again! I tried to come up with words with -plex but didn't think of triplex.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 28, 2023, 07:50:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius; that's probably it for today as I'm out of words.

acyclic and amiably got me to QB yesterday.

duple/extricable, duplicable/extra--just had to try duple which appeared in a recent bee!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 28, 2023, 08:29:05 AM
Good morning!

Genius with two of the three pangrams so far. Yesterday QB with amyl and amiably the last words, thanks to 2LL hints.

LB: I had price-extrudable. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 28, 2023, 08:49:59 AM
Wow, congrats on your LB solutions, cathwen and Langue_doc! Langue_doc, congrats on two of them.  I didn't even think to try duple! I tried duplex but got nowhere with it.  Darn it! Good thinking.  I had extra as well and also got nowhere.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 28, 2023, 08:58:57 AM
Morning!

QBwH last word amyl. LB lots of 3fers and 2fer b4ss such as catbird-duplex, explicated-drub. Finally went for a hint and got audible-excerpt.

Amazing with pangram and a quick 2fer this morning. Coffee awaits!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 29, 2023, 05:09:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Didn't get back to the bee yesterday after getting to genius.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 29, 2023, 06:27:47 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday I almost made it to QBABM but couldn't get the final 8-letter word.  Husband didn't have it either, so we had to get bee buddy help for barbacoa.

No luck on LB again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 29, 2023, 07:52:27 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find barbacoa. Today I am at genius with the pangram, five words to go.

LB: I had the "official" mojito-overpack. No luck yet today.

Happy solving!

ETA: Found a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 29, 2023, 08:53:35 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to realize I was missing carbon, cobra. And, mojito-overpack today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 30, 2023, 04:33:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Needed help to find ataxia.

brawls/sulphone

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 30, 2023, 06:33:09 AM
Good morning!

I'm moving slowly this morning, so no real progress yet.  Yesterday I needed husband help for ataxia, and we both needed bee buddy help for feta.  Argh.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 30, 2023, 07:08:38 AM
Good morning!

Genius with the pangram this morning, but I'm finding it difficult to move too much beyond that. Yesterday I needed help to find taxa.

LB: I had the "official" brawls-sousaphone. I thought of the last word because my high school boyfriend played the sousaphone in the HS marching band. No luck today yet!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 30, 2023, 08:57:43 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word taxa. LB - needed a hint for brawls-sousaphone which of course brought to mind 1982 Cal-Stanford "The Play." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09kPcg8Hehg)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on August 31, 2023, 05:02:42 AM
Good moring!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was natality.

wilt/turnbacks

The days are getting shorter, alas.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on August 31, 2023, 05:19:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius so far. Yesterday my last word was also natality, and I needed a hint for dillydally, which I've gotten before but somehow did not see this time.

LB: I had the "official" bilk-knackwurst. No 2fer yet today.

Did anyone go out to see the supermoon last night? I did, but it didn't look any larger than a normal full moon. I see photos of huge, very orange moons and feel a little jealous! I guess I should be grateful that I saw the moon at all, because night skies here tend to be very cloudy.

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on August 31, 2023, 06:32:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and getting toward genius.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for natality, daylit.

No luck on LB yet again! Congrats, Langue_doc! I'm pretty sure I even had turnbacks.  :-(

I have an appt mid-day so will be a little busy with that, but we did get to see the supermoon last night!

Happy solving!

On preview: Sorry cathwen, I didn't see your post until now! Yes, we saw the supermoon and tried to take pics, but it just didn't work too well.  We even tried taking pics through a scope, but that was even worse and just looks like a pic of a lightbulb.  We are fortunate to be able to see giant moons fairly often here (more often than back east).  They rise over the mountains very slowly at first, just peeking over, and then it's like suddenly they're all there! Kind of crazy at times. 

And congrats on the schmofficial answer! That's a tough one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on August 31, 2023, 08:47:21 AM
Morning!

QB needed a hint to remember tannin. LB wilt-turnbacks.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 01, 2023, 05:55:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Needed help with moneymen.

windfarm/monology

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 01, 2023, 06:29:01 AM
Good morning!

Headed in the right direction, but no pangrams yet.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy help for hooey.

No luck on LB yet again! Congrats, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 01, 2023, 07:57:35 AM
Good morning!

Genius with all three pangrams this morning, but it took me a while to see them. QB yesterday with eggnog (which I always seem to miss) and honeymoon, both found with 2LL hints.

LB: No solution yesterday! Congratulations on yours, Langue_doc! I did find one today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 01, 2023, 08:00:27 AM
Are there three pangrams today? Holy moly! It was quite a struggle to get to genius with just one pangram.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 01, 2023, 09:20:00 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to remember eggnog, gnome. LB got a nudge for windfarm-monology.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 02, 2023, 07:08:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words yesterday were moil, moiled, which I recall weren't accepted about a year ago--I could be mistaken, but that was my recollection.

Happy Labor Day weekend, happy beginning of the academic year, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 02, 2023, 07:33:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius this morning. Yesterday I needed 2LL help for medico and moiled.

LB: I had the "official" kilohertz-zodiac. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy Labor Day to you, too, Langue_doc, and to everyone else!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 02, 2023, 08:02:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram but am now struggling.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for moiled.  I don't recall that one being in there before, but am pretty sure moil has been.  Always try suffixes, I guess.

No luck on LB.  I had zodiac at least.  Man, I am failing lately! Congrats, cathwen, and on another today!

I meant to ask what folks who did the crossword that was a story a couple days ago (Wed Aug 30) thought of it.  I did not personally care for it, and I know there were a lot of comments in line with that, but others liked it.  It was clever, I guess, but the story didn't mean anything.  If it weren't basically just a set of filling in the blanks with words that could possibly fit and worked with the downs, maybe it would have been a bigger hit with me and with others.

Happy Labor Day to all!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 02, 2023, 08:58:33 AM
Morning!

QB w Grid, last word modem. LB lots of great words but no 2fer until I got a hint for kilohertz-zodiac. Also had a complete strikeout on Connections yesterday.

Solved Connections and a quick 2fer this morning so the world is back in place.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 02, 2023, 09:58:05 AM
Congrats on LB, ciao_yall!

As for Connections, there have been a couple lately that I thought were more difficult.  The other day I had to actually cheat a bit.  I figured out what one of the categories was but had to look at a list of possibilities of that category to see which items could be part of that group because I had never heard of them.  I also figured out another cheat that could help if you get stuck and almost strike out.  I noticed that it doesn't seem to know what I'm doing on my phone and computer.  For the other puzzles that I use both devices on it can track my progress between devices, but I can use several tries on my phone for Connections and have a clean slate on my computer (or vice versa).  I have not tried on a different browser to see if that would add more tries. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 03, 2023, 08:28:24 AM
Good morning!

QBw1L help to find my last word, vigil. Today I am a little beyond genius with the pangram (which took me a while to find).

LB: I had morphs-skylight and skylight-tromp. No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 03, 2023, 09:25:29 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last words venue, venule. I did look at SBB but all it told me was that I was missing some ve- words so not sure I will count that as help. LB skylight-tromp.

Stuckity stuck on Wordle. 2 more tries but on a 56 win streak. Gah.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 03, 2023, 10:30:26 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for venule.

Yet another day of no luck on LB.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen (x2) and ciao_yall! Hopefully I'll have more time for it today.

Good luck with Wordle, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 03, 2023, 10:36:41 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius before leaving for an "art" walk that was held outdoors.

Last word yesterday was eleven--remembered venule quite early on in the puzzle.

skylight/tromp (this is probably my third LB pair where I entered a word at random not knowing if it was a legit word or what it meant)

ab_grp, as for the crossword, I thought that it was rather amateurish. I didn't get around to doing any of the crosswords after that one. I'm not too happy with Connections because of its lack of flexibility regarding the number of turns you get. There are days when I've just given up and later discovered that the groups were too esoteric for those puzzles. I'm much happier with Kindle's Red Herring. I miss Digits!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 04, 2023, 08:06:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius before leaving this morning. Needed help with horal and another h-word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2023, 09:54:00 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and past genius, just one word to go.  Fingers crossed! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for aroma, horal I think.  And I had moola but had forgotten about moolah.

No luck on LB again.  Maybe today.

I agree that that crossword was amateurish, Langue_doc.  As for Connections, I do like that you can shuffle the blocks, as that helps sometimes, but having only 4 tries on one device or browser is a tough limit some days when the categories are more out there.  I don't know if it's possible to go back to an older one, so I don't want to  spoil any previous ones that someone may wish to play, but the one I was referring to earlier that I had to cheat on was the one with ankh, papyrus, etc.  One of the categories had members in that puzzle that I had never heard of before (being in that category).  I thought the one with the 2-letter blocks a while back was a little challenging but doable and more fun.  Some are just way easier than others.  It's a bit like playing Red Herring on the hardest setting, I guess.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 04, 2023, 10:12:09 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB and a new word horal. LB got a hint for facsimile-evoked.

I like Connections and have only missed it a few times. You have to try to think through when it seems there are words that can fit multiple categories like papyrus which could have been an Egyptian thing or a font. Not sure I could keep up with more than four categories.

Speaking of which, I found Quordle the other day. Yeah... not enough coffee in the mornings for that one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 04, 2023, 10:12:53 AM
Good afternoon!

Just made QBABM! It's been a while. Yesterday I needed help for some dumb words (=words I should have gotten): roar, hoorah, and my last word—momma! How I missed that, I can't tell you.

LB: No solution yesterday, but I have one today.

I also play Connections and agree that the number of turns is not enough. My performance is inconsistent. Sometimes (like today) I get them all in four tries, but other times (like a day or two ago) I fail utterly. I don't take this puzzle as seriously as LB, SB, and Sudoku, so I just shrug and go on with life when I do badly (whereas not succeeding in the other puzzles bugs me most of the day.) But I agree with Langue_doc—-I miss Digits!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2023, 02:17:31 PM
Since it was already mentioned, papyrus was the one that led me to the idea that maybe it was part of the font category along with the ones I knew could fit there.  But then I still had one left for that group and took a look at Word to see what else it could be.  Luckily it helped, but I had no idea that those two were fonts! I can usually get them in one try, but that one was nearly a fail. 

Congrats on your 2fer today, cathwen!

Totally agree that Quordle is a bit much.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 04, 2023, 05:11:44 PM
Yay, got to QBABM and a 2fer! Finally and finally! Geez, neither of those has happened in a while. 

I just realized that I got so caught up in Connections talk before that I missed that cathwen also got to QBABM! Congrats!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 05, 2023, 06:29:34 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Last word was machete.

hyacinth/heliport, heliotropic/cyan

Woohoo, ab_grp!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 05, 2023, 06:32:04 AM
Good morning!

I will be the complement to Langue_doc with pangram but no genius.  My final word yesterday was also machete.

For LB I finally got hyacinth-heliotropic, so a mishmash of Langue_doc's two (congrats!).

I guess we had similar minds yesterday!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 05, 2023, 09:06:20 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word matchmake. LB went for hints and got lyncanthrope-epic, chalice-entropy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 05, 2023, 12:50:40 PM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word machete. Four words to go today.

LB: Lots of variety! I had protolithic-cleanly. No solution yet today in spite of a couple of very good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 06, 2023, 04:22:15 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Missed bibibap and the two papilla words yesterday.

Got stuck with subjoins.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 06, 2023, 07:29:49 AM
Good morning!

I also got stuck on papilla/e and bibimbap yesterday. Today I have the pangram and am past genius, but I'm finding this one a toughie.

LB: No solution yesterday. I kept trying adjoin/s/t, but couldn't find a mate. Babushka did not occur to me. No 2fer today, either, so far.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 06, 2023, 07:30:46 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with no pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for limb, of all things.  I forgot iamb(i) as usual.

For LB I got babushka-adjoint, which is apparently schmofficial.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 06, 2023, 08:38:35 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word impala. LB needed a hint for babushka-adjoint. This morning I hit my Wordle streak of 60! Woohoo!

Happy  solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 07, 2023, 05:34:55 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word was anode.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 07, 2023, 07:30:28 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for henna(ed), odea.

For LB I got a weird one, watergrave-epilogue.  I was surprised it took the first word (?), but hooray.

Time to go sit at the retina specialist for 3 hours for a 5-min appt in a wifi dead zone again, so I am trying to get puzzling in beforehand.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 07, 2023, 08:21:45 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB for henna/ed, ennead. Today I'm at QB-2 with the pangram.

LB: No luck yesterday. Congratulations on your 2fer, ab_grp! No luck today so far, either.

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your Wordle streak! And ab_grp, I hope that your appointment does not involve a long wait, and that (when it happens) the appointment will go well.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 07, 2023, 08:26:37 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word hennaed. LB after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, went to hints for overwrite-earplug.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 07, 2023, 11:38:50 AM
Cathwen, thanks! I got out a little under 2 hours after my appointment, which I think is a world record, and I don't have to go back for a year now (no change)! And the wifi worked, so I ended up solving all the puzzles and got 2fer and QBABM! Good luck to you!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 08, 2023, 05:46:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and a slog to genius. Last word was entente which I never see until almost the end.

Tried quordle, and much to my surprise, got all four words two days in a row, and also the weekly special. It was rather nerve-wracking but phew!

ab_grp, glad to hear that your appointment was painless (I hope it was literally as well) and that you don't have to go back until a year from now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 08, 2023, 06:33:28 AM
Good morning!

I also got the pangram right away and then managed to get to genius.  I am a little stuck now but will try more later.  Yesterday my final word was untune.

For LB I had the schmofficial hydraulic-conk.

Thanks, Langue_doc! It's just an exam with imaging and so forth, so painless except for the blinding sunlight I ran out into stupidly with my dilated and overly-imaged eyes.  Too thankful to be going home, I guess.  I should add that some folks there definitely have what sound like more painful appointments, so I am very glad just to mostly be looked at.  And congrats on quordle! I tried it a long time ago but didn't have the stamina to keep at it. 

That reminds me that I way overthought yesterday's Connections and should have gone with the obvious groupings immediately rather than thinking it was something clever going on.  And that reminds me that yesterday's was the third (?) Thurs crossword in a row that I wasn't fond of.  It was way too easy.  I felt like they were trying to be too cutesy with a theme that is so well known and obvious these days that it just didn't work. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 08, 2023, 08:01:20 AM
Morning!

QBwG last word was a wild guess at netty. LN hydraulic-conk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 08, 2023, 08:23:01 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with entente and uncut as my last words. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: I've been having a bad run with LB. Yesterday I *should* have seen hydraulic on my own, but did not until I saw a hint. So, hydraulic-conk but only with a hint. Today, though, I got a 2fer. Back on track!

Ab_grp, I am so glad that the appointment went well!

Langue_doc, congratulations on your Quordle success!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 08, 2023, 12:31:42 PM
QB--but...I cheated. I didn't think I'd have the time or energy to complete the puzzle, so resorted to BB. There's still today's crossword and LB.

ab_grp, I also found the crossword to be rather blah. I'm not too fond of rebuses, so have plenty of gaps in my streaks. Last weekend I didn't even attempt Thursday's puzzle, and then missed Friday and Saturday as well.

I think Connections has been sort of dumbed down this past week. Not complaining, but still grousing over the limited number of attempts.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 09, 2023, 07:19:39 AM
Morning!

QBwH for inurn, unroof. LB equilibration-nap.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 09, 2023, 07:42:02 AM
Good morning!

QBwBB help for finito, intuit, unroof. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had the "official" prequel-liberation. Congratulations on your solution, ciao_yall!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 09, 2023, 08:08:57 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to a bit past genius so far.  We needed bee buddy help with inurn, unroof.  I don't think I'll ever get those, and the latter is just dumb IMO.

I was close on LB but had convinced myself that -tion wasn't available for some reason.  :-( Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall and cathwen! I feel like I am close today, so we shall see.

Happy solving!

ETA: I forgot to mention that we had quite a bird haul this morning! I think something like 15 bird types, quite a few of which were new.  We have had some interesting ones lately.  I am not sure why there were so many this morning, but it was very entertaining.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 09, 2023, 12:47:39 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. I'll have to resort to BB to find the remaining words. Needed help with three or so words yesterday--don't recall what they were, but I don't think I'd have found them on my own.

ab_grp, lucky you, to have seen so many birds this morning. Sounds like favorable winds for migratory birds. Have you looked at Birdcast? It was a disappointing bird walk this morning, due to unfavorable winds last night which were blowing in the wrong direction. We usually see 50 or more species in this area, but saw only around 25 this morning. I had good intentions of joining another group after our 90-minute outing but decided against it because I didn't think there would be any more birds. It was also quite humid.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 09, 2023, 03:59:41 PM
Got a kind of weird 2fer earlier, but I'm still struggling at QB-3.

Langue_doc, I'm sorry that you didn't have as much bird luck as we did! We had four sparrow types (usually just house sparrow) and two gnatcatcher types (never seen those before).  It's so odd that I thought maybe it's all just one mockingbird or something ridiculous.  Usually we might see up to 8 or so on a good day, so 17 is out there.  We were just talking about whether the assortment might change with the seasons, so I guess maybe this is migration.  I checked out Birdcast, thanks! They don't have alerts for our city, but they mentioned ebird, and that showed that some of these birds tend to be around this time of year.  I hope you have better luck (and less humidity) with your next outing!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 10, 2023, 08:04:18 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for poinciana. Needed a hint for punishable-ever after one of those days of 3fers coming out of my ears.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 10, 2023, 08:24:36 AM
Good morning!

QB with a 1L nudge to find cinnamon and piano (duh!), but needed SBB help to find canopic and poinciana, which I would never have found on my own. Today I am past genius with the pangram.

LB: I had punishable-ever. No 2fer yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 10, 2023, 08:27:23 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with the pangram but still 8 or 9 words to go. We also needed help with poinciana, canopic and had forgotten about cioppino.

For LB I got pulverable-enshrine after trying and trying with seemingly good contenders.  It worked, but I did not know the first one was a word. 

Back to normal birds today (plus a song sparrow), but I think the birdcast said that tonight is high migration for our area, so maybe we will see more tomorrow morning?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 10, 2023, 10:05:07 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius before leaving for a bird walk this morning. Missed anionic, canopic, and poinciana (whatever they are).

bivalves/shrapnel with a stranded u--I was quite happy with my pair, so decided that it was a legit twofer.

I had registered for this bird walk but wasn't sure if it was going to materialize because of the weather forecast which as of last night was for thunderstorms starting at 8 this morning and continuing until the rest of the day. The walk leader emailed us at night to let us know that the forecast kept changing and that if it was raining at 8, then we wouldn't be birding. Lo and behold, the forecast this morning was for thunderstorms to start after 1 PM, but soon after 10, after a couple of hours of birding, there was a brief thunderstorm. As we were standing under some trees, trying to ride it out, we saw a red-tailed hawk land on a tree across from us, trying to settle into a good sitting position. Soon after, a second hawk landed alongside, and then both were wriggling around, trying to get comfortable. The juvenile little blue heron was still there as was the green heron. We continued the walk but decided to call it a day because of the forecast which showed the thunderstorm bearing down on us. I decided to swing by one of the other ponds before driving out of that area and was rewarded by a great blue heron just then landing on one of the trees overlooking the pond. I'll post the list on the bird thread.

Happy birding!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 10, 2023, 04:03:52 PM
I'm so glad you had a better birding outing, Langue_doc! Sounds like you saw some really majestic birds.

I have a couple good LB contenders, but nothing yet.  And I'm at QB-4 but struggling.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 10, 2023, 05:20:41 PM
ab_grp, they're all familiar words or those you can make up. Gave up on LB--a j and a z do not make for an easy twofer.

Quordle was a success, much to my surprise.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 11, 2023, 07:22:35 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday husband donated two of my final three words to me (nonbinding and some 5 I can't place in the list), but we had to go to bee buddy for adobo.  Ugh! We were just worn out and had to get to cooking.

I had half of the schmofficial solution (shazam) but don't think I would have come up with frijoles.  I guess I thought that was Spanish.

Congrats on another successful quordle, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 11, 2023, 07:37:18 AM
Good morning!

QB with help to find adobo and bandanna with double n. Today I am at genius with the pangram and have a few words to go.

LB: Well, I never would have guessed frijoles, although I did find shazam. I'm often a bit surprised at which words borrowed from other languages are accepted or rejected.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 11, 2023, 07:58:53 AM
Good morning!

Only a couple more words left today. Last words were binning and bongo--found the latter watching an ad for Old Navy.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 11, 2023, 08:18:05 AM
Morning!

QBwH to remember bandanna. LB nudge from a friend for frijoles-shazam. Whaaaa????

Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 12, 2023, 05:44:38 AM
Good morning!

About 10 points left in today's bee. Missed logroll which I've seen before.

benefic/cauldron, conflab/buried, two made-up words that seem to be legit.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 12, 2023, 08:08:07 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find wilco. I had to look up what it meant—-it's now on my Bee list. Today I have six words to go; the pangram was my first word.

LB: I had fibula-acorned. I was surprised that the second word was accepted. Congratulations on your two other solutions, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 12, 2023, 08:33:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday I needed husband's help for logroll, wilco, and we needed bee buddy for crog, which I definitely do not remember.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen and Langue_doc (x2)!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 12, 2023, 09:31:51 AM
Morning!

QBwH for logroll. Earlier took a wild guess at crog. Anyone want to use it in a sentence? (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/crog#:~:text=crog%20in%20British%20English,a%20bicycle%20as%20a%20passenger) LB cornfield-daub and a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 12, 2023, 11:56:47 AM
Just got back to Letter Boxed, after fiddling with it this morning. Am I delusional? It seems that the array of letters is different now. Has anyone else noticed this?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 12, 2023, 02:00:20 PM
Congrats on your 2fers, ciao_yall! Husband looked crog up after finally guessing it, but I doubt that either of us will ever use it in a sentence!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 12, 2023, 02:02:13 PM
Quote from: cathwen on September 12, 2023, 11:56:47 AMJust got back to Letter Boxed, after fiddling with it this morning. Am I delusional? It seems that the array of letters is different now. Has anyone else noticed this?

You're right! They are different. Oh well, bonus puzzle!

ETA: Another 2fer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 12, 2023, 03:10:38 PM
Sorry I didn't see your message, cathwen.  I don't recall what was in it this morning, though I'm sure I looked at it.  Hmm, never mind... I just loaded it on my computer, and it has different letters than my phone is showing! Maybe I'll have luck with one of them.

Congrats on another 2fer, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 13, 2023, 06:32:10 AM
Good morning!

On the way to genius with pangram, but I'm going to try to save the bee for husband's eye appointment.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for ingot, and I needed husband's help for toping.

I only got to try one of the LB puzzles but got a 2fer: blither-retracking.  That does not appear to be the one that the schmofficial solution is posted for.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 13, 2023, 06:47:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was toping, which was the result of mistyping. That was how I found crog as well. I checked my word list after seeing crog mentioned in the discussion above, and there it was! I recall having to reenter (or so I thought) croc, so must have entered crog by mistake. This is what happens when one works on the bee bleary-eyed and half awake.

cathwen, I recall that the first version of LB didn't include the ing combination, unlike the second version. I also recall a similar situation with Vertex just a couple of days ago, when the first version was a bird peeking out of a birdhouse, and the second one to be quite different. The bird version still had three zeros despite the puzzle being complete in all other respects.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 13, 2023, 07:22:29 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday; last words were toping, tonging, pinpoint/ing. Today I have the pangram and am above genius, five words to go.

LB: I had berth-hackling. Today's LB seems to be what I saw yesterday morning; still no 2fer for it. Ab-grp, you're right—the "official" answer does not seem to relate to yesterday's second set of letters (nor to today's, which I think was yesterday's first set ).

I no longer do Vertex, so I did not notice the difference between early and later versions yesterday. I wonder which other puzzles were affected? Not the Bee, apparently, and I don't think Connections, either.

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 13, 2023, 10:44:52 AM
Morning!

QBwH for pinpoint(ing.) There were two puzzles yesterday and today's seems to have loaded late. I had legalisms-scurvy then backline-earthling.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 13, 2023, 11:03:49 AM
It happened again. LB had different letters this morning than it does now.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 14, 2023, 06:52:11 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was yeah--found the difficult phat and mahatma much earlier.

froze/ectoplasm

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 14, 2023, 07:21:28 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! We needed bee buddy for meta.

No luck on LB again.  I am getting confused about which the letters of the day are.  I wish they could stick with one set! Congrats on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

Hopefully I'll have more time for puzzles today.  Yesterday got busy after the eye appointment.  Apparently he needs a follow up glaucoma appointment, so add that to the list of worries.  Hopefully whatever it is can be managed.  Time for him to get some bifocals (or progressives) as well!

Tomorrow we are getting a new fridge and dryer, so my mind is also occupied trying to figure out the best plan for switching fridge/freezer content on the fly.  I know people do this all the time, but until it's executed I will just think about it a lot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 14, 2023, 09:37:38 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for papaya. Nudge for froze-ectoplasm. I found froze early on, but when I saw that there was an e-m word it popped out at me.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 14, 2023, 10:41:57 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday to find my last word, mayhem. Today I have only two words to go, and one of them is the pangram!

LB: No luck with either set of letters. I did see froze, but did not see ectoplasm. No 2fer yet today, either. Argh!

Ab_grp, I hope that all goes well with the follow-up appointment! And congratulations on your new appliances.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 15, 2023, 03:52:12 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was wool.

I think I found a twofer yesterday, but not the NYT one. I'll have to see if I wrote it down somewhere. Too many sleepless nights, or rather, too many getting up hours before the alarm days.

ab_grp, hope you're enjoying your new appliances and that the transfer of contents from old fridge to new fridge was smooth. I recall that you got new living room and/or dining room furniture too. Sorry to hear about husband's eye diagnosis. Hope the follow-up appointment goes well and that he has good eye doctors.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 15, 2023, 08:23:35 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for bedew(ed).

No luck on LB again! I don't think I would have thought of whilst in a million years.

Thanks, cathwen and Langue_doc! Regarding the appliances, we did just get furniture.  Funny how that happens, when you finally make a decision to spend some money, and then everything starts going.  Our minifridge and microwave have since completely died, and the dryer and refrigerator are heading quickly in that direction.  The delivery folk haven't arrived yet.  They give a 4-hour window (for arrival?), so it's hard to figure out when to take stuff out and get it into the cooler.  Husband also took the door off a back room so we could move the current fridge there and use it for extra space until it dies, so it should fit through there.  However, he noticed this morning that the non-door doorway between the kitchen and that hall is actually narrower, so I guess the fridge door handles might have to come off.  But some of my anxiety was put toward other foci when we were out walking around the driveway and our neighbor called out that there's a group of aggressive javelina between our houses, so watch out.  At least that was something else to get skittish about for a few, and it makes me wonder how many other times they might have been there in the brush that we didn't know about.  I will be keeping my head on a swivel.

As for the eye stuff, I don't know what will happen there.  It sounds like he is right on the edge of too much pressure (20, 21) and has some family history of it (plus diabetes in remission), but because of some of his heart medications he can't take the usual glaucoma meds.  So, I guess we'll see.  I don't know what they plan to do at the follow up, but that's early October.  I told him he will also have to be extra careful getting used to progressives because he has low blood pressure and gets dizzy sometimes already.  Ugh! He is mostly in great health but also sounds like he's falling apart a bit.  I guess some of it is just getting older.  I just have no experience with glaucoma, as no one in my family has had it as far as I know.  More to learn!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 15, 2023, 09:14:47 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, realized I was missing dwell(ed). LN got a nudge for whilst-taxpayer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 15, 2023, 09:17:40 AM
Good morning!

I finally found the pangram yesterday; it was my next-to-last word. My last word was wooed. Today I have the pangram and am at QB-3.

LB: No luck yesterday! But I have one today.

Ab_grp, I hope the appliance delivery goes smoothly! And that the javelinas don't attack the delivery people (or you)! My husband's family moved to the southwest when he was in his teens and has encountered javelinas, which he describes as "nasty little things." We'll be traveling in the West and Southwest in October to visit relatives, so maybe I'll see one.

Best wishes for your husband. Later today my husband is going to see the oncologist to discuss his latest scan. Fingers are crossed.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 15, 2023, 09:42:04 AM
Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen! Thanks for the good wishes, and of course I will cross my fingers for your husband's scan! I hope your trip includes pleasant weather and no crazy critters.  Hopefully flights will be more pleasant, and you won't run into any crazy critters on your plane, either.

All food has been removed to coolers, so the countdown is on.  Delivery arrival window ends in 1h19.  I think we're as prepared as we can be.  And we found a few meats we had forgotten about! Plus part of a Kit Kat in a plastic bag in the butter area where I am not tall enough to see.  No idea when that arrived or whose it is.  Maybe youngest's?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2023, 08:54:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far, though the pangram took a minute.  Yesterday I almost got to QB but needed one more word that I couldn't figure out.  Husband donated it (rabbi), so we ended up with team QB.

I also finally got a 2fer, puckering-globe.  I guess I could have been a bit more parsimonious and ended up with the schmofficial solution, but I am just glad to get one.  And I got a 2fer today!

Appliance delivery and install went pretty smoothly, and we've got everything more or less put in a reasonable place.  The single-vision glasses I got for husband (2-day delivery only available for single-vision) came right on time yesterday.  I was a little shocked to hear him put them on and say "Wow, I guess I was pretty blind!" Hmm.  What have you been seeing or not seeing all these years?! He's been having fun doing the usual thing with new lenses of looking around at everything, see what you can read from what distance, and so forth.  I also got him a quick pair of progressive sunglasses that should come in a few days and some cheap readers coming today, and he went to the glasses shop for good progressive glasses and sunglasses for every day use.  So at least he is as good as he can be on eyesight right now!

Cathwen, I hope your husband's appointment went well!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 16, 2023, 09:18:20 AM
Good afternoon!

(How can it already be afternoon?) QBwH yesterday to find drib, rabbi, and my last word, airball. Today I am past genius with the pangram.

LB: I also had puckering-globe. I didn't even think of glob for some reason! I have a 2fer today.

So glad your appliances are now in place, ab_grp! I have an unreasonable love for new appliances, although I do not indulge unless something really needs replacing. I keep hoping for the demise of our refrigerator, which is very reliable, but I don't like the layout. But alas, it keeps on working just fine.

Your husband must be enjoying his improved vision!

The news on my husband's scan was pretty good. That is, the really aggressive cancer (the bladder cancer) shows no sign of return. The CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) is very slow to progress and can go on for a very long time without causing problems. His lymph nodes are ever so slightly larger than before—so he'll have another scan in January. But he looks and feels good, so that's a good sign. We're both just glad that his condition will not interfere with our October trip.

So, on that note...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 16, 2023, 09:27:38 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for biradial. LB puckering-glob.

We replaced all our appliances, then moved to a brand new condo with new, but relatively primitive/cheap appliances. That was about 10 years ago, and now they are starting to show signs of EOL. But we are getting ready to move again and I'm not sure I want to replace them.

Plus we have a stacking washer with a gas dryer and it's really hard to find a replacement.

Oh well, first world problems!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 16, 2023, 10:19:27 AM
Congrats on your 2fers, cathwen (+ today) and ciao_yall!

Cathwen, first I am so glad to hear that the results were pretty good yesterday.  And looking good, feeling good, and being able to do the things you want to do is very good. 

Seeing "good" is another thing. ;-) I realized that this may be the first time my husband is seeing me clearly...

I also love new appliances, and I am excited about these new ones but am also not a big spender, so buying so much at once is a little painful for me.  But, I am so glad, like with the HVAC that we got replaced, that new ones are in place before the old ones just totally conked out and left us with issues.  We still have the old fridge hooked up, so I'll see how long that continues to last.  I grew up with the top 1/3 freezer, bottom 2/3 fridge type and had that through my apartments and two previous houses.  When we moved in here, they had a side by side fridge/freezer, so I got used to that and liked the extra freezer space.  This one is french door fridge on top with lower freezer drawer that also has an inset higher drawer in it, and I think it is going to take me some time to get used to.  It seems wasteful to have to open both fridge doors, so we'll have to be thoughtful about where to put stuff so we can remember where it is. I'm also not sure about having to bend down to get stuff out of the freezer, but it is a little better in some ways that opening the door before and having an avalanche of frozen food land on my feet (I suppose that could be avoided if we were better organized).

Ciao_yall, sound like a tough decision to make! If you are definitely moving and relatively soon, and if it isn't going to affect the sale of the condo in any way, I'd probably hold off.  Good luck either way!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 16, 2023, 03:19:56 PM
Afternoon!

QB. Last word was rabbi.

plucking/grebo; played around with the remaining letters to find the latter--now I have to look up what it means.

I'm way behind with the crosswords.

Long birding day.

ab_grp and cathwen, glad to hear that spouses are doing well.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 17, 2023, 06:55:20 AM
Morning!

QB-1ABM then had to get a hint for rattrap which seems it should be at least hyphenated, no? LB got a hint for warships-surmount. Another day of 3fers and close calls.

Was at a bar last night and saw someone with a bright yellow screen! Conversation started, and turns out he didn't know QB or 2fers. Poor guy has lost his innocence.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 17, 2023, 07:31:39 AM
Good morning!

On the way to genius with one pangram at the moment.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I was missing farad, turf.  Why don't they accept turd? That would have gotten me to genius.

Finally got the schmofficial LB solution mouthwash-hairpin after what I thought were some good contenders.

I'm glad you could bring your barmate into the light (or darkness), ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 17, 2023, 07:37:40 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help to find apparat and farad, my last word. Today I just got to genius with one of the two pangrams.

LB: I had mountainous-shopworn and pinworm-mouthwash. I have one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 17, 2023, 02:02:01 PM
Afternoon!

QB thanks to BB. Last word yesterday was rattrap.

mountainous/shopworn, whomp/puritans

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2023, 06:18:56 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for colleen, colcannon, and maybe one other.  I missed cloaca as well! It has been a while.

No luck on LB again, though I was close in some ways to the schmofficial solution, for better or worse.  Congrats on your two 2fers yesterday, Langue_doc! Whomp-puritans is a funny one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 18, 2023, 06:58:18 AM
Good morning!

Seven or eight points left in today's bee. Needed help with colcannon and a couple of other words.

biomedical/loquacious

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 18, 2023, 07:28:06 AM
Got a 2fer!

And congrats on yours yesterday, Langue_doc! Darnit, I had loquacious.  I could only think of bioma, which wasn't even a word.  Oh well.  And good luck on your final bee points!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 18, 2023, 07:49:36 AM
Morning!

QBwH for callaloo, catcall, colcannon. LB squib-biomedical. Saw squib fairly early on, but needed a hint for biomedical. Quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 18, 2023, 07:53:51 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find colcannon, coolant, and last word, canola. Today I am at genius with the pangram, two words to go.

LB: biomedical-loquacious. I have one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 19, 2023, 04:36:25 AM
Good morning!

20 or so points left today. Missed nunhood.

expectations/shave

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 19, 2023, 06:26:14 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I was missing dunno (got from husband) and udon (got from bee buddy).

For LB I had excavations-ship.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 19, 2023, 07:42:09 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find unhood, then it took me an unreasonable amount of time to finally find nunhood! Today I am a bit beyond genius with the pangram.

LB: I had vexations-spotch. I did not think that spotch was a word; it was a desperation guess. Congratulations, Langue_doc and ab_grp, on more reasonable pairs! Today I have a 2fer consisting of recognizable English words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 19, 2023, 07:51:24 AM
Morning!

QBwH for nunhood. LB hope-excavations, excavations-shop.

Quick run to QB-2 then screeched to a halt. Maybe I can ABM it, but I have a funny feeling it's some oddball words. Also a quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!

ETA: QBABM! Now what am I gonna do all day?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 19, 2023, 09:37:48 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on September 19, 2023, 07:51:24 AMETA: QBABM! Now what am I gonna do all day?

Woohoo! Congratulations!

And congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, cathwen and ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 20, 2023, 05:56:05 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was epee.

froward/deliberation

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 20, 2023, 06:29:02 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday, but I was proud of myself for remembering pinniped from a previous puzzle. My last word was pidgin, which had me smacking my head because I used to have a unit on pidgin languages in a course I taught. Today I have only two words to go, but they are eluding me.

LB: frowned-deliberator. I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 20, 2023, 07:31:03 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius so far.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc, and good luck with your final words, cathwen! Yesterday we were missing a few, even after comparing.  I kept trying pidgen but spelling it wrong.  Husband had to give me ninepin yet again.  The others that bee buddy had to help with were bookkeeping oversights.

For LB I also had frowned-deliberator and have another today.  Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen (and for today)!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 20, 2023, 08:27:07 AM
Morning!

QBABM, last words pepp(-ed, -ing). LBrifled-downbeat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 21, 2023, 05:53:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were neck, necked. I too was quite proud of myself for remembering pinniped and deckle.

I have a convoluted twofer, but have to review the puzzle to see what the words were.

Congrats all for your twofers and QBs!

Happy solving!

ETA: I probably have just a word or two left.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 21, 2023, 06:20:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius this morning, but still have a way to go. Yesterday I needed help to find the last word, cellule—-a word I should have seen.

LB: I first found overlighted-dink, then in search of a more reasonable pair ("dink"?), I found overlight-tonked ("tonked"?). Then, since I had some time on my hands, I tried again and found revoke-enlightened. I found a quick 2fer this morning.

Langue_doc, I'm curious about your "convoluted twofer"!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 21, 2023, 06:28:24 AM
Good morning!

On my way to genius with the pangram so far.  Good luck on your last words, Langue_doc! This seems like a long one.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM! Final words were cuke, unceded.

For LB I had invoker-redlight.  Congrats on all the solutions, cathwen! And I am also interested to hear your convoluted one, Langue_doc.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 21, 2023, 08:11:22 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last words cellule, unceded. LB kilo-overnighted.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 22, 2023, 06:13:55 AM
Good morning!

QB; the second pangram was my last word. Missed novation--even autocorrect doesn't like this word.

I think the convoluted solution was revoke/enlightened, which appears to be less convoluted than the official one.

flumes/scarcity

A flurry of rescheduling of events for this weekend--I couldn't go to several anyway because there were more than a couple scheduled for both days. Now there are at least four scheduled for the first Saturday in October! We rescheduled the one I organized for the middle of the month.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 22, 2023, 07:44:00 AM
Good morning!

On the way to genius with one pangram so far.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! I am a little daunted to hear that it took you to the end to find the other pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with anion, novation.

For LB I finally got multicycles-scarf.  I thought that one was out there but think it's more normal than the schmofficial one, I guess similar to Langue_doc's experience with the previous day.  Congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

And sorry to hear about all the rescheduling and now the conflicting events! I'm glad that the one you organized will still take place.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 22, 2023, 08:16:17 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word initiation. LB got a nudge for calamities-surfy.

Quick 2fer this morning so back to the Bee!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 22, 2023, 09:53:30 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday, last word tomtit. Today I have both pangrams and three words to go, but having a hard time figuring out what they could be.

LB: I had calamities-surfy and creamers-stultify. No 2fer yet today, but have some good contenders! Congratulations on yours, ciao_yall!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 23, 2023, 06:37:54 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was propaganda.

quake/emigration; NYT does come up with cutesy words when much easier ones would work.

Happy solving!

ETA QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 23, 2023, 08:04:23 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find dognap, my last word. Got to QB today!

LB: No 2fer yesterday; I was trying to find something with tourniquet, but did not succeed. Congratulations on your solution, Langue_doc! I do have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 23, 2023, 09:05:03 AM
Morning!

QBwH for gonna, even though I got doggo earlier. LB quake-emigration.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 23, 2023, 10:20:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Finally got to genius, and I have a bunch of other puzzles still to do.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with agar, nonagon (an old "favorite"!).  Had to give husband a hint for his second pangram, which was grandpop.  That was my first word! And his first word was the other pangram, which took me until mid-day to get.  Who knows.  Sounds like my struggle was more similar to Langue_doc's.  I am not clear on why grandpoppa wasn't accepted given all the other variations for that person and that poppa is accepted.

For LB I also got quake-emigration, which seems more normal than the schmofficial one.

This morning I had the pleasure of my annual chest and soul crushing appointment, which honestly is not usually that bad but was a little more uncomfortable today for some reason.  I will probably do a full-body stretch later to deal with the neck/back/shoulder/everything soreness.  Then off for my fasting bloodwork, which was very efficient.  So we got back and had breakfast and went for a walk and now I am trying to get to some real puzzling (after Duolingo, I guess).  They used to do the bloodwork at the same facility with the scans, but now they've closed the lab there. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 24, 2023, 08:00:13 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word yoohoo. LB crampon-nationalize.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 24, 2023, 08:14:13 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, 1L help to find okra, my last word. Today I'm beyond genius with four out of the five pangrams. Ugh! A long one today.

LB: I had corporation-normalize. I found a quick one today.

Sorry the chest-crusher was worse than usual, ab_grp! Sometimes they're not bad, but sometimes...they are.

I had my second shingles shot Friday and spent much of yesterday in bed. Very mild fever and lots of muscle aches. I had no reaction at all to the first shot, but the pharmacist warned me that I might with the second one; she was right. Today I'm fine! I get my Covid shot next Wednesday, a day I chose because Thursday is free of appointments/obligations, as I will almost certainly have a reaction to that as well. Then it will be time for my flu shot...

Anyway...happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 24, 2023, 08:29:13 AM
Good morning!

It's a very long one today--I hate the repetitive-ending-ones. Almost there, but have neither the energy or inclination to spend any more time on the bee. Last word was hoorah.

proclaim/mentalize

ab_grp and cathwen, hope you have recovered from your medical appointments.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 24, 2023, 08:40:55 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius with 4/5 pangrams.  We needed bee buddy for hookah, and I needed help with yahoo, yoohoo for some reason.

For LB I got corporatize-element.  I was hoping parliament(arian) might yield something.  Oh well.  Congrats on all the solutions! And on another today, cathwen!

And thanks for the well wishes and commiseration, cathwen and Langue_doc.  I don't know how people who are less flexible, mobile, stable, etc. can contort themselves enough to get a good image.  I'm doing better today but trying not to go overboard trying to interpret test results.  There's always something, it seems.  My MD appt isn't until Wednesday.

Cathwen, sounds like you are going through the gauntlet with medical stuff as well with all those immunizations! I'm sorry to hear you had a reaction to the shingles one.  I'm glad you are feeling better now, but I hope the covid and flu vaccines go much more smoothly! Trying to schedule all these tests, appointments, vaccines around real life is a challenge sometimes, because they can really take it out of you.  I will be sending good vaccine reaction wishes your way!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2023, 07:25:27 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far, but this is one of those combos I am not super fond of.  Yesterday I finally got the 5th pangram while exercising, and we had to get help from bee buddy for tangram, trimaran, trigram, and maybe another? Oh yeah, main.  Ugh.

For LB I ended up with a strange one, ultramarine-earlock.  I tried the first word and guessed the second from what was left.  Just glad to get one, finally!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 25, 2023, 07:32:38 AM
Good morning!

QB. Yesterday I missed mantra, tamarin, tangram, and trigram.

numeric/cocktail

ab_grp, I like your ultramarine combo.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 25, 2023, 08:32:38 AM
Morning!

QBwH for easy ones I had overlooked like marring as well as the tricky ones. That's what happens when a puzzle is 79 words long! LB umami-interlock.

Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 25, 2023, 08:53:03 AM
Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc!

Thanks, and I like your 2fer 2! I had cocktail at one point but couldn't find a mate.  I also thought limerick might lead somewhere, so maybe someone got a solution with that one.

Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 25, 2023, 09:03:29 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find margarita, magma, mirin, trimaran, and tangram, my last word.

Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: numeric-cocktail. No 2fer yet today, so congratulations, ciao_yall, on your quick one!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 26, 2023, 07:43:55 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams (but they took a bit). Yesterday husband got QBABH and had to help me with ghetto, thong.

For LB I finally got phrenic-crackdown right before bed after a ton of tries.

Busy day, just had a wood guy out to look at floors (just replacing the connector things between rooms, thankfully), then a meeting and another chat with work pals later.  Hopefully I will get somewhere with puzzles!

Happy solving!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 26, 2023, 07:58:26 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB-2 yesterday, then got 2LL hints for outgone and eggnog, which I always seem to miss! Today I'm beyond genius, but have only one of the two pangrams.

LB: I had ph(r)enic-crackdown also. And I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 26, 2023, 08:01:26 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last words nought, goth. LB wracked-diphone.

Genius with both pans and a 2fer today. Still missing a 4L so may need to at least go to the grid but trying to hold off.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 26, 2023, 08:31:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word was tonne--I always have trouble with double letters and a final -e; despite having encountered belle and tonne in numerous bees, I don't see these words until the very end.

phrenic/crackdown; wracked/diphone

Two twofers today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2023, 06:25:33 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and near genius but another MD appt today to get ready for (PCP).  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for clade.  I was glad to guess (not remember, unfortunately) dace.

For LB I finally got exhalation-nymph.

I ordered tires online for the first time, and they are due to arrive today, so I am interested to see what that looks like.  Just a bunch of loose tires? Some big box of tires?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 27, 2023, 07:24:58 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB... clade? Okay. LB exponential-lymph.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 27, 2023, 08:46:21 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find allocable and caboodle. I got dace by accident. Today I'm at QB-2 with both pangrams.

LB: I had exhalation-nymph. I have a 2fer today also.

May the tire delivery go well, ab_grp!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 27, 2023, 10:06:21 AM
Afternoon!

Pangrams and above genius. Missed clade, celeb, and collab. Patted myself on the back for remembering dace.

expiation/nymphal, playmate/exhalation

Had a nice chat with the sleep doctor, as usual. I was bxxxxing about all the drudgery--fielding emails and complaints from students who are unmotivated/uninterested/make unreasonable demands--involved in teaching these days when he piped in to observe that his wife, who I think is also faculty somewhere, feels the same way.

ab_grp, hope your medical appointment goes well, and the tires are delivered without any problems. Would the delivery person just roll the tires from the truck onto your driveway? I've never seen tires enclosed in any kind of packaging.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2023, 11:08:44 AM
Lots of solutions yesterday! Congrats! And congrats on another today, cathwen!

And thanks about the tires.  I have no idea how they will arrive, but I will let you know! They are each 19 lbs, which might be ok, but it would certainly seem to be easier to be able to just roll them into the garage.  They are due in the next few hours, and I'm glad I did not miss the delivery while I was out.

The MD appt went fairly well.  He wants follow up blood work in a couple months because my red blood cells are a little low, though they have been for years.  He did not mention my weight, which he did last year to say that I had gained weight, so I pointedly told him at the end that since he mentioned my pandemic weight gain last year I wanted to be sure he noticed that I lost a bunch of weight since then.  I didn't get much of a response but was high fiving myself for speaking up.  Also got an on-the-fly flu shot.  Too bad they don't do covid shots there.

I'm glad you had a good chat with the sleep doctor, Langue_doc, and that his wife and empathize with your student woes.  I actually got a referral to the sleep lab here since my overnight O2 has some issues according to a couple trackers.  I have tried some improvements at home (pillow, mouth tape, etc.), and they have helped a bit, but I figure I should go get it checked out in case.  Husband says his quality of life is way better since getting his apnea diagnosed and treated, but his is pretty severe.  I would guess mine looks more mild.  I hope the sleep doc here is as nice as yours.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 27, 2023, 02:23:38 PM
Quick tire update: I walked away for a second and thought I heard something outside, and when I came back they were there.  Four tires were piled in one stack, and those plastic ties that you need heavy scissors for were holding sets of two tires together.  Anyway, they were easy enough to separate and carry into the garage.  I did try to roll the bottom two together because I forgot to nip one tie, but it was a little awkward.  Next up is to try the mobile installer.  I am interested to see how they do that on the road.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 28, 2023, 07:00:29 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were lull and oleo.

emetic/conjugal, conjugate/email

ab_grp, glad to hear that your tires arrived. Would the mobile installers replace the tires and also take away the used ones?

Good for you for speaking up about your weight loss. Physicians are often too focused on weight at the expense of other conditions that might be far more harmful to one's health. It's also good that you're getting the sleep test as there are multiple reasons for sleep disturbances and once you get the proper diagnosis, the physician can get you the correct apparatus and also the correct pressure settings for your condition. I recall when I was first tested at another facility almost two decades ago, the sleep technician told me that apnea can be the result of smoking, weight, anatomical conditions, and in my case, poor lung capacity.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 28, 2023, 07:32:43 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with last words nucleon and coulee. Today I'm a bit past genius with the pangram.

LB: conjugal-liniment, conjugate-email/eliminate.. No 2fer yet today, though.

I got my Covid shot yesterday and feel a little achy today, but not as much as after the shingles shot. I get my flu shot Sunday. In retrospect, I wish I'd scheduled it with the Covid shot, but since vaccines tend to hit me hard, I didn't know whether that would be wise or not. Today I can at least function, albeit at a lower level than usual.

Wishing good health to everyone! And congratulations on wrangling the tires, ab_grp!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 28, 2023, 07:36:26 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to remember colleen. What's up with always having a lingering word? LB conjugate-email.

Quick 2fer today but haven't been doing so well on Connections.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 28, 2023, 08:05:31 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we had one word left after comparing, but I managed to find lulu before we had to go to bee buddy.  Congrats on your QB yesterday, cathwen!

I also (finally) had emetic-conjugal.  Congrats on all the solutions again!

Thanks, Langue_doc! I don't mesh well with this doctor, unfortunately, and I have a hard time advocating myself with him sometimes, but I wanted credit for my progress, dang it! I was just talking about that issue with the mammo tech, that doctors can tend to focus on weight and totally miss anything else going on, and that patients probably have an idea that they have gained some weight and don't need it pointed out to them.  Unfortunately, I have or have had a lot of the lifestyle factors that influence poor breathing.  I'm trying to improve them, but I realize that I might still need some help in the O2 department aside from that.  It's kind of strange that I have never had a doctor ask me about my sleeping or look into this at all, and that if I didn't wear a bunch of trackers (I like data) I probably wouldn't even have an idea that there were possible issues with the oxygen.  If apnea and similar affect so many people (probably more than even know), and if it can have such a major effect on health, why isn't looking into this more a regular part of primary care? Especially if someone does have risk factors? Or is it, and I have just never had a doctor even remotely ask me about anything related to it?

Regarding the tires, I think they would take them away.  I guess I didn't consider that part! We have a place where you can discard stuff like that, and husband has the pickup, so hopefully there is that possibility if not.  Hmm! We had the tires shipped directly to us so that if the mobile installer ends up not working out we can take them to the local tire place, and they will put them on there (and discard the old ones).  The mobile installer is a new-ish local family business that has good reviews so far, so we figured we might as well try them out, but we'll see.

Cathwen, I hope you continue to recover well from your covid vaccine! You really are going through them all right now! I am not doing too badly with the flu shot other than a slightly elevated heart rate last night.

Congrats on your 2fer today, ciao_yall, and good luck with Connections.  Today's was easier on me than the past few have been, but I am still trying to figure out what is going on with the crossword (a typically weird Thursday).

Happy solving!

ETA:  Apparently, there are missing crossword clue images, so I guess that was part of why I was having such trouble figuring that one out! Someone kindly posted them online.  I thought they were supposed to be blank, but they just didn't render properly! Just a heads up in case anyone else is having trouble.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 29, 2023, 05:35:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word was gigging.

Soul-crushing medical appointment this afternoon.

Hope you've all recovered from the numerous shots. I'm holding off on mine because it took me weeks to recover from at least three of the Covid shots.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 29, 2023, 06:23:05 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LLH to find pinup and my last word, gigging. Today I have both pangrams with three words to go.

LB: I had the "official" wordsmith-hulk. I found a 2fer today also.

I have recovered from the Covid shot and feel fine, apart from a mildly sore arm. Ab_grp, I'm heartened to know that the recovery from the flu shot has been easy for you—perhaps it will be for me, too. I get that one on Sunday.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 29, 2023, 07:48:49 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday we each got to QBABO.  My last word was pinup.

No luck on LB, so congrats, cathwen, and on another today!

Cathwen, I'm in pretty much the same situation but with the flu shot.  My arm is still a little sore, but I didn't have the fever or overall skin ache weirdness that I have had the last few times, when I got the covid and flu vaccines together.  I am not sure what to attribute that to and whether I should expect the covid vaccine to bring the pain? I have never gotten a flu shot on its own before.  In any case, I definitely hope it bodes well for you this weekend for your flu shot!

And sending you wishes for the best soul crushing appointment and outcomes as possible, Langue_doc! I don't remember which covid vaccines you've had or whether it would be worth considering a different one this time? I know some folks switch, but I don't know if that's recommended or not.  On the call I had with friendly colleagues earlier in the week, two of us are Pfizer loyalists, and one is a Moderna loyalist.  Who knows, just a thought.  Anyway, good luck today, and be sure to take care of yourself after!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 29, 2023, 07:58:11 AM
Thanks, ab_grp, but have been getting advisories about flash flooding in my area that would prevent me from getting to the subway station. Subways are also a mess, so I happily called the imaging place and rescheduled my appointment. Woohoo, but I'll have to deal with it next week.

As for the vaccines, I have a full schedule of bird walks and hikes for the next four or so weekends, and also a trip coming up, so I do not want to have to cancel any of these. I'll wait until November when I'll be seeing my PCP and then ask him for his recommendations.

I think my bird walk for tomorrow might be canceled.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 29, 2023, 08:01:13 AM
I didn't see your post on the weather thread until after, so I'm glad you will stay safe and dry and have a brief reprieve! Sounds like you have a good vaccine plan as well.  Sorry you might miss out on your bird walk, though.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 29, 2023, 08:05:07 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on September 29, 2023, 08:01:13 AMI didn't see your post on the weather thread until after, so I'm glad you will stay safe and dry and have a brief reprieve! Sounds like you have a good vaccine plan as well.  Sorry you might miss out on your bird walk, though.

Thanks, ab_grp. Sunday looks good though, so all's well for my outdoors event. I feel bad for the numerous hikes scheduled for tomorrow some of which have been canceled or rescheduled for November--a few of these were reschedulings from last weekend.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 29, 2023, 08:25:22 AM
Morning!

QBwG last word pinup. LB wordsmith-hunk.

Got Connections more by wild guesses and process of elimination than anything else but hey. And lots of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2023, 08:47:27 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus a bit with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for jabot.

No luck on LB yesterday, but I got a 2fer on my first try today! It's been a while!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on September 30, 2023, 08:58:10 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QB yesterday with a nudge for my last word, kabob, which I always seem to miss. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram.

LB: I had injuries-symposia. Found one today, but not the first try—-so congratulations, ab_grp, on yours!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on September 30, 2023, 09:15:42 AM
Morning!

QBwG to find my last word, jojoba. LB juniper-rosemary.

Waah, broke my Wordle streak of 83! But at least I got a 2fer.

Happy solving.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on September 30, 2023, 09:51:58 AM
Good moring!

QB--resorted to BB for a couple of words that I would have found if I had persisted. Last word was kabob.

I have a twofer, but can't recall the words other than that they were not the NYT ones. I'll have to report on my solution later.

ab_grp, I meant to respond to your comment about the Thursday crossword, but was in a state of shock due to the NYT having messed up my 184-day wordle streak despite my having completed the puzzle that day as usual, soon after midnight. Clicking on My stats don't look right only results in information on how to play the game, and then how to report delivery issues. Aaargh!!!! Needless to say, I was too disheartened to attempt the crossword that day.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on September 30, 2023, 04:37:31 PM
Thanks, cathwen! Congrats on your 2fer yesterday, which I had both parts of and totally missed! And congrats on another today.  I just happened to start with a workable word this time, I guess.

Langue_doc, that is a shame that you lost your Wordle streak for no reason and that the "help" wasn't helpful! I can see why that threw you.  Yuck.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 01, 2023, 06:51:49 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Don't recall the last words from yesterday's puzzle--resorted to BB, but would have found them anyway.

placable/evoking, and popinjays/serum from the day before.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 01, 2023, 07:32:30 AM
Morning!

QBwH for litchee, oilcloth, cattail. LB placable-evoking, backpacking-glove.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 01, 2023, 08:10:59 AM
Good morning!

QBwH; last words were also litchi and oilcloth. I have clawed my way to genius with the pangram in today's puzzle, but may not get much further because this may be a busy day.

LB: backpacking-glove. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 01, 2023, 09:18:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  We needed bee buddy for litchi, which we were both spelling wrong, and litho, chai.

For LB I had capable-evoking.  Congrats on all your solutions (and two for ciao_yall)! And that's a good one from the day before, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 02, 2023, 05:47:37 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed the weird word starting with c-.

brows/stimulant

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 02, 2023, 06:30:15 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I needed canteen, emcee, cetacean, panacea.  I feel like the last word was in the crossword yesterday or not too long ago!

For LB I got the schmofficial blown-nasturtium, but I'm so dismayed that it's schmofficial! I was so proud of myself for the latter.  Dang it!! Oh well, I guess I should be happy to have a solution.  And congrats on yours, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 02, 2023, 07:13:12 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word cancan. LB blown-nasturtium and a quick 2fer this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 03, 2023, 05:52:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. How am I supposed to find more words today? Last word was bootie, a word I don't see until the end.

freckling/gelidity

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 03, 2023, 07:25:09 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams and a bit more.  I think I have three words left and hope to find them later.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for geoid.  I think I needed husband help for iodide, dogie.

For LB I had freckling-giftedly, so a little variation.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 03, 2023, 07:43:23 AM
Good morning!

I didn't get very far on either SB or LB yesterday, between two appointments and then snoozing to make up for a bad night. So congratulations to everyone else for finishing SB and finding pairs for LB!

Today I am beyond genius with both pangrams; three words to go, but I can't imagine what they can be. Hoping for flashes of inspiration.

No 2fer yet today, none yesterday.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 03, 2023, 09:19:21 AM
Morning!

QbwH for geoid. LB freckled-dignity.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 04, 2023, 07:52:58 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius but just one pangram so far.  I almost forgot I got to QBABM yesterday! Last word was cultic, which was a total guess.  Husband says that word got us before.

No luck on LB!

Cathwen, I hope you've been able to catch up on rest!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 04, 2023, 08:16:02 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word tutti. LB quakier-rightful and a quick 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 04, 2023, 09:15:49 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with help to find tutti and cultic. So far today, I have both pangrams (took me an age to find the second one) and a little way to go.

LB: I am bonking my head with a giant dictionary! I had both quakier and rightful, but did not put them together! So no 2fer for me yesterday.  I have one today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 04, 2023, 01:17:10 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. QB yesterday. Long day so far, so will update later.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 05, 2023, 05:16:24 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for paratha. LB abridges-showy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 05, 2023, 06:11:07 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find paradrop. Today I am at genius with the pangram, but have a long way to go. How far I get is questionable, since we're leaving today for what I call our Grand Western Adventure (Colorado to Arizona, visiting brothers-in-law and several national parks on the way.)

LB: I had harborages-sideways. I was stunned when the first word was accepted, but I don't argue with the LB gods. I found a 2fer this morning.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 05, 2023, 07:44:13 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram.  Yesterday I had quite a few left by the time we compared, including arthropod.  We needed bee buddy for paratha.

For LB I had harbor-ridgeways.  Lots of variety! Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen (and another for today)!

Cathwen, wishing you a wonderful, safe adventure! I hope this general area is good to you and that you enjoy yourselves thoroughly! Will we be seeing you around? Either way, can't wait to hear about your trip.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 05, 2023, 09:39:18 AM
Good morning!

QB. Needed BB for anthropod. I've seen paratha before, so that was a lucky guess.

Safe and exciting adventures, cathwen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 06, 2023, 07:04:05 AM
Good morning!

QB--needed BB for the last word. Also BB yesterday for cichlid.

blowouts/sinkable

Happy solving!

ETA:twofer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2023, 07:32:33 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and finally made it to genius.  We had team QB, but I only contributed two words because I totally ran out of time yesterday and then just could not see a bunch of easy ones. 

For LB I finally got bowlines-stakeout.  I am also claiming credit for blowouts-stankiest, even though LB apparently does not think that the latter is a real word.  Congrats, Langue_doc, and on another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 06, 2023, 07:38:06 AM
Morning!

QBwH for cichlid and a few other oddballs I had overlooked. LB outwits-sinkable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 06, 2023, 08:40:08 AM
QuoteFor LB I finally got bowlines-stakeout.  I am also claiming credit for blowouts-stankiest, even though LB apparently does not think that the latter is a real word.

Would skankiest have worked?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 06, 2023, 09:18:22 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on October 06, 2023, 08:40:08 AM
QuoteFor LB I finally got bowlines-stakeout.  I am also claiming credit for blowouts-stankiest, even though LB apparently does not think that the latter is a real word.

Would skankiest have worked?

I don't think I tried that! But looking at the screenshot, I think it would have worked, letter-wise! Darn it! Let's consider that another yes unless we hear otherwise.

Congrats on yours as well, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 06, 2023, 03:05:16 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday to find leeched and cichlid, which I would never have found without help. Today I am at genius with the pangram; not sure if I'll finish today, though.

LB: blowouts-skankiest. That was kind of a gamble—-I wasn't sure if skankiest would be accepted—but it was.  Langue_doc, that's odd that it rejected it for you! I have a 2fer today also.

The trip started unpropitiously (four-hour ice-cold airplane ride, rental car snafu, food poisoning that got me up in the middle of the night), but all is well now. The motel is clean and comfortable, we like the car, and we've had a good visit with my brother-in-law and family and will go back for dinner this evening.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 07, 2023, 05:20:57 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was falloff.

handles/scorpion

I wasn't too impressed with the categories for Connections as I didn't think one of them was correct--will post details tomorrow.

cathwen, sorry to hear about your travel woes. Now that the travel gods have been appeased/propitiated, your trip should be smooth and uneventful. As for skankiest, I thought of it when I saw ab_grp's stankiest attempt.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2023, 08:36:07 AM
Good morning!

Got to past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB again.  I was missing airfoil (again), and husband was missing foofaraw, which he just asked about the other day.

No luck on LB! Congrats, Langue_doc!

I apparently forgot to finish the crossword yesterday and also forgot to do Wordle entirely! So much for those streaks, I guess.  I took a quick look at Connections earlier but will try to solve it and am interested to hear Langue_doc's thoughts tomorrow.

Cathwen, I am so sorry to hear about your cold trip out and food poisoning! I agree, I think any fairness would say you've paid your travel dues and more and should have no further issues. 

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 07, 2023, 09:13:45 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on October 07, 2023, 08:36:07 AMI apparently forgot to finish the crossword yesterday and also forgot to do Wordle entirely! So much for those streaks, I guess.  I took a quick look at Connections earlier but will try to solve it and am interested to hear Langue_doc's thoughts tomorrow.


ab_grp, you can still complete the crossword and not lose your streak. I think you get a 24 hour extension--I've completed crosswords the following day, and not lost my streaks which are usually between 7-15!

cathwen, I was just talking to someone who had a long international travel on two very cold planes.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 07, 2023, 09:26:39 AM
Good morning!

We got home late from a visit with family, so I hastily used BeeBuddy to find flail, afar, waif, foofaraw, which was my last word—and I had to look up its spelling. Today I am past genius with the pangram.

LB: I had codicils-sharpen. I have a 2fer today.

The visit with family was good. More today! The entire Colorado clan is going to a Chinese restaurant tonight—there will be 18 of us. It will be fun to see nephews and nieces and great-nephews and great-nieces whom we haven't seen in years. Normally, I don't like large gatherings, but I like all these people and am looking forward to seeing them again.

No more travel snafus, although we had a heart-stopping moment when my husband thought he had dropped his glasses in a downtown Boulder parking garage. Nope! They were in the car. They had dropped down between the seat and the door. So, all is well!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2023, 09:32:29 AM
Langue_doc, thank you!! I was still going to try to solve it but wouldn't necessarily have gotten back to it within the grace period.  I just finished it and appear to still have that streak.  Yay! Thanks! I wish Wordle were a little more forgiving.  I don't know what the heck I was doing yesterday morning that kept me from getting to it while we were outside bird watching with our coffee.

Cathwen, ooh I'm glad your husband found his glasses in the car! That would be a panic.  Sounds like a big hooha this evening, and I hope you have a wonderful time! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, too!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 07, 2023, 09:33:46 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for falloff. LB condolences-sharpie.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 07, 2023, 03:10:12 PM
Got a 2fer!

Ciao_yall, congrats on an additional 2fer solution for yesterday's!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 08, 2023, 07:53:26 AM
Morning!

QBwG to remember ilium, olio. LB chose-equatorial and a 2fer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 08, 2023, 08:46:52 AM
Good morning!

Looks like I've got 4 words left.  Pangram was my first word, but I don't think husband found it yet.  We had the reverse yesterday.  Also yesterday we needed bee buddy for two words: ilium, moonlit.

For LB I had cliche-equators.  Congrats on yours, ciao_yall, and another today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 08, 2023, 11:53:49 AM
Afternoon!

QB--all words we've encountered in previous bees--just found the last couple of words. Last word was moonlit, which I remembered from earlier puzzles. I recall missing it at least a couple of times.

chose/equatorial, historic/calque

When I completed Connections soon after midnight, after six attempts, the entries on the last row were described as irregular past tenses, despite the two present tense verbs will and may in that list. When I reviewed the puzzle in the morning, the puzzle appeared to have been reuploaded, with the verbs described correctly as "irregular". I had to complete the puzzle all over again, which is unusual for Connections, hence my suspicion that there might have been complaints by other solvers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 08, 2023, 03:19:45 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with moonlit as my last word. Today I am at genius with the pangram and have a way to go.

LB: I had quilt-thoraces (plural of thorax; a wild guess) and also chose-equatorial. No 2fer yet today.

As for Connections yesterday: I let out a cry of dismay when the grouping (this may not be the exact set, but it illustrates the point) Baron Karen Sharon Aaron was described as "names that rhyme." They do NOT rhyme in my dialect! Baron and Karen rhyme, as do Sharon and Aaron, but Baron/Karen do NOT rhyme with Sharon/Aaron. In Brooklyn, yes they would, though. (Probably elsewhere, too...but not where I grew up in the Mid-Atlantic region.)

Long drive over the Rockies today. Just so beautiful with the yellow aspens against the dark green conifers! And the rock formations! To top it off, I saw a bald eagle sitting in a tree by the side of the road.

Happy puzzling!



Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 09, 2023, 07:20:48 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram yet. Last words were tantra, tantara.

cathwen, that sounds like a lovely trip. I remember driving through the Rockies years ago, probably in September, so the yellow aspen sounds familiar.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 09, 2023, 07:20:59 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for tantara.  Been a while, I guess.

For LB I finally got the schmofficial bishop-privatize after having the latter word most of the day.  That's a good 2fer, cathwen!

And it sounds as though you are enjoying some amazing scenery!! Do you pronounce it like an a like cave for baron and Karen and an a like bad for Sharon and Aaron? I thought that set might be a bone of contention since all of them can be pronounced slightly differently.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 09, 2023, 08:57:34 AM
Morning!

QBwH for tantra, tantara. LB bishop-privatize.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 09, 2023, 04:42:20 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

QB with lots of help yesterday; last word ribbit, which I've missed before because I never think of it as a word. I also knew that I needed tantara, but couldn't remember the spelling! I had to look that up. Today I am at genius with the pangram, and will surely need help to finish.

LB: I also had bishop-privatize. No 2fer today so far.

Ab_grp, as for the pronunciations: for me, the first syllable of Sharon and Aaron rhyme with share and air. Baron/Karen rhyme with barren.

We continued our drive through the Rocky Mountains today, heading south towards Mesa Verde, which we will tour tomorrow. Every time I thought that the views couldn't get more magnificent...they did! I took zillions of pictures.

Happy puzzling! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 10, 2023, 05:27:00 AM
Good morning!

QB and a twofer. Last word yesterday was nightlight.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 10, 2023, 07:20:53 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday husband got to QBABH again! I needed help with thinning.

No luck on LB!

Cathwen, I think that is the opposite of the pronunciation I guessed, but every time I say the names I say them a different way.  Weirdness.  Hope you continue to enjoy what must really be a beautiful trip! I'm glad you are taking so many pictures! It's so majestically awesome in the true sense of the word.  I don't think I've been in the specific areas you are in, but coming from the east coast and seeing this general region was really a shock.    So much space, and such incredible views!

Congrats on QB and a 2fer already, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 10, 2023, 08:18:06 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB to remind me I forgot to enter highlight. LB hydrocarbon-nifty, fifth-hydrocarbon. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 10, 2023, 03:23:02 PM
Good evening!

QB yesterday with help to find thinning and tiling. QB today.

LB: No 2fer yesterday! But I have one today.

We are continuing to enjoy our trip, but at Mesa Verde the altitude was beginning to affect my husband, so although we had signed up for a tour of the pueblos, we had to back out. It would have been too strenuous for him. We still had a good visit, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 11, 2023, 06:36:39 AM
Good morning!

On the way to genius, but I do have the pangram.  We had team QB yesterday.  I needed help with bonbon, llano, and I usually get those!

No luck on LB again.

Sorry to hear about the altitude issues, cathwen.  I think altitude gets to everyone but some more than others, and it can be really surprising.  I'm glad the trip is still going well!

This morning is the mobile tire installation! Will report back.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 11, 2023, 06:46:24 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. It's like pulling teeth today. Last word was boron.

creamed/debunking

cathwen, glad to hear that you're enjoying the trip despite the altitude snafus. ab_grp, keeping fingers crossed for the tire installation!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 11, 2023, 08:11:46 AM
Morning!

QBABM yesterday! Last word anon. LB cambered-ducking. Strange 2fer today but I'm keeping it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 11, 2023, 08:56:32 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help to find—embarrassingly—banana and mammon, my last word. I agree with Langue_doc about today's puzzle—it's like pulling teeth. I finally found the pangram, though, and just made genius.

LB: creamed-debunking. No 2fer yet today, but ciao_yall gives me hope!

Ab_grp, I'll look forward to hearing about the mobile tire installation! As for us, it's The Arches today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 12, 2023, 05:07:27 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed bibelot, tittle, toile--I might have found the last two if I had persevered, but not the first one.

Here are pictures of the ones I missed--nightjar (https://ebird.org/species/bucnig) and falcon (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/overview).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 12, 2023, 06:24:04 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB - wild guess at bibelot, last word celeb. LB falcon-nightjar which I thought I made up but turns out it's a thing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 12, 2023, 06:38:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for bibelot, betel, toile.  I would never have gotten the first one.

No luck on LB, and I have never heard of a nightjar! Thanks for sharing the pics, Langue_doc!

Congrats, ciao_yall! Good guesses all around!

The mobile installer basically got here about 40 mins early, while we were eating breakfast, but he also took longer than expected.  Overall, it was a good experience, and I would happily take the trade offs so as not to have to go sit there to wait for my car to get done or have have to husband take me back and forth.  Anyway, he had a little trailer hooked up to his truck, and husband reports that there were two machines inside.  One is used to remove a tire from a wheel (and maybe to put a new tire on the wheel?), and the other is a balancer once a new tire is on the wheel (where they see spin it really fast to see if it wobbles and possibly add weights to it).  It took about an hour and a half for all four tires, and he did it all himself.  The cost was very similar to if I had gone to the tire shop but had an extra $25 service fee for coming out to our place, which I thought was very reasonable.  We scheduled it late the previous afternoon, so very convenient and flexible.  I have only driven the car into the garage so far and will update if the wheels fall off on my way to my vaccine on Monday.  So far, husband plans to use this service when he gets new tires on the truck in half a year or so.

Hope your trip to The Arches was a good one, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 12, 2023, 04:07:19 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for bibelot, celeb, cootie, lobe, oleic, and toile, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram and hoping to get a bit further before caving and seeking help.

LB: I also had falcon-nightjar, with the last word being a wild guess. No 2fer today so far, but I will persist.

The mobile tire installation was clearly a success! Yay!

Our trip to Arches National Park was fine, except that the very minute we got to the booth to show our entry ticket, it started to rain. And rain. And rain. We had picked out several of the easier hikes described on the Arches web site, but we didn't do any of them. We did, however, drive around and take photos—sometimes leaping out of the car briefly, snapping the picture, and hurrying back in. Even just driving around in the rain, it was still beautiful, so I don't think our day was wasted. Bryce Canyon tomorrow!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 13, 2023, 05:38:08 AM
Good morning!

QB--found the pangram only because the letters were aligned in a certain way.

Last word was filially which I didn't think was a word, but tried just in case.

whipcords/subdue; couldn't find a mate for horsewhip.

ab_grp, glad to hear that the tires have been installed.

cathwen, sounds like you're seeing large swaths of the country that I've seen only in old westerns.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 13, 2023, 07:44:24 AM
Morning!

QBwH for ramify, affray. LB lots of contenders but no 2fers so went for hints and got a bunch. I was close on a few but didn't close the loop.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 13, 2023, 07:54:23 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius so far.   Yesterday we needed bee buddy for mayfly, riyal.

No luck on LB, though I thought I was close a few times.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

Cathwen, we saw much of Yellowstone that way, just driving around and hopping out for pictures here and there when we visited that area, Glacier, and Tetons as well.  We went out to that general region as a very, very large family group (my ex's; but split up into family units to do individual outings, so we had my mother and daughter with us), so there was a wide variety of people trying to experience the higher altitudes and so forth.  That trip was actually the second giant family outing, and the first was to the area that you're in and to Bryce Canyon! We missed that one, but it sounded pretty amazing.  I'm so glad you are enjoying your trip despite the rain and such! Sounds like you are doing as much driving for your trip as we did.  I hope today is wonderful!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 13, 2023, 05:26:11 PM
Good evening!

QB yesterday with help for airily, filially, and friary. Today I made QBABM!

LB: I had showpieces-suburbed. The second word was a desperation guess, and I was surprised when it was accepted. I did not know that suburb could be used as a verb.

Langue_doc, this trip does recall lots of old westerns!

We went to Bryce Canyon today! It is spectacular. This was on our list because Middle Daughter and her family went there last year. She said that when she saw the rock formations (the hoodoos), the beauty of it actually made her cry. And really, photos do not do it justice. We are so glad we went. We rode around in the shuttle bus, hopping off at various points, and we walked one of the easy trails. Maybe next year we'll try for Yellowstone.

One victory today was finding eclipse glasses! I had read about tomorrow's eclipse, but since it will not be very apparent in the Northeast, I didn't pay attention to it. It never clicked in my mind that we will be in the eclipse area when it happens. (If it had, I would have packed the eclipse glasses we already have.) We went several places without any luck, but they were selling them at the Bryce Canyon visitors' center. Whew!

Happy puzzling, and happy eclipse for those of you who will be able to see it!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 14, 2023, 08:43:49 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday I also made it to QBABM after husband already had.  I think my final word was toll.  Congrats, cathwen!

And congrats on your 2fer! I tried and tried to no avail.  I do have one today, though!

Sounds like a great day, and now I want to visit there!

Hope you enjoy the eclipse! We will be checking it out as well.  We still have ours from a couple years ago and managed to find them, thankfully, but I guess they are giving them out at various places.  One child is directly in the path, so hopefully they have glasses, too.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 14, 2023, 10:03:34 AM
Morning!

QBwH needed to remember toil. No 2fer so went to hints to find shipments-serviced, verdicts-shipment but got one today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 14, 2023, 11:31:42 AM
Afternoon!

QB. Last word yesterday was tollbooth.

shipments/serviced; found a twofer today.

Had to cancel the outing I'd organized because of the weather. Today's outing was a rescheduling of the one that was rained out in September.

ab_grp and cathwen, enjoy the eclipse!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 14, 2023, 02:35:14 PM
Congrats on your QBs and 2fers, Langue_doc! I'm sorry to hear about the rain cancellation for the rain date.  My old area's community day got rescheduled and rescheduled and finally cancelled as well.  Yuck.

The eclipse here was 90 or 95% or so, and we checked it out at a couple different stages.  Pretty neat!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 15, 2023, 08:43:06 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM! So did husband.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for minicam.

I also got a 2fer right away this morning! Yesterday's was whine-extraneous.

Got Wordle, Connections, crosswords done, so now all puzzles except Sudokus are done for the day.  My call last weekend was rescheduled to today, so that's a good thing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 15, 2023, 09:25:02 AM
Morning!

For the first time in I don't know how long, I stopped at Genius. Hosted a Barbie movie viewing party and got home after midnight so missed the window for SBB. I didn't have ambiance or a bunch of others. LB wore-exhaustion.

QB-3 and a 2fer so far this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 15, 2023, 09:44:18 AM
Good morning!

I did not have much time to work on SB yesterday, so used hints to finish the last nine words. My last two words were the alternate spelling ambience (that was driving me crazy—I knew there was a second pangram and just could not find it, so I tried the alternate spelling of ambiance, and voilà.) My last word, though, was animé.
Today I have three words to go.

LB: I first had whare-extrusion. A whare, it turns out, is a Māori hut. Then I tried for a more normal pair and got exhaustion-nowhere. Today I found a 2fer almost right away.

We were in a 75-80% zone for the eclipse. Ab_grp, I thought you might be in the zone, too! We opened the back of our car and sat on the tailgate in the parking lot of the hotel to watch. We watched until at its greatest point, then had to take off for a long drive south. I kept checking from time to time from the car window. On our way south, we stopped at Glen Canyon Dam, where they were just winding up an eclipse party.

Ciao_yall, the Barbie party must have been fun! I still have not seen that movie.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 15, 2023, 10:22:58 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram (first word) and probably just one more word to go. Last word yesterday was minicam. I think I mistyped ambience first, and then realized that I usually spell the word with an e, so found the alternate spelling by accident.

I had to chuckle when I saw foofaraw(s) in the crossword hints as I had to look up the spelling despite knowing the word for a recent bee. There's a single typo in my solution today that's keeping me from completing the puzzle and also driving me nuts in the process.

ab_grp and cathwen, I'm quite envious!

I too came up with whare/extrusion; found the second word first, and then played around with the remaining letters and much to my surprise found that it was a real and acceptable word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 16, 2023, 06:04:15 AM
Pangram and above genius. Needed BB for taiga.

bard/duplication

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 16, 2023, 06:31:29 AM
Morning!

QB-1 ABM, then guessed yttria and it didn't take! Argh. 2LL for ragtag. LB probational-lucid.

Not sure how much puzzle time I will have today, but happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 16, 2023, 07:22:58 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we each got QB.  My last word was ragtag, but I also tried yttria!

For LB I had cupboard-dilation.

I also had trouble finding the second pangram the other day and finally guessed the alternative spelling.  And I chuckled about the foofaraw(s) in the crossword as well!

Getting my covid vaccine this morning at a different drugstore, so hopefully that will go smoothly.  Kind of threading the needle a bit with that and possible side effects, a home sleep test sometime this week, and dentist on Thurs.  I guess we'll see how it all works out!

That sounds like a great way to watch the eclipse, cathwen!

And I also haven't seen the Barbie movie yet but hope it was a fun viewing party, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 16, 2023, 10:07:53 AM
Good morning!

QB with 1L help for the last word—ratatat. I also tried yttria without success! Today I had a hard time getting to genius, but I'm there now, with seven words to go.

LB: I had probational-lucid. No 2fer yet today.

We're visiting with my husband's brother and sister-in-law today, as well as taking a Trip Down Memory Lane for my husband, who spent his teen years here. Home tomorrow!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 17, 2023, 06:25:35 AM
Morning!

Ran out of time yesterday - Genius but no QB. Did fool with SBB but decided not to go for hints. And, 3fers but no 2fers - am rather annoyed that it wouldn't take brunchcation because it would have made a 2fer as well as an awesome word. And trip idea!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2023, 07:27:13 AM
Good morning!

I got to genius with the Pangram so far. I don't remember about yesterday, but I will have to check. We are having wireless issues today as they do some work in the area so I will try to write more later when I don't have to do it on my phone.

For LB, I got wrench-habituation.

I think I have definitely figured out that the Covid vaccine is the one that causes the most pain for me. I felt pretty good yesterday, but then felt a little chilly as I was going to bed and by the time I got under the covers I was shaking violently and had a really high heart rate and a fever all night so not doing so great today and of course it would be a good day to just sit around and relax and stream good shows on the Internet but I don't have the Internet, so thanks a lot Xfinity.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 17, 2023, 12:23:18 PM
Afternoon!

Above genius, but no pangram. Needed BB for cetacean.

I know I have a twofer, but can't recall the words other than that they are not the NYT version.

ab_grp, sorry to hear about your reaction to the vaccine. Hope you were able to rest and catch up on your sleep. I recall a recent article, probably in the NYT, about how strong adverse reactions to the vaccines indicate that they are working. But still...

ab_grp, here's the article (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/07/health/covid-vaccine-side-effects.html).
QuoteFeeling Terrible After Your Covid Shot? Then It's Probably Working.
Fever, chills and fatigue may all be signs of vigorous antibody production, a new study finds.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 17, 2023, 03:57:22 PM
Thanks, Langue_doc! It seems like it hit faster than before, but hopefully that means it will move out faster and that it is working well.  I haven't had the best of sleep lately, but I hope tonight's is at least better than last night's! I'm sure husband hopes so, too, since I was trying to leech every bit of warmth from his arm and tossing and turning along with the violent chills.  I tried to take a nap, which I almost never do because I typically can't fall asleep, and I failed but maybe got some restorative time.  I feel like such a whiner!

Congrats on your non-NYT 2fer!

I think yesterday we needed bee buddy for exacta, exec.  I still have a few words left and have not had luck on LB yet.

Ciao_yall, I like brunchcation!

Cathwen, I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane and had safe travels home.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 18, 2023, 06:19:01 AM
Morning!

Ran out of time yesterday - GwP, last word pylon. Got a hint for jugs-skimboard which I would never have gotten on my own.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 18, 2023, 06:59:40 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find the three last words, lollop, peloton, polyp. Today I am at genius with the pangram and quite a way to go.

LB: Just as the plane was landing yesterday, I got jugs-skimboard. Ciao_yall, I meant to comment on brunchcation from the other day—it's a great word, and a great concept!

Ab_grp, I hope you have recovered from your covid shot! I also had violent, shaking chills, but with the fifth shot, not this most recent one. It is not pleasant, but apparently it shows that your immune system is strong.

We're back home now, and although we had a great time seeing family and national parks, I'm really glad to be back. Now to tackle the mountains of laundry and go grocery shopping!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 18, 2023, 07:30:39 AM
Good morning!

Finally got to genius with the pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for peloton, which we were both spelling incorrectly.  Ugh!

No luck on LB.  I had the components for skimboard but didn't know it was a word.  Should have tried it! Congrats, cathwen!

And I'm glad you got home safely! The mountains of laundry and grocery shopping and other catch up are not the best part of a vacation, but it sounds like it was all worth it. 

I am doing much better today, thanks.  Temp was still up a little last night, but what a difference a day makes.  Hopefully by dentist appt tomorrow I will be back to "normal."

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 18, 2023, 09:23:50 AM
Good morning!

QB. Missed the pangram, eyelet, lento, tentpole, and noel, and also pole and plot which I knew I had typed. Also missed peloton which I kept typing as peleton and wondering why that word was no longer accepted.

bewitcher/ructation from an earlier puzzle; didn't think that the former minus the suffix was a word, nor the latter. Just looked up the latter:
QuoteLate Latin ructation-, ructatio, from Latin ructatus (past participle of ructare to belch) + -ion-, -io -ion

ab_grp, glad to hear that you are feeling better. When is your sleep test?

cathwen, home sweet home, however luxurious the hotels are.

I think I caught a bug, so have been out of it, especially sleep-wise. Thought I'd gone to bed only to discover after 4 AM that I hadn't, so worked on the bee, and then fell asleep until 9. It's definitely a day to do mindless things, so am doing nothing else.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 19, 2023, 06:04:27 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram. Last word yesterday was ratatat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 19, 2023, 06:27:08 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word horror. LB bough-hospitality.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 19, 2023, 07:42:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for rowan.  I know I needed husband help for nonart because that's a nonstarter for me.

Finally got the schmofficial bough-hospitality after pursuing other contenders! Congrats, ciao_yall.

Langue_doc, it's a home sleep study, and I am planning to do it tomorrow night, if it ends up being a fairly normal day.  I want to do it on a weekend since we will have to turn off or disable all other bluetooth devices, and it turns out we have quite a few of them around in the bedroom between various trackers, headphones, etc.  I don't know how representative a night of sleep it will be if both of us have to make those adjustments, but I guess they know what they're doing.

And I'm so sorry that you were feeling off yesterday! Are you doing better today?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 19, 2023, 08:49:13 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday, last words athwart, nonart. Today I am at genius with the pangram and I have a way to go.

LB: I also had bough-hospitality. I found a 2fer today also.

Langue_doc, I hope you are feeling better, and ab_grp, I hope the sleep study goes well!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 20, 2023, 06:31:05 AM
Morning!

QBWATHICG for gigue. LB purifying-gimlet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 20, 2023, 07:19:33 AM
Good morning!

QB with SBB help to find untuning. And I thought I had tried all the un- possibilities!

LB: fruit-temptingly. Congratulations on a different one, ciao_yall! Looks like a variety of possibilities this time.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2023, 09:14:07 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram just now.  I had to check, and sure enough I had not gotten to genius yet, so I wanted to avoid the mistake I made yesterday of giving the wrong status at check in.  Yesterday I actually was nowhere near genius at the time, so I don't know what I was thinking, other than I was anxious about the dentist appointment.  I know I was holding off on doing more bee so I would have that to do in the waiting room, but despite me getting there early my new hygienist was ready for me! Anyway, I did finally get to genius and a bit past, and we ended up having team QB.  The only word I donated was gigue.  :-(

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying.  I had parts of your solutions but no matches.  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Hopefully today will be a more relaxing and puzzle-filled day, though I just realized I have not even started the crossword yet.  I think I am still recovering a little from the covid vaccine (and still have a red and sore area there), and even getting up 15 minutes later than usual cuts into my puzzle time quite a bit.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 20, 2023, 12:17:09 PM
Afternoon!

QB. Last word was gigue, which took me ages to find, despite BB.

petrifying/glum; couldn't find a mate for gimlet, one of my favorite words.

Thanks, ab_grp and cathwen. I don't know what I had other than that I was wiped out the last couple of days with nothing else to show for it such as a temperature and other symptoms associated with getting a bug.

ab_grp, hope your recovery from the Covid vaccine is fast and smooth.

As for the crosswords, I thought that Tuesday's was unusually challenging for that day of the week. There's still Thursday's to complete, and I have to double-check today's which seems to have a typo.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 20, 2023, 04:00:44 PM
Congrats on your QB, Langue_doc! I think I still have about 6 words left.

I hope you are feeling better now? Thanks about the vaccine.  I am really almost 100% but just have some lingering mild symptoms.

And I agree about Tuesday's crossword! Definitely more tricky than usual for that part of the week.  I am not sure why it turned up there.  Good luck with yesterday's and today's.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 21, 2023, 09:02:29 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, and again I only donated one word: lull.  LOL.  ;-)

No luck on LB yesterday, but I got a 2fer today!

Sleep test is done.  Whether it got the data it needed or not, I don't know, but I think we did everything in our power to try to make it happen, and we did not get good sleep (though I'm sure it's better than sleeping in a lab).  Good thing we did it on a weekend.  Should get some info in a couple days, I guess. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 21, 2023, 09:15:26 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday for my final three words: lunula, unclutch, lacuna (my last word). I'm at QB today.

LB: I had topknots-seriously and tokens-spuriously. I found a 2fer right off the bat this morning, which almost never happens.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 21, 2023, 10:03:37 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word halt. Got hints for linkup-polyester, keynotes-spuriously.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 21, 2023, 12:25:36 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. QB yesterday, last word was cannula.

slipknots/surety

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 22, 2023, 08:55:42 AM
Good morning!

Got to past genius with pangram.  I think I have 3 or so words left.  Husband is down to 1.  Hopefully this will be like yesterday, where we each got QBABO! My final word was oozing.

And for LB I got the schmofficial hacking-glorious.  I feel like I'm close today.

Going to meet the youngest chucklehead for coffee later this morning.  We were up later than usual watching a longer movie, so I am dragging.  Definitely need to catch up on some sleep at some point.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 22, 2023, 09:09:11 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! I needed a 1L nudge to find my last two words, dioxin and dodging. Today I just made QB.

LB: I also had hacking-glorious as well as glorious-shacking. After a bit of a struggle, I found one today also.

Enjoy coffee with your youngest "chucklehead"!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 22, 2023, 10:02:51 AM
Morning!

GWP yesterday - saved QB for later with a friend I was going to see at a dinner party and we never got around to it.

LB - Lots of 3fers, 2fer b4ss and a few where it didn't take words I thought it should, such as kohls-surcharging, cloaking-grush.

Let's see how we do today. Already at GWP and 2fer b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 22, 2023, 04:46:43 PM
Evening!

QB. Last word yesterday was indigo.

rankings/slouch, glorious/shacking

Visiting family, so am on a long weekend. This is a once-a-year event because of the travel logistics of one of the members who has to fly in from another country. It was a lovely drive, with fall foliage the entire route.

ab_grp, hope you had a good coffee session.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 23, 2023, 06:48:46 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL for baaed, bank. I already had banked. LB - closest I got to the official was quinces-sat-topaz.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 23, 2023, 07:14:27 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help from my Bee list to find baaed and babka. Today I have two words to go.

LB: I had the "official" quiescent-topaz. And after much frustration, I found a 2fer today.

Enjoy your visit, Langue_doc! And the fall foliage!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 23, 2023, 07:24:27 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius or so with pangram so far.  Yesterday husband got to QBABH but had to give me some help so we could get on to dinner.  I needed ameba(e), bedded.

No luck on LB despite trying and trying.  Congrats, cathwen, and on another today!

I hope you have a nice time with your family, Langue_doc! I envy you people seeing the fall foliage.

Our coffee outing was fine, just a little noisy thanks to all the Sunday Harley riders.  All is well, though we are still unclear about whether anyone got their flu shot.  They did not get the covid vaccine yet but think they got their flu shot.  Well, they feel "emotionally" (?!) that they have recently gotten one, but it could have been last year.  Hello, has anyone approached your arm with a needle? How can you not remember? I guess this is why people call them kidults.  The overall conversation was good as usual.  It was nice to have a different coffee blend, too.  I had a dark blend that I can't recall the name of.  Husband had a medium Brazil blend.  Kid had some weird frozen matchalatte or some such.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 23, 2023, 04:39:37 PM
Evening!

Aargh! I posted earlier today, but my post seems to have disappeared--perhaps I forgot to hit the "Post" button?

Reposting: Pangram and above genius. I had to resort to BB to find the last word, amebae, which I distinctly remember typing and retyping at least four times to be informed that it was not on the bee's word list!

ab_grp, that's hilarious about the flu shot.

It rained most of today, but the colors are gorgeous even though the locals complain that due to the heavy rains this fall, the foliage isn't all that spectacular and that some of the trees are still turning. No complaints from my end!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 24, 2023, 06:01:19 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. QB yesterday, last word was mammogram--patted myself on the back for having remembered logroll.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 24, 2023, 06:14:14 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find aargh—which I thought had been a rejected word a few days ago—and hoorah. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but have nine words to go.

LB: I had the "official" supersized-detach. I have a 2fer today also.

Langue_doc, I agree that even "unspectacular" foliage is still beautiful! And ab_grp, that really is funny about the fuzziness about the flu shot!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 24, 2023, 06:28:16 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word logogram. Plus I learned how to properly spell aargh. LB ended up getting a hint for parachutes-sized.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 24, 2023, 06:40:31 AM
Good morning!

I'm a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we each had a word left of different lengths so decided to get our team QB and go home.  I needed horror yet again.  I had missed it often and then had found it a few times so thought my luck had turned.  Nope! I was patting myself on the back for logroll, too!

I had detach but didn't see supersized at all.  I was working on trapezius since that just left three letters, but I guess they weren't the right ones.  Congrats, cathwen, and on another one today! And congrats on a different one, ciao_yall!

Thanks about the flu shot story.  Each of the kidults has their own weirdnesses, of course, but this one really comes out with some head scratchers sometimes. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 25, 2023, 06:02:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. QB--last word was tedium.

There was snow on top of the mountains yesterday. I thought I was imagining things, but no, it was real snow due to a cold front passing through. There were hillsides covered with fall foliage, and snow on the peaks!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 25, 2023, 06:29:47 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word tumid. LB got a hint for program-mindful.

Not much puzzle time these days - new job fell out of the sky, and now I have a long commute in the car. I try to get a good start on the puzzles then think about them while driving.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 25, 2023, 06:43:03 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for tumid.

No luck on LB.  I had program but totally missed the -ful suffix availability!

Congratulations on your new job despite the commute, ciao_yall! That is a good time to think about puzzles, at least.

And enjoy all the amazing multi-seasonal views, Langue_doc! It's funny how different mountain tops can be from other weather.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 25, 2023, 07:42:36 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram, three words to go. Yesterday I needed help for tempi, tumid (a new word for me), and tutee, my last word, and one that I usually find fairly quickly.

LB: I had the "official" program-mindful. I have a 2fer today also.

Ciao_yall, congratulations on your new job, even if it does cut down on puzzle time! Langue_doc, enjoy your time in the mountains!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 26, 2023, 05:37:14 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram. Last word yesterday was the pangram with the not-really-helpful hint from BB.

There was a brief but heavy downpour Tuesday night, so the snow was gone when I looked at the peaks in the morning. Lovely drive back.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 26, 2023, 05:57:13 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday; it took me a good while to find the pangram. I was at QB-1 when the last word, vivified, suddenly popped into my head on the way home from a doctor's appointment. Today I have three words to go, but am stumped.

LB: I had catamount-tetchily. The second word was a wild guess, and I was surprised when it was accepted. No 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, that sounds like a lovely trip!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 26, 2023, 06:51:36 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL and a wild guess at felid. No 2fer here but a b4ss humiliation-nicely.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 26, 2023, 07:45:54 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I had sort of remember-guessed felid but needed help with doff(ed), feel.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen!

And no luck on LB despite much trying.  Congrats on your 2fer, cathwen!

I'm glad you had such a nice drive home, Langue_doc!

I tried out my new cpap last night (after spending a little time with it on during the afternoon) and did not sleep well at all, so I have to look at the data today and make some adjustments.  Husband thinks the pressure was too low, so I will hook up to his and try that pressure out for a few this afternoon.  Oh well.  I wore it for 4-5 hrs, but I just could not fall asleep since it felt like a struggle to breathe, then I fell asleep for an hour or two and then was up again for another hour or more.  I ended up finally taking it off and sleeping happily for a few more hours.  Feeling very tired today and more than a little depressed (I'm sure being tired doesn't help with that emotional regulation), but I will make some adjustments and have some other masks to try as well.

Anyway, I am behind on puzzles from doing too much work this week so am taking a me day, dammit.  Puzzle time!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 27, 2023, 06:50:51 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word cutout. LB no 2fer but several b4ss and 3fer solutions. I liked multitask-scorn

On my last try for Wordle this morning and totally stuck. Don't wanna blow the streak but it's not a long one so meh. Got it!

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 27, 2023, 07:44:57 AM
Good morning!

QBw1LH for coconut (which I always seem to miss) and toot, which I can't remember ever missing. Oh well! Today I have clawed my way to genius with four of the five (!!) pangrams. This is a sloggy one.

LB: I had romantic-clucks and romanticism-mukluk. I have a 2fer today also.

Congratulations on Wordle, ciao_yall! I haven't tried that yet today, but I did not do well on Connections.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2023, 09:20:05 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and great before leaving this morning. I'll probably get to genius, but that will need a magic wand. Last words were moth, month.

ab_grp, the CPAP takes quite a bit of adjusting. Do you have the nasal pillows or the thingy that covers your nose entirely so that you can't sneeze, cough, or take a sip of water? I couldn't get used to the latter, so tried the nasal pillows and have gotten comfortable (hah!) with it. The pillows come in different sizes, so you might want to see which size would be appropriate for your face. As for the pressure, that needs to be set by the physician based on your sleep study, so I would recommend talking to the doctor, the assistant, or even the CPAP supply company (which usually has an employee who can advise you on pressure). I recall during one of my medical appointments for an entirely unrelated issue in a different practice, the physician's assistant who also uses a CPAP suggested that I get used to it by wearing it in the evening while watching TV or reading, so you might also try to wear it before going to bed. PM me if you need more details.

Hope you had a better night!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2023, 01:42:09 PM
Good morning/afternoon!

I have all the pangrams and am a bit past genius.  Still a ways to go.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for concoct.

No luck on LB yet again. Congrats on two 2fers, cathwen!! And another today!

Langue_doc, I think I have the same mask (nasal pillows) you mentioned in a previous post (P10, but not "for her"... that might have smaller nasal pillows? a "for her" is coming next week).  I have a couple others to try, and one is like you said that covers the whole nose area.  I saw one online today that some Redditors recommended that doesn't have straps that looks interesting.  Last night was not great again.  I guess a lot of people have trouble falling asleep with it on, and I guess I am one of them.  I wish I were one of the lucky who just take right to it.  I'm going to try to experiment some more this weekend when I have a chance to sleep in but had to get up for a meeting this morning.  :-( When I get further into my experimentation I might PM you, so thank you for the offer!

Anyway, I am clearly way behind on puzzles again but am going to try to take the rest of the day pretty easy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2023, 02:42:41 PM
Above genius, but that's it for today.

ab_grp, these are the nasal pillows https://cpapsupplies.com/swift-fx-nasal-pillows-by-resmed
They come in several sizes, from XS through L. As for the "for her" the only difference is the color, according to the medical assistant who was ordering my supplies. They usually send you one of each size, so see which one fits properly (without any leakage) and is also comfortable (no soreness).
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 27, 2023, 02:56:42 PM
Langue_doc, sorry I am sleepless-addled! I got them mixed up.  That one that you just linked to is the one I ordered that is getting here next Wednesday.  The one I got with my machine the other day and that I have been using is the Resmed Airfit P10: https://www.thecpapshop.com/resmed-airfit-p10-nasal-pillow-cpap-masks  That also comes in a "for her" but might also just be the color.  The one I got had 3 sizes of nasal pillows with it.  Sorry about that! I actually ordered the one you linked to first, but the other supplier was much quicker on the draw.  Anyway, I am looking forward to trying that one when it gets here.  The one my husband had that he said I could try is this one, but it looks like it's a full mask, and I am not that interested to try that one.  He had seal issues with it, in any case.  https://www.thecpapshop.com/fisher-paykel-evora-full-face-cpap-mask-with-headgear
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 27, 2023, 03:16:44 PM
ab_grp, I think both versions of the nasal pillows are almost identical. The full mask for me was a torture chamber as I couldn't put on my glasses over it to read. The nasal pillows mask has a much longer cord (at least compared to the full mask) so I can move around, reach for things, and also drink water if I need to. The full mask that I tried was larger than the one in your picture so masks seem to have evolved. Good luck with getting used to the masks. I had a very patient doctor who was more concerned about insurance--if you don't use your mask for the required number of hours every week or month, it might not be covered by insurance. He was also very helpful with suggestions because he uses a mouthguard sort of thingy for his sleep apnea. The mouthguard has to be measured and fitted by a dentist, so I'm much happier with the CPAP. I'll be away all day tomorrow, so will not see your update until evening. Happy sleeping!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 28, 2023, 08:32:48 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word oniony which I should have tried before resorting to hints. LB croquet-taxiway. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 28, 2023, 08:58:12 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but still no idea about the pangram.  Husband doesn't have it either.  Yesterday we made it to team QB, but I needed a few: anionic, oilcan, oniony, maybe a few others.

No luck on LB yet again.  Congrats, ciao_yall, and on another today!

Langue_doc, thanks! It was somewhat better last night after some adjustments to my whole set up and having lower expectations about usage time.  I was able to fall asleep with it and sleep for a bit with it, so that is good progress.  I do look forward to trying the other masks to see if they feel a little more like normal breathing, but it was much better in that regard last night as well.  Baby steps! I slept in a bit but am going to need some time to adjust to all this.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 28, 2023, 11:01:16 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with more help than I'd like to admit. But once I found clinic, several other word suddenly became apparent. Oniony was a wild guess. My last word was niacin, which I usually see. Sigh... Today I made QB, but it took me ages to find the pangram.

LB: I had the "official" croquet-taxiway. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 28, 2023, 06:19:40 PM
Genius before leaving this morning, but no pangram. Missed a few words yesterday--I distinctly remember typing laconically and nonclinical several times, but somehow the bee seems to have ignored them.

ab_grp, slow and steady wins the race!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 29, 2023, 07:00:28 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. I haven't had the energy to see what I missed in yesterday's bee.

The weather was lovely yesterday, as was the outdoors event I had organized with one of my event partners. It was a longish trip to the meeting place, but was worth it. One of the participants noted that we had covered five miles. This was a stop-and-look at certain places along the route, in a scenic outdoor setting, so everyone was glad to get out of the city in addition to seeing the "sights".

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 29, 2023, 07:19:57 AM
Good morning!

I got to QB with one letter help yesterday for the last two words, untune and ennui. Today I made QBABM!

LB: photos-sunbeamy. I was leery of the second word, but it was accepted. I have a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, yesterday was such a warm, beautiful day, perhaps the last—or one of the last—warm days of the season. Your event sounded dreamy.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 29, 2023, 07:35:27 AM
Morning!

QBwH because it turned out I didn't have incite which I could have sworn I put in. LB ambush-honeypot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 29, 2023, 09:26:16 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but no pangram again! I needed help with that one yesterday.  I just couldn't see it.  Then when husband gave me enough hints to get it, I couldn't spell it.  He found today's, so hopefully I can get it without help at some point.  I also needed help on niece.  We got team QB, though.  Congrats on QBABY again, cathwen! And I wanted to also say I am super impressed about your QBABY the other day! Whew.  That takes persistence. 

I did get a 2fer yesterday despite forgetting about it! butanes-symphony.  I don't have one yet today but feel close.  Congrats on yours yesterday and today, cathwen! And on yours, ciao_yall! All different ones.

Langue_doc, that sounds like such a wonderful outing.  I'm so glad that the weather held up after so many weekends of rain outs and that your event went well!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 30, 2023, 06:20:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was banal.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 30, 2023, 06:20:37 AM
Morning!

QBwH for libidinal. LB catchup-physiology.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 30, 2023, 06:40:25 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! Last word was libidinal.

For LB I got catsup-physiology.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 30, 2023, 06:55:52 AM
Good morning!

Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! I got there, too, with last word bindi. Today I am at QB-1 and totally stumped.

LB: I had catsup-philology. Found a quick 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on October 31, 2023, 06:30:18 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, wild guess at gawp, gawping. LB kiwi-incorporative.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on October 31, 2023, 07:28:34 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for dumb papaw.  Fooled again!

For LB I finally got provocation-network after having the first word or variations thereof (plus plenty of other reasonable contenders) all day.  Took forever to find that mate for some reason! Congrats on yours, ciao_yall!

Happy solving! (and Happy Halloween if you celebrate!)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on October 31, 2023, 01:43:59 PM
Afternoon!

Easy QB. Last words yesteday were wigwag, wigwagging, which I fortuitously remembered before agonizing over the missing points.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on October 31, 2023, 03:06:23 PM
Good evening!

QB yesterday with papaw as my last word, found with 2L help. QB-3 today so far.

LB: I had the "official" provocation-network. No 2fer yet today, despite many good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2023, 07:39:16 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM with iota as my final word.

I am so mad about LB! I had zombie and kept trying zombiefied.  Never tried it without that middle e.  Dangit!!!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 01, 2023, 10:07:29 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word atilt. After going in circles with 3fers, finally went for a hint to get zombified-drunk. Gah. Is that a word?

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 01, 2023, 11:43:46 AM
Good afternoon!

It was a busy day yesterday, but finally got my last words with 2LL help: atilt, loyally, laity. QBABM today!

LB: No 2fer yesterday! I had modernized, feminized, and others I can't remember, but zombified never occurred to me (although I did see zombie). Today I found a 2fer fairly quickly.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 01, 2023, 02:00:11 PM
Afternoon!

Two pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was lava.

My brain's been in a muddle ever since I got back from my short trip. On Monday I was convinced that it was Halloween, and was surprised to see no activity on the street or my doorbell. DST does not bode well this year.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 01, 2023, 03:33:41 PM
Cathwen, congrats on your QBABY and 2fer!

I also managed to get a 2fer today, but I have 4 words left on the bee.

Langue_doc, sorry to hear about your calendar woes! I hope the time change goes more smoothly than you expect.  It is always an adjustment.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 02, 2023, 06:23:47 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB to remember headland, hennaed, peahen. LB freakish-hangdog.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 02, 2023, 06:40:50 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. QB yesterday--last words were head, headed.

ab_grp, hope your CPAP is behaving!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 02, 2023, 07:05:13 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, but today is a little slower. Last word yesterday was aleph.

LB: I also had freakish-hangdog. I have one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 02, 2023, 07:43:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QB-2 but got no help from husband, and we needed help from bee buddy for daphne, headland.  Not sure I will ever get those two.  Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc and cathwen!

For LB I also got freakish-hangdog.

Langue_doc, thanks! I am focusing on at least just using it each night and seem to be able to get through at least a sleep cycle.  Hopefully seeing some improvements and getting more comfortable over time will extend the usage time.  I also have to try the new masks.  It's definitely an adjustment.  At least I've got a good compromise for now that lets me use it but also get some sleep.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 03, 2023, 04:55:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. QB yesterday--last word was tock.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 03, 2023, 06:24:42 AM
Morning!

QBwH for callalo, cloak, cocci. I finally got to LB later in the day and the screen was white, not salmon colored! Gah. Anyway got a hint for chopsticks-savage.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2023, 06:42:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with cloak, toccata.  Usually get both of those.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc!

Argh about LB again! I had chapstick(s) and savage.  Could apparently not make the leap with the first word.  Ugh!!

Ciao_yall, I noticed that my LB screen was white this morning! And now the letters change from black to red when I use them.  Hmm!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 03, 2023, 08:03:13 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help from my Bee list to find callaloo, toolkit. Then I had one word left—and it came to me while I was making the bed. Cockatoo! Funny how that sometimes happens. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but missing a 4L word that I just can't get. Four letters! It should be obvious.

LB: I had vestiges-spatchcock. I had just been reading an article about spatchcocking a turkey, so I guess the word was in my mind. No 2fer yet today, despite some good candidates.

I have not had any color changes in my LB screen—I wonder what's going on?

Anyway—happy puzzling!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 03, 2023, 08:11:57 AM
Oh dang! I also had vestige(s).  Congrats, cathwen! And the color hasn't changed on my computer, just on my phone, both on the web and in the app.  The whole page is white, but the square is a really light pink, almost too light to see.  The loading screen (where it says "Letter Boxed" and "Create words using letters around the square.") is still that salmon color.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 04, 2023, 03:50:36 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I just realized that I never got back to the bee after posting here yesterday.

Twofer, but have to look up the words.

Bird walk today, after several cancellations.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 04, 2023, 07:17:07 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1L help to find julienne and lieu (last word). Today I am beyond genius with the pangram (which took me a while to find).

LB: No 2fer yesterday! I had aquatics, but did not see shrewd. I do have a 2fer today, though.

Langue_doc, enjoy your bird walk! Finally, a nice weekend!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 04, 2023, 08:42:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius so far with pangram, but I'm not sure where the remaining words are.  Yesterday I got to QBABM with lieu as final word.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on yours today, cathwen! And on yours, Langue_doc!

And I hope you enjoy your bird walk and nice weather, Langue_doc! We had a variety of birds this morning.  The past couple days we have been visited by a very chatty ruby-crowned kinglet.

I woke up to the scent of lima bean soup cooking in the crockpot! Husband decided to make some, especially since I love it and have never gotten around to making it.  Now bacon has also been cooked, so the house smells pretty darned good, and I am ready for breakfast, even if it's just cereal and fruit.  It's warmed up a bit from a few days ago, but it's still chilly enough that some soup for lunch sounds good!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 04, 2023, 09:23:42 AM
Morning!

QBwH for venule, julienne. After being quite proud of a 2fer b4ss quadratic-chews, got a nudge to realize I was already pretty close and found acquatics-shrewd.

GwP and 2fer this morning. Let's see what the day brings.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 05, 2023, 09:06:33 AM
Good morning (or afternoon depending on whether or not you're happy about he time change)!

QB today and yesterday. Last word was kibble, which I tried out of desperation, convinced that it was a brand name for cat or dog food.

homelike/extras, and squad/ditchwater the day before

Happy solving, and happy adjusting to the sun setting before dinnertime!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 05, 2023, 09:14:00 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word belie. LB elixirs-shotmaker.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 05, 2023, 10:02:21 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far (plus a bit).  Yesterday I got to QB-2 but needed help from husband for booboo (suddenly?) and bee buddy for biome.

For LB after I finally saw the first word I got milkshake-exterior.  Congrats, ciao_yall and Langue_doc!

And congrats on QB already, Langue_doc! I hope that means that you are adjusting to the time difference better than you expected to, though I know it can take a while to work through the kinks.  It was nice to have the sun up when I woke up this morning, but the dark afternoon is not something I'm looking forward to.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 05, 2023, 11:53:02 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw1LH yesterday for the last words, bookie and immobile. Today I'm at genius with both pangrams, but a little way to go to QB. Congratulations, Langue_doc, on QB already!

LB: I had homelike-extras, then milkshake-extort. No 2fer so far today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 06, 2023, 04:29:52 AM
Good morning!

I think I have just one word left. I hate the repetitive ones; the puzzle setters must be too lazy to come up with other letters.

Last word was tonging, which I didn't think was a word, but tried it just in case.

embryos/sulpha

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 06, 2023, 06:30:18 AM
Morning!

QBwH for tonight. /facepalm. LB shlump-paperboy, hop-presumably.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 06, 2023, 07:44:39 AM
Good morning!

Got to past genius with all the pangrams so far.  Good luck, Langue_doc! Yesterday we almost had team QB (I was also missing tonight) but needed bee buddy help for idiot, appropriately.

No luck on LB despite a lot of trying.  Congrats, Langue_doc and ciao_yall (x2)!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 06, 2023, 07:53:58 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with SBB help to find dhoti. Today I'm at genius with all four pangrams, four words to go.

LB: I had really goofy words: superboys-shambly. My hat is off to those who found more sensible solutions. I have a sensible solution today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 07, 2023, 07:38:47 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word haute. LB got a hint for playwright-tux.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 07, 2023, 08:04:46 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to past genius so far.  Yesterday I almost made it to QB but couldn't find haute, which we needed bee buddy for. 

No luck on LB.  I couldn't see anything besides luxury.  Too many letters left over! Hopefully today will be different.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 07, 2023, 10:05:06 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw1LH to find my last words, deadhead/ed. I always seem to miss that one! Today I got to QB, albeit with a little nudge from SBB for my last word.

LB: I had the "official" playwright-tux. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 07, 2023, 11:46:06 AM
Afternoon!

QB. Missed ethane yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 08, 2023, 03:45:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Last word yesterday was motet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 08, 2023, 04:57:51 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1LH to find the last word, mentee, which I often miss. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but I have a good way to go to QB.

LB: I had the "official" meadow-wrathful. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 08, 2023, 06:40:06 AM
Morning!

QBABM! Last word motet. LB meadow-worthful which I thought I made up but hey, it took.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 08, 2023, 07:48:37 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM with last word monte.

And I also had meadow-wrathful for LB!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 09, 2023, 06:18:32 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram. Last word yesterday was the pangram--go figure!

compliance/every, provincial/lamprey

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 09, 2023, 06:35:32 AM
Morning!

QBwH for bicyclic which I thought I tried? And cicely was a wild guess. LB complainer-rivalry.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 09, 2023, 09:59:11 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for cicely, which I don't think we will ever find on our own.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats Langue_doc (x2!) and ciao_yall!

I had calls with friends/mentors yesterday afternoon and this morning and actually applied for a job yesterday so have been busy but am looking forward to (hopefully) more puzzle time today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 09, 2023, 05:51:59 PM
Good evening!

QB yesterday, but not without help. Last word, which I probably never would have gotten on my own, was cicely. QB today.

LB: I had overlap-pyromanic. Congratulations on two different ones, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 10, 2023, 07:24:08 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was, once again, the pangram.

jurisprudent/tax

Sending good wishes for the job application, ab_grp!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 10, 2023, 07:42:42 AM
Good morning!

I think I am at QB-3 with pangram so am crossing my fingers.  Yesterday I almost got to QBABM but needed help on nucleon.  Dang it! Husband got to QBABH.  He has also been struggling with the pangrams recently.

I also had jurisprudent-tax!

Thank you very much about the job, Langue_doc! I haven't really done this in a very long time, though I have been on the other end of it, so it's quite daunting.  I figure it will be good to get some practice, in any case.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 10, 2023, 09:17:55 AM
Morning!

QBwH for uncool. LB got a nudge for jurisprudent-tax but a quick 6-9 this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 10, 2023, 04:04:05 PM
Good evening!

Like ab_grp, I was at QB-1 but needed a 1L nudge for nucleon, my last word.  Today I got to QBABM!

LB: I also had jurisprudent-tax. I have a 2fer today also.

Good luck with the job application, ab_grp!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 11, 2023, 07:38:31 AM
Morning!

QBwG to try alack. I was thinking about it but guess I didn't think it was a word until I tried it. LB shouts-scrimping.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 11, 2023, 08:22:17 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday! Last word was alack. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but have a good many words to go. I think that SBB may be in my future.

LB: I had grunts-sophomoric. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 11, 2023, 08:52:39 AM
Good morning!

I'm past genius with pangram so far but still have something like 7 words left.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM with last word haka, which was sort of a faintly remembered guess.  That last word took me most of the day.

For LB I got cost-triumphing.  Congrats on all the solutions!

And thanks for the good wishes, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 11, 2023, 02:02:42 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were hake, haka, both of which I found by arranging and rearranging the letters.

chimp/posturing

We had gorgeous weather with the right temperatures for our walk this morning. I've led walks here before, but today's seemed special, due to a combination of the participants' attitudes, the location, and the weather. I might not get to scheduling walks until some time in Spring, so today's event was a treat for me too.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 12, 2023, 08:03:35 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word loonie. LB got a nudge for viewpoint-truly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 12, 2023, 08:14:02 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB also—last word negligee. Today I'm at QB-3.

LB: I found the "official" viewpoint-truly. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 12, 2023, 10:29:24 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we also needed bee buddy for loonie.

No luck on LB! Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Langue_doc, it sounds like a fabulous outing all around! Glad you got to enjoy it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 12, 2023, 12:01:00 PM
Afternoon!

QB yesterday and today, but needed BB for loonie and google for noogie.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 13, 2023, 04:16:29 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word was timeline.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 13, 2023, 05:41:25 AM
Morning!

QBwH for lenient. LB had 3fers and 2fer b4ss, finally went to hints for myalgic-charwoman, myalgia-anchorwoman, magnolia-archway.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 13, 2023, 07:42:23 AM
Good morning!

Finally dragged myself to genius after getting the pangram right away.  Yesterday we needed help with linnet.  Forgot about that one.

And I also did not get a solution for LB!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 13, 2023, 08:25:17 AM
Good morning!

Got to QB-1 yesterday then caved and went to SBB to find nimble, which I should have seen. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: No luck yesterday! But I found a 2fer today on the very first try.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 14, 2023, 05:14:05 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Last word was goofily.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 14, 2023, 05:15:19 AM
Morning!

QBwH for lorry, logroll. Also needed hints for backup-promotion.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 14, 2023, 07:36:49 AM
Good morning!

I got all the way to QB-1 then needed a hint for the last word, logroll. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: I found backup-promotion right off the bat yesterday. But today is another story—no 2fer yet.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 14, 2023, 07:46:02 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I had to give up on my final word, but we had team QB.  I was also missing logroll (again).

For LB I finally got bankrupt-tombic after having the first word forever and finally brute forcing a mate.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 15, 2023, 05:17:49 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word needed. LB invariably-yachts.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 15, 2023, 05:59:47 AM
Good morning!

Almost QB. Last word yesterday was yenned. Remembered logroll from an earlier puzzle for the previous day's bee, so was patting myself on the back for having recalled the word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 15, 2023, 06:39:22 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find deepen/ed. Today I am at genius with the pangram, but have a little way to go.

LB: After much hair-tearing, I finally found invariably-yachts. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 15, 2023, 08:42:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! My final word was netty, but also coming later were a couple that I really should have found earlier, like depend(ed).

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 16, 2023, 05:30:54 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to remember teetotal. LB wealthier-reformed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 16, 2023, 06:27:45 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL to find falloff. Today I'm at QB-1 and stuck.

LB: I also had wealthier-reformed. Were there other solutions? No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 16, 2023, 07:43:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams today.  Good luck with your final word, cathwen! Yesterday we had team QB.  I almost made it alone but was missing falloff, moola.  Just could not see them.

No luck on LB! Congratulations to both of you!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 16, 2023, 11:32:13 AM
Afternoon!

Above genius with the pangrams. Last word was tootle.

flatworm/methide

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 17, 2023, 05:33:33 AM
Good morning!

QB--all familiar words today. Last words yesterday were natant, tiptop. It takes me forever to find the former, despite having encountered it in numerous puzzles.

marquis/sandbox

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 17, 2023, 05:41:23 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word pandit. Use that in a sentence today. LB marquis-sandbox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 17, 2023, 07:51:30 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for pandit.

I also got marquis-sandbox.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 17, 2023, 08:03:48 AM
Good morning!

This is embarrassing—I got to QB-1 yesterday, and couldn't for the life of me find the last word. I went to SBB for hints only to realize that the word was......tattoo. I always get that! I can't imagine why I didn't see it yesterday. I even got pandit, but only by accident.

Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: Also marquis-sandbox. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 18, 2023, 08:08:03 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was quinine.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 18, 2023, 09:53:34 AM
Good afternoon!

Last word yesterday was queuing. I thought I had already tried that, but I guess not! Today I have a few words to go. Not sure where they're coming from.

LB: No solution yesterday! I do have one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 18, 2023, 10:03:49 AM
Morning!

LB needed hints for quieten, queuing - darn those alternative spellings! LB metabolic-chokey.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 18, 2023, 10:37:31 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I'm a bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday husband got QBABH, but I was missing quieten, queuing (thought I had tried the latter).

No luck on LB.  Congrats on your interesting one, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 19, 2023, 07:57:09 AM
Good morning!

Past genius, no pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with peace(able).

For LB I got grouper-refraction first thing in the morning and then totally forgot about it until I tried to solve LB again later.  Good thing I take screenshots!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 19, 2023, 08:17:37 AM
Morning!

QbwG, last word peep. LB perfection-nougat, forger-recuperation.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 19, 2023, 09:45:26 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw2LH to find peep(!), palpable,and pleb, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, which took me a long time to find.

LB: I first found unperfection-nag, but I thought the first word was iffy, so I looked again and found forger-recuperation. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 19, 2023, 12:14:46 PM
Afternoon!

QB. Last word yesterday was keepable.

purger/refraction

Went on a bird walk--good company, but not too many birds. No more getting up at the crack of dawn to go birding as it messes up the rest of my day.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 20, 2023, 06:32:24 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL realized at the end I never entered decode, decoded. LB needed a nudge for soundtrack-klutz. Darn compound words get me every time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 20, 2023, 06:52:58 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL do find condone/d and codon, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

No 2fer yesterday, although I did find klutz, sound, and track at various points, but never put them together. I do have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 20, 2023, 08:34:47 AM
Good morning!

At genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I finally got the pangram on my own! We almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for nonce.

After lutz being the only z word I could find all day, I finally thought of klutz and managed to figure out soundtrack from the remaining letters (after first being sad that all I could come up with was soundrack, geez). 

I'm glad you had a good outing, Langue_doc, even if not too many birds showed themselves.  Not getting up at the crack of dawn sounds like a great idea to me!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 20, 2023, 09:59:42 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangram right away, and then it was a slog to get to genius. Last word yesterday was neocon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 21, 2023, 05:28:22 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Needed BB for highchair.

autograph/highlife, grapefruit/telephoto

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 21, 2023, 06:32:09 AM
Morning!

QBwH for paragraph. Gah. LB fraugh-heliotrope which I thought I made up. Turns out fraugh is a mild oath from the 16th century.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 21, 2023, 08:01:48 AM
Good morning!

I also needed help to find highchair yesterday. Today I'm at QB-2 and utterly befuddled.

LB: I had grapefruit-teleport. It might be kind of fun to teleport grapefruit! Ciao-yall, I think I'm going to add fraugh to my vocabulary.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 21, 2023, 08:13:30 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy help for carpi.  I guess trying capri all day didn't job anything.

No luck on LB.  Congrats on all the solutions! I am sure I will have an occasion to use fraugh this holiday!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 22, 2023, 05:06:23 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Don't recall last word, but did make it to genius yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 22, 2023, 06:42:16 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LLH yesterday to find gnat, gavage, and gadget, my last word. Today I'm at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I had objectifier-raphe, a word tried in desperation that took. It is "a groove, ridge, or seam on an organ tissue." I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 22, 2023, 06:59:33 AM
Morning!

QB-1 then got distracted. Was missing gadget. The streak ends! LB fajita-acrophobe.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 22, 2023, 08:59:50 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius but just one pangram so far.  Husband has both.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I was missing gavage, vegged.

No luck on LB.  Congrats on your solutions (and on another new word, cathwen!).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 23, 2023, 07:31:21 AM
Happy Thanksgiving!

But not to the folks at the NYT Spelling Bee section, because today of all days is the day chosen for one of the most timeconsuming puzzles ever. I guess they think we're all eating at restaurants!

Sending good wishes for happy company, conversation, and consumables.

Amazing, I think with 2 pangrams. QB yesterday with BB.

geometric/compound

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 23, 2023, 08:05:24 AM
Happy Thanksgiving!

Our plans got cancelled - host's houseguest got COVID but that's fine - gives us more time to prepare for our big party tomorrow.

QBw2LL, last word noonday. LB geometric-compound.

Still slogging through the Bee but have a 2fer already.

Thankful for our little corner of the internet that I enjoy with coffee every morning!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 23, 2023, 10:13:37 AM
Good morning!

I think I'm at 5 pangrams and past genius so far.  I agree, Langue_doc, strange day to make such a gigantic puzzle.  But at least the usually tricky Thursday crossword was easier than usual.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for rani, which I thought I had tried.

No luck on LB again! Congrats on your solutions! And congrats on one today, ciao_yall! Sorry to hear about today's plans.

I was thinking that the Merlin app should be hilarious and put a turkey in the heard birds list for everyone in the US today.  Maybe I am the only who would find that hilarious.

We had lunch with youngest and partner yesterday, meeting the latter for the first time.  She seems very nice and likes to cook, so that is an interesting pairing.  They will be coming for dinner tomorrow night and Saturday night.  Today we are having our own Thanksgiving dinner with Cornish game hens, stuffing, and bagna cauda brussels.  And wine, of course! Can't wait. 

I am so thankful for all of you as well and look forward to visiting here every day.  :-)

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 24, 2023, 08:18:42 AM
Morning!

Actually, it was fine. Got ahead of cleaning and preparing for today's party. Except after carving my turkey there wasn't as much meat as I expected. Tempted to pop out and roast yet another turkey breast so there is plenty for sandwiches. But husband will kill me - he's already annoyed because he thinks I bought too much tonic water.

QBwH for panacea - gah. LB guarantors-smokey.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 24, 2023, 10:07:09 AM
Good morning!

I'm at QB-1 right now.  I hope to get the final word, but our dinner guests arrive at 5, and I'm not sure if we'll have time to compare and etc.  We'll see.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for epicene.

No luck on LB.  Congrats, ciao_yall! Good luck with your party!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 24, 2023, 10:26:20 AM
Good morning!

QB. Made it past genius yesterday.

Went birding--I was the only person on the trails, and the birds were unusually quiet. Saw a crow in the parking lot, a hairy woodpecker, and a few other birds that are common in this area.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 24, 2023, 03:53:35 PM
Good evening!

We're visiting Oldest Daughter, and Middle Daughter and her family are also here—so not much puzzle time. Yesterday I got to genius, but not far beyond. Today I am also at genius, but no pangram yet. This might be as far as I get today.

LB: I had mortgages-skunky yesterday. No 2fer yet today.

A belated Happy Thanksgiving! Ciao_yall, enjoy your party!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 25, 2023, 08:37:04 AM
Morning!

QBwH for automata, tomcat. LB got hints for whelm-multiplayer which I never would have gotten on my own. But a quick 2fer today so all is right with the world again.

Leftover party went well - great to see old friends and new friends hitting it off! But now we have leftover leftovers. Might have a friend over later who couldn't make it to the party to help us work down the pile.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 25, 2023, 10:23:59 AM
Good morning!

Got to somewhere past genius with the pangrams so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! I think my final word was cutoff.

No luck on LB yet again! Congrats on your solutions!

We had a shortened puzzle day trying to get ready to have our dinner guests.  It went well, but I am really not that up for visitors right now with the "sleep therapy" still settling in slowly.  It's always interesting (and sometimes stressful) hearing what these not-completely-independent kidults have been up to and planning that we had no idea about.  One more night of hosting, and then tomorrow I shall rest. 

Hope you are enjoying your visit, cathwen!

And glad to hear your leftover party was a smash, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 25, 2023, 10:47:02 AM
Afternoon.

Pangrams and above genius. I know I had QB yesterday, but am still in vacation mode, so don't have the energy to review the list.

Went birding.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 25, 2023, 02:29:57 PM
Good evening!

I never did finish SB yesterday; afoot, coca,and tomcat were my remaining words. Today I have five words to go.

LB: No 2fer yesterday, and none yet today.

We just got home after a very, very slow drive that took about an hour and a half longer than it should have due to heavy traffic. We had a great time, not only with daughters, their spouses, and our grandson, but also with the two dogs and two cats who provided constant entertainment. But it's good to be home.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 26, 2023, 08:22:11 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB to realize I had overlooked minimum. LB excavator-refigure.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 26, 2023, 08:34:40 AM
Good morning!

Back home and back to normal today. Yesterday I hurriedly finished with 2LL help to find immunizing, luging, miming, niggling, and my last word, gigging. QB-2 today.

LB: No solution yesterday, but I found one fairly quickly today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 26, 2023, 10:23:12 AM
Good morning!

Past genius but with only one pangram so far.  Yesterday we finally got to compare after the guests left, and we had team QB. 

No luck on LB, though I had excavator and guess I just didn't have time to try anything with it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 27, 2023, 05:47:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Made it to just above genius yesterday. Had a twofer either yesterday or the day before.

Back home, which is nice.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 27, 2023, 06:12:53 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find attagirl, my last word. Today I only have a few words to go, but am stumped.

LB: I first had telegrams-squint, then realized that squint-telegram also worked. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 27, 2023, 06:26:27 AM
Morning!

QBwH for athriglia. LB quartile-enigmas. Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 27, 2023, 08:09:56 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for arthralgia, lariat, tali.

No luck on LB yet again.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 28, 2023, 03:46:29 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words yesterday were chai and naan.

tabletops/switch, ops/switchable (found the latter first, and much to my surprise the former turned out to be a real word)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 28, 2023, 06:07:34 AM
Morning!

QbwH for indicia. New word. Look at how smart I'm getting. LB chipotles-swab.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 28, 2023, 08:32:29 AM
Good morning!

Also QBwH to find indicia. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: politics-switchable and twitch-hospitable. Lots of solutions this time! No 2fer yet today, despite some excellent candidates.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 28, 2023, 09:40:41 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I almost made it to QB but gave up after trying to find a 5-letter word for hours when I actually needed a 6 (niacin).  I need to be more careful when I wake up and write the totals down! At least we had team QB.

And I finally got a 2fer, which-hospitable.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 29, 2023, 05:07:31 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius. Last word yesterday was brava.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 29, 2023, 06:37:07 AM
Morning!

QBwH for barraging, bargain(ing). LB was quite proud of a 3fer moire-eye-evangelize then finally went for hits to get gizmo-overanalyze. Those compounds get me every time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 29, 2023, 06:51:41 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find garbing and barraging, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: No luck yesterday! I was looking for something to go with evangelize(r) or generalize(r), but without success. However, I do have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 29, 2023, 08:02:08 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday we needed help with ragbag again.

No luck on LB again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 30, 2023, 05:35:05 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word was donned.

public/cormorant

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on November 30, 2023, 07:17:18 AM
Good morning!

QB with last word (thanks to SBB) odeon. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram, but have a long way to go to QB.

LB: I had complicit-turban. I found one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on November 30, 2023, 07:20:28 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word donee. LB cupola-abominator which I thought I made up but realized that working in public sector higher ed I see a lot of that in action.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on November 30, 2023, 07:40:40 AM
Good morning!

Finally got the pangram but not quite to genius yet.  I had given up early in favor of completing the crossword first because I wasn't making headway.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for donee, dunno.

For LB I finally found probiotic-columnar after a lot of tries.  Lots of solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on November 30, 2023, 12:32:27 PM
QB, thanks to Google.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 01, 2023, 04:54:36 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. I had to resort to google to find the last word, which I suspect would be unfamiliar to most people because of it is a very specific geographic connotation. Words that are more common are routinely rejected, such as candida not too long ago.

Found a twofer right away, so it must be the official solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 01, 2023, 06:36:00 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find carioca, imitator, and trattoria, my last word. I only found carioca by looking at hints and using Google.

LB: I had the "official" vowel-lifeguard. I found one today also fairly quickly.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 01, 2023, 06:41:31 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for carioca which is a proper noun, dadgummit. LB after swirling around 3fers finally got a nudge for vowel-lifeguard. Darn compounds get me every time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 01, 2023, 07:52:05 AM
Good morning!

Not quite to genius yet and no pangram.  I jumped out early to do the crossword again.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for carioca, which I thought might be the word but couldn't remember for the life of me.  Maybe one day we will remember it! They don't take cria either, though I try each time.  I also tried cacciatori, which seems to be a plural of cacciatore.  Though it comes from a proper noun, I would think it might be acceptable.  Oh well!

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2023, 06:12:45 AM
Good morning!

QB with help for the last word. Last words yesterday were tubeful, boffo, courtesy of BB.

knights/sprawl

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 02, 2023, 07:20:52 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for étouffée. Today I have three words to go. 

LB: I also had the "official" knights-sprawl. I finally found a 2fer today, after some frustration.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 02, 2023, 08:18:52 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to realize I was missing feel. Gah. LB knights-sprawl.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2023, 10:15:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help with teff (again).

For LB I got a different one: twinkling-graphs.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!

ETA: Oh yeah! I meant to complain about LB from 2 days ago.  I had a solution that involved lavalier, and they wouldn't accept it, but I am counting it.  Can't remember the other word right now, but I was so excited to finally get a 2fer...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 02, 2023, 10:37:36 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2023, 10:15:22 AMETA: Oh yeah! I meant to complain about LB from 2 days ago.  I had a solution that involved lavalier, and they wouldn't accept it, but I am counting it.  Can't remember the other word right now, but I was so excited to finally get a 2fer...

We need to come up with our own rules which would be probably be far less arbitrary than those used by the NYT😃!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 02, 2023, 12:37:45 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 02, 2023, 10:37:36 AM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 02, 2023, 10:15:22 AMETA: Oh yeah! I meant to complain about LB from 2 days ago.  I had a solution that involved lavalier, and they wouldn't accept it, but I am counting it.  Can't remember the other word right now, but I was so excited to finally get a 2fer...

We need to come up with our own rules which would be probably be far less arbitrary than those used by the NYT😃!

Count me in!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2023, 06:19:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius.

Just realized that I missed hamachi yesterday. I wasn't even aware that I didn't make it to QB. Needed help with chimichanga, which I thought was my last word. Oh, well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 03, 2023, 07:57:39 AM
Good morning!

I thought I had QB yesterday, with last word chimichanga (thanks to SBB hints). However, after reading Langue_doc's post, I did not remember getting himachi—and there it was in my word list as not found. Huh. I do seem to remember the Queen Bee screen coming up, but perhaps I was hallucinating. Anyway—today I am at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I had the "official" bacterium-maximized. I found a 2fer today also. Oh, and yes for our own rules!

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2023, 08:02:21 AM
Morning!

Apparently there was a bug fix announced during the day regarding the word hamachi.

Not a lot of puzzle time so got hints for caiman, minicam which I should have gotten. And bacterium-mazimized. I already had rectum-maximized-dub so close but no cigar.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2023, 08:02:38 AM
Quote from: cathwen on December 03, 2023, 07:57:39 AMGood morning!

I thought I had QB yesterday, with last word chimichanga (thanks to SBB hints). However, after reading Langue_doc's post, I did not remember getting himachi—and there it was in my word list as not found. Huh. I do seem to remember the Queen Bee screen coming up, but perhaps I was hallucinating. Anyway—today I am at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I had the "official" bacterium-maximized. I found a 2fer today also. Oh, and yes for our own rules!

Happy puzzling!



Thanks for posting this, cathwen, as I thought I was getting senile.  I too distinctly recall getting the QB screen after my last word, the second pangram, and was surprised to see himachi in my word list this morning.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2023, 08:31:19 AM
Quote from: cathwen on December 03, 2023, 07:57:39 AMGood morning!

I thought I had QB yesterday, with last word chimichanga (thanks to SBB hints). However, after reading Langue_doc's post, I did not remember getting himachi—and there it was in my word list as not found. Huh. I do seem to remember the Queen Bee screen coming up, but perhaps I was hallucinating. Anyway—today I am at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I had the "official" bacterium-maximized. I found a 2fer today also. Oh, and yes for our own rules!

Happy puzzling!

There should be an override or search function so if a word is not allowed, we should be able to have the system look in a dictionary. If it is in there, it takes! Boom. Plus it would help program their system.

If it's on Spelling Bee and we find a word that should be a word (annatto, riata)) and it passes the override function, great! However, the catch is that the magic system then (1) keeps the word count the same (2) deletes a word that hasn't yet been found - ideally the easiest one (3) resets the points for QB.

That way you override at your own risk.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2023, 11:27:50 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday was quite the hooha.  I was actually going to put something about it in my post mid-day but forgot.  I had gotten to genius while still in bed, but when I went back to it hours later and entered a word it then took me to genius.  I figured it probably lost one of my words and was trying to figure out which one it no longer had.  When we went to compare, I thought we just had a 7-letter word left, according to the totals I had noted in the morning (242, 42).  When I looked at bee buddy, we had two 7s left.  I thought I had written the totals wrong again, but bee buddy said there were 43 words and 249 points, and when I went back to nytbee, it still said 242, 42.  We got the 7-letter m word (minicam) but couldn't figure out the ha word, and weirdly there was no reader clue available.  I looked at the forum and there was no ha word listed in any of the hints from the top posts.  Finally I saw some posts talking about a 7-letter ha that wasn't needed for QB (though we didn't have QB without it), but that maybe had been included in the list originally and then struck at some point but not from the totals? I am still not clear about what happened, but it was odd.

And no luck on LB, though I had bits and pieces.  Congrats on your solutions!

I like the override idea but am not sure about if or how it should adjust things in the current puzzle.  Maybe it could count as bonus points that are not toward the puzzle but go toward bragging rights and also add for future puzzles.  I would like if everyone still had to get the same word list for official QB each day, I think.  I will mull it over.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 03, 2023, 12:14:12 PM
cathwen and ab_grp, I just emailed NYT (nytgames@nytimes.com) about the glitch and asked them to revise my stats to reflect my QB status for yesterday's puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 03, 2023, 03:55:36 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on December 03, 2023, 12:14:12 PMcathwen and ab_grp, I just emailed NYT (nytgames@nytimes.com) about the glitch and asked them to revise my stats to reflect my QB status for yesterday's puzzle.

Right on! I hope they don't give you any guff about genius being the highest official level.  I got lucky being such a slug on it yesterday, so although confused I could finish the final version of the puzzle.  You shouldn't be penalized for finishing quickly! If you need someone to testify on your behalf, let me know.  It's such a strange circumstance, and I'm surprised not to see any discussion of it by Sam or NYT Games on Twitter.  Let us know what happens!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 03, 2023, 06:00:12 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on December 03, 2023, 11:27:50 AMGood morning/afternoon!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday was quite the hooha.  I was actually going to put something about it in my post mid-day but forgot.  I had gotten to genius while still in bed, but when I went back to it hours later and entered a word it then took me to genius.  I figured it probably lost one of my words and was trying to figure out which one it no longer had.  When we went to compare, I thought we just had a 7-letter word left, according to the totals I had noted in the morning (242, 42).  When I looked at bee buddy, we had two 7s left.  I thought I had written the totals wrong again, but bee buddy said there were 43 words and 249 points, and when I went back to nytbee, it still said 242, 42.  We got the 7-letter m word (minicam) but couldn't figure out the ha word, and weirdly there was no reader clue available.  I looked at the forum and there was no ha word listed in any of the hints from the top posts.  Finally I saw some posts talking about a 7-letter ha that wasn't needed for QB (though we didn't have QB without it), but that maybe had been included in the list originally and then struck at some point but not from the totals? I am still not clear about what happened, but it was odd.

And no luck on LB, though I had bits and pieces.  Congrats on your solutions!

I like the override idea but am not sure about if or how it should adjust things in the current puzzle.  Maybe it could count as bonus points that are not toward the puzzle but go toward bragging rights and also add for future puzzles.  I would like if everyone still had to get the same word list for official QB each day, I think.  I will mull it over.

Happy solving!

Or, the extra words could be catalogued and the magic data people would have more justification for choosing to use a word in future puzzles.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 04, 2023, 05:09:31 AM
Good morning!

QB today and yesterday. Last word was minicam.

disembarks/swot

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 04, 2023, 06:31:27 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for plantain. Funny because I kept thinking "With a b I could make banana, with an m I could make maintain..."

LB disembark-kowtow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2023, 07:48:27 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed lania, pippin, naan (I got nana after he named that last one!).  I usually get these! Oh well.

For LB I had toward-disembark.  And I got one on my first try today!

Ciao_yall, I agree, they should catalog all the added ones and consider them for use in the future!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 04, 2023, 08:07:33 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB help to find piñata and panini, plus my last word—of all things—tannin, which I always get. Argh! But I made QBABM today!

LB: I also had toward-disembark. Congratulations on finding a 2fer right away today, ab_grp! I also have a 2fer, but had to fool around a bit to find it.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 04, 2023, 12:43:49 PM
Yay, got to QBABM!

Congrats on your QBABY and 2fer as well, cathwen!

And congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc! I hope they restore yours from the previous day.  You must be in the list of top bee-ers in the land!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 05, 2023, 06:36:33 AM
Good morning!

QB--easy words except for the pangram, which I thought I'd never find. QB yesterday--last words were divvied, ivied.

plucking/grifter

QuoteAnd congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc! I hope they restore yours from the previous day.  You must be in the list of top bee-ers in the land!

Thanks, ab_grp. Haven't had a response from the NYT. My stats still show 42/43 words for that date. I think it was rather shoddy on their part to update the list of words long after the puzzle was released, and also rather unprofessional and immature to ignore my email, and possibly those from other puzzle-solvers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 05, 2023, 06:38:54 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word invitee. LB plucking-grifter.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 05, 2023, 07:47:15 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word invitee. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram, only a few words to go. Langue_doc's assurance that the words are easy ones gives me hope.

LB: I had pluckier-rifting and plucking-grifter. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 05, 2023, 08:07:30 AM
Good morning!

Somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  Congrats, Langue_doc! I also hope to join you in QB today! Yesterday the invite trio were my final words for QB.

I also had plucking-grifter yesterday and got another today (though on second try).  I hope the streak continues! I had a dry spell for a while.  Congrats on your solutions (and another today, cathwen)!

Langue_doc, I agree it is extremely shady to fail to address this mistake on their part.  Moving the goalposts and punishing QBs for it is not a good PR move.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 06, 2023, 05:41:12 AM
Good morning!

QB--I like the short and manageable one today. Last words yesterday were paella and jake (didn't realize that the latter could be a word instead of a name, but tried it just the same).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 06, 2023, 06:48:28 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Hopefully to QB with Langue_doc! Congrats! I did finally join you after finding jake before bed.  I thought I had tried that! At least I made it.  Husband got to QBABH earlier, but he had some glitch that reminded me of the other day's hooha.  He said he was at 106, 39 and didn't know what else he needed, and I told him those were the totals I had written down.  I wondered if I messed up or the game messed up, but when I looked over I saw that he had Queen Bee at the top of his screen.  He got no notification about it! Weird.

For LB I got the schmofficial bayou-uplifting.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 06, 2023, 07:11:24 AM
Morning!

QBABM! Last word paella. LB got a hint for layabout-typifying after lots of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 06, 2023, 11:24:03 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, but needed a nudge to find paella, which I always seem to miss. Today I have one 6L word to go.

LB: I had the "official" bayou-uplifting. I found one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 07, 2023, 05:25:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius, but still a ways to go. Last word was hooey.

amour/receptivity--guess the latter is necessary for the former to be effective!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 07, 2023, 06:41:50 AM
Morning!

QBABM last word noob. LB - just 3fers. Let's see what today brings.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 07, 2023, 06:43:12 AM
Good morning!

Headed toward genius with one pangram so far.  Yesterday I finally got to QBABM with hobnob.

For LB I had computative-every.  Congrats, Langue_doc, and so true!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 07, 2023, 06:51:00 AM
Good morning!

Genius with both pangrams so far today, but a good way to go. Yesterday I got stuck on the last word, which I got with 2LL help—hobnob! Honestly, sometimes obvious words just elude me.

LB: I had paramecium-motivity, which reminded me of biology class. Lots of solutions this time! I found one today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 08, 2023, 06:09:40 AM
Morning!

QBwGrid, last word confit. LB glove-empathetic, glove-emphatic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 08, 2023, 06:23:18 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to get confit, cotillion, tinfoil, my last word. Today I am at QB-3 with both pangrams.

LB: I also had glove-emphatic, the "official" answer.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 08, 2023, 07:04:53 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and above genius so far. Last word was concoction. I was surprised to note that coition, which had been accepted in past bees was no longer legit.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 08, 2023, 08:38:05 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday I got to QB-3 but needed tinfoil from husband, and we needed liftoff, concoction help from bee buddy.

For LB, I also got glove-empathetic, though it took me until bedtime.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2023, 04:33:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words yesterday were lanolin, radial.

I think I'm hooked on Quordle and also Blossom. Every now and then I miss the fourth word in the former, but other than that, it's quite a distraction.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 09, 2023, 07:03:03 AM
Good morning!

I'm a good way past genius today, but still no pangram. Yesterday my last words were dolor and llano, thanks to SBB.

LB: I had the "official" solution, quiz-zombification. I was stunned when the second word was accepted! I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 09, 2023, 08:08:35 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to remember drool. LB got a nudge from a friend for quiz-zombification. Okay there then...

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 09, 2023, 10:17:21 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost got to team QB but needed bee buddy for dirndl.

I also got the schmofficial quiz-zombification yesterday.  That was a daunting set of letters!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 09, 2023, 10:28:41 AM
QB. Just realized that I had to look up dirndl , my last word, on Google.

Went birding, hence my early morning confusion regarding the last words in yesterday's puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 10, 2023, 06:19:20 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and then a slow climb to genius. Last words were the two omelets which I don't seem to spot until the end.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 10, 2023, 07:55:10 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find logy and etymology, my last word. Today I'm at QB-3, but they're long words, and I'm just not seeing them. Yet.

LB: I had the "official" jaywalker-rough.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 10, 2023, 09:15:32 AM
Morning!

Went into SBB but it was kind of whacky so not sure how much help it actually was. Last word logy. LB jaywalker-rough.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 10, 2023, 10:43:30 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  I thought there were two pangrams but just checked.  Apparently not! I can now stop trying so hard to find the second one.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! I don't remember what my final word was, but I know logy was toward the end.

And I also got jaywalker-rough.  I tried forever and finally just saw the first word, and voila.  And I have another one today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 11, 2023, 05:02:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and above genius. Needed help for loach which I've seen before and also for the spelling of the Irish stew, which seems to be a hit or miss with me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 11, 2023, 05:49:46 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB to find colcannon and callaloo, my last word. I got loach purely by accident. Ab_grp, congratulations on making QBABY yesterday! Today I'm above genius with the pangram.

LB: I had drawbacks-spirito (I was surprised when that was accepted) and backward-disport. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 11, 2023, 06:35:42 AM
Morning!

QBwH for canyon, colcannon which I always miss. LB got a hint for tripod-drawbacks because I had plenty of 3fers but oh well.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 11, 2023, 10:29:53 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I am at QB-2 today with pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help for a bunch of easy words: achy, canon, cannon, canyon, calla, cancan.  Who knows.  And thanks for the QBABM props from the other day, cathwen!

For LB I had tripod-drawbacks.

Had to switch schedule around this morning for a meeting, and it is really screwing me up! Hopefully the afternoon will be more typical. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 11, 2023, 01:35:25 PM
Got to QBABM and a 2fer!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 12, 2023, 03:49:44 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was yuan.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 12, 2023, 06:39:11 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last words annulary, annularly. Got a nudge on LB for tchotcke-epigram.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 12, 2023, 07:57:11 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I think my final two for QBABM were ulna(r).

For LB I got the schmofficial artichoke-epigram

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 12, 2023, 08:07:52 AM
Good morning!

Last words yesterday were unduly and unruly. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram.

Ab_grp, congratulations on your QBABY!!

No 2fer for me yesterday, and none yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 13, 2023, 04:59:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (first word) and well above genius.

Don't remember the last word, but do recall that I got all the v-initial words without any difficulty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 13, 2023, 06:33:25 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for biennia. LB conquest-trawl.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 13, 2023, 07:04:48 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help to find my last word, baleen. I had been trying the French spelling, baleine, without success. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram.

LB: I had cowtowns-squealer.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 13, 2023, 09:09:45 AM
Good morning!

Somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we got to team QB, but I was missing beanball, elan.  Oh well! Thanks for the previous congrats, cathwen! I always feel so lucky when I do get there.

For LB I got crownlets-squeal.  Quite a variety again! Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 14, 2023, 06:06:18 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Don't recall last words from yesterday's puzzle as I found them all without much agonizing.

bailouts/squirmy

Heard about the passing of one of my outdoors compatriots. The person was too young to die. We're all still absorbing the news.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 14, 2023, 06:36:56 AM
Morning!

QBwH for anemia. LB balots-squirmy, quarts-symbolism. I thought I made up balots, it wasn't in the dictionary so I googled it. Ew. Don't.

Langue_doc, so sorry. May their memory be a blessing and a source of comfort to you.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 14, 2023, 06:38:46 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find minima, maize, mania, all words I usually get. Today I am QB-1 and hope to make QBABM, but we'll see.

LB: I had talbots-squirmy. Apparently, a talbot is a kind of dog, now extinct. I have found a 2fer for today also.

Langue_doc, I am so sorry to hear about your friend.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 14, 2023, 09:30:07 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I needed help from husband for meanie, and we both needed bee buddy help for magi.

For LB I also got balots-squirmy.  After getting the second word, I got so frustrated seeing that bloats wouldn't work so figured I might as well try the first word.  Always worth a try! I looked it up but didn't find a definition, so I guess I should be glad about that!

Langue_doc, I'm very sorry to hear about your young friend.  Take care.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 15, 2023, 06:16:24 AM
Morning!

QBwH for monad. LB paramedic-covalence.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 15, 2023, 06:27:02 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday and also today. Easy words, but it took me awhile to find the pangram.

Thanks, all! This was a much-loved person.

ab_grp, balot is listed on one of the wiki- websites as an alternative for ballot. I also got a kick out of cowtowns--do the cows squeal as they are driven through the streets by cowboys?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 15, 2023, 08:16:07 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with admin as my last word. Today I'm at QB-3 with the pangram.

LB: I had vampire-endocardial. I have one today, too.

I do wonder if cows are driven through towns in Western cattle country the way sheep are driven through town in the Basque region of France! On a trip to France a number of years ago, I was awakened to the clanging of sheep bells one night, looked out the window, and a man was shepherding a whole flock through the main street. One of my best memories!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 15, 2023, 08:48:51 AM
Good morning!

I think I have 2 words left.  It took me a bit to find the pangram as well.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for mandala.

No luck on LB despite a ton of trying.  I couldn't find any mates for vampire, vampiric.  Congrats on your solutions!!

Langue_doc, it's funny that there are apparently several definitions of balots that didn't show up on my phone! Yikes.

Cathwen, what a neat memory! We have cows that just roam the streets and highways at times here, unfortunately.  And there's nothing you can do about it, because they have more rights than people do (at least, their negligent owners do).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 16, 2023, 04:54:59 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. How on earth am I going to find the remaining words?

Don't recall the last words from yesterday's puzzle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 16, 2023, 07:34:38 AM
Morning!

QBABM - last word peace. LB thrip-powerbank.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 16, 2023, 08:07:58 AM
Good morning!

Ciao_yall, congratulations on QBABY! I needed a 1L nudge to find apace and peke, but could not for the life of me find yecch until I got a hint from SBB. I did have yech, but had forgotten the alternate spelling. Today I'm at genius with both pangrams, but now stumped.

LB: I had powerbank-kith. I also have one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 16, 2023, 11:01:22 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Past genius but only one pangram so far.  Yesterday we tried and tried to make it to QBABO but were missing the same word: hype.  Ugh! I think I tried every combo of 4 letters I could think of, but obviously I missed that one.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

I also had powerbank-kith yesterday.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 17, 2023, 09:32:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. QB yesterday--last words were niggle, niggling.

Twofer on my first attempt, so must be the NYT solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 17, 2023, 09:33:34 AM
Morning!

QB with hints for easy ones like gigging. LB whackiest-tomb.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 17, 2023, 11:55:22 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I am past genius with pangram and thought I was doing a pretty good job but apparently still have 13 words left.  Long puzzle! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with cinching, inclining.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

No luck on LB.  I got too caught up thinking tomahawk was the way.  They wouldn't accept mohawk, so I guess that's considered to be a proper noun.  Congrats, ciao_yall! And on yours on your first try today, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 17, 2023, 12:17:22 PM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find inclining and negligence, my last word. Today I'm a bit beyond genius with the pangram, but finding this kind of a slog.

LB: I first found chewiest-tomback (a brass alloy—who knew!), then found a more reasonable whackiest-tomb. No 2fer yet today. Congratulations, Langue_doc, on finding one right away!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 18, 2023, 05:20:00 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Resorted to BB for the last few words because I didn't have the time or the patience to complete the very time-consuming puzzle. The puzzle-setters seem to think that we have nothing to do other than philosophize over each day's puzzle in addition to solving them.

swordfish/hamper, swordfishes/spam

Happy solving!

ETA: Haven't read (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/upshot/wordle-bot-year-in-review.html) this, but my Wordle starting word has consonants, just because that makes it easier for me to find the word of the day. I end up with the same number of attempts as the bot, or one just lower, or one just higher. I don't use any of the words listed, but the bot tells me that mine is a strong opening word.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 18, 2023, 06:40:35 AM
Morning!

QBwH for oddball words - last one tempi. LB wormfishes-spad, foreword-dampish.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 18, 2023, 08:39:11 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram (which took forever).  Yesterday I we almost made it to QB but needed help for patentee, despite my listening all day to a book about Theranos and the patent war.  And it took me rather a long time to get apnea even with watching several related videos during the day.  Hmm! I also don't think about pantie spelled that way.

For LB I finally got piriformis-shadower.  Congrats on your solutions!

Thanks for the article, Langue_doc! I used to use the most efficient word, but I have been using a random generator for a while now.  Sometimes it is actually very helpful if the target word is not made up of common letters.  But sometimes it is way off! I also started doing the hard version after being afraid of it for a while, and it hasn't been that much more difficult.  I'm more likely to forget to do Wordle for a day than to fail at it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 18, 2023, 09:15:12 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH. I just was not firing on all cylinders yesterday and missed a number of words that should have been obvious. (Tenpin? Ninepin?) Others were timpani, pantie, inpatient, nametape, patentee,, and my last word, tiepin. Today I am at QB-3 with the pangram, which took me a while to find.

LB: Lots of solutions today! Like ciao_yall, I had foreword-dampish. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2023, 06:06:19 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Last word was concoct which got me to QB. I often find words by stringing letters together to see if they stick--sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. Did I mention that I was suprised at the non-acceptance of landau a few days ago?

ab_grp, that's a timely reminder for me to get back to the exercises prescribed by the PT, especially the piriformis one. I can just hear the therapist ask "Did you do your piriformis yet?" when they stop by to check on my progress. I have a whole bunch of exercises that I should be doing.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 19, 2023, 06:48:58 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for putout - is that even a word? LB mulie-extravagant. I thought I made up the first word but it turns out it is either a term for a male deer or a type of boat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 19, 2023, 09:46:23 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram, but I think I got there twice again today so am not sure if a word or words disappeared or if there was a change again.  Annoying either way! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for several words: cantata, concoct, putt, putout.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc!

No luck on LB.  I was sure extravagant was the way so focused too much there.  Congrats on getting a mate for it, ciao_yall!

Langue_doc, I hope the exercises help! And I totally forgot about landau.  I think there's another today that used to be accepted that isn't now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 19, 2023, 12:49:26 PM
QuoteGot to genius with pangram, but I think I got there twice again today so am not sure if a word or words disappeared or if there was a change again.  Annoying either way!

ab_grp, I got to QB with 51 words, so there were probably no changes today. I encounter similar snafus ocaasionally when I'm on different devices.

Incidentally did you all get the 12-page puzzle section in the weekend print edition?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 19, 2023, 02:05:10 PM
Thanks for confirming, Langue_doc! I swear it makes me question my sanity (which I already do too often).  Congrats on QB again!!

We do not get the print paper out here in the sticks, but I am hopeful that the section will be a gift again this year.  My husband has an entry on his calendar to remind him to order it and apparently forgot that he shared his calendar with me.  ;-) ! Of course, he may have just decided to skip it this year.  I think we skipped it last year for obvious reasons.  His heart just wasn't in it.  Har har har.  Anyway, have you dug in yet?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 20, 2023, 05:57:08 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams (3) and above genius. Don't remember last word other than that it was a run-of-the-mill word that I should have seen much earlier.

QuoteHis heart just wasn't in it.  Har har har.  Anyway, have you dug in yet?

I recall that he and his heart were in a hospital over Christmas. Hope he made a complete recovery. As for the puzzles, I took one look at the section, and decided that it was too overwhelming even to attempt it unless I had a large chunk of time. There's an entire crossword spread across pages 6-7! There are a couple of $1000 prizes, according to the blurb on the first page of this section.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 20, 2023, 08:34:15 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with the pangrams.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for afar.

For LB I got the schmofficial frolic-chutzpah.  And I got one on my first try today!

Langue_doc, yes, sorry for the dumb joke.  He had the bypass surgery last December.  He's doing great, thanks! Still working really hard at exercise and eating well.  I always think the big crossword will be fun, but it does seem like a lot to accomplish (even if it's easy, just takes a long time).  I might be interested in prizes! I guess it depends if/when it arrives here.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 20, 2023, 08:41:22 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word afoul. LB prolific-chutzpa(h).

Happy solving!

Re: Big puzzle edition, I am still working through Split Decisions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 20, 2023, 09:31:13 AM
Good afternoon!

QBw1LH, last word moola. Today I am at genius with all three pangrams.

LB: I also had prolific-chutzpa(h).

This is the first I've heard of a big NYT puzzle edition! I will definitely have to check this out. Especially if it has Split Decisions—one of my favorite word games.

Ab_grp, I'm glad your husband is doing so well after the surgery last December.

We're leaving for California tomorrow to visit Youngest Daughter, who usually comes here at Christmas. This year, it's our turn to travel. I dislike traveling at Christmas, but I'm looking forward to spending time with her. Ironically, it's supposed to rain in SoCal, but be nice and sunny here. Argh! We'll pack umbrellas. I'm sure that it will be a great trip nevertheless.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 21, 2023, 07:16:49 AM
Good morning!

QB--no convoluted words today. Yesterday I had to resort to BB for cellblock, and as usual, had to look up the spelling for allele.

grounds/somatic

cathwen, happy travels! I recall that SoCal had rains and flooding last year as well, probably this time of the year. Puzzle Mania (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/crosswords/puzzle-mania-faq.html?searchResultPosition=5) was in the weekend print edition of the paper.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 21, 2023, 08:12:55 AM
Good morning!

Just got to QB today. Yesterday I needed a nudge to find kebab.

LB: distractions-sourgum. No 2fer yet today!

Langue_doc, I found that I can send for the puzzle section, which I will certainly do. I'm kind of resigned to the rain in SoCal. Just a little concerned, because Youngest Daughter will be doing the driving. But she's from the Northeast—she can deal with rain. Flooding is another matter, though. Fingers crossed!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 21, 2023, 08:29:26 AM
Good morning!

I just looked and am apparently at QB-1 with pangram, so we'll see.  Congrats on your QBABYs, Langue_doc and cathwen! Yesterday I just could not get the last word, and husband didn't have it either, so bee buddy had to help us with allocable.  So close.

For LB I had grandmas-suction.  Congrats on your solutions!

Have a good trip and visit, cathwen! I feel like it's raining or flooding pretty much everywhere right now.  It's even rainy here, which is almost never is!

We have our youngest with us for another couple days.  I'm not really feeling Christmas this year, which kind of sucks because we missed it last year for the most part, but I think with bad things happening each year for the past few I just lost my excitement for it.  Maybe it will come back.  I think we are going to try to decorate the tree tomorrow since husband will be out for the year after this afternoon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 21, 2023, 10:09:35 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last words cellblock, cockle. LB gnomic-custard.

Quick run this morning to QB-2 ABM and nowhere on LB so far.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 22, 2023, 06:03:29 AM
QB --don't get intimidated by what appears to be a tough list of letters.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 22, 2023, 07:45:22 AM
Morning!

QB2G, last word loci. I and the rest of the world had a hard time with LB yesterday but it was a pretty straightforward chickpeas-swung.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 22, 2023, 10:21:19 AM
Good morning!

I'm at QB-2 today.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! Yesterday I almost made it but could not get my final word, rototill (I swear I never get that one!).  At least we had team QB.  Husband was missing one of his old favorites, viol.

No luck on LB!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 22, 2023, 08:53:49 PM
Good evening

I've been up since 3am EST/12am PST and am exhausted. But the long plane ride to the West coast gave me time for puzzling—QBABM today. Yesterday I needed a 1L nudge to find lotto.

No 2fer yesterday! Congratulations on your solution, ciao_yall! Thanks again to the long plane ride, I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 23, 2023, 06:52:11 AM
Good moring!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was gouging.

QuoteI'm not really feeling Christmas this year, which kind of sucks because we missed it last year for the most part, but I think with bad things happening each year for the past few I just lost my excitement for it.  Maybe it will come back.

Sorry to hear this, ab_grp. I'm not feeling very Christmassy either mainly because of the turbulence and needless trauma in some parts of the world, but am looking forward to seeing my usual Christmas crowd. As with Thanksgiving, I'm glad to see the people I spend the holidays with, but feel guilty about the festivities, especially the food. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, so might have a not-too-congested road trip.

cathwen, hope the weather isn't too bad. Rain is something we all can handle, but floods and landslides are an entirely different story. When I lived on the West Coast, it was the norm for hikes to be cancelled in case of rain. I recall being surprised that here, on the other side of the continent, only heavy, steady rains or similar conditions would result in hikes being cancelled. Since most of the West Coast hikes were in hilly forest preserves, mudslides often followed heavy rains, hence the cancellations. Enjoy your trip and the visit with Daughter!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 23, 2023, 09:02:56 AM
Morning!

QBwH for nuncio. LB expedient-tumbling.

Yeah, not feeling very holiday-ish either. Which is odd, because this year everyone is bringing back their pre-COVID holiday parties. But yeah, it's hard to focus on joy and gratitude when this has been a tough year.

Vanity Fair did an article on the New York Times puzzle business. (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/inside-the-new-york-times-big-bet-on-games#:~:text=Tracy%20Bennett%2C%20Christina%20Iverson%2C%20Sam,Liu.PHOTOGRAPH%20BY%20MATTHEW%20SALACUSE.)

The link tries to get you to subscribe but you can still read the article.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 23, 2023, 10:19:52 AM
Good morning!

Somewhere past genius with the pangram (which took a while).  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for junco, nuncio.  I am not sure either of them will ever occur to me naturally.

I totally forgot when I posted yesterday that I had gotten a 2fer on my first try! It was also expedient-tumbling.  Congrats on your solutions!

I hope we are all able to get more into the holiday spirit.  Hope you get to sleep in and rest a bit before more energetic visiting, cathwen.  And I hope your drive is a safe one, Langue_doc!

Thanks for the article, ciao_yall.  Looking forward to reading it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 23, 2023, 03:28:46 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

QBABM yesterday with cooing. Today I have several words to go.

LB: I also had expedient-tumbling. I found one today also.

It's beautiful here, with none of the rain hinted at earlier this week. We had a bit of an adventure yesterday, though—Daughter was driving on I-5 when her left front tire blew out. Fortunately, she was able to pull over onto a very wide area on the left, then called AAA. The guy came and put her emergency spare on, with a warning not to drive over 55mpg. Um...on a California freeway? My husband googled tire shops—one was very close, so we went there and ended up buying four new tires for her (the others were in bad shape). Merry Christmas! New tires! The rest of the visit has been great.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 24, 2023, 03:56:35 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Don't remember last word(s) from yesterday's puzzle. I have to leave in a couple of hours, so no more puzzling today.

ab_grp, cathwen, and ciao_yall, greetings for a very merry Christmas!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 24, 2023, 08:38:32 AM
Morning!

QBwH for lollop which I overlooked... while lamenting it wouldn't take lollypop. LB vermouth-hanky.

Happy solving and Merry Xmas to those who celebrate! We don't make a big deal, but we buy each other silly gifts and have a nice dinner.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 24, 2023, 08:44:25 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I needed phyllo, pyrp.

Finally got vermouth-hanky after the first word popped into my head.  I had just been working on motormouth, so I guess that helped.  On my way today, but nothing yet.

Langue_doc, I hope you have safe travels, a good visit, and a very Merry Christmas!!

Cathwen, I'm sorry to hear about the blowout.  I think with a donut you can't drive very fast, and it is definitely problematic on major highways! Nobody cares that you aren't supposed to drive faster.  I'm glad she was safe and has new tires and that the rest of the visit is going well.  Merry Christmas!

And Merry Christmas, ciao_yall! Silly gifts and a nice dinner sounds good to me. 

I will be around but want to make sure I get my holiday wishes in in case others are not checking in for a few days.  We have a brief break from vegetarianism today when kid goes to mom's for the night.  We are planning on pheasant and Cornish game hens, stuffing, bagna cauda brussels (basically Thanksgiving but with pheasant, trying to keep it simple since we only have one night).  After we are kid-free later next week, we have other good dishes planned.  Tomorrow we will make the eggplant lasagna and stuffed onions that kid likes.  And we actually got the tree decorated last night!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 24, 2023, 03:34:15 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

QBwH yesterday, last word horror. Today I have only a few words to go, but may not get to finish before dinner tonight.

LB: I also had vermouth-hanky. No 2fer yet today.

Merry Christmas to all! Langue_doc, safe travels! Ciao_yall, an understated celebration sounds perfect. Ab_grp, enjoy the game hens and pheasant!

And happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 25, 2023, 08:36:44 AM
Morning!

QBwG last word paned. LB bondsman-nightgown.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 25, 2023, 10:21:31 AM
Good morning and Merry Christmas!

I think I am at QB-3 or QB-2 with the pangrams.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for hippie.

For LB I had bandwidths-smog.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

Some of the gifts I got from my husband were a Queen Bee t-shirt and a Spelling Bee mug (and the puzzle mania)!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 25, 2023, 01:31:20 PM
Afternoon!

QB yesterday. Two pangrams and well above genius so far, but that's it for today.

Woohoo, ab_grp, sounds like an appropriate collection of presents.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 25, 2023, 02:56:46 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

QB yesterday with last word penne. Two words to go today.

LB:I also had bondsman-nightgown. Congratulations on finding something different, ab_grp! And what cool presents.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 26, 2023, 07:19:06 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram, alas!

Resorted to BB to get to QB yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 26, 2023, 08:47:50 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word login. LB gecko-overzealous.

Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 26, 2023, 09:47:57 AM
Good morning!

It took me forever to get the pangram, but I did and got to genius.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I needed help with oolong.  So close!

No luck on LB yesterday (congrats, ciao_yall!), but I did get a 2fer on my first try today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 26, 2023, 03:54:47 PM
Good afternoon/evening!

QB yesterday with a nudge to find gigolo and oiling, my last word. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: I also had gecko-overzealous. Congratulations, ab_grp, on finding a 2fer right away today! I am still struggling.

Home tomorrow! It's been a good trip, but I'll be glad to get home.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 27, 2023, 09:23:45 AM
Morning!

QBwH for panettone. LB got a hint for palindromic-couch after a bunch of tight 3fers and 2fer b4ss.

GwP but missing a bunch of short words. And again, lots of 3fers and 2fer b4ss. Argh.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2023, 11:09:17 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Got to QBABM today! Yesterday I almost had it but needed bee buddy for panettone because I kept trying pannetone all day.  Dangit! I should have looked it up, but we still had our house guest so things were busy.

Got the schmofficial holdup-panoramic yesterday.  Today I feel close but haven't gotten the 2fer yet.  Fingers crossed!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 27, 2023, 12:44:12 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with help for tonne, teapot, and panettone, my last word. Today I have three words to go.

LB: No luck yesterday, and none so far today. Congratulations on everyone else's 2fers!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 27, 2023, 03:43:44 PM
Afternoon/Evening!

Pangram and above genius. I think I had to resort to BB last night to get to QB. Things are rather a blur with the traveling and feasting.

It's good to be home.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 27, 2023, 04:58:21 PM
I'm glad everyone who traveled had good visits and is home safely!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 28, 2023, 09:48:36 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB and a wild guess captcha. LB got a hint for cardiac-compatible. So far today, several 3fers, 2fer b4ss, and ships.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2023, 10:04:06 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM and last word was captcha, which I don't think of as a word but am glad I tried.

So close on LB but no cigar.  I didn't think of either of the words in your solution, ciao_yall!

Got follow-up blood work re: red blood cells (no change).  It didn't say fasting but I figured I'd better do so in case.  I swear I can go all morning without food or coffee, but as soon as I'm not allowed to have it, I feel completely dumb and starving.  I tried to ask for coffee at the shop after, and my husband screwed me up by asking the lady to put his in his travel mug.  I still had coffee in my travel mug and just wanted her to put it in a to-go cup as one would usually get.  I tried asking for normal coffee and wasn't getting my point across so came up with something dumb like "Can I have coffee in a cup that comes from you?" (pointing to her). ?! Poor lady.  I couldn't figure out how to describe it! Does anyone else's brain just not happen in these situations?

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 28, 2023, 11:19:34 AM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with help to find my final two words, captcha and mahatma. Geniuswith pangram today so far.

LB: No solution yesterday, and none yet today. I think I'm in an LB rut.

Home this morning at 1am. It's so good to be home, even though we had a great time with Youngest Daughter. Now for laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

Ab_grp, I can relate to not being able to think of the proper expression for something common!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 28, 2023, 12:08:47 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Haven't the foggiest idea about my progress on yesterday's bee. I know that I got to above genius, but don't have the energy to see if I made it to QB or the list of missing words. Long ago, I took care of a little boy who would ask a question and then say "Who knows, who cares" with a toss of his head. I've often thought that to be a good philosopy, so that's my attitude to the puzzles (and other stressors) some days.

QuoteI'm glad everyone who traveled had good visits and is home safely!

Thanks, ab_grp! Groceries have been bought, and a load of laundry done. Now all I need to do is to lose some (ha! my pants are really very tight) weight.

I'm assuming that the blood work showed no problems, correct?

cathwen, I waved to you yesterday while driving down the usual route that has multiple aliases, not realizing that you were still in sunny California!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 28, 2023, 03:12:51 PM
Wishing you both good luck with returning-home tasks and adjustments! Always more laundry and groceries. 

Langue_doc, it was just a follow up because I was a little under the range, trying to see if adding more spinach or beef back to the diet would help (since we have been eating fish every night for so long and usually chicken for lunch).  Everything else is in range, and there are several reasons for low RBC.  I guess it's good it didn't go down significantly, but I am guessing my friendly doctor will want more tests, and I'm guessing they won't be tests I will be that interested in having done.  Who knows, who cares (toss)?! I like that perspective! I will try not to worry more about it until my appointment later next week. 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 29, 2023, 06:19:44 AM
Good morning!

QB. Didn't bother to check missing words from yesterday's bee.

Hope your doctor's appointment goes well, ab_grp, and he/she has a wait-and-see attitude if the RBC count isn't too alarming.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 29, 2023, 07:23:06 AM
Good morning!

QBwlotsofH yesterday; last word uvea. Today I am above genius with the pangram and only two words to go. It always irks me when the remaining words are only four letters and I just can't find them.

LB: Nothing yesterday again, but I found a 2fer fairly quickly today.

Ab_grp, I hope that all goes well at your doctor's appointment next week.

Langue_doc, thanks for the wave, even though I was not there! Also, I thought of you on our way to/from JFK.

I'm in the throes of post-vacation stuff: laundry (mostly yesterday, continuing today) and grocery shopping. A large spider has taken up residence in the bathroom, but it is only a harmless cellar spider and it spends most of its time behind the toilet, so I am not concerned. It is probably annoyed that it no longer has the space to itself.

Anyway—happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2023, 09:01:05 AM
Morning!

QBwG yesterday - last word lavage. And after a long day of 3fers and 2fer b4ss I went for hints to get the strange cafeteria-aqualung. What?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 29, 2023, 09:44:54 AM
Been going for hints the last few days - LB has been tough! But got a 2fer today so all is getting better.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 29, 2023, 09:49:17 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with the pangram so far.  Congrats on QBABY, Langue_doc! And good luck with your final 2, cathwen.  Yesterday I ran out of time and needed help with a few of the easier words (naturally), and we both needed bee buddy help with lallygag

I am mad at myself about LB.  I got aqualung and just could not see a mate.  I had a bunch of good contenders in addition to that and couldn't find mates for them, either.  Today I am almost sure I have one of the words, and I have not found a mate yet.  Argh! Congrats, cathwen!

Thanks for the good wishes for the dr visit!

Cathwen, I would personally not enjoy a spider being somewhere in the bathroom, especially by the toilet.  Good luck with that situation!

Happy solving!

ETA: Congrats on your 2fer as well, ciao_yall!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 30, 2023, 08:28:31 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for hiya (another word I didn't think was a word) and my last word, neap, which I could swear I had already entered. Guess not! Today I'm past genius with the pangram, but I have a good many words to go.

LB: I had claimed-driveways. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2023, 09:10:07 AM
Good morning!

I got the pangram immediately but am not at genius yet! Yesterday got QBABM with last word hiya, which I agree is not a word.

For LB I brute forced crimewaves-slayed after finding the first word early on and being absolutely certain it was part of the schmofficial solution.  Guess not! Congrats, cathwen! And on another today! Some brutal letters in there.  I have a contender that seems reasonable but nothing yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 30, 2023, 10:03:18 AM
Morning!

QBABM yesterday with last word hiya which was a wild guess. LB claimed-driveways.

Today is a wierd QB - already at QB-4 but almost all my words are unusual bee specials. Did get a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 30, 2023, 10:21:32 AM
Afternoon!

Found the pangram quite easily, but then I had to plow my way to genius before going on a bird walk.

Remembered hiya from an earlier puzzle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 30, 2023, 02:50:16 PM
I finally got to genius and got a 2fer! Whew.  I would be surprised if I get much further on the bee.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on December 31, 2023, 06:23:48 AM
Good morning!

Three pangrams and 330+ points so far. Never did get back to the bee yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on December 31, 2023, 09:21:51 AM
Good morning!

I needed help to find croci, carioca, ricin, and arnica, my last word. Today I have two of the three pangrams and nine words to go.

LB: I had the "official" who-objectively. No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on December 31, 2023, 10:16:17 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word razz. LB who-objectively.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on December 31, 2023, 10:41:28 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for carioca, czar(ina), ocarina.  Tough puzzle!

Got cut off.  As I was saying, I also got the schmofficial 2fer. 

Happy solving and Happy New Year's Eve! Hope everyone has fun celebrating if they choose to do so!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 01, 2024, 04:40:36 AM
Happy New Year!

Pangram and 160+ points. Made it to QB yesterday.

Off to a bird walk.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 01, 2024, 09:18:49 AM
Morning!

QBwH and a new word oddment. Nudge for lamplight-trifold.

Off to a walk with a friend to check out the super waves.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 01, 2024, 10:50:57 AM
Good afternoon and Happy New Year!

I ran out of time yesterday and got help for a number of words; last one moue. I got to QB today with help for the last word.

LB: No 2fer yesterday, but I found one today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 01, 2024, 11:06:52 AM
Good afternoon!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for a couple words, including duodenum, oddment, odeum.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! Wow!

No luck on LB yesterday.  I have a good lead today, I think.  Congrats, cathwen!

I guess I ran out of time on a lot of puzzles yesterday despite there sort of being extra time in the day. I was really focused on trying to clean and organize.  More to do today! I'm a little less energetic after being up past midnight for the first time in who knows how long.

Happy solving and Happy New Year!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 02, 2024, 05:28:03 AM
Good morning!

QB--the pangram was hard to spot.

QB yesterday; remembered the alternates for hooray and myna, and found hymnary by sheer luck.

banditos/squirm (I think)

QuoteI'm a little less energetic after being up past midnight for the first time in who knows how long.
Hope you're caught up, ab_grp. My New Year resolution is to go to bed before midnight, but that didn't happen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 02, 2024, 06:28:03 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word mayor. LB got a nudge for banditos-squirm.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 02, 2024, 08:29:35 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find hymnary, my last word. Today I am at genius with the pangram. Two words to go, but I just don't see them.

LB: I had ambitions-squadron/ambitious-squadron. I found a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 02, 2024, 10:31:16 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with the pangram, but I feel like I keep running into a wall these days! How could there be that many more words left?! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for hymnary

No 2fer yesterday, though I had squadron as a contender.  Congrats on your solutions! I have one today, at least.

Langue_doc, thanks! I am working on catching up (and am doing better than yesterday), but it is not going to be fun adjusting to earlier waking up in a few days when husband goes back in to working on site.  Congrats on both your QBs! Sorry you did not get to bed before midnight.  I think you get several days to work in to resolutions!

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 03, 2024, 04:46:57 AM
Good morning!

QB just when I was about to give up. Last words yesterday were bowwow and powwow.

exclaimed/dough (I think--didn't write down the words)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 03, 2024, 07:15:52 AM
QBwH, last word bowwow. And isn't powwow kind of an offensive term? I was surprised to see it in there. LB exclaimed-dough.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 03, 2024, 07:22:28 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for last word, lollop, which I always seem to miss. Ciao_yall, I also was surprised by powwow, as I too thought it was now considered offensive (at least as used by non-Native Americans).

Today I got to QBABM! It's been a while.

LB: I had exclaimed-dough. No luck today, yet.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 03, 2024, 10:28:35 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Congrats on your QBABY, cathwen! It feels especially good when it has been a while.  And congrats to you as well, Langue_doc! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for bebop, lipo.

For LB I had the schmofficial climaxed-dough.  I am so close today but ran into a b4ss issue.  Dang it! I hope to prevail.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 04, 2024, 06:12:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and then a slow crawl up to genius. I keep seeing words with c in them. Last words yesterday were chance, change.

brainwaves/soaking

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 04, 2024, 07:24:28 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL last word ganache. LB hints for brainwaves-soaking, overbaking-gnaws. Darn compounds.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 04, 2024, 07:52:11 AM
Good morning!

Still not at genius, but I have the pangram.  Husband is back to the office, and I have a meeting shortly, so we didn't have as long for puzzling.  Yesterday I got to QBABM, which I almost forgot about.  I think my final words were chancel, lech.

No luck on LB despite some great contenders that left very few letters.  Argh! Congrats on your solutions! I had some of the components but didn't find mates for them.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 04, 2024, 07:56:25 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday with lech as last word. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram, but have a little way to go. Like Langue_doc, I keep seeing words with c.

LB: I struggled with this, and finally just before going to bed came up with overkings-swab. Why I didn't think of overbaking is beyond me. Apparently an overking rules over other kings. Huh. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 05, 2024, 05:38:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius so far; it's a tough one today. Missed the three scientific words in yesterday's bee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 05, 2024, 06:41:11 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for papilloma. LB got a hint for culprits-sunward. Was super annoyed I couldn't get inwards-sculpt to work.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2024, 07:36:36 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, thankfully, since we both got too busy and ended up with several words left to find. 

No luck on LB again!

Doctor appt regarding blood work this morning.  Hoorah.  TGIF!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 05, 2024, 08:13:03 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday for papilloma, palapa, lipoma,and taillamp, my last word. Today has been a struggle. I'm at genius, but no pangram yet.

And no luck on LB yesterday, and no luck so far today. I'm beginning to think that my brain cells are shriveling.

Ab_grp, I hope the appointment goes well!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 05, 2024, 04:06:57 PM
Cathwen, thanks! The appointment went fine, and he said it's not life or death, so no more tests at the moment.  And I got to stop by and see my husband at work briefly after and go for a walk on campus together! And I am totally with you about feeling like brain cells are shriveling given progress on some of these puzzles lately.  I'm sure it's not us!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 06, 2024, 05:48:58 AM
Good morning!

QB--the puzzle only looks difficult; last words were lolled and oldie.

ab_grp, glad to hear that you don't need any more tests for now, and also that you got to take a break with husband.

No, brain cells aren't shrivelling, it's just that some of the recent LB solutions seem rather contrived and are designed to trap the unwary instead of stimulating the brain cells.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 06, 2024, 07:27:38 AM
Good morning!

I got lots of help to make QB yesterday to find deked, dollied, iodide, likelihood, and my last word, keloid. Brain cells were on vacation! Today I am past genius with the pangram.

LB: No solution yesterday, but I found one today.

That's good news, ab_grp, and how lovely to have that nice walk on campus with your husband.

Langue_doc, I think you're right about LB.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 06, 2024, 09:24:24 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word keloid which came to me just as I was getting ready to look at SBB. LB infantalize-exurban.

Yeah, Langue-doc, I hear you about LB. Those darn compound words get me every time.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 06, 2024, 10:40:45 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

I think I'm at QB-4.  Got the pangram right away thanks to luck.  Congrats, Langue_doc! And thanks for the intel.  Yesterday was busy, and we each had several words left again.  I think we needed bee buddy for keloid and one other that I can't figure out from the list right now.

No luck on LB yet again.  I had exurbanite, which left very few letters, but I couldn't get anywhere with it.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

And thanks, Langue_doc and cathwen! It is a relief not to be told something is worrisome and requires further testing.  I am happy to be able to focus on other things now.

Langue_doc, I like your perspective.  We are not the problem.  The puzzles are!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 07, 2024, 05:44:43 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. It's a tough one today. Last words were tropic and tricot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 07, 2024, 06:01:32 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with help for citric and croci, both of which were in recent puzzles and which I also missed. Argh! Today I am at genius with the pangram, but I agree with Langue_doc, it's tough.

LB: I had the "official" disturb-blackjack. I found one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 07, 2024, 08:17:52 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word troop. LB found blackjack but needed a hint to find disturb-blackjack. So far a few 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 07, 2024, 11:07:39 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! I think my final word was boric.

No luck on LB again.  I also got blackjack but couldn't figure out anything starting with a k and figured nothing ends with a b (ugh), so I gave up.  Congrats on getting the solution!

Hope those of you in snowy or snowy-rainy weather stay dry and warm!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 08, 2024, 05:01:57 AM
Good morning!

Four pangrams and QB. I was tempted to look at BB, but realized that I needed just 16-17 points, so found the missing words.

Missed helical, heliacal in yesterday's bee.

Couldn't find a mate for dovetail, so didn't pursue LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 08, 2024, 06:40:14 AM
Morning!

QBwH for helical, heliacal - those probably stopped up a lot of people. LB foundation-novelty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 08, 2024, 07:48:25 AM
Good morning!

Almost to genius but still missing a pangram.  Congrats, Langue_doc! Whew!! Yesterday was tough.  We managed to almost get to team QB, but we needed bee buddy for two words: heliacal, camellia.

I finally got the schmofficial solution of foundation-novelty last night, but I was also trying with dovetail for a while, figuring that might be one of the solution words.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 08, 2024, 09:11:02 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday also for helical, heliacal. Today I am at genius with all four pangrams.

LB: I had found-datively, which I thought was odd, but it was accepted. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 09, 2024, 05:38:21 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last words yesterday were tonal, atonal.

verbalism/midget

Easy twofer today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 09, 2024, 06:47:21 AM
Morning!

QBwH last word lanolin. LB the super long verbalised-destigmatize, verbalises-stigmatised.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 09, 2024, 07:34:29 AM
Good morning!

Got to QBABM and a 2fer! Wish there were more days like this!

Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed alit, llano, notional.  It took me forever to find lionization, even though I think lionize has been in there before.

For LB I had verbalism-mitigated.  Lots of solutions so far!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 09, 2024, 07:43:43 AM
Good morning!

QBwH, last word initiation. QBABM today!

LB: no 2fer yesterday—-congratulations to everyone else! But I found one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 10, 2024, 05:48:55 AM
Good morning!

QB again, firt thing in the morning. Last words yesterday were gift, gifted. Patted myself on the back for having remebered teff.

flouting/graph

If I may say so, I prefer my solution to that of the NYT.

QuoteWish there were more days like this!
Amen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 10, 2024, 06:27:27 AM
Morning!

Yesterday was a quick QBABM - last word fief. LB flouting-graph.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 10, 2024, 06:45:11 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word edified. QBABM again today.

LB: I also had flouting-graph. No 2fer yet today!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 10, 2024, 09:13:16 AM
Good morning!

I had trouble this morning even finding a word at all, but I eventually got some, then pangram, and finally genius.  Congrats, Langue_doc and cathwen! I hope the words start flowing again for me! Yesterday my final words were fidgeted, teff.  I was so excited!

I also had flouting-graph for LB, so apparently we all prefer that solution to the NYT's!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 11, 2024, 05:40:28 AM
Morning!

Should have been a QBABM but ended up needing the 2LL for thirty. LB got a hint for deject-trustworthy. Darn compound words.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 11, 2024, 06:07:47 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but a pesky one today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 11, 2024, 06:50:48 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM again! Last word was mirth.

We met youngest for early dinner last night, so I had to give up on LB.  It was a tough one!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 11, 2024, 09:12:43 AM
Good afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word itty. Today is more of a struggle. I'm at genius with the pangram, but having a hard time getting much further.

LB: No 2fer yesterday, and none today so far. Ugh!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 12, 2024, 05:31:14 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word pigpen. LB needed a nudge for gauche-extremist. I 3fers coming out of my ears as well as extremist but wasn't seeing gauche.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 12, 2024, 06:31:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and finally genius. That's probably it for today. QB yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 12, 2024, 08:03:26 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to find nankeen, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, three words to go, but I'm stumped.

No LB yet again yesterday! And none yet today. Hope springs eternal...

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 12, 2024, 08:22:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and then finally figured out the pangram.  Yesterday we also needed help with nankeen, along with agape, kepi, pinkie.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

No 2fer for me, either.  Maybe today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 13, 2024, 08:25:25 AM
Morning!

QBwH for barrack, bookrack even though I remembered nankeen. LB haiku-unsolvable.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 13, 2024, 09:07:11 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH for barback. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, with only a few words to go.

LB: Another day without a 2fer! I had unsolvable, but did not see haiku. No 2fer today, either, so far.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 13, 2024, 10:17:17 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for robocall.  I don't think I will ever get rollbar.

Got the schmofficial 2fer haiku-unsolvable and another one today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 13, 2024, 10:25:30 AM
Good morning!

QB to make up for yesterday's missed words. lookbook!? rollbar!? Whatever. I was surprised to note that kine wasn't accepted in an earlier puzzle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 14, 2024, 08:12:58 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word maple. LB needed a nudge for dozenth-hackysack. Yeah, it seems trickier lately.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 14, 2024, 08:25:32 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find agleam, amalgam, and the word I always seem to miss—paella. I'll learn someday. Today I am at QB-1! Hoping for inspiration to get that last word.

LB: I looked at hints to get dozenth-haystack. I had haystack early on, and dozen, but dozenth just never occurred to me. I have a 2fer today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 14, 2024, 10:01:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Went on a bird walk in cold and blustery winds. I was glad to have gotten out and about, even though the rewards, bird-wise, weren't significant.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 14, 2024, 11:26:23 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Somewhere past genius with the pangram.  Yesterday my husband got to QBABH, but he had to help me with agleam, amalgam.  Just couldn't see them!

For LB I got the schmofficial dozenth-haystack.  I had seen dozen, then saw haystack and figured it could be a solution word, and thankfully thought of trying with the -th.  Some contenders today, but nothing yet.

Glad you got out for a bird walk even though it didn't yield a lot of good birds, Langue_doc! We have been out the past day or two in the morning after being trapped inside in the windy 20s, but there haven't been too many birds around, either.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 15, 2024, 03:58:27 AM
Good morning!

QB--found the pangram early on, and then it was an uphill battle to the end. Missed catalytically, tactual. The bee wouldn't accept cyclicity, which I thought was a proper English word--neither obscure nor offensive.

I know I found a twofer, but have to look it up. Another bird walk, the winds have died down, but it's going to be cold. I had four layers on yesterday, so as long as I didn't have to take off my gloves, I was fine.

Hope you see some birds, ab_grp, and have better weather!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 15, 2024, 07:48:07 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday with tactical as my last word. Today I am at genius with the pangram, not far to go.

LB: I had the "official" overstock-kumquat. And I found one today as well.

Enjoy your bird walk, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 15, 2024, 07:50:47 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word catcall. LB got a hint for cumquat-takeovers. Never would have guessed that spelling on my own.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 15, 2024, 10:18:19 AM
Good morning!

Past genius (barely) with pangram.  It seems really difficult today! Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! And congrats on yours yesterday, cathwen! We almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for tactility.

For LB I had quavers-stockmarket.  Congrats on your solutions! I have some ideas today, but nothing yet.

Thanks about the birds and weather, Langue_doc! Both were a bit better today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 16, 2024, 06:29:06 AM
Morning!

QBABM - last word kiwi. LB got a nudge for anyhow-wrinkled. Found wrinkled pretty quickly but wasn't seeing anyhow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 16, 2024, 06:52:53 AM
Good morning!

Above genius, but no pangram yet.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 16, 2024, 07:43:15 AM
Good morning!

Past genius, but no pangram here, either.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! Final words were kiwi, wiki, widowhood.

For LB, I got handiwork-keyhole.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 16, 2024, 08:03:08 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word onion. Today I'm at genius with one of the pangrams—but apparently there are two! Yikes.

LB: I also had handiwork-keyhole. No luck yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 17, 2024, 05:52:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and almost QB. Missed kinetic, telekinetic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 17, 2024, 07:39:30 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL for littleneck. LB briefing-gumption.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 17, 2024, 09:00:51 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with the pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help with elicit.  Guess it's just been a while.  I also needed lenience.  I did get the pangrams (after a long while).

No luck on LB! Congrats, ciao_yall.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 17, 2024, 09:31:45 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH to find lenience, neckline, and my last word, littleneck. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had briefing-groupment, which I didn't think was a word. No 2fer so far today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 18, 2024, 06:08:57 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and finally, genius. Last words were laid, vandal.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 18, 2024, 06:48:35 AM
Morning!

QBwH for vandal. Gah. LB junctures-swamp.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 18, 2024, 06:48:59 AM
Good morning!

Got pangram and to genius so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! My final word was also vandal.

For LB I finally got the schmofficial junctures-swamp.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 18, 2024, 09:33:15 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday! Last word dillydally. QBABM today also!

LB: I also had junctures-swamp. I found a 2fer today as well.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 19, 2024, 06:51:34 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL for apogee. LB needed a nudge for durability-yoke.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2024, 07:39:52 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to a bit past genius so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! Last words were apogee, hemp.

I got so close on LB!! Argh.  Maybe today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 19, 2024, 07:47:37 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word agape. Congratulations on QBABY, ab_grp! Today I have both pangrams and am a bit beyond genius.

LB: I had goofy words whose acceptance surprised me: redoubtably-yike. Eyebrows went up to my hairline, but who am I to complain. I found a 2fer fairly easily today with normal words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2024, 07:59:24 AM
Good morning!

QB--whew! Last word yesterday was oompah. Congrats all on your QBs and twofers.

cathwen, I too came up with redoubtably/yike, but took it in stride, knowing well the vagaries of the puzzle setting process. Yikes, indeed!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 19, 2024, 09:33:21 AM
Congrats on your QBs and 2fers, cathwen and Langue_doc! I had deliberately, doubletake, redoubtable, yolker, and others and thought at least one would work out! Got close with some combos.  I'm glad you found a solution that worked, even if we are left to scratch our heads about it.  It's always worth a try.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 19, 2024, 02:49:17 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on January 19, 2024, 09:33:21 AMI'm glad you found a solution that worked, even if we are left to scratch our heads about it.

How else would I find words for the bee?😊 I associate redoubtably/redoubtable with detective novels of yore, for reasons that elude me.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2024, 06:30:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word was faucet. I think I had a twofer, but will have to review the puzzle to see what I found. I've been too distracted by Quordle and Blossom to pay much attention to LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 20, 2024, 07:10:34 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find actuate, faucet, tactual, and lacteal, my last word. Today I have all three pangrams, but a good way to go yet.

LB: I had the "official" watchful-liver. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 20, 2024, 08:20:58 AM
Morning!

Busy day yesterday so just made it to Genius, Wordle, Connections and a little fooling around with LB.

Feels incomplete...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 20, 2024, 10:03:54 AM
Good morning!

I have two pangrams and am past genius, but I still have a ways to go! Yesterday was a total failure on puzzles.  I don't know what happened to the time.  We had a bunch of words we needed help from bee buddy with that are just kind of oh come on kind of words, like calculate, lettuce, along with acetal, lacteal.  Ugh.

I tried on LB when I had time and thought I had some good contenders but just couldn't make anything work.  Congrats, cathwen! And I am annoyed by some b4ss today, so hopefully something will make sense at some point.

Langue_doc, sounds like just another good reason to read detective novels! And I don't think I have heard of Blossom but am assuming it's another game.  Sorry if you have mentioned it before! I do recall Quordle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 20, 2024, 01:43:57 PM
ab_grp, good luck on finding the rest of the words in today's bee. Made it to QB.

Here's the link for Blossoms (https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/blossom-word-game). Try it with and without the music, and then decide which format you prefer.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 21, 2024, 07:50:18 AM
Good morning!

50 words so far. QB yesterday, with bobbled at the end.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 21, 2024, 08:37:49 AM
Morning!

Didn't make QB - by the time I got to bed it was after midnight. That's usually when I go through and find my last words. And just a 3fer czarina-adoringly-yak, zonal-licking-grody.

Slow start this morning. But the NYT has been delivered so reading and coffee awaits!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 21, 2024, 10:10:03 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH, last word boodle. Today I am at genius with the pangram, but have ten words to go.

LB: No luck yesterday! I have a 2fer today, though.

Langue_doc, I think that Blossoms will become part of my game repertoire. Thanks for the link!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 21, 2024, 10:48:06 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with the pangram (finally!).  Yesterday I almost made it to QB but needed help with oblong, which I feel like I always miss.  Argh! I don't know how I missed belonged for so long but got the other two.  Congrats, Langue_doc!

No luck on LB! Guess that was a tough one.  Glad you got one today, cathwen!

Langue_doc, thanks for the Blossoms puzzle! I had not seen that before.  I tried todays and have been working my way backward.  I scored better after I read the instructions.  ;-)  It's interesting that it's similar to the bee but involves some strategy.  Definitely enjoying it!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 22, 2024, 05:18:09 AM
Good morning!

QB. Missed anionic, indicia.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 22, 2024, 05:52:19 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for macadamia and monomaniac, my last word. Today I'm at QB-1 and hoping for inspiration.

LB: locksmith-hijab.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 22, 2024, 06:24:33 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word was the pan nomadic. LB job-blacksmith.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 22, 2024, 07:49:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc, and good luck with your final word, cathwen! Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed anionic, camo.

No luck on LB! Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 23, 2024, 06:26:10 AM
Morning!

QBABM! Last word fended. LB trophic-candidly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 23, 2024, 07:57:13 AM
Good morning!

Pangram early on and then an uphill slog to past genius. Last word yesterday was landfall.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 23, 2024, 07:58:19 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM with final word flak.

And I got a 2fer, but one of the words is in the bee today, so I will hold off posting it until tomorrow!

Congrats on your QB and 2fer as well, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 23, 2024, 09:25:14 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QBABM yesterday, last word alfalfa. Today I am at genius with the pangram, but stuck.

LB: I had the "official" hydrant-topical. No 2fer yet today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 24, 2024, 05:30:25 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and almost QB.

Missed photopic, pothook!?, tiki.

cowgirl/levant

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 24, 2024, 06:18:16 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBBH for coopt, photopic, tiki, and pothook, my last word. Langue_doc, I second the !?.

Today I am at genius with both pangrams, pretty far from QB.

LB: cilantro-overgrown. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 24, 2024, 06:30:20 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last words pothook, coopt. Needed a hint for cilantro-overgrown after a bunch of 3fers.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 24, 2024, 07:45:46 AM
Good morning!

Almost at genius, but only one pangram so far.  Yesterday I was also missing pothook and add my voice to the !?s.  I was also missing cooktop, coopt.  Husband got to QBABH, at least!

Yesterday I also had cowgirl-levant.  The day before was photic-cardinality

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 25, 2024, 05:28:53 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and well above genius. Last words were porno, radian.

Found a twofer as soon as I looked at SB--hope it isn't the NYT solution.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 25, 2024, 05:59:52 AM
Good morning!

Both pangrams so far and above genius. Yesterday I needed help to find apian, nonpaid, rapini, and riparian.

No 2fer yesterday! Congratulations on having found a 2fer today instantly, Langue_doc! I found one also, but it took some time.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 25, 2024, 06:36:45 AM
Morning!

QBwH... nonpaid? Okay. I did find rapini on my own which was the most unique word in the Spelling Bee Buddy list. LB flashbacks-surimi.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 25, 2024, 07:46:18 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy help for nonpaid, rani

No luck on LB, though I did have flashbacks.  Just couldn't find a mate.  Congrats, ciao_yall! And on getting one right away today, Langue_doc!

Totally forgot to do the crossword yesterday, but luckily I kept my streak.  Not that it matters that much, but a little win is a little win.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 26, 2024, 05:42:40 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was twinning.

LB is stuck on yesterday's puzzle. I reported this only to get an automated response with a long list of what is included in the games, and how I can troubleshoot. I'm sure they've received tons of complaints about the game!

polka/acquiring--found the latter first, and then saw the other one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 26, 2024, 06:28:35 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word which. LB quackling-groping.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 26, 2024, 09:22:02 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QB yesterday with 1L help to find igniting, twinging,and ninth, (!!), my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, a few more words to go.

LB: I had the "official" polka-acquiring.

I also noticed that yesterday's puzzles, except for SB, were up this morning, but when I got home from yoga class, today's puzzles were all there.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 26, 2024, 09:49:21 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday, husband got to QBABH! Not me.  I needed help with ninth, cinch(ing), whining, wining, twig... ugh.  I am going to blame it on the wee temperature I have had for the past few days and corresponding sleep issues.  Congrats on your QBs, Langue_doc!

And no luck on LB.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 27, 2024, 04:19:02 AM
Good morning!

Pangram (weird one) and finally, genius.

Leaving for a bird walk in a bit, so probably not much puzzling today. Crossword, wordle, connections, and blossoms were completed last night.

NYT Games did get back to me to let me know that they had fixed the bug.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 27, 2024, 05:55:47 AM
Good morning!

QBwH, last word nonunion. Today I am at genius with the pangram, but have a long way to go.

LB: I had whip-protectionary. No 2fer yet today.

Langue_doc, enjoy your bird walk!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 27, 2024, 08:27:59 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word futon. LB photoreaction-noway. Quick 2fer this morning with a word I thought I made up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 27, 2024, 10:27:42 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but needed help again for nuncio, a word which I will never get on my own.

Cathwen, I also got whip-protectionary! Congrats on your 2fers yesterday and today, ciao_yall.

Good bird sightings, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 28, 2024, 06:52:20 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Missed arco, barbacoa, corncob, and another word.

ab_grp and cathwen, good birding yesterday, will post details on the bird thread later today.

murids/splotch

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 28, 2024, 07:01:03 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram and now stuck with only two words to go. Yesterday I needed help for carbonara, bronc, cabana, and my last word, colcannon.

LB: No solution yesterday—congratulations on yours, ciao_yall and Langue_doc! But I did find one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 28, 2024, 08:18:46 AM
Morning!

QBwH - last word cabana. With those long puzzles, it's easy to miss a few easy ones. LB murids-splotch. Thought I made up murids but turns out it's a scientific term for mice and related varmints.

Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 28, 2024, 10:57:50 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we made it to team QB through some miracle.  I was missing bloc, cannonball, corncob, I think.

No luck on LB yesterday but did get one on my first try today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 29, 2024, 05:02:00 AM
Good morning!

QB and a twofer. Last word yesterday was vulpine.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 29, 2024, 06:56:16 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word unpile. I probably could have done it with just the grid but I accidentally saw the 2LL. LB explained-debtor.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 29, 2024, 07:39:58 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Congrats on QB already, Langue_doc! Yesterday we almost had team QB, but we needed bee buddy for unpile.

I also got the schmofficial explained-debtor.  Congrats on already getting a 2fer today as well, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 29, 2024, 08:32:05 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for ennui and unlevel. Today I'm at QB-2, hoping for QB!

LB: I also had explained-debtor. No 2fer yet today—congratulations, Langue_doc, on finding one!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 30, 2024, 05:49:33 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was natant.

gravesites/suborn

ab_grp, I had to chuckle when I saw one of the hints in Monday's (I think) puzzle!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 30, 2024, 06:44:49 AM
Morning!

QBABM! Last word titan. LB vinegar-robust.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 30, 2024, 08:35:34 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for my last word, twilit. I now remember seeing that before. Congratulations on QBABY, ciao_yall! Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram, a few more words to go.

LB: To add to the variety, I had groves-suburbanite.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2024, 10:04:59 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday we each needed one word but ran out of time.  At least we had team QB! I was missing tannin.  Congrats, ciao_yall!

And congrats on your solutions! No luck for me, again.

Langue_doc, which clue made you chuckle?

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a 2fer on my first try! The roller coaster ride...
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 30, 2024, 11:54:16 AM
ab_grp, the amorous Pepe Le Pew.

QB.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 30, 2024, 12:04:23 PM
Quote from: Langue_doc on January 30, 2024, 11:54:16 AMab_grp, the amorous Pepe Le Pew.

QB.

Haha!! I didn't even think about that.  I was picturing it more as homicidal, but he (or she?) could have been amorous! And congrats on QB!

In case anyone doesn't read the fauna thread, this is in reference to my husband getting chased on campus by a skunk that he initially thought was a cat.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on January 31, 2024, 05:45:38 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and just above genius. How and whether I'm going to find the remaining words is a mystery.

Last word was ratatat.

ab_grp, your post about the encounter reminded me of the cartoon character who was meant to be "amorous", which nowadays is considered to be stalking behavior.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on January 31, 2024, 06:54:09 AM
Morning!

QBwH for my last word diffract. I kept spelling it with one f. LB quickener-rewatch.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on January 31, 2024, 09:28:49 AM
Good morning!

Somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we each almost made it to QB but gave up and had team QB.  I think I was missing farad, frittata, raffia, some of which I usually get (and some of which I never get).

And I also got quickener-rewatch for LB.

Langue_doc, that is a good description!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on January 31, 2024, 09:45:41 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwH yesterday with farad and tariff as my last words. Today I made QBABM!

LB: No solution yesterday—so congratulations to everyone else! I have a 2fer today, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 01, 2024, 05:23:26 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. QB yesterday with blabby as my last word. Didn't think it was a word, but who knew!

wrought/treacly

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 01, 2024, 06:17:27 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for baldly. Probably could have ABM'd it but was in the mood to finish. LB celt-throughway, cleat-throughway.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 01, 2024, 06:56:31 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word bubba. Today I am a bit above genius with the pangram.

LB: wrought-treacly. And I found one fairly quickly today

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 01, 2024, 07:33:39 AM
Good morning!

Somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I also got QBABM.  My final word was laudably.

For LB, I also had wrought-treacly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 02, 2024, 06:52:34 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word yesterday was lubed which I tried out of desperation--didn't think that one got one's car lubed.

judgers/smithy

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 02, 2024, 07:13:05 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LLH to find my two last words, hubbub and dumdum. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, with only a few words to go. Hoping for inspiration!

LB: I first had judger-rhythmist, then saw rhythm-misjudge. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 02, 2024, 07:20:07 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word dumdum. I did go to SBB because I like to see if the words I am missing are unusual on their tally, but I didn't use any of their suggestions or hints. So not sure how that counts.

LB rhythm-misjudge.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 02, 2024, 07:41:25 AM
Good morning!

Not yet to genius and neither pangram yet.  Husband got them, but it took him a bit.  Hopefully inspiration will strike me! Yesterday I got to QBABM.  Somehow my final word was dull.

I also got judgers-smithy for LB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 03, 2024, 09:12:09 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word cioppino. LB got a hint for forbearing-getup. New word! I tried forebear b4ss.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 03, 2024, 10:57:16 AM
Good morning! (barely)

A bit past genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday I finally got both pangrams and got close to QB, but no dice.  We didn't have team QB, either.  We were both missing mochi.

And no luck on LB, either!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 03, 2024, 01:01:43 PM
Afternoon!

QB. QB yesterday, but needed BB for monophonic and cioppino.

forbearing/getup

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 03, 2024, 01:23:50 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday with help for honcho, mimic, and nincompoop, my last word. I got mochi completely by accident! I never would have thought of it otherwise. Pangram and beyond genius today.

LB: I also had forbearing-getup. No luck yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 04, 2024, 06:40:39 AM
Good morning!

Almost QB. Last word yesterday was hellhole.

I know I found a twofer, but can't remember what it was.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 04, 2024, 09:10:27 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word hogan. LB got a hint for paves-snowmobile. Darn compounds always get me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 04, 2024, 09:38:10 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwSBB, last word gonna. Today I'm beyond genius with the pangram, a few more words to go.

LB: vapes-snowmobile, found with a hint. Today's LB has me totally flummoxed, so no 2fer yet.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 04, 2024, 10:39:12 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we ended up needing help with a few words, including hellhole, galleon, longan.

I actually got the schmofficial 2fer yesterday! But I am kind of surprised that it ended up being vapes instead of paves (and that the latter didn't occur to me at all).  I have some ideas today, but lots of tough letters.  Hopefully something obvious pops out.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 05, 2024, 07:02:06 AM
Morning!

QBwH - last word cancan. LB - ended up getting a hint for psychology-yakuza and learned a new word.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 05, 2024, 07:46:11 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I was missing cancan, cetacean.

I got the schmoffical psychology-yakuza but think we might have had that one before (at least the latter word, because I remember thinking it was a proper noun at the time). 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 05, 2024, 07:55:57 AM
Good morning!

QB. Needed BB for cetacean.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 05, 2024, 08:20:36 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for last two words, cetacean and cayenne. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: psychology-yakuza. I only got the last word because scenes from Hawaii Five-O popped into my head. The yakuza (Yakuza?) figure in many of the episodes. Like ab_grp, I thought it was a proper noun. Another word for my Bee list!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 06, 2024, 06:35:20 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word cancan. LB finally got a hint for fruitlet-thanks. That is not a word. Humph.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 06, 2024, 06:50:06 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last words yesterday were aloe, oleo--aargh, should have seen them earlier, but still made it to QB.

flashers/skinsuit--can't stop seeing people flashing in their skinsuits.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 06, 2024, 08:03:02 AM
Good morning!

Past genius but only 3 pangrams so far.  Yesterday we almost got to team QB but both needed abloom.  I also needed amoebae, bola.

Congrats on your solutions! No luck here again.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 06, 2024, 08:48:28 AM
Good morning!

QBwH, last word mezzo. Today I have all five pangrams and only one word to go, but it is eluding me.

LB: Lots of possibilities this time! I had fastener-rushlike. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 07, 2024, 06:36:56 AM
Good morning! QB. Last word yesteday was doffed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 07, 2024, 06:39:20 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word was coffined. What?? LB got a hint for knitwear-rebaptism. Another what???

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 07, 2024, 06:51:05 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1LH for the last word, edifice, which I was sure I had already gotten. Today I have only two words to go, but cannot see them for the life of me.

LB: No solution yesterday, and none yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 07, 2024, 08:52:09 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I finally found the remaining pangrams, and we ended up with team QB.  I was missing coffee, coifed.  Ugh!

No luck on LB again!

Last week was busy with meetings, yesterday was busy, today we had parts of flooring put in (nothing exciting, just the joiner parts between rooms that had gotten cracked over the years).  Hopefully that's it for interruptions from puzzling for a while! ;-) In the meantime, we will have to step carefully over the weights and large water containers and crates of wine holding the floor parts down.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 08, 2024, 06:55:12 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for hoodoo. LB needed a nudge for gumdrop-patchy. Been a tricky week with that one!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 08, 2024, 07:07:21 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and genius--phew! Last word yesterday was rigor.

ab_grp, trying to visualize the wine crates holding down the floor. Hope the floor's set now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 08, 2024, 07:08:12 AM
Good morning!

QBwH to find my last word, hoodoo. I've missed this before. Today I'm at genius with both pangrams, but have a little way to go.

LB: No luck yesterday again! And none yet today, either. Sigh...

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 08, 2024, 07:58:30 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangrams so far.  Kind of a slog at this point, so hopefully inspiration will strike.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with googol and maybe another?

No luck on LB again.  I agree, it has been tough lately!

Langue_doc, the crates of wine are the most appealing floor stabilizers.  :-) I am shocked that neither of us have broken a leg yet.  Not long after I posted yesterday, I stepped nimbly over the joiner outside my office and then nearly tripped over the joiner between the living room and kitchen just a few feet away.  Just got distracted that quickly! Geez.  We got used to them, though.  We left a light on last night by the bathroom since a weight plate and a kettlebell had been placed in that doorway.  That would have been a nasty surprise! We decided to leave the weights in place until husband gets home to give the adhesive a little more time to set, so I am home alone and trying not to tempt fate and limit moving between areas of the house. 

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 09, 2024, 04:33:12 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Interesting choice of letters today. Missed ballyard, bodyboard, drooly, and rollbar.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 09, 2024, 05:41:50 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday for bodyboard, dolor, and dryad. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: fixtures-scowl, which is the "official" solution. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 09, 2024, 07:20:19 AM
Morning!

QBwH for a few oddballs. Last word bodyboard. LB fixtures-scowl.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 09, 2024, 07:53:24 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far and am having trouble now.  Yesterday we almost made it to team QB but needed bee buddy for balladry.

I also got the schmofficial fixtures-scowl yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 10, 2024, 06:02:46 AM
Good morning!

QBw1LH yesterday for my last words, genteel and tenet. Today I have all three pangrams and two words to go, but I am just not seeing them.

LB: I finally found warmonger-ratified. I found one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 10, 2024, 06:10:04 AM
Good morning!

Patted myself on the back for having found "the" pangram and made it to genius. Now I have to look for the other two!

Last words were delete, deleted.

Off to an outdoors event--weather's going to be in the high fifties.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 10, 2024, 08:04:10 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word detente. LB after swirling in 2fer b4ss and 3fers went for hints to get wifedom-migrant. That's a word?

Busted my 92-day streak on Wordle today - WAH! Oh well, back to zero. At least I got a 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 10, 2024, 01:43:35 PM
Good day!

Got to genius with pangrams.  Yesterday I got to QBABM and was so startled that I yelled.  I had had such a hard time with it! My final words weren't even difficult.  I think delete(d), gentle, genteel were among the last ones.  Not sure why it's so hard to see normal words sometimes!

No luck on LB, so congrats on the interesting solutions!

We were out and about this morning, doing a loop to pick up some dumbbells, groceries, and wine.  I feel like I lost most of the day, but it's nice to do something different once in a while.  I got to meet the owner of the bar that husband orders wine through.  He doesn't look as much like a cross between Harrison Ford and Shaggy as was advertised, but he was a nice guy and interesting to talk with.

Langue_doc, I hope you enjoyed your outdoor event and that the weather held up! It has been rainy and cold here today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 11, 2024, 08:34:10 AM
Morning!

QBwH and learned a new word chivalric. LB typographic-clod.

Enjoy the SuperBowl, for those who celebrate. And happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 11, 2024, 08:56:49 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB to find my last word, caviar. Ab_grp, I laughed when I read that you yelled in excitement on getting QBABM! Congratulations!

Today I'm at genius with the pangram, not far to go.

LB: I had the "official" haptic-cardiology.

Not much on the agenda today—it will be a lazy Sunday. I will probably bake a loaf of whole wheat sandwich bread, since we have only a few slices left.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to those who follow football! I'm not a football fan, but my husband is, so the game will be on. I'll enjoy the commercials, though.

And happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 11, 2024, 11:20:54 AM
Good day!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  No excited yelling yesterday, as we ended up needing bee buddy for cavil.  I had meant to try that and had forgotten to.  Oh well! I am using my bee mug today, so hopefully that will help.

For LB, I got photic-cardiology, close to one that I got a week or two ago (photic-cardinality).  Congrats on your solutions!

Cathwen, it's great that you are making some whole wheat! We haven't made bread in a while.  Do you usually make your bread? I need to find a good and easy recipe for whole wheat hamburger buns.  They can be hard to find sometimes around here.  I had a good one for APF buns, but it can be a little more difficult with other flours (or, at least I am not as familiar with baking with them and the adjustments that have to be made).

We aren't planning to watch the Superbowl, but I am making "my" Superbowl of Gumbo and some (from a can) biscuits.  I will be looking for the game and commercial highlights tomorrow!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 11, 2024, 02:49:10 PM
Afternoon/Evening!

QB. Last word was vicar.

patch/hydrologic (I think)

Happy evening!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 12, 2024, 05:49:36 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last words yesterday were minim, minima, minimum.

tumbled/deviance

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 12, 2024, 06:36:08 AM
Morning!

QB w Grid, last word ganging. LB ambivalence-etude. Got Wordle in 2. It'll be a while before I even touch this last streak of 92.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2024, 07:45:03 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangrams.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for jinn(i).  I always seem to miss those.

I also had ambivalence-etude.  Kind of surprised that is not schmofficial (well, it's half-schmofficial).  Congrats on a different one, Langue_doc!

Good job on Wordle, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 12, 2024, 08:55:32 AM
Good morning!

QB-1 this morning, hoping for inspiration for that last word. Yesterday my last words were ganging and gigging.

LB: I had ambulance-evicted, then found invincible-emulated while supposedly watching the Super Bowl. Lots of variety this time!

Ab_grp, yes, I do make almost all the bread we consume. Whole wheat sandwich bread, oatmeal-raisin bread, ciabatta, and bagels are the things I make most frequently. I do buy English muffins, though—I've made them, and while they taste good, the texture is never quite right (not enough large holes). And we usually buy hot dog rolls. Bagels are surprisingly easy, and way better than anything you can buy outside of New York. Most of my recipes are from the King Arthur Baking site, or from Bread Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen. For whole wheat hamburger buns, if you have a good recipe for APF buns, just reduce the white flour a bit and replace it with the same quantity of whole wheat flour. How much depends on how "wheaty" you like your buns. Start off conservatively, though, and if you decide you like them wheatier, then increase the WWF the next time you make them.

Happy puzzling (and happy baking?)!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 12, 2024, 10:45:17 AM
Thanks, cathwen! I will have to dig up the APF bun recipe and give it a try.  When I find a recipe that works, I tend to cling to it, so it must be around here somewhere.  You sound like quite the baker, and you have a lucky husband and family to get to have all those delicious baked goods! One year during winter break (back east) I tried to make kaiser rolls.  Whew was that frustrating, and it did not end up well! Have you had any luck with those? I'd also like to try to make some bagels at some point.  It always seemed like a major process, but maybe that is worth reconsidering.  I was just looking at bagels in the area thinking that I would like to try some for my birthday and see if I can find any good local bakeries.  I think we have some adjustments to make due to the elevation and the water here for most baking, unfortunately.   

And congrats on your two 2fers! More variety!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 13, 2024, 06:30:06 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word calcify. LB nudge/hint for prizing-grotesque.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 13, 2024, 07:32:00 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was frailly.

cathwen, hope you aren't under several feet of snow.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 13, 2024, 07:42:13 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday we have team QB.  I was missing filially, friary.

No luck on LB.  Maybe today!

I hope the northeasterners stay warm and dry and don't have to shovel!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 13, 2024, 08:17:20 AM
Good morning!

QB, but needed 1LH to find the last word, affray. Today I am at genius with both pangrams and still a few words to go.

LB: I had the "official" prizing-grotesque. I have a 2fer today also.

Snow report: We now have easily 6", and it's still coming down steadily. We're supposed to get about 10" by the time it's over. Most events, schools, etc. have been cancelled. Yesterday even my doctor's office called to pro-actively cancel my appointment today! It's a heavy, wet snow, which will give my husband the chance to try out his new toy, a power snow shovel (which I think was a very silly purchase, but when he gets an idea into his head, there's no reasoning with him.) I'm sure he'll feel vindicated after all my scoffing.

Langue_doc, I believe that New York is also getting a lot of snow?

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 13, 2024, 11:08:10 AM
cathwen, we did get some snow, but nothing compared to the blizzards we used to get. I remember having to pay someone to dig the car out after snowstorms. Subsequently, the neighbor's kids got old enough to do the clearing/shoveling. Now the sun's out and the snow on the car is melting, so I won't have to do anything except brush off the remains if there's any left tomorrow. Everything's closed today--the public libraries, colleges, schools, even the Botanic Garden. The MET's open for those willing to risk the subway snafus. There was at least one year when there were huge piles of snow all the way from the end of December through the end of January, followed by another blizzard, and then a third one. I don't think we had any snow last year, so this is an event, sort of!

Hope the new toy stood up to the task.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 13, 2024, 12:25:38 PM
We ended up with about 6-8", as far as I can tell. My husband did have fun with his power snow shovel, which is kind of like a mini-snow blower, but not very loud. And it was just the thing for shoveling heavy, wet snow. I am no longer rolling my eyes.

Langue_doc, we always used to get lots of snow here, but the last several years have not brought much. So today's snow is, as you say, kind of an event.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 14, 2024, 06:27:32 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word bacilli. LB judo-overwatched.

Ah, snow. I grew up in CA and even though we went skiing as a kid, the snow was already there. So I was a young adult before first seeing new fallen snow. Couldn't get over it. My East Coast colleagues thought I was nuts.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 14, 2024, 06:44:40 AM
Good morning!

Pangram, and just a few more words left. Last word yesterday was celeb.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 14, 2024, 07:20:14 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I was missing bicep, peaceable.

I also had judo-overwatch.  I think we had that one before? Several recent ones have sounded familiar, in fact.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 14, 2024, 07:25:53 AM
Good morning!

QBwH, last word bailee. Genius with pangram today, several words to go.

LB: I also had judo-overwatch. I found a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 15, 2024, 05:45:16 AM
Good moring!

QB. Missed nonliving (is that a word?), ogive, vlog, vlogging.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 15, 2024, 06:18:25 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, wild guess at ogive, nonliving. LB boxcars-schmutz.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 15, 2024, 06:25:56 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBBH to find inveigle/inveigling, vlog/vlogging. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

Langue_doc, I think it's odd which words SB accepts/rejects (mostly rejects) with the non- prefix. I also thought that nonliving was a little strange.

LB: I also had boxcars-schmutz.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 15, 2024, 07:54:59 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Again some words are not accepted.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for vegging, vigil, vlogging.  I feel dumb about the last one considering that I got vlog (which was a guess).  Nonliving is not a great word.

Got boxcars-shmutz and again think that it sounds very familiar! I went back through my current notepad but didn't see that one.  I found one with yakuza but with a different mate word.  I might have finally thrown out my old notebooks, unfortunately.  Anyway, interesting!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 16, 2024, 05:53:06 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Last words were ionic, icon, iconic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 16, 2024, 06:32:59 AM
Morning!

QBwH for unmount. LB nudge for worthful-laudation which I thought I made up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 16, 2024, 07:46:21 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I was busy with work and needed more help, but I think there were a bunch of un-s among them.

I had forthwith-handful (schmofficial) yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 16, 2024, 08:19:49 AM
Good morning!

QB, with a 1L hint for the last word, notion. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but have a good way to go.

LB: I had the "official" forthwith-handful. No solution yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 17, 2024, 07:55:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and then, finally, genius.

Last werd was exacta, which I found by mistyping/retyping exacted.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 17, 2024, 08:37:55 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB, last word tacet. LB blueprint-thaw.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 17, 2024, 10:34:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! Last word was exacta, which I was excited about because I think I pretty much never get that one.  Not that it's that exotic.  I don't know what the issue is.  Anyway, got it this time.

And I also got the schmofficial blueprint-thaw.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 17, 2024, 12:17:50 PM
Good afternoon!

QB yesterday, last word also exacta. QB today also, albeit with a nudge from SBB for the last two words.

LB: No solution yesterday, nor today so far. Congratulations to those who got it!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 18, 2024, 08:45:14 AM
Morning!

QBwH for burgoo. LB hints and learned a few new words - variform-mensch, naviform-mischief.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 18, 2024, 09:12:05 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QBwH for burgoo and froufrou. Today I'm at genius with five of the six (!) pangrams.

LB: No luck yesterday, but I have one today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2024, 10:27:43 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius plus a bit also with 5/6 pangrams.  Geez.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy for froufrou.  I also needed help with loll?! But I got burgoo! Finally! I was quite excited for myself.  ;-)

No luck on LB.  Those were tough answers!

The past morning or two, we've had some really chatty lesser goldfinches keeping us company during puzzle time.  I know they're not exotic birds, but they make me happy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 18, 2024, 11:54:24 AM
Afternoon!

QB with all six pangrams. Missed burgoo.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 18, 2024, 12:14:23 PM
Finally got the 6th pangram and a 2fer.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! I still have a bit to go for that, somehow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 19, 2024, 07:56:40 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for domain.  Husband was there on his own, as I needed a few more words than that! We had gotten busy making a special dinner, but I guess I can't blame it on that since he still did so well.

For LB I had prizeable-equator.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 19, 2024, 08:34:08 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG for diatom. LB prizeable-equator, prioritize-equatable.

A few quick 2fers this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 19, 2024, 09:23:29 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

Like ab_grp, I had QB yesterday with domain as my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had prizeable-equator. Found a quick 2fer this morning, will look for more—congratulations on finding several, ciao_yall!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 19, 2024, 10:05:52 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and genius. Last word was timid.

prioritize/equable

Sunny day today. Went birding and stood in one spot for almost half an hour listening to the continuous bird songs all around me.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 20, 2024, 05:28:52 AM
Good morning!

Small list of words, so QB. Last word yesterday was vividly.

portable/eking

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 20, 2024, 06:44:25 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word atilt. LB blanketing-grope, blanket-troping.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 20, 2024, 07:49:04 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I forget what I needed, but I think the list included vividly as well despite getting lividly.

I had the schmofficial parking-goblet.  I had the first word forever and was just too lazy to find the second one for a while, I guess.  Congrats on all the different solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 20, 2024, 09:13:16 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QBwH yesterday for lividity and daylit, my last word, which I was sure I had tried earlier. Today I'm at genius with the pangram and a few words to go. Congratulations on QB, Langue_doc!

LB: I had parking-goblet and blanket-teleporting. I found one today by some miracle.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 21, 2024, 05:58:35 AM
Good morning!

QB.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 21, 2024, 06:43:12 AM
Morning!

QBABM, last word melee. LB vibrancy-yachtsman.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 21, 2024, 07:20:16 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM! It was pretty early, surprisingly, and I don't remember what the final word was.  No really difficult ones.

I am so mad at myself.  I had vibrancy-yachts and could apparently get no further.  ARGH!

Happy solving!

ETA: Got a quick 2fer today, luckily.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 21, 2024, 09:01:44 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a 1-L hint for the last word, memo. Argh! Congratulations on all the QBABYs! And today I got QBABM.

LB: I had the "official" vibrancy-yachtsman. I have one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 22, 2024, 05:25:17 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last word was highly.

ploughed/drift

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 22, 2024, 06:30:59 AM
Morning!

QBABM, last word fitly. LB ploughed-drift.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 22, 2024, 07:04:30 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word giggly. Genius with pangram today.

LB: I also had ploughed-drift.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 22, 2024, 07:20:17 AM
Good morning!

Genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB but each needed one word from the other.  I couldn't find fifth for whatever reason, dang it!

For LB I had proud-delightful.  I guess I'm the oddball!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 23, 2024, 05:58:21 AM
Good morning!

QB. Last word yesterday was ebbed.

Happy solving!

ETA: Easy twofer, hope it isn't the official one.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 23, 2024, 06:49:52 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, but I needed help with abed, bedaub(ed).  Yuck.

No luck on LB, either!

Congrats on already getting QB and 2fer, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 23, 2024, 07:31:08 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL last words bedaub(ed).

LB? Oy. after a number of 3fers including hombre-evicted-don, and 2fer b4ss notched-divebomber I finally went to hints, then multiple tries on Google to land on overbite-echinoderm.

Oy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 23, 2024, 07:49:35 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday was busy, as Middle Daughter and Grandson are visiting. I finally went to SBB for the final few words: baaed, bedaub/ed, bandeau, unban/ned. Genius and pangram today.

LB: No solution yesterday. None yet today—congratulations on your quick 2fer, Langue_doc! I am still struggling.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2024, 05:37:29 AM
Good morning!

Genius and pangram. Last word was droll.

cockroach/humiliation--what a combo!

Enjoy your time with daughter and grandson, cathwen.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 24, 2024, 07:28:58 AM
Good morning!

QBwH for wallaroo, which I should have remembered from a previous puzzle. QB today.

LB: After much frustration, I looked at a hint and finally found cockroach-humiliation. Today, though, I found a 2fer right off the bat.

The visit with Daughter and Grandson was great. They brought some games to play which had us laughing in no time (Poetry for Neanderthals, and one whose name I can't remember). And we went to a state park on the shoreline; Daughter was thrilled to see a great blue heron and an egret. Lots of good conversation, too. I just wish they had been able to stay longer!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 24, 2024, 08:30:49 AM
Morning!

QBwH for dorado, wallaroo. LB went for hints to get cockroach-humiliation.

Today, QB-1 ABM already and a quick 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 24, 2024, 10:25:49 AM
Good morning!

Got to a bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB, and I needed help again with wallaroo.  That word is not on my nice list.

No luck on LB again yesterday, so congrats on your solutions! I also got one on the first try today, though.  I wish that averaged out somehow.

Sounds like a great and fun-filled visit with your daughter and grandson, cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 24, 2024, 06:29:38 PM
QB and a twofer as soon as I looked at the puzzle.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 25, 2024, 09:08:19 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, last words voguing and cooing.. ("Voguing"? I had to look it up. Apparently it is a kind of dance that mimics models on a catwalk.) Today I'm at genius with both pangrams.

LB: I had amaze-exquisitely. I have a 2fer today, but it took a good while to find it. Congratulations on finding one right away, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 25, 2024, 09:16:06 AM
Good morning!

Pangrams and just squeaked into genius. Last words were gonging and nonunion. Didn't think that either of these were legit, but tried them just in case.

maze/exquisitely--found the latter first, and then saw that the remaining letters resulted in the former.

The days are getting longer, but DST starts in a couple of weeks so my sleep's going to be shot.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 25, 2024, 09:27:51 AM
Morning!

QB ABM! Last word nuncio. LB maze-exquisitely. Stuck at the moment at Amazing but did get a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 25, 2024, 11:45:52 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram.  Kind of a slog so far! Yesterday we needed bee buddy for nonunion (I really detest non- words at this point), but I actually got nuncio for once! Sounds like everyone else got to QBABY, so good going.

Same LB as everyone else.  Right away I saw exquisitely and was thrilled to immediately be able to make a mate.  Whew.

Cathwen, do you know the Madonna song Vogue? Come on, vogue... let your body move to the music... hey hey hey! hah  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI

I have a friend chat this afternoon and have been busy this morning, so we'll see if I get anywhere further.  We finally took the tree down and did a bunch of little things that needed to be done (air and water filters, laundry).  Yesterday we did a lot of adulting and got a lot of errands accomplished.  Exciting times! Oh yeah, one of the things that needed doing yesterday was that our front door stopped opening from the outside! Something broke in the door handleset, so we had to run out to Home Depot.  Husband was able to install the new one, thankfully.  It made us take a look at what spare keys we had, at least.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 26, 2024, 05:30:14 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Missed griot, groat, loggia, and otalgia. I might have found the first three if I had persisted, but most definitely not the last one. I wonder if any of us complains to the doctor that we are suffering from otalgia instead of just pain in the ear!

ab_grp, hope all your doors and locks work now.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 26, 2024, 05:54:32 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB for attagirl, galoot, gotta, and otalgia. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had the "official" fashionista-album.

Ab_grp, I guess I'm out of date by several decades, as I had not heard Madonna's Vogue. Or if I had, it did not lodge in my memory cells. I am now enlightened!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 26, 2024, 06:51:50 AM
Good morning!

Not quite to genius yet, but I do have the pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for otalgia, griot.  I got logroll this time, though!

I also got fashionista-album.

Langue_doc, thanks! It is a relief not to have to plan this whole thing of how to get in, or if the door mysteriously slams shut behind me and locks me out, should I dance around in front of the video doorbell? I'd rather not! We also finally took our Christmas tree down.  I think we got to April one year, so not too bad. 

Cathwen, I'm glad to (re-?)introduce you to that song and video! It's pretty iconic.  Now you, too, can vogue! ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 26, 2024, 07:24:16 AM
Morning!

QBwATHICG and learned a new word, otalgia. LB fashionista-album.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 27, 2024, 04:14:22 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words were biradial, drool.

yarmulke/epiphany (reversed order also works)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 27, 2024, 05:27:08 AM
Good morning!

I got distracted and never finished SB yesterday! I had seven words to go. Today I am at genius with the pangram.

LB: No solution there, either, but I have one today. Congratulations on your 2fer, Langue_doc!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 27, 2024, 06:32:08 AM
Morning!

QBwH for adobo, biradical. Got a hint for unhip-playmaker. Quick 2fer this morning so back to the bee.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 27, 2024, 07:44:22 AM
Good morning!

I am also at genius with the pangram.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for adobo, railbird (ugh!).

I also had yarmulke-epiphany but hadn't noticed it was a ring! Thanks for pointing that out, Langue_doc!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 28, 2024, 06:23:51 AM
Morning!

QBwG, last word ennui. LB purview-wombat.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 28, 2024, 07:09:25 AM
Good morning!

QB with 1LH for the last word, ennui. I hate it when I miss French words! Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: I also had purview-wombat. No 2fer yet today, despite a lot of good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 28, 2024, 07:19:51 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius. Last words were nene, indie. Patted myself on the back for having remembered pinniped.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 28, 2024, 08:18:25 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I gave up on the last word, but we had team QB.  I was missing ninepin, an old nemesis.

I also got purview-wombat.  And I got one on the first try today!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on February 29, 2024, 04:44:59 AM
Good morning!

QB. Turns out that I forgot to complete the bee yesterday, so will have to look for the remaining words (I hope).

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on February 29, 2024, 06:59:30 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with a hint for barback. Today I'm a few words from QB.

LB: I had bathysphere-evict. I have a 2fer today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on February 29, 2024, 07:34:30 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for barback, barbacoa. LB hyperbaric-caveats.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on February 29, 2024, 07:50:07 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with barbacoa, romcom, macro.

For LB I had braves-sphericity.  Lots of variety!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 01, 2024, 07:14:25 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with SBB hint for uptilt. QBABM today—a rarity!

LB: I had the "official" jinxing-grouched. I found one today also.

Happy puzzling!

ETA: And—if you are of Welsh heritage—Happy St. David's Day!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 01, 2024, 08:34:15 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for pupal. LB  jinxing-grouched.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 01, 2024, 10:16:21 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram today so far.  Congrats on QBABY, cathwen! Yesterday I got to QBABM! I think my final word was pulp.

I also had jinxing-grouched.  At first I thought it was ships because I got grouched and could only see jinx.  Durr.

We started my birthday month by husband taking the day off (he can't take off for the next two weeks because his boss will be out of the country).  We went on a carb run to try two new-to-me-or-us bakeries and Dunkin' Donuts.  We picked up quite a haul.  Actually, we were pretty restrained, but it's still unusual goods for us.  Included were bagels, donuts, tamale, burrito.  I have to look up whether Bavarian cream is regular cream donut cream.  If not, I was out of luck trying to find what I thought was a very common donut.  I have always just asked for a cream donut! I have never had a donut here before, so maybe that is not the usual breed of donut here.  I found out a while back that they do not have Munchkins here.  Well, they do, but they just call them donut holes.  Donut or doughnut? Have I had too much sugar this morning?!

Happy solving!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 01, 2024, 12:36:20 PM
My post from earlier this morning seems to have been swallowed up by the proverbial black hole. Will repost later or tomorrow.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 02, 2024, 06:25:02 AM
Good morning!

QB today, yesterday, and the day before. Last word was flail (I think).

Twofer today, and also the official one a couple of days ago.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 02, 2024, 07:35:42 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word bailiff. LB got a nudge for ultrabasic-choux.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 02, 2024, 07:37:15 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word flail. Genius with pangram today, only a few words to go.

LB: I had the "official" churlish-hatbox. No solution yet today—congratulations, Langue_doc, on yours!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 02, 2024, 09:12:33 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  Just a couple words to go as well.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with bailiff, falafel, naif

No luck on LB yesterday! Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 03, 2024, 09:11:22 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word gorgon. LB got a nudge for astronomical-lynx.

Completely missed connections but did get a 2fer already this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 03, 2024, 09:17:22 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius, but am mystified as to why a perfectly legit couple of words that would be familiar to high schoolers weren't accepted. There are bound to be complaints, so I'm staying out of the fray.

Last word was porno.

astronomic/calyx--saw the latter right away, and then looked for the former.

Went to my usual haunt for birding. Saw a bald eagle and a turkey vulture overhead on my way to the preserve. Just stood in a few places listening to the various birds singing. I usually run into people who I know from bird walks in other hotspots, so it was good to have brief chats with a couple of birding buddies. Then there are the usual binoculars/scope laden people who stop to chat and compare notes on what we've seen.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 03, 2024, 10:17:09 AM
Good afternoon!

QBwSBB to find purr, guru, and wrung, my last word.  Today I'm at genius with one of the two pangrams.

LB: I found astronomic-calyx with a hint, then saw astronomical-lynx. I have a 2fer today.

Langue_doc, the Facebook Connecticut Audubon site has people posting pictures of bald eagles every day. One would think that one is roosting in every tree in the state! None of them are gracing the trees around our condo complex, though. It's always such a thrill to see one.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 03, 2024, 10:54:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams or a little beyond so far.  Yesterday I got to QBABM with last words purr, pronoun.

No luck on LB again! Congrats on your solutions!

Langue_doc, sounds like a nice birding outing.  I saw your post about having some good weekend weather as well, which is wonderful.  It's warm here but was too windy to sit outside this morning, unfortunately.  We've had some very chatty lesser goldfinches and finches lately.  And there was some brouhaha involving a bunch of sparrows in a bush yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2024, 05:50:54 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram. Missed heeltap. Heeltap?!

My usual vent about the idiosyncracies of the bee, rather those of one individual deciding which words are legit are which ones aren't: naphtha and the pangram naphthalene were out, but ethane, heptane, nepenthe, and the archaic neath were in!

grandpop/plaything

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 04, 2024, 07:13:37 AM
Morning!

QBwH for heptane, nepenthe, heptathlete, heeltap. Agreed, Langue_doc  - naphthalene was one of the first words I saw.  LB photoing-grandly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2024, 07:48:40 AM
Good morning!

Almost to genius, but only one pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed help for nepenthe.  I remember that one now from a long time ago! Agreed on the words not accepted for some reason.

For LB I had panhandling-gyration.  Congrats on your solutions! Lots of variety again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 04, 2024, 08:01:06 AM
QuoteWill Shortz, New York Times Crossword Editor, Says He Is Recovering From a Stroke
Mr. Shortz, who has been with The Times for three decades and also hosts NPR's "Sunday Puzzle," said on Sunday that he had a stroke in February but was recovering.

Just saw the above in the NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/arts/will-shortz-stroke-nyt-puzzles.html?searchResultPosition=1).

I recall chatting with Will at the NYT booth during one of the Open Street events. I had expected to see a much older person, as he had just taken over from his predecessor, and blurted out a comment to the effect that he was quite different from what I had expected. He was gracious enough to laugh it off and also sign my copy of the crossword--it being a Sunday, I had taken the magazine along to work on the crossword during the subway ride. Those were the days with all kinds of interesting booths along the city streets!

Will, sending you good wishes for a speedy recovery!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 04, 2024, 08:34:09 AM
Good morning!

QBwLOH (lots of help) to find heeltap, heptane, ethane, and—new to me—pentathlete and heptathlete, my last two words.  Today I just found the second pangram and don't have far to go.

LB: Like ciao_yall, I also had photoing-grandly. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 04, 2024, 08:44:51 AM
Langue_doc, thanks for sharing that news about Will Shortz.  I'm so sorry to hear it and had no idea! I'm glad he is recovering.  Cool that you got to meet him.  He's quite the interesting individual.  I haven't met him but have just read a bit about him.

Finally got the second pangram and to genius.

I also meant to mention that I saw in the Games email today that there's apparently a game called Strands that is in beta? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/crosswords/strands-word-search-game.html  I plan to try to check it out today.  As you can see from the link, it's a word search game.

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 05, 2024, 07:18:46 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed cotangent, ecotage, geotag.

goths/silverware

ab_grp, thanks for the link. Played it last night, but didn't find it all that exciting. I still miss Digits.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 05, 2024, 07:43:01 AM
Good morning!

Almost to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we were both missing ecotage and each needed a few from the other. My list definitely included geotag.

For LB I had altogether-reviews.

You're welcome, Langue_doc! I tried it as well and thought it was an interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it will catch on or if I will play it every day if so.  It's more like a Connections kind of game, in that it takes very little time and can obviously be completed.  I mean LB can be completed but may take more time (and you may get a different 2fer), same as Wordle (though both can be quick as well).  With the bee, unless you look at the stats you won't know how many words or points to aim for or how many pangrams.  That it kind of requires you to figure out how to interpret the theme and identify theme answers makes it a little more difficult (and will be more difficult if their categorization schemes are as loose and ridiculos as the ones in Connections sometimes are).  Anyway, guess we'll see how that one fares.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 05, 2024, 07:54:53 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday, last words ecotage (a new one for me) and cognac. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: I had the "official" waterlogs-shiv. Lots of solutions this time! No 2fer yet today.

Thanks for the note about Strands, Langue_doc. I'll probably play it on a regular basis, but I agree that it's not as engaging as SB or LB. Or Digits, which I also miss.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 05, 2024, 08:12:22 AM
QBwH for ecotage, cognac. LB got a nudge for waterlogs-shiv.

Took a peek at Strands. Will try it later today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 06, 2024, 07:32:07 AM
Morning!

QBwH for, among others, mirror. /facepalm. LB got a nudge for flamenco-oblique.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 06, 2024, 07:39:10 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for idol.  ?!

My annual day continued with a fail on LB.  And then I also forgot to do the mini crossword and Strands.  Oh well!! And I lost in my trivia league.  Not a great start, but maybe the year will get better. ;-)

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 06, 2024, 08:21:04 AM
Good morning!

QBw1LH for diorama and midi, and a hint from SBB for midair, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, which took me way too long to find.

LB: I don't usually got to hints for LB, but I got exasperated yesterday and did so—to find flamenco-oblique. No 2fer yet today.

Happy "annual day," ab_grp!

And happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 06, 2024, 10:27:52 AM
QuoteMy annual day continued with a fail on LB.  And then I also forgot to do the mini crossword and Strands.  Oh well!! And I lost in my trivia league.  Not a great start, but maybe the year will get better. ;-)

Was that your birthday, ab_grp? If so, happy birthday! Wishing you successful and happy puzzling this year!

Genius and then the pangram. Last words were maim, mailroom.

I'm not too crazy about Strands, but thought that today's Connections was quite easy. I think I got a twofer--or was that the previous day? If I don't write things down, I promptly forget them, especially puzzle responses.

Have been mulling over friend's husband's demise. He was in the last stages of Parkinsons, so it was a release of sorts. I think he was ready to go. We had happy times, going to movies, watching movies at home, being taken out to dinner, etc. during my occasional visits.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 07, 2024, 07:07:01 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above 200 points so far. Last word was levee.

globefish/hitmen

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 07, 2024, 07:37:10 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word levee. Needed a nudge for fetish-hemoglobin but got a quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 07, 2024, 07:42:52 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram and to genius, but it was a bit of a struggle, so who knows.  I feel like my bee brain hasn't been working right recently.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for betel, lento.

No luck on LB again yesterday but got a quick 2fer today.

Thanks, cathwen and Langue_doc! Yes, it was my birthday.  I don't know why I think the puzzle gods should smile down on me more on that day, but they sure didn't! I guess if that's the worst I can say, then things are pretty fine.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 07, 2024, 08:19:04 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday to fine blotto, levee, and tootle, my last word. Today I'm at QB—needed a nudge for that last word.

LB: I had the very improbable moblogs-stonefish. The first word, as you may have guessed, was one of those desperation guesses that left me wondering, what the heck is that, anyway? Apparently it's a web blog that originates from a mobile device. I'm glad to see that there were more sensible answers! Today I found a sensible pair rather quickly.

Happy puzzling!






Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 08, 2024, 05:23:08 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. QB, but needed help for kente, undetected.

Found a twofer this morning as soon as I looked at LB--probably the official one.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 08, 2024, 06:58:20 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word decedent. LB backwards-sleazy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 08, 2024, 07:39:30 AM
Good morning!

QBwH yesterday for last word, kente. Genius with pangram so far today.

LB: I also had backwards-sleazy. Congratulations on a 2fer already, Langue_doc! I am still struggling.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 08, 2024, 07:50:28 AM
Good morning!

Getting near genius but still no pangram.  Took husband a while to find it, so hopefully I'll get it eventually.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for decedent, kente.

I also had the schmoffical backwards-sleazy.  Cathwen, I had never heard of moblogs!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 09, 2024, 03:32:52 AM
Good morning!

QB--the pangram was my last word. Missed arancini, attractant yesterday.

jumpsuit/tenable

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 09, 2024, 08:10:08 AM
Morning!

QBwH for arancini. They used to not take that.

LB kept getting really close such as jumps-sustainable, saw suitable, tenable, but finally got a hint to find jumpsuit-tenable. Darn compounds.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 09, 2024, 10:10:35 AM
Good morning!

Got to somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday was another bad bee day.  I was excited to see arancini in there, finally! I keep trying it, and I know others have complained.

At least I got jumpsuit-tenable right away!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 10, 2024, 08:49:22 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word athwart. LB got a nudge for flatbread-dough - compounds again! Gah. Quick 2fer this morning.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 10, 2024, 09:18:28 AM
Good morning!

QBwSBB for ratatat and athwart, my last word. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: No luck! I saw dough and bread, but did not see flatbread! No 2fer yet today. Congratulations on a quick one, ciao_yall! It gives me hope.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 10, 2024, 10:42:31 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was tartar.

doubtful/laughter

I've had good intentions of posting my bird sightings on the bird thread, will do so later.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 10, 2024, 10:43:51 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  I think the pangram took me a bit today.  Also took me a bit yesterday, and even longer the day before! What the heck! Anyway, yesterday I almost got to QBABM but apparently couldn't find tartar.  At least we had team QB.

No luck on LB.  Among the thousand words I found, I managed to find dough, bread, and flatboard, but not the answer.  Sounds like cathwen had a similar issue.  How does this happen?! Congrats on already getting one today, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

On preview: congrats on getting a different 2fer yesterday, Langue_doc!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 11, 2024, 04:53:04 AM
Good morning!

QB. QB yesterday--last words were fulfill, fulfilled.

hairgrips/stricken

Isn't Chapstick a brand name and hence a proper noun?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 11, 2024, 06:26:16 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word felid which was kind of a wild guess. LB pageants-shicker.

@Langue_doc agree about chapstick being a brand name, but maybe it has achieved proprietary eponym status?

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 11, 2024, 07:15:39 AM
Good morning!

QBw2LL for duffel and felled (annoying, because I thought I had tried -ed on all possible words). Today I got to QBABM! But it did take me a long time to find the pangram.

LB: I'm having a run of bad luck on this. Thanks to a hint, I got thickener-repackages. And I was also surprised at chapstick.. No 2fer yet today. Sigh.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 11, 2024, 07:37:45 AM
Good morning!

Somewhere past genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I almost made it to QBABM again but gave up on my final word.  And we didn't get team QB because husband was missing the same word.  Bee buddy helped us to get fluid.  :-(

No luck on LB yet again! I agree, I would have thought chapstick would have been considered a proper noun.  Congrats on your solutions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: namazu on March 11, 2024, 12:28:45 PM
Did the Bee while I should have been sleeping.  Made it to QBw2LL+grid.  I have a vague sense of deja vu, like the pangram(s) appeared in a previous puzzle -- but maybe I'm misremembering.  Is there an easily searchable archive of Spelling Bee letter combos somewhere?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 12, 2024, 04:56:56 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. That's probably it for today. Last word was malady.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 12, 2024, 06:16:46 AM
Morning!

QBABM, last word myna. LB needed a hint for veranda-azimuth.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 12, 2024, 07:25:52 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday, last word amyl. Today I'm at genius with the pangram.

LB: Finally found one today! But yesterday was the third day in a row that I couldn't find a 2fer by myself. I finally went to hints to find veranda-azimuth.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 12, 2024, 07:56:22 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius, but no pangram.  I thought I had it right away, but mine wasn't accepted.  Hmm!! I checked the spelling and everything! Wonder if there will be some outrage from the public.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM, final word madam.

No luck on LB yet again, but I did get one right away today!

Happy solving!

Oops almost forgot:

Quote from: namazu on March 11, 2024, 12:28:45 PMDid the Bee while I should have been sleeping.  Made it to QBw2LL+grid.  I have a vague sense of deja vu, like the pangram(s) appeared in a previous puzzle -- but maybe I'm misremembering.  Is there an easily searchable archive of Spelling Bee letter combos somewhere?

I don't know if there is such a searchable resource, but I would guess there is one out there by this point.  If you want to know whether the pangram appeared before, you can check the nytbee page for the puzzle.  Here is yesterday's: https://nytbee.com/Bee_20240311.html  It indicates that the pangram appeared twice before, which dates, and what the center letter was that day.  I think that also indicates how many times that particular combo of letters has been used before, since the pangram has all the puzzle letters.  Is that what you were looking for?
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: namazu on March 12, 2024, 10:18:18 PM
Quote from: ab_grp on March 12, 2024, 07:56:22 AMI don't know if there is such a searchable resource, but I would guess there is one out there by this point.  If you want to know whether the pangram appeared before, you can check the nytbee page for the puzzle.  Here is yesterday's: https://nytbee.com/Bee_20240311.html  It indicates that the pangram appeared twice before, which dates, and what the center letter was that day.  I think that also indicates how many times that particular combo of letters has been used before, since the pangram has all the puzzle letters.  Is that what you were looking for?
Yes, that's great (and that I'm probably not misremembering)!  Thank you.  I didn't realize they recycled letter combos, though I guess at a certain point they have to (especially if they continue to exclude "s").  I suppose the center letter can differ, which makes the puzzle different.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 13, 2024, 05:26:07 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed micromini--micromini?!

vowing/grapheme

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 13, 2024, 06:19:06 AM
Morning!

QBwH for morocco, microform, moonroof. LB avow-whimpering.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 13, 2024, 07:04:30 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius today so far; yesterday I needed help for micromini (!) and omicron.

LB: Lots of variety! My combo was have-empowering. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 13, 2024, 07:45:42 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday it took me all day to find the pangram, mostly because I thought I had that word already and didn't think it was a pangram anyway until I realized it had all the letters and that I didn't actually have it in my list.  I thought initially that coniform was the pangram.  Oh well.  Anyway, we needed bee buddy for micromini, too.

For LB I had whoever-revamping.  Yep, lots of solutions!!

Namazu, I'm glad it helped! If I run across something searchable, I'll post it here.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 14, 2024, 05:18:22 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius, but still a long ways to go. Last word was tutti, which like belle and tonne, I never remember until the very end.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 14, 2024, 06:02:29 AM
Good morning!

Genius with both pangrams this morning, but a way to go yet. Yesterday I resorted to SBB to find tutee (which I always miss) and my last word, glutei.

LB: I had pimples-subservient. No 2fer yet today. Only one vowel! Yikes!

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2024, 06:22:51 AM
Morning!

QBhH for glutei... what? LB pimples-subservient.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 14, 2024, 06:24:13 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 14, 2024, 05:18:22 AMGood morning!

Two pangrams and above genius, but still a long ways to go. Last word was tutti, which like belle and tonne, I never remember until the very end.

Happy solving!

I was proud of myself for remembering tutee, then of course needed a hint for tutti. Gah.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 14, 2024, 07:57:37 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangrams and to genius so far.  Yesterday we needed help with glutei.

No luck on LB.  Congrats on your solutions!

We had some excitement yesterday, as someone had lost his wedding ring (he has lost a bunch of weight, and it is too loose now, but I didn't realize it was that loose!).  We looked around before he went to work, but no joy.  He decided to take the afternoon off and go get a new one, and then he found the wedding band in the refrigerator in a snack bag of cauliflower right before we were going to leave (I had joked that maybe it was in a bag of broccoli... close!).  We decided to go anyway and get real wedding rings since we had bought our rings the night before the wedding.  I'm glad we found his original one so that we can put those away together for safe keeping. 

Happy solving! 
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 15, 2024, 06:43:18 AM
Morning!

QBwH for traiga - gah. I was just thinking about that word the other day for some reason. LB flanks-scratchpad.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 15, 2024, 07:38:20 AM
Good morning!

Easy QB--a short and sweet one today. QB yesterday, but needed help for gigabit and another word.

No mate for parklands, alas.

ab_grp, that's an interesting story--glad you found the lost ring and also got a new one in the process.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 15, 2024, 07:50:43 AM
Good morning!

Got the pangram right away, but it took forever to get to genius, and now I am stuck.  Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! I will hold out hope.  Yesterday we needed help with gigabit.

I also tried parklands to no avail.  Congrats on your 2fer, ciao_yall!

I have somehow fallen under a curse of customer service nightmaredom and no longer have time to do anything but track down issues, report issues, follow up on issues.  What the hell.  I seriously think I might lose my mind.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 15, 2024, 08:16:26 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 2LL help to find habitat, igniting, and bight. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but like ab_grp, stuck. Congratulations on your QB, Langue_doc!

LB: I also had flanks-scratchpad. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 16, 2024, 09:18:05 AM
Morning!

QBwH, last word titmice. LB got a hint for unknowability-your.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 16, 2024, 09:25:20 AM
Good morning/afternoon!

QBwH for evictee, meze, and my last word, titmice (common birds around here—a little chagrined at missing it!). QBABM today.

LB: I had walkability-yourn—an archaic possessive, and a wild guess. No 2fer yet today—lots of good words, though.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 16, 2024, 09:38:11 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius and then, thankfully, the pangram.  Yesterday we had to go to bee buddy for titmice.  Argh!

No luck on LB again.  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen, on different 2fers!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 16, 2024, 10:46:08 AM
Afternoon!

Pangram, which I found with much headscratching, and above genius. Last word yesterday was titmice.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 17, 2024, 08:26:14 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB to realize I had forgotten to enter diced. LB jurisdiction-nah, haj-jurisdiction.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 17, 2024, 08:40:41 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday; chica was my last word. Today I struggled to get to genius. The first pangram came easily, but it took me a while to find the second.

LB: I had jurisdictions-shad. And I have one today also.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 17, 2024, 10:07:57 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with one pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for caddie(d).

Didn't get around to LB yesterday.  Congrats on your 2fers!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 17, 2024, 01:38:40 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius this morning. QB yesterday, but don't remember the last word(s).

Easy jurisdiction/nah

Saw the bald eagle earlier this afternoon.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 18, 2024, 05:29:57 AM
Good morning!

QB. Also yesterday, last word naggy.

gyration/nubile

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 18, 2024, 06:12:21 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL, last word nanny. LB regulation-nobly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 18, 2024, 07:27:33 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with all the pangrams, finally.  Yesterday we needed bee buddy for longan.  I needed help for nonapology, which I never would have gotten.

For LB I had bourg-generality.  Lots of variety!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 18, 2024, 08:05:52 AM
Good morning!

QB today; yesterday QBwSBB for longan.

LB: I had biogen-neutrality. So many answers! No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 19, 2024, 06:25:34 AM
Morning!

QBwH to remember indict, but at least it was one of the rarest words found. I use that feature when I'm stuck to make sure I'm not missing anything obvious. LB burqa-almighty.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 19, 2024, 07:37:25 AM
Good morning!

QBw1LH to find uncut (duh) and coconut, which I always seem to miss. QB today.

LB: burqa-almighty.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 19, 2024, 07:57:59 AM
Good morning!

The pangram finally got me to genius today.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed help for outdid.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats, ciao_yall and cathwen!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 19, 2024, 09:20:25 AM
Good morning!

Genius and then the pangram, and now I'm down to only two more words, I think. Last word was--you guessed it--tutti!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: namazu on March 19, 2024, 11:12:18 PM
I was exceptionally amused that the word that got me to Genius a couple of days ago was "idiot".
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 20, 2024, 06:22:27 AM
Morning!

Super hectic day so not much puzzle time. QBwH for rattly. LB got a hint for proclaim-midtown. Just never had the deep focus time that LB sometimes calls for.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 20, 2024, 08:26:36 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, last word altar. QB today.

Namazu, your posting made me laugh!

LB: proclaim-midtown. No solution yet today, despite some good words.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 20, 2024, 09:25:48 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we needed help with larva(l), aortal, tartly.

I didn't get around to LB yesterday.  Congrats on your solutions!

Namazu, that amuses me when it happens as well!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 20, 2024, 01:22:16 PM
Afternoon!

Short of just one word today. Last word yesterday was rattly.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 21, 2024, 05:21:09 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and genius, but long day today, so that's probably all the solving for today.

QB yesterday, thanks to BB for fanfic.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 21, 2024, 06:30:29 AM
Morning!

Woof - toughies yesterday. QBwSBB for faunal. LB got a hint plus some wild guesses for hexahedron-nickel.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 21, 2024, 06:53:49 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1LH for uncuff, which I should have found myself. QB today also.

LB: I had exhaled-draincock, which was a wild guess—it's the water valve control under the sink. No 2fer today yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 21, 2024, 07:40:04 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with the pangrams so far.  We got to team QB yesterday.  I needed faunal, fulfill.

No luck on LB again.  Congrats on your solutions!

Seems like the recent crosswords have been easier than usual.  Possibly related to Will Shortz not being the editor of them? Maybe I'm imagining it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 22, 2024, 06:39:36 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangrams so far.  Yesterday husband got to QBABH.  I got too busy and ended up needing help with dioxide, ditto.

No luck on LB again!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 22, 2024, 06:40:51 AM
Morning!

QBwSBB for footie. LB I had a quick 3fer fawned-digitized-dove then went for hints to get fazed-downvoting.

Last few SBs have been short and intense, and LB has been quite tricky.

Anyway, happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2024, 07:47:10 AM
Good morning!

Two pangrams and above genius. QB yesterday, last words were detox, detoxed.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 22, 2024, 08:03:32 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1LH to find my two last words, dodo and ditto. Today I'm at genius with all three pangrams, but stuck.

LB: I had the "official" fazed-downsizing. No luck yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 22, 2024, 09:47:31 AM
ab_grp, I forgot to add my two cents to your observations on the recent crosswords. I did notice that the ones in recents weeks--probably even the week before the announcement of Will Shortz's health issues--were edited by the person who does the mini crosswords. They have an entirely different flavor to them.

QB--it wasn't too bad today.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 23, 2024, 07:17:32 AM
Good morning!

Genius, but no pangram yet. Last word was belle.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 23, 2024, 08:11:17 AM
Good morning!

Yesterday my last words were belie and biggie, thanks to SBB. QBABM today!

LB: No solution yesterday, and none yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 23, 2024, 08:54:05 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius after finally getting the pangram.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed biggie.  Husband needed belie.  Congrats on your QBABY today, cathwen!

No luck on LB again! Maybe today.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 23, 2024, 02:26:05 PM
Afternoon!

QBwH for beige, benign. Gah. LB got a hint with a wild guess for blowflies-sumac.

So far today QB-1 ABM. I know I'm missing a 5L but I'm trying to avoid hints. LB I have a 2fer b4ss but my genius playing partner got a 2fer right off the bat so now I'm feeling pressure.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 24, 2024, 07:43:30 AM
Morning!

QBw2LL to remember leech. LB got a nudge for chinwag-grumpy.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 24, 2024, 09:04:14 AM
Good morning!

QBABM yesterday; last word hellhole. Today I'm at genius with the pangram, but a good way from QB.

LB: I gave up yesterday and looked at hints to get chinwag-grumpy. No 2fer yet today. Sigh...

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 24, 2024, 11:03:18 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram (which took me a bit) today.  Yesterday I also got to QBABM with final word google.

No luck on LB again.  I never would have gotten chinwag.  I have a long pal chat today, so not sure I will have any better luck.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 24, 2024, 12:54:08 PM
Afternoon!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was gelee.

LB seems to have at least one weird word these days.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 25, 2024, 05:19:39 AM
Good morning!

Pangram and above genius. Missed caloric and cardioid yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 25, 2024, 06:46:37 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday, but only with the help of SBB to find corrida, arcadia, cardioid (which I've missed before), and dolor. Today I am at genius with the pangram, two words to go.

LB: No luck again yesterday. I had narwhal, but did not see lifestyle! No solution so far today, either.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 25, 2024, 06:52:07 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I needed help with acrid, collar(d), drool.

Didn't really get to LB yesterday.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 25, 2024, 07:21:27 AM
Morning!

QBwH for carload, corolla. LB needed a judge for narwhal-lifestyle. Saw narwhal, but me and compound words. Argh.

Happy solving!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 26, 2024, 07:47:54 AM
Good morning!

A bit past genius with pangram today so far.  Yesterday we almost had team QB but needed bee buddy help for nimbi.

Didn't really get around to LB again yesterday.  It was so busy for both of us! Hopefully today is a bit more manageable and I get a 2fer.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 26, 2024, 07:48:34 AM
Good morning!

QB. QB yesterday, last word was binning. I've been meaning to look up the meaning, but haven't gotten around it, despite my good intentions!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 26, 2024, 08:06:17 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1LH for booing and bobbling, my last word. QB today.

LB continues to frustrate me. Is my brain melting? It's been several days since I found a 2fer. Yesterday I even had adjectival, but somehow missed okra. No 2fer yesterday, and none yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 26, 2024, 08:17:31 AM
Morning!

QBwH for gibing which I thought I tried? LB got nudges for okra-adjectival, adjective-earlock.

cathwen I have been getting nudges from the community hints. Sort on all/oldest/ and look for Cynthia. She posts a link to a google doc with all the possibilities like O-A:A.-L 4:10 which helps narrow down the possibilities. And some people post hints to their solutions.
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 27, 2024, 05:08:54 AM
Good morning!

QB. QB yesterday, last word was dunno.

psychotic/crunk--I think one has to be slightly psychotic to even think that crunk was a legit word, let alone come up with it.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 27, 2024, 07:01:26 AM
Morning!

QBABM!!! Last word journo. LB synchronous-stickpin.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2024, 09:29:08 AM
Good afternoon!

QB for me yesterday, too, with 1LH to find my last word, journo. Today I'm at QB-1.

LB: Hooray! I finally found a 2fer yesterday: stickups-shorn. None yet today.

Happy puzzling!

Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 27, 2024, 10:52:11 AM
Good morning!

Past genius with pangram so far.  I also got to QBABM yesterday with final word udon.

No luck on LB again! Congrats on your solutions! Some interesting words!

To those who have gotten the shingles set of vaccines: I know your experiences have been discussed here and there, but can you let me know what you would recommend in terms of scheduling? Husband has to get his soon, and we are trying to figure out how much down time he might need to prepare for and the timeline of issues.  I think I have heard/read that the second one is the worst but am not sure.  Thanks for any insights!

Still undilating from my appt with regular eye doctor, but he said everything looks the same as two years ago so just to keep seeing the retina guy and come back as needed.  Is that what happens? Just see a specialist? I thought he'd at least say come back every X years.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 27, 2024, 03:31:09 PM
I got the shingles vaccines last summer. You're right, the first one isn't bad, but I had some mild flu-like symptoms with the second the next day. So I would recommend timing the shots with that in mind. (I got mine on a Friday so that I could languish on Saturday.)
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: Langue_doc on March 28, 2024, 05:32:33 AM
Good morning!

Almost QB. Last word yesterday was rattrap.

ab_grp, I don't do vaccines, other than the ones required for Covid because it takes me ages to recover from them. Good luck with yours!

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: cathwen on March 28, 2024, 07:08:00 AM
Good morning!

QB yesterday with 1LH for the last word—tract. I had attract early on, so I should not have needed any hints at all. Today I'm at QB-1.

LB: I had the "official" cozen-nighthawk. No 2fer yet today.

Happy puzzling!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ciao_yall on March 28, 2024, 07:13:17 AM
Morning!

QBABM last word parka. LB cozen-nighthawk which I thought I made up.

Happy solving!
Title: Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Post by: ab_grp on March 28, 2024, 08:29:18 AM
Good morning!

Got to genius with pangram so far.  Yesterday I got to also QBABM again with final word parka.

And I had no luck on LB again.  That was a tough one.  Congrats, cathwen and ciao_yall! I was wondering if they are trying to make it harder to get a 2fer.  I guess technically you still "win" if you solve within however many words, so maybe they are trying to make it so you have to have a really good vocabulary to see the 2fer words.  Some of the recent solution words have been less common than typical, but on the other hand if you can spot one made up of all these weird letters you probably have a good chance of getting a mate. 

And thanks cathwen and Langue_doc regarding vaccine suggestions and wishes!

Happy solving!