NYT Spelling Bee

[Langue_doc]

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!

[ciao_yall]

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!

[ab_grp]

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. 

[cathwen]

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! 

[ciao_yall]

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.

[ab_grp]

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.

[Langue_doc]

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.

[ciao_yall]

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!   

[ciao_yall]

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."

[cathwen]

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!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[Langue_doc]

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.

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!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[ab_grp]

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!

[ab_grp]

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.  :-(