NYT Spelling Bee

[ciao_yall]

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.

[cathwen]

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!

[ab_grp]

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!

[Langue_doc]

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.

[ab_grp]

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!

[ab_grp]

Finally got a 2fer!

[cathwen]

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!

[ab_grp]

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.

[ciao_yall]

QB with hints from Wordplay and a 2fer. A few new words and a few headsmackers.

[cathwen]

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!

[ciao_yall]

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!

[Langue_doc]

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!

[ab_grp]

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. 

[Langue_doc]

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.

[ab_grp]

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.