NYT Spelling Bee

[Parasaurolophus]

Made it to genius with three or four pangrams (I don't recall, exactly, but I think four).

[ciao_yall]

Well into genius, and 2fer b4ss so I continue to underachieve.

[ciao_yall]

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!

[Langue_doc]

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!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[Langue_doc]

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.

[ciao_yall]

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.

[ab_grp]

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!

[cathwen]

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!

[ab_grp]

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.

[cathwen]

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. 

[ab_grp]

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.

[ab_grp]

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!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[Langue_doc]

Easy QB, but clunky twofer. Both words are legit, but several letters had to be reused.