NYT Spelling Bee

[ciao_yall]

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.

[Langue_doc]

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.

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.

[Langue_doc]

Got the two-fer and QB.

[ab_grp]

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. 

[Langue_doc]

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.

[ab_grp]

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!!!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[ab_grp]

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.

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!

[Langue_doc]

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.

[ab_grp]

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.

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.

[ciao_yall]

SB - stuck at amazing, no panagram yet.

LB - got a 2-fer - yay!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[Langue_doc]

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.

[Langue_doc]

Got the two-fer and the QB. (Sigh of relief).

Now I can concentrate on the grading.

[ciao_yall]

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.