NYT Spelling Bee

[ciao_yall]

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!

[Langue_doc]

QB --don't get intimidated by what appears to be a tough list of letters.

Happy solving!

[ciao_yall]

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!

[ab_grp]

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!

[cathwen]

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!

[Langue_doc]

Good moring!

Pangram and above genius. Last word yesterday was gouging.

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.

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!

[ciao_yall]

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.

The link tries to get you to subscribe but you can still read the article.

[ab_grp]

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!

[cathwen]

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!

[Langue_doc]

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!

[ciao_yall]

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.

[ab_grp]

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!

[cathwen]

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!

[ciao_yall]

Morning!

QBwG last word paned. LB bondsman-nightgown.

Happy solving!

[ab_grp]

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!