NYT Spelling Bee

[ab_grp]

In case anyone here does not follow Sam Ezersky (bee creator), he tweeted that we should leave more time for Friday's bee (https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1351624915749924864):

Leave yourselves TIME for this Friday's Bee. To those of you who must reach a certain tier before starting the day: adjust that alarm accordingly.

Wouldn't run a challenge if I didn't think it came with a fun factor ... but let's find out.

I'll add that there is NO "s" ... nor is the word count any higher than a normal "hard" day.

Oh! That's exciting! I'll have to try harder Friday.

I put it on my calendar just in case I forget, but I doubt it, because I am excited too! I am really curious about what kind of challenge it is.  Hopefully it won't disappoint.

And an 11-letter word rejected? Sorry, I'm sure it would probably have been accepted in other contexts.  That's really close to all the letters, especially if you avoided the b4ss issue!

[Langue_doc]

I think I  know the word cathwen' s referring to.

No luck on LB, but tomorrow's crosswords are done.

[Langue_doc]

Above genius on SB. It's going to be a long day, so I don't think I'll have much time for puzzling.

Happy solving, all.

The long word was 'lexicography'; if it hadn't been for the B4SS, I'd have been a double genius!

[ciao_yall]

LB yesterday - Got the official solution which was EXPO-OLIGARGHY. And, yeah, major bummer about LEXICOGRAPHY!!!!! Do we think they did that on purpose just to taunt us?

Lately there seem to be just single solutions. Yesterday I didn't even get a 3fer before finding lexicography.

Off to today's...

[Langue_doc]

24 words, 101 points; this made my day!

ETA: There was just one unfamiliar word-- I'm familiar with this word as a proper noun.

[ab_grp]

Yeah! Congrats on QB, Langue_doc! I'm a couple points away and am not sure if I will figure it out, but at least I got to Alpha Bee.  Maybe the unfamiliar word is the one holding me up...

I also got the official LB solution yesterday.  Today I have a nice, long word that only left two letters, but I can't figure out what to do with them. 

Finished the hard sudoku yesterday more quickly than usual and without errors.  I haven't tried today's medium or hard yet, because it's been a bit distracting today (in a good way!).

[ciao_yall]

ab-grp Yeah, some nice long words, and some 2fer B4SS. Did finally make a 2fer with a nice long word and a short oddball.

[Parasaurolophus]

Above genius on SB. It's going to be a long day, so I don't think I'll have much time for puzzling.

Happy solving, all.

The long word was 'lexicography'; if it hadn't been for the B4SS, I'd have been a double genius!

Oh, lexicography! Nice! My long (but not accepted, and ultimately not useful anyway) one was 'axiological'.

I, too, had an easy Bee today.


By the by, I think I missed the discussion where these first came up: what are you guys calling 'alpha bee', and what does 'b4ss' stand for (I gather it's having letters stuck on the same side  but...)?

[ab_grp]

By the by, I think I missed the discussion where these first came up: what are you guys calling 'alpha bee', and what does 'b4ss' stand for (I gather it's having letters stuck on the same side  but...)?

We kind of came up with a draft naming convention for the 80% and 90% of total points.  I had proposed that 80% be a B, so Bee or Baby Bee or something like that.  I don't know if we came to agreement on that one, but I think we have agreed to 90% being an A, so Alpha Bee.   Did you get to QB?

Ciao_yall came up with b4ss, which is in LB "but for the same side" (correct me if I'm wrong!).  So yep, your interpretation was correct, I think, that a 2fer could have been had if certain letters had not been on the same side.

I am still determined to try to get my long word to work in LB today! Still haven't found the final bee word, but at least I know how long it is.  Managed to get the medium sudoku done in a reasonable time without errors, so I will try for hard now.

[Parasaurolophus]

By the by, I think I missed the discussion where these first came up: what are you guys calling 'alpha bee', and what does 'b4ss' stand for (I gather it's having letters stuck on the same side  but...)?

We kind of came up with a draft naming convention for the 80% and 90% of total points.  I had proposed that 80% be a B, so Bee or Baby Bee or something like that.  I don't know if we came to agreement on that one, but I think we have agreed to 90% being an A, so Alpha Bee.   Did you get to QB?

Ciao_yall came up with b4ss, which is in LB "but for the same side" (correct me if I'm wrong!).  So yep, your interpretation was correct, I think, that a 2fer could have been had if certain letters had not been on the same side.

Ah! Perfect, thanks!

No QB for me yet, but I can't be far off.

[ab_grp]

You're very welcome! It's nice to have those checkpoints to shoot for between genius and QB.  I finally did make it to QB, thankfully, after happening on the correct final word by trying every possible combination of letters.  Good luck!

[cathwen]

Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on another QB!  QB is still elusive for me.  I did get today's pangram, but I'm barely above genius.  C-Bee?

But...I did get a 2-fer for LB today.  I don't like the second word--it's apparently a variant spelling, and one I would never choose.  But it was accepted, so who am I to argue? 

[Langue_doc]

Langue_doc and ab_grp, congratulations on another QB!  QB is still elusive for me.  I did get today's pangram, but I'm barely above genius.  C-Bee?

But...I did get a 2-fer for LB today.  I don't like the second word--it's apparently a variant spelling, and one I would never choose.  But it was accepted, so who am I to argue?

Other than the proper noun-y word, the meaning of which I still haven't looked up, the words aren't too difficult. Shuffling the letters helps.

Congrats all on LB. I haven't gotten beyond the three or four long words I found this morning. Today's vertex was appropriate. I have my book group coming up tonight, and then have to work on course stuff, so I'm all puzzled out for today, probably with the exception of tomorrow's crosswords.

C sounds depressing, at least in the opinion of some --rather, several--of my students. Genius implies scores above B!

[ab_grp]

Thanks, cathwen! Just keep in mind that genius is the official top score.  And as Langue_doc said, shuffling really can help.  For what it's worth, the final word I found was not really obscure in retrospect.  And, I agree also that none of the words were very difficult or obscure.  Whether or not they pop out is another thing entirely, of course.  Congrats on the 2fer! I still haven't found a mate for my long word.  Maybe it's just not the right word.  Just so tempting with so few letters left!

I am curious what the proper noun-y word was...

[Langue_doc]

Dang, the proper noun-y word is actually a part of the anatomy, one that I know. For some strange reason, I kept thinking of the Trojan War, especially the quote from Dr. Faustus.