# NYT Spelling Bee drives me crazy **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [December 17, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739 "2023-12-17T15:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 107
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2121 "2025-09-22T20:14:32Z")
Another first pangram. You might say I’m hotdogging it. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2122 "2025-09-22T21:07:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I particularly like puzzles with perfect pangrams in which the center letter is the middle letter of the pangram. There have been 623 perfect pangrams since 2021, with 104 being co-centered. 5-24-2021 was particularly interesting; it had six pangrams, three of which were perfect, and all three of the perfect ones were centered the way you like. > **[Spelling Bee May 24, 2021 – Spelling Bee Answers](https://nytspellingbeeanswers.org/nyt-spelling-bee-answers-05-24-21/)** > > Here we published the answers of Spelling Bee May 24 2021. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2123 "2025-09-22T21:48:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Another first pangram. You might say I’m hotdogging it. I got a first pangram too, but it was the other pangram. Since I did all this last night, you might say I had a good night. Right now I’m sitting on 5 points to go for QB without hints. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2124 "2025-09-23T13:10:39Z")
Assuming you’ve finished: was it DHOTI? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2125 "2025-09-23T15:23:23Z")
Put back in my place. I didn’t get the first pangram until guess #23. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2126 "2025-09-23T17:24:43Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Assuming you’ve finished: was it DHOTI? Yup. , ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2127 "2025-09-23T17:30:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Put back in my place. I didn’t get the first pangram until guess #23. Assuming that’s for today: I made two initial guesses for pangram that were rejected and then got one on the third try. My memory of how many first guesses I had may be wrong, but I think it still gave me credit for a first guess pangram. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2128 "2025-09-23T18:24:56Z")
Yeah, today. Took quite awhile to get the second pangram. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2129 "2025-09-23T18:27:22Z")
Since they introduced the badge for getting a pangram first. I’ve been trying for that. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2130 "2025-09-23T18:32:42Z")
I’ve been trying for first guess pangram a long time, which is probably why my total is 90. If I can’t get a pangram, I go for the longest word I can find in the first few minutes. I hate starting off with a four-letter word. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2131 "2025-09-23T21:26:37Z")
Yesterday was weird because it had TION but no -TION words. Has that happened before? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2132 "2025-09-24T15:50:23Z")
Hooray for the premiere of CECUM and MACULA. I will have completely forgotten about them by tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2133 "2025-09-24T17:28:16Z")
I thought that I’d found a pangram, but MACULATE wasn’t accepted, despite being in OED, M-W and others 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2134 "2025-09-24T19:55:15Z")
No CALUMET either. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2135 "2025-09-24T20:47:00Z")
I start by looking for a pangram but don’t spend too much time at it. Then plow through the easy four letters adding an -ED or -ING if applicable. Then I look for the common groups ACAI/ACACIA, TACT/TACIT/TACTIC, etc. Then I finish. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2136 "2025-09-24T21:56:13Z")
I used to try for the pangram first – sometimes it just jumps out at me – but didn’t care much if I didn’t find it. But now that they’ve started offering a damn BADGE for doing it, I feel like I’ve lost something if I don’t try. Then I waste a lot of time looking for it, and push my progress on the puzzle later into the day. Damn them! My usual practice is to get to Genius and as far beyond as I can without any help. I almost never get to QB unaided. But if I’m stumped after Genius, I allow myself to go to Spelling Bee Buddy. I start by using only the Remaining Words and Two-letter grids. I can often get to QB only using them. If I haven’t gotten to QB with their help, and especially if bedtime is approaching, I’ll use the Customized Hints, but first only to see if there are any clues on words that start with a four-letter word I’ve already found. Finally, if I’m really desperate, I’ll resort to the reader clues. But for me, that’s practically cheating. I don’t feel I’ve really gotten to QB if I have to do that. (But I still do it! 😁) What’s really annoying is when even the reader clues don’t help, and I have to use them to Google the word. 😡 ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2137 "2025-09-24T23:04:22Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I thought that I’d found a pangram, but MACULATE wasn’t accepted, despite being in OED, M-W and others 🤔 Hmm, I didn’t know that was a word. I tried EMACULATE though thinking that was a legitimate alternative spelling. Maybe I was thinking of EMASCULATE with the S cut off. 😄 Also, as an informal poll, do we need to spoiler words that _aren’t_ in the list? Maybe only if they’re highly suggestive of a word that _is_ in? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2138 "2025-09-24T23:08:28Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Finally, if I’m really desperate, I’ll resort to the reader clues. But for me, that’s practically cheating. I don’t feel I’ve really gotten to QB if I have to do that. Same here. I do consider it “cheating”, but it has a purpose. I do it only after I’ve conceded, so that I have a chance of learning the words. Occasionally I do. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2139 "2025-09-24T23:09:10Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Also, as an informal poll, do we need to spoiler words that _aren’t_ in the list? Maybe only if they’re highly suggestive of a word that _is_ in? Yeah, I thought this was the general guideline here. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2140 "2025-09-24T23:12:16Z")
I thought they would have allowed BACKBEAT yesterday. (Spoilering in case someone hadn’t played it yet) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=106) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=108)