# 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:** 108
**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 24, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2141 "2025-09-24T23:22:05Z")
I got today’s pangram immediately. Most of the puzzle was fairly easy, although the last couple of words for Genius gave me trouble. ---
**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, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2142 "2025-09-24T23:23:46Z")
I was expecting that, too. After all, Chuck Berry and the Beatles approved it! ---
**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 25, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2143 "2025-09-25T00:58:56Z")
You can’t lose it and I tried it too ---
**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 25, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2144 "2025-09-25T01:00:05Z")
I did the buddy thing for a while but I prefer to be pure. No hints, no grids. It’s been months since I haven’t gotten Genius and all of my QBs are pure. I ordinarily quit after Genius unless I’m on a roll and then really try for the Queen if I am close. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2145 "2025-09-25T02:58:50Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I thought they would have allowed BACKBEAT yesterday. (Spoilering in case someone hadn’t played it yet) Chances are if you go to M-W’s webpage, they’ll have it as a two-word phrase and not a single word. There’s others like that: TOPHAT is the only one that comes to mind, but there’ve been more. ---
**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 25, 2025, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2146 "2025-09-25T04:40:33Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@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. I spoilered MACULATE because it’s very close to MACULA, which according to the Buddy was found by only 37% of puzzlers. Just one word was found by fewer, 36%,CECUM. And regarding yesterday’s, I was disappointed by BACKBEAT not making it. Another one I hoped for was TEKTITE. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2147 "2025-09-25T10:30:30Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Another one I hoped for was TEKTITE. That’s way too technical a term for this game. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2148 "2025-09-25T10:36:39Z")
GROUP, GROUPING, UNGROUP,, but not UNGROUPING. ---
**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 25, 2025, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2149 "2025-09-25T11:08:40Z")
Right? One of the weirdest omissions ever. ---
**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 25, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2150 "2025-09-25T14:44:38Z")
I’m pretty sure that ‘grunion’ is well-known. ---
**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 25, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2151 "2025-09-25T15:27:23Z")
The second one is a noun and the fourth one isn’t a word. Obviously I tried it but I get the logic. ---
**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 25, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2152 "2025-09-25T18:34:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The second one is a noun and the fourth one isn’t a word. Tell that to the users of various graphic layout programs that let you group and ungroup objects. Are those people not grouping (participle) and ungrouping things? ---
**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 25, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2153 "2025-09-25T18:41:05Z")
e.g. PowerPoint uses it as a term. ---
**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 25, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2154 "2025-09-25T19:14:24Z")
This is the second time (rejected thrice) that UNGROUP has been allowed and it’s the first time UNGROUPING has been a possible word. So I guess we’ll see when and if it ever comes around again. ---
**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 25, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2155 "2025-09-25T19:19:03Z")
Yeah but it’s English and any word can be inged 🙂 That’s where the line was drawn today. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2156 "2025-09-25T21:22:08Z")
They’re both also verbs per many dictionaries. ---
**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 26, 2025, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2157 "2025-09-26T04:59:50Z")
I’m 70 years old, and have been a professional writer and editor for decades, and I’ve never come across OPPUGN. I call it obscure. Oh, and sorry for not blurring my previous post. Thanks to @puzzlegal for fixing it for me. ---
**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 26, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2158 "2025-09-26T14:52:19Z")
I’d like to know why today’s puzzle contains both MAGA and Mar-a-Lago. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2159 "2025-09-26T16:40:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’d like to know why today’s puzzle contains both MAGA and Mar-a-Lago I really wish you hadn’t pointed that out… ---
**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 26, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2160 "2025-09-26T17:02:55Z")
It’s a conspiracy, I tells ya! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=107) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=109)