# 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:** 118
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2341 "2025-11-19T06:45:41Z")
As far as I remember, MAMMA has been accepted every time I’ve tried it. It’s archaic; the only time I’ve heard it outside of Victorian novels was when King Charles used it to refer to his late mother shortly after she died. It was used by upper and upper-middle class Britons, with the accent on the 2nd syllable. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2342 "2025-11-19T06:47:18Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Am I going crazy? Oct 26, for one. [SBSolver.com](http://SBSolver.com) says 144 times. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2343 "2025-11-19T07:36:21Z")
That trio has always been accepted as such. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2344 "2025-11-19T10:27:25Z")
Yeah, I get them all together when they’re available. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2345 "2025-11-19T13:44:10Z")
I guess that makes it official. I’m ready for my strait jacket, doctor. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2346 "2025-11-20T22:58:14Z")
Spoilering because it’s close to an accepted word. Sam doesn’t accept yet another furry creature, the GENET. Not as cute as the FENNEC, but better looking than the POTTO ---
**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:** [November 22, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2347 "2025-11-22T21:20:59Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > ALRIGHT was the principle pet peeve of one of my high school English teachers, so I felt horrible just submitting it. English has always been a fluid language and has changed rapidly over the centuries. In olde England, nobody could agree on how things were spelled (spelt?) and attempts at creating a dictionary largely failed. Then America and Webster came along and threw a lot of traditional words out and changed a lot of the spellings. Accepting modern slang but scorning a word like ‘alright’ seems pointless. I’m totes cool widdit. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2348 "2025-11-22T21:39:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In olde England, nobody could agree on how things were spelled (spelt?) and attempts at creating a dictionary largely failed. [Samuel Johnson](https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/) would disagree on the failure bit. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2349 "2025-11-22T22:55:17Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > [Samuel Johnson](https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/) would disagree on the failure bit. Sure, but the 20+ dictionaries in the 200+ years prior to his were pretty much useless, especially when books became all the rage in the 1700s and publishers were in desperate need of uniformity of the language. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2350 "2025-11-22T22:59:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Accepting modern slang but scorning a word like ‘alright’ seems pointless. I’m totes cool widdit. Esp since “alright” is often used in a different sense than “all right” - “Is she alright with his test answers not being all right?” ---
**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:** [November 25, 2025, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2351 "2025-11-25T06:35:50Z")
One of the most annoying words ever that I keep forgetting: BAOBAB I’ve known it perfectly well since I was 10 years old, but forgetting it and NABOB kept me from a “natural” QB today. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2352 "2025-11-25T13:12:14Z")
I saw a twitter post years ago that said something like, “My friends think I spend too much time on the Spelling Bee, but I think they’re barking up the wrong baobab.” ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2353 "2025-11-25T13:50:37Z")
Still no ANOLE or ALEE . I was, however, proud of myself for remembering ALOE and GHEE . For some reason, those two are frequently blind spots for me. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2354 "2025-11-25T13:54:55Z")
I didn’t get those until I opened up the Buddy. I don’t use the Buddy until I get to Genius, but then I use it to try and get to QB. Three words away! ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2355 "2025-11-30T12:04:05Z")
Hey, coho is back! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2356 "2025-11-30T20:20:56Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > coho is back! Was it ever gone? I’m fairly sure coign was accepted previously, but not today. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2357 "2025-11-30T20:57:22Z")
It was never gone. And the word you asked about, it’s been declined 13 times including today, and never been accepted. Which is a shame, it’s a nice Joycean word. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2358 "2025-11-30T22:27:42Z")
Well, come other fish has come and gone, then. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2359 "2025-11-30T22:43:10Z")
DACE was allowed 8 times, and then disallowed 7 times. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2360 "2025-11-30T22:58:27Z")
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