# NYT Spelling Bee drives me crazy
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739
**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:** 132
### Author:  [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2621 "2026-02-19T23:45:12Z")
So who got CORDOVAN? It eventually came to me once I remembered that I had some Kiwi-brand shoe polish with that color from long ago. My wife and daughter have never heard of that word.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2622 "2026-02-20T01:21:18Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#):
>
> So who got CORDOVAN?
I got it but it was a wild guess and was surprised that it took.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2623 "2026-02-20T01:36:22Z")
I also got it, but I had it confused with something else.
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2624 "2026-02-20T01:38:16Z")
I did not.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2625 "2026-02-20T02:15:11Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> I got it but it was a wild guess and was surprised that it took
Yep, same here.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2626 "2026-02-20T03:27:53Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#):
>
> So who got CORDOVAN?
I actually got a First Pangram on that one. Not sure how I came up with it, though.
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### Author:  [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2627 "2026-02-20T13:15:19Z")
I’ve never come across that word unless it’s followed by loafer.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2628 "2026-02-20T13:35:47Z")
Did anyone notice that there was a perfectly cromulent (IMHO) perfect pangram yesterday that wasn’t accepted? Take off the first letter of the shorter of the two accepted pangrams to get HEMATIC, having to do with blood.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2629 "2026-02-20T14:54:24Z")
I did. ..
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### Author:  [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2630 "2026-02-20T17:54:32Z")
It was allowed once and then axed the last two times. I can’t fathom how these decisions are made, unless it involves a dartboard.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2631 "2026-02-20T18:20:59Z")
I also tried it, then decided I had misremembered some other word & it must not be a word, then looked it up.
> [@BlankSlate](#):
>
> I can’t fathom how these decisions are made, unless it involves a dartboard.
Sam just opens up his laptop and randomly x’s things out if he has all the “I don’t recognize it this morning” feels.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2632 "2026-02-21T01:57:29Z")
We didn’t get BARRACK on Monday so it’s only fair to not get DUBYA today.
Five points from QB and it’s driving me nuts.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2633 "2026-02-21T05:05:35Z")
I’m one point away and I’m just trying random shit now.
ETA: Got it.
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### Author:  [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2634 "2026-02-21T08:08:17Z")
Huh? Why on earth is CONCOMITANT not acceptable?
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### Author:  [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2635 "2026-02-21T12:11:18Z")
Came in to post this. I don’t know what illiterate goober they put in charge of writing this thing but he needs a good slap.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2636 "2026-02-21T12:41:37Z")
I must have tried 6-8 times, different letters doubled, Ns in various places, convinced I was spelling it wrong. It’s like that time they didn’t accept COPE for some reason – Sam apologized for that one.
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### Author:  [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2637 "2026-02-21T13:04:51Z")
You’re more determined than I am! Two tries, then I googled it to check spelling, tried again and gave up.
And @WalterBishop I’m in the long line to slap that illiterate. The forum has loads of complaints about it. Players are up in arms.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2638 "2026-02-21T13:06:13Z")
He double-majored in economics and engineering…so a word like LEVERAGE is a lock, but otherwise I don’t have any sense of how he decides.
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2639 "2026-02-21T14:49:39Z")
You guys all beat me to it, but they also don’t accept TINMAN and CONMAN. I suspect this is part of an effort to eliminate gendered terms, although they recently accepted ICEMAN.
ETA, I’m annoyed because I was hoping to find the pangram first, looked for several minutes without success, finally gave up and put in a non-pangram, then immediately saw one. 😡
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2640 "2026-02-21T17:27:16Z")
High score game so it was a bit of a slog but I got the G. Annoyed that they didn’t accept MONOTONIC.
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