# 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:** 134
### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2661 "2026-02-23T19:20:41Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> Neither do I but I am a Queen today so there’s that.
QB no hints two days in a row!
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2662 "2026-02-24T00:01:37Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> QB no hints two days in a row!
I had a natural QB yesterday and am 5 points from getting one today.
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2663 "2026-02-24T00:06:45Z")
I got to Queen Bee today and fairly quickly. Yesterday took a little longer, but Saturday was a slog.
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2664 "2026-02-25T16:33:36Z")
Today’s Spelling Bee was one of the quickest in a while. I started by getting all four pangrams.
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2665 "2026-02-25T20:59:53Z")
I’ve gotten natural QBs on three of the last four days. I suspect I’m not alone in this.
---
### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2666 "2026-02-26T04:21:22Z")
What’s your definition of “natural”?
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2667 "2026-02-26T05:20:55Z")
Without hints or clues. Someone else in this thread came up with the term.
---
### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2668 "2026-02-26T11:48:16Z")
Do you look at the letter grids?
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2669 "2026-02-26T15:36:13Z")
No, those are the hints.
---
### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2670 "2026-02-27T01:06:41Z")
Okay. Spelling Bee Buddy has the grids and its own hints and user hints.
After I have gotten to Genius, I’ll use the grids, but only go to the other hints if it’s getting late or I’m getting desperate.
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2026, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2671 "2026-02-27T06:26:18Z")
> [@commasense](#):
>
> Okay. Spelling Bee Buddy has the grids and its own hints and user hints.
I usually ignore the Buddy’s own hints; they’re rarely useful. Otherwise, the terminology they use is the grids are hints (it’s the same info that you get from clicking on the Hints button, only the Buddy has done the grunge work for you) and the user things are clues.
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2672 "2026-02-27T20:39:40Z")
OK, so what’s the matter with APICAL?
---
### Author:  [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2673 "2026-03-01T18:32:33Z")
No INFIRMARIAN today.
---
### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2674 "2026-03-01T19:55:27Z")
As I’ve mentioned above, SBB has the grids and the user clues, but it also has what it calls “Your customized hints,” most of which are mostly useless stuff that you could infer from the grids ('Good work finding 15 words that start with MA! Keep looking, there are more to go.")
But they sometimes include a genuinely useful hint like, “Good work finding FORM. Can you find any more words that start with those letters?” I look for those hints if the grids aren’t helping and before resorting to the user clues.
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2675 "2026-03-02T18:33:45Z")
What’s the matter with ICONICITY?
Anyway, another natural QB.
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2026, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2676 "2026-03-04T10:40:23Z")
Am I mistaken, or has tinning not been allowed in the past?
---
### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2026, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2677 "2026-03-04T12:09:51Z")
You are indeed correct. It was disallowed 17 times up through October of last year, and has had three acceptances since then.
---
### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2678 "2026-03-04T13:28:24Z")
I guess Sam learned to solder.
---
### Author:  [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2679 "2026-03-04T14:55:29Z")
I guess TIEING is far less commonly used than I thought.
---
### Author:  [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2680 "2026-03-11T15:37:49Z")
Any particular reason that lenten isn’t allowed?
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=133)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=135)