# 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:** 139
**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:** [April 7, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2761 "2026-04-07T14:52:35Z")
Somehow I remembered them or knew to try a variant based on something similar. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2762 "2026-04-07T18:50:13Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > You mean YECH and YECCH? I don’t think they belong in the game. They’re not real words, IMHO. They’re in M-W’s dictionary, so that qualifies them as English words as far as I’m concerned. At any rate, I got them because I remembered them from previous times they showed up. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2763 "2026-04-09T20:48:48Z")
No FENNEC today, yet again ---
**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:** [April 12, 2026, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2764 "2026-04-12T15:30:19Z")
Today I achieved Queen Bee status after remembering nacelle from Star Trek shows. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2026, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2765 "2026-04-13T04:54:23Z")
Why wouldn’t they take HOLOCENE, the geologic epoch we’re all living in right now? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2766 "2026-04-13T08:11:05Z")
Capitalization. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2767 "2026-04-13T12:37:49Z")
Are you saying they don’t accept that word because it’s a proper noun? You may be right. I just checked, and they haven’t taken a number of other similar geological eras. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2768 "2026-04-13T12:39:33Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Are you saying they don’t accept that word because it’s a proper noun? Yes. It’s capitalized in M-W. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2769 "2026-04-14T03:49:07Z")
Natural QB today. I don’t know often try to go past Genius, but it was a relatively smaller puzzle today. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2026, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2770 "2026-04-14T04:48:39Z")
NQB here too. Reading the last of words is funny with all of the different ways to pronounce the same or similar letter groups. ---
**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:** [April 16, 2026, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2771 "2026-04-16T14:12:24Z")
I have no idea how people learn to pronounce English as a second language. “Through”, you know, rhymes with “queue”, whereas “though” rhymes with “bow”, no, not that “bow”, the other “bow”, like “bough”, which, of course, doesn’t rhyme with “rough” at all. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2772 "2026-04-17T14:39:33Z")
Bairn is a perfectly cromulent word and should be accepted. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2773 "2026-04-17T16:50:24Z")
I tried it, too. ☹ ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2774 "2026-04-17T16:54:44Z")
I’m having such a hard time with today’s Bee. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2775 "2026-04-17T16:57:10Z")
Me, too. Not exactly zooming through it. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2776 "2026-04-17T17:41:13Z")
Ditto. Although I finally got a pangram, but still not at Genius. Noticed BIRDMAN which would have been a perfect pangram if accepted. BTW, anyone else notice they aren’t going for further badges for First Pangram. I got the one at 200, but there’s no target for any more. Not that that keeps me from trying for a pangram at the beginning of every game. But I was doing that before the badges were instituted. There’s also no target for Genius after 1000. Are they trying to get rid of these? ETA: as soon as I finish this post, I go back and find another word that gets me to Genius. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2777 "2026-04-17T18:05:05Z")
What, there’s no badges for pangram first after 200? Thanks @dtilque for telling us, since I’ve been trying to find the pangramfor 15 minutes. I have 20 other words written down but not entered yet since I was working on pangram first. But if there’s no badge for it… I earned my 200th pangram first yesterday. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2778 "2026-04-17T18:09:46Z")
They still must keep count and there may be a future extension ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2779 "2026-04-17T18:17:14Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > What, there’s no badges for pangram first after 200? Looks like it. Click on Stats and you’ll get three of the badges. One of mine is First Pangram. If I click on that, it shows more detail, including some arrows for previous and next badge with that title. But the one for next badge is disabled, which I assume means there’s no further badges for First Pangram. I could be wrong here, but in the past those future badges were not disabled. The same for the Genius badge, although I have not reached 1000, nor has anyone else. They’ve only kept info used for badges for 991 games, so no one’s gotten 1000 yet. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/2780 "2026-04-17T18:19:04Z")
A few weeks ago, I received a badge for finding my 650th long word (ten or more letters) and then there’s another one at 800 long words. Some days, there are no words long enough and other days there are more than one so this badge takes a while to achieve. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=138) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=140)