# 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:** 5
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/81 "2024-02-20T17:29:55Z")
I was surprised it different take monotonic. A few weeks ago, it didn’t take “bulled”, which it should have (not like bullshitted, but like forced your way forward). ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/82 "2024-02-20T17:34:03Z")
My father was a music major in college, so I may have grown up knowing more obscure music terms like continuo than most people. And since I’ve known it for a long time, it’s not obscure to _me_. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/83 "2024-02-20T18:11:53Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > And since I’ve known it for a long time, it’s not obscure to _me_. This is exactly why the game should be based on a dictionary list of words, rather that a Sam Ezersky-curated list of words that aren’t obscure to _him_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/84 "2024-02-20T20:55:31Z")
I feel it should be based on some sort of curated list, not just the whole dictionary. Pretty much all word games work with an edited list, I’ve found, and when I programmed my own version of Lingo (pretty much the same as Wordle) fifteen years ago as a programming exercise for myself, I quickly found an unbounded word list to kill the fun. But, yeah, what word list is always going to be the question. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/85 "2024-02-20T21:33:39Z")
Where to find a curated dictionary specifically designed for a game about what words can be formed from a limited selection of letters? It’s a tough one, but if you grope and scrabble around long enough you might find something somewhere. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/86 "2024-02-20T22:28:50Z")
At some point ‘baud’ became acceptable. Also another…maybe doggo? ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/87 "2024-02-20T22:31:39Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Also another…maybe doggo? Yep. Why can’t he add words I _like_? Next will be “furbaby”. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/88 "2024-02-20T22:41:59Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Also another…maybe doggo? AFAIK, _doggo_ has been a valid word since I’ve been playing. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Why can’t he add words I _like_? Try emailing him. Maybe he’ll add them. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/89 "2024-02-20T22:48:52Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Try emailing him. Maybe he’ll add them. - Been doing that for maybe a couple years. I don’t have a lot of influence with Mr. Ezersky. I imagine he get swamped with emails. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/90 "2024-02-20T22:51:43Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I imagine he get swamped with emails. Which is why I have never bothered. I figure any suggestion I would make has been made by others but without success. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/91 "2024-02-20T22:58:53Z")
A Scrabble dictionary is WAY too broad in my opinion for a casual word game. I am very much aware of Scrabble words, and I have the 2- and most 3- letter words memorized, and I used to own a hard copy of one. Use to play online using SOWPODS and all that. But I would never inflict those words on the general public, myself. That’s like using an unabridged dictionary, not a curated one. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/92 "2024-02-21T10:49:33Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > It’s a tough one, but if you grope and scrabble around long enough you might find something somewhere. It boggles the mind. I know “continuo”, but then I’m a classical musician by training (if not by trade). ---
**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:** [February 21, 2024, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/93 "2024-02-21T12:13:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I feel it should be based on some sort of curated list, not just the whole dictionary. I agree with that. Based on this gift link article, it almost seems like he’s making decisions on a day-to-day basis, but I might be misreading that. > **[Your Spelling Bee Questions, Answered (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/briefing/spelling-bee-questions-and-answers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XE0.ui_V.IDeXtJmzr0y5&smid=url-share)** > > Sam Ezersky on how he crafts the Bee and how to be a better solver. Also, responding to someone else, doggo has been accepted for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/94 "2024-02-28T13:06:57Z")
Today they are accepting groupie, but not pirogue. So I guess, son of a gun, no big fun on the bayou today. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/95 "2024-02-28T13:22:15Z")
Today? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/96 "2024-02-28T13:42:17Z")
It’s [spellsbee.com](http://spellsbee.com). Not the same as the Times? ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/97 "2024-02-28T14:13:43Z")
It did accept dildo the other day. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/98 "2024-02-28T14:15:39Z")
It has always accepted that, as long as I’ve been playing. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/99 "2024-02-28T14:20:57Z")
I meant to post this earlier, but got distracted by life. On Friday, when the pangram was WORKLOAD (in case someone is still playing old ones), they didn’t accept WOODLARK, which I saw immediately I opened the page. I had noticed this fact some time earlier. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/100 "2024-02-28T14:35:15Z")
How about barback from today’s bee? I think that was unacceptable not too long ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=6)