# 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:** 52
**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:** [January 7, 2025, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1021 "2025-01-07T11:40:14Z")
So many valid word not taken today. Why COWL and not COWLED? DECKLE, but not DECKLED? What’s wrong with CODEC? And I’ve never understood why they don’t take COLE as in COLE SLAW. It’s a perfectly cromulent word. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1022 "2025-01-08T06:15:56Z")
COLDCOCK and COLDCOCKED and LOCOWEED? Really? Thank goodness for the hints and clues from the forum, because never in a thousand years would I have come up with those words that I’ve never heard before. And yes @commasense I saw those valid words too! ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1023 "2025-01-08T06:21:44Z")
I knew about the first two and guessed them early. The last one seemed familiar once I got it from the hints ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1024 "2025-01-08T06:28:18Z")
@hajario, true, now that I think of it, I’d seen LOCOWEED the last time a puzzle with a similar letter combo came up. I had most of the guesses early, and was trying for Queen Bee without clues, but COLDCOCK had me completely stumped. From the fact that 50+% of readers got it, I guess it’s a not uncommon term in boxing? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2025, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1025 "2025-01-08T06:38:52Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > @hajario, true, now that I think of it, I’d seen LOCOWEED the last time a puzzle with a similar letter combo came up. The last time today’s pangram was used (about two years ago), the index letter was W, so that word appeared then. I doubt if it’s shown up since. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1026 "2025-01-08T06:45:41Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > The last time today’s pangram was used (about two years ago), the index letter was W, so that word appeared then. I didn’t get it then, and I didn’t get it this time. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1027 "2025-01-08T11:49:25Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I had most of the guesses early, and was trying for Queen Bee without clues, but COLDCOCK had me completely stumped. From the fact that 50+% of readers got it, I guess it’s a not uncommon term in boxing? I’ve never heard it in that context. I know it from fiction (action/noir/that sort of thing). ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1028 "2025-01-08T13:25:32Z")
Those were the three words I didn’t get yesterday. For today, PARM should be allowed. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1029 "2025-01-08T13:42:48Z")
Yesterday was my first QB. Largely because I finally got over it being cheating using Buddy. I try to get to Genius with at least on pangram on my own before I go to hints. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1030 "2025-01-11T14:20:59Z")
Saturday: there are a zillion different variant spellings in use for [PAPADAM](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papadam) (the package in my kitchen right now says “Pappadums” on it). Pretty much all of them would work with this letter set. None of them do. Given how often NAAN comes up (and now PARATHA), you’d think some form of PAPADAM would be accepted. And now I’m hungry for Indian food. Guess I’ll go eat the “pappadums”. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1031 "2025-01-11T14:22:28Z")
I was just coming here to say that. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1032 "2025-01-11T14:32:26Z")
Same here! I can’t believe papadam isn’t accepted, given all the other weird food items are OK. Papadam is a much more common word than teff, whatever that is. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1033 "2025-01-11T14:41:26Z")
I checked the spelling over and over. At this point it feels like trolling. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1034 "2025-01-11T15:11:29Z")
I just came to say the same thing ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1035 "2025-01-11T15:26:25Z")
Isn’t raita allowed? How is that more common than papadam? They would seem to be equally common, on all the same menus. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1036 "2025-01-11T16:47:23Z")
I also came here to complain about the lack of PAPADAM, and once again, DADO. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1037 "2025-01-12T17:12:14Z")
No CANTRIP? Must not play D&D. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1038 "2025-01-12T20:22:21Z")
What about TRAINCAR or PAINTCAN? It’s not different than a lot of compound words. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1039 "2025-01-12T20:36:27Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > No CANTRIP? Must not play D&D. Yup, tried it. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1040 "2025-01-12T21:22:48Z")
CANTRIP would have been a perfect pangram too, dammit. Still no ACTINIC either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=51) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=53)