# 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:** 56
**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 27, 2025, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1101 "2025-01-27T12:30:51Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I was disappointed NEOTENY wasn’t accepted. Me, too. What’s wrong with BEACHBALL? Although I guess I must be wrong, because auto fill didn’t like it, either. (Also didn’t like autofill!) ---
**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 27, 2025, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1102 "2025-01-27T12:35:19Z")
I tried that a couple of times. I guess it falls into the “actually two words” category. ---
**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 30, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1103 "2025-01-30T21:48:13Z")
For the second time ever I got Queen Bee without any hints! I also decided several days ago that I don’t like using the hints or the buddy. It is what it 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 30, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1104 "2025-01-30T22:55:50Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > …I don’t like using the hints or the buddy. It is what it is. Same. ---
**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 31, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1105 "2025-01-31T00:00:16Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I also decided several days ago that I don’t like using the hints or the buddy. It is what it is I don’t _like_ using them, but I think I’ve won only once without them. I consider myself lucky if I can make it to Genius level without them. Any my memory’s not getting any better with age, that’s for sure. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1106 "2025-01-31T00:05:07Z")
Without the hints or Spelling Bee Buddy, I doubt I would even get to Amazing by the end of the day. As it is, I do use both, especially Spelling Bee Buddy. In particular, I try to eliminate starting letters. So if the hints tell me there are only two four-letter words starting with NE, I try to think of those, and then work my way through the starting letters with the fewest words. ---
**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 31, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1107 "2025-01-31T00:56:05Z")
I used Buddy for two or three weeks and got a fair number of QBs that way. Without it I get to Genius five or six days a week. It should go without saying that we should all enjoy the game the way we individually do. The only slight hint I use, which I learned here, is that QB is double Amazing or double Amazing less one which lets me know how close I am and puts some parameters on possible word lengths left. ---
**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 31, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1108 "2025-01-31T01:03:26Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The only slight hint I use, I don’t even consider that a slight hint. It’s just the parameter of the game. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1109 "2025-01-31T01:11:58Z")
I usually get QB. Like others, I don’t like hints and clues, so I wait a long time before resorting to them. In January, I got QB 5 times without either hints or clues; 11 times with just hints, no clues; 10 with both; and 4 times was 1 word short of QB, even with a clue. So it looks like I only use clues about half the time (14 out of 30). The total number of clues was 25 over those 14 times. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1110 "2025-01-31T02:23:14Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I don’t _like_ using them, but I think I’ve won only once without them. I consider myself lucky if I can make it to Genius level without them. Any my memory’s not getting any better with age, that’s for sure. Maybe you needs more coffee. I really need the buddy. Today I did get to QB, using it. ---
**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 31, 2025, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1111 "2025-01-31T02:36:00Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I really need the buddy. Today I did get to QB, using it. Same here. I wonder how long other people work on the Spelling Bee. I give myself about 30 minutes while I drink my morning coffee before I have to go off to work. Occasionally I’ll come back to it mid-morning and pick off a few more words. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2025, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1112 "2025-01-31T02:38:41Z")
For me, it will bother me the rest of the day if I don’t get all of the words. (Though sometimes while doing other stuff, I think of words I missed.) So I may go back to the game app even while working. ---
**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 31, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1113 "2025-01-31T02:41:27Z")
I don’t use any clues, and my goal is to get to Genius with a pangram & no four-letter words, which happens I’d guess about half the time. The second I hit Genius I go on to my other games, though if the point total is really low I’ll come back and take a run at QB. I manage that maybe two or three times a year. I generally spend about half an hour on it, though some puzzles require less. ---
**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 31, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1114 "2025-01-31T02:51:51Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I don’t use any clues, and my goal is to get to Genius with a pangram & no four-letter words, which happens I’d guess about half the time. Yep, to me the “clues” are what I use after I’ve already conceded defeat, since they’re essentially handing me the answers on a silver platter (such as today’s _a 4-letter word beginning with “di” meaning “chime”_ - it isn’t a “clue”, it’s an answer). ---
**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 31, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1115 "2025-01-31T17:07:56Z")
Really dragged today, but got there in the end. Missing: [ANTLION](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antlion) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1116 "2025-01-31T18:28:19Z")
Today, Spelling Bee Buddy stopped giving any clues. New policy? ---
**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 31, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1117 "2025-01-31T18:40:43Z")
When I used it, it waited until later in the day to give clues. Maybe wait a couple hours. ---
**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 3, 2025, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1118 "2025-02-03T10:05:44Z")
Yes, clues usually appear at some point in the afternoon NY time. Today (Monday) - not too bad, barring the usual common suffixes. I notice that while it takes ELFIN (not today obvs) it does not accept ELVEN, which I personally am more likely to use in the rare instance I use it at all. Also: no LINDEN trees acknowledged. ---
**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 4, 2025, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1119 "2025-02-04T11:31:35Z")
On FLATULATE I await. ---
**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 4, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/1120 "2025-02-04T12:31:32Z")
Is this the first time it has taken alfa? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=55) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=57)