# 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:** 8
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/141 "2024-03-04T13:36:44Z")
‘Abattoir’, ‘naptha’, ‘cavitate’, and ‘winching’ are not in the same class of obscure as ‘suq’ or ‘pyz’. I’m not sure your complaint about the complaints is legitimate. Okay, I am sure. It is not. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/142 "2024-03-04T13:43:02Z")
I disagree. Abattoir the average US person won’t know. UK, yes. What the heck is “cavitate”? My spell check doesn’t even like it. Therefore, I am right l, my friend! 😉 (“Winching” I’ll give you because I’m nice.) ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/143 "2024-03-04T13:50:05Z")
Cavitating is when a propeller on a ship/boat turns fast enough that air pockets (cavities) are generated. Comparing it to one of Scrabble’s fake 3-letter words (which aren’t long enough for Spelling Bee in the first place) is disingenuous. Again, you seem to think that most people play this as a game where they are required to find every word in the solution list. Most people play this as a game where they try to find as many words as possible. In the former case, leaving ‘obscure’ words off the solution list makes that game easier. In the latter case, leaving words off makes the game harder, more frustrating, and fails to reward people for having bits of specialty knowledge. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/144 "2024-03-04T13:51:44Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Naphtha I think it used to take that one. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/145 "2024-03-04T13:53:46Z")
It’s as obscure to me. There is nothing disingenuous about what I said. Words like that ruin the fun for me. They are directly comparable, especially as words like “aa” I’ve seen in the wild and so are familiar to me as “cavitate” is to you. Look, the fact that my spellcheck underlines “cavitate” should be a sign that maybe, just maybe, the word is not as common as you think. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/146 "2024-03-04T13:59:26Z")
As I said before, imagine how many words you would need for queen bee if they included every word. And for a lot of people, queen bee is the goal, or if not that, genius. I recognize that it’s not going to reflect every word that I know, like _carrack_ or _gannet_, and that other people may not know those words. Sam’s educational background is what it is. It’s fine. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/147 "2024-03-04T14:01:51Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > gannet Haha! I literally tried that one 5 minutes ago. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/148 "2024-03-04T14:06:18Z")
[What’s wrong with the gannet?!? It’s in all the books!](https://youtu.be/ZYlOV7K-xOU?t=50) ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/149 "2024-03-04T16:25:39Z")
As someone pointed out upthread, the letter combinations (though often with a different central letter) and therefore the possible words repeat. So if I missed using the word cocoon a couple of weeks ago, I should remember to use it today but I don’t always do that. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/150 "2024-03-04T16:39:40Z")
Some combos have become automatic for me, like RATATAT/TARTAR/ATTAR/TART. There are other variants like that. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/151 "2024-03-04T22:46:38Z")
Why didn’t they take GANNET today? Does anyone here think that’s obscure or obsolete? I know almost nothing about birds, but I know gannet is a type of bird. > **[Gannet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gannet)** > > Moris > Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. > Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads, black-tipped wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, having a wingspan of up to .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-outp... ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/152 "2024-03-04T23:02:38Z")
Sam’s never heard of them, apparently. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/153 "2024-03-04T23:48:41Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Why didn’t they take GANNET today? Does anyone here think that’s obscure or obsolete? I know almost nothing about birds, but I know gannet is a type of bird. Never heard of it. Look in the other thread about gannets. Not that common in US English, at least. Closest I know is the Gannett family of papers. ETA: Just for fun, I asked my wife who is smarter than me and who has five degrees, including a Ph.D., and she had no idea what I was talking about. Maybe the words are common in your locality. _shrug_ ---
**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:** [March 5, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/154 "2024-03-05T00:05:33Z")
Here’s the thread referenced, BTW: > [@Over-large portions = Gannet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/4): > > [[image] ](https://media.sciencephoto.com/f0/17/73/07/f0177307-800px-wm.jpg)[[image] ](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2023/02/04/20/10/gannet-7768059_640.jpg) Appears to be more of British usage, just like “abattoir.” The only reason I know the word “abattoir” is when I lived in Hungary, our band used to practice in what my friend from Cambridge, UK, called an “abattoir.” I was like, oh, you mean a “slaughterhouse”? I will admit that “abbatoir” is a far prettier word for it. I would similarly not expect words like “courgette” and “aubergine” to be accepted in the Spelling Bee but who knows. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/155 "2024-03-05T00:11:06Z")
Just chiming in to say I was very surprised it didn’t take gannet. Maybe it’s not a common bird in the US, but so what? We don’t have anacondas and cobras and elephants running around, but all those words are acceptable. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/156 "2024-03-05T00:13:03Z")
But most people have heard of cobras, anacondas, and elephants. I can ask my 8-year-old what those are and she will know. She has never come across the word “gannet”. This is not to say that 8-year-olds are the arbiter of what words are acceptable, but that the metric of whether a particular animal is common in the US is a faulty one. Is the name or concept of it common in the US? _That’s_ the metric. It would be a bit like me complaining that a UK-based word game doesn’t accept “hushpuppy” or “etoufee” or “pawpaw” or something similarly American but not well-known in the UK (or maybe some of those are well-known, I don’t know, but I’m sure you can find an example that fits.) Anyway, I’ve said my piece. I’m out. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/157 "2024-03-05T00:21:51Z")
How about: dado exigent iodide gantlet glial halide hatful hiatal inguinal lienee milfoil myoma muriatic nappy otic These are all words that I think are common enough - at least as common as “nuncio”, which is allowed. (It’s possible some of these words were added after I started keeping my list.) ---
**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:** [March 5, 2024, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/158 "2024-03-05T00:36:01Z")
I think I’ve used some of those words and I’ve only been doing the Spelling Bee for a couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/159 "2024-03-05T01:01:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > This is not to say that 8-year-olds are the arbiter of what words are acceptable I should hope not. This is a New York Times word game - I expect the puzzles to be fairly literate. I have no idea why I know the word gannet - maybe because I read a lot of books? ETA: that probably sounds awfully snarky. I’m not an English major so I imagine you have read far more books than I have. Many apologies, please strip out 100% of the snark potential when interpreting my comment. I’m just wondering why I, a very ordinary person as literate people go, know the word “gannet.” It’s gotta be all those English mystery novels I read, I guess! ---
**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:** [March 5, 2024, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739/160 "2024-03-05T01:48:28Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > As I said before, imagine how many words you would need for queen bee if they included every word. And for a lot of people, queen bee is the goal, or if not that, genius. I recognize that it’s not going to reflect every word that I know, like _carrack_ or _gannet_, and that other people may not know those words. Sam’s educational background is what it is. It’s fine. For the record, I was talking about the bird here, not some British usage. We have them here offshore in Massachusetts, and I’ve seen them. I’m not going to argue common/uncommon, because I don’t know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-spelling-bee-drives-me-crazy/994739.md?page=9)