I think it’s too close to a slur, yes. When you see it, though, you know you can get cocoon right away!
Today it took CYAN but not CYANIC. 
Another pangram not accepted today: TYRANNIC
ACTINIC is also not accepted. I have no idea where I have heard that word, and it is arguably obscure or technical.
Way back when I first started playing Spelling Bee, that was the first word I noticed it not taking. That was 3 years ago.
Nor ACTIN.
My goal every day is to get to Genius without using any four-letter words. These low-scoring days can be tough, but I got there today after some luck with the pangram.
I always try to start a game with a long word. Whatever longish word I can find in minute or so. Sometimes it’s only 5 letters, but at least it’s not a 4. Today I spotted the pangram right off the bat. That’s unusual, although it’s not the first time it’s happened.
I always look for the pangram first, and every so often it just leaps out at me. Once every ten or twenty games, maybe.
One advantage of getting the pangram is that helps me think about other words during the day, even when I’m not looking at the puzzle.
Yes, good point.
Agree - the pangram is a useful mnemonic. But you can create something if you don’t have it - a day or two ago I was using “tiny car” until I found “intricacy.”
I try to get the pangram early. Like @commasense says, sometimes it jumps right out at me, but sometimes I still don’t have it by the time I get Genius.
I don’t look at the hints page until I have Genius (unless I’m really struggling) and then I go straight to “Spelling Bee Buddy”. About 50% of the time I can get Queen Bee, but often there are a couple of words that elude me. I don’t like looking at the hints from other players but my wife likes to use them.
Same for me except I don’t use the Buddy. I looked at it once and figured it doesn’t give any more info than the hints. Just more convenient. I must have some masochist in me because I stay with the less convenient hints.
It’s more like 75% or 80% for me. But yes, there’s all too often a strange word in there. Like arancini from yesterday. I would never have guessed that if I spent all week on it.
I always miss that one even though it comes up fairly often. I’ve decided that where there is arnica there will always be some arancini.
There are several common words that I consistently miss. Gigolo, for example. Just by posting this, I’ll probably remember them now, but others will no doubt crop up.
Are you sure it’s come up before? I keep a log of my results and part of that is the words I miss. I just checked and the first word is logged on three different occasions, but none of them have the other. And I can guarantee you I never found the latter word, so it should be in the log if it was in one of those games.
I have the same problem.
A few posts upthread somebody mentioned that ‘coon’ is not an acceptable word. No matter, I always try it, and it gets rejected. Then, of course, I totally overlook ‘cocoon’. Every time.
I play first thing when I awaken after warming up my brain with wordle and the mini x-word.
My goal is Genius before I get out of bed, no hints, but I do use 4-letter words. Sometimes I have to keep at it during the day but once I get Genius (always, eventually) I reward myself with looking at the day before’s answers after one brief last try at the puzzle.
Generally there are a few words there that I hope to remember next time but almost always there’s a word I never heard so I feel better about not striving for Queen Bee, which I’d have never reached that day (though I have several times - missed by 1 point last week with fief).
Sometimes I see the Panagram immediately and sometimes it is what puts me over to Genius, as with marijuana last summer (when I was actually high) and colleen (daughter’s name).
It is pretty interesting how your brain sees (or can’t unsee) some patterns and completely miss others.
Also, I can see a 7-spot wear pattern on my phone screen sometimes.
According to this site you are absolutely correct. It’s a newbie word. I think Sam might be a foodie.
Now I have to wrack my brain trying to remember the word I couldn’t remember. Grrrrr.