The end of a long week! Yay! I’ll save time on this intro by just saying that you should watch the The Catalpa Tree Update video in its entirety.
Yesterday I missed CLINICIAN, LILAC, LILT, PLIANT.
Meatier Misses
CATALPA: A tree with large heart-shaped leaves, clusters of trumpet-shaped flowers, and long, slender seed pods, native to North America and eastern Asia and cultivated as an ornamental.
The video just gets better and better. Watch it all the way through. Maybe speed it up to 2x.
LANTANA: A tropical evergreen shrub of the verbena family, several kinds of which are cultivated as ornamentals.
Like, a REALLY big problem!
PALAPA: A traditional Mexican shelter roofed with palm leaves or branches. PALATAL: technical Relating to the palate. PALP: Each of a pair of elongated segmented appendages near the mouth of an arthropod, usually concerned with the senses of touch and taste. PAPILLA: A small rounded protuberance on a part or organ of the body. PINTAIL: A mainly migratory duck with a pointed tail.
Today’s summary
Letters: DCEITUV Final score: 48 words for 226 points. Genius minimum: First word: DECEIVE. Pangram: DEDUCTIVE. Tweet:
Today’s Spelling Bee had a much lower point minimum for genius. But somehow it took a lot longer to get there. But a Queen Bee of more than 400 points was truly ridiculous. Also just 24 days to go, Calah!
Yesterday I missed AIRY, ARIA, AVIARY, CIRCA, and PRAY.
Meatier Misses
CARPI: The group of small bones between the main part of the forelimb and the metacarpus in terrestrial vertebrates. The eight bones of the human carpus form the wrist and part of the hand, and are arranged in two rows.
PAPYRI: Papyruses. PRIAPIC: Relating to or resembling a phallus.
“phallic; of or relating to the cult and myths of Priapus,” 1786, with -ic + Priapus (Greek Priapos), son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, the god who personified male reproductive power. His name is of unknown origin. Earlier was Priapean (1690s).
There were coins that were made in honor of Priapus:
So the Wall Street Journal sent out a disappointing headline.
#writetheheadline for what the WSJ would have published in the 1860s. I'll start: Clothiers Expect Supply Shortage as Cotton Growers Fight Proposed Wage Increase pic.twitter.com/Z0RWOgGq1B
Why they couldn’t use the any of the following terms: Uighur, Uyghur, genocide, ethnic cleansing, slave, slavery is beyond me. Also the focus should be on the kidnappings, reeducation programs, brainwashing, etc. I remember I first hear of the Uyghur people when I was in my hotel room in Port Ellen, Islay, Scotland. It was heavy news to hear straight from a distillery, but that was two years ago.
Yesterday I missed only three words FIFING, WIGGLING, and WOOING.
Meatier Misses
None. I could have gotten them all.
Today’s summary
Letters: Final score: 17 words for 78 points. Genius minimum: 77 points. First word: PIRACY. Pangram: PRIVACY. Tweets\:
I’ve found the best way to get Calah to read my blog is to have her read it as I type. Otherwise she’ll wait for a month and a half or so for the blog posts to pile up and then take some time to read all of them. This often is when I’m trying to tell her other things. The only way she can get me to stop is by saying she’s reading things I’ve written.
OK she’s gone. I was writing that more for her entertainment. She really does let them pile up, but I only know she’s reading them near me when she starts laughing or sending me pictures of typos that I then correct. It’s good to have her on my side, and by this time next month, she and I will be married.
Yesterday, I missed FALAFEL, FALL, FELLA, FIEF, FILL, FLEA, MAFIA, and MIFF.
Meatier Misses
MALEFIC: literary Causing or capable of causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means.
“doing mischief, producing disaster or evil,” 1650s, from Latin maleficus “wicked, vicious, criminal,” from male “ill” (see mal-) + -ficus “making, doing,” from combining form of facere “to make, do” (from PIE root *dhe- “to set, put”). Related: Malefical (1610s).
ICEFALL: It’s like snowfall but with ice.
Today’s summary
Letters: IFGLNOW Final score: 48 words for 301 points. Final score: 49 words for 310 points. Additional word: INFILLING. Final score: 50 words for 311 points. Additional word: LION. Final score: 51 words for 318 points. Additional word: LOGGING. Final score: 52 words for 326 points. Additional word: NIGGLING. Final score: 53 words for 331 points. Additional word: LINGO. Final score: 54 words for 338 points. Additional word: GINNING. Final score: 55 words for 339 points. Additional word: LOIN. Final score: 56 words for 348 points. Additional word: NONILLION. Final score: 57 words for 355 points. Additional word: FOGGING. Final score: 58 words for 361 points. Additional word: WILLOW. Final score: 59 words for 366 points. Additional word: IGLOO. Final score: 61 words for 381 points. Additional words: WINNOW and WINNOWING. Final score: 62 words for 382 points. Additional word: OLIO. Final score: 63 words for 389 points. Additional word: WOOFING. Final score: 64 words for 396 points. Additional word: LOLLING. Final score: 65 words for 397 points. Additional word: INFO. Final score: 66 words for 404 points. Additional word: ONGOING. Genius minimum: 297 points.
I kept pushing, and if I can’t get to Queen Bee with 107 points above genius minimum, what am I even doing?
First word: FOLLOWING. Pangrams: FOLLOWING, FLOWING, and WOLFING. Tweet:
It’s midday and I’m hungry. I haven’t found the pangram. This fast isn’t so much fun, especially with the humidity. The alternative is to turn on the air conditioning, but that also would dehydrate. There’s no winning. Just toughing it out.
Yesterday I missed ACHY, CYCINC, INANITY, ITCHY, and ITTY.
Meatier Misses
HINNY: The offspring of a female donkey and a male horse. I hadn’t realized that a mule is a male donkey and female horse. The more you know!
Today’s summary
Letters: FACEILM Final score: 29 words for 104 points. Genius minimum: 103 points. First word: FACILE. Pangram: ???? Tweets:
I got the screenshot in time! No modifications needed. Tonight started the fasting holiday of Tisha B’Av. The holiday is named after the date, which is the ninth day of the month of Av. Essentially all kinds of bad stuff happened to the Jewish people that day throughout time. So we abstain from all kinds of enjoyable stuff. Among those are eating and drinking. It’s now 11:39pm, which means it’s been 3 hours and 35 minutes since I last had water because I managed this year to start fasting at exactly the right time. Legitimately the clock turned to 8:04 as I set my cup down. Pro. The fast ends at 8:39 tomorrow night, so right now it’s nowhere close to how difficult it’ll be later. On the bright side, partway through the day, the somber mood turns into goodness and optimism for the future.
Yesterday I missed GELDED, GELEE, GENTLE, GENTLED, GLEE, HEEL, HEELED, LEDE, LEDGE, TELL, and TELNET.
Meatier Misses
Nothing to see here!
Today’s summary
Letters: YACIHNT Final score: 16 words for 78 points.
Final score: 17 words for 83 points. Genius minimum: 75 points. First word: HYACINTH. Pangram: HYACINTH. Tweet:
I didn’t grab the screenshot, and I can’t get it back in the app because the app is now garbage. I wish we could get the Genius bee back for the higher score. So I’ve modified an old one to make today’s. I’m considering doing that in the future, but that sounds like a lot of work. (As though I’m above doing extra things that are completely unnecessary with very little benefit.)
Yesterday I missed CLINIC, ECLECTIC, ELECTEE, ICICLE, LENIENCE, LENIENT, LILT, LIME, LIMN, LINTEL, TELNET, TILL, and TIMELINE.
Meatier Misses
CELLI: Argh! The many cellos thing. Dumb. CLEMENT: (of weather) mild.
Here’s a picture of me with Mitchell Clements at then-named at&t park.
I cannot explain the lean.
LINIMENT: A liquid or lotion, especially one made with oil, for rubbing on the body to relieve pain.
Today’s summary
Letters: LDEGHTN Final score: 22 words for 104 points. Genius minimum: 104 points. First word: LEGEND. Pangram: LENGTHENED.
There are some places that are worth going. There are some places that aren’t. Before COVID, Calah and I went to EP & LP for a birthday party. Awful. Really, really bad. Then there’s Mama Shelter. Way better than EP & LP. It’s trendy with a long line, but the people who work there are as good as the prices are high. Which is to say very.
Yesterday I missed: DEED, DEEDED, DEFIED, DEIFIED, DITTO, DOXX (THOUGH I FOUND DOXXED AND DOXED), FIFED, FITTED, FOODIE, FOXED, TIDITED, TOED, TOOTED, and TOTED.
early 15c., from Latin fetidus (commonly, but incorrectly, foetidus) “stinking,” from fetere “have a bad smell, stink.” This is perhaps connected with fimus “dung,” or with fumus “smoke.”
Today’s summary
Letters: LCEIMNT Final score: 42 words for 214 points. Genius minimum: 210 points. First word: INTELLECT. Pangrams: CLEMENTINE and INCLEMENT.
They say that the Delta variant feels to some like allergies or like a cold. Now that there’s humidity and heat and all the flowers are going having a blast and that there’s tons of construction around because people are getting back to their construction, the air quality is terrible. So what is COVID, what is allergies? Yeah, I don’t know, either.
