Tag Archives: spelling bee

NYT Spelling Bee 8-4-21 final

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Holy smokes the pangram for this one! I tried all sorts of stuff before getting it. HELLOKID, KILLEDHO, LIKEDHO, HIKELODE. Ultimately, I got it. Huge relief.

Also the countdown is to

Meatier Misses

Today’s summary

Letters: ODEIKLH
Final score: 31 words for 119 points.
Genius minimum: 105 points.
First word: LOOKED.
Pangram: LIKELIHOOD.
Last word: LIKELIHOOD.
Tweets:

NYT Spelling Bee 5-21-22 (contains spoilers)

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I got so close to forgetting to do this. Maaaan. But doing it meant I saw that the hello wordl post from today had missed schedule! WordPress does that sometimes, and it’s really weird.

Yesterday I missed ACCURACY, ARRAY, CRANNY, and RUNNY.

Meatier Misses

ARCANA: Secrets or mysteries.

arcana (n.)

“hidden things, mysteries,” 1590s, a direct adoption of the Latin plural of arcanum “a secret, a mystery,” an important word in alchemy, from neuter of adjective arcanus “secret, hidden, private, concealed” (see arcane). Occasionally mistaken for a singular and pluralized as arcanas, because arcana is far more common than arcanum.

CURACY: The office, position, or work of a curate.
HARRY: Persistently carry out attacks on (an enemy or an enemy’s territory)

Today’s summary

Final score: 43 words for 196 points.
Genius minimum: 170 points.
First word: FOIBLE.
Pangram: LIFEBLOOD.

NYT Spelling Bee 5-20-22 (contains spoilers)

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Yesterday I missed LEVEL, LIEU (Sorry, Ted), and UNLEVEL.

Meatier Misses

JEJUNE: (of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.

jejune (adj.)

1610s, “dull in the mind, flat, insipid, wanting in interest,” from Latin ieiunus “empty, dry, barren,” literally “fasting, hungry,” a word of obscure origin. De Vaan finds it to be from a PIE root meaning “to worship, reverence,” hence “to sacrifice” (with cognates including Sanskrit yajati “to honor, worship, sacrifice,” Avestan yaza- “to worship,” Greek agios, agnos “holy;” see hagio-), and writes that the Latin word and its relatives “would be based on the habit to perform the first sacrifice of the day on an empty stomach.” Related: jejunaljejunally.


JULIENNE:A portion of food cut into short, thin strips.


VENULE: Anatomy A very small vein, especially one collecting blood from the capillaries.

Today’s summary

Final score: 24 words for 113 points.
Genius minimum: 108 points.
First word: CRUNCHY.
Pangram: RAUNCHY.
Tweets:

NYT Spelling Bee 5-19-22 (contains spoilers)

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I tried to get to genius last night, but I couldn’t push it over the edge. That changed during the day, so here we go. I’m glad to be back to posting these.

Yesterday I missed FICTION, INFO, INTO, NONFICTION, and ONTO.

Meatier Misses

concoction (n.)

1530s, “digestion” (a sense now obsolete), from Latin concoctionem (nominative concoctio) “digestion,” noun of action from past participle stem of concoquere “to digest; to boil together, prepare; to consider well,” from assimilated form of com “together” (see con-) + coquere “to cook, prepare food, ripen, digest,” from PIE root *pekw- “to cook, ripen.”

Meaning “that which is concocted” is by 1850, figurative; meaning “a devising, a planning, act of preparing and combining the materials of anything” is from 1823.

Today’s summary

Final score: 25 words for 84 points.
Genius minimum: 82 points.
First word: JUVENILE.
Pangram: JUVENILE.

NYT Spelling Bee 11-10-21 final

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Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Today is 11-10-21. 11+10=21. DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE.

Yesterday I missed THROWAWAY, AORTA, OATH, ROTARY, ROTOR, TARO, THATAWAY, THROAT, THROATY, THWART, TYRO, WORRYWART, WORT, and WROTH.

Meatier Misses

ARHAT: (in Buddhism and Jainism) someone who has attained the goal of the religious life.
ARROWROOT: A West Indian herbaceous plant from which a starch is prepared.
ATHWART: From side to side of; across.
HORTATORY: Tending or aiming to exhort.
ROTATORY: The adjective form of rotate.

Today’s summary

Letters: LDENOTW
Final score: 48 words for 202 points.
Genius minimum: 202 points.
First word: NETTLE.
Pangram: LETDOWN.

NYT Spelling Bee 11-7-21 final

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I played baseball today! More on that later.

Yesterday I missed ALLAY, ANNULARLY, DRYLAND, LANDAU, LANDLADY, LANYARD, LAUD, LUAU, LULU, LUNA, LUNULA, and UNRULY.

Meatier Misses

None?

Today’s summary

Letters: MCDELOY
Final score: 36 words for 149 points.
Genius minimum: 143 points.
First word: LOOMED.
Pangram: I didn’t find one? Weird.
Tweets:

NYT Spelling Bee 11-6-21 final

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Tonight I made a sale of a #raabidfun T-shirt on my etsy store at shop.raabidfun.com. It’s always exciting when someone I don’t know orders from me. I hadn’t made a sale in a while, so this was a pleasant surprise, and Calah brightened up when I told her about it. She’s told me in the past that I should expand my etsy store to include woodworking projects. Since I started making cutting boards, those certainly feel like things that I can sell because there’s a huge market for cool-looking cutting boards, and the holidays are right around the corner. I might even be too late to the game this year for the holidays, but I don’t know. I can’t wait to share the second cutting board project on my Tuesday woodworking blog. I finished it yesterday, and it looks amazing. Way different from the first one. That series will start as soon as this one ends.

Yesterday I missed ACETATE, CADE, CAVA, DECADE, DETECTED, and EXEC.

Meatier Misses

EXACTA: A bet in which the first two places in a race must be predicted in the correct order. Classic horse racing.
TACET: Music (as a direction) with the voice or instrument silent.

Today’s summary

Letters: LADNRUY
Final score: 31 words for 135 points.
Genius minimum: 135 points.
First word: LUNAR.
Pangram: LAUNDRY.

NYT Spelling Bee 11-4-21 final

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I promised a story last night, but I didn’t get back in time to tell it.

At 8pm or so on November 4, 2019, I had my first audition in my journey to become a magician member of the Magic Castle. To become a magician member of the Magic Castle, you have to be recommended by a magician member in good standing, write some essays, and then perform magic for about a dozen phenomenal magicians. It’s like performing comedy for comedians, but instead of them just being experts in bit formation and crafting, they’re also experts in different parts of magic. I had practiced my set for months and months, and when I went to perform, I did what I had set out to do. Despite my best efforts, it wasn’t what they were looking for, and they recommended that I try again.

Ultimately, I passed the audition, and now I’m a magician member. And last night, I was hanging out at the Magic Castle, and I was asked to perform in one of the impromptu areas because most magicians were attending a lecture elsewhere in the building. That meant a deficit of magicians available to perform for a group that was eager to see magic. I usually have the stuff that can fit in my pockets when I go, but last night I had decided to travel light. So I didn’t have what I otherwise would have used for a bigger set.

I performed a single trick for a pretty great audience. What a crazy two years.

Yesterday I missed EGGNOT, ENTENTE, NEON, ONTO, OUTGONE, OUTGUN, and UNTHOUGHT.

Meatier Miss

UNGUENT: A soft greasy or viscous substance used as ointment or for lubrication.

Today’s summary

Letters: CAEGKMO
Final score: 18 words for 48 points.
Genius minimum: 44 points.
First word: MACE.
Last word: COMMA.
Pangram: GAMECOCK.
Tweets:

NYT Spelling Bee 11-3-21 final

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If I make it back in time tonight, I’ll share a cool story. If I don’t, this will post as-is. And then I’ll share it tomorrow.

Yesterday I missed ABACK, ALACK, BECK, BEECH, BLACKBALL, BLECH, CABAL, CABALA, CACKLE, CELEB, and EACH.

Meatier Miss

LECH: informal, derogatory A lecher.
lecher: a lecherous person.
lecherous: Having or showing excessive or offensive sexual desire.

Etymology!

lecher (n.)

“lustful man, man given to excessive sexual indulgence,” late 12c., from Old French lecheor (Modern French lécheur) “one living a life of debauchery,” especially “one given to sexual indulgence,” literally “licker,” agent noun from lechier “to lick;” also “to live in debauchery or gluttony,” from Frankish *likkon or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *likkojan “to lick” (from PIE root *leigh- “to lick”). The Old French feminine form was lechiere. Middle English, meanwhile, had lickestre “female who licks;” figuratively “a pleasure seeker,” literally “lickster,” with -ster. In 18c. sometimes leacher (Bailey), along with leacherous, leachery.

Today’s summary

Letters: NEHOTU
Final score: 36 words for 112 points.
Genius minimum: 109 points.
First word: ENOUGH.
Pangram: TOUGHEN.