[New York Times Spelling Bee, May 23, 2023.]
I thought that alembic would be one of today’s pangrams. “Not in word list,” says the Bee. Humph.
Merriam-Webster has it covered: “an apparatus used in distillation,” “something that refines or transmutes as if by distillation.” There’s even an illustration.
Sample sentence: “I thought that alembic would be one of today’s pangrams.”
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Alembic, humph
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comments: 4
Highly significant in alchemy, if memory serves :)
Right. And an ancestor of the pot still.
I've come up with a couple of words that the Spelling Bee didn't recognize. I've tried to report them, as suggested, but only get an automated, unsatisfactory response.
I tend to think there’s no arguing with the Times. Some choice words are excluded for obvious reasons. But I think that with pangrams, the puzzle should be as generous as possible. It’s like they’re holding your vocabulary against you when a pangram is excluded.
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