Homophones and Near-Homophones in Spelling Bee: When Your Brain Betrays You

If you’ve ever confidently typed a word into the NYT Spelling Bee only to get that dreaded “Not in word list” message, there’s a good chance a homophone was behind your misery. Our brains are wired to process language by sound, which is fantastic for everyday conversation but absolutely treacherous when you’re trying to nail …