If you’ve spent any time with the NYT Spelling Bee, you know that feeling when you spot an X, Q, Z, or V in the hive. Your pulse quickens. Your strategy shifts. These four consonants — often called the “rare letters” — show up far less frequently in English words than their alphabet neighbors, and …
Tag: patterns
Why Certain Letters Are Never Centers (And What That Tells Us)
If you’ve played the NYT Spelling Bee for any stretch of time, you’ve probably noticed something: certain letters feel like they’re always showing up as the center letter, while others seem to vanish entirely. That’s not a coincidence. The editors at the New York Times make deliberate choices about which letter sits in the golden …