Babble: Archived Puzzle for Wednesday, May 19, 2004

12:27 am

CalamityJames

AAEEEFGGIIIIILMNNOOTTUUYZ
Wow, what a puzzle! So much for suffixes... ::smiles::
This means no B, C, D, H, J, K, P, Q, R, S, V, W, or X!
Five I's and no S? That's crazy talk, I tell you. Best of luck to us all.

12:37 am

moocher

Sheesh, I think I'm all out of gas at 14 words... all 4 letters, too!

12:40 am

derrr

apologies to all gila monsters, everywhere...

12:40 am

SFM

This is only my second puzzle, and its well hard! I cant get any 6 or 7 letter words... yet.

12:42 am

majenwen

Why am I glad I got one 6-letter? :)

12:43 am

Jesic

haha SFM, I have a 6 letter word.

12:48 am

CalamityJames

I read over yesterday's closing messages, and the topic of cheating programs came up. I'm curious to know what you all think about this:

If someone had access to one of these Babble solver things.. or, not Babble, but some other Scrabble/Boggle game that could be played personally (I've never seen or heard of a solver program, so I'm not sure it it's Babble-specific), and this person played that game by himself 1,000 times, each time using the cheat to see and learn about all the words that could be made until, by the thousandth time, he could solve the puzzles himself with 98% accuracy without the help of the cheat, and then he came to a place like this and proved to be equally effective overall, would that be cheating?

Because honestly, what I do equates with that; it's quite a similar act. I read on yesterday's thread that I seem "legit", so I wanted to stop and think about why. From each puzzleboard since the day I've begun playing (today's my fifth day), I've been going through Vanya's Babble list and studying the posted answers, and seeing where they fit on the board to discover why I didn't see it. So far, doing that has rewarded me at least ten extra words in my last two games (due to overlapping words). In my history of playing Boggle, I've always written down answers my friends write that I've never thought to use, and it really built up my playing strength. I find myself more effective in finding words without necessarily using them in life or knowing their meaning.

If you don't consider that cheating, and I don't, then I do recommend it. Framing out those neural pathways to word recognition only makes the possibility of defining those words by memory that much simpler a task.

12:48 am

SFM

shup jes. :)

12:53 am

Jesic

I don't consider that cheating at all Calamity. It's good that you go back and try to analyse what you could have done better etc. It's a strength.

12:56 am

CalamityJames

That's a comforting reassurance, Jesic.

If it's easier, you can refer to me as James (my common name), or even Jamie (my real name).
My name is Jamie Calame. In seventh grade I didn't want a "girl's name" anymore, so I switched to James Calame. This is the name from which Calamity James derives. Nowadays, Jamie, James, redhead, carrot, pretty much every name I've been given over the years suits just fine.

I just pick CalamityJames because it's sassy.

12:59 am

itzie

I'm so sad that lineage isn't quite there.

1:00 am

CalamityJames

Don't bust your self-esteem on this puzzle, moocher, majenwen, and SFM.

I have 20 words, and this puzzle is taxing me already. I certainly can't feel the momentum I've had going on for me in previous puzzles. This one will dizzy us all.

Try to find two six-letter words, and find a word that uses the Z. Those three accomplishments are great all to themselves.

1:07 am

itzie

I just found my first 5! Yay!

1:15 am

Jesic

Ok, cool. James it is :)

Hmm, i have 18 words and im pretty much stumped. Sheesh.

1:17 am

majenwen

I have 25 words, but only one 6-letter...

1:18 am

elphaba

James: I like your goals; having something distinct to look for makes it somehow easier. And i have those three words - but only ten total.

1:26 am

CalamityJames

The best part about this game, and what separates it from Boggle, is that you have all day to do this. So cheer up. If y'dunt got na many words yet, y'will in eight hours.

elphaba: Time to up your goal. Get four six-letter words.
Here's a few subtle clues-as-definitions for six-letter words (I love clues):
"Don't be [a poopy-badhead]"
"Be [sweet and pleasant] company"
"Or, be [a wild cat]"
"Don't [sweat the small stuff]"

See, lookie. Things are already brightening up:
55 words 4.55 547

1:27 am

elphaba

i've already got three, and two fives. :)

1:29 am

CalamityJames

That's awesome! Keep on truckin' away.

The word that's killing me right now is "AEOLIAN". It's so there! Graah!

1:32 am

elphaba

and it means what, exactly? I like it, but I don't know it. You'd think being a crossword junkie would make me better at this, but working in a record store - rather than in front of a computer - makes it hard to play as much as I'd like.

1:34 am

CalamityJames

Working in the record store is a perfect place to ascertain the definition of the word "Aeolian". Well, depending on the quality of the music in the record store. "Aeolian" is a musical term that refers to a mode characterized by a flatted 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees. In other words, very minor.

1:36 am

CalamityJames

Dictionary.com says something that, if I put into an example, would be a plastic bag blowing around on the freeway. It's aeolian/eolian because it's being carried by the wind.

1:47 am

CalamityJames

I'm going to bed soon (I'm PST time, so it's almost midnight), but I wanted to taunt you all with that fat Z sitting in there.
In case you haven't used it yet, get this: There are at least four words that use it, and one of those four can be made plural for 28 points! That's five Z words, then. If you know your insects, then you can get this. Good luck, and good night.

--Your eight hours of free play begin now--

1:53 am

CalamityJames

I'm such a post whore. =) Anyway, this is REALLY my last for eight hours.

For all you Ninja Turtle fans out there who remember what "mutagen" is, it's another word that's halfway there and getting on my nerves.

This is James, signing off.
63 words 4.51 645

2:09 am

liz

this one is a bitch

2:14 am

liz

i've been censored! good clean fun this IS, but it can cause one to swear in frustration, yes?

2:59 am

beluga

may be buck short & a day late to chime in, but there was an ancient string instrument called an aeolian harp that was a wind harp, ie. played by the wind like a wind chime

2:59 am

moocher

I think there's a Robin Hobb conspiracy going on here... Peottre yesterday, Galen today...
and I think I've reached my limit at 26 words.

3:17 am

lalika

hey, not to step in on others conversations but...I found a bird! hee!

3:21 am

beluga

quack quack

3:22 am

lalika

oh, and there are at least six words with Z in them

3:59 am

skittledog

Grrr, Jane Austen spelled tease as teaze, so why can't I?

4:20 am

Jesic

Arg. Going crazy here.

6:01 am

Allusearna

I can only find one 'z' word :(

7:08 am

cbullock

Sorry to be the first to say it, but there's a nice 9 hiding in there

7:11 am

M&O

no hints? just getting us all excited?

7:30 am

M&O

I was just looking at the lists from yesterday...do people really have such good vocabularies that they know words like "nagana" or are they just guesses that worked?

7:41 am

Delta

James, the reason that you are "legit" is because you are putting in the time. You're not just sitting there doing data entry from a generated word list. I think going over old word lists to learn more words is smart, not cheap. Keep doing it.

7:47 am

cbullock

i'd say that the key is not so much having a good vocabulary, but being good at recognizing common (and uncommon) letter patterns... and then remembering them once you find them

it's the same as being able to complete the NYT crossword without necessarily knowing each and every clue.

Look for the letters, not the words :)

7:52 am

M&O

Ooo- my second Z word!

8:10 am

cbullock

btw, 'nagana' is the same thing as tsetse (another good word to remember!), or sleeping sickness

8:26 am

beluga

delta, why would ne1 bother typing in a word list? not that i'm doubting it, but it's so pointless. still, it's harmless, so type on i say.

8:56 am

Delta

They would bother because they want to win every time perhaps? Maybe I don't understand your question.

9:19 am

ladylikebag

6 words 4.00 45
wow i'm bad at this game. i told myself yesterday that i would skip todays game, give myself a break, but no i ended up here anyway, awkward how addictive this is

9:22 am

burns1

I go on holiday for a few days to relax and THIS board is my reward when I return. I should have stayed on holiday.

9:24 am

burns1

Aha. Proof that Feng Shui is a load of cr*p. Feng isnt a word

9:27 am

cbullock

only one bird with no 'R' so far

9:31 am

burns1

There's a 9!

9:34 am

Prue

Oh, I'm bad today. :( Grr. So many words which need only one more letter at the right place to be complete...

10:11 am

burns1

30, 4.73, 416.

Appalling!

10:38 am

beluga

delta, winning every time is what seems pointless, why bother even playing when you know you'll win? if it gets you something else, like money, fame, etc. i could understand it.

10:44 am

CalamityJames

Your eight hours are up. I'm back.
There are indeed six Z words, and at least one 7 in addition to that 9, which I don't have. In fact, I've never found a nine-letter word. That seems to be my weak spot.

10:51 am

M&O

How useful is that Y?

10:59 am

Magican

Okay, here's a question for y'all: do you think that being a non-native English speaker effects my ability to find words in this puzzle? And if so, would that be a positive (more words) or negative (less words) effect?

11:00 am

M&O

How many have you found? I *am* a native English speaker and am having trouble. (26 words)

11:08 am

Babygirl

this addiction must stop now. good searching to you all.

Salu!!!! :)

11:20 am

fussmybacon

When I am guessing, right out of the gate, I know this isn't going to be a Babble day

11:24 am

discodave

I'm quitting - ostensibly because my kitchen flooded last night, but really because I'm embarassing myself here.

11:40 am

PJKurkoski

gigafez isn't a word - bummer!

11:41 am

Magican

M&O - I'm stuck already, at 14 / 4.14 / 112...

11:43 am

Magican

'Mega' - Oops, that isn't a valid word. WHAT?!

11:53 am

seaotter

Too many vowels! Arrrrgggghhhh!!
Managed to get 2 Z words. There has to be more. I am not getting many points with my words as is.

11:54 am

Magican

a seven, a seven, I got my first seven!

*blows whistle and orders cake*

my treat!

11:56 am

seaotter

Yum - cake. Thanks! Good job.

12:08 pm

E4E

Cake!! Wow. Thanks! ;)

12:16 pm

Magican

Okay. I have a confession to make.

While reading CalamityJames' post (12.48), I got curious. So, I googled around a bit, and guess what I found... A Boggle solver. And it works. It even came up with a 9! I know it's very unfair to use it, so I definately won't, and I won't provide the link either. But just so that you all know: it exists. Pretty neat actually, huh? ;)

- Oh, and you're welcome for the cake!

12:16 pm

4t8

back...calamity james, what you said was interesting. when i quit that first day then checked a word list to see how many words i'd missed, it was precisely so i could study the patterns that's i'd missed, and see how i'd missed the obvious words in front of me (yes there were/are many). but it was helpful, and every day i do learn a few new words. i certainly don't have the oxford dictionary encoded in my brain, and every little tidbit helps...
nice to read someone else uses this as a learning tool, too.

12:27 pm

beluga

i did find a couple of z words in a dictionary; i hope that's not cheating. the 9 word i found myself; i doubt it's even in many dictionaries, at least as spelled in the puzzle.

12:28 pm

runningforhome

Man, this puzzle sucks...
24/4.33/224
Only one six-letter word; there's just too many bloody vowels.

12:30 pm

seaotter

I found 3 Z words and have not consulted the dictionary at all.......yet! This puzzle is tough!

12:48 pm

qu0s

Thanks for the clues, Calamity James - you just helped me add three new words. ;)
I'm currently sitting on 40 words, at least ten of which were found by entering random letter combinations. This grid is a killer. Here's hoping tomorrow's will be easier.

1:14 pm

Huh

Cant see the point *rolleyes* this is going Rapidly down hill... now we are getting directions to Babble solvers!! to much blabber and not enough babble ;) lol

1:34 pm

sapphie

Suffering tonight...not even a blooming six, and only 27 words......*tears out hair*...but I di get the bird ;)

2:29 pm

sapphie

I take it back... got the 9 and three 6's with help from my 11 year old daughter!!! 36 words now!

2:37 pm

seaotter

Any hints on the 9 letter word? Plllleeeeaassseee?

2:40 pm

sapphie

Check what beluga said at 12.27.

That's a 9 two nights in a row....it's a miracle!!!LOL

2:49 pm

runningforhome

38 words, 376 points. I'd really like to make 40, but it doesn't seem to be happening.
I've gotten four 6s and used the z three times though...

4:22 pm

beluga

can't find the 7 letter word, but did find 2 birds. might be stuck with 56/4.59/675--7 letter word away from 700. :(

5:38 pm

beluga

got the 7, whoopee! for 58/4.62/724

til i return 2 games later, best of luck to all. (i'm only playing every other game to avoid total addiction)

6:50 pm

Twisted

Nasty puzzle today........as if I don't have enough trouble. But strangely enough the 1st puzzle I got a word with Z in it. So I don't feel to bad.
Probably be my worst score yet though.
Meh....

7:09 pm

April

what happens if you type in a few 'words' that don't go through and you decide to quit the puzzle (too hard for me today, and since I just started and have to leave soon...) would I score '0'? I would hate that!

7:15 pm

jovilamonk

i just got my first look at the puzzle today....oh how different things would be if there was an "r" in there

7:23 pm

ikss

hardest...puzzle...ever...

7:35 pm

ejackg22

35/4.51/356
What a struggle to get even this!
4-6's, no 7's, 8's or 9's
How do you find the word lists? (Joey)

8:05 pm

RET

Tough puzzle I agree, although I have spent hardly any time on it today. Word lists for the previous day can be found by going to previous day's puzzle (upper right) and clicking on a player's name. Voila! or as I saw it once "Wha la" (haha)

8:10 pm

Steven

To answer April's question, if you score a zero on a puzzle, you are not ranked (or at least, it used to be that way, I haven't played this in a while).

8:26 pm

Steven

Also, as I seem to be one the few old-school players active (I started back today, thanks to a boring summer at home from school), several players were banned last year when they entered perfect scores stemming from using a boggle solver.

11:01 pm

lalika

just out of curiousity, is boggle like this babble? I've never heard of it...

11:07 pm

moocher

Yeah, it's kind of a combination of Boggle and Scrabble..Boggle is a 4x4 letter grid - you play with other people with a 2 min time limit, and you don't get a score for words that more than 1 person has. There's no value on letters, either - score is based simply on the number of letters in each word.

11:46 pm

Alti

I'll be so glad when this one is over

View Word List Wednesday, May 19, 2004

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