Today's Puzzles (January 10th 2018)

[Calilasseia]

Am I the only one here thinking that the Standard and Challenge Puzzles today should be vice versa? 

[anona]

Not for me. I'm doing better on the Standard (common words & good, better etc) and struggling more with the Challenge.

[mkenuk]

I think the minimum 'common words' target for a Challenge game is 40 or 42, so today's Standard, tricky though it is, has to remain a Standard.

[Calilasseia]

Interesting ... only I did much better on the Challenge puzzle than the Standard one ...

[mkenuk]

Am I the only one here thinking that the Standard and Challenge Puzzles today should be vice versa? 

If you had asked that about today's (12th January) games, I'd be inclined to agree with you!

 

[anona]

Quite often I am the only numpty out of the 20 names on the bit of the scoreboard I can see at a time who has not got the 9-letter word. I don't feel so stupid today, with others also not finding it as easily as they usually do. I wonder what it is?

(Please no-one take offence. Obviously I don't mean to imply anyone who doesn't get the word is a numpty, just that when I am the only one out of a consecutive group of 20 ... )

[mkenuk]

Without giving anything away.....

At the moment - almost halfway through the game - it has been played by slightly less than 40% of players. I think that says a lot.

Even hobgoblin, which threw a lot of players the other day, was played by 68%. Inserting, a couple of days ago. was seen by 86%.

[cmh]

My biggest weakness is finding the big word too and I certainly call myself a numpty when all around me is a sea of achievers!

[Ozzyjack]

Quite often I am the only numpty

Thank you, Anona.  You have taught me a new word. I haven’t come across numpty before even though I find on looking it up it is Scotland’s favorite word.

If you press “full screen”, you should get more than 20 but I’m not sure whether this would make the situation better or worse.

Cheers from another Numpty.

[Tom44]

Was Humpty Dumpty a numpty for sitting on that wall?     Never heard the word before.

[Alan W]

Without giving anything away.....

At the moment - almost halfway through the game - it has been played by slightly less than 40% of players. I think that says a lot.

Even hobgoblin, which threw a lot of players the other day, was played by 68%. Inserting, a couple of days ago. was seen by 86%.

The word in question, spelunker, was eventually found by 245 out of 616 players, just under 40%, as it was when MK commented. There were only 4 common words found by fewer players, which is unusual for the 9-letter word. I was expecting that when the puzzle closed someone would query whether this is a suitable 9-letter seed word. A few years ago potholing was changed from common to rare on the grounds that it is a mainly British word for caving - or spelunking. Currently spelunking is rare as are all other related words other than spelunker. The word has been the niner in a couple of previous daily puzzles, without any comment that I can see.

I'm inclined to think spelunker is rare. Any thoughts?

[yelnats]

While I got it fairly quickly (it wasn't my first which I aim for) I wouldn't have thought it common especially while spelunk is rare. I also had to check the spelling as it was so long since I have seen it.

[anona]

It won't surprise you, Alan, that I can't remember ever having met the word before.

[gromit]

I got spelunk and, as it was rare, decided that spelunker couldn't be the nine letter word. Eventually I tried it on the off chance because I couldn't see any other possible nine letter word. Whether it is common or rare, I think that all the spelunk words should be the same.

I've heard of spelunking from a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. Not use if this meets the "reasonably well-read English-speaking person" criteria in the Q&A (https://chi.lexigame.com/answers.html#common).

[Greynomad]

My comment would only be that I was aware of the word, without using it commonly, and would prefer to make potholing common, rather than spelunker rare. I would more frequently use and find potholing and the like than spelunker and the like.

40% does seem to be a reasonable hit rate to retain as common, even if people only found it by chance.

As always though, happy with whatever the you and the majority decide.