I didn't notice any exclusion for Les303, so here are my thoughts ;
I was really keen to ask 3 different questions after I saw the solution to this particularly challenging & most enjoyable, albeit, frustrating puzzle.
#1... I was another of the players that could not find spelunker however when I viewed the solution & checked the definition, the word was immediately familiar to me but I had no idea why.
My only thought was that I may have been recalling it from a previous game, you've already answered that question, so thanks for that, Alan.
I would be backing myself to find this word if it ever comes up again so, its classification, for me at least, is no longer really relevant. (having said that & even though the word is now familiar to me & by now to many more players who read the forum, I feel that the word should never have been on the common list but then we can jump on the merry go round argument, is it now familiar enough to chi players to remain common?)
I am certain that it would have been a known word for yelnats ( forever running around caves, playing with his little bats) I just wonder how many of the other 244 found it purely because of its previous appearances in chi games?
#2 ... Peke (short for Peking dog ) was the other common word that I failed to find & I would like to challenge its classification.
#3 ... I probably should have stopped at #2 although you may get a laugh out of this.
Please keep in mind that I had spent an extraordinary amount of time on this game trying to find the last couple of common words & in particular the nine letter word.
In this situation the beer goggles are firmly in place by now so as I run out options i start thinking about giving up before one last effort which involves a lot of shuffling & guessing & the submitting of any combination of letters that seem remotely like an actual word.
This was how I managed to find persue.
How on earth had I managed to miss such a simple word, hang on a minute, its coming up as rare, a quick look at the definition ( obsolete spelling for pursue ) , they are spelt exactly the same?
There are only a few minutes to go before the game closes & as soon as it does close, I quickly view the solution & immediately begin my post, I have to let Alan know about this major anomaly that I have come across with the word persue.
I am only a couple of lines into the post, when i spell pursue correctly & begin to realise what a stupid mistake i have made, i go back to the game, double check the definition & immediately delete the post.
As i give my half empty stubby, the stare & the frown, i think to myself, thank goodness i picked that up before i actually submitted the post, nobody will ever know...oops.