Resources: What Sam Says About (Nearly) Everything
2026-09-16
The Spelling Bee had its début on May 9, 2018. In those early days, The New York Times provided almost no information about the puzzle, and players had no official guidance on scoring structure, solving goals, the role of its editor, the source(s) of words, or anything else.
It was not until more than two years later (October 2020), that The Times published its first article about the Bee; that and their next article (December 2021) reported on players’ experiences, but did not offer information from the Bee editor, Sam Ezersky, that might answer players’ continuing questions about the puzzle itself. It was not until early August 2022 – more than four years after the début of the Spelling Bee – that the Times invited players to submit questions to the Bee editor; those Qs and As were published in an article later that month.
During those early years, the Bee editor did sometimes share bits of information in social media posts and in rare comments posted to the nascent Spelling Bee forum (it existed in a corner of Wordplay, the daily crossword column, before getting its own home in 2021). He also participated in several extensive interviews that were published in other print media, podcasts, etc. In the absence of official published information, Bee solvers tended to rely on those posts and interviews as the best sources of information about the Bee.
Though The Times has published more information about the Spelling Bee in recent years, much of that material has been informal and entertaining, rather than elucidating, and Bee solvers have continued to look to outside resources for guidance and information.
To make it easier for Bee solvers to find those elusive snippets of information, LexiConnexxions has prepared this compilation, “What Sam Says About (Nearly) Everything.” From our comprehensive bibliography of Spelling Bee resources, we identified 38 important items – articles, interviews, social media posts, podcasts – in which Sam Ezersky provided substantial information directly to interviewers, colleagues, or players.
We extracted those quotes and organized them here by subject, so that a reader may see, for example, all quotes from the Bee editor as to which dictionaries and other resources he has named as relevant to the Bee. The list of topics is shown in the sidebar.
Within each of the subject headings, the entries are arranged by date (earliest first), so that a reader may see at a glance how the editor’s thinking might have changed over time. The date is also the key to the resources themselves, which are listed at the bottom of this page, also arranged by date. To find the source of a particular quote, note the date, then check for that date in the resource list.
Many of these entries have been edited lightly for clarity, or to remove speech artifacts (um, like, you know) from verbatim transcripts of live interviews. In many cases, long statements that touch on more than one subject have been divided and/or duplicated into relevant subject headings. LexiConnexxions has added clarifying information [square brackets] as needed.
This compilation will be updated as new information becomes available.
The Spelling Bee had its début on May 9, 2018. In those early days, The New York Times provided almost no information about the puzzle, and players had no official guidance on scoring structure, solving goals, the role of its editor, the source(s) of words, or anything else.
It was not until more than two years later (October 2020), that The Times published its first article about the Bee; that and their next article (December 2021) reported on players’ experiences, but did not offer information from the Bee editor, Sam Ezersky, that might answer players’ continuing questions about the puzzle itself. It was not until early August 2022 – more than four years after the début of the Spelling Bee – that the Times invited players to submit questions to the Bee editor; those Qs and As were published in an article later that month.
During those early years, the Bee editor did sometimes share bits of information in social media posts and in rare comments posted to the nascent Spelling Bee forum (it existed in a corner of Wordplay, the daily crossword column, before getting its own home in 2021). He also participated in several extensive interviews that were published in other print media, podcasts, etc. In the absence of official published information, Bee solvers tended to rely on those posts and interviews as the best sources of information about the Bee.
Though The Times has published more information about the Spelling Bee in recent years, much of that material has been informal and entertaining, rather than elucidating, and Bee solvers have continued to look to outside resources for guidance and information.
To make it easier for Bee solvers to find those elusive snippets of information, LexiConnexxions has prepared this compilation, “What Sam Says About (Nearly) Everything.” From our comprehensive bibliography of Spelling Bee resources, we identified 38 important items – articles, interviews, social media posts, podcasts – in which Sam Ezersky provided substantial information directly to interviewers, colleagues, or players.
We extracted those quotes and organized them here by subject, so that a reader may see, for example, all quotes from the Bee editor as to which dictionaries and other resources he has named as relevant to the Bee. The list of topics is shown in the sidebar.
Within each of the subject headings, the entries are arranged by date (earliest first), so that a reader may see at a glance how the editor’s thinking might have changed over time. The date is also the key to the resources themselves, which are listed at the bottom of this page, also arranged by date. To find the source of a particular quote, note the date, then check for that date in the resource list.
Many of these entries have been edited lightly for clarity, or to remove speech artifacts (um, like, you know) from verbatim transcripts of live interviews. In many cases, long statements that touch on more than one subject have been divided and/or duplicated into relevant subject headings. LexiConnexxions has added clarifying information [square brackets] as needed.
This compilation will be updated as new information becomes available.
If you cite information from this LexiConnexxions report, please give credit and a link to this page. These reports and analyses are compiled and prepared by a human being, not a machine. Thank you.
What Sam Says About (Nearly) Everything: Topics
Community and FeedbackDictionaries and Other ResourcesEditing: Pangram SelectionEditing: Testing PanelEditing: Variety and SchedulingEditing: Word SelectionEditorial RoleLexicon: Capitals, Hyphens, etc.Lexicon: CrosswordeseLexicon: Foreign Words, British, etc.Lexicon: GeneralLexicon: Ins and OutsLexicon: Slang, Vulgarities, etc.Player Experience: DifficultyPlayer Experience: EnjoymentPlayer Experience: RanksPlayer Experience: Solving TipsPuzzle Tech and InterfaceSpecial Puzzles
I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your own text and edit me.
Community and FeedbackDictionaries and Other ResourcesEditing: Pangram SelectionEditing: Testing PanelEditing: Variety and SchedulingEditing: Word SelectionEditorial RoleLexicon: Capitals, Hyphens, etc.Lexicon: CrosswordeseLexicon: Foreign Words, British, etc.Lexicon: GeneralLexicon: Ins and OutsLexicon: Slang, Vulgarities, etc.Player Experience: DifficultyPlayer Experience: EnjoymentPlayer Experience: RanksPlayer Experience: Solving TipsPuzzle Tech and InterfaceSpecial Puzzles
What Sam Says About (Nearly) Everything: Sources
2018-09-20Comment by Sam E in Wordplay column:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2018-09-20.html#permid=28682144
2019-07-16Sam E tweets text of email he had sent to a solver 2019-07-16https://x.com/thegridkid/status/1151188527423643649
2020-10-16The Genius of Spelling BeeNew York Times, October 16, 2020; updated Aug. 31, 2022https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html
2021-02-24Secrets of the New York Times Spelling BeeCulture Gabfest, February 24, 2021https://podcasts.musixmatch.com/podcast/culture-gabfest-01hvbyrfsgsjjt60fg2gnatrx0/episode/secrets-of-the-new-york-times-spelling-bee-01hw7tj7pt6s89kk2qtcdwdxdv
2021-08-31AHow the Grid Kid Became King of the Online Spelling BeeSpectacular Vernacular (Slate podcast), August 31, 2021https://slate.com/podcasts/spectacular-vernacular/2021/08/are-you-spectacular-vernaculars-next-spelling-bee-champion
2021-08-31BInsider Secrets of the Spelling Bee: The New York Times’ Sam Ezersky reveals all.Slate, August 31, 2021https://slate.com/culture/2021/08/nyt-spelling-bee-sam-ezersky.html
2021-11-10The Quest for Queen BeeThe Keith Law Show, November 10, 2021 (44 minutes) (SE segment begins at 5:54; SB discussion begins around 15:40)https://podcasts.apple.com/sc/podcast/the-quest-for-queen-bee-w-sam-ezersky/id1499877854?i=1000541286581
2021-12-09How the Hivemind Conquers Spelling BeeNew York Times, December 09, 2021https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/crosswords/spellingbee-tips.html
2022-01-13The New York Times Spelling BeeAll of It with Alison Stewart, WNYC, January 13, 2022 (Interview with SE, 13 minutes)https://www.wnyc.org/story/new-york-times-spelling-bee/
2022-04-19The Wordle hurdle: the pitfalls of setting puzzles [interview with Sam Ezersky mostly re: Spelling Bee]Abigail Fielding-SmithThe Economist, April 19, 2022https://www.economist.com/1843/2022/04/19/the-wordle-hurdle-the-pitfalls-of-setting-puzzles archived here: https://archive.ph/Ucydu
2022-04-27How Word Puzzles Tickle the Brain and Satisfy the SoulLiterary Hub, April 27, 2022https://lithub.com/how-word-puzzles-tickle-the-brain-and-satisfy-the-soul/
2022-05-22The making of the cult favorite game, “Spelling Bee” [3:45 video] [worth watching]Brut, May 22, 2022https://www.brut.media/us/entertainment/the-making-of-the-cult-favorite-game-spelling-bee--3a9b7270-9272-4861-9453-1471922c57be
2022-08-14Your Spelling Bee Questions, AnsweredNew York Times, August 14, 2022https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/briefing/spelling-bee-questions-and-answers.html
2022-12-01The Bee Keeper: A conversation with Sam Ezersky (Engr ‘17), the editor of The New York Times’ buzzy word game.Virginia Magazine (UVA Alumni Association), Winter 2022https://digital.uvamagazine.org/articles/bee-keeper/
2022-12-29A Spelling Bee That Rocked the ForumNew York Times, December 29, 2022https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/29/crosswords/spelling-bee-community-talking-about.html
2023-03-03Every Single Pangram of 2022: A recap of all the Spelling Bee puzzles from the last year.New York Times, January 3, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/crosswords/all-spelling-bee-pangrams.html
2023-05-30Introducing Spelling Bee past puzzlesNew York Times News Release, May 30, 2023https://www.nytco.com/press/spelling-bee-past-puzzles/
2023-06-05Spelling Bee’s evolving word listAxios, June 05, 2023https://www.axios.com/2023/06/05/spelling-bee-evolving-word-list [paywall]
2023-09-11AGetting to Genius, Part 1: Spelling Bee for BeginnersNew York Times, September 11, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/crosswords/getting-to-genius-part-1.html
2023-09-11BGetting to Genius, Part 2: Becoming Queen BeeNew York Times, September 11, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/crosswords/getting-to-genius-part-2.html
2023-11-21An evening with Sam Ezersky, the Digital Puzzles Editor for the New York Timespresented in LA by Writers' Bloc on November 21, 2023.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLaeXF72r-A
2023-12-01The ‘New York Times’ Spelling Bee Editor is Proud of His Baltimore RootsBaltimore Magazine, December 2023https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/new-york-times-spelling-bee-editor-sam-ezersky-pikesville-roots/
2023-12-19Inside the New York Times' Big Bet on GamesVanity Fair, December 19, 2023https://www.vanityfair.com/news/inside-the-new-york-times-big-bet-on-games
2024-04-14Sam E answers a Q from a solver 2024-04-14https://www.tiktok.com/@thegamesteam/video/7357803650892320042
2024-04-30Part of being the Spelling Bee editor means answering to the 🐝 hive mind 🐝. Sam Ezersky shares his most unexpected moments on the job.New York Times Instagram, April 30, 2024https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Y8AjKuUmJ/
2024-05-03ANobody’s doing it like Steve G and the Spelling Bee hint writers. We chatted with editor Sam Ezersky about the heroes of the hive mind.New York Times Instagram, May 03, 2024https://www.instagram.com/mynytimes/reel/C6hGGQbRK09/
2024-05-03AEditor Sam Ezersky has some choice words for Spelling Bee hint writer Steve G. 👀👀New York Times Instagram, May 03, 2024https://www.instagram.com/p/C6gjZAzu4cf/
2024-05-20Putting New York Times Games to the Test: Meet some of the people who play each game and solve each puzzle before subscribers see them.New York Times, May 20 2024https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/crosswords/nyt-games-puzzles-testing.html
2024-07-06Personal communication from New York Times Customer Care to LexiConnexxions [peregrine], July 6, 2024.
2024-09-03Why do we have human games editors? [Spelling Bee Editor Sam Ezersky explains.]New York Times Instagram, September 03, 2024https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_dZxiaR_de/
2025-03-12AVideo message from Sam Ezersky about the March 12, 2025 Spelling BeeThreads, March 12, 2025https://www.threads.net/@nytgames/post/DHGPR0oOhLr?xmt=AQGzIBpmlO3sYRG72FS6B6s8r-hEtrDeZuEdIlyvn5nNDw
2025-03-12BTo Celebrate the 2,500th Spelling Bee Puzzle, NYT Games Thanks Its Most Scrupulous Spellers with a Special SolveNew York Times News Release, March 12, 2025https://www.nytco.com/press/celebrating-the-2500th-spelling-bee-puzzle/
2025-03-17Sam Corbin, Gameplay Newsletter, New York Times, Mar 17, 2025
2025-04-06Times Insider: Spelling Bee Lets Solvers Have Plurals (for One Day)New York Times, April 6 2025https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/pageoneplus/spelling-bee-s.html
2025-10-11Podcast: The Pyrotechnics of Puzzles: How NYT Games are madeNew York Times ‘The Daily’https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/podcasts/the-daily/nyt-games-connections-crossword.html
2026-04-12Hello Puzzlers Podcast: Special Guest Sam EzerskyApr 12 2026https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMrHaTEppvg
2026-06-26Sam Ezersky Q&A in the Spelling Bee forum, 2026-06-26https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum.html#permid=152133683
2026-08-05Why You Sometimes See Naughty Words in NYT GamesNew York Times, August 5, 2026https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/insider/games-language-wordle-crossplay-spelling-bee.html
2019-07-16Sam E tweets text of email he had sent to a solver 2019-07-16https://x.com/thegridkid/status/1151188527423643649
2020-10-16The Genius of Spelling BeeNew York Times, October 16, 2020; updated Aug. 31, 2022https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html
2021-02-24Secrets of the New York Times Spelling BeeCulture Gabfest, February 24, 2021https://podcasts.musixmatch.com/podcast/culture-gabfest-01hvbyrfsgsjjt60fg2gnatrx0/episode/secrets-of-the-new-york-times-spelling-bee-01hw7tj7pt6s89kk2qtcdwdxdv
2021-08-31AHow the Grid Kid Became King of the Online Spelling BeeSpectacular Vernacular (Slate podcast), August 31, 2021https://slate.com/podcasts/spectacular-vernacular/2021/08/are-you-spectacular-vernaculars-next-spelling-bee-champion
2021-08-31BInsider Secrets of the Spelling Bee: The New York Times’ Sam Ezersky reveals all.Slate, August 31, 2021https://slate.com/culture/2021/08/nyt-spelling-bee-sam-ezersky.html
2021-11-10The Quest for Queen BeeThe Keith Law Show, November 10, 2021 (44 minutes) (SE segment begins at 5:54; SB discussion begins around 15:40)https://podcasts.apple.com/sc/podcast/the-quest-for-queen-bee-w-sam-ezersky/id1499877854?i=1000541286581
2021-12-09How the Hivemind Conquers Spelling BeeNew York Times, December 09, 2021https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/crosswords/spellingbee-tips.html
2022-01-13The New York Times Spelling BeeAll of It with Alison Stewart, WNYC, January 13, 2022 (Interview with SE, 13 minutes)https://www.wnyc.org/story/new-york-times-spelling-bee/
2022-04-19The Wordle hurdle: the pitfalls of setting puzzles [interview with Sam Ezersky mostly re: Spelling Bee]Abigail Fielding-SmithThe Economist, April 19, 2022https://www.economist.com/1843/2022/04/19/the-wordle-hurdle-the-pitfalls-of-setting-puzzles archived here: https://archive.ph/Ucydu
2022-04-27How Word Puzzles Tickle the Brain and Satisfy the SoulLiterary Hub, April 27, 2022https://lithub.com/how-word-puzzles-tickle-the-brain-and-satisfy-the-soul/
2022-05-22The making of the cult favorite game, “Spelling Bee” [3:45 video] [worth watching]Brut, May 22, 2022https://www.brut.media/us/entertainment/the-making-of-the-cult-favorite-game-spelling-bee--3a9b7270-9272-4861-9453-1471922c57be
2022-08-14Your Spelling Bee Questions, AnsweredNew York Times, August 14, 2022https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/briefing/spelling-bee-questions-and-answers.html
2022-12-01The Bee Keeper: A conversation with Sam Ezersky (Engr ‘17), the editor of The New York Times’ buzzy word game.Virginia Magazine (UVA Alumni Association), Winter 2022https://digital.uvamagazine.org/articles/bee-keeper/
2022-12-29A Spelling Bee That Rocked the ForumNew York Times, December 29, 2022https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/29/crosswords/spelling-bee-community-talking-about.html
2023-03-03Every Single Pangram of 2022: A recap of all the Spelling Bee puzzles from the last year.New York Times, January 3, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/crosswords/all-spelling-bee-pangrams.html
2023-05-30Introducing Spelling Bee past puzzlesNew York Times News Release, May 30, 2023https://www.nytco.com/press/spelling-bee-past-puzzles/
2023-06-05Spelling Bee’s evolving word listAxios, June 05, 2023https://www.axios.com/2023/06/05/spelling-bee-evolving-word-list [paywall]
2023-09-11AGetting to Genius, Part 1: Spelling Bee for BeginnersNew York Times, September 11, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/crosswords/getting-to-genius-part-1.html
2023-09-11BGetting to Genius, Part 2: Becoming Queen BeeNew York Times, September 11, 2023https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/crosswords/getting-to-genius-part-2.html
2023-11-21An evening with Sam Ezersky, the Digital Puzzles Editor for the New York Timespresented in LA by Writers' Bloc on November 21, 2023.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLaeXF72r-A
2023-12-01The ‘New York Times’ Spelling Bee Editor is Proud of His Baltimore RootsBaltimore Magazine, December 2023https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/new-york-times-spelling-bee-editor-sam-ezersky-pikesville-roots/
2023-12-19Inside the New York Times' Big Bet on GamesVanity Fair, December 19, 2023https://www.vanityfair.com/news/inside-the-new-york-times-big-bet-on-games
2024-04-14Sam E answers a Q from a solver 2024-04-14https://www.tiktok.com/@thegamesteam/video/7357803650892320042
2024-04-30Part of being the Spelling Bee editor means answering to the 🐝 hive mind 🐝. Sam Ezersky shares his most unexpected moments on the job.New York Times Instagram, April 30, 2024https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Y8AjKuUmJ/
2024-05-03ANobody’s doing it like Steve G and the Spelling Bee hint writers. We chatted with editor Sam Ezersky about the heroes of the hive mind.New York Times Instagram, May 03, 2024https://www.instagram.com/mynytimes/reel/C6hGGQbRK09/
2024-05-03AEditor Sam Ezersky has some choice words for Spelling Bee hint writer Steve G. 👀👀New York Times Instagram, May 03, 2024https://www.instagram.com/p/C6gjZAzu4cf/
2024-05-20Putting New York Times Games to the Test: Meet some of the people who play each game and solve each puzzle before subscribers see them.New York Times, May 20 2024https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/crosswords/nyt-games-puzzles-testing.html
2024-07-06Personal communication from New York Times Customer Care to LexiConnexxions [peregrine], July 6, 2024.
2024-09-03Why do we have human games editors? [Spelling Bee Editor Sam Ezersky explains.]New York Times Instagram, September 03, 2024https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_dZxiaR_de/
2025-03-12AVideo message from Sam Ezersky about the March 12, 2025 Spelling BeeThreads, March 12, 2025https://www.threads.net/@nytgames/post/DHGPR0oOhLr?xmt=AQGzIBpmlO3sYRG72FS6B6s8r-hEtrDeZuEdIlyvn5nNDw
2025-03-12BTo Celebrate the 2,500th Spelling Bee Puzzle, NYT Games Thanks Its Most Scrupulous Spellers with a Special SolveNew York Times News Release, March 12, 2025https://www.nytco.com/press/celebrating-the-2500th-spelling-bee-puzzle/
2025-03-17Sam Corbin, Gameplay Newsletter, New York Times, Mar 17, 2025
2025-04-06Times Insider: Spelling Bee Lets Solvers Have Plurals (for One Day)New York Times, April 6 2025https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/pageoneplus/spelling-bee-s.html
2025-10-11Podcast: The Pyrotechnics of Puzzles: How NYT Games are madeNew York Times ‘The Daily’https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/podcasts/the-daily/nyt-games-connections-crossword.html
2026-04-12Hello Puzzlers Podcast: Special Guest Sam EzerskyApr 12 2026https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMrHaTEppvg
2026-06-26Sam Ezersky Q&A in the Spelling Bee forum, 2026-06-26https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum.html#permid=152133683
2026-08-05Why You Sometimes See Naughty Words in NYT GamesNew York Times, August 5, 2026https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/insider/games-language-wordle-crossplay-spelling-bee.html