“Chiefly British” words in the Spelling Bee Lexicon
Conventional "hive wisdom" says that “chiefly British” words are not included in the Spelling Bee. However, the puzzle editor has said only that the Bee will not include “clear variants or British variants on American English words.” And in fact, the Spelling Bee lexicon includes many words for which Merriam-Webster's primary (or only) definition is “chiefly British” or “chiefly Scottish.” (It even includes a few British spellings of American English words.)
Here’s a selection of "British" words in the Spelling Bee lexicon; there are others. Words marked with an asterisk have been used in at least one Bee puzzle, then subsequently disallowed; they are retained here for historical interest.
M-W = Merriam-Webster; NOAD = New Oxford American Dictionary. Read more HERE about dictionaries used by the Spelling Bee editor and solvers.
Here’s a selection of "British" words in the Spelling Bee lexicon; there are others. Words marked with an asterisk have been used in at least one Bee puzzle, then subsequently disallowed; they are retained here for historical interest.
M-W = Merriam-Webster; NOAD = New Oxford American Dictionary. Read more HERE about dictionaries used by the Spelling Bee editor and solvers.
“CHIEFLY BRITISH” WORDS IN THE SPELLING BEE LEXICON
AEON – M-W: chiefly British spelling of EON
ANTENATAL – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British : occurring, existing, performed, or used before birth
BLOKE – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British, informal: man, fellow
BONNY – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: attractive, fair, fine, excellent
BOOKABLE – M-W describes this adjective as “chiefly British” : to register in a hotel —usually used with in
CARPARK – M-W ‘s only entry is an open compound: car park chiefly British : a lot or garage for parking
CROG* – M-W does not have an entry for CROG, Northern English and Midland English dialect to ride on a bicycle as a passenger. Old Wiktionary says of this Welsh word: crog f (plural crogau): [noun] gallows, cross ; crucifix, rood ; something that hangs ; adjective: hanging, suspended, pendulous [See note below about this unusual word’s unusual history in the Spelling Bee lexicon.]
CUPPA* – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: a cup of tea
DAFT – M-W’s only definitions for this word: 1 chiefly British, informal : silly, foolish 2 chiefly British, informal : mad, insane 3 Scotland : frivolously merry
DODGY – All M-W’s definitions are “chiefly British”: 1 chiefly British : evasive, tricky; 2 chiefly British, not sound, good, or reliable, or questionable, suspicious; 3 chiefly British : requiring skill or care in handling or coping with
EXPAT – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: an expatriate person : expatriate
FLATMATE – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British, one of two or more persons sharing the same flat
GAWP – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: to gawk, to gape or stare stupidly HART – M’W’s only definition: chiefly British: the male of the red deer especially when over five years old: a stag HIND – M’W’s only definition: chiefly British: the female of the red deer
HULLO* – M-W's only definition: chiefly British spelling of HELLO
INBUILT – M-W’s only entry: chiefly British: built-in (defined as forming an integral part of a structure or object, especially : constructed as or in a recess in a wall (e.g., a built-in bookshelf); also, a built-in piece of furniture)
JOURNO – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: a journalist, a person engaged in journalism, especially : a writer or editor for a news medium
LEANT – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British past tense of LEAN
LORRY – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: a motortruck.
LOVEY – Not in M-W, but NOAD labels as “British English.”
Updated 2024-09-05
ANTENATAL – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British : occurring, existing, performed, or used before birth
BLOKE – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British, informal: man, fellow
BONNY – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: attractive, fair, fine, excellent
BOOKABLE – M-W describes this adjective as “chiefly British” : to register in a hotel —usually used with in
CARPARK – M-W ‘s only entry is an open compound: car park chiefly British : a lot or garage for parking
CROG* – M-W does not have an entry for CROG, Northern English and Midland English dialect to ride on a bicycle as a passenger. Old Wiktionary says of this Welsh word: crog f (plural crogau): [noun] gallows, cross ; crucifix, rood ; something that hangs ; adjective: hanging, suspended, pendulous [See note below about this unusual word’s unusual history in the Spelling Bee lexicon.]
CUPPA* – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: a cup of tea
DAFT – M-W’s only definitions for this word: 1 chiefly British, informal : silly, foolish 2 chiefly British, informal : mad, insane 3 Scotland : frivolously merry
DODGY – All M-W’s definitions are “chiefly British”: 1 chiefly British : evasive, tricky; 2 chiefly British, not sound, good, or reliable, or questionable, suspicious; 3 chiefly British : requiring skill or care in handling or coping with
EXPAT – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: an expatriate person : expatriate
FLATMATE – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British, one of two or more persons sharing the same flat
GAWP – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: to gawk, to gape or stare stupidly HART – M’W’s only definition: chiefly British: the male of the red deer especially when over five years old: a stag HIND – M’W’s only definition: chiefly British: the female of the red deer
HULLO* – M-W's only definition: chiefly British spelling of HELLO
INBUILT – M-W’s only entry: chiefly British: built-in (defined as forming an integral part of a structure or object, especially : constructed as or in a recess in a wall (e.g., a built-in bookshelf); also, a built-in piece of furniture)
JOURNO – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: a journalist, a person engaged in journalism, especially : a writer or editor for a news medium
LEANT – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British past tense of LEAN
LORRY – M-W’s only definition: chiefly British: a motortruck.
LOVEY – Not in M-W, but NOAD labels as “British English.”
Updated 2024-09-05
A NOTE ABOUT CROG:
CROG made its début in the Spelling Bee on September 11 2023, after having been disallowed from three earlier Bees. In case you missed it then, here are its definitions, drawn from various sources (because it is not in standard dictionaries):
Northern English and Midland English dialect: to ride on a bicycle as a passengerWelsh for gallows or [the] Cross; also adj., hanging, hung, suspendedalternative spelling of croh, meaning saffron from the crocus flower Read more HERE about the fascinating derivation of the word CROG, an example of hypocorism applied to an everyday activity. https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2019/02/recording-of-the-week-croggy-or-backy-1.html
Inclusion of the word in the Spelling Bee was unintentional, as the Bee editor said later that day: “Hand up: There’s definitely a word in today’s puzzle that falls well outside my normal editing thresholds. Simply an oversight that it made its way into today’s word list. Apologies to the #hivemind, especially those who chase 👑🐝 status daily!”https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1701313662588158305
CROG made its début in the Spelling Bee on September 11 2023, after having been disallowed from three earlier Bees. In case you missed it then, here are its definitions, drawn from various sources (because it is not in standard dictionaries):
Northern English and Midland English dialect: to ride on a bicycle as a passengerWelsh for gallows or [the] Cross; also adj., hanging, hung, suspendedalternative spelling of croh, meaning saffron from the crocus flower Read more HERE about the fascinating derivation of the word CROG, an example of hypocorism applied to an everyday activity. https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2019/02/recording-of-the-week-croggy-or-backy-1.html
Inclusion of the word in the Spelling Bee was unintentional, as the Bee editor said later that day: “Hand up: There’s definitely a word in today’s puzzle that falls well outside my normal editing thresholds. Simply an oversight that it made its way into today’s word list. Apologies to the #hivemind, especially those who chase 👑🐝 status daily!”https://twitter.com/thegridkid/status/1701313662588158305