Open Synapses You are correct - regular crossword puzzlers are all familiar with the word AROAR. Sam Ezersky has been constructing crossword puzzles since his teens, many of which have been published in the New York Times. Assuredly, he is also familiar with the word AROAR. Our editor has excluded the word from the Bee sixty-six times since 2018, strongly suggesting this is an intentional choice. He rarely comments on the reasons for his word selections, but in a recent interview he made this statement which I feel clearly explains why he consistently excludes AROAR -When asked ‘What are the most common “why wasn’t this word accepted?” complaints?’, Mr. Ezersky replied:“The most common complaints tend to be around words that people recognize from doing crosswords over and over again, that I don’t like to add in the Spelling Bee because I believe it’s a different experience.”<a href="https://digital.uvamagazine.org/articles/bee-keeper" target="_blank">https://digital.uvamagazine.org/articles/bee-keeper</a>/He simply wants to keep the Spelling Bee experience  DIFFERENT from the crossword puzzle experience.Even though I know it is unlikely that AROAR will ever appear in a Bee solution, I will continue to try it every time the letters allow, because I simply like the word - so much energy and excitement captured in just five letters! It’s the green flag on the first lap of the Indy 500! It’s the game-winning home run of baseball’s World Series! It’s a terrific word, but I’m okay with Sam’s decision to keep it out of the Bee.

Open Synapses You are correct - regular crossword puzzlers are all familiar with the word AROAR. Sam Ezersky has been constructing crossword puzzles since his teens, many of which have been published in the New York Times. Assuredly, he is also familiar with the word AROAR. Our editor has excluded the word from the Bee sixty-six times since 2018, strongly suggesting this is an intentional choice. He rarely comments on the reasons for his word selections, but in a recent interview he made this statement which I feel clearly explains why he consistently excludes AROAR -When asked ‘What are the most common “why wasn’t this word accepted?” complaints?’, Mr. Ezersky replied:“The most common complaints tend to be around words that people recognize from doing crosswords over and over again, that I don’t like to add in the Spelling Bee because I believe it’s a different experience.”<a href="https://digital.uvamagazine.org/articles/bee-keeper" target="_blank">https://digital.uvamagazine.org/articles/bee-keeper</a>/He simply wants to keep the Spelling Bee experience  DIFFERENT from the crossword puzzle experience.Even though I know it is unlikely that AROAR will ever appear in a Bee solution, I will continue to try it every time the letters allow, because I simply like the word - so much energy and excitement captured in just five letters! It’s the green flag on the first lap of the Indy 500! It’s the game-winning home run of baseball’s World Series! It’s a terrific word, but I’m okay with Sam’s decision to keep it out of the Bee.

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