I do the Spelling Bee in the New York Times every day and hardly a day goes by that I don't learn a new word from it. This is remarkable to me because I'm in my late sixties, fairly well read, and there are only so many words limited to using just seven different letters.
My list isn't only of words I didn't know, though it used to be. Some time ago, I started including words that are obvious one that I should know but often don't. Tatami, for example. That might not be a word everyone is familiar with, but I lived in Japan for three years and my apartment's floor was comprised of tatami mats, except for the kitchen and bathroom.
Many of these words are getting flagged as misspellings, which is odd because they're not that uncommon: aboil, iliac, many more.
The writer David Sedaris said he always gets the Queen Bee rating, which means he got all the words. That makes me admire him a lot. There seem to be a hundred condiments I'd never heard of, and before doing Spelling Bee I never knew what a lanai was. That's just one example. There are many, many more.
I use this list by looking through it after I've done as much as I can.
abaci: pl. of abacus
abbacy: about being an abbot
ablate: to remove or destroy the function of
abloom: blooming
aboil: boiling
acacia: spiny African tree
academe: academic life
acai: berrylike fruit
accede: give consent
acetal: perfume solvent
acetic: re: acetic acide or vinegar
acrid: bitter
acyclic: not cyclic, re: flowers
adenine: purine base involved w/DNA and RNA
adduct: to draw toward a common center
adobo: Phillippine dish
aeon: long time
aglet: end of a lace
agora: meeting space in Rome
aioli: garlicky mayonnaise
alcopop: soda like booze
aleph: 1st letter of Hebrew alphabet
alga, algae, algal: algae words
allele: alternative form of a gene
allium: genus of bulb plants like onions
amatory: re romantic love
ameba, amoeba, amebae, amoebae: all good
amour: a love affair
amyl: part of amyl nitrate
ancho: a dried poblano pepper
angina: heart pain
anima: the inner self, the soul
anion: negatively charged ion
annatto: tropical Amer. evergreen shrub
anneal: to strengthen or harden, as glass, steel
annul: declare void
annuli: pl. of annulus, ringlike growth marker
antenatal: before birth
antenna, antennae: often missed
antifa: real word in Spelling Bee
apian: bee related
appall: missed cause you can’t spell gud
apparat: Soviet bureaucracy
appellee: one of those ee ending words
appetitive: re: appetite
arcana: deep secret, mystery
arancini: Italian rice balls
arborio: short grain rice for risotto
arcadia, arcadian: peace with nature
archduchy: archduke’s territory
arco: with a bow
argon: inert gas Ar, 18
arhat: Buddhist with insight
aril: seed, fruit cover
armload: lots
arnica: a perennial herb
arrant: shameless; unmitigated
arum: genus of flowering plants
atrium, atria, atrial: lobby/s
attaboy: good going
attar: fragrant oil
attic: oft missed
augur: seer, to predict
avaunt: a vaunt, to boast; hence, away
axilla/axillae: armpit
axon: nerve fiber
baba: leavened rum cake
babel: confusion of sounds
babka: East European coffee cake
baccarat: the game
bacchanalia, -ian, al
bacilli: pl. of bacteria
backcomb: real word
bagatelle: a trifle, an unimportant thing
baht: Thai money
balalaika: Russian string instrument
baleen: whale filter plates
ballcock: toilet part
barbacoa: slow-cooked meat over fire
bariatric: as in the surgery
barrack: army dorm
battement: dance move w/beating leg
baud: unit of data transfer
bebop: the music
beck: a small brook; a creak: beckoning gesture
begem: adorn with gems
belle: prettiest girl in a group
bialy: type of Polish bread
biennia: two years
biennial: every two years
biome: a biotic community
birria: meat stew; soup
blackcap: any small black-crowned bird
blat: trumpet sound
blech: sound of gagging
blin: to stop, to cease, to desist
blini: a light pancake
bloop: a blooper
bluebottle: type of fly
boba: bubble tea
bobbin: oft missed
bock: dark beer
bola: rope with weight attached
boll: seed-bearing capsules of some plants
bollix: to throw into confusion
bombe: dessert w/layers of ice cream
boodle: counterfeit money
bootee: baby or small boot
borzoi: Russian dog breed
bottleful: full bottle
bung: a stopper or bunghole
butle: to act as a butler
cabala: Jewish mysticism
cacao: chocolate beans
caiman: croc: cayman
cairn: mound of stones
calcite: component of marble, chalk, limestone
calico: oft missed
callaloo: edible spinach-like leaves
cami: a camisole
campo: grassy plain in South America
canid: any doglike animal
canna: tropical herb with flowers
cannellini: white bean in Italian cooking
canonic: authoritative
cantata: poem set to music
cantina: Spanish bar
canton: small division of a country
capellini: angel-hair pasta
capo: mob boss; guitar pitch thing
capon: castrated rooster
carob: evergreen tree, chocolate sub.
carpi: wrist bones
catalpa: tree type w/big leaves
catatonia: being catatonic
cation: positively charged ion
cava: type of sparkling wine
cavatelli: small pasta shells
celli: pl. of cello
cellule: a small cell
cetacean: marine mammal type
chai: tea or latte w/cinnamon
challah: braided bread for Jewish sabbath
chancel: space around church altar
chia: seeds
chica: Mexican girl
chignon: knot in hair at base of neck
chinchilla: the rodent
chitin: hard exoskeleton material
ciabatta: bread type
ciao: oft missed
cicada: the bug
cinephile: movie lover
cioppino: fish stew
cirri: plural of cirrus, tendrils
citron: thorny evergreen shrub or tree
clave: past tense of cleave
clayey: about clay
coati: small S.American omnivorous mammal
coca: shrub w/cocaine
cocci: spherical bacterium, pl. of coccus
cockade: badge worn on hat
cocoa: chocolate source
codon: DNA sequence, nucleotides
coho: “silver” salmon
coir: coconut fiber
colcannon: a mashed potato dish
collab: a collaboration
colleen: an Irish girl
collet: sleeve for holding pieces
collie: dog
colloid: re: particulate matter
coloratura: elaborate opera singing
compote: fruit stewed or cooked in syrup
conclave: secret meeting
congee: boiled rice; rice gruel; jail
corolla: flower petals
coulee: deep gulch, canal, bayou
covalence: no. of electron pairs atoms share
crog: be a bicycle passenger
cultic: re cults
curacy: curate related
curium: metallic synthetic radioactive element
dacha: Russian country house or villa
dahlia: plant genus
dandle, dandling: bounce kids on knees
deckle: a frame used to hand make paper
decoct: extract flavor by boiling
deicide: kill a god
deke: feint in ice hockey
demit: to relinquish, dismiss
dicta: extra comments made by a judge
dimity: a strong cotton fabric
dinar: Middle Eastern currency
ditz: scatterbrained or eccentric person
doeth: form of does
dolor: sadness
doodad: stop missing this one
dorado: S. constellation; type of fish
doyen, doyenne: male/female senior group member
dragoon: mounted European military unit
droid: real word
drooly: full of drool
ducat: old gold coin; any piece of money, ticket
dudgeon: the haft of a dagger
dugong: Indian Ocean marine mammal
dunno: a word in Spelling Bee
durag: a legit word
durian: that weird fruit
durum: type of wheat
dyad: 2 people in significant relationship
dyne: centimeter-gram-second unit of force
echinacea: type of coneflower
ecotone: transitional zone between 2 communities
eddied: past tense of eddy
eidetic: photographic memory
elfin: like an elf
emetic: causing vomiting
enchain: to bind with chains
ennead: groups of nine
ennui: boredom
entente: alliance
epicene: having characteristics of both sexes
epode: 3rd part of ode type
etouffee: a spicy Cajun stew
falafel: fava beans made into balls
farina: milled wheat
farrago: a medley; a mixture
farro: wheat grains
faun: man/goat deity
faunal: re: animals, fauna
fennel: Eurasian parsly fam. plant
fief: estate held on condition of military service
finito: real word: finished; over with
flagella: cell propellers
flan: 1. custard 2. metal disk to be stamped
flang: miner’s 2-pointed pick
flange: protruding lip or rim
flanging: time=based audio effect w/2 of same signal
flauta: type of tortilla
folio: large paper folded in the middle
fontina: Italian ripened cheese
fora: plural of forum
formic: ant related
friary: monastery of friars
fugu: the fish
fungal: oft missed
furl: fold up a flag
gaffe: foot in mouth
gage: shotgun measurement
galangal: E. Asian medicine plant like ginger
galette: round flat pastry w/filling
gallium: rare metal
galop: lively 1800s dance
gamete: mature reproductive cell with half the info
gamin: male street urchin
gamma: third Greek letter
gavotte: French peasant dance
gelee: gelled suspension for cooking
gelt: money or a gelding
genii: same as genie
geoid: shape of Earth
gewgaw: a decorative trinket; a bauble
gigolo: oft missed
gigue: Irish dance music
gimme: oft missed due to spelling
gimlet: small hand tool; a cocktail
glia: network of glial cells
gloop: goo; oft missed
gnocchi: food word
goby: small fish w/spiny fins
googol: 10 to the 100th
googly: oft missed
gorgon: Greek myth female monsters
gran: a grandparent
grappa: Italian brandy type
guar; type of forage crop in pea family
gulag: oft missed
haboob: sandstorm
haka: Maori war dance
hake: any cod like food fish; drying shed
halite: rock salt
halogen: electro-neg. element
halva/havala: Indian confection
hamate: bone in wrist
haptic: touch related
haulage: that which is hauled
heath: shrubland habitat
heeltap: part of a shoe heel
heinie: spelling
helluva: a word to Spelling Bee
helve: handle of ax, chisel, hammer
hematite: black or blackish-red iron ore rock
heme: molecule w/iron
hepatic: liver related
heptane: test fuel component
heptathlete: 7-sports participant
hiatal: re: a hiatus
hoar: hoary, frost
hogan: Navajo dwelling
hoodoo: voodoo
hoorah: cheer, alt. of hurrah
hora: round dance
hortatory: encouragement
icefall: the fall of ice
ichor: god blood; ethereal fluid
igloo: oft missed
iliac: re: ilium
ilium: pelvic bone
imam: oft missed
imminent: oft missed
incipience: a first stage, a beginning
indica: type of cannabis plant
indicia: identifying marks
indium: a soft metal
ingenue: innocent young woman
innie: spelling
inurn: to put in an urn
invitee: welcome guest
iodide: iodine compound
ipecac: tropical American shrub
irrupt: to break or burst in
jabot: laces, ruffles
jinn: a spirit
jojoba: an evergreen shrub
kaboom: sound word
kebab: like kabab
kente: Ashanti cloth
kola: African evergreen tree
korma: a mild curry, SE Asia
krona: Swedish currency
kronor: plural of above
kroon: pre-euro Estonia currency
lability: readily changeable
lacteal: re milk
laic: re: secular, the laity
laical: re: layman or laity
lambi: sea snail
lamina: thin plate or layer
laminal: consisting of laminae
lanai: Hawaiian porch
lantana: genus of tropical shrubs
laten: to make or grow late
lath: thin strip of wood
legato: smooth, even, in music
lemma: headword
lento: in music, slowly
lifeblood: one word
lifeline: oft missed
limn: oft missed
linnet: a small finch
lipo: liposuction, OK in Bee
littoral: of or on a shore
llano: grassy plain
loach: a European freshwater fish
loblolly: a mudhole; a mire
lobo: the gray wolf
loge: small compartment, lodge
loggia: arch.; open balcony
logogram: symbol that stands for word
lollop: move with bobbing motion, to loll
longan: an evergreen tree
loofa: spelling note
lookbook: real word
loonie: real word
lovage: parsley family plant
luau: party
luff: sailing term they didn’t used to accept
lunula: fingernail moon
macaroon, macaron; chewy cooky
macron: symbol placed over long vowel
mage: a magician
mahimahi: slender game fish in Hawaii
malic: apple related
mammon: wealth in Bible
mancala: board games with pits
mandala: Hindu, Buddhist universe
manila: yellow brown color
manna: food from the devine
mantilla: light silk scarf
maraud: to rove and raid for plunder
marmot: groundhog
matcha: powdered green tea
matte: no gloss
maxilla: skull bones
mayo: legit word
melanin: dark skin pigment
memento: oft missed
mentee: oft missed
mete: boundary line, limit; apportion
metonym/metonymy: a word that means another
meze/mezze: small dishes as appetizers
miff: little quarrel, bad mood
millet: annual grass or its grains
mimeo: mimeograph; unpublished academic paper
minim: half note
minima: least possible quantity or degree
mirin: Japanese rice wine for cooking
mite: oft missed
modular: in moduls
momma: mom
mondo: enormous, huge
monolog: legit spelling
mononym: one name: Cher, Madonna
monotony: missed
moonlit: lit by moon
moratoria: lawful suspension of debt payment
moray: oft missed
moron: missed by idiots
motet: vocal sacred anthem
moue: small grimace; a pout
mulligan: golf shot; stew
mumpsimus: s.o. who sticks with old, wrong ways
myalgia: pain in one or more muscles
myna, mynah; the bird
naiad: water nymph
naif: naive, naive person
nankeen: sturdy cotton or pants made of it
natality: birth rate
natant: floating, swimming
neocon: real word
neolith: stone tool from Neolithic age
nepenthe: fictional medicine to forget grief
netizen: real word
netlike: like a net
netty: open-meshed fabric or toilet
niacin: a vitamin
nigiri: regular sushi
nite: real word
nock: notch for bowstring
nodal: node related
nohow: in no way
noir: English for noire
nonagon: polygon with nine sides and angles
nonagonal: like above
noncom: real word
nonce: the present
nonet: 9 instruments or voices
nonillion: 10 to the 30th
noob: new person
noogie; legit word
novae: plural of nova
nubbin: real word
oaten: made with oats
octal: eight based
octant: one eighth of a circle
octillion: 10 to the 27th or 48th
odia: plural of odium
odeon: Greek theater
odea: plural of odium; Greek theater
odeum: small Greek or Roman theater
odium: state of being odious
offline: not online
ogee: double curve, S shaped
oleic: type of fatty acid
oleo: margarine
olio: hodgepodge
ollie: skateboard move
omigod: legit in Spelling Bee
onlay: something laid over something else
oocyte: egg cell (used to accept)
oolong: tea fermented before drying
oompah: rhythmic bass accompaniment
oomph: legit
opah: moonfish: used to accept
oppugn: call into question truth of
orang: an orangutan
oratorio: comp. of voices and orchestra
orzo: pasta type
otology: ear medicine
outmode: to make unfashionable
outro: real word
ovate: egg shaped
oxlike: like an ox
paean: hymn of praise
paella: rice dish, Spain
palapa: open-sided dwelling w/thatched roof
palatal: re/ the palate
palp: one of clam mouth appendages
pampa: South American grass plain
pancetta: salt-cured pork belly meat
pandit: a Hindu scholar or teacher
panini: sandwich made of small loaf of bread
papally: same as popishly
papilla, papillae: tastebud and things like it
paradrop: deliver by parachute
paratha: flatbread
pariah: me
partita: instrumental piece of variations
patella, -ae; knee joint stuff, oft missed
patent, patentee: re patents
patly: suitably
peke: short for Pekingese
pelf: dishonestly gotten money
pellicle: thin skin or membrane
penman, men: scribe
pentane: organic compound
pepita: edible pumpkin or squash seed
peplum: short attached overskirt or ruffle
peptide: class of organic compounds
petit: petty
pewee: flycatcher bird
phalli: the penis
pharaoh: spelling check
phial: a vial
philhellene: lover of Greece and it’s culture
phlegmy: full of phlegm
phoneme: smallest unit of word sound
phyllo: pastry dough in thin sheets
piccata: Italian dish
pidgin: simplified language
pinniped: aquatic mammal; seal, etc.
pinny: a pinafore
pipet: alt. form of pipette
pipit: a type of songbird
pippin: an apple grown from seed
piratic: re pirates
pita: oft missed
pitapat: tapping sound
pith: soft inner tissue of feather, hair, plant
piton: metal spike for mountain climbing
plat: to plait or braid
platypli: plural of platypus
plena: Puerto Rican music
plenum: meeting with all present
plie: ballet move
poblano: type of chili pepper
podia: pl. of podium
polygonal: having many angles
polyp: oft missed
polyphony: multiplicity of sounds
pome: fleshy fruit w/seed chambers
pomelo: a fruit
pommel: to beat, pummel
pompano: a type of fish
poplin: ribbed fabric
poppa: dad
potlatch: ceremonial feast of NW Indians
priapic: phallus related
prion: misfolded protein
proton: positively charged nucleon
puli: Hungarian sheep dog
pule: cry weakly, whimper
pupal: re the insect stage
quanta: smallest amount of radiation
radicchio: any of a variety of chicory
radii: pl. of radius
raffia: tree, reed for baskets
raga: melodic Hindu music type
ragu: thick pasta sauce
raita: an Indian salad or condiment
raita: Indian salad or yogurt
ramify: to have complicating consequences
rani: wife of a raja
rapini: broccoli rabe, from China
riparian: re river banks
rondo: musical form w/contrasts
rood: crucifix
roti: Caribbean pastry
tabard: a short, heavy cape of coarse cloth
tabla: small drum
tabor: small drum
tacet: be silent, as a direction
taffeta: fabric type
taiga: snow forest
taillamp: taillight
tali: plural of talus, ankle bones
tallit: prayer shawl
tamari: soy sauce made with no wheat
tanka: boat used in Canton; forceful expression
tannin: plant tissues used in tanning leather
tant: a small scarlet arachnidnana
tantara: trumpet
tantra: esoteric yogic tradition
tapa: Spanish snack
tarmac: runway
taro: edible Asian and S. Amer. plant
tartan: patterned cloth
tatami: often missed by morons who lived in Japan
taxa: pl. of taxon, phylum, order, family, etc.
taxon: a taxonomic group
teff: African grain
telehealth: real word
telos: end goal, reason for being
tempi: music: plural of tempo
tenant: renter
tenon: wood joint making projection
theta: eighth letter of Greek alphabet
tibial: re tibia
tiki: male Polynesian figure
tilth: tilled earth
tinct: tint
tinhorn: petty braggart
tinily: of sound
tipi: alt. form of teepee
tippet: shaw
titan: oft missed
titivate: to dress or smarten up
titration: determining concentration of something
toccata: Baroque music
tommyrot: nonsense
tonne: 1,000 kg
tontine: investment plan w/shares, annuities
toonie: $2 Canadian coin
tope: small shark, grove of trees, Buddhist sepulcher
toponym: place name
toponymy: study of place names
tori: Japanese gate; plural of torus
torii: Shinto gate
toroid: closed curve shape
torta: sandwich type; crushed silver ore
tortoni: an Italian ice cream
totem: sacred thing to tribes
tramcar: a car on a tram
trattoria: small, Italian-style restaurant
trillionth: big number
tritium: rare isotope of hydrogen
tromp: to walk heavily
troubadour: strolling minstrel
tuffet: low seat or tuft of grass
tutti: in music, all together
ulna: arm bone
umpteen: large unspecified number
unilingual: one language
unman; unmanning
unpin: remove a pin
uptilt: to tilt upward
uvea: middle layer of the eye
valence: combining capacity of atom
venial: easily excused, pardonable
villanelle: 19-line poem
viny: having to do with vines
vivace: lively, in music
vlog: real word in Spelling Bee
wahine: woman surfer, Polynesian woman
weepie: excessively sentimental film or play
whinnied: the horse did it
wight: a living being; creature
wigwag, -ing: to move back and forth
wino: drunk
woohoo: legit in Spelling Bee
wryly: in a wry way, duh
xenon: colorless noble gas element
yecch: like yech
yenta, yente: matchmaker, gossip
yippee: spelliing
yogi: yoga expert
yond: short for yonder
zingy: valid word
zinnia: plant family
zirconia: synthetic gem
