Girthing

Why the Spelling Bee accepted the noun but not the verb is a question that needs a measured answer

G, I, L, N, R, T, and center H (all words must include H)

Silly little dictionary! Don’t you know girthing can’t possibly be a word if the New York Times says it ain’t?

There have been many instances in which the rejection of a word by the Spelling Bee has befuddled me. Alee is one of those instances, although I have yet to write a column about that word. Hopefully I’ll get to do so before the Spelling Bee stops rejecting it. That way I can pretend to take credit for having convinced them, although I have the feeling they don’t read my articles often… if ever.

Now, today’s game includes the letters I-N-G, which as any regular player knows, means any verb you can come up with you can also add -ing to create its gerund form or turn it into a participle or a noun. For example, r-i-g-h-t gives you the verb right (to do justice) and the present participle righting. Similarly, add -ing to light and you get lighting, which a participle and a noun (as the gerund form).

Then there’s girth, typically thought of as a noun:

But, as you noticed earlier, it’s also a verb. And Merriam-Webster clearly says that one of its inflected forms is girthing:

So what’s the deal, Spelling Bee? Why accept only the noun form of the word but not its meaning as a verb…

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