well i learned a new word smart aleck thank u :)

i dont remember why but that syntax is not difficult at all. so i think its worth trying

Seriously not trying to be a smart aleck here. It seems like you've just improved an inefficient approach. You're level 3 so beyond me python-wise. What made you choose this approach over ord()?

DON'T HARDCODE yourself, my friend.

how about this?

from string import ascii_lowercase as LOWERS

CODES = {c: i+1 for i, c in enumerate(LOWERS)}

Hard coding exploits you inside.

can someone help me pass the excruciatingly long list test cases?

@kuminin then how would you add the two strings if you don't parse them?

How should multiple occurrences of letters be handled in the 'code' input?
for example "Dad"
would be the following?
d a d
e b
f c
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
n
...

PRESET_COLORS is a predefined map as the instructions say, it's not a part of JS core, it's a const/var defined for this kata.

Not a kata issue, it's a problem with your code, use Question next time. Have you seen the error code you got in the sample tests?

parsed['g'] = (alpha[c.upper()]*16)
...
parsed['g'] += alpha[c]

There is your problem.

Define "copy/paste".

is copy/paste not supported yet?