Friday, August 2, 2024

Answers to yesterday's Bee

Jump to answers for


The official answers for today's puzzle are:

Click on the arrow to show the definition.
Click outside the pop-up to close it.



Number of Pangrams: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 91

Number of Answers: 25

Points Needed for Genius: 64

Genius requires between 10 and 22 words. You need at least a 6-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 83% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 65% of the remaining points to reach genius.

Other days with this pangram:

The button below will reveal a chart with the number of words by each letter. Red bars indicate that there is a pangram(s) starting with that letter.


How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today's score of 91 was in the 8th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on July 24, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 25 possible answers rank it in the 13th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on July 24, 2024.
The highest number of answers was 81 on June 8, 2019.
The lowest number of answers was 16 on March 27, 2023.

It takes a 6-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on July 28, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 4.8.
For all Bees, the average word length has been 5.3.



Haven't I seen these letters before?

Hover over a letter to see its first and most recent appearance in the Bee!



Haven't I seen these words before?

The most common words in the Bee are:

  • noon 176
  • loll 171
  • toot 160
  • naan 158
  • nana 158
  • lilt 128
  • till 128
  • tilt 128
  • tint 118
  • mama 113
  • mamma 113
  • nene 108
  • acacia 107
  • acai 107
  • anal 105
  • onto 103
  • toon 103
  • anon 101
  • boob 101
  • booboo 101
  • onion 100
  • lull 99
  • lulu 99
  • olio 99
  • papa 97
  • call 96
  • calla 96
  • poop 95
  • allay 93
  • ally 93
  • baba 93
  • dodo 93
  • mitt 93
  • tatty 93
  • ratatat 91
  • tact 91
  • tart 91
  • tartar 91
  • attar 90
  • nanny 90
  • cocci 89
  • mono 89
  • moon 89
  • radar 89
  • tutu 89
  • loon 88
  • tattoo 88
  • array 87
  • epee 87
  • peep 87


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 88,712 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,186 unique words.
Below are the distributions of the lengths of these words.



Valid dictionary words not in today's official answers

You may be wondering why these words aren't here*:

  • achene
  • ayah
  • cachaca
  • cancha
  • chachka
  • chana
  • chay
  • eche
  • hacek
  • hackee
  • haen
  • haha
  • hance
  • hayey
  • hyaena
  • kench
  • nyah
  • yechy

*Because the New York Times considers them obscure or offensive.

ache

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
verb
  1. To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
  2. To cause someone or something to suffer pain.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Parsley

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The name of the Latin-script letter H.

achy

adjective
  1. Suffering from aches, sore.

ankh

noun
  1. A cross shaped like a T with a loop at the top, the Egyptian hieroglyph representing the Egyptian triliteral ꜥnḫ and often used as an amulet or charm for this concept.
  2. Tau cross

cache

noun
  1. A store of things that may be required in the future, which can be retrieved rapidly, protected or hidden in some way.
  2. A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium.
  3. (geocaching) A container containing treasure in a global treasure-hunt game.
verb
  1. To place in a cache.

chance

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An opportunity or possibility.
  2. Random occurrence; luck.
  3. The probability of something happening.
  4. What befalls or happens to a person; their lot or fate.
adjective
  1. Happening by chance, casual.
adverb
  1. Perchance; perhaps.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To happen by chance, to occur.
  2. To befall; to happen to.
  3. To try or risk.
  4. To discover something by chance.
  5. (Belize) To rob, cheat or swindle someone.

chancy

adjective
  1. Uncertain, risky, hazardous
  2. Subject to chance; random
  3. Lucky; bringing good luck

check

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
  2. An inspection or examination.
  3. A control; a limit or stop.
  4. A mark (especially a checkmark: ✓) used as an indicator.
  5. An order to a bank to pay money to a named person or entity.
  6. A bill, particularly in a restaurant.
  7. A maneuver performed by a player to take another player out of the play.
  8. A token used instead of cash in gaming machines, or in gambling generally.
  9. A lengthwise separation through the growth rings in wood.
  10. A mark, certificate or token by which errors may be prevented, or a thing or person may be identified.
  11. The forsaking by a hawk of its proper game to follow other birds.
  12. A small chink or crack.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To inspect; to examine.
  2. To verify the accuracy of a text or translation, usually making some corrections (proofread) or many (copyedit).
  3. (often used with "off") To mark items on a list (with a checkmark or by crossing them out) that have been chosen for keeping or removal or that have been dealt with (for example, completed or verified as correct or satisfactory).
  4. To control, limit, or halt.
  5. To verify or compare with a source of information.
  6. To leave in safekeeping.
  7. To leave with a shipping agent for shipping.
  8. To pass or bounce the ball to an opponent from behind the three-point line and have the opponent pass or bounce it back to start play.
  9. To disrupt another player with the stick or body to obtain possession of the ball or puck.
  10. To remain in a hand without betting. Only legal if no one has yet bet.
  11. To make a move which puts an adversary's king in check; to put in check.
  12. To chide, rebuke, or reprove.
  13. To slack or ease off, as a brace which is too stiffly extended.
  14. To crack or gape open, as wood in drying; or to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, etc.
  15. To make checks or chinks in; to cause to crack.
  16. To make a stop; to pause; with at.
  17. To clash or interfere.
  18. To act as a curb or restraint.
  19. To turn, when in pursuit of proper game, and fly after other birds.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. (usually pluralized) A pattern made up of a grid of squares of alternating colors; a checkered pattern.
  2. Any fabric woven with such a pattern.
verb
  1. To mark with a check pattern.
adjective
  1. Divided into small squares by transverse, perpendicular, and horizontal lines.

cheek

noun
  1. The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
  2. (usually in the plural) The lower part of the buttocks that is often exposed beneath very brief underwear, swimwear, or extremely short shorts.
  3. Impudence.
  4. One of the genae, flat areas on the sides of a trilobite's cephalon.
  5. One of the pieces of a machine, or of timber or stonework, that form corresponding sides or a similar pair.
  6. (in plural) The branches of a bridle bit.
  7. Either side of an axehead.
  8. The middle section of a flask, made so that it can be moved laterally, to permit the removal of the pattern from the mould.
verb
  1. To be impudent towards.
  2. To pull a horse's head back toward the saddle using the cheek strap of the bridle.

cheeky

adjective
  1. Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
  2. (of swimwear, underwear, etc.) tending to reveal the cheeks of the buttocks.
  3. (Australian Aboriginal) Poisonous (of animals such as snakes), dangerous, cunning, violent, potent.
  4. Indulged in.

each

noun
  1. (operations) An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.
adverb
  1. For one; apiece; per.
pronoun
  1. Every one; every thing.

enhance

verb
  1. To lift, raise up.
  2. To augment or make something greater.
  3. To improve something by adding features.
  4. To be raised up; to grow larger.
  5. (radiology) To take up contrast agent (for an organ, tissue, or lesion).

hack

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A tool for chopping.
  2. A hacking blow.
  3. A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
  4. A dry cough.
  5. A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
  6. A try, an attempt.
  7. The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
  8. A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.
  9. An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date.
  10. An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
  11. A trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.
  12. An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.
  13. A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.
  14. Time check.
  15. A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter.
  16. A kick on the shins in football.
  17. Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.
verb
  1. To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
  2. To cough noisily.
  3. To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.
  4. To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain.
  5. To accomplish a difficult programming task.
  6. To work with something on an intimately technical level.
  7. (by extension) To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.
  8. To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.
  9. (by extension) To gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).
  10. To strike an opponent's leg with one's hockey stick.
  11. To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.
  12. To swing at a pitched ball.
  13. (soccer and rugby) To kick (a player) on the shins.
  14. To strike in a frantic movement.
  15. To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
  2. A food-rack for cattle.
  3. A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.
  4. A grating in a mill race.
verb
  1. To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
  2. To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.
  2. A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.
  3. Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.
  4. A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.
  5. A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney coach, now typically a taxicab.
  6. A hearse.
  7. (authorship) An untalented writer.
  8. One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)
  9. A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
  10. A political agitator. (slightly derogatory)
  11. A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
  12. A procuress.
verb
  1. To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.
  2. To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
  3. To be exposed or offered or to common use for hire; to turn prostitute.
  4. To live the life of a drudge or hack.
  5. To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
  6. To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.
verb
  1. To play hackeysack.

hackney

noun
  1. An ordinary horse.
  2. A carriage for hire or a cab.
  3. A horse used to ride or drive.
  4. A breed of English horse.
  5. A hired drudge; a hireling; a prostitute.
verb
  1. To make uninteresting or trite by frequent use.
  2. To use as a hackney.
  3. To carry in a hackney coach.
adjective
  1. Offered for hire; hence, much used; trite; mean.

hake

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A hook; a pot-hook.
  2. A kind of weapon; a pike.
  3. (in the plural) The draught-irons of a plough.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. One of several species of marine gadoid fishes, of the genera Phycis, Merluccius, and allies.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A drying shed, as for unburned tile.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To loiter; to sneak.

hank

noun
  1. A coil or loop of something, especially twine, yarn, or rope.
  2. A ring or shackle that secures a staysail to its stay and allows the sail to glide smoothly up and down.
  3. Doubt, difficulty.
  4. Mess, tangle.
  5. A rope or withe for fastening a gate.
  6. Hold; influence.
  7. A throw in which a wrestler turns his left side to his opponent, twines his left leg about his opponent's right leg from the inside, and throws him backward.
verb
  1. To form into hanks.
  2. To fasten with a rope, as a gate.

hanky

noun
  1. A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands.
  2. A piece of cloth shaped like a handkerchief to be worn about the neck; a neckerchief or neckcloth.

heck

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Hell.
interjection
  1. Hell.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The bolt or latch of a door.
  2. A rack for cattle to feed at.
  3. A door, especially one partly of latticework.
  4. A latticework contrivance for catching fish.
  5. An apparatus for separating the threads of warps into sets, as they are wound upon the reel from the bobbins, in a warping machine.
  6. A bend or winding of a stream.

hence

adverb
  1. From here, from this place, away
  2. From the living or from this world
  3. (of a length of time) in the future from now
  4. As a result; therefore, for this reason

henna

noun
  1. A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers
  2. A reddish plant substance, prepared from the dried leaves of this plant, used for temporary tattoos and hair coloring. Hair colorings range from bright red to earth brown to near black.
  3. A rich reddish-brown colour.
verb
  1. To dye or tattoo with henna.
adjective
  1. Of a rich reddish-brown colour.

hyena

noun
  1. Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the subfamily Hyaeninae (genera Hyaena and Crocuta), native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.
  2. (Sub-Saharan Africa) A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.

khan

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A ruler over various Turkish, Tatar and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages.
  2. An Ottoman sultan.
  3. A noble or man of rank in various Muslim countries of Central Asia, including Afghanistan.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A caravanserai; a resting-place for a travelling caravan.

yeah

Etymology 1

interjection
  1. Expressing joy, celebration, glee, etc.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A solar year, the time it takes the Earth to complete one revolution of the Sun (between 365.24 and 365.26 days depending on the point of reference).
  2. (by extension) The time it takes for any astronomical object (such as a planet, dwarf planet, small Solar System body, or comet) in direct orbit around a star (such as the Sun) to make one revolution around the star.
  3. A period between set dates that mark a year, from January 1 to December 31 by the Gregorian calendar, from Tishiri 1 to Elul 29 by the Jewish calendar, and from Muharram 1 to Dhu al-Hijjah 29 or 30 by the Islamic calendar.
  4. A scheduled part of a calendar year spent in a specific activity.
  5. A Julian year, exactly 365.25 days, represented by "a".
  6. A level or grade in school or college.
  7. The proportion of a creature's lifespan equivalent to one year of an average human lifespan (see also dog year).

yecch

noun
  1. An exclamation of disgust.
interjection
  1. An exclamation of disgust.

yech

noun
  1. An exclamation of disgust.
interjection
  1. An exclamation of disgust.

haka

noun
  1. A group dance of New Zealand's Maori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
verb
  1. To perform the haka.