Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Answers to yesterday's Bee

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The official answers for today's puzzle are:

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Number of Pangrams: 1

Maximum Puzzle Score: 173

Number of Answers: 37

Points Needed for Genius: 121

Genius requires between 17 and 32 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 77% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 67% 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 173 was in the 55th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on August 5, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 37 possible answers rank it in the 47th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on August 5, 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 7-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on July 30, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.5.
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 161
  • naan 158
  • nana 158
  • lilt 128
  • till 128
  • tilt 128
  • tint 119
  • mama 113
  • mamma 113
  • nene 108
  • acacia 107
  • acai 107
  • anal 105
  • onto 104
  • toon 104
  • 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 88,904 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,189 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*:

  • afrit
  • antifat
  • faff
  • fain
  • fiar
  • finnan
  • finny
  • firn
  • firry
  • frit
  • fritt
  • infanta
  • infra
  • naff
  • niff
  • niffy
  • nitrify
  • raff
  • rarify
  • ratafia
  • taffia
  • tafia
  • tiffin
  • trayf
  • yaff

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

afar

adverb
  1. At, to, or from a great distance; far away.

affair

noun
  1. (often in the plural) Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public.
  2. Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely.
  3. An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle.
  4. A material object (vaguely designated).
  5. An adulterous relationship. (from affaire de cœur).
  6. A romantic relationship with someone who is not one's regular partner (boyfriend, girlfriend).
  7. A person with whom someone has an adulterous relationship.
  8. A party or social gathering, especially of a formal nature.
  9. The (male or female) genitals.

affiant

noun
  1. The individual witness whose statement is contained in an affidavit or sworn deposition.

affinity

noun
  1. A natural attraction or feeling of kinship to a person or thing.
  2. A family relationship through marriage of a relative (e.g. sister-in-law), as opposed to consanguinity (e.g. sister).
  3. A kinsman or kinswoman of a such relationship; one who is affinal.
  4. The fact of and manner in which something is related to another.
  5. Any romantic relationship.
  6. Any passionate love for something.
  7. Resemblances between biological populations; resemblances that suggest that they are of a common origin, type or stock.
  8. Structural resemblances between minerals; resemblances that suggest that they are of a common origin or type.
  9. An attractive force between atoms, or groups of atoms, that contributes towards their forming bonds
  10. The attraction between an antibody and an antigen
  11. Tendency to keep a task running on the same processor in a symmetric multiprocessing operating system to reduce the frequency of cache misses
  12. An automorphism of affine space.

affray

noun
  1. The act of suddenly disturbing anyone; an assault or attack.
  2. A tumultuous assault or quarrel.
  3. The fighting of two or more persons, in a public place, to the terror of others.
  4. Terror.
verb
  1. To startle from quiet; to alarm.
  2. To frighten; to scare; to frighten away.

faint

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of fainting, syncope.
  2. The state of one who has fainted; a swoon.
adjective
  1. (of a being) Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness
  2. Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected
  3. Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp
  4. Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy
  5. Slight; minimal.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions).
  2. To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent.
  3. To decay; to disappear; to vanish.

fair

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).
  2. A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women.
  3. Fairness, beauty.
  4. A fair woman; a sweetheart.
  5. Good fortune; good luck.
verb
  1. To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).
  2. To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).
  3. To construct or design a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline or reduce air drag or water resistance.
  4. To make fair or beautiful.
adjective
  1. Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
  2. Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.
  3. Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond hair.
  4. Just, equitable.
  5. Adequate, reasonable, or decent.
  6. (of a wind) Favorable to a ship's course.
  7. Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.
  8. Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.
  9. Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
  10. Between the baselines.
  11. (of a catch) Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
  12. (of a ball delivered by the bowler) Not a no-ball.
  13. Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.
adverb
  1. Clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
  2. An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.
  3. An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.
  4. A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).

fairy

noun
  1. The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.
  2. A mythical being with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, and revered in some modern forms of paganism.
  3. An enchantress, or creature of overpowering charm.
  4. A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
  5. A member of two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx.
adjective
  1. Like a fairy; fanciful, whimsical, delicate.

fanny

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The female genitalia.
  2. The buttocks; arguably the most nearly polite of several euphemisms.
  3. Sexual intercourse with a woman.
  4. Women viewed as sexual objects.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (naval slang) Mess kettle or cooking pot.

farina

noun
  1. A fine flour or meal made from cereal grains or from the starch or fecula of vegetables, extracted by various processes, and used in cookery.

fart

noun
  1. An emission of digestive gases from the anus; a flatus.
  2. (impolite) An irritating person; a fool.
  3. (impolite, potentially offensive) (usually as "old fart") An elderly person; especially one perceived to hold old-fashioned views.
verb
  1. (impolite) To emit digestive gases from the anus; to flatulate.
  2. (usually as "fart around") To waste time with idle and inconsequential tasks; to go about one's activities in a lackadaisical manner; to be lazy or over-relaxed in one's manner or bearing.
  3. To emit (fumes, gases, etc.).

fatty

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Containing, composed of, or consisting of fat.
  2. Like fat; greasy.
  3. Literally or figuratively large.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An obese person.
  2. A large marijuana cigar; a blunt.

fiat

noun
  1. An arbitrary or authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
  2. Authorization, permission or (official) sanction.
  3. (English law) A warrant of a judge for certain processes.
  4. (English law) An authority for certain proceedings given by the Lord Chancellor's signature.
verb
  1. (used in academic debate and role-playing games) To make (something) happen.

fifty

noun
  1. A banknote or coin with a denomination of 50.
  2. A batsman's score of at least 50 runs and less than 100 runs.
numeral
  1. The cardinal number occurring after forty-nine and before fifty-one.

frat

noun
  1. Shortened form for fraternity, college organization. (Often used as a noun modifier.)

fray

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To (cause to) unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.
  2. To cause exhaustion, wear out (a person's mental strength).
  3. Frighten; alarm
  4. To bear the expense of; to defray.
  5. To rub.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A fight or argument
  2. Fright.

friar

noun
  1. A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).
  2. A white or pale patch on a printed page.
  3. An American fish, the silverside.

friary

noun
  1. House or dwelling where friars or members of certain religious communities live
adjective
  1. Like a friar; relating to friars or to a convent.

frittata

noun
  1. A form of omelette in which vegetables, cheese etc are mixed into the eggs and cooked together.

iffy

adjective
  1. Of dubious authenticity, legitimacy or legality.
  2. Uncertain or chancy.

infant

noun
  1. A very young human being, from birth to somewhere between six months and two years of age, needing almost constant care and/or attention.
  2. A minor.
  3. A noble or aristocratic youth.
verb
  1. To bear or bring forth (a child); to produce, in general.

infantry

noun
  1. Soldiers who fight on foot (on land), as opposed to cavalry and other mounted units, regardless of external transport (e.g. airborne).
  2. The part of an army consisting of infantry soldiers, especially opposed to mounted and technical troops
  3. A regiment of infantry

infinity

noun
  1. Endlessness, unlimitedness, absence of a beginning, end or limits to size.
  2. A number that has an infinite numerical value that cannot be counted.
  3. An idealised point which is said to be approached by sequences of values whose magnitudes increase without bound.
  4. A number which is very large compared to some characteristic number. For example, in optics, an object which is much further away than the focal length of a lens is said to be "at infinity", as the distance of the image from the lens varies very little as the distance increases further.
  5. The symbol ∞.

naif

noun
  1. One who is naive.
adjective
  1. Naive.

nifty

adjective
  1. Good, smart; useful or beneficial.
  2. Stylish.

raffia

noun
  1. A fibrous material used for tying plants, originating from the leaves of the raffia palm tree (genus Raphia).

raft

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A flat-bottomed craft able to float and drift on water, used for transport or as a waterborne platform.
  2. (by extension) Any flattish thing, usually wooden, used in a similar fashion.
  3. A thick crowd of seabirds or sea mammals, particularly a group of penguins when in the water.
  4. A collection of logs, fallen trees, etc. which obstructs navigation in a river.
  5. (when ordering food) A slice of toast.
  6. A square array of sensors forming part of a large telescope.
verb
  1. To convey on a raft.
  2. To make into a raft.
  3. To travel by raft.
  4. To dock (toolbars, etc.) so that they share horizontal or vertical space.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A large (but unspecified) number, a lot.

ratify

verb
  1. To give formal consent to; make officially valid, sign off on.

riff

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A repeated instrumental melody line in a song.
  2. A clever or witty remark.
  3. A variation on something.
  4. A spoof.
verb
  1. To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes.
  2. To riffle.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The belly; the bowels.

riffraff

noun
  1. The rabble; crowds; the common people.
  2. Sweepings; refuse.

rift

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A chasm or fissure.
  2. A break in the clouds, fog, mist etc., which allows light through.
  3. A shallow place in a stream; a ford.
verb
  1. To form a rift; to split open.
  2. To cleave; to rive; to split.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. (obsolete outside Scotland and northern Britain) To belch.

taffy

noun
  1. A soft, chewy candy made from boiled molasses or brown sugar.
  2. Flattery.

tariff

noun
  1. A system of government-imposed duties levied on imported or exported goods; a list of such duties, or the duties themselves.
  2. A schedule of rates, fees or prices.
  3. A sentence determined according to a scale of standard penalties for certain categories of crime.
verb
  1. To levy a duty on (something)

tiff

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A small argument; a petty quarrel.
  2. Liquor; especially, a small draught of liquor.
verb
  1. To quarrel.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To deck out; to dress.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. (British India) To have lunch.

tiffany

noun
  1. A kind of gauze, or very thin silk.

fratty

adjective
  1. Resembling or characteristic of a frat boy in behavior or appearance.

antifa

proper noun
  1. A decentralised, radical political movement that opposes fascism.
  2. A local instance of this movement.
noun
  1. Opposition to fascism
noun
  1. A person opposed to the tenets of fascism.
adjective
  1. Opposed to the tenets of fascism; antifa.