Saturday, August 17, 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: 184

Number of Answers: 34

Points Needed for Genius: 129

Genius requires between 16 and 29 words. You need at least an 8-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 184 was in the 59th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on August 16, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 34 possible answers rank it in the 39th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on August 16, 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 an 8-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on August 11, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.1.
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 177
  • loll 172
  • toot 163
  • naan 158
  • nana 158
  • lilt 128
  • till 128
  • tilt 128
  • tint 119
  • mama 114
  • mamma 114
  • nene 109
  • acacia 108
  • acai 108
  • anal 105
  • onto 105
  • toon 105
  • boob 102
  • booboo 102
  • anon 101
  • lull 101
  • lulu 101
  • onion 101
  • olio 100
  • papa 97
  • call 96
  • calla 96
  • baba 95
  • poop 95
  • mitt 94
  • tatty 94
  • allay 93
  • ally 93
  • dodo 93
  • ratatat 92
  • tart 92
  • tartar 92
  • attar 91
  • tact 91
  • nanny 90
  • cocci 89
  • loon 89
  • mono 89
  • moon 89
  • radar 89
  • tattoo 89
  • tutu 89
  • array 87
  • epee 87
  • peep 87


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 89,323 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,198 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*:

  • dindling
  • dunlin
  • gingili
  • gingilli
  • guggling
  • guiling
  • iglu
  • illuding
  • indulin
  • inulin
  • lidding
  • lignin
  • ling
  • linin
  • linn
  • lungi
  • luving
  • luvving
  • nill
  • nilling
  • nulling
  • ungluing
  • vill
  • villi
  • vuln
  • vulning

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

diddling

verb
  1. To cheat; to swindle.
  2. To have sex with.
  3. To masturbate (especially of women).
  4. To waste time.
  5. To totter, like a child learning to walk; to daddle.
  6. To manipulate a value at the level of individual bits (binary digits).

dill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
  2. A cucumber pickled with dill flavoring
  3. A fool.
verb
  1. To cook or flavor with dill

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To still; to assuage; to calm; to soothe, as one in pain.

divulging

verb
  1. To make public or known; to communicate to the public; to tell (information, especially a secret) so that it may become generally known
  2. To indicate publicly; to proclaim.
noun
  1. The act by which something is divulged.

dull

verb
  1. To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
  2. To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
  3. To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
  4. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
adjective
  1. Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
  2. Boring; not exciting or interesting.
  3. Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
  4. Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
  5. Sluggish, listless.
  6. Cloudy, overcast.
  7. Insensible; unfeeling.
  8. Heavy; lifeless; inert.
  9. (of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
  10. (of a noise or sound) Not clear, muffled.

dulling

verb
  1. To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
  2. To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
  3. To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
  4. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.

giggling

verb
  1. To laugh gently or in a high-pitched voice; to laugh in a silly or giddy way.
noun
  1. The act of producing giggles; high-pitched laughter

gild

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To cover with a thin layer of gold; to cover with gold leaf.
  2. To adorn.
  3. To decorate with a golden surface appearance.
  4. To give a bright or pleasing aspect to.
  5. To make appear drunk.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A group or association mainly of tradespeople made up of merchants, craftspeople, or artisans for mutual aid, particularly in the Middle Ages.
  2. A corporation.
  3. A group of diverse species that share common characteristics or habits.
  4. An organized group of players who regularly play together in a multiplayer game.

gilding

verb
  1. To cover with a thin layer of gold; to cover with gold leaf.
  2. To adorn.
  3. To decorate with a golden surface appearance.
  4. To give a bright or pleasing aspect to.
  5. To make appear drunk.
noun
  1. The art of applying gold leaf to a surface.
  2. Gold leaf.
  3. A coating of gold or gold-coloured paint, etc.

gill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. (animal anatomy) a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals
  2. (of a fish) a gill slit or gill cover
  3. One of the radial folds on the underside of the cap of a mushroom, on the surface of which the spore-producing organs are borne
  4. (animal anatomy) the fleshy flap that hangs below the beak of a fowl; a wattle
  5. The flesh under or about the chin; a wattle
  6. (spinning) one of the combs of closely ranged steel pins which divide the ribbons of flax fiber or wool into fewer parallel filaments
verb
  1. To remove the gills from a fish as part of gutting and cleaning it
  2. To catch (a fish) in a gillnet
  3. To be or become entangled in a gillnet

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A drink measure for spirits and wine (size varies regionally but it is about one quarter of a pint)
  2. A measuring jug holding a quarter or half a pint

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Rivulet
  2. Ravine

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A two-wheeled frame for transporting timber

Etymology 5

noun
  1. A leech

Etymology 6

noun
  1. A female ferret
  2. A promiscuous woman; harlot, wanton
  3. A prostitute
verb
  1. To act as a prostitute.

gilling

verb
  1. To remove the gills from a fish as part of gutting and cleaning it
  2. To catch (a fish) in a gillnet
  3. To be or become entangled in a gillnet
verb
  1. To act as a prostitute.

gliding

verb
  1. To move softly, smoothly, or effortlessly.
  2. To fly unpowered, as of an aircraft. Also relates to gliding birds and flying fish.
  3. To cause to glide.
  4. To pass with a glide, as the voice.
noun
  1. The action or motion of something that glides.
  2. The hobby, sport or act of flying a glider.
adjective
  1. That moves or changes with a glide.
  2. (employment) Employing flexitime.

glug

noun
  1. The sound made when a significant amount of liquid is poured suddenly out of something, such as a jug or bottle.
  2. The amount of liquid issued when the "glug" sound is heard.
verb
  1. To flow in noisy bursts.
  2. To quickly swallow liquid.

glugging

verb
  1. To flow in noisy bursts.
  2. To quickly swallow liquid.
noun
  1. A sound that glugs.

gluing

verb
  1. To join or attach something using glue.
  2. To cause something to adhere closely to; to follow attentively.
noun
  1. The act of attaching something with glue.
  2. A connection between the edges of two planes, or between the points at the ends of two lines.

guild

noun
  1. A group or association mainly of tradespeople made up of merchants, craftspeople, or artisans for mutual aid, particularly in the Middle Ages.
  2. A corporation.
  3. A group of diverse species that share common characteristics or habits.
  4. An organized group of players who regularly play together in a multiplayer game.

gull

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A seabird of the genus Larus or of the family Laridae.
  2. Any of various pierid butterflies of the genus Cepora.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A cheating trick; a fraud.
  2. One easily cheated; a dupe.
  3. (Oxford University slang) A swindler or trickster.
verb
  1. To deceive or cheat.
  2. To mislead.
  3. To trick and defraud.

gulling

verb
  1. To deceive or cheat.
  2. To mislead.
  3. To trick and defraud.
noun
  1. An instance of duping or fooling somebody.

idling

verb
  1. To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
  2. To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
  3. Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
noun
  1. An idle period; something done idly.

indulging

verb
  1. (often followed by "in"): To yield to a temptation or desire.
  2. To satisfy the wishes or whims of.
  3. To give way to (a habit or temptation); not to oppose or restrain.
  4. To grant an extension to the deadline of a payment.
  5. To grant as by favour; to bestow in concession, or in compliance with a wish or request.

linguini

noun
  1. Ribbons of pasta, cut from a sheet, not as wide as tagliatelle.

lining

verb
  1. To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.
  2. To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.
  3. To form a line along.
  4. To mark with a line or lines, to cover with lines.
  5. To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
  6. To read or repeat line by line.
  7. To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.
  8. To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.
  9. To measure.
verb
  1. To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.
  2. To reinforce (the back of a book) with glue and glued scrap material such as fabric or paper.
  3. To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.
verb
  1. (of a dog) To copulate with, to impregnate.
noun
  1. A covering for the inside surface of something.
  2. The material used for such a covering.
  3. The act of attaching such a covering.

livid

adjective
  1. Having a dark, bluish appearance.
  2. Pale, pallid.
  3. So angry that one turns pale; very angry; furious.

living

verb
  1. To be alive; to have life.
  2. To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside.
  3. To survive; to persevere; to continue.
  4. To cope.
  5. To pass life in a specified manner.
  6. To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually.
  7. To act habitually in conformity with; to practice; to exemplify in one's way of life.
  8. To outlast danger; to float (said of a ship, boat, etc).
  9. (followed by "on" or "upon") To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for oneself; to feed; to subsist.
  10. To make the most of life; to experience a full, rich life.
noun
  1. The state of being alive.
  2. (plural, with "the", a demonstrative, or a possessive) Those who are alive.
  3. Financial means; a means of maintaining life; livelihood
  4. A style of life.
  5. (canon law) A position in a church (usually the Church of England) that has attached to it a source of income; an ecclesiastical benefice.
adjective
  1. Having life.
  2. In use or existing.
  3. Of everyday life.
  4. True to life.
  5. Used as an intensifier.

lugging

verb
  1. (sometimes figurative) To haul or drag along (especially something heavy); to carry; to pull.
  2. To run at too slow a speed.
  3. To carry an excessive amount of sail for the conditions prevailing.
  4. To pull toward the inside rail ("lugging in") or the outside rail ("lugging out") during a race.
noun
  1. The process by which something is lugged from one place to another; a laborious carrying or dragging.

luging

verb
  1. To travel by luge; to ride a luge.

lull

noun
  1. A period of rest or soothing.
  2. A period of reduced activity; a respite
  3. A period without waves or wind.
  4. An extended pause between sets of waves.
verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulling

verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulu

noun
  1. A remarkable person, object or idea.
  2. A very attractive or alluring person.
  3. A very bad mistake or error.
  4. A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

lung

noun
  1. A biological organ of vertebrates that controls breathing and oxygenates the blood.
  2. (plural) Capacity for exercise or exertion; breath.
  3. That which supplies oxygen or fresh air, such as trees, parklands, forest, etc., to a place.

lunging

verb
  1. To (cause to make) a sudden forward movement (present participle: lunging).
  2. To longe or work a horse in a circle around a handler (present participle: lunging or lungeing).
noun
  1. The act of one who lunges; a lunge.

niggling

verb
  1. To trifle with; to deceive; to mock.
  2. To use, spend, or do in a petty or trifling manner.
  3. To dwell too much on minor points or on trifling details.
  4. To fidget, fiddle, be restless.
noun
  1. A sensation that niggles.
adjective
  1. Petty

null

noun
  1. A non-existent or empty value or set of values.
  2. Zero quantity of expressions; nothing.
  3. Something that has no force or meaning.
  4. The ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, that indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.
  5. The attribute of an entity that has no valid value.
  6. One of the beads in nulled work.
  7. Null hypothesis.
verb
  1. To nullify; to annul.
  2. To form nulls, or into nulls, as in a lathe.
  3. To crack; to remove restrictions or limitations in (software).
adjective
  1. Having no validity; "null and void"
  2. Insignificant.
  3. Absent or non-existent.
  4. Of the null set.
  5. Of or comprising a value of precisely zero.
  6. (of a mutation) Causing a complete loss of gene function, amorphic.

unliving

adjective
  1. Not living; unalive, dead, inanimate.

vigil

noun
  1. An instance of keeping awake during normal sleeping hours, especially to keep watch or pray.
  2. A period of observation or surveillance at any hour.
  3. The eve of a religious festival in which staying awake is part of the ritual devotions.
  4. A quiet demonstration in support of a cause.