Wednesday, August 21, 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: 3

Maximum Puzzle Score: 257

Number of Answers: 47

Points Needed for Genius: 180

Genius requires between 22 and 40 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 84% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 64% of the remaining points to reach genius.

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 257 was in the 86th 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 47 possible answers rank it in the 71st percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more 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 a 7-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on August 20, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.9.
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
  • baba 96
  • call 96
  • calla 96
  • poop 96
  • dodo 94
  • mitt 94
  • tatty 94
  • allay 93
  • ally 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
  • epee 88
  • peep 88
  • array 87


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 89,464 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,202 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*:

  • abba
  • abigail
  • alba
  • albinal
  • alibiing
  • baal
  • baalim
  • bambini
  • bamming
  • bani
  • banian
  • baning
  • biali
  • bibb
  • bibbing
  • biggin
  • bigging
  • bilging
  • bima
  • bimini
  • binal
  • bing
  • binman
  • blag
  • blagging
  • blain
  • blamming
  • blinging
  • gabba
  • gabling
  • galabia
  • gamb
  • gamba
  • gambia
  • gangbang
  • gangbanging
  • gibbing
  • gimbal
  • gimbaling
  • gimballing
  • imbalm
  • imbalming
  • lambing
  • liblab
  • limba
  • limbi
  • limbing
  • minilab
  • nibbing

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

alibi

noun
  1. The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed
verb
  1. To provide an alibi for.
  2. To provide an excuse for.

ambling

verb
  1. To stroll or walk slowly and leisurely.
  2. Of a quadruped: to move along by using both legs on one side, and then the other.
noun
  1. The act of one who ambles.

baaing

verb
  1. To make the characteristic cry of a sheep.
noun
  1. The bleating of a sheep.

baba

noun
  1. A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
  2. (esp. among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.
  3. An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.
  4. (esp. among people of Indian ancestry) A father.
  5. (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.
  6. A baby, child.
  7. In baby talk, often used for a variety of words beginning with b, such as bottle or blanket.

babbling

verb
  1. To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds
  2. To talk incoherently; to utter meaningless words.
  3. To talk too much; to chatter; to prattle.
  4. To make a continuous murmuring noise, like shallow water running over stones.
  5. To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat words or sounds in a childish way without understanding.
  6. To reveal; to give away (a secret).
noun
  1. A stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words
  2. Sounds produced by infant during the babbling period
  3. Idle senseless talk; prattle.
  4. A confused murmur, as of a stream.

bagging

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To put into a bag.
  2. To catch or kill, especially when fishing or hunting.
  3. To gain possession of something, or to make first claim on something.
  4. To furnish or load with a bag.
  5. (African American Vernacular) To bring a woman one met on the street with one.
  6. (African American Vernacular) To laugh uncontrollably.
  7. To criticise sarcastically.
  8. To provide with artificial ventilation via a bag valve mask (BVM) resuscitator.
  9. To fit with a bag to collect urine.
  10. To (cause to) swell or hang down like a full bag.
  11. To hang like an empty bag.
  12. To drop away from the correct course.
  13. To swell with arrogance.
  14. To become pregnant.
noun
  1. The act of putting anything into a bag.
  2. Cloth or other material for bags.
  3. Use of BVM to ventilate a patient.
  4. Peak bagging

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Bootstrap aggregating

bagman

noun
  1. A person who collects, transports, or distributes illicit money, especially for the purpose of bribery, extortion, or the making of other improper payments.
  2. An assistant to a police detective, most commonly in the British police force.
  3. A bookmaker.
  4. A travelling salesman.
  5. A caddy.
  6. An officer assigned to travel with the president and carry the "nuclear football".

bail

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
  2. Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
  3. The person providing such payment.
  4. A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc.
  5. A person who bails water out of a boat.
  6. Custody; keeping.
verb
  1. To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
  2. To release a person under such guarantee.
  3. To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment.
  4. To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out.
  5. To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out.
  6. To set free; to deliver; to release.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To exit quickly.
  2. To fail to meet a commitment.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).
  2. A stall for a cow (or other animal) (usually tethered with a semi-circular hoop).
  3. A hinged bar as a restraint for animals, or on a typewriter.
  4. A frame to restrain a cow during milking or feeding.
  5. A hoop, ring, or other object used to connect a pendant to a necklace.
  6. One of the two wooden crosspieces that rest on top of the stumps to form a wicket.
  7. (furniture) Normally curved handle suspended between sockets as a drawer pull. This may also be on a kettle or pail.
verb
  1. To secure the head of a cow during milking.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To confine.
  2. To secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking.
  3. To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up. (Usually with up.)

bailing

verb
  1. To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
  2. To release a person under such guarantee.
  3. To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment.
  4. To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out.
  5. To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out.
  6. To set free; to deliver; to release.
verb
  1. To exit quickly.
  2. To fail to meet a commitment.
verb
  1. To secure the head of a cow during milking.
verb
  1. To confine.
  2. To secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking.
  3. To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up. (Usually with up.)
noun
  1. The act by which something is bailed.

baling

verb
  1. To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.
noun
  1. A collection of material packaged into a bale.

ball

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
  2. A round or ellipsoidal object.
  3. (mildly, usually in the plural) A testicle.
  4. A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller.
  5. A large pill, a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus.
verb
  1. To form or wind into a ball.
  2. To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
  3. To have sexual intercourse with.
  4. To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls.
  5. (usually in present participle) To be hip or cool.
  6. To play basketball.
  7. To punish by affixing a ball and chain
interjection
  1. An appeal by the crowd for holding the ball against a tackled player. This is heard almost any time an opposition player is tackled, without regard to whether the rules about "prior opportunity" to dispose of the ball are fulfilled.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A formal dance.
  2. A very enjoyable time.

balling

verb
  1. To form or wind into a ball.
  2. To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
  3. To have sexual intercourse with.
  4. To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls.
  5. (usually in present participle) To be hip or cool.
  6. To play basketball.
  7. To punish by affixing a ball and chain

balm

noun
  1. Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America.
  2. A plant or tree yielding such substance.
  3. Any soothing oil or lotion, especially an aromatic one.
  4. Something soothing.
  5. The lemon balm, Melissa officinalis
  6. Any of a number of other aromatic herbs with a similar citrus-like scent, such as bee balm and horse balm.
verb
  1. To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal.
  2. To soothe; to mitigate.

banal

adjective
  1. Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
  2. (history) Relating to a type of feudal jurisdiction or service.

banana

noun
  1. An elongated curved tropical fruit that grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
  2. The tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas. The plant, usually of the genus Musa but sometimes also including plants from Ensete, has large, elongated leaves and is related to the plantain.
  3. A yellow colour, like that of a banana's skin.
  4. (mildly) A person of Asian descent, especially a Chinese American, who has assimilated into Western culture or married a Caucasian (from the "yellow" outside and "white" inside). Compare coconut or Oreo.
  5. A banana equivalent dose.
  6. A catamorphism (from the use of banana brackets in the notation).
  7. The penis.
  8. A banana kick.
adjective
  1. Curved like a banana, especially of a ball in flight.

bang

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sudden percussive noise.
  2. A strike upon an object causing such a noise.
  3. An explosion.
  4. The symbol !, known as an exclamation point.
  5. A factorial, in mathematics, because the factorial of n is often written as n!
  6. An act of sexual intercourse.
  7. An offbeat figure typical of reggae songs and played on guitar and piano.
  8. An explosive product.
  9. An injection, a shot (of a narcotic drug).
  10. (Boston area) An abrupt left turn.
  11. Strong smell (of)
  12. A thrill.
verb
  1. To make sudden loud noises, and often repeatedly, especially by exploding or hitting something.
  2. To hit hard.
  3. To engage in sexual intercourse.
  4. (with "in") To hammer or to hit anything hard.
  5. To cut squarely across, as the tail of a horse, or a person's forelock; to cut (the hair).
  6. To inject intravenously.
adverb
  1. Right, directly.
  2. Precisely.
  3. With a sudden impact.
interjection
  1. A sudden percussive sound, such as made by the firing of a gun, slamming of a door, etc.
noun
  1. Hair hanging over the forehead.
  2. A hairstyle including such hair, especially cut straight across the forehead.
noun
  1. Brucellosis, a bacterial disease.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Cannabis, especially as used in the Indian subcontinent.

banging

verb
  1. To make sudden loud noises, and often repeatedly, especially by exploding or hitting something.
  2. To hit hard.
  3. To engage in sexual intercourse.
  4. (with "in") To hammer or to hit anything hard.
  5. To cut squarely across, as the tail of a horse, or a person's forelock; to cut (the hair).
  6. To inject intravenously.
noun
  1. The action of the verb to bang.
adjective
  1. Excellent, brilliant, very exciting, top, great.
  2. Attractive; sexually appealing.
  3. Huge; great in size.

banning

verb
  1. To summon; to call out.
  2. To anathematize; to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon; to place under a ban.
  3. To curse; to execrate.
  4. To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation.
  5. To curse; to utter curses or maledictions.
noun
  1. The act by which something is banned; a prohibition.

bilabial

noun
  1. A speech sound articulated with both lips.
adjective
  1. Articulated with both lips.

bill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff.
  2. A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle, used in pruning, etc.; a billhook.
  3. Somebody armed with a bill; a billman.
  4. A pickaxe, or mattock.
  5. The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke (also called the peak).
verb
  1. To dig, chop, etc., with a bill.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The beak of a bird, especially when small or flattish; sometimes also used with reference to a platypus, turtle, or other animal.
  2. A beak-like projection, especially a promontory.
  3. Of a cap or hat: the brim or peak, serving as a shade to keep sun off the face and out of the eyes.
verb
  1. To peck
  2. To stroke bill against bill, with reference to doves; to caress in fondness

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A written list or inventory. (Now obsolete except in specific senses or set phrases; bill of lading, bill of goods, etc.)
  2. A document, originally sealed; a formal statement or official memorandum. (Now obsolete except with certain qualifying words; bill of health, bill of sale etc.)
  3. A draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.
  4. A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law.
  5. A piece of paper money; a banknote.
  6. A written note of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; an invoice.
  7. A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods
  8. A writing binding the signer or signers to pay a certain sum at a future day or on demand, with or without interest, as may be stated in the document; a bill of exchange. In the United States, it is usually called a note, a note of hand, or a promissory note.
  9. A set of items presented together.
verb
  1. To advertise by a bill or public notice.
  2. To charge; to send a bill to.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. The bell, or boom, of the bittern.

billing

verb
  1. To dig, chop, etc., with a bill.
verb
  1. To peck
  2. To stroke bill against bill, with reference to doves; to caress in fondness
verb
  1. To advertise by a bill or public notice.
  2. To charge; to send a bill to.
noun
  1. Amounts billed.
  2. Accounts receivable.
  3. The tracking of bills and amounts owed; the department within an institution or business that deals with the tracking of bills and amounts owed.
  4. The act or situation of including someone or something to those that make up a complete list.

binging

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To engage in a short period of excessive consumption, especially of excessive alcohol consumption.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To go; walk; come; run
verb
  1. Making the sound of a bounce
  2. To bounce

binning

verb
  1. To dispose of (something) by putting it into a bin, or as if putting it into a bin.
  2. To throw away, reject, give up.
  3. To convert continuous data into discrete groups.
  4. To place into a bin for storage.
noun
  1. A data pre-processing technique in which original data values fall into a small interval ("bin") and are replaced by a value representative of that interval, often the central value. Wp
  2. The process of grouping reads or contigs and assigning them to operational taxonomic units. Wp
  3. The categorization of finished products based on their characteristics. Wp
  4. The process of combining charge from adjacent pixels in a CCD image sensor during readout.

blab

noun
  1. One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale; a gossip or gossiper.
  2. Gossip; prattle.
verb
  1. To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.

blabbing

verb
  1. To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
noun
  1. Gossip; the telling of tales.

blam

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sudden, explosive sound, such as is made by a gunshot
verb
  1. To shoot, to let gunfire pass.
  2. To shoot, to kill by gunshot.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Spam posted to a blog

blaming

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of accusing or assigning culpability to

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To censure (someone or something); to criticize.
  2. To bring into disrepute.
  3. (usually followed by "for") To assert or consider that someone is the cause of something negative; to place blame, to attribute responsibility (for something negative or for doing something negative).

blin

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Cessation; end.
verb
  1. To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A blintz.

bling

noun
  1. Ostentatious display of richness or style.
noun
  1. Shiny jewelry that displays wealth, such as a diamond ring or a stylish gold necklace or bracelet.

blini

noun
  1. A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon.

gabbing

verb
  1. To jest; to tell lies in jest; exaggerate; lie.
  2. To talk or chatter a lot, usually on trivial subjects.
  3. To speak or tell falsely.

gabbling

verb
  1. To talk fast, idly, foolishly, or without meaning.
  2. To utter inarticulate sounds with rapidity.
noun
  1. Rapid, confused speech.

gambling

verb
  1. To take a risk, with the potential of a positive outcome.
  2. To play risky games, especially casino games, for monetary gain.
  3. To risk (something) for potential gain.
  4. To interact with equipment at a casino
noun
  1. An activity characterised by a balance between winning and losing that is governed by a mixture of skill and chance, usually with money wagered on the outcome.

gibing

verb
  1. Alternative spelling of gybe
  2. Alternative spelling of jibe
noun
  1. A gibe.

glib

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To make glib.
adjective
  1. Having a ready flow of words but lacking thought or understanding; superficial; shallow.
  2. Smooth or slippery.
  3. Artfully persuasive but insincere in nature; smooth-talking, honey-tongued, silver-tongued.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A mass of matted hair worn down over the eyes, formerly worn in Ireland.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To castrate; to geld; to emasculate.

iamb

noun
  1. A metrical foot in verse consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

iambi

noun
  1. An iamb

imbibing

verb
  1. To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
  2. To take in; absorb.
noun
  1. The act by which something is imbibed.

labia

noun
  1. The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina.
noun
  1. A liplike structure; especially one of the two pairs of folds of skin either side of the vulva.
  2. The lip of a labiate corolla.
  3. The lip against which pressured air is driven to produce sound in a recorder and in a pipe organ with flue pipes.

labial

noun
  1. A consonant articulated by the lips.
  2. An organ pipe having a lip that influences its sound.
  3. Any of the scales bordering the mouth opening of a reptile.
adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.
  2. Articulated by the lips, as the consonants b, m and w.
  3. Of an incisor or canine, on the side facing the lips. See mesial.
  4. Furnished with lips.

lamb

noun
  1. A young sheep.
  2. The flesh of a lamb or sheep used as food.
  3. A person who is meek, docile and easily led.
  4. A simple, unsophisticated person.
  5. One who ignorantly speculates on the stock exchange and is victimized.
verb
  1. Of a sheep, to give birth.
  2. To assist (sheep) to give birth.

limb

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
  2. A branch of a tree.
  3. The part of the bow, from the handle to the tip.
  4. An elementary piece of the mechanism of a lock.
  5. A thing or person regarded as a part or member of, or attachment to, something else.
  6. The part of a corolla beyond the throat.
verb
  1. To remove the limbs from (an animal or tree).
  2. To supply with limbs.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The apparent visual edge of a celestial body.
  2. (on a measuring instrument) The graduated edge of a circle or arc.
  3. The border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous corolla, or of a petal or sepal; blade.

mailbag

noun
  1. A strong canvas bag used for the transportation of mail
  2. A smaller bag, slung from the shoulders, used for the delivery of mail

mamba

noun
  1. Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.

nabbing

verb
  1. To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
  2. To grab or snatch something.

nibbling

verb
  1. To eat with small, quick bites.
  2. To bite lightly.
  3. To consume gradually.
  4. To find fault; to cavil.
noun
  1. The act or sound of one who nibbles.
  2. A small adjustment or encroachment.

nimbi

noun
  1. A circle of light; a halo.
  2. A gray rain cloud.