Friday, November 22, 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: 211

Number of Answers: 37

Points Needed for Genius: 148

Genius requires between 17 and 32 words. You need at least an 8-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 89% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 62% 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 211 was in the 71st percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on November 21, 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 46th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on November 21, 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 October 30, 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 186
  • loll 179
  • toot 170
  • naan 164
  • nana 164
  • lilt 130
  • till 130
  • tilt 130
  • tint 125
  • mama 120
  • mamma 120
  • nene 117
  • acacia 113
  • acai 113
  • onto 112
  • toon 112
  • anal 109
  • onion 107
  • anon 106
  • boob 106
  • booboo 106
  • olio 103
  • lull 101
  • lulu 101
  • baba 100
  • papa 100
  • dodo 99
  • mitt 99
  • poop 98
  • allay 97
  • ally 97
  • call 96
  • calla 96
  • ratatat 96
  • tact 96
  • tart 96
  • tartar 96
  • attar 95
  • cocci 95
  • tatty 95
  • tutu 94
  • mono 93
  • moon 93
  • tattoo 93
  • ammo 92
  • epee 92
  • momma 92
  • peep 92
  • loon 91
  • roar 91


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 93,534 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,341 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*:

  • abaca
  • abaka
  • abba
  • abbatial
  • alba
  • albata
  • albitic
  • albitical
  • atabal
  • baal
  • babbitt
  • bacca
  • baccala
  • balata
  • balti
  • batata
  • batt
  • battalia
  • battik
  • biali
  • bibb
  • bitt
  • blacktail
  • cabbala
  • kabab
  • kabaka
  • kabala
  • kabbala
  • kabiki
  • katabatic
  • kibbi
  • kibitka
  • kibla
  • liblab
  • talkback
  • titbit

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

abaci

No Definition Found.

aback

Etymology 1

adverb
  1. Towards the back or rear; backwards.
  2. In the rear; a distance behind.
  3. By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)
  4. Backward against the mast; said of the sails when pressed by the wind from the "wrong" (forward) side, or of a ship when its sails are set that way.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An abacus.

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.

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.

babka

No Definition Found.

bacilli

noun
  1. Any of various rod-shaped, spore-forming aerobic bacteria in the genus Bacillus, some of which cause disease.
  2. Any bacilliform (rod-shaped) bacterium.
  3. (by extension) Something which spreads like bacterial infection.

back

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly.
  2. That which is farthest away from the front.
  3. Upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal's back.
  4. A support or resource in reserve.
  5. The keel and keelson of a ship.
  6. The roof of a horizontal underground passage.
  7. Effort, usually physical.
  8. A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail.
  9. Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
verb
  1. To go in the reverse direction.
  2. To support.
  3. (of the wind) To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
  4. (of a square sail) To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship.
  5. (of an anchor) To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power.
  6. (of a hunting dog) To stand still behind another dog which has pointed.
  7. To push or force backwards.
  8. To get upon the back of; to mount.
  9. To place or seat upon the back.
  10. To make a back for; to furnish with a back.
  11. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
  12. To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement.
  13. (of a justice of the peace) To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender).
  14. To row backward with (oars).
adjective
  1. Near the rear.
  2. Not current.
  3. Far from the main area.
  4. In arrear; overdue.
  5. Moving or operating backward.
  6. Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel).
adverb
  1. To or in a previous condition or place.
  2. Away from the front or from an edge.
  3. In a manner that impedes.
  4. In a reciprocal manner; in return.
  5. Earlier, ago.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
  2. A ferryboat.

backbit

verb
  1. To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
  2. To attack from behind or when out of earshot with spiteful or defamatory remarks.
  3. To speak badly of an absent individual.

backlit

verb
  1. To illuminate something from behind.
adjective
  1. Lit or illuminated from behind.

backtalk

noun
  1. Verbal impudence or argumentative discourse, given in response.
verb
  1. To respond to in an aggressively disputatious, often sarcastic or insolent manner.

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.)

bait

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
  2. Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.
  3. Anything which allures; something used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something
  4. A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
verb
  1. To attract with bait; to entice.
  2. To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport.
  2. To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.
  3. To feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
  4. (of a horse or other animal) To take food, especially during a journey.
  5. (of a person) To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey.

Etymology 4

adjective
  1. Obvious; blatant.
  2. Well-known; famous; renowned.

balalaika

noun
  1. A plucked stringed instrument with a triangular body, short neck and three strings, of Russian origin.

balk

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
  2. The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
  3. Beam, crossbeam; squared timber; a tie beam of a house, stretching from wall to wall, especially when laid so as to form a loft, "the balks".
  4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
  5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
  6. An omission.
  7. A deceptive motion; a feint.
  8. The area of the table lying behind the line from which the cue ball is initially shot, and from which a ball in hand must be played.
  9. The area of the table lying behind the baulk line.
  10. The rope by which fishing nets are fastened together.
verb
  1. To pass over or by.
  2. To omit, miss or overlook by chance.
  3. To miss intentionally; to avoid.
  4. To stop, check, block.
  5. To stop short and refuse to go on.
  6. To refuse suddenly.
  7. To disappoint; to frustrate.
  8. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
  9. To leave or make balks in.
  10. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

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.

batik

noun
  1. A wax-resist method of dyeing fabric.
verb
  1. To dye fabric using the wax-resist method.

biblical

adjective
  1. Of or relating to the Bible.
  2. In accordance with the teachings of the Bible (according to some interpretation of it).
  3. Very great; especially, exceeding previous records in scale.

bilabial

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

bilk

noun
  1. The spoiling of someone's score in the crib.
  2. A deception, a hoax.
  3. A cheat or swindler.
verb
  1. To spoil the score of (someone) in cribbage.
  2. To do someone out of their due; to deceive or defraud, to cheat (someone).
  3. To evade, elude.

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.

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.

black

noun
  1. The colour/color perceived in the absence of light, but also when no light is reflected, but rather absorbed.
  2. A black dye or pigment.
  3. A pen, pencil, crayon, etc., made of black pigment.
  4. (in the plural) Black cloth hung up at funerals.
  5. (sometimes capitalised) A person of African, Aborigine, or Maori descent; a dark-skinned person.
  6. Blackness, the condition of having dark skin.
  7. The black ball.
  8. The edge of home plate.
  9. A type of firecracker that is really more dark brown in colour.
  10. Blackcurrant syrup (in mixed drinks, e.g. snakebite and black, cider and black).
  11. (in chess and similar games) The person playing with the black set of pieces.
  12. Something, or a part of a thing, which is black.
  13. A stain; a spot.
  14. A dark smut fungus, harmful to wheat.
  15. Marijuana.
verb
  1. To make black; to blacken.
  2. To apply blacking to (something).
  3. To boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.
adjective
  1. (of an object) Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.
  2. (of a place, etc) Without light.
  3. (sometimes capitalized) Of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin.
  4. Designated for use by those ethnic groups which have dark pigmentation of the skin.
  5. (of a card) Of the spades or clubs suits. Compare red
  6. Bad; evil; ill-omened.
  7. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen.
  8. (of objects, markets, etc) Illegitimate, illegal or disgraced.
  9. Overcrowded.
  10. (of coffee or tea) Without any cream, milk or creamer.
  11. Of or relating to the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the "black" set (in chess the set used by the player who moves second) (often regardless of the pieces' actual colour).
  12. Said of a symbol or character that is solid, filled with color. Compare white.
  13. Related to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany.
  14. Clandestine; relating to a political, military, or espionage operation or site, the existence or details of which is withheld from the general public.
  15. Occult; relating to something (such as mystical or magical knowledge) which is unknown to or kept secret from the general public.
  16. Protestant, often with the implication of being militantly pro-British or anti-Catholic
  17. Having one or more features (hair, fur, armour, clothes, bark, etc) that is dark (or black); in taxonomy, especially: dark in comparison to another species with the same base name.
  18. Foul; dirty.

blackball

noun
  1. A rejection; a vote against admitting someone.
  2. A black ball used to indicate such a negative vote.
  3. A kind of large black sweet; a niggerball.
  4. A substance for blacking shoes, boots, etc. or for taking impressions of engraved work.
verb
  1. To vote against, especially in an exclusive organization.
  2. To ostracize.

blat

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To cry, as a calf or sheep; to bleat.
  2. To make a senseless noise.
  3. To talk inconsiderately.
  4. To produce an overrich or overblown sound on a brass instrument such as a trumpet, trombone, or tuba.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Connections; relationships; one's social or business network (in Russian or Soviet society).

cabal

noun
  1. # A putative, secret organization of individuals gathered for a political purpose.
  2. A secret plot.
  3. An identifiable group within the tradition of Discordianism.
verb
  1. To engage in the activities of a cabal.

cabala

proper noun
  1. A body of mystical Jewish teachings based on an esoteric reading of the Hebrew scriptures.

callback

noun
  1. The return of a situation to a previous position or state.
  2. A return telephone or radio call; especially one made automatically to authenticate a logon to a computer network.
  3. A product recall because of a defect or safety concern.
  4. A function pointer passed as an argument to another function.
  5. A follow-up audition (casting)
  6. A joke which references an earlier joke in the same routine

ciabatta

noun
  1. A broad, flat, white Italian bread.

kickback

noun
  1. A backward kick, a retrograde movement of an extremity.
  2. A covert – often illegal – payment in return for a favor consisting of providing an opportunity of chargeable transaction.
  3. (machinery) Recoil; a sudden backward motion, usually in the direction of the operator.
  4. (machinery) An accident wherein an object being cut by a rotating blade or disk, such as a circular saw, is caught by the blade and thrown outward.
  5. A dangerous buildup of gas pressure at the wellhead.
  6. The board separating one bowling lane from another at the pit end.
  7. In contract bridge, an ace asking convention initiated by the first step above four of the agreed trump suit.
  8. A feature that saves the ball from draining and propels it back into play.
  9. A relaxed party.

kickball

noun
  1. A sport similar to baseball, where a ball is kicked rather than hit.
  2. The ball used in the above sport.

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.

tabla

noun
  1. A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos.

tailback

noun
  1. A line of motor vehicles causing or the result of traffic congestion or a traffic jam; backup.
  2. A running back or halfback who lines up furthest to the rear in an I formation.

tibia

noun
  1. The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone
  2. The second segment from the end of an insect's leg, between the femur and tarsus.
  3. The third segment from the end of an arachnid's leg, between the patella and metatarsus.
  4. A musical instrument of the flute kind, originally made of the leg bone of an animal.

tibial

No Definition Found.

clickbait

noun
  1. Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs; such headlines.
verb
  1. To add clickbait to a web page; to direct clickbait at someone.