Tuesday, December 3, 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: 2

Maximum Puzzle Score: 192

Number of Answers: 57

Points Needed for Genius: 134

Genius requires between 20 and 52 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 83% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 64% 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 192 was in the 63rd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on December 1, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 57 possible answers rank it in the 88th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on November 30, 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 December 1, 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 187
  • loll 180
  • toot 172
  • naan 165
  • nana 165
  • lilt 130
  • till 130
  • tilt 130
  • tint 125
  • mama 121
  • mamma 121
  • nene 118
  • acacia 114
  • acai 114
  • onto 113
  • toon 113
  • anal 110
  • onion 107
  • anon 106
  • boob 106
  • booboo 106
  • olio 103
  • papa 102
  • baba 101
  • lull 101
  • lulu 101
  • dodo 100
  • mitt 99
  • poop 99
  • tact 98
  • allay 97
  • ally 97
  • call 97
  • calla 97
  • ratatat 96
  • tart 96
  • tartar 96
  • attar 95
  • cocci 95
  • tatty 95
  • tutu 95
  • tattoo 94
  • ammo 93
  • epee 93
  • momma 93
  • mono 93
  • moon 93
  • peep 93
  • loon 91
  • roar 91


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 93,993 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,355 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*:

  • eeew
  • emmet
  • enow
  • ethene
  • etwee
  • hent
  • heth
  • hetmen
  • howe
  • meno
  • menthene
  • mento
  • mome
  • momento
  • motte
  • neem
  • nett
  • newmown
  • nome
  • nomen
  • nonheme
  • nonhome
  • nonmen
  • tenne
  • tenno
  • teth
  • thew
  • toneme
  • tonette
  • townee
  • ween
  • weet
  • weewee
  • wheen
  • wowee

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

emote

noun
  1. A virtual action, presented to other users as reported speech, rather than a direct message.
  2. (Twitch-speak) Short for emoticon.
verb
  1. To display emotions openly, especially while acting.
  2. To induce an emotion in.
  3. To perform a virtual action, presented to other users as reported speech, rather than sending a direct message.

entente

noun
  1. An informal alliance or friendly understanding between two states.

heme

noun
  1. The component of hemoglobin (and other hemoproteins) responsible for binding oxygen. It consists of an iron ion that binds oxygen and a porphyrin ring that binds the globin molecules; one molecule binds one molecule of oxygen.

hewn

verb
  1. To chop away at; to whittle down; to mow down.
  2. To shape; to form.
  3. To act according to, to conform to; usually construed with to.
adjective
  1. Made or crafted by cutting, whittling down.
  2. Having been cut or mown down.

home

noun
  1. A dwelling.
  2. One’s native land; the place or country in which one dwells; the place where one’s ancestors dwell or dwelt.
  3. The locality where a thing is usually found, or was first found, or where it is naturally abundant; habitat; seat.
  4. A focus point.
verb
  1. (of animals) To return to its owner.
  2. (always with "in on") To seek or aim for something.
adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to one’s dwelling or country; domestic; not foreign; as home manufactures; home comforts.
  2. (except in phrases) That strikes home; direct, pointed.
  3. Personal, intimate.
  4. Relating to the home team (the team at whose venue a game is played).
adverb
  1. To one's home
  2. At or in one's place of residence or one's customary or official location; at home
  3. To a full and intimate degree; to the heart of the matter; fully, directly.
  4. Into the goal
  5. Into the right, proper or stowed position
noun
  1. A directory that contains a user's files.

hometown

noun
  1. An individual’s place of birth, childhood home, or place of main residence.
  2. Designating a decision or judgement that is biased, or perceived to be biased, in favour of local preference.

hone

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool.
  2. A machine tool used in the manufacture of precision bores.
verb
  1. To sharpen with a hone; to whet.
  2. To use a hone to produce a precision bore.
  3. To refine or master (a skill).
  4. To make more acute, intense, or effective.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A kind of swelling in the cheek.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To grumble.
  2. To pine, lament, or long.

meet

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sports competition, especially for track and field (a track meet) or swimming (a swim meet).
  2. A gathering of riders, horses and hounds for foxhunting; a field meet for hunting.
  3. A meeting of two trains in opposite directions on a single track, when one is put into a siding to let the other cross.
  4. A meeting.
  5. The greatest lower bound, an operation between pairs of elements in a lattice, denoted by the symbol ∧.
  6. An act of French kissing someone.
verb
  1. To make contact (with) while in proximity.
  2. (Of groups) To come together.
  3. To make physical or perceptual contact.
  4. To satisfy; to comply with.
  5. To balance or come out correct.
  6. To perceive; to come to a knowledge of; to have personal acquaintance with; to experience; to suffer.
  7. To be mixed with, to be combined with aspects of.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Suitable; right; proper.

meme

noun
  1. Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes.
  2. Something, usually humorous, which is copied and circulated online with slight adaptations, including quizzes, basic pictures, video templates etc.
  3. A myth circulating as truth; something ineffective presented as effective, or similar.
verb
  1. To turn into a meme; to use a meme, especially to achieve something in real life.
  2. To create and use humorous memes.
  3. To joke around.

memento

noun
  1. A keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.

memo

noun
  1. A short note; a memorandum.
  2. A record of partial results that can be reused later without recomputation.
verb
  1. To record something; to make a note of something.
  2. To send someone a note about something, for the record.

mentee

noun
  1. A person who is being mentored

meow

noun
  1. The cry of a cat.
  2. The drug mephedrone.
verb
  1. Of a cat, to make its cry.
interjection
  1. The cry of a cat.
  2. Said in reply to a spiteful or catty comment.
  3. Said to denote seductiveness, mimicking a growl.

mete

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To measure.
  2. (usually with “out”) To dispense, measure (out), allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A boundary or other limit; a boundary-marker; mere.

Etymology 3

adjective
  1. Suitable; right; proper.

meth

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Methamphetamine, especially in the form of the crystalline hydrochloride.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Methadone.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. (Mancunian) A tramp.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A spiced mead, originally from Wales.

moment

noun
  1. A brief, unspecified amount of time.
  2. The smallest portion of time; an instant.
  3. Weight or importance.
  4. The turning effect of a force applied to a rotational system at a distance from the axis of rotation.
  5. (unit) A definite period of time, specifically one-tenth of a point, or one-fortieth or one-fiftieth of an hour.
  6. A petit mal episode; such a spell.
  7. A fit; a brief tantrum.
  8. An infinitesimal change in a varying quantity; an increment or decrement.
  9. A quantitative measure of the shape of a set of points.

monotone

noun
  1. A single unvaried tone of speech or a sound.
  2. A piece of writing in one strain throughout.
verb
  1. To speak in a monotone.
adjective
  1. (of speech or a sound) Having a single unvaried pitch.
  2. Being, or having the salient properties of, a monotone function.

monte

noun
  1. A game in which three or four cards are dealt face-up and players bet on which of them will first be matched in suit by others dealt.
  2. (Latin America) A wood or forest; timberland.

mote

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A small particle; a speck.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. May or might.
  2. Must.
  3. Forming subjunctive expressions of wish: may.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A meeting for discussion.
  2. A body of persons who meet for discussion, especially about the management of affairs.
  3. A place of meeting for discussion.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A tiny computer for remote sensing; a component element of smartdust.

motet

noun
  1. A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.

nene

noun
  1. The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.

neon

noun
  1. The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The lightest of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.
  2. A form or sample of the element.
  3. Neon signs or lights, collectively.
  4. A neon tetra fish.
adjective
  1. (of a color) That resembles a neon light; extremely bright; fluorescent

newt

noun
  1. A small lizard-like amphibian in the family Salamandridae that lives in the water as an adult.

newton

noun
  1. In the International System of Units, the derived unit of force; the force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram by one metre per second per second. Symbol: N.

none

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A person without religious affiliation.
adverb
  1. To no extent, in no way.
  2. Not at all, not very.
  3. No, not.
pronoun
  1. Not any of a given number or group.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Those without any religious affiliation: atheists and others outside any organized religion.
noun
  1. A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.
  2. A break in play between the first and second sessions.
  3. (Minnesota) Any small meal, especially one eaten at a social gathering.
noun
  1. The middle of the afternoon, normally between 2 and 4 pm.
noun
  1. (often capitalized) The notional first-quarter day of a Roman month, occurring on the 7th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 5th day of all other months.
  2. (sometimes capitalized) The ninth hour after dawn (about 3 pm).
  3. The divine office appointed to the hour.
noun
  1. The ninth hour of the day counted from sunrise; around three o'clock in the afternoon.
  2. Time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
  3. The corresponding time in the middle of the night; midnight.
  4. The highest point; culmination.
noun
  1. The letter ن in the Arabic script.

nonet

noun
  1. A composition for nine instruments or nine voices.
  2. A group of nine nuclear or subatomic particles.
  3. A byte of nine bits.

note

Etymology 1

noun
  1. (heading) A symbol or annotation.
  2. (heading) A written or printed communication or commitment.
  3. (heading) A sound.
  4. Observation; notice; heed.
  5. Reputation; distinction.
  6. Notification; information; intelligence.
  7. Mark of disgrace.
verb
  1. To notice with care; to observe; to remark; to heed.
  2. To record in writing; to make a memorandum of.
  3. To denote; to designate.
  4. To annotate.
  5. To set down in musical characters.
  6. To record on the back of (a bill, draft, etc.) a refusal of acceptance, as the ground of a protest, which is done officially by a notary.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. That which is needed or necessary; business; duty; work.
  2. The giving of milk by a cow or sow; the period following calving or farrowing during which a cow or sow is at her most useful (i.e. gives milk); the milk given by a cow or sow during such a period.

omen

noun
  1. Something which portends or is perceived to portend either a good or evil event or circumstance in the future, or which causes a foreboding; a portent or augury.
  2. A thing of prophetic significance.
verb
  1. To be an omen of.
  2. To divine or predict from omens.

teem

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To be stocked to overflowing.
  2. To be prolific; to abound; to be rife.
  3. To bring forth young, as an animal; to produce fruit, as a plant; to bear; to be pregnant; to conceive; to multiply.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To empty.
  2. To pour (especially with rain)
  3. To pour, as steel, from a melting pot; to fill, as a mould, with molten metal.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To think fit.

teen

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A teenager.
adjective
  1. Of or having to do with teenagers; teenage

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Grief; sorrow; trouble.
  2. Vexation; anger; hate.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To excite; to provoke; to vex; to afflict; to injure.
  2. To become angry or distressed.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. (provincial) To hedge or fence in; to enclose.

teeth

noun
  1. The ability to be enforced, or to be enforced to any useful effect.
verb
  1. To grow teeth.
  2. To bite on something to relieve discomfort caused by growing teeth.
noun
  1. A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating.
  2. A sharp projection on the blade of a saw or similar implement.
  3. A projection on the edge of a gear that meshes with similar projections on adjacent gears, or on the circumference of a cog that engages with a chain.
  4. A projection or point in other parts of the body resembling the tooth of a vertebrate animal.
  5. A pointed projection from the margin of a leaf.
  6. The rough surface of some kinds of cel or other films that allows better adhesion of artwork.
  7. Liking, fondness (compare toothsome).
  8. An irreducible component of a comb that intersects the handle in exactly one point, that point being distinct from the unique point of intersection for any other tooth of the comb.

teethe

verb
  1. To grow teeth.
  2. To bite on something to relieve discomfort caused by growing teeth.

tenement

noun
  1. A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one.
  2. Any form of property that is held by one person from another, rather than being owned.
  3. Dwelling; abode; habitation.

tenet

noun
  1. An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.

tenon

noun
  1. A projecting member left by cutting away the wood around it, and made to insert into a mortise, and in this way secure together the parts of a frame.
verb
  1. To make into a tenon.
  2. To fit with tenons.

tent

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
  2. The representation of a tent used as a bearing.
  3. A portable pulpit set up outside to accommodate worshippers who cannot fit into a church.
  4. A trouser tent; a piece of fabric, etc. protruding outward like a tent.
verb
  1. To go camping.
  2. To prop up aluminum foil in an inverted "V" (reminiscent of a pop-up tent) over food to reduce splatter, before putting it in the oven.
  3. To form into a tent-like shape.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Attention; regard, care.
  2. Intention; design.
verb
  1. To attend to; to heed
  2. To guard; to hinder.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A roll of lint or linen, or a conical or cylindrical piece of sponge or other absorbent, used chiefly to dilate a natural canal, to keep open the orifice of a wound, or to absorb discharges.
  2. A probe for searching a wound.
verb
  1. (sometimes figurative) To probe or to search with a tent; to keep open with a tent.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A kind of wine of a deep red color, chiefly from Galicia or Malaga in Spain; called also tent wine, and tinta.

tenth

noun
  1. The person or thing coming next after the ninth in a series; that which is in the tenth position.
  2. One of ten equal parts of a whole.
  3. The interval between any tone and the tone represented on the tenth degree of the staff above it, as between one of the scale and three of the octave above; the octave of the third.
  4. (in the plural) A temporary aid issuing out of personal property, and granted to the king by Parliament; formerly, the real tenth part of all the movables belonging to the subject.
verb
  1. To divide by ten, into tenths.
adjective
  1. The ordinal numeral form of ten; next in order after that which is ninth.
  2. Being one of ten equal parts of a whole.

thee

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To address (a person) using the pronoun thee.
  2. To use the word thee.
pronoun
  1. Objective and reflexive case of thou.
  2. Thou.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To thrive; prosper.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The letter ⟨(⟩, which stands for the th sound /ð/ in Pitman shorthand.

them

pronoun
  1. (plural) Those ones.
  2. (singular) Him, her, or it; that one.

theme

noun
  1. A subject of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
  2. A recurring idea; a motif.
  3. An essay written for school.
  4. The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
  5. A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.
  6. The collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc., that "skin" an environment towards a particular motif.
  7. (grammar) The stem of a word.
  8. Thematic relation of a noun phrase to a verb.
  9. Theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory.
  10. Topic, what is generally being talked about, as opposed to rheme.
  11. A regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire.
verb
  1. To give a theme to.
  2. To apply a theme to; to change the visual appearance and/or layout of (software).

then

conjunction
  1. Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
  2. (obsolete outside dialectal, usually used with for) Because; for.
noun
  1. That time
adjective
  1. Being so at that time.
adverb
  1. (temporal location) At that time.
  2. (temporal location) Soon afterward.
  3. (sequence) Next in order; in addition.
  4. In that case.
  5. (sequence) At the same time; on the other hand.
  6. (affirmation) Used to contradict an assertion.

tome

noun
  1. One in a series of volumes.
  2. A large or scholarly book.

tone

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A specific pitch.
  2. (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.
  3. (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.
  4. The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
  5. General character, mood, or trend.
  6. The pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning, for example in Chinese.
  7. A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice.
  8. The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.
  9. State of mind; temper; mood.
  10. The shade or quality of a colour.
  11. The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours.
  12. The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ; see also: tonus.
  13. The state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.
  14. Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.
  15. A gun
verb
  1. To give a particular tone to
  2. To change the colour of
  3. To make (something) firmer
  4. To harmonize, especially in colour
  5. To utter with an affected tone.

Etymology 2

pronoun
  1. The one (of two)

tonne

noun
  1. A metric unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. Symbol: t
  2. A score of 100.

tote

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A tote bag.
  2. A heavy burden.
  3. (logistics) A kind of plastic box used for transporting goods.
verb
  1. To carry or bear.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To add up; to calculate a total.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A pari-mutuel machine; a totalizator.
  2. Pari-mutuel betting.

totem

noun
  1. Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family.
  2. The representation of such object or creature.
  3. The clan whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature.
  4. An arbitrarily chosen object serving as a reminder to check whether one is awake or not, to aid in having lucid dreams.

towhee

noun
  1. Any of several species of birds of the genera Pipilo and Melozone.

townhome

noun
  1. A townhouse or row house.

twee

adjective
  1. Overly quaint, dainty, cute or nice.

tween

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An action of tweening (inserting frames for continuity); a sequence of frames generated by tweening.
verb
  1. To generate intermediate frames in an animated sequence so as to give the appearance of smooth movement.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A person in their twenties, between 20 and 29 years old. Possibly including 30-32.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A child, usually a girl, in the age range between young childhood and adolescence, normally between eight and thirteen years of age.
adjective
  1. Of or having to do with tweenagers.

tweet

noun
  1. The sound of a bird; any short high-pitched sound or whistle.
  2. An entry posted on the microblogging service Twitter.
verb
  1. To make a short high-pitched sound, like that of certain birds.
  2. To post an update to Twitter.
interjection
  1. An onomatopoeic of bird singing.

went

verb
  1. To move:
  2. (chiefly of a machine) To work or function (properly); to move or perform (as required).
  3. To start; to begin (an action or process).
  4. To take a turn, especially in a game.
  5. To attend.
  6. To proceed:
  7. To follow or travel along (a path):
  8. To extend (from one point in time or space to another).
  9. To lead (to a place); to give access to.
  10. To become. (The adjective that follows usually describes a negative state.)
  11. To assume the obligation or function of; to be, to serve as.
  12. To continuously or habitually be in a state.
  13. To come to (a certain condition or state).
  14. To change (from one value to another) in the meaning of wend.
  15. To turn out, to result; to come to (a certain result).
  16. To tend (toward a result).
  17. To contribute to a (specified) end product or result.
  18. To pass, to be used up:
  19. To die.
  20. To be discarded.
  21. To be lost or out:
  22. To break down or apart:
  23. To be sold.
  24. To be given, especially to be assigned or allotted.
  25. To survive or get by; to last or persist for a stated length of time.
  26. To have a certain record.
  27. To be authoritative, accepted, or valid:
  28. To say (something), to make a sound:
  29. To be expressed or composed (a certain way).
  30. To resort (to).
  31. To apply or subject oneself to:
  32. To fit (in a place, or together with something):
  33. To date.
  34. To attack:
  35. To be in general; to be usually.
  36. To take (a particular part or share); to participate in to the extent of.
  37. To yield or weigh.
  38. To offer, bid or bet an amount; to pay.
  39. To enjoy. (Compare go for.)
  40. To urinate or defecate.
verb
  1. To turn; change.
  2. To direct (one's way or course); pursue one's way; proceed upon some course or way.
  3. To turn; make a turn; go round; veer.
  4. To pass away; disappear; depart; vanish.
noun
  1. A course; a way, a path; a journey.

whee

interjection
  1. An expression of pleasure or enjoyment, mostly from rapid physical motion.

when

noun
  1. The time at which something happens.
adverb
  1. (interrogative) At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time.
  2. At an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances.
  3. (relative) At which, on which, during which: often omitted or replaced with that.
pronoun
  1. (interrogative) What time; which time.
  2. The time that.
conjunction
  1. At (or as soon as) that time that; at the (or any and every) time that; if.
  2. During the time that; at the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase.
  3. At what time; at which time.
  4. Since; given the fact that; considering that.
  5. Whereas; although; at the same time as; in spite of the fact that.
interjection
  1. That's enough, a command to stop adding something, especially an ingredient of food or drink.
  2. Expressing impatience. (Compare what.)

whet

noun
  1. The act of whetting something.
  2. That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.
verb
  1. To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
  2. To stimulate or make more keen.
  3. To preen.

whew

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To whistle with a shrill pipe, like a plover.
interjection
  1. An expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension; the release of breath; an expression of relief.
  2. An expression of amazement or surprise.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To bustle about.

women

noun
  1. An adult female human.
  2. (collective) All females collectively; womankind.
  3. A female person, usually an adult; a (generally adult) female sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.
  4. A wife (or sometimes a fiancée or girlfriend).
  5. A female who is extremely fond of or devoted to a specified type of thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
  6. A female attendant or servant.