Monday, December 9, 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: 159

Number of Answers: 33

Points Needed for Genius: 111

Genius requires between 15 and 28 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 78% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 66% 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 159 was in the 46th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on December 4, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 33 possible answers rank it in the 35th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on December 4, 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 8, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.6.
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 188
  • loll 180
  • toot 172
  • naan 165
  • nana 165
  • lilt 130
  • till 130
  • tilt 130
  • tint 125
  • mama 121
  • mamma 121
  • nene 118
  • acacia 115
  • acai 115
  • onto 113
  • toon 113
  • anal 110
  • onion 108
  • anon 106
  • boob 106
  • booboo 106
  • olio 103
  • papa 102
  • baba 101
  • lull 101
  • lulu 101
  • dodo 100
  • mitt 100
  • poop 100
  • tact 99
  • 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 94,240 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,359 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*:

  • gingko
  • gogo
  • gonion
  • gook
  • gowk
  • ikon
  • ingoing
  • inion
  • kino
  • kongoni
  • konk
  • konking
  • ninon
  • nogg
  • nogging
  • nonwinning
  • nooning
  • wonning

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

ginkgo

noun
  1. Ginkgo biloba, a tree native to China with small, fan-shaped leaves and edible seeds.
  2. The seed of the ginkgo tree.

going

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.
noun
  1. A departure.
  2. The suitability of ground for riding, walking etc.
  3. Progress.
  4. Conditions for advancing in any way.
  5. Pregnancy; gestation; childbearing
  6. (in the plural) Course of life; behaviour; doings; ways.
  7. (in the phrase "the going of") The whereabouts (of something).
adjective
  1. Likely to continue; viable.
  2. Current, prevailing.
  3. (especially after a noun phrase with a superlative) Available.

gong

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer.
  2. A medal or award, particularly Knight Bachelor.
verb
  1. To make the sound of a gong; to ring a gong.
  2. To send a signal to, using a gong or similar device.
  3. To give an award or medal to.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
  2. The contents of an outhouse pit: shit.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A kind of cultivation energy, more powerful than qi.
  2. An advanced practice that cultivates such energy.

gonging

verb
  1. To make the sound of a gong; to ring a gong.
  2. To send a signal to, using a gong or similar device.
  3. To give an award or medal to.
noun
  1. The sounding of a gong.

goon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
  2. A fool; someone considered silly, stupid, awkward, or outlandish.
  3. An enforcer or fighter.
  4. (WWII, PoW slang) A German guard in a prisoner-of-war camp.
  5. A member of the comedy web site Something Awful.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A wine flagon or cask.
  2. Cheap or inferior cask wine.

gouging

verb
  1. To make a groove, hole, or mark in by scooping with or as if with a gouge.
  2. To cheat or impose upon; in particular, to charge an unfairly or unreasonably high price.
  3. To dig or scoop (something) out with or as if with a gouge; in particular, to use a thumb to push or try to push the eye (of a person) out of its socket.
  4. To use a gouge.
noun
  1. A mark produced by gouging.

gown

noun
  1. A loose, flowing upper garment.
  2. A woman's ordinary outer dress, such as a calico or silk gown.
  3. The official robe of certain professional men and scholars, such as university students and officers, barristers, judges, etc.
  4. (by metonymy) The university community.
  5. A loose wrapper worn by gentlemen within doors; a dressing gown.
  6. Any sort of dress or garb.
  7. The robe worn by a surgeon.
verb
  1. To dress in a gown, to don or garb with a gown.

gowning

verb
  1. To dress in a gown, to don or garb with a gown.

know

noun
  1. Knowledge; the state of knowing.
verb
  1. To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that.
  2. To be aware of; to be cognizant of.
  3. To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered.
  4. To experience.
  5. To be able to distinguish, to discern, particularly by contrast or comparison; to recognize the nature of.
  6. To recognize as the same (as someone or something previously encountered) after an absence or change.
  7. To understand or have a grasp of through experience or study.
  8. To have sexual relations with. This meaning normally specified in modern English as e.g. to ’know someone in the biblical sense’ or to ‘know Biblically.’
  9. To have knowledge; to have information, be informed.
  10. To be or become aware or cognizant.
  11. To be acquainted (with another person).
  12. To be able to play or perform (a song or other piece of music).

knowing

verb
  1. To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that.
  2. To be aware of; to be cognizant of.
  3. To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered.
  4. To experience.
  5. To be able to distinguish, to discern, particularly by contrast or comparison; to recognize the nature of.
  6. To recognize as the same (as someone or something previously encountered) after an absence or change.
  7. To understand or have a grasp of through experience or study.
  8. To have sexual relations with. This meaning normally specified in modern English as e.g. to ’know someone in the biblical sense’ or to ‘know Biblically.’
  9. To have knowledge; to have information, be informed.
  10. To be or become aware or cognizant.
  11. To be acquainted (with another person).
  12. To be able to play or perform (a song or other piece of music).
noun
  1. The act or condition of having knowledge.
adjective
  1. Possessing knowledge or understanding; intelligent.
  2. Shrewd or showing clever awareness.
  3. Suggestive of private knowledge.
  4. Deliberate

known

verb
  1. To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that.
  2. To be aware of; to be cognizant of.
  3. To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered.
  4. To experience.
  5. To be able to distinguish, to discern, particularly by contrast or comparison; to recognize the nature of.
  6. To recognize as the same (as someone or something previously encountered) after an absence or change.
  7. To understand or have a grasp of through experience or study.
  8. To have sexual relations with. This meaning normally specified in modern English as e.g. to ’know someone in the biblical sense’ or to ‘know Biblically.’
  9. To have knowledge; to have information, be informed.
  10. To be or become aware or cognizant.
  11. To be acquainted (with another person).
  12. To be able to play or perform (a song or other piece of music).
noun
  1. Any fact or situation which is known or familiar.
  2. A constant or variable the value of which is already determined.
adjective
  1. Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned.
  2. Accepted, familiar, researched.

kook

noun
  1. An eccentric, strange or crazy person.
  2. (kiteboarding, wakeboarding) A boardsport participant who lacks style or skill; a newbie who acts as if they are better at the sport than they are.

noggin

noun
  1. A small mug, cup or ladle.
  2. (obsolete outside dialectal) A small measure of spirits equivalent to a gill.
  3. The head.
  4. A signalling molecule involved in embryo development, producing large heads at high concentrations.
noun
  1. A horizontal beam used in the construction of a building, especially to strengthen upright posts.
  2. Rough brick masonry used to fill open spaces.

nonunion

noun
  1. Lack of union; failure to become united.
  2. The failure of a broken bone to heal
adjective
  1. Not part of a labor union; not unionized.

nook

noun
  1. A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
  2. A hidden or secluded spot; a secluded retreat.
  3. A recess, cove or hollow.
  4. An English unit of land area, originally 1/4 of a yardland but later 12 1/2 or 20 acres.
  5. A corner of a piece of land; an angled piece of land, especially one extending into other land.
verb
  1. To withdraw into a nook.
  2. To situate in a nook.

noon

Etymology 1

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.
verb
  1. To relax or sleep around midday

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The letter ن in the Arabic script.

noun

noun
  1. (grammar, narrow sense) A word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
  2. (grammar, now rare, broad sense) Either a word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality or idea, or a word that modifies or describes a previous word or its referent; a substantive or adjective, sometimes also including other parts of speech such as numeral or pronoun.
verb
  1. To convert a word to a noun.

oink

noun
  1. The sound made by a pig, or an imitation thereof.
verb
  1. Of a pig or in imitation thereof, to make its characteristic sound.
interjection
  1. Representing the sound made by a pig.
  2. Drawing attention to male chauvinism (from the term male chauvinist pig).

oinking

verb
  1. Of a pig or in imitation thereof, to make its characteristic sound.

ongoing

verb
  1. To be ongoing (occurring, happening); to last, proceed or continue.
noun
  1. Something that is going on; a happening.
adjective
  1. Continuing, permanent, lasting.
  2. Presently or currently happening; being in progress.

onion

noun
  1. A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
  2. The bulb of such a plant.
  3. The genus as a whole.
  4. A ball.
  5. A person from Bermuda or of Bermudian descent.

owing

verb
  1. To be under an obligation to give something back to someone or to perform some action for someone.
  2. To have debt; to be in debt.
adjective
  1. Still to be paid; owed as a debt.

owning

verb
  1. To have rightful possession of (property, goods or capital); to have legal title to.
  2. To have recognized political sovereignty over a place, territory, as distinct from the ordinary connotation of property ownership.
  3. To defeat or embarrass; to overwhelm.
  4. To virtually or figuratively enslave.
  5. To defeat, dominate, or be above, also spelled pwn.
  6. To illicitly obtain superuser or root access to a computer system, thereby having access to all of the user files on that system; pwn.
verb
  1. To grant; give.
  2. To admit, concede, grant, allow, acknowledge, confess; not to deny.
  3. To admit; concede; acknowledge.
  4. To take responsibility for.
  5. To answer to.
  6. To recognise; acknowledge.
  7. To claim as one's own.
  8. To confess.

union

noun
  1. The act of uniting or joining two or more things into one.
  2. The state of being united or joined; a state of unity or harmony.
  3. That which is united, or made one; something formed by a combination or coalition of parts or members; a confederation; a consolidated body; a league.
  4. A trade union; a workers' union.
  5. An association of students at a university for social and/or political purposes; also in some cases a debating body.
  6. A joint or other connection uniting parts of machinery, such as pipes.
  7. The set containing all of the elements of two or more sets.
  8. The act or state of marriage.
  9. Sexual intercourse.
  10. A data structure that can store any of various types of item, but only one at a time.
  11. A large, high-quality pearl.
  12. An affiliation of several parishes for joint support and management of their poor; also the jointly-owned workhouse.
verb
  1. To combine sets using the union operation.

unknowing

noun
  1. Absence of knowledge; ignorance of something.
adjective
  1. Without knowing; ignorant.
  2. Unknown, unbeknownst (to someone).

unknown

verb
  1. To undo the process of knowing, to lose knowledge of something.
noun
  1. A variable (usually x, y or z) whose value is to be found.
  2. Any thing, place, or situation about which nothing is known; an unknown fact or piece of information.
  3. A person of no identity; a nonentity
adjective
  1. (sometimes postpositive) Not known; unidentified; not well known.

unwon

No Definition Found.

winnow

noun
  1. That which winnows or which is used in winnowing; a contrivance for fanning or winnowing grain.
verb
  1. To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.
  2. To separate, sift, analyze, or test by separating items having different values.
  3. To blow upon or toss about by blowing; to set in motion as with a fan or wings.
  4. To move about with a flapping motion, as of wings; to flutter.

winnowing

verb
  1. To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.
  2. To separate, sift, analyze, or test by separating items having different values.
  3. To blow upon or toss about by blowing; to set in motion as with a fan or wings.
  4. To move about with a flapping motion, as of wings; to flutter.
noun
  1. The act of separating chaff from grain.

wino

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A chronic or heavy drinker of cheap wine or other alcohol; a drunk or drunkard.
  2. A wine enthusiast; an oenophile.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A hypothetical particle that is the superpartner of the W boson.

wonk

noun
  1. An overly studious person, particularly student.
  2. (by extension) A policy wonk or other intellectual expert.

wooing

verb
  1. To endeavor to gain someone's support.
  2. (often of a man) To try to persuade (someone) to be in an amorous relationship with
  3. To court solicitously; to invite with importunity.
noun
  1. A courting; the process by which somebody is wooed.

wowing

verb
  1. To amaze or awe.