Tuesday, December 31, 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: 235

Number of Answers: 51

Points Needed for Genius: 165

Genius requires between 25 and 43 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 75% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 68% 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 235 was in the 79th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on December 30, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 51 possible answers rank it in the 79th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on December 27, 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 27, 2024.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.4.
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 190
  • loll 181
  • toot 175
  • naan 166
  • nana 166
  • lilt 130
  • till 130
  • tilt 130
  • tint 127
  • mama 122
  • mamma 122
  • nene 121
  • acacia 115
  • acai 115
  • onto 114
  • toon 114
  • anal 110
  • onion 110
  • anon 107
  • boob 107
  • booboo 107
  • olio 104
  • baba 102
  • papa 102
  • lull 101
  • lulu 101
  • poop 101
  • tact 101
  • dodo 100
  • mitt 100
  • allay 99
  • ally 99
  • call 99
  • calla 99
  • ratatat 99
  • tart 99
  • tartar 99
  • attar 98
  • tatty 97
  • tutu 97
  • cocci 96
  • tattoo 96
  • mono 95
  • moon 95
  • ammo 94
  • epee 94
  • momma 94
  • peep 94
  • loon 91
  • nanny 91


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 95,186 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,382 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*:

  • anent
  • anna
  • anta
  • antae
  • antetype
  • appetent
  • attent
  • enate
  • ethene
  • ethyne
  • etna
  • eyen
  • eyne
  • haen
  • hant
  • hapten
  • haptene
  • hent
  • hyaena
  • nanna
  • napa
  • naphtha
  • naphthene
  • nappa
  • nappe
  • nappy
  • neep
  • nepenthean
  • nepeta
  • nett
  • nyah
  • paan
  • panne
  • papayan
  • paten
  • patten
  • pattypan
  • pean
  • penna
  • pennae
  • pennate
  • pentene
  • petnap
  • phenate
  • phytane
  • tannate
  • tenne
  • tenny
  • tenpenny
  • tenty
  • tetany
  • tyne
  • yean

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

ante

noun
  1. A price or cost, as in up the ante.
  2. In poker and other games, the contribution made by all players to the pot before dealing the cards.
verb
  1. To pay the ante in poker. Often used as ante up.
  2. To make an investment in money, effort, or time before knowing one's chances.

antenna

noun
  1. A feeler organ on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal.
  2. An apparatus to receive or transmit electromagnetic waves and convert respectively to or from an electrical signal.
  3. The faculty of intuitive astuteness.
  4. A fragment of an oligosaccharide
  5. The spar to which a lateen sail is attached, which is then hoisted up the mast.

antennae

noun
  1. A feeler organ on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal.
  2. An apparatus to receive or transmit electromagnetic waves and convert respectively to or from an electrical signal.
  3. The faculty of intuitive astuteness.
  4. A fragment of an oligosaccharide
  5. The spar to which a lateen sail is attached, which is then hoisted up the mast.

apnea

noun
  1. The cessation of breathing.

eaten

verb
  1. To ingest; to be ingested.
  2. To use up.
  3. To cause (someone) to worry.
  4. To take the loss in a transaction.
  5. To be injured or killed by (something such as a firearm or its projectile), especially in the mouth.
  6. To corrode or erode.
  7. To perform oral sex (on a person or body part).
adjective
  1. (especially in combination) That has been consumed by eating

entente

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

ethane

noun
  1. An aliphatic hydrocarbon, C2H6, gaseous at normal temperatures and pressures, being a constituent of natural gas.
  2. The same compound, subjected to modification by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with other radicals.

happen

verb
  1. To occur or take place.
  2. To happen to; to befall.
  3. (with infinitive) To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly.
  4. (followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance.
adverb
  1. Maybe, perhaps.

heathen

noun
  1. An adherent of the Germanic neo-pagan faith of Heathenry.
adjective
  1. Pertaining or adhering to the Germanic neo-pagan faith Heathenry.
noun
  1. A person who does not follow a Christian religion; a pagan.
  2. (by extension) An uncultured or uncivilized person, philistine.
adjective
  1. Not adhering to Christian religion; pagan.
  2. (by extension) Uncultured; uncivilized; savage, philistine.

henna

noun
  1. A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers
  2. A reddish plant substance, prepared from the dried leaves of this plant, used for temporary tattoos and hair coloring. Hair colorings range from bright red to earth brown to near black.
  3. A rich reddish-brown colour.
verb
  1. To dye or tattoo with henna.
adjective
  1. Of a rich reddish-brown colour.

heptane

noun
  1. Any of the nine isomers of the saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon C7H16, obtained from petroleum, especially n-heptane (CH3(CH2)5CH3)

hyena

noun
  1. Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the subfamily Hyaeninae (genera Hyaena and Crocuta), native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.
  2. (Sub-Saharan Africa) A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.

hyphen

noun
  1. The symbol "‐", typically used to join two or more words to form a compound term, or to indicate that a word has been split at the end of a line.
  2. Something that links two more consequential things.
  3. An enclosed walkway or passage that connects two buildings.
  4. Someone who belongs to a marginalized subgroup, and can therefore described by a hyphenated term, such as "German-American", "female-academic", etc.
verb
  1. To separate or punctuate with a hyphen; to hyphenate.
conjunction
  1. Used to emphasize the coordinating function usually indicated by the punctuation "-".

hyphenate

noun
  1. A person with multiple duties or abilities, such as "writer-director", "actor-model", or "singer-songwriter".
  2. A person whose ethnicity is a multi-word hyphenated term, such as "African-American".
verb
  1. To break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules by adding a hyphen on the end of the line.
  2. To join words or syllables with a hyphen.

naan

noun
  1. A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.

nana

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A banana
  2. A fool

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (term of endearment) one's grandmother
  2. A nanny

nanny

noun
  1. A child's nurse.
  2. A grandmother.
  3. A godmother.
  4. A female goat.
verb
  1. To serve as a nanny.
  2. To treat like a nanny's charges; to coddle.

nape

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The back part of the neck.
  2. The part of a fish or bird immediately behind the head.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A tablecloth.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Napalm.
verb
  1. To bombard with napalm.

natant

adjective
  1. Floating or swimming (in water)
  2. In a horizontal position, as if swimming

natty

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Smart and fashionable.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Knotty.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Someone whose muscle gains are natural and not aided by the use of steroids.
  2. A national championship
adjective
  1. Natural, as opposed to steroid enhanced.
  2. National

neap

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A neap tide.
verb
  1. To trap a ship (or ship and crew) in water too shallow to move, due to the smaller tidal range occurring in a period of neap tides.
  2. To ooze, to sink, to subside, to tail
adjective
  1. (of a tide) Low; lowest; the ebb or lowest point of a tide.
  2. Designating a tide which occurs just after the first and third quarters of the moon, when there is the least difference between high tide and low tide.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The swede (rutabaga), called "turnip" in Scotland.

neat

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.
adjective
  1. Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
  2. Free from contaminants; unadulterated, undiluted. Particularly of liquor and cocktails; see usage below.
  3. Conditions with a liquid reagent or gas performed with no standard solvent or cosolvent.
  4. With all deductions or allowances made; net.
  5. Having a simple elegance or style; clean, trim, tidy, tasteful.
  6. Well-executed or delivered; clever, skillful, precise.
  7. Facile; missing complexity or details in the favor of convenience or simplicity.
  8. Good, excellent, desirable.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A bull or cow.
  2. Cattle collectively.

neaten

verb
  1. To make neat; arrange in an orderly, tidy way; to tidy.

neath

preposition
  1. Beneath.

nene

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

nepenthe

noun
  1. A drug mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (c. 8th century B.C.E.) as bringing relief from anxiety or grief; hence, any drug or substance seen as bringing welcome forgetfulness or relief.
  2. A Southeast Asian carnivorous plant of the genus Nepenthes; a monkey cup or tropical pitcher plant.

netty

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Neat, well-groomed, natty.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Netted: made of or employing a net.
  2. Netlike.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
  2. Any other place or fixture used for urination and defecation: a lavatory; a toilet.

paean

noun
  1. A chant or song, especially a hymn of thanksgiving for deliverance or victory, to Apollo or sometimes another god or goddess; hence any song sung to solicit victory in battle.
  2. (by extension) Any loud and joyous song; a song of triumph.
  3. (by extension) An enthusiastic expression of praise.
verb
  1. To sing a paean; to praise.

pane

noun
  1. An individual sheet of glass in a window, door, etc.
  2. A layer in the build-up of a GUI.
  3. A division; a distinct piece or compartment of any surface.
  4. A square of a checkered or plaid pattern.
  5. One of the openings in a slashed garment, showing the bright colored silk, or the like, within; hence, the piece of colored or other stuff so shown.
  6. A compartment of a surface, or a flat space; hence, one side or face of a building.
  7. A subdivision of an irrigated surface between a feeder and an outlet drain.
  8. One of the flat surfaces, or facets, of any object having several sides.
  9. One of the eight facets surrounding the table of a brilliant-cut diamond.
verb
  1. To fit with panes.
noun
  1. The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end.

pant

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a gasp.
  2. Eager longing.
  3. A violent palpitation of the heart.
verb
  1. To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion or from eagerness or excitement; to respire with heaving of the breast; to gasp.
  2. To long eagerly; to desire earnestly.
  3. To long for (something); to be eager for (something).
  4. Of the heart, to beat with unnatural violence or rapidity; to palpitate.
  5. To sigh; to flutter; to languish.
  6. To heave, as the breast.
  7. To bulge and shrink successively, of iron hulls, etc.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A pair of pants (trousers or underpants).
  2. (used attributively as a modifier) Of or relating to pants.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. (Scotland and northeast England) Any public drinking fountain.

panty

noun
  1. (in the plural) Short trousers for men, or more usually boys.
  2. (usually in the plural, or in compounds) An article of clothing worn as underpants by women.
  3. A helmet cover.

patent

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A declaration issued by a government agency declaring someone the inventor of a new invention and having the privilege of stopping others from making, using or selling the claimed invention; a letter patent.
  2. A specific grant of ownership of a piece of property; a land patent.
  3. License; formal permission.
  4. Patent leather: a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for shoes and accessories.
verb
  1. To successfully register an invention with a government agency; to secure a letter patent.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Open, unobstructed, expanded.
  2. Explicit and obvious.
  3. (of flour) That is fine, and consists mostly of the inner part of the endosperm.
  4. Open; unconcealed; conspicuous.
  5. Open to public perusal; said of a document conferring some right or privilege.
  6. Protected by a legal patent.

patentee

noun
  1. One to whom a grant is made, or a privilege secured, by patent.

peahen

noun
  1. A female peafowl.

peen

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The (often spherical) end of the head of a hammer opposite the main hammering end.
verb
  1. To shape metal by striking it, especially with a peen.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Penis.

pennant

noun
  1. A flag normally used by naval vessels to represent a special condition.
  2. The winning of a competition, represented by a flag.
  3. A rope or strap to which a purchase is hooked.
  4. A sandstone between coal measures in parts of South Wales

penne

noun
  1. A type of short, diagonally cut pasta.

penny

noun
  1. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a copper coin worth 1/240 of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation. Abbreviation: d.
  2. In the United Kingdom, a copper coin worth 1/100 of a pound sterling. Abbreviation: p.
  3. In Ireland, a coin worth 1/100 of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.
  4. In the US and Canada, a one-cent coin, worth 1/100 of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢.
  5. In various countries, a small-denomination copper or brass coin.
  6. A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per penny. Abbreviation: d.
  7. Money in general.
verb
  1. To jam a door shut by inserting pennies between the doorframe and the door.
  2. To circumvent the tripping of an electrical circuit breaker by the dangerous practice of inserting a coin in place of a fuse in a fuse socket.

pent

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To enclose in a pen.
noun
  1. Confinement; concealment.
adjective
  1. Confined in a pen, imprisoned.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A pentatonic scale.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A pentacle or pentagram.

pentane

noun
  1. An aliphatic hydrocarbon of chemical formula C5H12; either of the three isomers n-pentane, methyl-butane (isopentane), and di-methyl-propane (neopentane); volatile liquids under normal conditions.

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.

teeny

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Very small; tiny.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Fretful; peevish; cross

tenant

noun
  1. One who pays a fee (rent) in return for the use of land, buildings, or other property owned by others.
  2. One who has possession of any place.
  3. One who holds a property by any kind of right, including ownership.
  4. Any of a number of customers serviced through the same instance of an application.
verb
  1. To hold as, or be, a tenant.
  2. To inhabit.

tenet

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

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.

than

adverb
  1. At that time; then.
preposition
  1. Introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.
conjunction
  1. Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
  2. (obsolete outside dialectal, usually used with for) Because; for.

thane

noun
  1. A rank of nobility in pre-Norman England, roughly equivalent to baron.

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.

yenta

noun
  1. A woman who meddles in the business of others; a busybody; a female gossipmonger.
  2. (Jewish) A matchmaker; a woman who specializes in finding spouses.

yente

No Definition Found.