Saturday, February 15, 2025

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: 126

Number of Answers: 29

Points Needed for Genius: 88

Genius requires between 12 and 26 words. You need at least an 8-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 79% 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 126 was in the 28th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on February 11, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 29 possible answers rank it in the 23rd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on February 11, 2025.
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 February 13, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.3.
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 191
  • loll 183
  • toot 181
  • naan 167
  • nana 167
  • lilt 134
  • till 134
  • tilt 134
  • tint 133
  • mama 125
  • mamma 125
  • nene 125
  • onto 118
  • toon 118
  • acacia 117
  • acai 117
  • anal 112
  • onion 112
  • boob 109
  • booboo 109
  • anon 108
  • baba 106
  • olio 105
  • papa 103
  • tact 103
  • dodo 102
  • lull 102
  • lulu 102
  • mitt 102
  • poop 101
  • call 100
  • calla 100
  • allay 99
  • ally 99
  • ratatat 99
  • tart 99
  • tartar 99
  • tattoo 99
  • tutu 99
  • attar 98
  • tatty 98
  • ammo 96
  • cocci 96
  • momma 96
  • mono 96
  • moon 96
  • epee 94
  • peep 94
  • loot 92
  • lotto 92


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 97,252 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,452 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
  • abri
  • alba
  • arriba
  • baal
  • baidar
  • barbal
  • barilla
  • biali
  • bibb
  • bidi
  • birl
  • birr
  • brail
  • briard
  • brill
  • brrr
  • darb
  • darbar
  • djibba
  • jibb
  • jibba
  • labara
  • labra
  • labral
  • liblab
  • libra
  • libri

*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.

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.

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.)

bald

noun
  1. A mountain summit or crest that lacks forest growth despite a warm climate conducive to such, as is found in many places in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
verb
  1. To become bald.
adjective
  1. Having no hair, fur or feathers.
  2. (by extension) Denuded of any hair- or fur-like covering.
  3. Of tyres: whose surface is worn away.
  4. (of a statement or account) Unembellished.
  5. (of a statement) Without evidence or support being provided.

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.

ballad

noun
  1. A kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; especially, a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.
  2. A slow romantic song.
verb
  1. To make mention of in ballads.
  2. To compose or sing ballads.

barb

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
  2. A hurtful or disparaging remark.
  3. A beard, or that which resembles it, or grows in the place of it.
  4. Armor for a horse, corrupted from bard.
  5. A horse.
  6. One of the side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.
  7. Any of various species of freshwater carp-like fish that have barbels and belong to the cyprinid family.
  8. Menticirrhus americanus (Carolina whiting, king whiting, southern kingcroaker, and southern kingfish), found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
  9. A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.
  10. A blackish or dun variety of the pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.
  11. A muffler, worn by nuns and mourners.
  12. Paps, or little projections, of the mucous membrane, which mark the opening of the submaxillary glands under the tongue in horses and cattle. The name is mostly applied when the barbs are inflamed and swollen. [Written also barbel and barble.]
  13. A bit for a horse.
  14. A plastic fastener, shaped roughly like a capital I (with serifs), used to attach socks etc. to their packaging.
verb
  1. To furnish with barbs, or with that which will hold or hurt like barbs, as an arrow, fishhook, spear, etc.
  2. To cover a horse in armor, corrupted from bard.
  3. To cut (hair).
  4. To shave or dress the beard of.
  5. To clip; to mow.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The Barbary horse, a superior breed introduced from Barbary into Spain by the Moors.
  2. A blackish or dun variety of pigeon, originally brought from Barbary.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A barbiturate.

bard

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A professional poet and singer, like among the ancient Celts, whose occupation was to compose and sing verses in honor of the heroic achievements of princes and brave men.
  2. (by extension) A poet.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A piece of defensive (or, sometimes, ornamental) armor for a horse's neck, breast, and flanks; a barb. (Often in the plural.)
  2. Defensive armor formerly worn by a man at arms.
  3. A thin slice of fat bacon used to cover any meat or game.
  4. The exterior covering of the trunk and branches of a tree; the rind.
  5. Specifically, Peruvian bark.
verb
  1. To cover a horse in defensive armor.
  2. To cover (meat or game) with a thin slice of fat bacon.

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.

billiard

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A shot in billiards or snooker in which the cue ball strikes two other balls; a carom.
  2. Pertaining to the game of billiards.
  3. A dynamical system in which a particle alternates between motion in a straight line and specular reflections from a boundary.

Etymology 2

numeral
  1. 1015, a thousand billion (long scale) or a million milliard.

biradial

No Definition Found.

bird

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A member of the class of animals Aves in the phylum Chordata, characterized by being warm-blooded, having feathers and wings usually capable of flight, and laying eggs.
  2. A man, fellow.
  3. A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.
  4. Girlfriend.
  5. An airplane.
  6. A satellite.
  7. A chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling.
verb
  1. To observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment.
  2. To catch or shoot birds.
  3. To seek for game or plunder; to thieve.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A prison sentence.
  2. A yardbird
verb
  1. To bring into prison, to roof.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The vulgar hand gesture in which the middle finger is extended.

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.

brad

noun
  1. A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an escutcheon pin.
  2. (elementary school usage) A paper fastener, a fastening device formed of thin, soft metal, such as shim brass, with a round head and a flat, split shank, which is spread after insertion in a hole in a stack of pages, in much the same way as a cotter pin or a split rivet.
verb
  1. To attach using a brad.
  2. To upset the end of a rod inserted in a hole so as to prevent it from being pulled out, as when riveting.

braid

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sudden movement; a jerk, a wrench.
  2. A weave of three or more strands of fibers, ribbons, cords or hair often for decoration.
  3. A stranded wire composed of a number of smaller wires twisted together
  4. A tubular sheath made of braided strands of metal placed around a central cable for shielding against electromagnetic interference.
  5. A fancy; freak; caprice.
verb
  1. To make a sudden movement with, to jerk.
  2. To start into motion.
  3. To weave together, intertwine (strands of fibers, ribbons, etc.); to arrange (hair) in braids.
  4. To mix, or make uniformly soft, by beating, rubbing, or straining, as in preparing food.
  5. To reproach; to upbraid.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Deceitful.

briar

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.
  2. Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The white heath, Erica arborea, a thorny Mediterranean shrub.
  2. A pipe for smoking, made from the roots of that shrub.

bridal

noun
  1. A wedding feast or festival; a wedding.
adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to a bride, or to wedding; nuptial.

drab

No Definition Found.

drib

No Definition Found.

jailbird

noun
  1. A prisoner or an ex-prisoner

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.

rabbi

noun
  1. A Jewish scholar or teacher of halacha (Jewish law), capable of making halachic decisions.
  2. A Jew who is or is qualified to be the leader of a Jewish congregation.
  3. (police) A senior officer who acts as a mentor.

rabid

noun
  1. A human or animal infected with rabies.
  2. Someone who is fanatical in opinion.
adjective
  1. Affected with rabies.
  2. Of or pertaining to rabies, or hydrophobia.
  3. Furious; raging; extremely violent.
  4. Very extreme, unreasonable, or fanatical in opinion; excessively zealous.

railbird

noun
  1. A rail or similar bird
  2. A gambler; originally specifically a horseracing enthusiast

ribald

noun
  1. An individual who is filthy or vulgar in nature.
adjective
  1. Coarsely, vulgarly, or lewdly amusing; referring to sexual matters in a rude or irreverent way.

airball

noun
  1. A shot that misses the backboard, rim and net entirely.
verb
  1. To throw an airball

birria

No Definition Found.