Wednesday, March 26, 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: 115

Number of Answers: 35

Points Needed for Genius: 81

Genius requires between 13 and 32 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 80% 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 115 was in the 22nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on March 10, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 35 possible answers rank it in the 40th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on March 17, 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 a 7-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on March 25, 2025.

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 192
  • loll 186
  • toot 182
  • naan 168
  • nana 168
  • lilt 136
  • till 136
  • tilt 136
  • tint 134
  • nene 128
  • mama 127
  • mamma 127
  • acacia 121
  • acai 121
  • onto 118
  • toon 118
  • anal 113
  • onion 113
  • boob 110
  • booboo 110
  • anon 109
  • baba 107
  • olio 107
  • dodo 104
  • tact 104
  • call 103
  • calla 103
  • lull 103
  • lulu 103
  • papa 103
  • mitt 102
  • poop 102
  • ratatat 101
  • tart 101
  • tartar 101
  • attar 100
  • tattoo 100
  • tatty 100
  • allay 99
  • ally 99
  • tutu 99
  • mono 98
  • moon 98
  • ammo 97
  • cocci 97
  • epee 97
  • momma 97
  • peep 97
  • roar 94
  • loot 93


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 98,979 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,539 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*:

  • eloin
  • enfeoff
  • enol
  • exine
  • exon
  • felloe
  • feoff
  • feoffee
  • fille
  • flexile
  • flooie
  • ilex
  • infeoff
  • inflexion
  • ionone
  • leno
  • leone
  • lief
  • looie
  • neif
  • nellie
  • nielli
  • niello
  • nixe
  • nixie
  • nonlife
  • olefin
  • olefine
  • olein
  • oleine

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

elfin

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land.
  2. A little urchin or child.
  3. Any of the butterflies in the subgenus Incisalia of the North American lycaenid genus Callophrys.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Relating to or resembling an elf or elves, especially in its tiny size or features.

exile

noun
  1. The state of being banished from one's home or country.
  2. Someone who is banished from their home or country.
verb
  1. To send into exile.

feel

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A quality of an object experienced by touch.
  2. A vague mental impression.
  3. An act of fondling.
  4. A vague understanding.
  5. An intuitive ability.
  6. Alternative form of feeling.
verb
  1. (heading) To use or experience the sense of touch.
  2. (heading) To sense or think emotionally or judgmentally.
  3. To be or become aware of.
  4. To experience the consequences of.
  5. To seem (through touch or otherwise).
  6. To understand.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Much; many.
adverb
  1. Greatly, much, very
pronoun
  1. Many (of).

feline

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to cats.
  2. Catlike (resembling a cat)

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A cat; member of the cat family Felidae.

fell

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A cutting-down of timber.
  2. The stitching down of a fold of cloth; specifically, the portion of a kilt, from the waist to the seat, where the pleats are stitched down.
  3. The end of a web, formed by the last thread of the weft.
verb
  1. To make something fall; especially to chop down a tree.
  2. To strike down, kill, destroy.
  3. To stitch down a protruding flap of fabric, as a seam allowance, or pleat.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An animal skin, hide, pelt.
  2. Human skin (now only as a metaphorical use of previous sense).

Etymology 3

noun
  1. (obsolete outside Britain) A rocky ridge or chain of mountains.
  2. (obsolete outside Britain) A wild field or upland moor.

Etymology 4

adjective
  1. Of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing; grim; fierce; ruthless; savage.
  2. Strong and fiery; biting; keen; sharp; pungent
  3. Very large; huge.
  4. Eager; earnest; intent.
adverb
  1. Sharply; fiercely.

Etymology 5

noun
  1. Anger; gall; melancholy.

Etymology 6

noun
  1. The finer portions of ore, which go through the meshes when the ore is sorted by sifting.

Etymology 7

verb
  1. (heading) To be moved downwards.
  2. To move downwards.
  3. To happen, to change negatively.
  4. To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
  5. To diminish; to lessen or lower.
  6. To bring forth.
  7. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
  8. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
  9. To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
  10. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
  11. To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
  12. To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
  13. To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
  14. (of a fabric) To hang down (under the influence of gravity).

felon

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A person who has committed a felony.
  2. A person who has been tried and convicted of a felony.
  3. A wicked person.
adjective
  1. Wicked; cruel

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A bacterial infection at the end of a finger or toe.

fennel

noun
  1. A plant, Foeniculum vulgare, of the parsley family, which has a sweet, anise-like flavor.
  2. The bulb, leaves, or stalks of the plant, eaten as a vegetable.
  3. The seeds of the fennel plant used as a spice in cooking.

fief

noun
  1. An estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior.
  2. Something over which one has rights or exercises control.
  3. An area of dominion, especially in a corporate or governmental bureaucracy.

fife

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music
verb
  1. To play this instrument.

Etymology 2

numeral
  1. Used instead of five in radio communications to avoid confusion.

file

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A collection of papers collated and archived together.
  2. A roll or list.
  3. Course of thought; thread of narration.
  4. An aggregation of data on a storage device, identified by a name.
verb
  1. To commit (official papers) to some office.
  2. To place in an archive in a logical place and order
  3. To store a file (aggregation of data) on a storage medium such as a disc or another computer.
  4. (with for) To submit a formal request to some office.
  5. To set in order; to arrange, or lay away.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A column of people one behind another, whether "single file" or in a large group with many files side by side.
  2. A small detachment of soldiers.
  3. One of the eight vertical lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a letter). The analog horizontal lines are the ranks.
verb
  1. To move in a file.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A hand tool consisting of a handle to which a block of coarse metal is attached, and used for removing sharp edges or for cutting, especially through metal.
  2. A cunning or resourceful person.
verb
  1. To smooth, grind, or cut with a file.

Etymology 4

verb
  1. To defile
  2. To corrupt

fine

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Fine champagne; French brandy.
  2. (usually in the plural) Something that is fine; fine particles.
verb
  1. To make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
  2. To become finer, purer, or cleaner.
  3. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
  4. To change by fine gradations.
  5. To clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
  6. To become gradually fine; to diminish; to dwindle (with away, down, or off).
adjective
  1. Senses referring to subjective quality.
  2. Senses referring to objective quality.
  3. Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
  4. Subtle; thin; tenuous.
adverb
  1. Expression of (typically) reluctant agreement.
  2. Well, nicely, in a positive way.
  3. Finely; elegantly; delicately.
  4. In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be barely deflected, the object ball being driven to one side.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
verb
  1. To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
  2. To pay a fine.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The end of a musical composition.
  2. The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
  2. A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
  3. A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
verb
  1. To finish; to cease.
  2. To cause to cease; to stop.

flee

verb
  1. To run away; to escape.
  2. To escape from.
  3. To disappear quickly; to vanish.

flex

noun
  1. Flexibility, pliancy.
  2. The or an act of flexing.
  3. Any flexible insulated electrical wiring.
  4. A point of inflection.
  5. The act of flaunting something; something one considers impressive.
verb
  1. To bend something.
  2. To repeatedly bend one of one's joints.
  3. To move part of the body using one's muscles.
  4. To tighten the muscles for display of size or strength.
  5. (by extension) To flaunt one's superiority.

flexion

noun
  1. The act of bending a joint, especially a bone joint; the counteraction of extension.
  2. The state of being bent or flexed.
  3. Deviation from straightness.
  4. (grammar) The variation of words by declension, comparison, or conjugation; inflection.

floe

noun
  1. A low, flat mass of floating ice.

leonine

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A 13th-century coin minted in Europe and used in England as a debased form of the sterling silver penny, outlawed under Edward I.
adjective
  1. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a lion.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A kind of Latin verse, generally alternate hexameter and pentameter, rhyming at the middle and end.

lien

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A tendon.
  2. A right to take possession of a debtor’s property as security until a debt or duty is discharged.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (possibly obsolete) The spleen.

life

noun
  1. The state of organisms preceding their death, characterized by biological processes such as metabolism and reproduction and distinguishing them from inanimate objects; the state of being alive and living.
  2. The animating principle or force that keeps an inorganic thing or concept metaphorically alive (dynamic, relevant, etc) and makes it a "living document", "living constitution", etc.
  3. Lifeforms, generally or collectively.
  4. A living individual; the fact of a particular individual being alive. (Chiefly when indicating individuals were lost (died) or saved.)
  5. Existence.
  6. A period of time during which something has existence.
  7. Animation; spirit; vivacity.
  8. A biography.
  9. Nature, reality, and the forms that exist in it.
  10. An opportunity for existence.
  11. The life insurance industry.
  12. A life assured under a life assurance policy (equivalent to the policy itself for a single life contract).

lifeline

noun
  1. A line to which a drowning or falling victim may cling.
  2. (by extension) A source of salvation in a crisis.
  3. A means or route for transporting indispensable supplies.
  4. System or structure of vital importance to a community.
  5. On the deck of a boat, a line to which one can attach oneself to stay aboard on rough seas.
  6. A line from the diver to a tender at the surface control point.
  7. A particular crease in the palm.

line

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
  2. A rope, cord, string, or thread, of any thickness.
  3. A hose or pipe, of any size.
  4. Direction, path.
  5. The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, a telephone or internet cable between two points: a telephone or network connection.
  6. A clothesline.
  7. A letter, a written form of communication.
  8. A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.
  9. A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
  10. The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
  11. A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
  12. A measuring line or cord.
  13. That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
  14. A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
  15. Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
  16. A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation.
  17. The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery etc.
  18. A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
  19. A small amount of text. Specifically:
  20. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.
  21. The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction.
  22. A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself.
  23. A number of shares taken by a jobber.
  24. A measure of length:
  25. A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
  26. (1800s, with "the") The batter’s box.
  27. The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
  28. Proper relative position or adjustment (of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working).
  29. A small path-shaped portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug, especially cocaine.
  30. Instruction; doctrine.
  31. Population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.
  32. (perfusion line) a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.
  33. A group of forwards that play together.
  34. A vascular catheter.
verb
  1. To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.
  2. To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.
  3. To form a line along.
  4. To mark with a line or lines, to cover with lines.
  5. To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
  6. To read or repeat line by line.
  7. To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.
  8. To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.
  9. To measure.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Flax; linen, particularly the longer fiber of flax.
verb
  1. To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.
  2. To reinforce (the back of a book) with glue and glued scrap material such as fabric or paper.
  3. To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. (of a dog) To copulate with, to impregnate.

linen

noun
  1. Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
  2. Domestic textiles, such as tablecloths, bedding, towels, underclothes, etc., that are made of linen or linen-like fabrics of cotton or other fibers; linens.
  3. A light beige colour, like that of linen cloth undyed.
adjective
  1. Made from linen cloth or thread.
  2. Having the colour linen, light beige.

lone

adjective
  1. Solitary; having no companion.
  2. Isolated or lonely; lacking companionship.
  3. Sole; being the only one of a type.
  4. Situated by itself or by oneself, with no neighbours.
  5. Unfrequented by human beings; solitary.
  6. Single; unmarried, or in widowhood.

loonie

noun
  1. The Canadian dollar (both the coin and the monetary unit).

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

nine

noun
  1. The digit or figure 9.
  2. A playing card with nine pips.
  3. A nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol.
  4. (usually in the plural) A statistical unit of proportion (of reliability, purity, etc.).
  5. A baseball club, team, or lineup (composed of nine players).
numeral
  1. A numerical value equal to 9; the number following eight and preceding ten.
  2. Describing a group or set with nine elements.

noel

noun
  1. Christmas
  2. A kind of hymn, or canticle, of mediaeval origin, sung in honor of the birth of Christ; a Christmas carol.

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.

offline

verb
  1. To take (a system, etc.) offline; to demote from an active or online state.
adjective
  1. Of a system, currently not connected (generally electrically) to a larger network. For example, a power plant which is not connected to the grid, or a computer which is not connected to the Internet or to any other communications service.
  2. (by extension) Happening in the physical world (the real world) as opposed to on the internet.
adverb
  1. While offline; with an offline system.
  2. Outside the current meeting, in a more private setting.

oleo

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The various fats and oils that go into the making of margarine.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Margarine

ollie

noun
  1. An aerial maneuver in which one catches air by leaping off the ground with the skateboard and into the air.
verb
  1. To perform an ollie.

online

verb
  1. To bring (a system, etc.) online; to promote to an active or running state.
adjective
  1. Of a system: connected (generally electrically) to a larger network.
  2. Available over, or delivered from, the Internet.
  3. Connected to the Internet.
  4. Available on a computer system, even if not networked.
  5. Of a system: active, particularly building facilities (such as power) or a factory or power plant.
adverb
  1. While online; while in a running or active state, or connected to the Internet.

oxen

noun
  1. An adult castrated male of cattle (B. taurus).
  2. Any bovine animal (genus Bos). A neat, a beef.
adjective
  1. Of, relating to, or resembling an ox; oxlike

xenon

noun
  1. The chemical element (symbol Xe) with an atomic number of 54. It is a colorless, odorless, unreactive noble gas, used notably in camera flash technology.

innie

noun
  1. A navel that is formed of a hollow in the abdomen (as opposed to one that protrudes from the abdomen).
  2. A vagina with inner labia minora