Tuesday, May 20, 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: 6

Maximum Puzzle Score: 289

Number of Answers: 45

Points Needed for Genius: 202

Genius requires between 21 and 40 words. You need at least a 9-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 107% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, you only need 54% of the remaining points to reach genius.

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 289 was in the 92nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on May 17, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 45 possible answers rank it in the 65th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on May 19, 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 9-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on May 7, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 6.1.
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 199
  • loll 194
  • toot 187
  • naan 171
  • nana 171
  • lilt 139
  • till 139
  • tilt 139
  • tint 136
  • nene 131
  • mama 130
  • mamma 130
  • acacia 123
  • acai 123
  • onto 123
  • toon 123
  • onion 119
  • anal 116
  • olio 114
  • anon 112
  • boob 112
  • booboo 112
  • baba 108
  • tact 108
  • dodo 107
  • papa 107
  • poop 106
  • lull 105
  • lulu 105
  • call 104
  • calla 104
  • ratatat 104
  • tart 104
  • tartar 104
  • attar 103
  • mitt 103
  • mono 103
  • moon 103
  • tatty 103
  • allay 101
  • ally 101
  • tattoo 101
  • ammo 100
  • momma 100
  • tutu 100
  • cocci 99
  • epee 99
  • peep 99
  • loon 97
  • loot 95


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 101,437 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,595 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*:

  • alanyl
  • aliya
  • aliyot
  • allyl
  • anality
  • anility
  • anyon
  • atalaya
  • atony
  • ayaya
  • ayin
  • inly
  • latinity
  • layin
  • linny
  • liny
  • lolly
  • loonily
  • lytta
  • natantly
  • nitty
  • noily
  • nonloyal
  • nonoily
  • nonyl
  • nyala
  • oilily
  • tannoy
  • tattily
  • tinnily
  • titty
  • tiyin
  • tiyn
  • tolyl
  • totty
  • toyo
  • toyon
  • tyin
  • tyiyn
  • yill
  • yoni

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

allay

noun
  1. Alleviation; abatement; check.
  2. An alloy.
verb
  1. To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
  2. To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate.
  3. To subside, abate, become peaceful.
  4. To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate.
  5. (by extension) To make worse by the introduction of inferior elements.

alloy

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal.
  2. A metal of lesser value, mixed with a metal of greater value.
  3. An admixture; something added which stains, taints etc.
  4. Fusion, marriage, combination.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To mix or combine; often used of metals.
  2. To reduce the purity of by mixing with a less valuable substance.
  3. To impair or debase by mixture.

ally

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A person, group, or state (etc) which is associated with another for a common cause; one united to another by treaty or common purpose; a confederate.
  2. A person, group, concept (etc) which is associated with another as a helper; a supporter; an auxiliary.
  3. Anything akin to something else by structure, etc.
  4. A closely related species, usually within the same family.
  5. A relative; a kinsman.
verb
  1. To unite, or form a connection between, as between families by marriage, or between princes and states by treaty, league, or confederacy.
  2. To connect or form a relation between by similitude, resemblance, friendship, or love.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings.
  2. The area between the outfielders.
  3. An establishment where bowling is played.
  4. An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
  5. The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
  6. A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes.
  7. A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
  8. (perspective drawing) Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
  9. The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
noun
  1. A glass marble or taw.

anally

No Definition Found.

annoy

noun
  1. A feeling of discomfort or vexation caused by what one dislikes.
  2. That which causes such a feeling.
verb
  1. To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
  2. To do something to upset or anger someone; to be troublesome.
  3. To molest; to harm; to injure.

atonality

No Definition Found.

atonally

No Definition Found.

illy

No Definition Found.

inanity

noun
  1. The property of being inane, of lacking material of interest or satisfaction, emptiness.
  2. Something that is inane.

initially

adverb
  1. At the beginning.

inlay

noun
  1. The material placed within a different material in the form of a decoration.
  2. A filling for a tooth, made of ceramic or gold to fit the cavity and shape of tooth and cemented into place.
  3. The piece of paper or the booklet inside the case of a CD or DVD
verb
  1. To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.
  2. To place an inlay in a tooth.

laity

noun
  1. People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.
  2. The common man or woman.
  3. The unlearned, untrained or ignorant.

lily

noun
  1. Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
  2. Any of several species of herbaceous flower which may or may not resemble the genus Lilium in some way, and which are not closely related to it or each other.
  3. The flower used as a heraldic charge; also commonly used to describe the fleur-de-lis.
  4. The end of a compass needle that should point north, traditionally often ornamented with the figure of a lily or fleur-de-lis.
  5. (usually in the plural) A royal spade in auction bridge.
  6. The thirtieth Lenormand card, representing calmness and maturity.
adjective
  1. White (as a racial epithet).

linty

No Definition Found.

litany

noun
  1. A ritual liturgical prayer in which a series of prayers recited by a leader are alternated with responses from the congregation.
  2. A prolonged or tedious list.

loony

noun
  1. An insane or very foolish person.
adjective
  1. (of a person) Insane.
  2. (of a thing) Very silly, absurd.

loyal

adjective
  1. Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something.
  2. Firm in allegiance to a person or institution.
  3. Faithful to a person or cause.

loyally

adverb
  1. In a loyal manner, faithfully.

loyalty

noun
  1. The state of being loyal; fidelity.
  2. Faithfulness or devotion to some person, cause or nation.

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.

natality

noun
  1. The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year.
  2. The human ability to create new ideas, institutions and frameworks out of nothing.

nationality

noun
  1. Membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.
  2. National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity.
  3. A people sharing a common origin, culture and/or language, and possibly constituting a nation-state.
  4. Political existence, independence or unity as a national entity.
  5. Nationalism or patriotism.

nationally

adverb
  1. In a way relating to the whole nation.

nattily

No Definition Found.

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

ninny

noun
  1. A silly or foolish person.

notionality

No Definition Found.

notionally

No Definition Found.

nylon

noun
  1. Originally, the DuPont company trade name for polyamide, a copolymer whose molecules consist of alternating diamine and dicarboxylic acid monomers bonded together; now generically used for this type of polymer.
  2. (in the plural) A stocking originally fabricated from nylon; also used generically for any long, sheer stocking worn on a woman's legs.

oaty

No Definition Found.

oily

noun
  1. A marble with an oily lustre.
  2. (in the plural) Oilskins. (waterproof garment)
adjective
  1. Relating to or resembling oil.
  2. Covered with or containing oil.
  3. Excessively friendly or polite but insincere.

oniony

No Definition Found.

onlay

No Definition Found.

only

noun
  1. An only child.
adjective
  1. Alone in a category.
  2. Singularly superior; the best.
  3. Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
  4. Mere.
adverb
  1. Without others or anything further; exclusively.
  2. No more than; just.
  3. As recently as.
  4. Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.
  5. Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned. See also only to, only for.
  6. Above all others; particularly.
conjunction
  1. Under the condition that; but.
  2. But; except.

tally

Etymology 1

interjection
  1. Target sighted.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (by extension) One of two books, sheets of paper, etc., on which corresponding accounts were kept.
  2. (by extension) Any account or score kept by notches or marks, whether on wood or paper, or in a book, especially one kept in duplicate.
  3. One thing made to suit another; a match; a mate.
  4. A notch, mark, or score made on or in a tally; as, to make or earn a score or tally in a game.
  5. A tally shop.
  6. A ribbon on a sailor's cap bearing the name of the ship or the (part of) the navy to which they belong.
  7. A state of cohabitation, living with another individual in an intimate relationship outside of marriage.
noun
  1. A bone, or piece of wood, on which notches or scores are cut, as the marks of number, for account keeping.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To count something.
  2. To record something by making marks.
  3. To make things correspond or agree with each other.
  4. To keep score.
  5. To correspond or agree.
  6. To check off, as parcels of freight going inboard or outboard.

Etymology 4

adverb
  1. In a tall way; stoutly; with spirit.

tatty

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Potato

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Tattered; dilapidated, distressed, worn-out, torn

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A woven mat or screen hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters.

tinily

No Definition Found.

tinny

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to or resembling tin.
  2. Pertaining to the thinness and cheapness of tin or similar-looking metals, in contrast to a heavier, more valuable metal.
  3. Pertaining to a thin, unpleasant sound recalling that of tin being rapped.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A can of beer.
  2. A small open aluminium boat.
  3. Small package of drugs wrapped in foil.

tiny

noun
  1. A small child; an infant.
  2. Anything very small.
adjective
  1. Very small.

tonality

noun
  1. The system of seven tones built on a tonic key; the 24 major and minor scales.
  2. A sound of specific pitch and quality; timbre.
  3. The quality of all the tones in a composition heard in relation to the tonic.
  4. The interrelation of the tones in a painting.

tonally

No Definition Found.

tony

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Stylish, high-toned, upscale.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A simpleton.

totality

noun
  1. The state of being total.
  2. An aggregate quantity obtained by addition.
  3. The phase of an eclipse when it is total.

totally

adverb
  1. To the fullest extent or degree.
  2. (degree) Very; extremely.
  3. (modal) Definitely; for sure.

itty

No Definition Found.