Wednesday, May 21, 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: 133

Number of Answers: 33

Points Needed for Genius: 93

Genius requires between 14 and 29 words. You need at least a 6-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 133 was in the 32nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on May 16, 2025.
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 34th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on May 13, 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 6-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on May 16, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.1.
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
  • tutu 101
  • ammo 100
  • momma 100
  • cocci 99
  • epee 99
  • peep 99
  • loon 97
  • loot 95


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 101,470 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*:

  • emeute
  • emmet
  • keet
  • kent
  • ketene
  • mentum
  • metump
  • muktuk
  • nett
  • pentene
  • punkette
  • punnet
  • puttee
  • tenne
  • tump
  • tunket
  • unkent
  • unmeet
  • unpent

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

entente

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

kempt

adjective
  1. Neat and tidy; especially used of hair

kente

noun
  1. A type of fabric made of interwoven cloth strips, native to Ghana.

kept

verb
  1. To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.
  2. (heading) To hold the status of something.
  3. (heading) To hold or be held in a state.
  4. To wait for, keep watch for.
  5. To act as wicket-keeper.
  6. To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.
  7. To be in session; to take place.
  8. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from or violate.
  9. (by extension) To visit (a place) often; to frequent.
  10. To observe or celebrate (a holiday).

meet

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A sports competition, especially for track and field (a track meet) or swimming (a swim meet).
  2. A gathering of riders, horses and hounds for foxhunting; a field meet for hunting.
  3. A meeting of two trains in opposite directions on a single track, when one is put into a siding to let the other cross.
  4. A meeting.
  5. The greatest lower bound, an operation between pairs of elements in a lattice, denoted by the symbol ∧.
  6. An act of French kissing someone.
verb
  1. To make contact (with) while in proximity.
  2. (Of groups) To come together.
  3. To make physical or perceptual contact.
  4. To satisfy; to comply with.
  5. To balance or come out correct.
  6. To perceive; to come to a knowledge of; to have personal acquaintance with; to experience; to suffer.
  7. To be mixed with, to be combined with aspects of.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Suitable; right; proper.

mentee

noun
  1. A person who is being mentored

mete

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To measure.
  2. (usually with “out”) To dispense, measure (out), allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A boundary or other limit; a boundary-marker; mere.

Etymology 3

adjective
  1. Suitable; right; proper.

mute

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A stopped consonant; a stop.
  2. An actor who does not speak; a mime performer.
  3. A person who does not have the power of speech.
  4. A hired mourner at a funeral; an undertaker's assistant.
  5. An object for dulling the sound of an instrument, especially a brass instrument, or damper for pianoforte; a sordine.
  6. An electronic switch or control that mutes the sound.
  7. A mute swan.
verb
  1. To silence, to make quiet.
  2. To turn off the sound of.
adjective
  1. Not having the power of speech; dumb.
  2. Silent; not making a sound.
  3. Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; said of certain letters.
  4. Not giving a ringing sound when struck; said of a metal.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. The faeces of a hawk or falcon.
verb
  1. Of a bird: to defecate.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To cast off; to moult.

mutt

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin.
  2. (sometimes derogatory) A person of diverse ancestry.
  3. An idiot, a stupid person.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A monastic or similar religious establishment in Hinduism and Jainism, usually more formal and hierarchical than an ashram.

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.

punt

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole.
verb
  1. To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.
verb
  1. To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.
  2. To equivocate and delay or put off (answering a question, addressing an issue, etc).
  3. To retreat from one's objective; to abandon an effort one still notionally supports.
  4. To make the best choice from a set of non-ideal alternatives.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A point in the game of faro.
  2. The act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
  3. A bet or wager.
  4. Gambling, as a pastime, especially betting on horseraces or the dogs.
  5. A highly speculative investment or other commitment.
  6. A wild guess.
  7. An indentation in the base of a wine bottle.
  8. A thin glass rod which is temporarily attached to a larger piece in order to better manipulate the larger piece.
verb
  1. To play at basset, baccara, faro, etc.
  2. To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally
  3. To make a highly speculative investment or other commitment, or take a wild guess.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. The Irish pound, used as the unit of currency of Ireland until it was replaced by the euro in 2002.

puppet

noun
  1. Any small model of a person or animal able to be moved by strings or rods, or in the form of a glove.
  2. A person, country, etc, controlled by another.
  3. A poppet; a small image in the human form; a doll.
  4. The upright support for the bearing of the spindle in a lathe.

putt

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The act of tapping a golf ball lightly on a putting green.
verb
  1. To lightly strike a golf ball with a putter.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A regular sound characterized by the sound of "putt putt putt putt...", such as made by some slowly stroking internal combustion engines.
  2. A motorcycle.
verb
  1. To make a putting sound.
  2. To ride one's motorcycle, to go for a motorcycle ride.
  3. To move along slowly.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To place something somewhere.
  2. To bring or set into a certain relation, state or condition.
  3. To exercise a put option.
  4. To express something in a certain manner.
  5. To throw a heavy iron ball, as a sport. (See shot put. Do not confuse with putt.)
  6. To steer; to direct one's course; to go.
  7. To play a card or a hand in the game called put.
  8. To attach or attribute; to assign.
  9. To lay down; to give up; to surrender.
  10. To set before one for judgment, acceptance, or rejection; to bring to the attention.
  11. To incite; to entice; to urge; to constrain; to oblige.
  12. To convey coal in the mine, as for example from the working to the tramway.

teem

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To be stocked to overflowing.
  2. To be prolific; to abound; to be rife.
  3. To bring forth young, as an animal; to produce fruit, as a plant; to bear; to be pregnant; to conceive; to multiply.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To empty.
  2. To pour (especially with rain)
  3. To pour, as steel, from a melting pot; to fill, as a mould, with molten metal.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To think fit.

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.

teepee

verb
  1. To toilet paper; to throw toilet paper in rolls over a structure, so the structure becomes draped with it.

temp

noun
  1. Abbreviation of tempore.
noun
  1. A temporary employee, usually in an office.
  2. A temporary storage location.
verb
  1. To work as a temporary employee.
noun
  1. A measure of cold or heat, often measurable with a thermometer.
  2. An elevated body temperature, as present in fever and many illnesses.
  3. A property of macroscopic amounts of matter that serves to gauge the average intensity of the random actual motions of the individually mobile particulate constituents. http//arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0004055
  4. The state or condition of being tempered or moderated.
  5. The balance of humours in the body, or one's character or outlook as considered determined from this; temperament.
adjective
  1. Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time.
  2. Existing only for a short time or short times; transient, ephemeral.

tempt

verb
  1. To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice.
  2. To attract; to allure.
  3. To provoke something; to court.

tenement

noun
  1. A building that is rented to multiple tenants, especially a low-rent, run-down one.
  2. Any form of property that is held by one person from another, rather than being owned.
  3. Dwelling; abode; habitation.

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.

tepee

noun
  1. Alternative form of teepee

tune

noun
  1. A melody.
  2. A song, or short musical composition.
  3. The act of tuning or maintenance.
  4. The state or condition of being correctly tuned.
  5. Temper; frame of mind.
  6. A sound; a note; a tone.
  7. Order; harmony; concord.
verb
  1. To adjust (a musical instrument) so that it produces the correct pitches.
  2. To adjust or modify (esp. a mechanical or electrical device) so that it functions optimally.
  3. To adjust the frequency on a radio or TV set, so as to receive the desired channel.
  4. (e.g. of senses or faculties) To adapt to or direct towards a particular target.
  5. To make more precise, intense, or effective; to put into a proper state or disposition.
  6. To attune; to adapt in style of music; to make harmonious.
  7. To give a certain tone or character to.
  8. To sing with melody or harmony.
  9. To cheek; to be impudent towards.
interjection
  1. Used to show appreciation or approval of a song.

tuneup

noun
  1. A series of adjustments to an engine in order to improve its performance
  2. A series of preparations for vigorous exercise; a warm-up
  3. A match or race (frequently one exhibition in nature) contested as preparation for a match or race of high stakes.

tutee

noun
  1. A student of a tutor.

tutu

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Any of the genus Coriaria of shrubs and trees found in New Zealand.

umpteen

No Definition Found.

unkempt

adjective
  1. (of hair) Uncombed; dishevelled.
  2. (by extension) Disorderly; untidy; messy; not kept up.
  3. Rough; unpolished

unkept

adjective
  1. Not kept (especially of promises).

unmet

adjective
  1. Not met; unfulfilled; not achieved

untune

No Definition Found.

meetup

noun
  1. An arranged informal meeting.

unmute

No Definition Found.