Monday, December 22, 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: 2

Maximum Puzzle Score: 270

Number of Answers: 59

Points Needed for Genius: 189

Genius requires between 27 and 50 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangrams, you need 78% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangrams, 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 270 was in the 88th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this high was on December 20, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 59 possible answers rank it in the 90th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on December 20, 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 December 21, 2025.

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 225
  • loll 209
  • toot 205
  • naan 186
  • nana 186
  • lilt 149
  • till 149
  • tilt 149
  • nene 145
  • tint 144
  • mama 141
  • mamma 141
  • onion 136
  • onto 136
  • toon 136
  • acacia 134
  • acai 134
  • anal 128
  • anon 127
  • olio 122
  • dodo 120
  • tact 119
  • baba 118
  • papa 118
  • boob 116
  • booboo 116
  • lull 115
  • lulu 115
  • poop 115
  • call 112
  • calla 112
  • cocci 112
  • mitt 112
  • mono 112
  • moon 112
  • ratatat 110
  • tart 110
  • tartar 110
  • tutu 110
  • attar 109
  • loon 109
  • tattoo 109
  • allay 108
  • ally 108
  • ammo 107
  • momma 107
  • tatty 106
  • roar 104
  • epee 103
  • meme 103


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 111,224 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,879 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*:

  • deuced
  • duce
  • duded
  • dudeen
  • duelled
  • duende
  • dulce
  • ekuele
  • kune
  • leku
  • leud
  • luce
  • lucence
  • lude
  • lunule
  • neuk
  • nulled
  • nuncle
  • ukelele
  • unde
  • undecked
  • undee
  • undeluded
  • undulled
  • unended
  • unkeeled
  • unkend
  • unkenned
  • unkennel
  • unkenneled
  • unkennelled
  • unled

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

cellule

No Definition Found.

cluck

noun
  1. The sound made by a hen, especially when brooding, or calling her chicks.
  2. Any sound similar to this.
  3. A kind of tongue click used to urge on a horse.
verb
  1. To make such a sound.
  2. To cause (the tongue) to make a clicking sound.
  3. To call together, or call to follow, as a hen does her chickens.
  4. To suffer withdrawal from heroin.

clucked

verb
  1. To make such a sound.
  2. To cause (the tongue) to make a clicking sound.
  3. To call together, or call to follow, as a hen does her chickens.
  4. To suffer withdrawal from heroin.

clue

noun
  1. A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide.
  2. Information which may lead one to a certain point or conclusion.
  3. An object or a kind of indication which may be used as evidence.
  4. Insight or understanding ("to have a clue [about]" or "to have clue". See have a clue, clue stick)
verb
  1. To provide with a clue.
  2. To provide someone with information which he or she lacks (often used with "in" or "up").

clued

verb
  1. To provide with a clue.
  2. To provide someone with information which he or she lacks (often used with "in" or "up").

clunk

noun
  1. A dull, metallic sound, especially one made by two bodies coming into contact.
  2. The sound of liquid coming out of a bottle, etc.; a glucking sound.
verb
  1. To make such a sound

clunked

verb
  1. To make such a sound

cuddle

noun
  1. A snuggle; an affectionate embrace, often given to family members and close friends.
verb
  1. To embrace affectionately, lie together snugly.
  2. To cradle in one's arms so as to give comfort, warmth.
  3. To lie close or snug; to crouch; to nestle.

cuddled

verb
  1. To embrace affectionately, lie together snugly.
  2. To cradle in one's arms so as to give comfort, warmth.
  3. To lie close or snug; to crouch; to nestle.

cued

No Definition Found.

cuke

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A cucumber.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A cucoloris.

cull

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A selection.
  2. An organised killing of selected animals.
  3. (farming) An individual animal selected to be killed, or item of produce to be discarded.
  4. (seafood industry) A lobster having only one claw.
  5. A piece unfit for inclusion within a larger group; an inferior specimen.
verb
  1. To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group).
  2. To gather, collect.
  3. To select animals from a group and then kill them in order to reduce the numbers of the group in a controlled manner.
  4. To kill (animals etc).
  5. To lay off in order to reduce the size of, get rid of.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A fool, gullible person; a dupe.

culled

verb
  1. To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group).
  2. To gather, collect.
  3. To select animals from a group and then kill them in order to reduce the numbers of the group in a controlled manner.
  4. To kill (animals etc).
  5. To lay off in order to reduce the size of, get rid of.

deduce

verb
  1. To reach a conclusion by applying rules of logic to given premises.
  2. To take away; to deduct; to subtract.
  3. (Latinism) To lead forth.

deduced

verb
  1. To reach a conclusion by applying rules of logic to given premises.
  2. To take away; to deduct; to subtract.
  3. (Latinism) To lead forth.

delude

verb
  1. To deceive into believing something which is false; to lead into error; to dupe.
  2. To frustrate or disappoint.

deluded

verb
  1. To deceive into believing something which is false; to lead into error; to dupe.
  2. To frustrate or disappoint.
adjective
  1. Being affected by delusions.

denude

verb
  1. To divest of all covering; to make bare or naked; to strip.

denuded

verb
  1. To divest of all covering; to make bare or naked; to strip.
adjective
  1. Exposed by erosion

deuce

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards.
  2. A side of a die with two spots.
  3. A cast of dice totalling two.
  4. The number two.
  5. A tied game where either player can win by scoring two consecutive points.
  6. A curveball.
  7. A '32 Ford.
  8. (in the plural) 2-barrel (twin choke) carburetors (in the phrase 3 deuces: an arrangement on a common intake manifold).
  9. (restaurants) A table seating two diners.
  10. A piece of excrement.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (epithet) The Devil, used in exclamations of confusion or anger.

duck

Etymology 1

verb
  1. To quickly lower the head or body in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  2. To quickly lower (the head) in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  3. To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
  4. To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
  5. To bow.
  6. To evade doing something.
  7. To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
  8. To enter a place for a short moment.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet.
  2. Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.
  3. The flesh of a duck used as food.
  4. A batsman's score of zero after getting out. (short for duck's egg, since the digit "0" is round like an egg.)
  5. A playing card with the rank of two.
  6. A partly-flooded cave passage with limited air space.
  7. A building intentionally constructed in the shape of an everyday object to which it is related.
  8. A marble to be shot at with another marble (the shooter) in children's games.
  9. A cairn used to mark a trail.
  10. One of the weights used to hold a spline in place for the purpose of drawing a curve.
  11. A long-necked medical urinal for men.
noun
  1. A person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled.
  2. An elected official who has lost the recent election or is not eligible for reelection and is marking time until leaving office.
  3. A person who cannot fulfill their contracts.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A tightly-woven cotton fabric used as sailcloth.
  2. (in plural) Trousers made of such material.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A term of endearment; pet; darling.
  2. Dear, mate (informal way of addressing a friend or stranger).

ducked

verb
  1. To quickly lower the head or body in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  2. To quickly lower (the head) in order to prevent it from being struck by something.
  3. To lower (something) into water; to thrust or plunge under liquid and suddenly withdraw.
  4. To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to plunge one's head into water or other liquid.
  5. To bow.
  6. To evade doing something.
  7. To lower the volume of (a sound) so that other sounds in the mix can be heard more clearly.
  8. To enter a place for a short moment.

dude

noun
  1. A man, generally a younger man.
  2. (used in the vocative) A term of address for someone, typically a man, particularly when cautioning him or offering him advice.
  3. An inexperienced cowboy.
  4. A tourist.
  5. A man who is very concerned about his dress and appearance; a dandy, a fop.
verb
  1. To address someone as dude.
  2. To take a vacation in a dude ranch.
  3. Usually followed by up: to dress up, to wear smart or special clothes.
interjection
  1. A term of address, usually for a man, conveying awe, excitement, surprise, etc.

duel

noun
  1. Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
  2. Historically, the wager of battle (judicial combat)
  3. Any struggle between two contending persons, groups or ideas.
verb
  1. To engage in a battle.

dueled

verb
  1. To engage in a battle.

duke

noun
  1. The male ruler of a duchy (female equivalent: duchess).
  2. The sovereign of a small state.
  3. A high title of nobility; the male holder of a dukedom.
  4. A grand duke.
  5. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the Asian genera Bassarona and Dophla.
  6. (usually in the plural) A fist.
verb
  1. To hit or beat with the fists.
  2. To give cash to; to give a tip to.

duked

No Definition Found.

dull

verb
  1. To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
  2. To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
  3. To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
  4. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
adjective
  1. Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
  2. Boring; not exciting or interesting.
  3. Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
  4. Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
  5. Sluggish, listless.
  6. Cloudy, overcast.
  7. Insensible; unfeeling.
  8. Heavy; lifeless; inert.
  9. (of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
  10. (of a noise or sound) Not clear, muffled.

dulled

verb
  1. To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
  2. To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
  3. To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
  4. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.

dunce

noun
  1. An unintelligent person.

dune

noun
  1. A ridge or hill of sand piled up by the wind.

dunk

No Definition Found.

dunked

No Definition Found.

dunned

verb
  1. To ask or beset a debtor for payment.
  2. To harass by continually repeating e.g. a request.
verb
  1. To cure, as codfish, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with saltgrass or a similar substance.

educe

noun
  1. An inference.
verb
  1. To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction.
  2. To infer or deduce (a result, theory etc.) from existing data or premises.
  3. To draw out or bring forth from some basic or potential state; to elicit, to develop.
  4. To isolate (a substance) from a compound; to extract.
  5. To cause or generate; to bring about.

educed

verb
  1. To direct the course of (a flow, journey etc.); to lead in a particular direction.
  2. To infer or deduce (a result, theory etc.) from existing data or premises.
  3. To draw out or bring forth from some basic or potential state; to elicit, to develop.
  4. To isolate (a substance) from a compound; to extract.
  5. To cause or generate; to bring about.
adjective
  1. Evoked
  2. Deduced

elude

verb
  1. To evade, or escape from someone or something, especially by using cunning or skill
  2. To shake off a pursuer; to give someone the slip
  3. To escape understanding of; to be incomprehensible to

eluded

verb
  1. To evade, or escape from someone or something, especially by using cunning or skill
  2. To shake off a pursuer; to give someone the slip
  3. To escape understanding of; to be incomprehensible to

endue

verb
  1. To pass food into the stomach; to digest; also figuratively, to take on, absorb.
  2. To take on, to take the form of.
  3. To put on (a piece of clothing); to clothe (someone with something).
  4. To invest (someone) with a given quality, property etc.; to endow.

endued

verb
  1. To pass food into the stomach; to digest; also figuratively, to take on, absorb.
  2. To take on, to take the form of.
  3. To put on (a piece of clothing); to clothe (someone with something).
  4. To invest (someone) with a given quality, property etc.; to endow.

knuckle

noun
  1. Any of the joints between the phalanges of the fingers.
  2. (by extension) A mechanical joint.
  3. A cut of meat.
  4. The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to the pockets on a cue sports table.
  5. The kneejoint of a quadruped, especially of a calf; formerly used of the kneejoint of a human being.
  6. The joint of a plant.
  7. A convex portion of a vessel's figure where a sudden change of shape occurs, as in a canal boat, where a nearly vertical side joins a nearly flat bottom.
  8. A contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the hand, to add force to a blow, and to disfigure the person struck; a knuckle duster.
  9. The rounded point where a flat changes to a slope on a piste.
verb
  1. To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles.
  2. To bend the fingers.
  3. To touch one's forehead as a mark of respect.
  4. To yield.

knuckled

verb
  1. To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles.
  2. To bend the fingers.
  3. To touch one's forehead as a mark of respect.
  4. To yield.
adjective
  1. (chiefly in combination) Having a certain type of knuckles.

kudu

noun
  1. A large, striped, African antelope of the species Tragelaphus imberbis (the lesser kudu) or Tragelaphus strepsiceros (the greater kudu).

luck

noun
  1. Something that happens to someone by chance, a chance occurrence, especially a favourable one.
  2. A superstitious feeling that brings fortune or success.
  3. Success.
  4. The results of a random number generator.
verb
  1. To succeed by chance.
  2. To rely on luck.
  3. To carry out relying on luck.

lucked

verb
  1. To succeed by chance.
  2. To rely on luck.
  3. To carry out relying on luck.

lull

noun
  1. A period of rest or soothing.
  2. A period of reduced activity; a respite
  3. A period without waves or wind.
  4. An extended pause between sets of waves.
verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulled

verb
  1. To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm
  2. To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate.

lulu

noun
  1. A remarkable person, object or idea.
  2. A very attractive or alluring person.
  3. A very bad mistake or error.
  4. A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

lune

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A fit of lunacy or madness; a period of frenzy; a crazy or unreasonable freak.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A concave figure formed by the intersection of the arcs of two circles on a plane, or on a sphere the intersection between two great semicircles.
  2. Anything crescent-shaped.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. (hawking) A leash for a hawk.

lunk

noun
  1. A fool; an idiot; a lunkhead.

nude

noun
  1. A painting, sculpture, photograph or other artwork or mass-media-reproduced image depicting one or more human figure(s) in a state of near or total undress.
  2. (with article, "the nude") The state of total nudity.
  3. A color that resembles or evokes bare flesh; a paint, dye, etc. of such color.
adjective
  1. Without clothing or other covering of the skin; without clothing on the genitals or female nipples.
  2. Characterized by the nudity of people concerned or to whom the described noun is attributed.
  3. (of clothing, makeup, etc) Of a color (such as beige or tan) that evokes bare flesh.
  4. Not valid; void.

nuke

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A nuclear weapon.
  2. (by extension) Something that destroys or negates, especially on a catastrophic scale.
  3. A nuclear power station.
  4. A vessel such as a ship or submarine running on nuclear power.
  5. A person (such as a sailor in a navy or a scientist) who works with nuclear weapons or nuclear power.
  6. A microwave oven.
verb
  1. To use a nuclear weapon on a target.
  2. To destroy or erase completely.
  3. (by extension) To carry out a denial-of-service attack against (an IRC user).
  4. To expose to some form of radiation.
  5. To cook in a microwave oven.
  6. To over-analyze or overly despair over something.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A nucleus colony; a small bee colony created from a larger colony.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. The spinal cord.
  2. The back of the neck, the nape; of an animal: the back of the head or the portion of the body behind the head.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
  2. A hidden or secluded spot; a secluded retreat.
  3. A recess, cove or hollow.
  4. An English unit of land area, originally 1/4 of a yardland but later 12 1/2 or 20 acres.
  5. A corner of a piece of land; an angled piece of land, especially one extending into other land.

nuked

verb
  1. To use a nuclear weapon on a target.
  2. To destroy or erase completely.
  3. (by extension) To carry out a denial-of-service attack against (an IRC user).
  4. To expose to some form of radiation.
  5. To cook in a microwave oven.
  6. To over-analyze or overly despair over something.

null

noun
  1. A non-existent or empty value or set of values.
  2. Zero quantity of expressions; nothing.
  3. Something that has no force or meaning.
  4. The ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, that indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.
  5. The attribute of an entity that has no valid value.
  6. One of the beads in nulled work.
  7. Null hypothesis.
verb
  1. To nullify; to annul.
  2. To form nulls, or into nulls, as in a lathe.
  3. To crack; to remove restrictions or limitations in (software).
adjective
  1. Having no validity; "null and void"
  2. Insignificant.
  3. Absent or non-existent.
  4. Of the null set.
  5. Of or comprising a value of precisely zero.
  6. (of a mutation) Causing a complete loss of gene function, amorphic.

ukulele

noun
  1. A small four-stringed guitar.

unceded

No Definition Found.

uncle

noun
  1. The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
  2. The male cousin of one’s parent.
  3. A companion to one's (usually unmarried) mother.
  4. A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
  5. A pawnbroker.
  6. An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
  7. An older male African-American person.
verb
  1. To address somebody by the term uncle.
  2. To act like, or as, an uncle.
interjection
  1. A cry used to indicate surrender.

undue

adjective
  1. Excessive; going beyond that what is natural or sufficient.
  2. That which ought not to be done; illegal; unjustified.
  3. (of a payment etc) Not owing or payable.

unneeded

adjective
  1. Not needed.