Tuesday, December 23, 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: 168

Number of Answers: 41

Points Needed for Genius: 118

Genius requires between 18 and 36 words. You need at least a 7-letter word to reach genius. If you don't get the pangram, you need 77% of the total points to reach genius. If you get the pangram, you only need 67% 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 168 was in the 48th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on December 19, 2025.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 41 possible answers rank it in the 54th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were more answers than this was on December 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 7-letter word for genius.
The last time this happened was on December 22, 2025.

Today's puzzle has an average word length of 5.2.
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 150
  • till 150
  • tilt 150
  • nene 145
  • tint 144
  • mama 141
  • mamma 141
  • onion 136
  • onto 136
  • toon 136
  • acacia 134
  • acai 134
  • anal 128
  • anon 127
  • olio 123
  • dodo 120
  • tact 119
  • baba 118
  • papa 118
  • boob 116
  • booboo 116
  • lull 115
  • lulu 115
  • poop 115
  • cocci 113
  • call 112
  • calla 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 111,265 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*:

  • clit
  • clitic
  • coccic
  • coccid
  • coccoid
  • colitic
  • cotyloid
  • coyotillo
  • cyclicity
  • cyclicly
  • cyclitol
  • cycloid
  • cytolytic
  • dicot
  • dicotyl
  • dicty
  • dicyclic
  • dicycly
  • dido
  • didy
  • diol
  • doit
  • dolci
  • dottily
  • ictic
  • illitic
  • iodic
  • iodid
  • lido
  • lilo
  • litotic
  • loid
  • loti
  • lotic
  • lytic
  • ocotillo
  • odic
  • oidioid
  • oilily
  • oolitic
  • ootid
  • otic
  • otitic
  • tictoc
  • tiddly
  • titi
  • titty
  • toit
  • yill

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

city

noun
  1. A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.
  2. A settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.
  3. The central business district; downtown.
  4. A large amount of something (used after the noun).

cocci

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Any approximately spherical bacterium.
  2. One of the carpels or seed-vessels of a dry fruit.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Coccidioidomycosis

codicil

noun
  1. An addition or supplement that explains, modifies, or revokes a will or part of one.

coil

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
  2. Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.
  3. A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.
  4. Entanglement; perplexity.
verb
  1. To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.
  2. To wind into loops (roughly) around a common center.
  3. To wind cylindrically or spirally.
  4. To encircle and hold with, or as if with, coils.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.

colic

noun
  1. Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).
  2. A medicinal plant used to relieve such symptoms.
adjective
  1. Relating to the colon; colonic.

colloid

noun
  1. A stable system of two phases, one of which is dispersed in the other in the form of very small droplets or particles.
  2. An intimate mixture of two substances one of which, called the dispersed phase (or colloid), is uniformly distributed in a finely divided state throughout the second substance, called the dispersion medium (or dispersing medium).
  3. A particle less than 1 micron in diameter, following the Wentworth scale
adjective
  1. Glue-like; gelatinous.

cyclic

adjective
  1. Characterized by, or moving in cycles, or happening at regular intervals.
  2. (of a compound) Having chains of atoms arranged in a ring.
  3. Having parts arranged in a whorl.
  4. (of a group) Being generated by only one element.
  5. (of a polygon) Able to be inscribed in a circle.

diddly

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A small amount of no worth.

Etymology 2

interjection
  1. A written representation of a trill sound.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. (sometimes childish) penis

dildo

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use.
  2. An idiot, a bore.
  3. A columnar cactaceous plant of the West Indies (Pilosocereus royenii).
verb
  1. To penetrate with a dildo or with another object as if it were a dildo.

Etymology 2

interjection
  1. A burden: a phrase or theme that recurs at the end of a verse of a folk song.

dill

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
  2. A cucumber pickled with dill flavoring
  3. A fool.
verb
  1. To cook or flavor with dill

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To still; to assuage; to calm; to soothe, as one in pain.

dilly

Etymology 1

adjective
  1. Redolent of dill (the herb).

Etymology 2

noun
  1. Someone or something that is remarkable or unusual.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. A dilly bag.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A kind of stagecoach.

ditto

noun
  1. That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the above, the same, likewise.
  2. A duplicate or copy of a document, particularly one created by a spirit duplicator.
  3. A copy; an imitation.
  4. A symbol, represented by two apostrophes, inverted commas, or quotation marks (" "), when indicating that the item preceding is to be repeated.
  5. (in the plural) A suit of clothes of the same colour throughout.
verb
  1. To repeat the aforesaid, the earlier action etc.
adverb
  1. As said before, likewise.
interjection
  1. Used as an expression of agreement with what another person has said, or to indicate that what they have said equally applies to the person being addressed.

ditty

noun
  1. A short verse or tune.
  2. A saying or utterance, especially one that is short and frequently repeated.
verb
  1. To sing; to warble a little tune.

docility

No Definition Found.

doily

noun
  1. A small ornamental piece of lace or linen or paper used to protect a surface from scratches by hard objects such as vases or bowls; or to decorate a plate of food.
  2. An old kind of woollen material.

icily

No Definition Found.

idiocy

noun
  1. The state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average; mental retardation.
  2. An act lacking intelligence or sense; an instance of senselessness; extremely foolish behaviour.

idiot

noun
  1. A person of low general intelligence.
  2. A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
  3. A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.
adjective
  1. Idiotic, stupid

idiotic

adjective
  1. (of a person or animal) Pertaining to or resembling an idiot; characterised with behaviour resembling idiocy.
  2. (of an action) Having the quality of idiocy; very foolish

idly

adverb
  1. In an idle manner.
  2. Without specific purpose, intent or effort.

idol

noun
  1. A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
  2. A cultural icon, or especially popular person.
  3. (originally Japan) Popular entertainer; usually young, captivating, attractive; and often female, with an image of being close to fans.
  4. An eidolon or phantom; something misleading or elusive.

idyl

noun
  1. Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls.
  2. An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience.
  3. A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character, e.g. Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner.

idyll

noun
  1. Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls.
  2. An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience.
  3. A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character, e.g. Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner.

idyllic

noun
  1. An idyllic state or situation. (A substantive use of the adjective)
adjective
  1. Of or pertaining to idylls.
  2. Extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque.

illicit

noun
  1. A banned or unlawful item.
adjective
  1. Not approved by law, but not invalid.
  2. Breaking social norms.
  3. Unlawful.

illicitly

adverb
  1. In an illicit manner; illegally, immorally or inappropriately.

illy

No Definition Found.

licit

adjective
  1. Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
  2. Explicitly established or constituted by law.

licitly

No Definition Found.

lilt

noun
  1. Animated, brisk motion; spirited rhythm; sprightliness.
  2. A lively song or dance; a cheerful tune.
  3. A cheerful or melodious accent when speaking.
verb
  1. To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
  2. To sing cheerfully, especially in Gaelic.
  3. To utter with spirit, animation, or gaiety; to sing with spirit and liveliness.

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).

loci

noun
  1. A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.
  2. The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.
  3. A fixed position on a chromosome that may be occupied by one or more genes.
  4. (chiefly in the plural) A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.

oddity

noun
  1. An odd or strange thing or opinion.
  2. A strange person; an oddball.
  3. Strangeness.

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.

olio

noun
  1. A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
  2. A medley or mixture; a hotchpotch.
  3. A collection of various musical, theatrical or other artistic works; a miscellany.
  4. (by extension) Vaudeville or similar miscellaneous musical or theatrical entertainment skits presented between the main acts of burlesque or minstrel shows.

tidily

No Definition Found.

tidy

noun
  1. A tabletop container for pens and stationery.
  2. A cover, often of tatting, drawn work, or other ornamental work, for the back of a chair, the arms of a sofa, etc.
  3. A child's pinafore.
  4. The wren.
verb
  1. To make tidy; to neaten.
adjective
  1. Arranged neatly and in order.
  2. Not messy; neat and controlled.
  3. Satisfactory; comfortable.
  4. Generous, considerable.
  5. In good time; at the right time; timely; seasonable; opportune; favourable; fit; suitable.
  6. Brave; smart; skillful; fine; good.
  7. Appropriate or suitable as regards occasion, circumstances, arrangement, or order.
interjection
  1. Expression of positive agreement, usually in reply to a question.

till

Etymology 1

preposition
  1. Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
  2. To, up to (physically).
  3. To make it possible that.
conjunction
  1. Until, until the time that.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A cash register.
  2. A removable box within a cash register containing the money.
  3. The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.
  4. A tray or drawer in a chest.

Etymology 3

verb
  1. To develop so as to improve or prepare for usage; to cultivate (said of knowledge, virtue, mind etc.).
  2. To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops.
  3. To cultivate soil.
  4. To prepare; to get.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. Glacial drift consisting of a mixture of clay, sand, pebbles and boulders
  2. Manure or other material used to fertilize land

Etymology 5

noun
  1. A vetch; a tare.

tilt

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A slope or inclination.
  2. The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.
  3. The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.
  4. A jousting contest.
  5. An attempt at something, such as a tilt at public office.
  6. A thrust, as with a lance.
  7. A tilt hammer.
verb
  1. To slope or incline (something); to slant.
  2. (jousting) To charge (at someone) with a lance.
  3. To be at an angle.
  4. To point or thrust a weapon at.
  5. To point or thrust (a weapon).
  6. To forge (something) with a tilt hammer.
  7. To play worse than usual (often as a result of previous bad luck or losses).
  8. (of a machine) To intentionally let the ball fall down to the drain by disabling flippers and most targets, done as a punishment to the player when the machine is nudged too violently or frequently.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A canvas covering for carts, boats, etc.
  2. Any covering overhead; especially, a tent.
verb
  1. To cover with a tilt, or awning.

toil

noun
  1. Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
  2. Trouble, strife.
  3. (usually in plural) A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.
verb
  1. To labour; work.
  2. To struggle.
  3. To work (something); often with out.
  4. To weary through excessive labour.

itty

No Definition Found.