Wednesday, August 14, 2024

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: 131

Number of Answers: 34

Points Needed for Genius: 92

Genius requires between 14 and 30 words. You need at least a 6-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.

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 131 was in the 32nd percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there was a score this low was on August 9, 2024.
The highest score ever was 537 on January 22, 2021.
The lowest score ever was 47 on March 27, 2023.

This puzzle's 34 possible answers rank it in the 39th percentile of all puzzles.
The last time there were fewer answers than this was on August 12, 2024.
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 August 5, 2024.

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 177
  • loll 172
  • toot 162
  • naan 158
  • nana 158
  • lilt 128
  • till 128
  • tilt 128
  • tint 119
  • mama 114
  • mamma 114
  • nene 109
  • acacia 108
  • acai 108
  • anal 105
  • onto 105
  • toon 105
  • boob 102
  • booboo 102
  • anon 101
  • onion 101
  • olio 100
  • lull 99
  • lulu 99
  • papa 97
  • call 96
  • calla 96
  • baba 95
  • poop 95
  • mitt 94
  • allay 93
  • ally 93
  • dodo 93
  • tatty 93
  • ratatat 91
  • tact 91
  • tart 91
  • tartar 91
  • attar 90
  • nanny 90
  • cocci 89
  • loon 89
  • mono 89
  • moon 89
  • radar 89
  • tutu 89
  • tattoo 88
  • array 87
  • epee 87
  • peep 87


How long are words in the Bee?

There have been 89,200 answers ever accepted in the Bee - with 10,195 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*:

  • airtram
  • amia
  • amir
  • amort
  • amrit
  • amrita
  • atma
  • maar
  • mair
  • mammati
  • mara
  • maria
  • marram
  • matt
  • miri
  • moira
  • moirai
  • momi
  • mora
  • morro
  • mort
  • motmot
  • mott
  • rami
  • tamarao
  • tarama
  • toom
  • trimotor
  • tritoma
  • varoom
  • vomito

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

ammo

noun
  1. Ammunition.
verb
  1. To load up on ammunition.

armor

noun
  1. A protective layer over a body, vehicle, or other object intended to deflect or diffuse damaging forces.
  2. A natural form of this kind of protection on an animal's body.
  3. Metal plate, protecting a ship, military vehicle, or aircraft.
  4. A tank, or other heavy mobile assault vehicle.
  5. A military formation consisting primarily of tanks or other armoured fighting vehicles, collectively.
  6. The naturally occurring surface of pebbles, rocks or boulders that line the bed of a waterway or beach and provide protection against erosion.
verb
  1. To equip something with armor or a protective coating or hardening.
  2. To provide something with an analogous form of protection.

aroma

noun
  1. A smell; especially a pleasant spicy or fragrant one.

atom

noun
  1. The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
  2. (history of science) A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.
  3. The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.
  4. In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
  5. The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.
  6. A mote of dust in a sunbeam.
  7. A very small amount; a whit.
  8. (Lisp) An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.
  9. A non-zero member of a Boolean algebra that is not a union of any other elements. Or, a non-zero member of a Boolean lattice that has only zero below it.
  10. An element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.
  11. (usually capitalised as "Atom") A member of an age group division in hockey for ten- to 11-year-olds.

imam

noun
  1. (usually capitalized) A Shi'ite Muslim leader.
  2. One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.

imitator

noun
  1. One who imitates or apes another.

maim

noun
  1. A serious wound
verb
  1. To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.

mama

noun
  1. (hypocoristic, usually childish) Mother, female parent.

mamma

Etymology 1

noun
  1. The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. (plural: mammae)
  2. An accessory cloud like a mammary in appearance, which can form on the underside of most cloud genera

Etymology 2

noun
  1. (hypocoristic, usually childish) Mother, female parent.

marmot

noun
  1. Any of several large ground-dwelling rodents of the genera Marmota and Cynomys in the squirrel family.

mart

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A market.
  2. A bargain.
verb
  1. To buy or sell in, or as in a mart.
  2. To traffic.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A license to pass the limits of a jurisdiction, or boundary of a country, for the purpose of making reprisals; a letter of marque.
  2. A brand or make of a manufactured product, especially of a motor car (in contradistinction to a model).
  3. A ship commissioned for making captures.
noun
  1. Battle; contest.

mirror

noun
  1. A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
  2. An object, person, or event that reflects or gives a picture of another.
  3. A disk, website or other resource that contains replicated data.
  4. A mirror carp.
  5. A kind of political self-help book, advising kings, princes, etc. on how to behave.
verb
  1. Of an event, activity, behaviour, etc, to be identical to, to be a copy of.
  2. To create something identical to (a web site, etc.).
  3. To reflect, as in a mirror.

mitt

noun
  1. A mitten
  2. An oversized, protective glove such as an oven mitt or a baseball mitt.
  3. (especially in plural) A hand.

moat

noun
  1. A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.
  2. An aspect of a business which makes it more "defensible" from competitors, either because of the nature of its products, services, franchise or other reason.
  3. A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.
  4. A hill or mound.
verb
  1. To surround with a moat.

momma

noun
  1. Mother
  2. A voluptuous woman.
  3. One's wife or girlfriend.

moor

Etymology 1

noun
  1. An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath
  2. A game preserve consisting of moorland.

Etymology 2

verb
  1. To cast anchor or become fastened.
  2. To fix or secure (e.g. a vessel) in a particular place by casting anchor, or by fastening with ropes, cables or chains or the like
  3. To secure or fix firmly.

moot

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A moot court.
  2. A system of arbitration in many areas of Africa in which the primary goal is to settle a dispute and reintegrate adversaries into society rather than assess penalties.
  3. A gathering of Rovers, usually in the form of a camp lasting 2 weeks.
  4. A social gathering of pagans, normally held in a public house.
  5. An assembly (usually for decision-making in a locality).
  6. A ring for gauging wooden pins.
adjective
  1. Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
  2. Being an exercise of thought; academic.
  3. Having no practical impact or relevance.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A whisper, or an insinuation, also gossip or rumors.
  2. (rural) Talk.
verb
  1. To bring up as a subject for debate, to propose.
  2. To discuss or debate.
  3. To make or declare irrelevant.
  4. To argue or plead in a supposed case.
  5. To talk or speak.
  6. To say, utter, also insinuate.

Etymology 3

noun
  1. Vagina.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. The stump of a tree; the roots and bottom end of a felled tree.
verb
  1. To take root and begin to grow.
  2. To turn up soil or dig up roots, especially an animal with the snout.

moratoria

noun
  1. An authorization to a debtor, permitting temporary suspension of payments.
  2. A suspension of an ongoing activity.

mortar

noun
  1. A mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks.
  2. A muzzle-loading, indirect fire weapon with a tube length of 10 to 20 calibers and designed to lob shells at very steep trajectories.
  3. A hollow vessel used to pound, crush, rub, grind or mix ingredients with a pestle.
verb
  1. To use mortar or plaster to join two things together.
  2. To pound in a mortar.
  3. To fire a mortar (weapon).

motivator

noun
  1. Agent noun of motivate; one who motivates.

motor

noun
  1. A machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.
  2. A motor car, or automobile.
  3. A source of power for something; an inspiration; a driving force.
  4. Any protein capable of converting chemical energy into mechanical work.
  5. The controller or prime mover of the universe; God.
  6. The fermenting mass of fruit that is the basis of pruno, or "prison wine".
verb
  1. To make a journey by motor vehicle; to drive.
  2. To move at a brisk pace.
  3. To leave.
adjective
  1. Relating to the ability to move
  2. Relating to motor cars
  3. Propelled by an internal combustion engine (as opposed to a steam engine or turbine).

motto

noun
  1. A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
  2. A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.
  3. A paper packet containing a sweetmeat, cracker, etc., together with a scrap of paper bearing a motto.

omit

verb
  1. To leave out or exclude.
  2. To fail to perform.
  3. To neglect or take no notice of.

roam

verb
  1. To wander or travel freely and with no specific destination.
  2. To use a network or service from different locations or devices.
  3. To transmit (resources) between different locations or devices, to allow comparable usage from any of them.
  4. To range or wander over.

room

Etymology 1

noun
  1. Opportunity or scope (to do something).
  2. Space for something, or to carry out an activity.
  3. A particular portion of space.
  4. Sufficient space for or to do something.
  5. A space between the timbers of a ship's frame.
  6. Place; stead.
  7. A separate part of a building, enclosed by walls, a floor and a ceiling.
  8. (with possessive pronoun) (One's) bedroom.
  9. (in the plural) A set of rooms inhabited by someone; one's lodgings.
  10. (always in the singular, metonymy) The people in a room.
  11. An area for working in a coal mine.
  12. A portion of a cave that is wider than a passage.
  13. A IRC or chat room.
  14. Place or position in society; office; rank; post, sometimes when vacated by its former occupant.
  15. Furniture sufficient to furnish a room.
verb
  1. To reside, especially as a boarder or tenant.
  2. To assign to a room; to allocate a room to.

Etymology 2

adjective
  1. Wide; spacious; roomy.

Etymology 3

adverb
  1. Far; at a distance; wide in space or extent.
  2. Off from the wind.

Etymology 4

noun
  1. A deep blue dye.

tamari

noun
  1. A type of soy sauce made without wheat, having a rich flavor.

tatami

noun
  1. Straw matting, in a standard size, used as a floor covering in Japanese houses

tomato

noun
  1. A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
  2. The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking.
  3. A shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.
  4. A desirable-looking woman.
  5. A stupid act or person.
verb
  1. To pelt with tomatoes
  2. To add tomatoes to (a dish)

tomtit

noun
  1. Petroica macrocephala, the miromiro or New Zealand tit, a bird of the Petroicidae (Australasian robin) family.

tram

Etymology 1

noun
  1. A passenger vehicle for public use that runs on tracks in the road (called a streetcar or trolley in North America).
  2. A similar vehicle for carrying materials.
  3. A people mover.
  4. An aerial cable car.
  5. A train with wheels that runs on a road; a trackless train.
  6. A car on a horse railway or tramway (horse trams preceded electric trams).
  7. The shaft of a cart.
  8. One of the rails of a tramway.
verb
  1. To operate, or conduct the business of, a tramway.
  2. To travel by tram.
  3. To transport (material) by tram.
  4. To align a component in mechanical engineering or metalworking, particularly the head of a drill press.

Etymology 2

noun
  1. A silk thread formed of two or more threads twisted together, used especially for the weft, or cross threads, of the best quality of velvets and silk goods.

trim

noun
  1. Decoration; especially, decoration placed along edges or borders.
  2. A haircut, especially a moderate one to touch up an existing style.
  3. Dress; gear; ornaments.
  4. The manner in which something is equipped or adorned; order; disposition.
  5. Sexual intercourse.
  6. The fore-and-aft angle of the vessel to the water, with reference to the cargo and ballast; the manner in which a vessel floats on the water, whether on an even keel or down by the head or stern.
  7. The arrangement of the sails with reference to the wind.
verb
  1. To reduce slightly; to cut; especially, to remove excess.
  2. To decorate or adorn; especially of a Christmas tree.
  3. (of an aircraft) To adjust pitch using trim tabs.
  4. (of a vessel) To modify the angle relative to the water by shifting cargo or ballast; to adjust for sailing; to assume, or cause to assume a certain position, or trim, in the water.
  5. (of a vessel's sails) To modify the angle (of the sails) relative to the wind, especially to set them at the most advantageous angle.
  6. To balance; to fluctuate between parties, so as to appear to favour each.
  7. To make trim; to put in due order for any purpose; to make right, neat, or pleasing; to adjust.
  8. (of timber) To dress; to make smooth.
  9. To rebuke; to reprove.
  10. To beat or thrash.
adjective
  1. Physically fit.
  2. Slender, lean.
  3. Neat or smart in appearance.
adverb
  1. In good order; properly managed or maintained.
  2. With sails well trimmed.

vomit

noun
  1. The regurgitated former contents of a stomach; vomitus.
  2. The act of regurgitating.
  3. That which causes vomiting; an emetic.
verb
  1. To regurgitate or eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; puke.
  2. To regurgitate and discharge (something swallowed); to spew.
  3. To eject from any hollow place; to belch forth; to emit.

vroom

noun
  1. The sound of an engine revving up.
verb
  1. To move with great speed; to zoom.
interjection
  1. The sound of an engine revving up.

marm

noun
  1. Madam; a polite term of address for a lady.