NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 10, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | I |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, f, m, n, o, r |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 172 points |
| Genius Level | 120 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
Table of Contents
As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!
- Spelling Bee Grid
- Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
- Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
- Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
- Today's Complete Solution
- Answer Definitions
If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).
Spelling Bee Grid
The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.
| 4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 9 |
| F | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| I | 3 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | 8 |
| M | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 11 |
| N | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| O | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| R | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 | Σ | 11 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CI×1 CO×7 CR×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FI×1 FO×2 |
| I | IC×2 IN×3 IO×1 IR×2 |
| M | MI×10 MO×1 |
| N | NO×1 |
| O | OM×1 ON×1 |
| R | RI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CIR×1 COF×1 COI×2 COM×1 CON×3 CRO×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FIR×1 FOC×1 FOR×1 |
| I | ICO×2 INF×3 ION×1 IRO×2 |
| M | MIC×3 MIF×1 MIM×1 MIN×4 MIR×1 MOR×1 |
| N | NOI×1 |
| O | OMI×1 ONI×1 |
| R | RIC×1 RIF×1 |
Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)
The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.
Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.
Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (†).
| Word | 2L Ref | Definition (click to reveal) |
|---|---|---|
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers. |
| co.... | CO6 | A rectangular closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial. |
| co.. | CO4 | A hairdo. |
| co.. | CO4 | A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle. |
| co... | CO5 | Pertaining to comedy, as a literary genre. |
| co..... † | CO7 | To strengthen; to make firm or resolute. |
| co... | CO5 | Synonym of conical |
| co...... † | CO8 | Having the form of a cone |
| cr... | CR5 | plural of crocus |
| fi.. | FI4 | A business partnership; the name under which it trades. |
| fo.. | FO4 | plural of focus |
| fo.... | FO6 | Of or pertaining to ants. |
| ic.. | IC4 | An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion. |
| ic.... | IC6 | Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon. |
| in.... | IN6 | Weak or ill, not in good health. |
| in.. | IN4 | information. |
| in.... | IN6 | To instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge). |
| io... | IO5 | of, relating to, or containing ions |
| ir.. | IR4 | A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel. |
| ir.... | IR6 | (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony. |
| mi... | MI5 | Small, relatively small; used to contrast levels of the noun modified. |
| mi....... | MI9 | Microfilm, microfiche or similar materials. |
| mi.... | MI6 | The thousandth part of one millimeter; the millionth part of a meter. |
| mi.. | MI4 | A small argument; a quarrel. |
| mi... | MI5 | To imitate, especially in order to ridicule. |
| mi.. | MI4 | Miniature, tiny, small. |
| mi... | MI5 | A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem. |
| mi.... | MI6 | A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being. |
| mi... | MI5 | Lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly: |
| mi.... | MI6 | 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. |
| mo..... | MO7 | having a mental age of between seven and twelve years |
| no.. | NO4 | Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre |
| om..... | OM7 | The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming the 15th star of a constellation or the 15th discovered major variant of a disease. |
| on... | ON5 | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| ri... | RI5 | An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A repeated instrumental melody line in a song. |
Today's Complete Solution
The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.
Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.
- cirri (CI5)
- coffin (CO6)
- coif (CO4)
- coin (CO4)
- comic (CO5)
- confirm† (CO7)
- conic (CO5)
- coniform† (CO8)
- croci (CR5)
- firm (FI4)
- foci (FO4)
- formic (FO6)
- icon (IC4)
- iconic (IC6)
- infirm (IN6)
- info (IN4)
- inform (IN6)
- ionic (IO5)
- iron (IR4)
- ironic (IR6)
- micro (MI5)
- microform (MI9)
- micron (MI6)
- miff (MI4)
- mimic (MI5)
- mini (MI4)
- minim (MI5)
- minion (MI6)
- minor (MI5)
- mirror (MI6)
- moronic (MO7)
- noir (NO4)
- omicron (OM7)
- onion (ON5)
- ricin (RI5)
- riff (RI4)
Answer Definitions
- cirri (noun): plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers.
- coffin (noun): A rectangular closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial.
- coif (noun): A hairdo.
- coin (noun): A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle.
- comic (adjective): Pertaining to comedy, as a literary genre.
- confirm† (verb): To strengthen; to make firm or resolute.
- conic (adjective): Synonym of conical
- coniform† (adjective): Having the form of a cone
- croci (noun): plural of crocus
- firm (noun): A business partnership; the name under which it trades.
- foci (noun): plural of focus
- formic (adjective): Of or pertaining to ants.
- icon (noun): An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion.
- iconic (adjective): Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
- infirm (adjective): Weak or ill, not in good health.
- info (noun): information.
- inform (verb): To instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).
- ionic (adjective): of, relating to, or containing ions
- iron (noun): A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.
- ironic (adjective): (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
- micro (adjective): Small, relatively small; used to contrast levels of the noun modified.
- microform (noun): Microfilm, microfiche or similar materials.
- micron (noun): The thousandth part of one millimeter; the millionth part of a meter.
- miff (noun): A small argument; a quarrel.
- mimic (verb): To imitate, especially in order to ridicule.
- mini (adjective): Miniature, tiny, small.
- minim (noun): A half note, drawn as a semibreve with a stem.
- minion (noun): A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
- minor (adjective): Lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly:
- mirror (noun): 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.
- moronic (adjective): having a mental age of between seven and twelve years
- noir (adjective): Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
- omicron (noun): The 15th letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets (16th in Ancient and Old Greek), used in ordering lists as in naming the 15th star of a constellation or the 15th discovered major variant of a disease.
- onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
- ricin (noun): An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean.
- riff (noun): A repeated instrumental melody line in a song.