NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 20, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | G |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, i, l, m, r |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 31 words |
| Total Points | 106 points |
| Genius Level | 74 points |
| Bingo? | No |
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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| D | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| G | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 19 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| M | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| R | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 18 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AG×1 AL×2 AM×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DI×1 DR×1 |
| G | GA×4 GI×4 GL×3 GR×8 |
| I | |
| L | LA×1 |
| M | MA×3 MI×1 |
| R | RI×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AGA×1 ALG×2 AMA×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DIA×1 DRA×1 |
| G | GAG×1 GAL×2 GAM×1 GIL×2 GIR×2 GLA×2 GLI×1 GRA×5 GRI×3 |
| I | |
| L | LAG×1 |
| M | MAD×1 MAG×2 MIL×1 |
| R | RIG×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ag.. | AG4 | A gelatinous material obtained from red algae, especially Gracilaria species, used as a bacterial culture medium, in electrophoresis and as a food additive. |
| al.. | AL4 | Any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms, including the seaweeds, whose size ranges from a single cell to giant kelps and whose biochemistry and forms are very diverse, some being eukaryotic. |
| al... | AL5 | Cold, chilly; used of low body temperature especially in connection with certain diseases such as malaria and cholera. |
| am..... | AM7 | An alloy containing mercury. |
| di..... | DI7 | A plan, drawing, sketch or outline to show how something works, or show the relationships between the parts of a whole. |
| dr.. | DR4 | Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it. |
| ga.. | GA4 | Mentally senile. |
| ga.. | GA4 | Celebratory; festive. |
| ga.. | GA4 | Bile, especially that of an animal; the greenish, profoundly bitter-tasting fluid found in bile ducts and gall bladders, structures associated with the liver. |
| ga... | GA5 | The third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ), preceded by beta (Β, β) and followed by delta, (Δ, δ). |
| gi.. | GI4 | To cover with a thin layer of gold; to cover with gold leaf. |
| gi.. | GI4 | a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals |
| gi.. | GI4 | To bind with a flexible rope or cord. |
| gi.. | GI4 | A female child, adolescent, or a young woman. |
| gl.. | GL4 | Pleased, happy, gratified. |
| gl.. | GL4 | Glamour. |
| gl.. | GL4 | The network of glial cells that supports nervous system tissue. |
| gr.. | GR4 | Abbreviation of graduate. |
| gr... | GR5 | The Holy Grail. |
| gr.. | GR4 | A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g. |
| gr.... | GR6 | grandmother |
| gr..... | GR7 | A system of rules and principles for speaking and writing a language. |
| gr.. | GR4 | A rectangular array of squares or rectangles of equal size, such as in a crossword puzzle. |
| gr... | GR5 | A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and liquids. Typical uses: to allow air through a fan while preventing fingers or objects from passing; to allow people to talk to somebody, while preventing attack. |
| gr.. | GR4 | Dismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding. |
| la..... | LA7 | Lagging behind; taking more time than the others in a group. |
| ma...... † | MA8 | A song for a small number of unaccompanied voices; from 13th century Italy. |
| ma.. | MA4 | plural of mage |
| ma... | MA5 | The molten matter within the earth, the source of the material of lava flows, dikes of eruptive rocks, etc. |
| mi....... | MI9 | An SI unit of mass, equivalent to one thousandth of a gram. Symbol: mg |
| ri... | RI5 | Stiff, rather than flexible. |
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.
- agar (AG4)
- alga (AL4)
- algid (AL5)
- amalgam (AM7)
- diagram (DI7)
- drag (DR4)
- gaga (GA4)
- gala (GA4)
- gall (GA4)
- gamma (GA5)
- gild (GI4)
- gill (GI4)
- gird (GI4)
- girl (GI4)
- glad (GL4)
- glam (GL4)
- glia (GL4)
- grad (GR4)
- grail (GR5)
- gram (GR4)
- gramma (GR6)
- grammar (GR7)
- grid (GR4)
- grill (GR5)
- grim (GR4)
- laggard (LA7)
- madrigal† (MA8)
- magi (MA4)
- magma (MA5)
- milligram (MI9)
- rigid (RI5)
Answer Definitions
- agar (noun): A gelatinous material obtained from red algae, especially Gracilaria species, used as a bacterial culture medium, in electrophoresis and as a food additive.
- alga (noun): Any of many aquatic photosynthetic organisms, including the seaweeds, whose size ranges from a single cell to giant kelps and whose biochemistry and forms are very diverse, some being eukaryotic.
- algid (adjective): Cold, chilly; used of low body temperature especially in connection with certain diseases such as malaria and cholera.
- amalgam (noun): An alloy containing mercury.
- diagram (noun): A plan, drawing, sketch or outline to show how something works, or show the relationships between the parts of a whole.
- drag (noun): Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it.
- gaga (adjective): Mentally senile.
- gala (adjective): Celebratory; festive.
- gall (noun): Bile, especially that of an animal; the greenish, profoundly bitter-tasting fluid found in bile ducts and gall bladders, structures associated with the liver.
- gamma (noun): The third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ), preceded by beta (Β, β) and followed by delta, (Δ, δ).
- gild (verb): To cover with a thin layer of gold; to cover with gold leaf.
- gill (noun): a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals
- gird (verb): To bind with a flexible rope or cord.
- girl (noun): A female child, adolescent, or a young woman.
- glad (adjective): Pleased, happy, gratified.
- glam (noun): Glamour.
- glia (noun): The network of glial cells that supports nervous system tissue.
- grad (noun): Abbreviation of graduate.
- grail (noun): The Holy Grail.
- gram (noun): A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g.
- gramma (noun): grandmother
- grammar (noun): A system of rules and principles for speaking and writing a language.
- grid (noun): A rectangular array of squares or rectangles of equal size, such as in a crossword puzzle.
- grill (noun): A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and liquids. Typical uses: to allow air through a fan while preventing fingers or objects from passing; to allow people to talk to somebody, while preventing attack.
- grim (adjective): Dismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding.
- laggard (adjective): Lagging behind; taking more time than the others in a group.
- madrigal† (noun): A song for a small number of unaccompanied voices; from 13th century Italy.
- magi (noun): plural of mage
- magma (noun): The molten matter within the earth, the source of the material of lava flows, dikes of eruptive rocks, etc.
- milligram (noun): An SI unit of mass, equivalent to one thousandth of a gram. Symbol: mg
- rigid (adjective): Stiff, rather than flexible.