NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 23, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, e, g, h, l |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 39 words |
| Total Points | 171 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| C | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | - | 1 | 13 |
| E | 1 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| G | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| H | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| L | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| N | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 14 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 39 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×1 AN×4 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×4 CH×5 CL×4 |
| E | EL×2 EN×4 |
| G | GA×2 GE×1 GL×3 |
| H | HA×1 HE×2 |
| L | LA×2 LE×1 |
| N | NA×2 NE×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACN×1 ANA×1 ANG×2 ANN×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAN×4 CHA×5 CLA×2 CLE×2 |
| E | ELA×1 ELE×1 ENC×1 ENG×1 ENH×1 ENL×1 |
| G | GAN×2 GEN×1 GLA×1 GLE×2 |
| H | HAN×1 HEN×2 |
| L | LAN×2 LEA×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAN×1 NEN×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ac.. | AC4 | A skin condition, usually of the face, that is common in adolescents. It is characterised by red pimples, and is caused by the inflammation of sebaceous glands through bacterial infection. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | An incorporeal and sometimes divine messenger from a deity, or other divine entity, often depicted in art as a youthful winged figure in flowing robes. |
| an... | AN5 | A figure formed by two rays which start from a common point (a plane angle) or by three planes that intersect (a solid angle). |
| an.... | AN6 | To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen. |
| ca... | CA5 | An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France. |
| ca.... | CA6 | To cross out something with lines etc. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae |
| ch....... † | CH9 | A confrontation; a dare. An antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not. A bid to overcome something. |
| ch.... | CH6 | An opportunity or possibility. |
| ch..... | CH7 | The space around the altar in a church, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir. In medieval cathedrals the chancel was usually enclosed or blocked off from the nave by an altar screen. |
| ch.... | CH6 | To become something different. |
| ch..... | CH7 | The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known. |
| cl... | CL5 | A loud, ringing sound, like that made by free-hanging metal objects striking each other. |
| cl... | CL5 | Free of dirt or impurities or protruberances. Not dirty. |
| cl.... | CL6 | To grip or hold fast. |
| el.. | EL4 | Uncommon spelling of élan. |
| el...... | EL8 | Grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners. |
| en.... | EN6 | To lock inside a cage; to imprison. |
| en.... | EN6 | To interact socially. To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. To draw into conversation. To attract, to please; to fascinate or win over (someone). |
| en..... | EN7 | To lift, raise up. |
| en.... | EN6 | To bind or encircle with lace, or as with lace |
| ga..... | GA7 | A rich sauce, made of chocolate and cream, used also as the filling of truffles, and as a glaze. |
| ga.. | GA4 | To go; walk; proceed. |
| ge.. | GE4 | A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color. |
| gl.... | GL6 | To look briefly (at something). |
| gl... | GL5 | To collect (grain, grapes, etc.) left behind after the main harvest or gathering. |
| gl.. | GL4 | A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a dale; a depression between hills. |
| ha.. | HA4 | To be or remain suspended. |
| he... | HE5 | from here, from this place, away |
| he... | HE5 | A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers |
| la... | LA5 | A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen. |
| la.. | LA4 | A road, street, or similar thoroughfare. |
| le.. | LE4 | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957. |
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.
- acne (AC4)
- anal (AN4)
- angel (AN5)
- angle (AN5)
- anneal (AN6)
- canal (CA5)
- cancan (CA6)
- cancel (CA6)
- cane (CA4)
- challenge† (CH9)
- chance (CH6)
- chancel (CH7)
- change (CH6)
- channel (CH7)
- clan (CL4)
- clang (CL5)
- clean (CL5)
- clench (CL6)
- elan (EL4)
- elegance (EL8)
- encage (EN6)
- engage (EN6)
- enhance (EN7)
- enlace (EN6)
- ganache (GA7)
- gang (GA4)
- gene (GE4)
- glance (GL6)
- glean (GL5)
- glen (GL4)
- hang (HA4)
- hence (HE5)
- henna (HE5)
- lance (LA5)
- lane (LA4)
- lean (LE4)
- naan (NA4)
- nana (NA4)
- nene (NE4)
Answer Definitions
- acne (noun): A skin condition, usually of the face, that is common in adolescents. It is characterised by red pimples, and is caused by the inflammation of sebaceous glands through bacterial infection.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- angel (noun): An incorporeal and sometimes divine messenger from a deity, or other divine entity, often depicted in art as a youthful winged figure in flowing robes.
- angle (noun): A figure formed by two rays which start from a common point (a plane angle) or by three planes that intersect (a solid angle).
- anneal (verb): To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen.
- canal (noun): An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
- cancan (noun): A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
- cancel (verb): To cross out something with lines etc.
- cane (noun): A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae
- challenge† (noun): A confrontation; a dare. An antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not. A bid to overcome something.
- chance (noun): An opportunity or possibility.
- chancel (noun): The space around the altar in a church, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir. In medieval cathedrals the chancel was usually enclosed or blocked off from the nave by an altar screen.
- change (verb): To become something different.
- channel (noun): The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks.
- clan (noun): A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known.
- clang (noun): A loud, ringing sound, like that made by free-hanging metal objects striking each other.
- clean (adjective): Free of dirt or impurities or protruberances. Not dirty.
- clench (verb): To grip or hold fast.
- elan (noun): Uncommon spelling of élan.
- elegance (noun): Grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.
- encage (verb): To lock inside a cage; to imprison.
- engage (verb): To interact socially. To engross or hold the attention of; to keep busy or occupied. To draw into conversation. To attract, to please; to fascinate or win over (someone).
- enhance (verb): To lift, raise up.
- enlace (verb): To bind or encircle with lace, or as with lace
- ganache (noun): A rich sauce, made of chocolate and cream, used also as the filling of truffles, and as a glaze.
- gang (verb): To go; walk; proceed.
- gene (noun): A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
- glance (verb): To look briefly (at something).
- glean (verb): To collect (grain, grapes, etc.) left behind after the main harvest or gathering.
- glen (noun): A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a dale; a depression between hills.
- hang (verb): To be or remain suspended.
- hence (adverb): from here, from this place, away
- henna (noun): A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers
- lance (noun): A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.
- lane (noun): A road, street, or similar thoroughfare.
- lean (verb): To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- nene (noun): The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.