NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 5, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, i, l, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 50 words |
| Total Points | 272 points |
| Genius Level | 190 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</th><th>10</th><th>11 | Σ | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| C | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 18 |
| D | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
| I | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| L | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| R | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| T | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6 | Σ | 9 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 50 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×5 AD×1 AR×2 AT×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×10 CI×5 CL×1 CR×2 |
| D | DI×5 |
| I | IL×2 IT×1 |
| L | LA×3 LI×2 |
| R | RA×3 |
| T | TA×5 TR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACA×2 ACI×2 ACR×1 ADD×1 ARC×2 ATT×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×1 CAL×2 CAR×4 CAT×3 CIC×1 CIL×1 CIR×2 CIT×1 CLA×1 CRI×2 |
| D | DIA×2 DIC×1 DID×2 |
| I | ILI×1 ILL×1 ITA×1 |
| L | LAC×1 LAI×2 LIC×1 LIL×1 |
| R | RAC×1 RAD×1 RAI×1 |
| T | TAC×4 TAL×1 TRA×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.... | AC6 | A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar. |
| ac.... | AC6 | Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red. |
| ac... | AC5 | Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste. |
| ad.... | AD6 | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug |
| ar..... | AR7 | Alternative letter-case form of Arcadia |
| ar.... | AR6 | Alternative letter-case form of Arctic |
| at... | AT5 | The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation. |
| at..... | AT7 | To pull toward without touching. |
| ca... | CA5 | plural of cactus |
| ca.. | CA4 | A telephone conversation; a phone call. |
| ca... | CA5 | A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe. |
| ca... | CA5 | A unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams. |
| ca.. | CA4 | cardinality |
| ca..... | CA7 | Pertaining to the heart. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, more often used for transporting goods than passengers. |
| ca...... | CA8 | A waterspout. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo. |
| ca..... | CA7 | Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada. |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cilium |
| ci... | CI5 | Approximately, about, around |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers. |
| ci.... | CI6 | Of, pertaining to, or derived from, citrus fruit. |
| cl.. | CL4 | simple past tense and past participle of clothe |
| cr.... | CR6 | A person who appraises the works of others. |
| cr...... | CR8 | Inclined to find fault or criticize |
| di....... | DI9 | distinguishing |
| di......... † | DI11 | Capable of distinguishing or of making a distinction. |
| di... | DI5 | plural of dictum |
| di.... | DI6 | a didactic person |
| di...... | DI8 | Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality. |
| il... | IL5 | Relating to the ilium. |
| il..... | IL7 | Not approved by law, but not invalid. |
| it.... | IT6 | Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of, relating to, or derived from milk. |
| la.. | LA4 | A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity). |
| li... | LI5 | Not forbidden by formal or informal rules. |
| li... | LI5 | A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers. |
| ra.... | RA6 | Of or relating to a race (or a people). |
| ra..... | RA7 | Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter. |
| ra..... | RA7 | A self-propelled railway vehicle for passengers, similar to a bus. |
| ta... | TA5 | Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end. |
| ta...... | TA8 | of or relating to tactics |
| ta.. | TA4 | Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic. |
| tr... | TR5 | An area or expanse. |
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.
- acacia (AC6)
- acai (AC4)
- acid (AC4)
- acidic (AC6)
- acrid (AC5)
- addict (AD6)
- arcadia (AR7)
- arctic (AR6)
- attic (AT5)
- attract (AT7)
- cacti (CA5)
- call (CA4)
- calla (CA5)
- carat (CA5)
- card (CA4)
- cardiac (CA7)
- cart (CA4)
- cataract (CA8)
- catcall (CA7)
- cattail (CA7)
- cicada (CI6)
- cilia (CI5)
- circa (CI5)
- cirri (CI5)
- citric (CI6)
- clad (CL4)
- critic (CR6)
- critical (CR8)
- diacritic (DI9)
- diacritical† (DI11)
- dicta (DI5)
- didact (DI6)
- didactic (DI8)
- iliac (IL5)
- illicit (IL7)
- italic (IT6)
- lactic (LA6)
- laic (LA4)
- laical (LA6)
- licit (LI5)
- lilac (LI5)
- racial (RA6)
- radical (RA7)
- railcar (RA7)
- tacit (TA5)
- tact (TA4)
- tactic (TA6)
- tactical (TA8)
- talc (TA4)
- tract (TR5)
Answer Definitions
- acacia (noun): A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- acai (noun): Any of several South American palms, of the genus Euterpe, having a dark purple drupe.
- acid (adjective): Sour, sharp, or biting to the taste; tart; having the taste of vinegar.
- acidic (adjective): Having a pH less than 7, or being sour, or having the strength to neutralize alkalis, or turning a litmus paper red.
- acrid (adjective): Sharp and harsh, or bitter and not to the taste.
- addict (noun): A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug
- arcadia (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Arcadia
- arctic (adjective): Alternative letter-case form of Arctic
- attic (noun): The space, often unfinished and with sloped walls, directly below the roof in the uppermost part of a house or other building, generally used for storage or habitation.
- attract (verb): To pull toward without touching.
- cacti (noun): plural of cactus
- call (noun): A telephone conversation; a phone call.
- calla (noun): A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.
- carat (noun): A unit of weight for precious stones and pearls, equivalent to 200 milligrams.
- card (symbol): cardinality
- cardiac (adjective): Pertaining to the heart.
- cart (noun): A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.
- cataract (noun): A waterspout.
- catcall (noun): A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
- cattail (noun): Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places.
- cicada (noun): Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. The periodical cicada.
- cilia (noun): plural of cilium
- circa (preposition): Approximately, about, around
- cirri (noun): plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers.
- citric (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or derived from, citrus fruit.
- clad (verb): simple past tense and past participle of clothe
- critic (noun): A person who appraises the works of others.
- critical (adjective): Inclined to find fault or criticize
- diacritic (adjective): distinguishing
- diacritical† (adjective): Capable of distinguishing or of making a distinction.
- dicta (noun): plural of dictum
- didact (noun): a didactic person
- didactic (adjective): Instructive or intended to teach or demonstrate, especially with regard to morality.
- iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
- illicit (adjective): Not approved by law, but not invalid.
- italic (adjective): Designed to resemble a handwriting style developed in Italy in the 16th century.
- lactic (adjective): Of, relating to, or derived from milk.
- laic (noun): A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.
- laical (adjective): Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople (laity).
- licit (adjective): Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
- lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
- racial (adjective): Of or relating to a race (or a people).
- radical (adjective): Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
- railcar (noun): A self-propelled railway vehicle for passengers, similar to a bus.
- tacit (adjective): Implied, but not made explicit, especially through silence.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- tactic (noun): A maneuver, or action calculated to achieve some end.
- tactical (adjective): of or relating to tactics
- talc (noun): Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.
- tract (noun): An area or expanse.