NYT Spelling Bee Answers for October 16, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | f, g, l, r, u, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 134 points |
| Genius Level | 94 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | - | 15 |
| F | 5 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 7 |
| G | 6 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 |
| L | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 2 |
| R | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 4 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 18 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AF×2 AG×1 AL×4 AR×2 AU×6 |
|---|---|
| F | FA×1 FL×2 FR×4 |
| G | GA×5 GR×1 GU×2 |
| L | LA×1 LU×1 |
| R | RA×2 RU×2 |
| U | |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AFA×1 AFF×1 AGA×1 ALF×1 ALG×1 ALL×2 ARR×1 ARU×1 AUG×3 AUR×3 |
|---|---|
| F | FAL×1 FLA×2 FRA×2 FRU×2 |
| G | GAF×1 GAG×1 GAL×2 GAY×1 GRA×1 GUA×1 GUL×1 |
| L | LAL×1 LUA×1 |
| R | RAG×1 RAL×1 RUR×2 |
| U | |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| af.. | AF4 | At, to, or from a great distance; far away. |
| af.... | AF6 | To startle from quiet; to alarm. |
| 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..... | AL7 | A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop. |
| 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 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| al.. | AL4 | To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty. |
| ar... | AR5 | an ordered series or arrangement. |
| ar..... | AR7 | One of three yellowish-flowered Mediterranean herbs of the mustard family with flavoured leaves, often eaten in salads. Has a distinct, peppery flavor: Eruca sativa, sometimes Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa Eruca vesicaria Diplotaxis tenuifolia |
| au... | AU5 | A diviner who foretells events by the behaviour of birds or other animals, or by signs derived from celestial phenomena, or unusual occurrences. |
| au..... | AU7 | prophetic |
| au.... | AU6 | A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals. |
| au.. | AU4 | Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something. |
| au... | AU5 | Of or pertaining to the ear. |
| au..... | AU7 | Pertaining to sound or the ear; via or through the sense of hearing. |
| fa.. | FA4 | To be moved downwards. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity. |
| fl.. | FL4 | A piece of cloth, often decorated with an emblem, used as a visual signal or symbol. |
| fl.. | FL4 | To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening). |
| fr.. | FR4 | A fragmentation grenade. |
| fr.. | FR4 | To rub or wear away (something); to cause (something made of strands twisted or woven together, such as cloth or rope) to unravel through friction. |
| fr.... | FR6 | Avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste. |
| fr...... † | FR8 | In a frugal manner |
| ga.. | GA4 | A tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat. |
| 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 | Cheerfully; in a gay manner. |
| gr.. | GR4 | Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember. |
| gu.. | GU4 | An annual legume (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), used as a food for cattle and humans. |
| gu... | GU5 | Also GULAG: the system of all Soviet labour camps and prisons in use, especially during the Stalinist period (1930s–1950s). |
| la...... | LA8 | Horseplay, fooling around. |
| lu.. | LU4 | An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment. |
| ra.. | RA4 | Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form. |
| ra... | RA5 | A public gathering or mass meeting that is not mainly a protest and is organized to inspire enthusiasm for a cause. |
| ru... | RU5 | Relating to the countryside or to agriculture. |
| ru..... | RU7 | In a rural way. |
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.
- afar (AF4)
- affray (AF6)
- agar (AG4)
- alfalfa (AL7)
- alga (AL4)
- allay (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- array (AR5)
- arugula (AR7)
- augur (AU5)
- augural (AU7)
- augury (AU6)
- aura (AU4)
- aural (AU5)
- aurally (AU7)
- fall (FA4)
- flag (FL4)
- flay (FL4)
- frag (FR4)
- fray (FR4)
- frugal (FR6)
- frugally† (FR8)
- gaff (GA4)
- gaga (GA4)
- gala (GA4)
- gall (GA4)
- gayly (GA5)
- gray (GR4)
- guar (GU4)
- gulag (GU5)
- lallygag (LA8)
- luau (LU4)
- raga (RA4)
- rally (RA5)
- rural (RU5)
- rurally (RU7)
Answer Definitions
- afar (adverb): At, to, or from a great distance; far away.
- affray (verb): To startle from quiet; to alarm.
- 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.
- alfalfa (noun): A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop.
- 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.
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- ally (verb): To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
- array (noun): an ordered series or arrangement.
- arugula (noun): One of three yellowish-flowered Mediterranean herbs of the mustard family with flavoured leaves, often eaten in salads. Has a distinct, peppery flavor: Eruca sativa, sometimes Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa Eruca vesicaria Diplotaxis tenuifolia
- augur (noun): A diviner who foretells events by the behaviour of birds or other animals, or by signs derived from celestial phenomena, or unusual occurrences.
- augural (adjective): prophetic
- augury (noun): A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.
- aura (noun): Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something.
- aural (adjective): Of or pertaining to the ear.
- aurally (adverb): Pertaining to sound or the ear; via or through the sense of hearing.
- fall (verb): To be moved downwards. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
- flag (noun): A piece of cloth, often decorated with an emblem, used as a visual signal or symbol.
- flay (verb): To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).
- frag (noun): A fragmentation grenade.
- fray (verb): To rub or wear away (something); to cause (something made of strands twisted or woven together, such as cloth or rope) to unravel through friction.
- frugal (adjective): Avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste.
- frugally† (adverb): In a frugal manner
- gaff (noun): A tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat.
- 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.
- gayly (adverb): Cheerfully; in a gay manner.
- gray (adjective): Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
- guar (noun): An annual legume (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), used as a food for cattle and humans.
- gulag (noun): Also GULAG: the system of all Soviet labour camps and prisons in use, especially during the Stalinist period (1930s–1950s).
- lallygag (noun): Horseplay, fooling around.
- luau (noun): An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.
- raga (noun): Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form.
- rally (noun): A public gathering or mass meeting that is not mainly a protest and is organized to inspire enthusiasm for a cause.
- rural (adjective): Relating to the countryside or to agriculture.
- rurally (adverb): In a rural way.