NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 19, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | I |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | d, h, l, o, t, w |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 28 words |
| Total Points | 95 points |
| Genius Level | 67 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| H | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| I | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| L | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| W | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 11 | Σ | 16 | 7 | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 28 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| D | DI×3 |
|---|---|
| H | HI×2 |
| I | ID×2 |
| L | LI×3 |
| O | OL×1 |
| T | TI×2 TO×1 TW×3 |
| W | WH×1 WI×10 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| D | DIL×2 DIT×1 |
|---|---|
| H | HIL×2 |
| I | IDI×1 IDO×1 |
| L | LID×1 LIL×1 LIT×1 |
| O | OLI×1 |
| T | TIL×2 TOI×1 TWI×3 |
| W | WHI×1 WID×3 WIL×5 WIT×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| di... | DI5 | An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use. |
| di.. | DI4 | Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed. |
| di... | DI5 | That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the above, the same, likewise. |
| hi.. | HI4 | An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain. |
| hi.. | HI4 | The handle of a sword, consisting of grip, guard, and pommel, designed to facilitate use of the blade and afford protection to the hand. |
| id... | ID5 | A person of low general intelligence. |
| id.. | ID4 | A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power. |
| li.. | LI4 | Part of the sea by a beach sectioned off for swimming and other aquatic activities. |
| li.. | LI4 | To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music. |
| li... | LI5 | Clipping of lithographic. |
| ol.. | OL4 | A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables. |
| ti.. | TI4 | Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time). |
| ti.. | TI4 | To slope or incline (something); to slant. |
| to.. | TO4 | Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature. |
| tw.... | TW6 | simple past tense and past participle of twilight |
| tw... | TW5 | A pattern, characterised by diagonal ridges, created by the regular interlacing of threads of the warp and weft during weaving. |
| tw.. | TW4 | To reproach, blame; to ridicule or tease. |
| wh.. | WH4 | The smallest part or particle imaginable; an iota. |
| wi... | WI5 | A woman whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower. |
| wi....... | WI9 | The state or period of being a widow or widower. |
| wi... | WI5 | The state of being wide. |
| wi.. | WI4 | Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated). |
| wi...... | WI8 | Woodland that has developed naturally, especially where a suitable climate has developed with it. |
| wi.. | WI4 | Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall. |
| wi.... | WI6 | Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere. |
| wi.. | WI4 | To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower). |
| wi.. | WI4 | Against. |
| wi...... † | WI8 | To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner. |
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.
- dildo (DI5)
- dill (DI4)
- ditto (DI5)
- hill (HI4)
- hilt (HI4)
- idiot (ID5)
- idol (ID4)
- lido (LI4)
- lilt (LI4)
- litho (LI5)
- olio (OL4)
- till (TI4)
- tilt (TI4)
- toil (TO4)
- twilit (TW6)
- twill (TW5)
- twit (TW4)
- whit (WH4)
- widow (WI5)
- widowhood (WI9)
- width (WI5)
- wild (WI4)
- wildwood (WI8)
- will (WI4)
- willow (WI6)
- wilt (WI4)
- with (WI4)
- withhold† (WI8)
Answer Definitions
- dildo (noun): An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use.
- dill (noun): Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
- ditto (noun): That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the above, the same, likewise.
- hill (noun): An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain.
- hilt (noun): The handle of a sword, consisting of grip, guard, and pommel, designed to facilitate use of the blade and afford protection to the hand.
- idiot (noun): A person of low general intelligence.
- idol (noun): A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.
- lido (noun): Part of the sea by a beach sectioned off for swimming and other aquatic activities.
- lilt (verb): To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
- litho (adjective): Clipping of lithographic.
- olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
- till (preposition): Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
- tilt (verb): To slope or incline (something); to slant.
- toil (noun): Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
- twilit (verb): simple past tense and past participle of twilight
- twill (noun): A pattern, characterised by diagonal ridges, created by the regular interlacing of threads of the warp and weft during weaving.
- twit (verb): To reproach, blame; to ridicule or tease.
- whit (noun): The smallest part or particle imaginable; an iota.
- widow (noun): A woman whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower.
- widowhood (noun): The state or period of being a widow or widower.
- width (noun): The state of being wide.
- wild (adjective): Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated).
- wildwood (noun): Woodland that has developed naturally, especially where a suitable climate has developed with it.
- will (verb): Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.
- willow (noun): Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere.
- wilt (verb): To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower).
- with (preposition): Against.
- withhold† (verb): To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.