NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 20, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | L |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, h, i, r, v |
| # of Pangrams | 3 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 40 words |
| Total Points | 186 points |
| Genius Level | 130 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 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| C | 1 | 6 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 9 |
| H | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| I | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| L | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 10 |
| R | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| V | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 14 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 40 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AR×4 AV×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×3 CH×4 CI×2 |
| H | HA×5 HI×1 |
| I | IL×1 |
| L | LA×7 LI×3 |
| R | RA×3 RI×3 |
| V | VI×3 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ARC×2 ARI×1 ARR×1 AVA×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAL×2 CAV×1 CHA×1 CHI×3 CIL×1 CIV×1 |
| H | HAI×1 HAL×4 HIL×1 |
| I | ILI×1 |
| L | LAI×3 LAR×3 LAV×1 LIA×1 LIL×1 LIR×1 |
| R | RAC×1 RAI×2 RIA×1 RIL×1 RIV×1 |
| V | VIA×1 VIL×1 VIR×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ar...... † | AR8 | The act of archiving something. |
| ar....... † | AR9 | A chief rival. |
| ar.. | AR4 | A tissue surrounding the seed in certain fruits such as pomegranates. |
| ar..... | AR7 | The act of arriving (reaching a certain place). |
| av... | AV5 | To turn to the advantage of. |
| 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 | To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons. |
| ch..... | CH7 | A traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for a yom tov. |
| ch... | CH5 | The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking. |
| ch... | CH5 | A moderate, but uncomfortable and penetrating coldness. |
| ch....... † | CH9 | of, or relating to chivalry |
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cilium |
| ci... | CI5 | Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion. |
| ha.. | HA4 | Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm. |
| ha... | HA5 | Permissible, according to Muslim religious customs, to have or do. |
| ha.. | HA4 | A corridor; a hallway. |
| ha... | HA5 | A confection usually made from crushed sesame seeds and honey. It is a traditional dessert in South Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. |
| ha.... | HA6 | Alternative spelling of halva |
| hi.. | HI4 | An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain. |
| il... | IL5 | Relating to the ilium. |
| 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). |
| la.. | LA4 | A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground. |
| la... | LA5 | A coniferous tree, of genus Larix, having deciduous leaves, in fascicles. |
| la... | LA5 | An early stage of growth for some insects and amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of or relating to a larva or larvae. |
| la.. | LA4 | The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides. |
| li.. | LI4 | One who frequently tells lies. |
| li... | LI5 | A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers. |
| li.. | LI4 | The basic unit of currency in Turkey. |
| ra.... | RA6 | Of or relating to a race (or a people). |
| ra.. | RA4 | A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing. |
| ra..... | RA7 | A self-propelled railway vehicle for passengers, similar to a bus. |
| ri.. | RI4 | The official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ri... | RI5 | A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) with the same goal as another, or striving to attain the same thing. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor. |
| vi.. | VI4 | A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small tube-shaped bottle used to store medicine, perfume or other chemicals. |
| vi... | VI5 | A house, often larger and more expensive than average, in the countryside or on the coast, often used as a retreat. |
| vi... | VI5 | Of or relating to a biological virus. |
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.
- archival† (AR8)
- archrival† (AR9)
- aril (AR4)
- arrival (AR7)
- avail (AV5)
- call (CA4)
- calla (CA5)
- cavil (CA5)
- challah (CH7)
- chili (CH5)
- chill (CH5)
- chivalric† (CH9)
- cilia (CI5)
- civil (CI5)
- hail (HA4)
- halal (HA5)
- hall (HA4)
- halva (HA5)
- halvah (HA6)
- hill (HI4)
- iliac (IL5)
- laic (LA4)
- laical (LA6)
- lair (LA4)
- larch (LA5)
- larva (LA5)
- larval (LA6)
- lava (LA4)
- liar (LI4)
- lilac (LI5)
- lira (LI4)
- racial (RA6)
- rail (RA4)
- railcar (RA7)
- rial (RI4)
- rill (RI4)
- rival (RI5)
- vial (VI4)
- villa (VI5)
- viral (VI5)
Answer Definitions
- archival† (noun): The act of archiving something.
- archrival† (noun): A chief rival.
- aril (noun): A tissue surrounding the seed in certain fruits such as pomegranates.
- arrival (noun): The act of arriving (reaching a certain place).
- avail (verb): To turn to the advantage of.
- 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.
- cavil (verb): To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.
- challah (noun): A traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for a yom tov.
- chili (noun): The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.
- chill (noun): A moderate, but uncomfortable and penetrating coldness.
- chivalric† (adjective): of, or relating to chivalry
- cilia (noun): plural of cilium
- civil (adjective): Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
- hail (noun): Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm.
- halal (adjective): Permissible, according to Muslim religious customs, to have or do.
- hall (noun): A corridor; a hallway.
- halva (noun): A confection usually made from crushed sesame seeds and honey. It is a traditional dessert in South Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
- halvah (noun): Alternative spelling of halva
- hill (noun): An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain.
- iliac (adjective): Relating to the ilium.
- 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).
- lair (noun): A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
- larch (noun): A coniferous tree, of genus Larix, having deciduous leaves, in fascicles.
- larva (noun): An early stage of growth for some insects and amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish.
- larval (adjective): Of or relating to a larva or larvae.
- lava (noun): The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides.
- liar (noun): One who frequently tells lies.
- lilac (noun): A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
- lira (noun): The basic unit of currency in Turkey.
- racial (adjective): Of or relating to a race (or a people).
- rail (noun): A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
- railcar (noun): A self-propelled railway vehicle for passengers, similar to a bus.
- rial (noun): The official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen.
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- rival (noun): A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) with the same goal as another, or striving to attain the same thing. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor.
- vial (noun): A glass vessel or bottle, especially a small tube-shaped bottle used to store medicine, perfume or other chemicals.
- villa (noun): A house, often larger and more expensive than average, in the countryside or on the coast, often used as a retreat.
- viral (adjective): Of or relating to a biological virus.