NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 21, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | m, o, p, r, t, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 21 words |
| Total Points | 85 points |
| Genius Level | 59 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</th><th>9</th><th>10 | Σ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | 3 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| N | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| P | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| R | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T | 3 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 21 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| M | MO×6 |
|---|---|
| N | NO×2 |
| O | ON×1 |
| P | PO×4 PR×3 |
| R | |
| T | TO×5 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| M | MON×2 MOO×2 MOR×2 |
|---|---|
| N | NOO×1 NOR×1 |
| O | ONT×1 |
| P | PON×2 POR×2 PRO×3 |
| R | |
| T | TON×1 TOO×1 TOP×2 TOR×1 |
| 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) |
|---|---|---|
| mo.. | MO4 | Clipping of mononucleosis. |
| mo...... | MO8 | Tedium as a result of repetition or a lack of variety. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”). |
| mo... | MO5 | Resembling the moon. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Morning. |
| mo... | MO5 | A stupid person; an idiot; a fool. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | That which is normal or typical. |
| on.. | ON4 | Upon; on top of. |
| po..... | PO7 | A flat-bottomed boat used as a support for a temporary bridge. |
| po.. | PO4 | A small horse; specifically, any of several small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands at the withers. |
| po.. | PO4 | Pornography. |
| po... | PO5 | Pornographic |
| pr........ † | PR10 | A high point of land extending into a body of water, headland; cliff. |
| pr.... | PR6 | Quickly, very soon, promptly. |
| pr.... | PR6 | A positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark. |
| to.. | TO4 | Stylish, high-toned, upscale. |
| to.. | TO4 | A cartoon, especially an animated television show. |
| to..... | TO7 | A placename. |
| to...... | TO8 | Lexicological study of place names; a branch of onomastics. |
| to.. | TO4 | past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed). |
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.
- mono (MO4)
- monotony (MO8)
- moon (MO4)
- moony (MO5)
- morn (MO4)
- moron (MO5)
- noon (NO4)
- norm (NO4)
- onto (ON4)
- pontoon (PO7)
- pony (PO4)
- porn (PO4)
- porno (PO5)
- promontory† (PR10)
- pronto (PR6)
- proton (PR6)
- tony (TO4)
- toon (TO4)
- toponym (TO7)
- toponymy (TO8)
- torn (TO4)
Answer Definitions
- mono (noun): Clipping of mononucleosis.
- monotony (noun): Tedium as a result of repetition or a lack of variety.
- moon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
- moony (adjective): Resembling the moon.
- morn (noun): Morning.
- moron (noun): A stupid person; an idiot; a fool.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- norm (noun): That which is normal or typical.
- onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
- pontoon (noun): A flat-bottomed boat used as a support for a temporary bridge.
- pony (noun): A small horse; specifically, any of several small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands at the withers.
- porn (noun): Pornography.
- porno (adjective): Pornographic
- promontory† (noun): A high point of land extending into a body of water, headland; cliff.
- pronto (adverb): Quickly, very soon, promptly.
- proton (noun): A positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark.
- tony (adjective): Stylish, high-toned, upscale.
- toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
- toponym (noun): A placename.
- toponymy (noun): Lexicological study of place names; a branch of onomastics.
- torn (verb): past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed).