NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 31, 2018
Game Summary
| Center Letter | C |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, h, l, n, o, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 49 words |
| Total Points | 221 points |
| Genius Level | 155 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 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| C | 11 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33 |
| H | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| L | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| N | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 15 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 49 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AC×2 AH×1 AL×1 AN×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×11 CH×2 CL×4 CO×15 CY×1 |
| H | HA×1 HO×2 |
| L | LA×1 LO×4 LY×1 |
| N | NA×1 NO×1 |
| O | |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ACH×2 AHC×1 ALC×1 ANC×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CAC×1 CAL×3 CAN×7 CHA×2 CLA×2 CLO×2 COA×2 COC×3 COH×1 COL×4 CON×1 COO×3 COY×1 CYA×1 |
| H | HAL×1 HON×1 HOO×1 |
| L | LAC×1 LOC×4 LYN×1 |
| N | NAC×1 NON×1 |
| O | |
| 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) |
|---|---|---|
| ac... | AC5 | The sound of a sneeze. |
| ac.. | AC4 | Suffering from aches, sore. |
| ah.... | AH6 | Alternative spelling of achoo |
| al..... | AL7 | Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH). |
| an... | AN5 | A broad, flat, dried poblano pepper, often ground into a powder. |
| ca... | CA5 | A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate. |
| 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...... | CA8 | Any of various tropical plants grown in the Americas, especially of the genera Amaranthus and Xanthosoma, cultivated for their edible leaves. |
| ca... | CA5 | An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar. It may include muzzle appendages. |
| ca... | CA5 | Careful, prudent, cautious. |
| ca.... | CA6 | Any of a number of cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus) and closely related field mustard (Brassica rapa), which have a lower erucic acid and glucosinolate content than traditional rapeseed. |
| ca... | CA5 | A generally accepted principle; a rule. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river. |
| ch..... | CH7 | A traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for a yom tov. |
| ch.... | CH6 | uncertain, risky, hazardous |
| cl.. | CL4 | A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. |
| cl.... | CL6 | Relating to, or created by asexual reproduction (cloning) |
| cl.. | CL4 | To fill up or choke up; to stop up. |
| co... | CO5 | A wheeled vehicle, generally drawn by horse power. |
| co.. | CO4 | A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. |
| co... | CO5 | The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. |
| co.... | CO6 | The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa. |
| co.. | CO4 | An anadromus and semelparous salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, found in the coastal regions of the northern Pacific Ocean, used as a symbol by several Native American tribes. |
| co.. | CO4 | The kola plant, genus Cola, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts. |
| co....... | CO9 | A traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale, with scallions, butter, salt and pepper added. |
| co... | CO5 | The punctuation mark ":". |
| co.... | CO6 | An area under the political control of another country and typically occupied by settlers (colonists) from it, or by their descendants. |
| co... | CO5 | A marine gastropod of the family Strombidae which lives in its own spiral shell. |
| co.. | CO4 | Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold. |
| co.... | CO6 | In a cool, unpanicked or collected manner. |
| co.. | CO4 | A black person. |
| co... | CO5 | In a coy manner. |
| cy.. | CY4 | A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light. |
| ha..... † | HA7 | A kingfisher said in classical mythology to nest on the sea, thereby calming the waters. The dead body of such a bird, said in Tudor times to act as a weather vane when hung from a beam. |
| ho.... | HO6 | boss, leader |
| ho... | HO5 | Alcoholic liquor, especially inferior or illicit whisky. |
| la.. | LA4 | Made of lace or decorated with it. |
| lo... | LO5 | From or in a nearby location. |
| lo..... | LO7 | With respect to place; in place. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A lake. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower. |
| ly... | LY5 | To execute (somebody) without a proper legal trial or procedure, especially by hanging and backed by a mob. |
| na... | NA5 | A single tortilla chip from a dish of nachos. |
| no...... | NO8 | Not local; not specific to a location |
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.
- achoo (AC5)
- achy (AC4)
- ahchoo (AH6)
- alcohol (AL7)
- ancho (AN5)
- cacao (CA5)
- call (CA4)
- calla (CA5)
- callaloo (CA8)
- canal (CA5)
- cancan (CA6)
- cannon (CA6)
- canny (CA5)
- canola (CA6)
- canon (CA5)
- canyon (CA6)
- challah (CH7)
- chancy (CH6)
- clan (CL4)
- clay (CL4)
- clonal (CL6)
- cloy (CL4)
- coach (CO5)
- coal (CO4)
- coca (CO4)
- cocoa (CO5)
- cocoon (CO6)
- coho (CO4)
- cola (CO4)
- colcannon (CO9)
- colon (CO5)
- colony (CO6)
- conch (CO5)
- cool (CO4)
- coolly (CO6)
- coon (CO4)
- coyly (CO5)
- cyan (CY4)
- halcyon† (HA7)
- honcho (HO6)
- hooch (HO5)
- lacy (LA4)
- local (LO5)
- locally (LO7)
- loch (LO4)
- loco (LO4)
- lynch (LY5)
- nacho (NA5)
- nonlocal (NO8)
Answer Definitions
- achoo (interjection): The sound of a sneeze.
- achy (adjective): Suffering from aches, sore.
- ahchoo (interjection): Alternative spelling of achoo
- alcohol (noun): Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
- ancho (noun): A broad, flat, dried poblano pepper, often ground into a powder.
- cacao (noun): A tree, Theobroma cacao, whose seed is used to make chocolate.
- 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.
- callaloo (noun): Any of various tropical plants grown in the Americas, especially of the genera Amaranthus and Xanthosoma, cultivated for their edible leaves.
- canal (noun): An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
- cancan (noun): A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
- cannon (noun): A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar. It may include muzzle appendages.
- canny (adjective): Careful, prudent, cautious.
- canola (noun): Any of a number of cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus) and closely related field mustard (Brassica rapa), which have a lower erucic acid and glucosinolate content than traditional rapeseed.
- canon (noun): A generally accepted principle; a rule.
- canyon (noun): A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river.
- challah (noun): A traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for a yom tov.
- chancy (adjective): uncertain, risky, hazardous
- clan (noun): A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known.
- clay (noun): A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.
- clonal (adjective): Relating to, or created by asexual reproduction (cloning)
- cloy (verb): To fill up or choke up; to stop up.
- coach (noun): A wheeled vehicle, generally drawn by horse power.
- coal (noun): A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
- coca (noun): Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.
- cocoa (noun): The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.
- cocoon (noun): The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa.
- coho (noun): An anadromus and semelparous salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, found in the coastal regions of the northern Pacific Ocean, used as a symbol by several Native American tribes.
- cola (noun): The kola plant, genus Cola, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts.
- colcannon (noun): A traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale, with scallions, butter, salt and pepper added.
- colon (noun): The punctuation mark ":".
- colony (noun): An area under the political control of another country and typically occupied by settlers (colonists) from it, or by their descendants.
- conch (noun): A marine gastropod of the family Strombidae which lives in its own spiral shell.
- cool (adjective): Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.
- coolly (adverb): In a cool, unpanicked or collected manner.
- coon (noun): A black person.
- coyly (adverb): In a coy manner.
- cyan (noun): A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light.
- halcyon† (noun): A kingfisher said in classical mythology to nest on the sea, thereby calming the waters. The dead body of such a bird, said in Tudor times to act as a weather vane when hung from a beam.
- honcho (noun): boss, leader
- hooch (noun): Alcoholic liquor, especially inferior or illicit whisky.
- lacy (adjective): Made of lace or decorated with it.
- local (adjective): From or in a nearby location.
- locally (adverb): With respect to place; in place.
- loch (noun): A lake.
- loco (adverb): A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.
- lynch (verb): To execute (somebody) without a proper legal trial or procedure, especially by hanging and backed by a mob.
- nacho (noun): A single tortilla chip from a dish of nachos.
- nonlocal (adjective): Not local; not specific to a location