NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 17, 2019

May 17, 2019 · 5 min read · spelling bee ·

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Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for May 17, 2019

Game Summary

Center Letter	L
Outer Letters	a, b, k, r, u, w
# of Pangrams	1 (Perfect: 1)
Total Words	21 words
Total Points	50 points
Genius Level	35 points
Bingo?	No

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	Σ
A	-	1	-	-	1
B	9	2	-	1	12
K	-	-	-	-	-
L	5	-	-	-	5
R	-	1	-	-	1
U	-	-	-	-	-
W	2	-	-	-	2
Σ	16	4	-	1	21

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

A	AU×1
B	BA×3 BL×3 BR×1 BU×5
K
L	LA×1 LU×4
R	RU×1
U
W	WA×2

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

A	AUR×1
B	BAL×2 BAW×1 BLA×1 BLU×2 BRA×1 BUL×4 BUR×1
K
L	LAR×1 LUA×1 LUL×2 LUR×1
R	RUR×1
U
W	WAL×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)
au...	AU5	Of or pertaining to the ear.
ba..	BA4	An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
ba..	BA4	A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
ba..	BA4	To shout or utter in a loud and intense manner.
bl..	BL4	To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
bl..	BL4	To make indistinct or hazy, to obscure or dim.
bl...	BL5	A short description of a book, film, or other work, written and used for promotional purposes.
br...	BR5	A disorderly argument or fight, usually with a large number of people involved.
bu..	BU4	Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end.
bu..	BU4	Size, specifically, volume.
bu..	BU4	An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen. Specifically, one that is uncastrated.
bu..... ^†	BU7	A defensive wall or rampart.
bu..	BU4	A tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner.
la..	LA4	Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae.
lu..	LU4	An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.
lu..	LU4	A period of rest or soothing.
lu..	LU4	A remarkable person, object or idea.
lu..	LU4	To remain concealed in order to ambush.
ru...	RU5	Relating to the countryside or to agriculture.
wa..	WA4	To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least one foot on the ground at all times. Compare run.
wa..	WA4	A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.

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.

aural (AU5)
balk (BA4)
ball (BA4)
bawl (BA4)
blab (BL4)
blur (BL4)
blurb (BL5)
brawl (BR5)
bulb (BU4)
bulk (BU4)
bull (BU4)
bulwark^† (BU7)
burl (BU4)
lark (LA4)
luau (LU4)
lull (LU4)
lulu (LU4)
lurk (LU4)
rural (RU5)
walk (WA4)
wall (WA4)

Answer Definitions

aural (adjective): Of or pertaining to the ear.
balk (noun): An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
ball (noun): A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
bawl (verb): To shout or utter in a loud and intense manner.
blab (verb): To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
blur (verb): To make indistinct or hazy, to obscure or dim.
blurb (noun): A short description of a book, film, or other work, written and used for promotional purposes.
brawl (noun): A disorderly argument or fight, usually with a large number of people involved.
bulb (noun): Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end.
bulk (noun): Size, specifically, volume.
bull (noun): An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen. Specifically, one that is uncastrated.
bulwark^† (noun): A defensive wall or rampart.
burl (noun): A tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner.
lark (noun): Any of various small, singing passerine birds of the family Alaudidae.
luau (noun): An elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional foods and entertainment.
lull (noun): A period of rest or soothing.
lulu (noun): A remarkable person, object or idea.
lurk (verb): To remain concealed in order to ambush.
rural (adjective): Relating to the countryside or to agriculture.
walk (verb): To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least one foot on the ground at all times. Compare run.
wall (noun): A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.