NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 22, 2019
Game Summary
| Center Letter | F |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, c, d, i, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 27 words |
| Total Points | 120 points |
| Genius Level | 84 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | - | 3 | - | 2 | 6 |
| C | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| D | 1 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 4 |
| F | 5 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 8 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R | 3 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
| T | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | Σ | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 27 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AD×1 AF×3 AI×1 AR×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CR×1 |
| D | DA×1 DI×1 DR×2 |
| F | FA×4 FI×1 FR×3 |
| I | |
| R | RA×2 RI×3 |
| T | TA×1 TI×1 TR×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ADR×1 AFA×1 AFF×1 AFR×1 AIR×1 ART×1 |
|---|---|
| C | CRA×1 |
| D | DAF×1 DIF×1 DRA×1 DRI×1 |
| F | FAC×1 FAI×1 FAR×2 FIA×1 FRA×1 FRI×2 |
| I | |
| R | RAF×2 RIF×3 |
| T | TAR×1 TIF×1 TRA×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ad.... | AD6 | Floating at random. |
| af.. | AF4 | At, to, or from a great distance; far away. |
| af.... | AF6 | Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public. |
| af.... | AF6 | Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear. |
| ai...... | AI8 | A vehicle capable of atmospheric flight due to interaction with the air, such as buoyancy or lift |
| ar...... | AR8 | An object made or shaped by human hand or labor. |
| cr... | CR5 | Strength; power; might; force . |
| da.. | DA4 | Foolish, silly, stupid. |
| di...... † | DI8 | To cause diffraction |
| dr... | DR5 | A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle. |
| dr... | DR5 | Movement; that which moves or is moved. Anything driven at random. A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., especially by wind or water. |
| fa.. | FA4 | Something actual as opposed to invented. |
| fa.. | FA4 | Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality. |
| fa... | FA5 | In the International System of Units, the derived unit of electrical capacitance; the capacitance of a capacitor in which one coulomb of charge causes a potential difference of one volt across the capacitor. Symbol: F |
| fa.. | FA4 | To emit digestive gases from the anus; to flatulate. |
| fi.. | FI4 | An arbitrary or authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree. |
| fr.. | FR4 | Shortened form of fraternity, college organization. |
| fr... | FR5 | A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites, Franciscans, or the Dominicans. |
| fr...... | FR8 | A form of omelette in which vegetables, cheese, etc., are mixed into the eggs and cooked together. |
| ra.... | RA6 | A fibrous material used for tying plants, originating from the leaves of the raffia palm tree (genus Raphia). |
| ra.. | RA4 | A flat-bottomed craft able to float and drift on water, used for transport or as a waterborne platform. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A repeated instrumental melody line in a song. |
| ri...... | RI8 | The rabble; crowds; the common people. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A chasm or fissure. |
| ta.... | TA6 | A system of government-imposed duties levied on imported or exported goods; a list of such duties, or the duties themselves. |
| ti.. | TI4 | A small argument; a petty quarrel. |
| tr..... | TR7 | Moving pedestrians or vehicles, or the flux or passage thereof. |
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.
- adrift (AD6)
- afar (AF4)
- affair (AF6)
- afraid (AF6)
- aircraft (AI8)
- artifact (AR8)
- craft (CR5)
- daft (DA4)
- diffract† (DI8)
- draft (DR5)
- drift (DR5)
- fact (FA4)
- fair (FA4)
- farad (FA5)
- fart (FA4)
- fiat (FI4)
- frat (FR4)
- friar (FR5)
- frittata (FR8)
- raffia (RA6)
- raft (RA4)
- riff (RI4)
- riffraff (RI8)
- rift (RI4)
- tariff (TA6)
- tiff (TI4)
- traffic (TR7)
Answer Definitions
- adrift (adjective): Floating at random.
- afar (adverb): At, to, or from a great distance; far away.
- affair (noun): Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public.
- afraid (adjective): Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.
- aircraft (noun): A vehicle capable of atmospheric flight due to interaction with the air, such as buoyancy or lift
- artifact (noun): An object made or shaped by human hand or labor.
- craft (noun): Strength; power; might; force .
- daft (adjective): Foolish, silly, stupid.
- diffract† (verb): To cause diffraction
- draft (noun): A current of air, usually coming into a room or vehicle.
- drift (noun): Movement; that which moves or is moved. Anything driven at random. A mass of matter which has been driven or forced onward together in a body, or thrown together in a heap, etc., especially by wind or water.
- fact (noun): Something actual as opposed to invented.
- fair (adjective): Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
- farad (noun): In the International System of Units, the derived unit of electrical capacitance; the capacitance of a capacitor in which one coulomb of charge causes a potential difference of one volt across the capacitor. Symbol: F
- fart (verb): To emit digestive gases from the anus; to flatulate.
- fiat (noun): An arbitrary or authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
- frat (noun): Shortened form of fraternity, college organization.
- friar (noun): A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites, Franciscans, or the Dominicans.
- frittata (noun): A form of omelette in which vegetables, cheese, etc., are mixed into the eggs and cooked together.
- raffia (noun): A fibrous material used for tying plants, originating from the leaves of the raffia palm tree (genus Raphia).
- raft (noun): A flat-bottomed craft able to float and drift on water, used for transport or as a waterborne platform.
- riff (noun): A repeated instrumental melody line in a song.
- riffraff (noun): The rabble; crowds; the common people.
- rift (noun): A chasm or fissure.
- tariff (noun): A system of government-imposed duties levied on imported or exported goods; a list of such duties, or the duties themselves.
- tiff (noun): A small argument; a petty quarrel.
- traffic (noun): Moving pedestrians or vehicles, or the flux or passage thereof.