NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 23, 2019
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, c, d, h, k, r |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 28 words |
| Total Points | 87 points |
| Genius Level | 61 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</th><th>11 | Σ | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| B | 6 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| C | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| D | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| H | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| K | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | Σ | 18 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 28 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×2 AR×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×7 BR×1 |
| C | CA×2 CH×4 CR×2 |
| D | DA×2 DR×1 |
| H | HA×4 |
| K | |
| R | RA×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABA×1 ABR×1 ARC×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×2 BAC×1 BAR×4 BRA×1 |
| C | CAR×2 CHA×4 CRA×2 |
| D | DAC×1 DAR×1 DRA×1 |
| H | HAC×1 HAR×3 |
| K | |
| R | RAC×1 RAD×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ab... | AB5 | Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'. |
| ab......... | AB11 | A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word. |
| ar.. | AR4 | An inverted U shape. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba... | BA5 | A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins. |
| ba.. | BA4 | At or near the rear. |
| ba.. | BA4 | The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A professional poet and singer, like among the ancient Celts, whose occupation was to compose and sing verses in honor of the heroic achievements of princes and brave men. |
| ba.. | BA4 | To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs). |
| ba..... | BA7 | A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings. |
| br.. | BR4 | A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an escutcheon pin. |
| ca.. | CA4 | Clipping of carbohydrate. |
| ca.. | CA4 | cardinality |
| ch.. | CH4 | Small pieces of paper punched out from the edges of continuous stationery, or from ballot papers, paper tape, punched cards, etc. |
| ch.... | CH6 | Any of (at least) seven centres of spiritual energy in the body, according to Ayurveda philosophy. |
| ch.. | CH4 | To burn something to charcoal. |
| ch... | CH5 | An edible leafy vegetable, Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla, with a slightly bitter taste. |
| cr.. | CR4 | A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace. |
| cr... | CR5 | To form cracks. |
| da... | DA5 | A Russian villa or summer house in the countryside. |
| da.. | DA4 | Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light. |
| dr.. | DR4 | A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour. |
| ha.. | HA4 | To chop or cut down in a rough manner. |
| ha.. | HA4 | Having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Resistant to pressure. |
| ha...... † | HA8 | A book with a solid binding. |
| ha.. | HA4 | To listen attentively. |
| ra.. | RA4 | A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other |
| ra... | RA5 | A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces |
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.
- aback (AB5)
- abracadabra (AB11)
- arch (AR4)
- baba (BA4)
- babka (BA5)
- back (BA4)
- barb (BA4)
- bard (BA4)
- bark (BA4)
- barrack (BA7)
- brad (BR4)
- carb (CA4)
- card (CA4)
- chad (CH4)
- chakra (CH6)
- char (CH4)
- chard (CH5)
- crab (CR4)
- crack (CR5)
- dacha (DA5)
- dark (DA4)
- drab (DR4)
- hack (HA4)
- hard (HA4)
- hardback† (HA8)
- hark (HA4)
- rack (RA4)
- radar (RA5)
Answer Definitions
- aback (adverb): Toward the rear; Phrase: 'to be taken ____', meaning 'surprised'.
- abracadabra (noun): A use of the mystical term ‘abracadabra’, supposed to work as part of a healing charm or a magical spell; any spell or incantation making use of the word.
- arch (noun): An inverted U shape.
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- babka (noun): A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins.
- back (adjective): At or near the rear.
- barb (noun): The point that stands backward in an arrow, fishhook, etc., to prevent it from being easily extracted. Hence: Anything which stands out with a sharp point obliquely or crosswise to something else.
- bard (noun): A professional poet and singer, like among the ancient Celts, whose occupation was to compose and sing verses in honor of the heroic achievements of princes and brave men.
- bark (verb): To make a short, loud, explosive noise with the vocal organs (said of animals, especially dogs).
- barrack (noun): A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set of buildings.
- brad (noun): A thin, small nail, with a slight projection at the top on one side instead of a head, or occasionally with a small domed head, similar to that of an escutcheon pin.
- carb (noun): Clipping of carbohydrate.
- card (symbol): cardinality
- chad (noun): Small pieces of paper punched out from the edges of continuous stationery, or from ballot papers, paper tape, punched cards, etc.
- chakra (noun): Any of (at least) seven centres of spiritual energy in the body, according to Ayurveda philosophy.
- char (verb): To burn something to charcoal.
- chard (noun): An edible leafy vegetable, Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla, with a slightly bitter taste.
- crab (noun): A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
- crack (verb): To form cracks.
- dacha (noun): A Russian villa or summer house in the countryside.
- dark (adjective): Having an absolute or (more often) relative lack of light.
- drab (noun): A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour.
- hack (verb): To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
- hard (adjective): Having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Resistant to pressure.
- hardback† (noun): A book with a solid binding.
- hark (verb): To listen attentively.
- rack (noun): A series of one or more shelves, stacked one above the other
- radar (noun): A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces