NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 20, 2019
Game Summary
| Center Letter | T |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | d, g, h, o, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 45 words |
| Total Points | 185 points |
| Genius Level | 130 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 |
| G | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| H | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| O | - | 4 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 6 |
| R | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| T | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 23 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 19 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | - | 2 | 45 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| D | DO×2 DR×1 DU×1 |
|---|---|
| G | GO×2 GR×2 |
| H | HO×2 HU×1 |
| O | OU×6 |
| R | RO×5 |
| T | TH×8 TO×7 TR×6 TU×2 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| D | DOG×1 DOT×1 DRO×1 DUG×1 |
|---|---|
| G | GOT×1 GOU×1 GRO×2 |
| H | HOO×1 HOT×1 HUR×1 |
| O | OUG×1 OUT×5 |
| R | ROO×1 ROT×3 ROU×1 |
| T | THO×4 THR×2 THU×2 TOO×2 TOR×2 TOU×3 TRO×5 TRU×1 TUT×2 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| do..... | DO7 | A steady trotting motion similar to that of a dog. |
| do.. | DO4 | third-person singular simple present indicative form of do |
| dr..... † | DR7 | A period of unusually low rainfall, longer and more severe than a dry spell. |
| du.... | DU6 | A canoe made from a hollowed-out log. |
| go.. | GO4 | A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes. |
| go.. | GO4 | An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints. |
| gr.... | GR6 | A small cave. |
| gr... | GR5 | A thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A derisive cry or shout. |
| ho.... | HO6 | Alternative spelling of hot dog |
| hu.. | HU4 | To cause (a person or animal) physical pain and/or injury. |
| ou... | OU5 | simple past tense of owe |
| ou... | OU5 | To excel; go beyond in performance; surpass. |
| ou..... | OU7 | Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air. |
| ou... | OU5 | To go out, to set forth. |
| ou... | OU5 | A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning. |
| ou........ | OU10 | simple past tense and past participle of outthink |
| ro.. | RO4 | The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction. |
| ro.... | RO6 | Raw or poor-quality alcoholic liquor. |
| ro.. | RO4 | Clipping of rotogravure. |
| ro... | RO5 | A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone. |
| th...... | TH8 | Painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail. |
| th.. | TH4 | Nominative singular of ye (“you”). |
| th.... | TH6 | Despite that; however. |
| th..... | TH7 | Form created in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses; an instance of thinking. |
| th..... | TH7 | From one side of an opening to the other. |
| th........ | TH10 | In every part of; all through. |
| th.. | TH4 | The sound of a dull impact. |
| th.. | TH4 | Someone with an intimidating and unseemly appearance and mannerisms, who treats others violently and roughly, often for hire. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| to... | TO5 | A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating. |
| to.. | TO4 | A traditional Japanese lantern. |
| to.. | TO4 | An injury or wrong. |
| to... | TO5 | Strong and resilient; sturdy. |
| to.. | TO4 | A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc. |
| to.. | TO4 | Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way. |
| tr.. | TR4 | simple past tense of tread |
| tr.. | TR4 | An ugly old woman, a hag. |
| tr... | TR5 | An oath, pledge, or promise. A pledge or promise to marry someone. The state of being thus pledged; betrothal, engagement. |
| tr.... | TR6 | A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals. |
| tr... | TR5 | Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once. |
| tr... | TR5 | True facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality. |
| tu... | TU5 | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
| tu.. | TU4 | A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting. |
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.
- dogtrot (DO7)
- doth (DO4)
- drought† (DR7)
- dugout (DU6)
- goth (GO4)
- gout (GO4)
- grotto (GR6)
- grout (GR5)
- hoot (HO4)
- hotdog (HO6)
- hurt (HU4)
- ought (OU5)
- outdo (OU5)
- outdoor (OU7)
- outgo (OU5)
- outro (OU5)
- outthought (OU10)
- root (RO4)
- rotgut (RO6)
- roto (RO4)
- rotor (RO5)
- rout (RO4)
- thorough (TH8)
- thou (TH4)
- though (TH6)
- thought (TH7)
- through (TH7)
- throughout (TH10)
- thud (TH4)
- thug (TH4)
- toot (TO4)
- tooth (TO5)
- toro (TO4)
- tort (TO4)
- tough (TO5)
- tour (TO4)
- tout (TO4)
- trod (TR4)
- trot (TR4)
- troth (TR5)
- trough (TR6)
- trout (TR5)
- truth (TR5)
- tutor (TU5)
- tutu (TU4)
Answer Definitions
- dogtrot (noun): A steady trotting motion similar to that of a dog.
- doth (verb): third-person singular simple present indicative form of do
- drought† (noun): A period of unusually low rainfall, longer and more severe than a dry spell.
- dugout (noun): A canoe made from a hollowed-out log.
- goth (noun): A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.
- gout (noun): An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints.
- grotto (noun): A small cave.
- grout (noun): A thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry.
- hoot (noun): A derisive cry or shout.
- hotdog (noun): Alternative spelling of hot dog
- hurt (verb): To cause (a person or animal) physical pain and/or injury.
- ought (verb): simple past tense of owe
- outdo (verb): To excel; go beyond in performance; surpass.
- outdoor (adjective): Situated in, designed to be used in, or carried on in the open air.
- outgo (verb): To go out, to set forth.
- outro (noun): A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning.
- outthought (verb): simple past tense and past participle of outthink
- root (noun): The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
- rotgut (noun): Raw or poor-quality alcoholic liquor.
- roto (noun): Clipping of rotogravure.
- rotor (noun): A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
- rout (noun): A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.
- thorough (adjective): Painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail.
- thou (pronoun): Nominative singular of ye (“you”).
- though (adverb): Despite that; however.
- thought (noun): Form created in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses; an instance of thinking.
- through (preposition): From one side of an opening to the other.
- throughout (preposition): In every part of; all through.
- thud (noun): The sound of a dull impact.
- thug (noun): Someone with an intimidating and unseemly appearance and mannerisms, who treats others violently and roughly, often for hire.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
- tooth (noun): A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating.
- toro (noun): A traditional Japanese lantern.
- tort (noun): An injury or wrong.
- tough (adjective): Strong and resilient; sturdy.
- tour (noun): A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc.
- tout (noun): Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- trod (verb): simple past tense of tread
- trot (noun): An ugly old woman, a hag.
- troth (noun): An oath, pledge, or promise. A pledge or promise to marry someone. The state of being thus pledged; betrothal, engagement.
- trough (noun): A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.
- trout (noun): Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once.
- truth (noun): True facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality.
- tutor (noun): One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction.
- tutu (noun): A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.