NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 3, 2020

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for January 3, 2020

Game Summary

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for January 3, 2020
Center LetterN
Outer Lettersd, g, h, o, r, u
# of Pangrams1 (Perfect: none)
Total Words25 words
Total Points102 points
Genius Level71 points
Bingo?No

Table of Contents

As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!

  1. Spelling Bee Grid
  2. Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
  3. Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
  4. Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
  5. Today's Complete Solution
  6. Answer Definitions

If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).

Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for January 3, 2020

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>9Σ
D221---5
G2-2--15
H22----4
N2--1--3
O-------
R12----3
U2-2-1-5
Σ116511125

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

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

D
DO×2
DU×3
G
GO×3
GR×2
H
HO×3
HU×1
N
NO×2
NU×1
O
R
RO×2
RU×1
U
UD×1
UN×4

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

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

D
DON×2
DUG×1
DUN×2
G
GON×1
GOO×1
GOR×1
GRO×2
H
HON×1
HOR×1
HOU×1
HUN×1
N
NOO×1
NOU×1
NUN×1
O
R
RON×1
ROU×1
RUN×1
U
UDO×1
UND×1
UNG×1
UNH×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 ().

Word2L RefDefinition (click to reveal)
do..DO4The currency of Vietnam, 100 xus. Symbol: ₫
do...DO5One who makes a donation.
du....DU6A plant-eating aquatic marine mammal, of the genus Dugong, found in tropical regions.
du..DU4Manure; animal excrement.
du...DU5Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
go..GO4A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer.
go..GO4A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
go....GO6A vicious female monster from Greek mythology with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. One of the three sisters: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale
gr....GR6The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
gr....... GR9A red-brown marmot, Marmota monax, native to North America.
ho...HO5recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration
ho..HO4A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
ho...HO5A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals.
hu..HU4simple past tense and past participle of hang (except when referring to the method of execution; there, hanged is used instead)
no..NO4The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
no..NO4A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
nu.....NU7The status or condition of being a nun.
ro...RO5A musical composition, commonly of a lively, cheerful character, in which the first strain recurs after each of the other strains.
ro...RO5Of shape: Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
ru..RU4A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
ud..UD4a Japanese wheat noodle
un..UN4To reverse the effects of an action.
un......UN8Not having been ground; unpulverized.
un....UN6To remove the hood from.
un....UN6Not (yet) executed by hanging; unhanged.

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.

  • dong  (DO4)
  • donor  (DO5)
  • dugong  (DU6)
  • dung  (DU4)
  • dunno  (DU5)
  • gong  (GO4)
  • goon  (GO4)
  • gorgon  (GO6)
  • ground  (GR6)
  • groundhog  (GR9)
  • honor  (HO5)
  • horn  (HO4)
  • hound  (HO5)
  • hung  (HU4)
  • noon  (NO4)
  • noun  (NO4)
  • nunhood  (NU7)
  • rondo  (RO5)
  • round  (RO5)
  • rung  (RU4)
  • udon  (UD4)
  • undo  (UN4)
  • unground  (UN8)
  • unhood  (UN6)
  • unhung  (UN6)

Answer Definitions

  • dong (noun): The currency of Vietnam, 100 xus. Symbol: ₫
  • donor (noun): One who makes a donation.
  • dugong (noun): A plant-eating aquatic marine mammal, of the genus Dugong, found in tropical regions.
  • dung (noun): Manure; animal excrement.
  • dunno (contraction): Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
  • gong (noun): A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer.
  • goon (noun): A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
  • gorgon (noun): A vicious female monster from Greek mythology with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. One of the three sisters: Medusa, Stheno and Euryale
  • ground (noun): The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
  • groundhog (noun): A red-brown marmot, Marmota monax, native to North America.
  • honor (noun): recognition of importance or value; respect; veneration
  • horn (noun): A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired.
  • hound (noun): A dog, particularly a breed with a good sense of smell developed for hunting other animals.
  • hung (verb): simple past tense and past participle of hang (except when referring to the method of execution; there, hanged is used instead)
  • noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
  • noun (noun): A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
  • nunhood (noun): The status or condition of being a nun.
  • rondo (noun): A musical composition, commonly of a lively, cheerful character, in which the first strain recurs after each of the other strains.
  • round (adjective): Of shape: Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
  • rung (noun): A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
  • udon (noun): a Japanese wheat noodle
  • undo (verb): To reverse the effects of an action.
  • unground (adjective): Not having been ground; unpulverized.
  • unhood (verb): To remove the hood from.
  • unhung (adjective): Not (yet) executed by hanging; unhanged.