NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 18, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, h, r, t, w, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 54 words |
| Total Points | 240 points |
| Genius Level | 168 points |
| Bingo? | Yes |
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 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 5 |
| H | 3 | 1 | 4 | - | - | 1 | 9 |
| O | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| R | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 7 |
| T | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 17 |
| W | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 9 |
| Y | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 19 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 54 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AH×1 AO×1 AR×3 |
|---|---|
| H | HA×1 HO×8 |
| O | OA×2 OR×2 |
| R | RO×7 |
| T | TA×3 TH×4 TO×6 TR×3 TY×1 |
| W | WA×1 WH×1 WO×7 |
| Y | YA×2 YO×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AHO×1 AOR×1 ARR×3 |
|---|---|
| H | HAR×1 HOA×2 HOO×3 HOR×3 |
| O | OAT×2 ORA×2 |
| R | ROA×1 ROO×1 ROT×5 |
| T | TAR×2 TAT×1 THR×4 TOO×3 TOR×3 TRO×3 TYR×1 |
| W | WAH×1 WHO×1 WOO×2 WOR×5 |
| Y | YAH×1 YAR×1 YOO×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ah.. | AH4 | Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention. |
| ao... | AO5 | The great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs; the main trunk of the arterial system. |
| ar... | AR5 | A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow. |
| ar....... | AR9 | Maranta arundinacea from the Marantaceae family, a large perennial herb native to the Caribbean area with green leaves about 15 centimeters long. |
| ar.... | AR6 | A dry creek or streambed, a gulch which temporarily or seasonally fills and flows (after sufficient rain). |
| ha.... | HA6 | A device consisting of a heavy framework having several disks or teeth in a row, which is dragged across ploughed land to smooth or break up the soil, to remove weeds or cover seeds; a harrow plow. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A white or greyish-white colour. |
| ho... | HO5 | White, whitish, or greyish-white. |
| ho.... | HO6 | Alternative form of hurrah |
| ho.... | HO6 | Used to express approval, joy or victory. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A derisive cry or shout. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A circle dance popular in the Balkans, Israel and Yiddish culture worldwide. |
| ho.... | HO6 | An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. |
| ho....... | HO9 | Giving exhortation or advice; encouraging. |
| oa.. | OA4 | A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise. |
| oa.. | OA4 | Containing oats. |
| or.... | OR6 | Someone who orates or delivers an oration. |
| or..... | OR7 | A private chapel or prayer room. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. |
| 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 | Capable of rotation. |
| ro..... | RO7 | One who or that which rotates. |
| ro...... | RO8 | of, pertaining to, or causing rotation; rotational |
| ro.. | RO4 | Clipping of rotogravure. |
| ro... | RO5 | A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Colocasia esculenta, raised as a food primarily for its corm, which distantly resembles potato. |
| ta... | TA5 | A card game played in various different variations. |
| ta.... | TA6 | An image made in the skin with ink and a needle. |
| th.... | TH6 | The front part of the neck. |
| th..... | TH7 | Produced in the throat; having a rough or coarse quality like a sound produced in the throat. |
| th... | TH5 | To hurl; to cause an object to move rapidly through the air. |
| th....... † | TH9 | Disposable; intended for a single use prior to being discarded. |
| 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.... | TO6 | Having prominent teeth |
| to... | TO5 | the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible |
| to.. | TO4 | A traditional Japanese lantern. |
| to.. | TO4 | An injury or wrong. |
| 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.. | TR4 | Of, or relating to, troy weight. |
| ty.. | TY4 | A beginner; a novice. |
| wa... | WA5 | Acanthocybium solandri, a tropical and subtropical game fish. |
| wh.. | WH4 | Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down. |
| wo.... | WO6 | Used to express sudden or exuberant joy, happiness, excitement, approval or delight. |
| wo.. | WO4 | Alternative form of w00t |
| wo... | WO5 | To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt. |
| wo....... | WO9 | A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters. |
| wo.. | WO4 | A plant; herb; vegetable. |
| wo... | WO5 | Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for. |
| wo.... | WO6 | having worth, merit, or value |
| ya... | YA5 | A rough, coarse, loud or uncouth person |
| ya.... | YA6 | Any of several pungent Eurasian and North American herbs, of the genus Achillea, used in traditional herbal medicine. |
| yo.... | YO6 | Used to get attention. |
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.
- ahoy (AH4)
- aorta (AO5)
- arrow (AR5)
- arrowroot (AR9)
- arroyo (AR6)
- harrow (HA6)
- hoar (HO4)
- hoary (HO5)
- hoorah (HO6)
- hooray (HO6)
- hoot (HO4)
- hora (HO4)
- horror (HO6)
- hortatory (HO9)
- oath (OA4)
- oaty (OA4)
- orator (OR6)
- oratory (OR7)
- roar (RO4)
- root (RO4)
- rotary (RO6)
- rotator (RO7)
- rotatory (RO8)
- roto (RO4)
- rotor (RO5)
- taro (TA4)
- tarot (TA5)
- tattoo (TA6)
- throat (TH6)
- throaty (TH7)
- throw (TH5)
- throwaway† (TH9)
- toot (TO4)
- tooth (TO5)
- toothy (TO6)
- torah (TO5)
- toro (TO4)
- tort (TO4)
- trot (TR4)
- troth (TR5)
- troy (TR4)
- tyro (TY4)
- wahoo (WA5)
- whoa (WH4)
- woohoo (WO6)
- woot (WO4)
- worry (WO5)
- worrywart (WO9)
- wort (WO4)
- worth (WO5)
- worthy (WO6)
- yahoo (YA5)
- yarrow (YA6)
- yoohoo (YO6)
Answer Definitions
- ahoy (interjection): Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.
- aorta (noun): The great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs; the main trunk of the arterial system.
- arrow (noun): A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.
- arrowroot (noun): Maranta arundinacea from the Marantaceae family, a large perennial herb native to the Caribbean area with green leaves about 15 centimeters long.
- arroyo (noun): A dry creek or streambed, a gulch which temporarily or seasonally fills and flows (after sufficient rain).
- harrow (noun): A device consisting of a heavy framework having several disks or teeth in a row, which is dragged across ploughed land to smooth or break up the soil, to remove weeds or cover seeds; a harrow plow.
- hoar (noun): A white or greyish-white colour.
- hoary (adjective): White, whitish, or greyish-white.
- hoorah (interjection): Alternative form of hurrah
- hooray (interjection): Used to express approval, joy or victory.
- hoot (noun): A derisive cry or shout.
- hora (noun): A circle dance popular in the Balkans, Israel and Yiddish culture worldwide.
- horror (noun): An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
- hortatory (adjective): Giving exhortation or advice; encouraging.
- oath (noun): A solemn pledge or promise that invokes a deity, a ruler, or another entity (not necessarily present) to attest the truth of a statement or sincerity of one's desire to fulfill a contract or promise.
- oaty (adjective): Containing oats.
- orator (noun): Someone who orates or delivers an oration.
- oratory (noun): A private chapel or prayer room.
- roar (verb): To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
- 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.
- rotary (adjective): Capable of rotation.
- rotator (noun): One who or that which rotates.
- rotatory (adjective): of, pertaining to, or causing rotation; rotational
- roto (noun): Clipping of rotogravure.
- rotor (noun): A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
- taro (noun): Colocasia esculenta, raised as a food primarily for its corm, which distantly resembles potato.
- tarot (noun): A card game played in various different variations.
- tattoo (noun): An image made in the skin with ink and a needle.
- throat (noun): The front part of the neck.
- throaty (adjective): Produced in the throat; having a rough or coarse quality like a sound produced in the throat.
- throw (verb): To hurl; to cause an object to move rapidly through the air.
- throwaway† (adjective): Disposable; intended for a single use prior to being discarded.
- 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.
- toothy (adjective): Having prominent teeth
- torah (noun): the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible
- toro (noun): A traditional Japanese lantern.
- tort (noun): An injury or wrong.
- 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.
- troy (adjective): Of, or relating to, troy weight.
- tyro (noun): A beginner; a novice.
- wahoo (noun): Acanthocybium solandri, a tropical and subtropical game fish.
- whoa (interjection): Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
- woohoo (interjection): Used to express sudden or exuberant joy, happiness, excitement, approval or delight.
- woot (interjection): Alternative form of w00t
- worry (verb): To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.
- worrywart (noun): A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters.
- wort (noun): A plant; herb; vegetable.
- worth (adjective): Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
- worthy (adjective): having worth, merit, or value
- yahoo (noun): A rough, coarse, loud or uncouth person
- yarrow (noun): Any of several pungent Eurasian and North American herbs, of the genus Achillea, used in traditional herbal medicine.
- yoohoo (interjection): Used to get attention.