NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 28, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, l, n, t, v, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 37 words |
| Total Points | 143 points |
| Genius Level | 100 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 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| C | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | 13 |
| L | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| N | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | 9 |
| T | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 |
| V | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 16 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 37 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×2 AN×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CA×10 CL×2 CY×1 |
| L | LA×2 |
| N | NA×9 |
| T | TA×5 |
| V | VA×4 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALL×2 ANA×2 |
|---|---|
| C | CAL×2 CAN×5 CAT×2 CAV×1 CLA×2 CYA×1 |
| L | LAC×1 LAV×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAN×2 NAT×3 NAV×3 |
| T | TAC×1 TAL×3 TAT×1 |
| V | VAC×4 |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| al... | AL5 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| al.. | AL4 | To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an.... | AN6 | Involving the anus. |
| ca.. | CA4 | A telephone conversation; a phone call. |
| ca... | CA5 | A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe. |
| ca... | CA5 | An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation. |
| ca.... | CA6 | A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France. |
| ca... | CA5 | Careful, prudent, cautious. |
| ca.. | CA4 | An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music. |
| ca..... | CA7 | A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo. |
| ca... | CA5 | With subtle hostility in an effort to hurt, annoy, or upset, particularly among women. |
| ca.. | CA4 | Alternative letter-case form of Cava, a Catalan white sparkling wine. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics. |
| cy.. | CY4 | A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light. |
| la.. | LA4 | Made of lace or decorated with it. |
| la.. | LA4 | The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides. |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| na... | NA5 | A child's nurse. |
| na... | NA5 | Of or relating to birth. |
| na.... | NA6 | floating or swimming (in water) |
| na... | NA5 | Smart and fashionable. |
| na... | NA5 | Of or relating to a navy. |
| na..... | NA7 | In a naval manner; with relation to a navy. |
| na.. | NA4 | A country's entire sea force, including ships and personnel. |
| ta.. | TA4 | The sense of touch; feeling. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic. |
| ta.. | TA4 | Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall. |
| ta... | TA5 | Target sighted. |
| ta... | TA5 | worn and shabby; in poor condition. |
| va..... | VA7 | An unoccupied position or job. |
| va.... | VA6 | Not occupied; empty. |
| va...... † | VA8 | In a vacant manner; inanely or foolishly. |
| va... | VA5 | A vacation. |
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.
- allay (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- anal (AN4)
- anally (AN6)
- call (CA4)
- calla (CA5)
- canal (CA5)
- cancan (CA6)
- canny (CA5)
- cant (CA4)
- cantata (CA7)
- catcall (CA7)
- catty (CA5)
- cava (CA4)
- clan (CL4)
- clay (CL4)
- cyan (CY4)
- lacy (LA4)
- lava (LA4)
- naan (NA4)
- nana (NA4)
- nanny (NA5)
- natal (NA5)
- natant (NA6)
- natty (NA5)
- naval (NA5)
- navally (NA7)
- navy (NA4)
- tact (TA4)
- talc (TA4)
- tall (TA4)
- tally (TA5)
- tatty (TA5)
- vacancy (VA7)
- vacant (VA6)
- vacantly† (VA8)
- vacay (VA5)
Answer Definitions
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- ally (verb): To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- anally (adverb): Involving the anus.
- call (noun): A telephone conversation; a phone call.
- calla (noun): A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.
- canal (noun): An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.
- cancan (noun): A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.
- canny (adjective): Careful, prudent, cautious.
- cant (noun): An argot, the jargon of a particular class or subgroup.
- cantata (noun): A vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century Italian music.
- catcall (noun): A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
- catty (adjective): With subtle hostility in an effort to hurt, annoy, or upset, particularly among women.
- cava (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Cava, a Catalan white sparkling wine.
- clan (noun): A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known.
- clay (noun): A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.
- cyan (noun): A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue and green in the visible spectrum; the complementary colour of red; the colour obtained by subtracting red from white light.
- lacy (adjective): Made of lace or decorated with it.
- lava (noun): The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides.
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- nanny (noun): A child's nurse.
- natal (adjective): Of or relating to birth.
- natant (adjective): floating or swimming (in water)
- natty (adjective): Smart and fashionable.
- naval (adjective): Of or relating to a navy.
- navally (adverb): In a naval manner; with relation to a navy.
- navy (noun): A country's entire sea force, including ships and personnel.
- tact (noun): The sense of touch; feeling.
- talc (noun): Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.
- tall (adjective): Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
- tally (interjection): Target sighted.
- tatty (noun): worn and shabby; in poor condition.
- vacancy (noun): An unoccupied position or job.
- vacant (adjective): Not occupied; empty.
- vacantly† (adverb): In a vacant manner; inanely or foolishly.
- vacay (noun): A vacation.