NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 21, 2020

May 21, 2020 · 7 min read · spelling bee ·

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Spelling Bee "Hive" Board for May 21, 2020

Game Summary

Center Letter	A
Outer Letters	g, i, r, t, v, y
# of Pangrams	1 (Perfect: 1)
Total Words	32 words
Total Points	134 points
Genius Level	94 points
Bingo?	No

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	Σ
A	4	4	2	-	10
G	3	1	-	1	5
I	-	-	-	-	-
R	1	2	2	1	6
T	2	5	2	-	9
V	1	-	1	-	2
Y	-	-	-	-	-
Σ	11	12	7	2	32

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

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

A	AG×2 AI×1 AR×3 AT×2 AV×2
G	GA×2 GR×3
I
R	RA×6
T	TA×5 TI×1 TR×3
V	VA×2
Y

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

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

A	AGA×1 AGI×1 AIR×1 ARI×1 ARR×1 ART×1 ATR×1 ATT×1 AVA×1 AVI×1
G	GAG×1 GAI×1 GRA×3
I
R	RAG×2 RAI×1 RAR×1 RAT×2
T	TAI×1 TAR×3 TAT×1 TIA×1 TRA×2 TRI×1
V	VAG×1 VAR×1
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)
ag..	AG4	A gelatinous material obtained from red algae, especially Gracilaria species, used as a bacterial culture medium, in electrophoresis and as a food additive.
ag...	AG5	dyspepsia
ai..	AI4	(of a room or building) spacious, well lit, and well ventilated.
ar..	AR4	A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
ar...	AR5	an ordered series or arrangement.
ar..	AR4	Inclined toward paintings, music, etc.
at...	AT5	plural of atrium
at...	AT5	An essential oil extracted from flowers.
av....	AV6	An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
av....	AV6	A house, enclosure, large cage, or other place for keeping birds confined; a birdhouse.
ga..	GA4	Mentally senile.
ga..	GA4	Manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving.
gr..... ^†	GR7	The state or condition of having weight; weight; heaviness.
gr...	GR5	A thick sauce made from the fat or juices that come out from meat or vegetables as they are being cooked. A dark savoury sauce prepared from stock and usually meat juices; brown gravy.
gr..	GR4	Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
ra..	RA4	Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form.
ra....	RA6	Unkempt, shabby, or in a state of disrepair.
ra...	RA5	A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt.
ra....	RA6	A measure of the scarcity of an object.
ra.....	RA7	A swiftly repeated knocking sound.
ra...	RA5	Resembling or characteristic of a certain rodent.
ta...	TA5	A subarctic zone of evergreen coniferous forests situated south of the tundras and north of the steppes in the Northern Hemisphere.
ta...	TA5	To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
ta..	TA4	Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
ta....	TA6	A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar.
ta...	TA5	worn and shabby; in poor condition.
ti...	TI5	The papal crown.
tr...	TR5	An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
tr..	TR4	A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried.
tr....	TR6	Insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information.
va....	VA6	An erratic, unpredictable occurrence or action.
va..	VA4	To change with time or a similar parameter.

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.

agar (AG4)
agita (AG5)
airy (AI4)
aria (AR4)
array (AR5)
arty (AR4)
atria (AT5)
attar (AT5)
avatar (AV6)
aviary (AV6)
gaga (GA4)
gait (GA4)
gravity^† (GR7)
gravy (GR5)
gray (GR4)
raga (RA4)
ragtag (RA6)
raita (RA5)
rarity (RA6)
ratatat (RA7)
ratty (RA5)
taiga (TA5)
tarry (TA5)
tart (TA4)
tartar (TA6)
tatty (TA5)
tiara (TI5)
trait (TR5)
tray (TR4)
trivia (TR6)
vagary (VA6)
vary (VA4)

Answer Definitions

agar (noun): A gelatinous material obtained from red algae, especially Gracilaria species, used as a bacterial culture medium, in electrophoresis and as a food additive.
agita (noun): dyspepsia
airy (adjective): (of a room or building) spacious, well lit, and well ventilated.
aria (noun): A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata.
array (noun): an ordered series or arrangement.
arty (adjective): Inclined toward paintings, music, etc.
atria (noun): plural of atrium
attar (noun): An essential oil extracted from flowers.
avatar (noun): An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
aviary (noun): A house, enclosure, large cage, or other place for keeping birds confined; a birdhouse.
gaga (adjective): Mentally senile.
gait (noun): Manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving.
gravity^† (noun): The state or condition of having weight; weight; heaviness.
gravy (noun): A thick sauce made from the fat or juices that come out from meat or vegetables as they are being cooked. A dark savoury sauce prepared from stock and usually meat juices; brown gravy.
gray (adjective): Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
raga (noun): Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form.
ragtag (adjective): Unkempt, shabby, or in a state of disrepair.
raita (noun): A condiment used as a dip or sauce in the cuisine of southern Asia, made from seasoned yogurt.
rarity (noun): A measure of the scarcity of an object.
ratatat (noun): A swiftly repeated knocking sound.
ratty (adjective): Resembling or characteristic of a certain rodent.
taiga (noun): A subarctic zone of evergreen coniferous forests situated south of the tundras and north of the steppes in the Northern Hemisphere.
tarry (verb): To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
tart (adjective): Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
tartar (noun): A red compound deposited during wine making; mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate — a source of cream of tartar.
tatty (noun): worn and shabby; in poor condition.
tiara (noun): The papal crown.
trait (noun): An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
tray (noun): A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried.
trivia (noun): Insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information.
vagary (noun): An erratic, unpredictable occurrence or action.
vary (verb): To change with time or a similar parameter.