NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 23, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, h, i, m, n, p |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 25 words |
| Total Points | 106 points |
| Genius Level | 74 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 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| B | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| H | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| I | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| M | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 9 |
| N | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| P | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 | Σ | 10 | 8 | 4 | - | 2 | 1 | 25 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AM×1 AN×1 AP×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×2 BI×1 |
| H | |
| I | IA×2 IM×1 |
| M | MA×8 MI×1 |
| N | NA×2 |
| P | PA×5 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AMP×1 ANI×1 API×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×1 BAN×1 BIB×1 |
| H | |
| I | IAM×2 IMA×1 |
| M | MAH×1 MAI×2 MAM×3 MAN×2 MIN×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAN×1 |
| P | PAI×1 PAM×1 PAN×2 PAP×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) |
|---|---|---|
| am....... † | AM9 | Of or relating to the class Amphibia. |
| an... | AN5 | The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus. |
| ap... | AP5 | Relating to bees. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba.... | BA6 | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking. |
| bi...... | BI8 | A Korean dish of white rice topped with vegetables, beef, a whole egg, and gochujang (chili pepper paste). |
| ia.. | IA4 | A metrical foot in verse consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. |
| ia... | IA5 | plural of iambus |
| im.. | IM4 | One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque. |
| ma...... | MA8 | Alternative spelling of mahi-mahi |
| ma.. | MA4 | To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. |
| ma.. | MA4 | Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal. |
| ma.. | MA4 | Mother, female parent. |
| ma... | MA5 | Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees. |
| ma... | MA5 | The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder. |
| ma... | MA5 | Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity. |
| ma... | MA5 | Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus. |
| mi.... | MI6 | plural of minimum |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| pa.. | PA4 | An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt. |
| pa... | PA5 | singular of pampas |
| pa.... | PA6 | a lightweight hat of natural-colored straw hand-plaited of narrow strips from the young leaves of the jipijapa |
| pa.... | PA6 | A type of grilled sandwich made of a small loaf of bread, cut horizontally, filled with meat such as salami or ham, cheese or other food. |
| pa.. | PA4 | Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father. |
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.
- amphibian† (AM9)
- anima (AN5)
- apian (AP5)
- baba (BA4)
- banana (BA6)
- bibimbap (BI8)
- iamb (IA4)
- iambi (IA5)
- imam (IM4)
- mahimahi (MA8)
- maim (MA4)
- main (MA4)
- mama (MA4)
- mamba (MA5)
- mamma (MA5)
- mania (MA5)
- manna (MA5)
- minima (MI6)
- naan (NA4)
- nana (NA4)
- pain (PA4)
- pampa (PA5)
- panama (PA6)
- panini (PA6)
- papa (PA4)
Answer Definitions
- amphibian† (adjective): Of or relating to the class Amphibia.
- anima (noun): The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.
- apian (adjective): Relating to bees.
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- banana (noun): An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
- bibimbap (noun): A Korean dish of white rice topped with vegetables, beef, a whole egg, and gochujang (chili pepper paste).
- iamb (noun): A metrical foot in verse consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
- iambi (noun): plural of iambus
- imam (noun): One who leads the salat prayers in a mosque.
- mahimahi (noun): Alternative spelling of mahi-mahi
- maim (verb): To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.
- main (adjective): Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal.
- mama (noun): Mother, female parent.
- mamba (noun): Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.
- mamma (noun): The milk-secreting organ of female humans and other mammals which includes the mammary gland and the nipple or teat; a breast; an udder.
- mania (noun): Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.
- manna (noun): Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.
- minima (noun): plural of minimum
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- pain (noun): An ache or bodily suffering, or an instance of this; an unpleasant sensation, resulting from a derangement of functions, disease, or injury by violence; hurt.
- pampa (noun): singular of pampas
- panama (noun): a lightweight hat of natural-colored straw hand-plaited of narrow strips from the young leaves of the jipijapa
- panini (noun): A type of grilled sandwich made of a small loaf of bread, cut horizontally, filled with meat such as salami or ham, cheese or other food.
- papa (noun): Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.