NYT Spelling Bee Answers for August 21, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, e, g, m, n, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 48 words |
| Total Points | 171 points |
| Genius Level | 120 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 | Σ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 7 | 7 | 5 | - | 1 | 20 |
| E | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| G | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| M | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| N | 4 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| O | 4 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Y | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | Σ | 23 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 48 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BE×1 BO×18 BY×1 |
|---|---|
| E | EB×2 EG×1 |
| G | GE×1 GN×1 GO×6 |
| M | ME×1 MO×7 |
| N | NE×1 NO×3 |
| O | OB×2 OG×1 OM×1 |
| Y | YE×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BEG×1 BOG×3 BOM×2 BON×7 BOO×6 BYG×1 |
|---|---|
| E | EBO×2 EGG×1 |
| G | GEN×1 GNO×1 GOB×1 GON×2 GOO×3 |
| M | MEM×1 MOM×1 MON×4 MOO×2 |
| N | NEO×1 NON×1 NOO×2 |
| O | OBE×1 OBO×1 OGE×1 OME×1 |
| Y | YEO×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) |
|---|---|---|
| be.... | BE6 | Expressing a desire or a command for someone or something to go away. |
| bo... | BO5 | The Devil. |
| bo...... † | BO8 | plural of bogeyman |
| bo... | BO5 | Having the qualities of a bog; i.e. dank, squishy, muddy, and full of water and rotting vegetation. |
| bo.. | BO4 | An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, one dropped from an aircraft. The atomic bomb. |
| bo... | BO5 | A dessert made from ice cream frozen in a (generally spherical or hemispherical) mold. |
| bo.... | BO6 | A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. |
| bo.. | BO4 | The clang of a large bell. |
| bo... | BO5 | A striped bovine mammal found in Africa, Tragelaphus eurycerus. |
| bo... | BO5 | Alternative spelling of bonnie |
| bo.... | BO6 | The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river. |
| bo.. | BO4 | resembling, having the appearance or consistence of, or relating to bone; osseous. |
| bo.. | BO4 | An idiot; a fool. |
| bo.... | BO6 | Alternative spelling of boo-boo |
| bo... | BO5 | A stupid person. |
| bo.. | BO4 | To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound. |
| bo... | BO5 | Characterized by heavy bass sounds. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A prayer; petition. |
| by.... | BY6 | Having been or happened in the distant past. |
| eb.. | EB4 | (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree. |
| eb... | EB5 | A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros. |
| eg.... | EG6 | A beverage based on milk, eggs, sugar, and nutmeg; often made alcoholic with rum, brandy or whisky; popular at Christmas. |
| ge.... | GE6 | The complete genetic information (either DNA or, in some viruses, RNA) of an organism. |
| gn... | GN5 | A brief reflection or maxim; a pithy saying. |
| go.. | GO4 | Any of various small fish from the large family Gobiidae, in which the pelvic fins are fused to form a disc-shaped sucker. |
| go.. | GO4 | past participle of go |
| go.. | GO4 | A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer. |
| go... | GO5 | of or relating to goo |
| go.. | GO4 | A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon'). |
| go... | GO5 | Of or like a goon; thuggish; brutal. |
| me.. | ME4 | A short note; a memorandum. |
| mo... | MO5 | Mother. |
| mo... | MO5 | A legally or socially binding conceptual contract of entitlement to wealth, void of intrinsic value, payable for all debts and taxes, and regulated in supply. |
| mo...... | MO8 | plural of moneyman |
| mo.. | MO4 | Clipping of mononucleosis. |
| mo..... | MO7 | A single name by which a person, thing, etc., is known. |
| mo.. | MO4 | Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”). |
| mo... | MO5 | Resembling the moon. |
| ne.. | NE4 | The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas. |
| no.. | NO4 | Not any of a given number or group. |
| no.. | NO4 | A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| ob.. | OB4 | To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of. |
| ob.. | OB4 | A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It is a member of the double reed family. |
| og.. | OG4 | A double curve in the shape of an elongated S; an object of that shape. |
| om.. | OM4 | Something which portends or is perceived to portend either a good or evil event or circumstance in the future, or which causes a foreboding; a portent or augury. |
| ye.... | YE6 | plural of yeoman |
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.
- begone (BE6)
- bogey (BO5)
- bogeymen† (BO8)
- boggy (BO5)
- bomb (BO4)
- bombe (BO5)
- bonbon (BO6)
- bone (BO4)
- bong (BO4)
- bongo (BO5)
- bonny (BO5)
- bonobo (BO6)
- bony (BO4)
- boob (BO4)
- booboo (BO6)
- booby (BO5)
- boom (BO4)
- boomy (BO5)
- boon (BO4)
- bygone (BY6)
- ebon (EB4)
- ebony (EB5)
- eggnog (EG6)
- genome (GE6)
- gnome (GN5)
- goby (GO4)
- gone (GO4)
- gong (GO4)
- gooey (GO5)
- goon (GO4)
- goony (GO5)
- memo (ME4)
- mommy (MO5)
- money (MO5)
- moneymen (MO8)
- mono (MO4)
- mononym (MO7)
- moon (MO4)
- moony (MO5)
- neon (NE4)
- none (NO4)
- noob (NO4)
- noon (NO4)
- obey (OB4)
- oboe (OB4)
- ogee (OG4)
- omen (OM4)
- yeomen (YE6)
Answer Definitions
- begone (interjection): Expressing a desire or a command for someone or something to go away.
- bogey (noun): The Devil.
- bogeymen† (noun): plural of bogeyman
- boggy (adjective): Having the qualities of a bog; i.e. dank, squishy, muddy, and full of water and rotting vegetation.
- bomb (noun): An explosive device used or intended as a weapon, one dropped from an aircraft. The atomic bomb.
- bombe (noun): A dessert made from ice cream frozen in a (generally spherical or hemispherical) mold.
- bonbon (noun): A sweet, especially a small chocolate-covered candy.
- bone (noun): A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
- bong (noun): The clang of a large bell.
- bongo (noun): A striped bovine mammal found in Africa, Tragelaphus eurycerus.
- bonny (adjective): Alternative spelling of bonnie
- bonobo (noun): The pygmy chimpanzee, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.
- bony (adjective): resembling, having the appearance or consistence of, or relating to bone; osseous.
- boob (noun): An idiot; a fool.
- booboo (noun): Alternative spelling of boo-boo
- booby (noun): A stupid person.
- boom (verb): To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.
- boomy (adjective): Characterized by heavy bass sounds.
- boon (noun): A prayer; petition.
- bygone (adjective): Having been or happened in the distant past.
- ebon (noun): (now poetic) Ebony; an ebony tree.
- ebony (noun): A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros.
- eggnog (noun): A beverage based on milk, eggs, sugar, and nutmeg; often made alcoholic with rum, brandy or whisky; popular at Christmas.
- genome (noun): The complete genetic information (either DNA or, in some viruses, RNA) of an organism.
- gnome (noun): A brief reflection or maxim; a pithy saying.
- goby (noun): Any of various small fish from the large family Gobiidae, in which the pelvic fins are fused to form a disc-shaped sucker.
- gone (verb): past participle of go
- gong (noun): A percussion instrument consisting of a metal disk that emits a sonorous sound when struck with a soft hammer.
- gooey (adjective): of or relating to goo
- goon (noun): A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
- goony (adjective): Of or like a goon; thuggish; brutal.
- memo (noun): A short note; a memorandum.
- mommy (noun): Mother.
- money (noun): A legally or socially binding conceptual contract of entitlement to wealth, void of intrinsic value, payable for all debts and taxes, and regulated in supply.
- moneymen (noun): plural of moneyman
- mono (noun): Clipping of mononucleosis.
- mononym (noun): A single name by which a person, thing, etc., is known.
- moon (proper noun): Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
- moony (adjective): Resembling the moon.
- neon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Ne) with an atomic number of 10. The second of the noble gases, it is a colourless, odorless inert gas.
- none (pronoun): Not any of a given number or group.
- noob (noun): A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- obey (verb): To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of.
- oboe (noun): A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It is a member of the double reed family.
- ogee (noun): A double curve in the shape of an elongated S; an object of that shape.
- omen (noun): Something which portends or is perceived to portend either a good or evil event or circumstance in the future, or which causes a foreboding; a portent or augury.
- yeomen (noun): plural of yeoman