NYT Spelling Bee Answers for October 19, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, j, n, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 29 words |
| Total Points | 102 points |
| Genius Level | 71 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 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| D | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 |
| J | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| N | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | 8 |
| U | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | Σ | 15 | 8 | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 29 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AD×2 AN×1 AR×2 AU×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DO×6 DU×1 |
| J | JO×1 JU×2 |
| N | NO×2 |
| O | OD×1 |
| R | RA×1 RO×6 RU×1 |
| U | UD×1 UN×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ADJ×1 ADO×1 ANO×1 ARD×1 ARO×1 AUR×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DOD×1 DOJ×1 DON×1 DOO×2 DOU×1 DUN×1 |
| J | JOU×1 JUD×1 JUR×1 |
| N | NOO×1 NOU×1 |
| O | ODO×1 |
| R | RAD×1 ROA×3 RON×1 ROO×1 ROU×1 RUN×1 |
| U | UDO×1 UND×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ad..... † | AD7 | To postpone. |
| ad... | AD5 | To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate. |
| an.. | AN4 | Straight away; at once. |
| ar... | AR5 | Great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion. |
| ar.... | AR6 | Forming a circle or closed curve containing (something). |
| au.... | AU6 | An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively. |
| do.. | DO4 | A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius. |
| do.. | DO4 | A training facility, usually led by one or more sensei; a hall or room used for such training. |
| do... | DO5 | One who makes a donation. |
| do.... | DO6 | Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing. |
| do.. | DO4 | A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. Doors are frequently made of wood or metal. May have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold the door closed, and a lock that ensures the door cannot be opened without the key. |
| do.. | DO4 | Stern, harsh and forbidding. |
| du... | DU5 | Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know. |
| jo.... | JO6 | A journalist. |
| ju.. | JU4 | A Japanese martial art and sport adapted from jujutsu. |
| ju... | JU5 | A member of a jury. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English. |
| od.. | OD4 | Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive. |
| ra... | RA5 | The chemical element (symbol Rn, formerly Ro) with atomic number 86. It is an odorless, colorless, chemically inert but radioactive noble gas. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane. |
| ro.. | RO4 | Especially of a horse, having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in |
| ro.. | RO4 | To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion. |
| ro... | RO5 | A musical composition, commonly of a lively, cheerful character, in which the first strain recurs after each of the other strains. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A crucifix, cross, especially in a church. |
| ro... | RO5 | Of shape: Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction. |
| ru....... | RU9 | An evasive explanation in the form of multiple excuses. |
| ud.. | UD4 | a Japanese wheat noodle |
| un.. | UN4 | To reverse the effects of an action. |
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.
- adjourn† (AD7)
- adorn (AD5)
- anon (AN4)
- ardor (AR5)
- around (AR6)
- aurora (AU6)
- dodo (DO4)
- dojo (DO4)
- donor (DO5)
- doodad (DO6)
- door (DO4)
- dour (DO4)
- dunno (DU5)
- journo (JO6)
- judo (JU4)
- juror (JU5)
- noon (NO4)
- noun (NO4)
- odor (OD4)
- radon (RA5)
- road (RO4)
- roan (RO4)
- roar (RO4)
- rondo (RO5)
- rood (RO4)
- round (RO5)
- runaround (RU9)
- udon (UD4)
- undo (UN4)
Answer Definitions
- adjourn† (verb): To postpone.
- adorn (verb): To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate.
- anon (adverb): Straight away; at once.
- ardor (noun): Great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion.
- around (preposition): Forming a circle or closed curve containing (something).
- aurora (noun): An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively.
- dodo (noun): A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.
- dojo (noun): A training facility, usually led by one or more sensei; a hall or room used for such training.
- donor (noun): One who makes a donation.
- doodad (noun): Used to refer to something whose name one cannot recall: an unspecified device, gadget, part, or thing.
- door (noun): A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. Doors are frequently made of wood or metal. May have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold the door closed, and a lock that ensures the door cannot be opened without the key.
- dour (adjective): Stern, harsh and forbidding.
- dunno (contraction): Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
- journo (noun): A journalist.
- judo (noun): A Japanese martial art and sport adapted from jujutsu.
- juror (noun): A member of a jury.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- noun (noun): A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
- odor (noun): Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive.
- radon (noun): The chemical element (symbol Rn, formerly Ro) with atomic number 86. It is an odorless, colorless, chemically inert but radioactive noble gas.
- road (noun): A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane.
- roan (adjective): Especially of a horse, having a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in
- roar (verb): To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
- rondo (noun): A musical composition, commonly of a lively, cheerful character, in which the first strain recurs after each of the other strains.
- rood (noun): A crucifix, cross, especially in a church.
- round (adjective): Of shape: Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
- runaround (noun): An evasive explanation in the form of multiple excuses.
- udon (noun): a Japanese wheat noodle
- undo (verb): To reverse the effects of an action.