NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 9, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, f, i, m, r, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 26 words |
| Total Points | 118 points |
| Genius Level | 83 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| F | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 8 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| M | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
| O | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CO×3 CR×3 CU×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FO×5 FR×2 FU×1 |
| I | |
| M | MI×3 MO×2 |
| O | OC×1 |
| R | RO×4 RU×1 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | COC×1 COI×1 COM×1 CRO×2 CRU×1 CUR×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FOC×1 FOR×3 FOU×1 FRO×2 FUR×1 |
| I | |
| M | MIC×2 MIR×1 MOO×1 MOR×1 |
| O | OCC×1 |
| R | ROC×1 ROM×1 ROO×2 RUM×1 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| co... | CO5 | plural of coccus |
| co.. | CO4 | A hairdo. |
| co... | CO5 | Pertaining to comedy, as a literary genre. |
| cr.. | CR4 | A crocodile. |
| cr... | CR5 | plural of crocus |
| cr....... † | CR9 | Having the shape of a cross. |
| cu... | CU5 | A strange and interesting object; something that evokes curiosity. |
| fo.. | FO4 | plural of focus |
| fo.. | FO4 | To do with shape. The shape or visible structure of a thing or person. A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold. Regularity, beauty, or elegance. The inherent nature of an object; that which the mind itself contributes as the condition of knowing; that in which the essence of a thing consists. Characteristics not involving atomic components. (Can we add an example for this sense?) A long bench with no back. The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body. The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid. |
| fo.... | FO6 | Of or pertaining to ants. |
| fo... | FO5 | A place for discussion. |
| fo.. | FO4 | NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 4. |
| fr.. | FR4 | Used to indicate source or provenance. |
| fr...... | FR8 | Alternative spelling of frou-frou |
| fu... | FU5 | A general uproar or commotion. |
| mi... | MI5 | Small, relatively small; used to contrast levels of the noun modified. |
| mi....... | MI9 | Microfilm, microfiche or similar materials. |
| mi.... | MI6 | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| mo.. | MO4 | An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath |
| mo..... | MO7 | A soft leather, made from goatskin, used especially in bookbinding. |
| oc... | OC5 | To happen or take place. |
| ro.... | RO6 | A style of baroque architecture and decorative art, from 18th-century France, having elaborate ornamentation. |
| ro.... | RO6 | Clipping of romantic comedy. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The external covering at the top of a building. |
| ro.. | RO4 | Opportunity or scope (to do something). |
| ru... | RU5 | A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth. |
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.
- cocci (CO5)
- coif (CO4)
- comic (CO5)
- croc (CR4)
- croci (CR5)
- cruciform† (CR9)
- curio (CU5)
- foci (FO4)
- form (FO4)
- formic (FO6)
- forum (FO5)
- four (FO4)
- from (FR4)
- froufrou (FR8)
- furor (FU5)
- micro (MI5)
- microform (MI9)
- mirror (MI6)
- moor (MO4)
- morocco (MO7)
- occur (OC5)
- rococo (RO6)
- romcom (RO6)
- roof (RO4)
- room (RO4)
- rumor (RU5)
Answer Definitions
- cocci (noun): plural of coccus
- coif (noun): A hairdo.
- comic (adjective): Pertaining to comedy, as a literary genre.
- croc (noun): A crocodile.
- croci (noun): plural of crocus
- cruciform† (adjective): Having the shape of a cross.
- curio (noun): A strange and interesting object; something that evokes curiosity.
- foci (noun): plural of focus
- form (noun): To do with shape. The shape or visible structure of a thing or person. A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold. Regularity, beauty, or elegance. The inherent nature of an object; that which the mind itself contributes as the condition of knowing; that in which the essence of a thing consists. Characteristics not involving atomic components. (Can we add an example for this sense?) A long bench with no back. The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body. The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
- formic (adjective): Of or pertaining to ants.
- forum (noun): A place for discussion.
- four (numeral): NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the numeral 4.
- from (preposition): Used to indicate source or provenance.
- froufrou (noun): Alternative spelling of frou-frou
- furor (noun): A general uproar or commotion.
- micro (adjective): Small, relatively small; used to contrast levels of the noun modified.
- microform (noun): Microfilm, microfiche or similar materials.
- mirror (noun): A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
- moor (noun): An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath
- morocco (noun): A soft leather, made from goatskin, used especially in bookbinding.
- occur (verb): To happen or take place.
- rococo (noun): A style of baroque architecture and decorative art, from 18th-century France, having elaborate ornamentation.
- romcom (noun): Clipping of romantic comedy.
- roof (noun): The external covering at the top of a building.
- room (noun): Opportunity or scope (to do something).
- rumor (noun): A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth.