NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 12, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | O |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | b, g, h, r, t, u |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 59 words |
| Total Points | 246 points |
| Genius Level | 172 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</th><th>10 | Σ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | 18 |
| G | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| H | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| O | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 4 |
| R | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| T | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 21 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 22 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 1 | - | 2 | 59 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| B | BO×13 BR×2 BU×3 |
|---|---|
| G | GO×2 GR×3 |
| H | HO×4 |
| O | OU×4 |
| R | RO×7 |
| T | TH×7 TO×7 TR×4 TU×3 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| B | BOH×1 BOO×6 BOR×1 BOT×1 BOU×4 BRO×2 BUR×3 |
|---|---|
| G | GOT×1 GOU×1 GRO×3 |
| H | HOB×1 HOO×1 HOR×1 HOU×1 |
| O | OUG×1 OUT×3 |
| R | ROB×1 ROO×1 ROT×3 ROU×2 |
| T | THO×4 THR×3 TOO×2 TOR×2 TOU×3 TRO×4 TUR×2 TUT×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) |
|---|---|---|
| bo.. | BO4 | A bohemian. |
| bo.. | BO4 | An idiot; a fool. |
| bo.... | BO6 | Alternative spelling of boo-boo |
| bo.... | BO6 | To cry, weep. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A peasant. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football. |
| bo... | BO5 | A small stall for the display and sale of goods. |
| bo..... | BO7 | A fortified town. |
| bo.. | BO4 | Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items. |
| bo... | BO5 | A tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk. |
| bo.... | BO6 | simple past tense and past participle of buy. |
| bo... | BO5 | Obsolete form of burgh. |
| bo.. | BO4 | A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant. |
| br... | BR5 | Water in which food (meat or vegetable etc) has been boiled. |
| br..... † | BR7 | simple past tense and past participle of bring |
| bu.... | BU6 | A freshwater fish, taxonomic name Lota lota, which is similar to the ling and the cusk and spawns in the winter. |
| bu.... | BU6 | A dish which originated among seafarers during the days of sail: a sort of porridge seasoned with sugar, salt and butter. |
| bu... | BU5 | A small donkey, especially when used as a pack animal or one that is feral and lives in the southwestern United States or northern Mexico. |
| go.. | GO4 | A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes. |
| go.. | GO4 | An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints. |
| gr.. | GR4 | An alcoholic beverage made with rum and water, especially that once issued to sailors of the Royal Navy. |
| gr.... | GR6 | A small cave. |
| gr... | GR5 | A thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A wandering homeless person, especially one illegally travelling by rail or a penniless, unemployed bum. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A derisive cry or shout. |
| ho.... | HO6 | An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. |
| ho.. | HO4 | A time period of sixty minutes; one twenty-fourth of a day. |
| ou... | OU5 | simple past tense of owe |
| ou... | OU5 | To go out, to set forth. |
| ou... | OU5 | A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning. |
| ou........ | OU10 | simple past tense and past participle of outthink |
| ro... | RO5 | A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour. |
| ro.. | RO4 | The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction. |
| ro.... | RO6 | Raw or poor-quality alcoholic liquor. |
| ro.. | RO4 | Clipping of rotogravure. |
| ro... | RO5 | A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. |
| ro... | RO5 | Not smooth; uneven. |
| ro.. | RO4 | A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone. |
| th...... | TH8 | Painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail. |
| th.. | TH4 | Nominative singular of ye (“you”). |
| th.... | TH6 | Despite that; however. |
| th..... | TH7 | Form created in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses; an instance of thinking. |
| th... | TH5 | To pound or beat rapidly or violently. |
| th..... | TH7 | From one side of an opening to the other. |
| th........ | TH10 | In every part of; all through. |
| to.. | TO4 | The noise of a horn or whistle. |
| to... | TO5 | A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating. |
| to.. | TO4 | A traditional Japanese lantern. |
| to.. | TO4 | An injury or wrong. |
| to... | TO5 | Strong and resilient; sturdy. |
| to.. | TO4 | A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc. |
| to.. | TO4 | Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way. |
| tr.. | TR4 | An ugly old woman, a hag. |
| tr... | TR5 | An oath, pledge, or promise. A pledge or promise to marry someone. The state of being thus pledged; betrothal, engagement. |
| tr.... | TR6 | A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals. |
| tr... | TR5 | Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once. |
| tu... | TU5 | a turbine |
| tu.... | TU6 | A species of flatfish native to Europe (Scophthalmus maximus, earlier Psetta maxima). |
| tu... | TU5 | One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction. |
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.
- boho (BO4)
- boob (BO4)
- booboo (BO6)
- boohoo (BO6)
- boor (BO4)
- boot (BO4)
- booth (BO5)
- borough (BO7)
- both (BO4)
- bough (BO5)
- bought (BO6)
- bourg (BO5)
- bout (BO4)
- broth (BR5)
- brought† (BR7)
- burbot (BU6)
- burgoo (BU6)
- burro (BU5)
- goth (GO4)
- gout (GO4)
- grog (GR4)
- grotto (GR6)
- grout (GR5)
- hobo (HO4)
- hoot (HO4)
- horror (HO6)
- hour (HO4)
- ought (OU5)
- outgo (OU5)
- outro (OU5)
- outthought (OU10)
- robot (RO5)
- root (RO4)
- rotgut (RO6)
- roto (RO4)
- rotor (RO5)
- rough (RO5)
- rout (RO4)
- thorough (TH8)
- thou (TH4)
- though (TH6)
- thought (TH7)
- throb (TH5)
- through (TH7)
- throughout (TH10)
- toot (TO4)
- tooth (TO5)
- toro (TO4)
- tort (TO4)
- tough (TO5)
- tour (TO4)
- tout (TO4)
- trot (TR4)
- troth (TR5)
- trough (TR6)
- trout (TR5)
- turbo (TU5)
- turbot (TU6)
- tutor (TU5)
Answer Definitions
- boho (noun): A bohemian.
- boob (noun): An idiot; a fool.
- booboo (noun): Alternative spelling of boo-boo
- boohoo (verb): To cry, weep.
- boor (noun): A peasant.
- boot (noun): A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football.
- booth (noun): A small stall for the display and sale of goods.
- borough (noun): A fortified town.
- both (determiner): Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.
- bough (noun): A tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk.
- bought (verb): simple past tense and past participle of buy.
- bourg (noun): Obsolete form of burgh.
- bout (noun): A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant.
- broth (noun): Water in which food (meat or vegetable etc) has been boiled.
- brought† (verb): simple past tense and past participle of bring
- burbot (noun): A freshwater fish, taxonomic name Lota lota, which is similar to the ling and the cusk and spawns in the winter.
- burgoo (noun): A dish which originated among seafarers during the days of sail: a sort of porridge seasoned with sugar, salt and butter.
- burro (noun): A small donkey, especially when used as a pack animal or one that is feral and lives in the southwestern United States or northern Mexico.
- goth (noun): A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.
- gout (noun): An extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints.
- grog (noun): An alcoholic beverage made with rum and water, especially that once issued to sailors of the Royal Navy.
- grotto (noun): A small cave.
- grout (noun): A thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry.
- hobo (noun): A wandering homeless person, especially one illegally travelling by rail or a penniless, unemployed bum.
- hoot (noun): A derisive cry or shout.
- horror (noun): An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
- hour (noun): A time period of sixty minutes; one twenty-fourth of a day.
- ought (verb): simple past tense of owe
- outgo (verb): To go out, to set forth.
- outro (noun): A portion of music at the end of a song; like an intro, but at the end instead of the beginning.
- outthought (verb): simple past tense and past participle of outthink
- robot (noun): A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour.
- root (noun): The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
- rotgut (noun): Raw or poor-quality alcoholic liquor.
- roto (noun): Clipping of rotogravure.
- rotor (noun): A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump.
- rough (adjective): Not smooth; uneven.
- rout (noun): A group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular , a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.
- thorough (adjective): Painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail.
- thou (pronoun): Nominative singular of ye (“you”).
- though (adverb): Despite that; however.
- thought (noun): Form created in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses; an instance of thinking.
- throb (verb): To pound or beat rapidly or violently.
- through (preposition): From one side of an opening to the other.
- throughout (preposition): In every part of; all through.
- toot (noun): The noise of a horn or whistle.
- tooth (noun): A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for eating.
- toro (noun): A traditional Japanese lantern.
- tort (noun): An injury or wrong.
- tough (adjective): Strong and resilient; sturdy.
- tour (noun): A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc.
- tout (noun): Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.
- trot (noun): An ugly old woman, a hag.
- troth (noun): An oath, pledge, or promise. A pledge or promise to marry someone. The state of being thus pledged; betrothal, engagement.
- trough (noun): A long, narrow container, open on top, for feeding or watering animals.
- trout (noun): Any of several species of fish in Salmonidae, closely related to salmon, and distinguished by spawning more than once.
- turbo (noun): a turbine
- turbot (noun): A species of flatfish native to Europe (Scophthalmus maximus, earlier Psetta maxima).
- tutor (noun): One who teaches another (usually called a student, learner, or tutee) in a one-on-one or small-group interaction.