NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 25, 2020
Game Summary
| Center Letter | Y |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, i, n, o, r |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 27 words |
| Total Points | 130 points |
| Genius Level | 91 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| D | 3 | 5 | - | - | 1 | 9 |
| I | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| N | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| O | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| R | - | 3 | - | - | - | 3 |
| Y | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 8 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 27 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AI×1 AN×1 AR×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DA×3 DI×1 DO×2 DR×2 DY×1 |
| I | IR×1 |
| N | NA×2 NI×1 NO×2 |
| O | ON×1 OR×1 |
| R | RA×3 |
| Y | YA×2 YO×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AIR×1 ANN×1 ARR×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DAD×1 DAI×1 DAN×1 DIA×1 DOO×1 DOR×1 DRA×1 DRY×1 DYA×1 |
| I | IRO×1 |
| N | NAN×1 NAR×1 NIN×1 NON×1 NOO×1 |
| O | ONI×1 ORD×1 |
| R | RAI×1 RAN×1 RAY×1 |
| Y | YAR×2 YON×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ai.. | AI4 | (of a room or building) spacious, well lit, and well ventilated. |
| an... | AN5 | To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds. |
| ar... | AR5 | an ordered series or arrangement. |
| ar.... | AR6 | A dry creek or streambed, a gulch which temporarily or seasonally fills and flows (after sufficient rain). |
| da... | DA5 | Father. |
| da... | DA5 | A place, often on a farm, where milk is processed and turned into products such as butter and cheese. |
| da... | DA5 | A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self. |
| di... | DI5 | A daily log of experiences, especially those of the writer. |
| do...... | DO8 | (Northern New England) the yard near the front or back door of a house |
| do.. | DO4 | A small flat-bottomed boat with pointed or somewhat pointed ends, used for fishing both offshore and on rivers. |
| dr.. | DR4 | A low horse-drawn cart, often without sides, and used especially for heavy loads. |
| dr... | DR5 | A female tree spirit. |
| dy.. | DY4 | A set of two elements treated as one; a pair. |
| ir... | IR5 | The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context. An ironic statement. |
| na... | NA5 | A child's nurse. |
| na.. | NA4 | Not, never. |
| ni... | NI5 | A silly or foolish person. |
| no...... † | NO8 | Not derived from dairy sources. |
| no..... | NO7 | The time of noon; the time of day when the sun is highest in the sky, especially on a hot day. |
| on.... | ON6 | Resembling an onion or onions, especially in terms of smell. |
| or...... † | OR8 | A person with authority; authority, ordinance. A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese. A devotional manual; a book setting our rules for proper conduct. A courier; someone delivering mail or post. A rule, or book of rules, prescribing the order of service, especially of Mass. A judge with the authority to deal with cases himself or herself rather than by delegation. The chaplain of Newgate prison, who prepared condemned prisoners for death. |
| ra... | RA5 | marked by bringing precipitation in the form of showers |
| ra... | RA5 | Sexually aroused; full of sexual lust. |
| ra... | RA5 | A manufactured regenerated cellulosic fiber. |
| ya.. | YA4 | A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building. |
| ya.. | YA4 | A twisted strand of fiber used for knitting or weaving. |
| yo.. | YO4 | further; more distant |
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.
- airy (AI4)
- annoy (AN5)
- array (AR5)
- arroyo (AR6)
- daddy (DA5)
- dairy (DA5)
- dandy (DA5)
- diary (DI5)
- dooryard (DO8)
- dory (DO4)
- dray (DR4)
- dryad (DR5)
- dyad (DY4)
- irony (IR5)
- nanny (NA5)
- nary (NA4)
- ninny (NI5)
- nondairy† (NO8)
- noonday (NO7)
- oniony (ON6)
- ordinary† (OR8)
- rainy (RA5)
- randy (RA5)
- rayon (RA5)
- yard (YA4)
- yarn (YA4)
- yond (YO4)
Answer Definitions
- airy (adjective): (of a room or building) spacious, well lit, and well ventilated.
- annoy (verb): To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to bother with unpleasant deeds.
- array (noun): an ordered series or arrangement.
- arroyo (noun): A dry creek or streambed, a gulch which temporarily or seasonally fills and flows (after sufficient rain).
- daddy (noun): Father.
- dairy (noun): A place, often on a farm, where milk is processed and turned into products such as butter and cheese.
- dandy (noun): A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self.
- diary (noun): A daily log of experiences, especially those of the writer.
- dooryard (noun): (Northern New England) the yard near the front or back door of a house
- dory (noun): A small flat-bottomed boat with pointed or somewhat pointed ends, used for fishing both offshore and on rivers.
- dray (noun): A low horse-drawn cart, often without sides, and used especially for heavy loads.
- dryad (noun): A female tree spirit.
- dyad (noun): A set of two elements treated as one; a pair.
- irony (noun): The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context. An ironic statement.
- nanny (noun): A child's nurse.
- nary (adverb): Not, never.
- ninny (noun): A silly or foolish person.
- nondairy† (adjective): Not derived from dairy sources.
- noonday (noun): The time of noon; the time of day when the sun is highest in the sky, especially on a hot day.
- oniony (adjective): Resembling an onion or onions, especially in terms of smell.
- ordinary† (noun): A person with authority; authority, ordinance. A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese. A devotional manual; a book setting our rules for proper conduct. A courier; someone delivering mail or post. A rule, or book of rules, prescribing the order of service, especially of Mass. A judge with the authority to deal with cases himself or herself rather than by delegation. The chaplain of Newgate prison, who prepared condemned prisoners for death.
- rainy (adjective): marked by bringing precipitation in the form of showers
- randy (adjective): Sexually aroused; full of sexual lust.
- rayon (noun): A manufactured regenerated cellulosic fiber.
- yard (noun): A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
- yarn (noun): A twisted strand of fiber used for knitting or weaving.
- yond (adjective): further; more distant