NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 5, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | I |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, l, n, o, r, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 37 words |
| Total Points | 151 points |
| Genius Level | 106 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 | 6 | 2 | 3 | - | - | 13 |
| I | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 |
| L | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| N | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| O | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| R | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 14 | 14 | 5 | 3 | - | 1 | 37 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CI×1 CL×1 CO×7 CR×2 CY×2 |
|---|---|
| I | IC×3 IL×1 IO×1 IR×3 |
| L | LI×2 LO×2 LY×1 |
| N | NI×1 NO×2 |
| O | OI×1 OL×1 ON×2 |
| R | RI×2 RO×2 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CIR×1 CLI×1 COC×1 COI×2 COL×2 CON×1 COR×1 CRO×1 CRY×1 CYC×1 CYN×1 |
|---|---|
| I | ICI×1 ICO×2 ILL×1 ION×1 IRO×3 |
| L | LIL×1 LIO×1 LOC×1 LOI×1 LYR×1 |
| N | NIN×1 NOI×1 NON×1 |
| O | OIL×1 OLI×1 ONI×2 |
| R | RIC×1 RIL×1 ROI×2 |
| Y |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ci... | CI5 | plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers. |
| cl.... | CL6 | A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients. |
| co... | CO5 | plural of coccus |
| co.. | CO4 | Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral. |
| co.. | CO4 | A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle. |
| co... | CO5 | Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems). |
| co..... | CO7 | Of, relating to, affecting or within the colon. |
| co... | CO5 | Synonym of conical |
| co..... † | CO7 | In a corny manner. |
| cr... | CR5 | plural of crocus |
| cr..... | CR7 | Of or pertaining to cryonics. |
| cy.... | CY6 | Characterized by, or moving in cycles, or happening at regular intervals. |
| cy... | CY5 | cynical (in all senses) |
| ic... | IC5 | In the manner of ice; with a cold or chilling effect. |
| ic.. | IC4 | An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion. |
| ic.... | IC6 | Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon. |
| il.. | IL4 | Badly; poorly. |
| io... | IO5 | of, relating to, or containing ions |
| ir.. | IR4 | A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel. |
| ir.... | IR6 | (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony. |
| 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. |
| li.. | LI4 | Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species. |
| li.. | LI4 | A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe. |
| lo.. | LO4 | plural of locus |
| lo.. | LO4 | The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips |
| ly... | LY5 | Of, or relating to a type of poetry (such as a sonnet or ode) that expresses subjective thoughts and feelings, often in a songlike style |
| ni... | NI5 | A silly or foolish person. |
| no.. | NO4 | Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre |
| no....... | NO9 | 10. |
| oi.. | OI4 | Relating to or resembling oil. |
| ol.. | OL4 | A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables. |
| on... | ON5 | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| on.... | ON6 | Resembling an onion or onions, especially in terms of smell. |
| ri... | RI5 | An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of. |
| ro... | RO5 | muddy, cloudy (having lots of sediment) |
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.
- cirri (CI5)
- clinic (CL6)
- cocci (CO5)
- coil (CO4)
- coin (CO4)
- colic (CO5)
- colonic (CO7)
- conic (CO5)
- cornily† (CO7)
- croci (CR5)
- cryonic (CR7)
- cyclic (CY6)
- cynic (CY5)
- icily (IC5)
- icon (IC4)
- iconic (IC6)
- illy (IL4)
- ionic (IO5)
- iron (IR4)
- ironic (IR6)
- irony (IR5)
- lily (LI4)
- lion (LI4)
- loci (LO4)
- loin (LO4)
- lyric (LY5)
- ninny (NI5)
- noir (NO4)
- nonillion (NO9)
- oily (OI4)
- olio (OL4)
- onion (ON5)
- oniony (ON6)
- ricin (RI5)
- rill (RI4)
- roil (RO4)
- roily (RO5)
Answer Definitions
- cirri (noun): plural of cirrus Tendrils or claspers.
- clinic (noun): A medical facility, such as a hospital, especially one for the treatment and diagnosis of outpatients.
- cocci (noun): plural of coccus
- coil (noun): Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
- coin (noun): A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle.
- colic (noun): Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).
- colonic (adjective): Of, relating to, affecting or within the colon.
- conic (adjective): Synonym of conical
- cornily† (adverb): In a corny manner.
- croci (noun): plural of crocus
- cryonic (adjective): Of or pertaining to cryonics.
- cyclic (adjective): Characterized by, or moving in cycles, or happening at regular intervals.
- cynic (adjective): cynical (in all senses)
- icily (adverb): In the manner of ice; with a cold or chilling effect.
- icon (noun): An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion.
- iconic (adjective): Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
- illy (adverb): Badly; poorly.
- ionic (adjective): of, relating to, or containing ions
- iron (noun): A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.
- ironic (adjective): (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
- 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.
- lily (noun): Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
- lion (noun): A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
- loci (noun): plural of locus
- loin (noun): The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips
- lyric (adjective): Of, or relating to a type of poetry (such as a sonnet or ode) that expresses subjective thoughts and feelings, often in a songlike style
- ninny (noun): A silly or foolish person.
- noir (adjective): Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
- nonillion (numeral): 10.
- oily (adjective): Relating to or resembling oil.
- olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
- onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
- oniony (adjective): Resembling an onion or onions, especially in terms of smell.
- ricin (noun): An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean.
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- roil (verb): To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
- roily (adjective): muddy, cloudy (having lots of sediment)