NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 16, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | A |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | f, g, i, n, u, w |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 35 words |
| Total Points | 168 points |
| Genius Level | 118 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| F | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - | 6 |
| G | 5 | - | 1 | 5 | - | 1 | - | 12 |
| I | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| N | 3 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| W | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 7 | Σ | 12 | 5 | 7 | 9 | - | 1 | 1 | 35 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AG×2 AN×1 AW×2 |
|---|---|
| F | FA×6 |
| G | GA×8 GN×2 GU×2 |
| I | IG×1 |
| N | NA×4 |
| U | |
| W | WA×5 WI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AGA×1 AGI×1 ANG×1 AWI×1 AWN×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FAN×2 FAU×2 FAW×2 |
| G | GAF×1 GAG×2 GAI×2 GAN×2 GAU×1 GNA×2 GUF×2 |
| I | IGU×1 |
| N | NAA×1 NAG×1 NAI×1 NAN×1 |
| U | |
| W | WAG×2 WAI×1 WAN×2 WIG×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| ag... | AG5 | Another time; once more. |
| ag... | AG5 | present participle of age |
| an.... | AN6 | An inflammatory infection of the throat, particularly quinsy. |
| aw... | AW5 | On the wing; flying; fluttering. |
| aw.... | AW6 | A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind. |
| fa.. | FA4 | a long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh |
| fa..... | FA7 | present participle of fan |
| fa.. | FA4 | A woodland creature with pointed ears, legs, and short horns of a goat and a fondness for unrestrained revelry. |
| fa... | FA5 | Animals considered as a group; especially those of a particular country, region, time. |
| fa.. | FA4 | A young deer. |
| fa..... | FA7 | present participle of fawn |
| ga.. | GA4 | A tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat. |
| ga.. | GA4 | Mentally senile. |
| ga..... | GA7 | present participle of gag |
| ga.. | GA4 | To acquire possession of. |
| ga..... | GA7 | present participle of gain |
| ga.. | GA4 | To go; walk; proceed. |
| ga..... | GA7 | a leader used to attach a fishhook to the main line, especially in commercial fishing |
| ga..... | GA7 | present participle of gauge |
| gn.. | GN4 | To bite something persistently, especially something tough. |
| gn..... | GN7 | severe or intense |
| gu.... | GU6 | A boisterous laugh. |
| gu....... † | GU9 | present participle of guffaw |
| ig.... | IG6 | A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet |
| na.. | NA4 | A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine. |
| na..... | NA7 | present participle of nag |
| na.. | NA4 | Alternative spelling of naïf. |
| na.. | NA4 | A banana. |
| wa..... | WA7 | present participle of wag |
| wa.... | WA6 | present participle of wage |
| wa.. | WA4 | Often in the form waif and stray, waifs and strays: an article of movable property found of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor. |
| wa.... | WA6 | present participle of wane |
| wa... | WA5 | Represents a contracted pronunciation of want to. |
| wi.... | WI6 | Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern. A red light near the door of a sound stage that flashes to indicate that cameras are rolling inside the stage and that all people and vehicles outside should remain quiet; a red-eye. A device used to cause lamps installed on a motor vehicle, especially an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance or police car, to flash as a warning. A device with multiple (often two), alternately flashing lights which is installed at a railway level crossing (or grade crossing), a movable bridge, etc., to warn vehicular traffic to stop. An instrument that creates a wigwagging motion for polishing. A warning device inside the cabin of a truck that causes a mechanical arm to drop into view when the pressure in the airbrake system of the truck becomes too low for the brakes to be reliably deployed. A grade crossing signal with a swinging motion used to indicate an approaching train. |
| wi........ | WI10 | present participle of wigwag. |
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.
- again (AG5)
- aging (AG5)
- angina (AN6)
- awing (AW5)
- awning (AW6)
- fang (FA4)
- fanning (FA7)
- faun (FA4)
- fauna (FA5)
- fawn (FA4)
- fawning (FA7)
- gaff (GA4)
- gaga (GA4)
- gagging (GA7)
- gain (GA4)
- gaining (GA7)
- gang (GA4)
- ganging (GA7)
- gauging (GA7)
- gnaw (GN4)
- gnawing (GN7)
- guffaw (GU6)
- guffawing† (GU9)
- iguana (IG6)
- naan (NA4)
- nagging (NA7)
- naif (NA4)
- nana (NA4)
- wagging (WA7)
- waging (WA6)
- waif (WA4)
- waning (WA6)
- wanna (WA5)
- wigwag (WI6)
- wigwagging (WI10)
Answer Definitions
- again (adverb): Another time; once more.
- aging (verb): present participle of age
- angina (noun): An inflammatory infection of the throat, particularly quinsy.
- awing (adverb): On the wing; flying; fluttering.
- awning (noun): A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind.
- fang (noun): a long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh
- fanning (verb): present participle of fan
- faun (noun): A woodland creature with pointed ears, legs, and short horns of a goat and a fondness for unrestrained revelry.
- fauna (noun): Animals considered as a group; especially those of a particular country, region, time.
- fawn (noun): A young deer.
- fawning (verb): present participle of fawn
- gaff (noun): A tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat.
- gaga (adjective): Mentally senile.
- gagging (verb): present participle of gag
- gain (verb): To acquire possession of.
- gaining (verb): present participle of gain
- gang (verb): To go; walk; proceed.
- ganging (noun): a leader used to attach a fishhook to the main line, especially in commercial fishing
- gauging (verb): present participle of gauge
- gnaw (verb): To bite something persistently, especially something tough.
- gnawing (adjective): severe or intense
- guffaw (noun): A boisterous laugh.
- guffawing† (verb): present participle of guffaw
- iguana (noun): A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet
- naan (noun): A type of round, flat bread baked in a tandoor popular in South and Central Asian cuisine.
- nagging (verb): present participle of nag
- naif (adjective): Alternative spelling of naïf.
- nana (noun): A banana.
- wagging (verb): present participle of wag
- waging (verb): present participle of wage
- waif (noun): Often in the form waif and stray, waifs and strays: an article of movable property found of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a beach or thrown away by an absconding thief; such items belong to the Crown, which may grant the right of ownership to them to a lord of a manor.
- waning (verb): present participle of wane
- wanna (contraction): Represents a contracted pronunciation of want to.
- wigwag (noun): Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern. A red light near the door of a sound stage that flashes to indicate that cameras are rolling inside the stage and that all people and vehicles outside should remain quiet; a red-eye. A device used to cause lamps installed on a motor vehicle, especially an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance or police car, to flash as a warning. A device with multiple (often two), alternately flashing lights which is installed at a railway level crossing (or grade crossing), a movable bridge, etc., to warn vehicular traffic to stop. An instrument that creates a wigwagging motion for polishing. A warning device inside the cabin of a truck that causes a mechanical arm to drop into view when the pressure in the airbrake system of the truck becomes too low for the brakes to be reliably deployed. A grade crossing signal with a swinging motion used to indicate an approaching train.
- wigwagging (verb): present participle of wigwag.