NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 26, 2021
Game Summary
| Center Letter | Y |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, b, d, l, o, r |
| # of Pangrams | 2 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 50 words |
| Total Points | 264 points |
| Genius Level | 185 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</th><th>9 | Σ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 7 |
| B | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| D | 3 | 5 | 3 | - | 1 | - | 12 |
| L | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 8 |
| O | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| R | - | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| Y | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | Σ | 10 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 50 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AB×1 AD×1 AL×3 AR×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×6 BL×3 BO×4 BR×3 BY×1 |
| D | DA×2 DO×3 DR×6 DY×1 |
| L | LA×1 LO×7 |
| O | OD×1 OR×1 |
| R | RA×1 RO×2 |
| Y | YA×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ABL×1 ADO×1 ALL×3 ARR×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×1 BAD×1 BAL×4 BLA×1 BLO×2 BOD×2 BOL×1 BOO×1 BRA×1 BRO×2 BYR×1 |
| D | DAD×1 DAL×1 DOL×1 DOO×1 DOR×1 DRA×2 DRO×2 DRY×2 DYA×1 |
| L | LAD×1 LOB×2 LOR×3 LOY×2 |
| O | ODD×1 ORA×1 |
| R | RAL×1 ROY×2 |
| Y | YAR×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) |
|---|---|---|
| ab.. | AB4 | In an able manner; with great ability. |
| ad...... † | AD8 | In an adorable manner. |
| al... | AL5 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| al... | AL5 | A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal. |
| al.. | AL4 | To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty. |
| 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). |
| ba.. | BA4 | A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered. |
| ba... | BA5 | In a bad manner. |
| ba.... | BA6 | In a bald (blunt, matter-of-fact, unembellished, or lacking supporting details) manner. |
| ba...... | BA8 | ballads considered as a group; also, the sharing (transmission), making and performing of ballads, ballads as an activity, as a tradition, as a body of work, as a craft, as implying a community of singers, makers and lovers of ballads. |
| ba..... | BA7 | Alternative spelling of ball boy |
| ba...... | BA8 | A baseball field. |
| bl.... | BL6 | Tending to blab or gossip a lot. |
| bl.... | BL6 | Similar in shape to blobs; amorphous in appearance; partially irregular in appearance like bubbles. |
| bl.... | BL6 | Covered in blood. |
| bo.. | BO4 | Physical frame. The physical structure of a human or animal seen as one single organism. |
| bo....... | BO9 | A piece of foam, usually rectangular in shape, upon which one sits or lies when bodyboarding. |
| bo.... | BO6 | In a bold manner; with confidence. |
| bo... | BO5 | A stupid person. |
| br.. | BR4 | Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry. |
| br..... † | BR7 | Widely and openly. |
| br.... | BR6 | A female bird in the condition to incubate eggs; a broody hen, duck, etc. |
| by.... | BY6 | A road less frequented than a highway; a byway. |
| da... | DA5 | Father. |
| da... | DA5 | To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle. |
| do... | DO5 | A doll. |
| 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.... | DR6 | In a drab manner. |
| dr.. | DR4 | A low horse-drawn cart, often without sides, and used especially for heavy loads. |
| dr.... | DR6 | In a droll, odd or humorous manner. |
| dr.... | DR6 | Producing an excess of drool. |
| dr... | DR5 | A female tree spirit. |
| dr... | DR5 | In a dry manner. |
| dy.. | DY4 | A set of two elements treated as one; a pair. |
| la.. | LA4 | The mistress of a household. |
| lo... | LO5 | An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor. |
| lo...... | LO8 | Gruel. |
| lo.... | LO6 | Of or relating to a lord. |
| lo... | LO5 | Alternative letter-case form of Lordy |
| lo... | LO5 | A heavier motor vehicle designed to carry goods or to pull a semi-trailer designed to carry goods |
| lo... | LO5 | Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something. |
| lo..... | LO7 | In a loyal manner, faithfully. |
| od... | OD5 | In a peculiar manner; strangely; unusually. |
| or.... | OR6 | By mouth. |
| ra... | RA5 | A public gathering or mass meeting that is not mainly a protest and is organized to inspire enthusiasm for a cause. |
| ro... | RO5 | Of or relating to a monarch or their family. |
| ro..... | RO7 | In a royal manner; in a manner having to do with royalty. |
| ya.. | YA4 | A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building. |
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.
- ably (AB4)
- adorably† (AD8)
- allay (AL5)
- alloy (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- array (AR5)
- arroyo (AR6)
- baby (BA4)
- badly (BA5)
- baldly (BA6)
- balladry (BA8)
- ballboy (BA7)
- ballyard (BA8)
- blabby (BL6)
- blobby (BL6)
- bloody (BL6)
- body (BO4)
- bodyboard (BO9)
- boldly (BO6)
- booby (BO5)
- bray (BR4)
- broadly† (BR7)
- broody (BR6)
- byroad (BY6)
- daddy (DA5)
- dally (DA5)
- dolly (DO5)
- dooryard (DO8)
- dory (DO4)
- drably (DR6)
- dray (DR4)
- drolly (DR6)
- drooly (DR6)
- dryad (DR5)
- dryly (DR5)
- dyad (DY4)
- lady (LA4)
- lobby (LO5)
- loblolly (LO8)
- lordly (LO6)
- lordy (LO5)
- lorry (LO5)
- loyal (LO5)
- loyally (LO7)
- oddly (OD5)
- orally (OR6)
- rally (RA5)
- royal (RO5)
- royally (RO7)
- yard (YA4)
Answer Definitions
- ably (adverb): In an able manner; with great ability.
- adorably† (adverb): In an adorable manner.
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- alloy (noun): A metal that is a combination of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal.
- ally (verb): To unite or form a connection between (people or things), as between families by marriage, or between states by confederacy, league, or treaty.
- 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).
- baby (noun): A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.
- badly (adverb): In a bad manner.
- baldly (adverb): In a bald (blunt, matter-of-fact, unembellished, or lacking supporting details) manner.
- balladry (noun): ballads considered as a group; also, the sharing (transmission), making and performing of ballads, ballads as an activity, as a tradition, as a body of work, as a craft, as implying a community of singers, makers and lovers of ballads.
- ballboy (noun): Alternative spelling of ball boy
- ballyard (noun): A baseball field.
- blabby (adjective): Tending to blab or gossip a lot.
- blobby (adjective): Similar in shape to blobs; amorphous in appearance; partially irregular in appearance like bubbles.
- bloody (adjective): Covered in blood.
- body (noun): Physical frame. The physical structure of a human or animal seen as one single organism.
- bodyboard (noun): A piece of foam, usually rectangular in shape, upon which one sits or lies when bodyboarding.
- boldly (adverb): In a bold manner; with confidence.
- booby (noun): A stupid person.
- bray (verb): Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry.
- broadly† (adverb): Widely and openly.
- broody (noun): A female bird in the condition to incubate eggs; a broody hen, duck, etc.
- byroad (noun): A road less frequented than a highway; a byway.
- daddy (noun): Father.
- dally (verb): To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- dolly (noun): A doll.
- 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.
- drably (adverb): In a drab manner.
- dray (noun): A low horse-drawn cart, often without sides, and used especially for heavy loads.
- drolly (adverb): In a droll, odd or humorous manner.
- drooly (adjective): Producing an excess of drool.
- dryad (noun): A female tree spirit.
- dryly (adverb): In a dry manner.
- dyad (noun): A set of two elements treated as one; a pair.
- lady (noun): The mistress of a household.
- lobby (noun): An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor.
- loblolly (noun): Gruel.
- lordly (adjective): Of or relating to a lord.
- lordy (interjection): Alternative letter-case form of Lordy
- lorry (noun): A heavier motor vehicle designed to carry goods or to pull a semi-trailer designed to carry goods
- loyal (adjective): Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something.
- loyally (adverb): In a loyal manner, faithfully.
- oddly (adverb): In a peculiar manner; strangely; unusually.
- orally (adverb): By mouth.
- rally (noun): A public gathering or mass meeting that is not mainly a protest and is organized to inspire enthusiasm for a cause.
- royal (adjective): Of or relating to a monarch or their family.
- royally (adverb): In a royal manner; in a manner having to do with royalty.
- yard (noun): A small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.