NYT Spelling Bee Answers for January 15, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | B |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, i, l, n, p, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 22 words |
| Total Points | 95 points |
| Genius Level | 67 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| B | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 14 |
| I | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| L | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| N | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| T | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 | Σ | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BA×6 BI×2 BL×6 |
| I | |
| L | LA×2 |
| N | |
| P | PA×1 PI×1 |
| T | TA×1 TI×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALI×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BAB×1 BAI×2 BAL×1 BAN×2 BIL×2 BLA×3 BLI×3 |
| I | |
| L | LAB×2 |
| N | |
| P | PAI×1 PIN×1 |
| T | TAB×1 TIB×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) |
|---|---|---|
| pa....... † | PA9 | A sport where teams shoot each other with gelatin capsules filled with paint-like dye. |
| al... | AL5 | The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup. |
| ba.. | BA4 | Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial. |
| ba.. | BA4 | Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net. |
| ba.. | BA4 | A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass. |
| ba... | BA5 | Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh. |
| ba.... | BA6 | An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking. |
| bi...... | BI8 | Articulated with both lips. |
| bi.. | BI4 | Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff. |
| bl.. | BL4 | To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion. |
| bl.. | BL4 | To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat. |
| bl..... | BL7 | Obvious, on show; unashamed; loudly obtrusive or offensive. |
| bl.. | BL4 | To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up. |
| bl... | BL5 | A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon. |
| bl.. | BL4 | A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen. |
| la... | LA5 | The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina. |
| la.... | LA6 | Of or pertaining to the lips or labia. |
| pi..... | PI7 | A game, played on a device with a sloping base, in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points. |
| ta... | TA5 | A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos. |
| ti... | TI5 | The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone |
| ti.... | TI6 | Of or pertaining to a tibia or a structure associated with a tibia. |
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.
- paintball† (PA9)
- alibi (AL5)
- baba (BA4)
- bail (BA4)
- bait (BA4)
- ball (BA4)
- banal (BA5)
- banana (BA6)
- bilabial (BI8)
- bill (BI4)
- blab (BL4)
- blat (BL4)
- blatant (BL7)
- blin (BL4)
- blini (BL5)
- blip (BL4)
- labia (LA5)
- labial (LA6)
- pinball (PI7)
- tabla (TA5)
- tibia (TI5)
- tibial (TI6)
Answer Definitions
- paintball† (noun): A sport where teams shoot each other with gelatin capsules filled with paint-like dye.
- alibi (noun): The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove being in another place when the alleged act was committed.
- baba (noun): A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
- bail (noun): Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
- bait (noun): Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
- ball (noun): A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
- banal (adjective): Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
- banana (noun): An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin. In particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
- bilabial (adjective): Articulated with both lips.
- bill (noun): Any of various bladed or pointed hand weapons, originally designating an Anglo-Saxon sword, and later a weapon of infantry, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, commonly consisting of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, with a short pike at the back and another at the top, attached to the end of a long staff.
- blab (verb): To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
- blat (verb): To cry, as a calf or sheep; bleat.
- blatant (adjective): Obvious, on show; unashamed; loudly obtrusive or offensive.
- blin (verb): To cease (from); to stop; to desist, to let up.
- blini (noun): A small pancake, of Russian origin, made from buckwheat flour; traditionally served with melted butter, sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon.
- blip (noun): A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen.
- labia (noun): The folds of tissue at the opening of the vulva, at either side of the vagina.
- labial (adjective): Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.
- pinball (noun): A game, played on a device with a sloping base, in which the player operates a spring-loaded plunger to shoot a ball, between obstacles, and attempts to hit targets and score points.
- tabla (noun): A pair of tuned hand drums, used in various musical genres of the Indian subcontinent, that are similar to bongos.
- tibia (noun): The inner and usually the larger of the two bones of the leg or hind limb below the knee, the shinbone
- tibial (adjective): Of or pertaining to a tibia or a structure associated with a tibia.