NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 9, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | L |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, f, i, n, w |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 31 words |
| Total Points | 113 points |
| Genius Level | 79 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 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| D | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| F | 5 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 9 |
| I | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| L | 4 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 7 |
| N | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| W | 4 | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | Σ | 17 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 31 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×1 AN×2 |
|---|---|
| D | DI×2 |
| F | FA×2 FI×4 FL×3 |
| I | IN×3 |
| L | LA×7 |
| N | NA×1 |
| W | WA×2 WI×4 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALF×1 ANA×1 ANN×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DIA×1 DIL×1 |
| F | FAI×1 FAL×1 FIL×2 FIN×2 FLA×3 |
| I | INF×1 INL×2 |
| L | LAI×2 LAN×4 LAW×1 |
| N | NAI×1 |
| W | WAI×1 WAL×1 WIL×3 WIN×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) |
|---|---|---|
| wi...... † | WI8 | Something that has been blown down by the wind. |
| al..... | AL7 | A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | The record of a single event or item. |
| di.. | DI4 | A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed). |
| di.. | DI4 | Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed. |
| fa.. | FA4 | To be unsuccessful. |
| fa.. | FA4 | To be moved downwards. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity. |
| fi.... | FI6 | Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter. |
| fi.. | FI4 | To occupy fully, to take up all of. |
| fi... | FI5 | A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class. |
| fi.... | FI6 | The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture. |
| fl... | FL5 | A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long handle with a shorter stick attached with a short piece of chain, thong or similar material. |
| fl.. | FL4 | Baked tart with sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case. |
| fl.. | FL4 | A flake, fragment, or shiver. |
| in.... | IN6 | To fill in a space, hole or gap. |
| in.... | IN6 | simple past tense and past participle of inlay |
| in.... | IN6 | Within the land; relatively remote from the ocean or from open water; interior. |
| la.. | LA4 | simple past tense and past participle of lay |
| la.. | LA4 | past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”) |
| la... | LA5 | A Hawaiian-style roofed patio. |
| la.. | LA4 | The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water. |
| la...... | LA8 | Arrival at the shore by ship. |
| la...... | LA8 | To dispose of (garbage) by burying it at a landfill site. |
| la.. | LA4 | An open space between woods. |
| na.. | NA4 | The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. |
| wa.. | WA4 | To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish. |
| wa.. | WA4 | A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes. |
| wi.. | WI4 | Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated). |
| wi...... | WI8 | land that is unfit for, or has not been modified by, cultivation or other human activity; a natural area. |
| wi.. | WI4 | Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall. |
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.
- windfall† (WI8)
- alfalfa (AL7)
- anal (AN4)
- annal (AN5)
- dial (DI4)
- dill (DI4)
- fail (FA4)
- fall (FA4)
- filial (FI6)
- fill (FI4)
- final (FI5)
- finial (FI6)
- flail (FL5)
- flan (FL4)
- flaw (FL4)
- infill (IN6)
- inlaid (IN6)
- inland (IN6)
- laid (LA4)
- lain (LA4)
- lanai (LA5)
- land (LA4)
- landfall (LA8)
- landfill (LA8)
- lawn (LA4)
- nail (NA4)
- wail (WA4)
- wall (WA4)
- wild (WI4)
- wildland (WI8)
- will (WI4)
Answer Definitions
- windfall† (noun): Something that has been blown down by the wind.
- alfalfa (noun): A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- annal (noun): The record of a single event or item.
- dial (noun): A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
- dill (noun): Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.
- fail (verb): To be unsuccessful.
- fall (verb): To be moved downwards. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
- filial (adjective): Pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter.
- fill (verb): To occupy fully, to take up all of.
- final (noun): A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.
- finial (noun): The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture.
- flail (noun): A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long handle with a shorter stick attached with a short piece of chain, thong or similar material.
- flan (noun): Baked tart with sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case.
- flaw (noun): A flake, fragment, or shiver.
- infill (verb): To fill in a space, hole or gap.
- inlaid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of inlay
- inland (adjective): Within the land; relatively remote from the ocean or from open water; interior.
- laid (verb): simple past tense and past participle of lay
- lain (verb): past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)
- lanai (noun): A Hawaiian-style roofed patio.
- land (noun): The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water.
- landfall (noun): Arrival at the shore by ship.
- landfill (verb): To dispose of (garbage) by burying it at a landfill site.
- lawn (noun): An open space between woods.
- nail (noun): The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
- wail (verb): To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
- wall (noun): A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
- wild (adjective): Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated).
- wildland (noun): land that is unfit for, or has not been modified by, cultivation or other human activity; a natural area.
- will (verb): Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.