NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 16, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | L |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | a, d, h, i, n, y |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: 1) |
| Total Words | 36 words |
| Total Points | 142 points |
| Genius Level | 99 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 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| D | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 10 |
| H | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| I | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| L | 5 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| N | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 16 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 36 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AL×2 AN×3 |
|---|---|
| D | DA×5 DI×5 |
| H | HA×4 HI×2 |
| I | ID×3 IL×1 IN×3 |
| L | LA×6 LI×1 |
| N | NA×1 |
| Y |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | ALL×2 ANA×2 ANN×1 |
|---|---|
| D | DAH×1 DAI×1 DAL×1 DAN×1 DAY×1 DIA×1 DID×1 DIL×3 |
| H | HAI×1 HAL×2 HAN×1 HIL×2 |
| I | IDL×1 IDY×2 ILL×1 INL×3 |
| L | LAD×1 LAI×2 LAN×3 LIL×1 |
| N | NAI×1 |
| 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) |
|---|---|---|
| ha..... † | HA7 | In a handy manner; skillfully; conveniently |
| al... | AL5 | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| 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. |
| an.. | AN4 | of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. |
| an.... | AN6 | Involving the anus. |
| an... | AN5 | The record of a single event or item. |
| da.... | DA6 | Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico. |
| da... | DA5 | That occurs every day, or at least every working day |
| da... | DA5 | To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle. |
| da..... | DA7 | In a dandy or foppish manner. |
| da..... | DA7 | Any of several perennial plants, of the genus Hemerocallis, that have fleshy roots, grasslike leaves and colourful flowers that bloom for just one day. |
| di.. | DI4 | A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed). |
| di.... | DI6 | A small amount of no worth. |
| 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. |
| di... | DI5 | Redolent of dill (the herb). |
| di........ | DI10 | Alternative spelling of dilly-dally |
| ha.. | HA4 | Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm. |
| ha... | HA5 | Permissible, according to Muslim religious customs, to have or do. |
| ha.. | HA4 | A corridor; a hallway. |
| hi.. | HI4 | An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain. |
| hi... | HI5 | Abundant in hills; having many hills. |
| id.. | ID4 | Without specific purpose, intent or effort. |
| id.. | ID4 | Alternative spelling of idyll |
| id... | ID5 | Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls. |
| il.. | IL4 | Badly; poorly. |
| 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. |
| in... | IN5 | To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design. |
| la.. | LA4 | The mistress of a household. |
| 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 | A female landlord. |
| li.. | LI4 | Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species. |
| na.. | NA4 | The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. |
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.
- handily† (HA7)
- allay (AL5)
- ally (AL4)
- anal (AN4)
- anally (AN6)
- annal (AN5)
- dahlia (DA6)
- daily (DA5)
- dally (DA5)
- dandily (DA7)
- daylily (DA7)
- dial (DI4)
- diddly (DI6)
- dill (DI4)
- dilly (DI5)
- dillydally (DI10)
- hail (HA4)
- halal (HA5)
- hall (HA4)
- hill (HI4)
- hilly (HI5)
- idly (ID4)
- idyl (ID4)
- idyll (ID5)
- illy (IL4)
- inlaid (IN6)
- inland (IN6)
- inlay (IN5)
- lady (LA4)
- laid (LA4)
- lain (LA4)
- lanai (LA5)
- land (LA4)
- landlady (LA8)
- lily (LI4)
- nail (NA4)
Answer Definitions
- handily† (adverb): In a handy manner; skillfully; conveniently
- allay (verb): To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
- 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.
- anal (adjective): of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
- anally (adverb): Involving the anus.
- annal (noun): The record of a single event or item.
- dahlia (noun): Any plant of the genus Dahlia, tuberous perennial flowering plants native to Mexico.
- daily (adjective): That occurs every day, or at least every working day
- dally (verb): To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- dandily (adverb): In a dandy or foppish manner.
- daylily (noun): Any of several perennial plants, of the genus Hemerocallis, that have fleshy roots, grasslike leaves and colourful flowers that bloom for just one day.
- dial (noun): A graduated, circular scale over which a needle moves to show a measurement (such as speed).
- diddly (noun): A small amount of no worth.
- 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.
- dilly (adjective): Redolent of dill (the herb).
- dillydally (verb): Alternative spelling of dilly-dally
- hail (noun): Balls or pieces of ice falling as precipitation, often in connection with a thunderstorm.
- halal (adjective): Permissible, according to Muslim religious customs, to have or do.
- hall (noun): A corridor; a hallway.
- hill (noun): An elevated landmass smaller than a mountain.
- hilly (adjective): Abundant in hills; having many hills.
- idly (adverb): Without specific purpose, intent or effort.
- idyl (noun): Alternative spelling of idyll
- idyll (noun): Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls.
- illy (adverb): Badly; poorly.
- 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.
- inlay (verb): To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.
- lady (noun): The mistress of a household.
- 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.
- landlady (noun): A female landlord.
- lily (noun): Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
- nail (noun): The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.