NYT Spelling Bee Answers for December 21, 2023
Game Summary
| Center Letter | L |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, i, o, r, t, v |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 32 words |
| Total Points | 101 points |
| Genius Level | 71 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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| I | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| L | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| R | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 4 |
| T | 5 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | 8 |
| V | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 | Σ | 20 | 7 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 32 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CI×1 CL×1 CO×5 |
|---|---|
| I | IL×1 |
| L | LI×2 LO×5 |
| O | OL×1 |
| R | RI×1 RO×3 |
| T | TI×2 TO×3 TR×3 |
| V | VI×3 VO×1 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CIV×1 CLO×1 COI×1 COL×3 COO×1 |
|---|---|
| I | ILL×1 |
| L | LIC×1 LIL×1 LOC×2 LOL×1 LOO×1 LOT×1 |
| O | OLI×1 |
| R | RIL×1 ROI×1 ROL×1 ROT×1 |
| T | TIL×2 TOI×1 TOL×1 TOO×1 TRI×2 TRO×1 |
| V | VIO×1 VIT×2 VOL×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) |
|---|---|---|
| vi....... † | VI9 | Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from or resembling vitriol. |
| ci... | CI5 | Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion. |
| cl.. | CL4 | A thrombus, solidified mass of blood. |
| co.. | CO4 | Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral. |
| co... | CO5 | Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems). |
| co... | CO5 | The spectral composition of visible light. |
| co.. | CO4 | A young male horse. |
| co.. | CO4 | Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold. |
| il..... | IL7 | Not approved by law, but not invalid. |
| li... | LI5 | Not forbidden by formal or informal rules. |
| li.. | LI4 | To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music. |
| lo.. | LO4 | plural of locus |
| lo.. | LO4 | A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower. |
| lo.. | LO4 | To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease. |
| lo.. | LO4 | A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks. |
| lo... | LO5 | a game of chance similar to bingo |
| ol.. | OL4 | A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables. |
| ri.. | RI4 | A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of. |
| ro.. | RO4 | To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface. |
| ro...... | RO8 | To break up and turn soil using a rototiller. |
| ti.. | TI4 | Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time). |
| ti.. | TI4 | To slope or incline (something); to slant. |
| to.. | TO4 | Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature. |
| to.. | TO4 | Loss or damage incurred through a disaster. |
| to.. | TO4 | A mechanical device intended to make a task easier. |
| tr...... | TR8 | Alternative form of tricolour |
| tr... | TR5 | A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it, in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff. |
| tr... | TR5 | A supernatural being of varying size, now especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges. |
| vi.. | VI4 | A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted neck and six strings, played with an underhanded bow hold |
| vi..... | VI7 | any of various metal sulphates. |
| vo.. | VO4 | In the International System of Units, the derived unit of electrical potential and electromotive force (voltage); the potential difference across a conductor when a current of one ampere uses one watt of power. Symbol: V |
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.
- vitriolic† (VI9)
- civil (CI5)
- clot (CL4)
- coil (CO4)
- colic (CO5)
- color (CO5)
- colt (CO4)
- cool (CO4)
- illicit (IL7)
- licit (LI5)
- lilt (LI4)
- loci (LO4)
- loco (LO4)
- loll (LO4)
- loot (LO4)
- lotto (LO5)
- olio (OL4)
- rill (RI4)
- roil (RO4)
- roll (RO4)
- rototill (RO8)
- till (TI4)
- tilt (TI4)
- toil (TO4)
- toll (TO4)
- tool (TO4)
- tricolor (TR8)
- trill (TR5)
- troll (TR5)
- viol (VI4)
- vitriol (VI7)
- volt (VO4)
Answer Definitions
- vitriolic† (adjective): Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from or resembling vitriol.
- civil (adjective): Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
- clot (noun): A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.
- coil (noun): Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
- colic (noun): Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).
- color (noun): The spectral composition of visible light.
- colt (noun): A young male horse.
- cool (adjective): Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.
- illicit (adjective): Not approved by law, but not invalid.
- licit (adjective): Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
- lilt (verb): To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
- loci (noun): plural of locus
- loco (adverb): A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.
- loll (verb): To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
- loot (noun): A scoop used to remove scum from brine pans in saltworks.
- lotto (noun): a game of chance similar to bingo
- olio (noun): A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.
- rill (noun): A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
- roil (verb): To render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
- roll (verb): To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface.
- rototill (verb): To break up and turn soil using a rototiller.
- till (preposition): Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
- tilt (verb): To slope or incline (something); to slant.
- toil (noun): Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
- toll (noun): Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.
- tool (noun): A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.
- tricolor (adjective): Alternative form of tricolour
- trill (noun): A rapid alternation between an indicated note and the one above it, in musical notation usually indicated with the letters tr written above the staff.
- troll (noun): A supernatural being of varying size, now especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
- viol (noun): A stringed instrument related to the violin family, but held in the lap between the legs like a cello, usually with C-holes, a flat back, a fretted neck and six strings, played with an underhanded bow hold
- vitriol (noun): any of various metal sulphates.
- volt (noun): In the International System of Units, the derived unit of electrical potential and electromotive force (voltage); the potential difference across a conductor when a current of one ampere uses one watt of power. Symbol: V