- Letters: M/ADEITV
- Words: 68
- Points: 302
- Pangrams: 1
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The table provides clues for the roots of words in today's NY Times Spelling Bee. You're responsible for prefixes, suffixes,
tense changes, plurals, doubling consonants before suffixes, and alternate spellings of roots. An exception:
since Sam won't allow S, when the root contains an S, the clue may be for a plural or suffixed form. "Mice" for example.
If a clue isn't self-explanatory, try googling it.
The TL;DR about the site comes after the table.
Past clues are available here |
Today's puzzle
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Table content
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| root # | answers covered | answer's first two letters | answer's length | clue for root (answer may need prefix, suffix, tense change, alt spelling, ...) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | AD | 5 | Fess up, or let in |
| 1 | 1 | AD | 8 | Fess up, or let in |
| 2 | 1 | AI | 5 | Point at a target |
| 3 | 1 | AM | 4 | Surrounded by, preposition |
| 5 | 1 | DA | 4 | Title given to a woman equivalent to the rank of knight (… Olivia de Havilland) |
| 4 | 1 | DA | 6 | Structure that holds back a river, noun/verb (beavers construct small ones) |
| 6 | 1 | DA | 6 | Slang exclamation of frustration (“… Janet” song in “Rocky Horror”); should have an N instead of a doubled central consonant; compound; condemn something to hell |
| 7 | 1 | DE | 4 | Consider (I … it a great success) |
| 8 | 1 | DE | 5 | Extremely obscure formal verb from French meaning “to resign from an office or position” |
| 7 | 1 | DE | 6 | Consider (I … it a great success) |
| 8 | 1 | DE | 8 | Extremely obscure formal verb from French meaning “to resign from an office or position” |
| 11 | 1 | DI | 4 | Coin worth 10 cents |
| 9 | 1 | DI | 6 | Jeweled crown or headband worn as a symbol of sovereignty |
| 10 | 1 | DI | 6 | Faintly lit, adjective/verb |
| 13 | 1 | ED | 5 | Medical term for swelling |
| 12 | 1 | ED | 7 | Green soybeans boiled or steamed in their pods |
| 14 | 1 | EM | 4 | Give off (radiation, signals) |
| 14 | 1 | EM | 7 | Give off (radiation, signals) |
| 15 | 1 | IM | 4 | Prayer leader at mosque |
| 16 | 1 | IM | 7 | Copy someone’s speech or mannerisms |
| 16 | 1 | IM | 8 | Copy someone’s speech or mannerisms |
| 16 | 1 | IM | 9 | Copy someone’s speech or mannerisms |
| 17 | 1 | IM | 9 | Occurring right this instant (…gratification); or nearest in relation (only…family allowed), adj. |
| 18 | 1 | IT | 4 | One thing as part of a set, 10 or fewer of these at an express register |
| 21 | 1 | MA | 4 | 8 of them were milking in a Xmas carol |
| 22 | 1 | MA | 4 | Permanently injure |
| 23 | 1 | MA | 4 | Assemble (Please…dinner tonight; I’m too tired) or force (Oh yeah?...me!), verb |
| 24 | 1 | MA | 4 | ♀ parent, slang |
| 26 | 1 | MA | 4 | Fellow member (cast-…) or joint occupant (room-…) |
| 19 | 1 | MA | 5 | Term of respect for a ♀, or one who runs a brothel; palindrome |
| 24 | 1 | MA | 5 | ♀ parent, slang |
| 26 | 1 | MA | 5 | Fellow member (cast-…) or joint occupant (room-…) |
| 27 | 1 | MA | 5 | Dull finish on paint or photos |
| 20 | 1 | MA | 6 | Form of address to a French-speaking woman (… Bovary) |
| 22 | 1 | MA | 6 | Permanently injure |
| 25 | 1 | MA | 6 | Tangle something, especially hair, in a thick mass, verb (the present tense is too short to be a Bee word) |
| 28 | 1 | ME | 4 | Alcoholic drink made from honey |
| 29 | 1 | ME | 4 | Animal flesh for consumption (beef, ham, etc.) |
| 33 | 1 | ME | 4 | Encounter (I’m supposed to … him in the park) |
| 34 | 1 | ME | 4 | Viral internet funny image, noun/verb |
| 35 | 1 | ME | 4 | Beyond prefix, greek |
| 37 | 1 | ME | 4 | Dispense justice (“… out punishment”), homophone of “animal flesh for consumption” |
| 30 | 1 | ME | 5 | Mass communication |
| 34 | 1 | ME | 5 | Viral internet funny image, noun/verb |
| 37 | 1 | ME | 5 | Dispense justice (“… out punishment”), homophone of “animal flesh for consumption” |
| 31 | 1 | ME | 7 | Intervene between people in a dispute; arbitrate |
| 31 | 1 | ME | 8 | Intervene between people in a dispute; arbitrate |
| 32 | 1 | ME | 8 | Think deeply (while doing yoga & chanting “Om”?) |
| 36 | 1 | ME | 8 | Info about a computer file (author, size, when it was created, etc.), compound noun |
| 32 | 1 | ME | 9 | Think deeply (while doing yoga & chanting “Om”?) |
| 32 | 1 | ME | 10 | Think deeply (while doing yoga & chanting “Om”?) |
| 38 | 1 | MI | 4 | Computer music protocol, calf-length skirt, or noon in French |
| 39 | 1 | MI | 4 | Silent performer |
| 40 | 1 | MI | 4 | Tiny tick, or very small amount (I'm a … testy today) |
| 41 | 1 | MI | 4 | Catcher’s glove, or Sen. Romney |
| 39 | 1 | MI | 5 | Silent performer |
| 42 | 1 | TA | 4 | Not wild, adj./verb |
| 42 | 1 | TA | 5 | Not wild, adj./verb |
| 43 | 1 | TA | 6 | Japanese & dojo floor mats (畳) |
| 44 | 1 | TE | 4 | Group of sports players (Yankees, e.g.), noun; … up, verb |
| 47 | 1 | TE | 4 | Be full or swarming with; homophone of Yankees group |
| 44 | 1 | TE | 6 | Group of sports players (Yankees, e.g.), noun; … up, verb |
| 47 | 1 | TE | 6 | Be full or swarming with; homophone of Yankees group |
| 46 | 1 | TE | 7 | Britspeak for the early afternoon hour when you serve a steeped beverage, compound (NOT a golf reservation) |
| 45 | 1 | TE | 8 | A fellow player in the same group, compound |
| 48 | 1 | TI | 4 | What clocks measure & display |
| 48 | 1 | TI | 5 | What clocks measure & display |
| 49 | 1 | TI | 5 | Lacking courage or confidence, adj. (… as a mouse) |
This site provides clues for a day's New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle. It exists to make it easier for Kevin Davis to take a day off. Most of the clues come from him. There may be some startup problems, but long term I think I can put the clues together with no more than half an hour's work.
The "Bee Roots" approach is to provide explicit clues for root words, not every word. This is similar to what Kevin Davis does, but without information about parts of speech As logophiles, we are pretty good at putting on prefixes and suffixes, changing tense, and forming plurals (including Latin plurals!). The clues cover root words, arranged alphabetically by root word, with a count of words in the puzzle that come from each root. For example, if a puzzle includes ROAM and ROAMING, there will be a clue for ROAM and a count of 2. The root may not appear in the puzzle at all; for example, the 2021-07-23 Bee included ICED, DEICE, and DEICED. For such a puzzle, the clue would be for ICE with a word count of 3.
The Bee Roots approach involves judgement sometimes. For example, if a puzzle includes LOVE, LOVED, and LOVELY, how many roots are needed to cover them? LOVE and LOVED share the root LOVE, certainly, but LOVELY is tricky. LOVE is part of its etymology, but by now, the word means "exquisitely beautiful," which is a lot farther from the meaning of LOVE than swithcing to past tense. I'm inclined to treat LOVE and LOVELY as separate roots. You may not agree, which is fine. Another thing we logophiles share is a LOVE of arguing about words on Twitter.
One last complication, until another one pops up: a few roots have multiple spellings, for example LOLLYGAG and LALLYGAG. Depending on the day's letters, and maybe even the editor's whims, one or both could be in the puzzle's answer list. With such roots, you could see a word count of 2, even if there are no applicable prefixes or suffixes.
I will do my best to keep this site up to date and helpful (I hope). Check it out, and tweet feedback to @donswartwout Tweet to @donswartwout
Many thanks to Kevin Davis, whose 4,500-word clue list made this possible.