The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

CDLOTYI

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Words
41
Points
168
Genius
117
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 41 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • city

    noun — A large settlement, bigger than a town; sometimes with a specific legal definition, depending on the place.

    noun — A settlement granted special status by royal charter or letters patent; traditionally, a settlement with a cathedral regardless of size.

    noun — The central business district; downtown.

    noun — A large amount of something (used after the noun).

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • cocci

    noun — Any approximately spherical bacterium.

    noun — Coccidioidomycosis

    noun — One of the carpels or seed-vessels of a dry fruit.

    Appeared in 20 recorded puzzles.

  • codicil

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • coil

    noun — Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.

    verb — To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.

    noun — A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.

    noun — Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.

    noun — A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.

    noun — Entanglement; perplexity.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • colic

    noun — Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).

    adjective — Relating to the colon; colonic.

    noun — A medicinal plant used to relieve such symptoms.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • colloid

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • cyclic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • diddly

    noun — A small amount of no worth.

    interjection — A written representation of a trill sound.

    noun — (sometimes childish) penis

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • dildo

    noun — An artificial phallus (penis) for sexual use.

    noun — An idiot, a bore.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • 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.

    verb — To cook or flavor with dill

    verb — To still; to assuage; to calm; to soothe, as one in pain.

    noun — A cucumber pickled with dill flavoring

    noun — A fool.

    Appeared in 19 recorded puzzles.

  • dilly

    adjective — Redolent of dill (the herb).

    noun — Someone or something that is remarkable or unusual.

    noun — A dilly bag.

    noun — A kind of stagecoach.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • ditto

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • ditty

    noun — A short verse or tune.

    verb — To sing; to warble a little tune.

    noun — A saying or utterance, especially one that is short and frequently repeated.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • docility

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • doily

    noun — A small ornamental piece of lace or linen or paper used to protect a surface from scratches by hard objects such as vases or bowls; or to decorate a plate of food.

    noun — An old kind of woollen material.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • icily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • idiocy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • idiot

    noun — A person of low general intelligence.

    adjective — Idiotic, stupid

    noun — A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.

    noun — A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • idiotic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • idly

    adverb — In an idle manner.

    adverb — Without specific purpose, intent or effort.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • idol

    noun — A cultural icon, or especially popular person.

    noun — (originally Japan) Popular entertainer; usually young, captivating, attractive; and often female, with an image of being close to fans.

    noun — A graven image or representation of anything that is revered, or believed to convey spiritual power.

    noun — An eidolon or phantom; something misleading or elusive.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • idyl

    noun — Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls.

    noun — An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience.

    noun — A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character, e.g. Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • idyll

    noun — Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls.

    noun — An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience.

    noun — A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character, e.g. Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • idyllic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • illicit

    noun — A banned or unlawful item.

    adjective — Not approved by law, but not invalid.

    adjective — Breaking social norms.

    adjective — Unlawful.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • illicitly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • illy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • itty

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • licit

    adjective — Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.

    adjective — Explicitly established or constituted by law.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • licitly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • lilt

    noun — A cheerful or melodious accent when speaking.

    noun — Animated, brisk motion; spirited rhythm; sprightliness.

    noun — A lively song or dance; a cheerful tune.

    verb — To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.

    verb — To utter with spirit, animation, or gaiety; to sing with spirit and liveliness.

    verb — To sing cheerfully, especially in Gaelic.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • lily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • loci

    noun — A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.

    noun — The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.

    noun — A fixed position on a chromosome that may be occupied by one or more genes.

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.

    Appeared in 11 recorded puzzles.

  • oddity

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • oily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • olio

    noun — A medley or mixture; a hotchpotch.

    noun — A collection of various musical, theatrical or other artistic works; a miscellany.

    noun — A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.

    noun — (by extension) Vaudeville or similar miscellaneous musical or theatrical entertainment skits presented between the main acts of burlesque or minstrel shows.

    Appeared in 24 recorded puzzles.

  • tidily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • tidy

    noun — A tabletop container for pens and stationery.

    verb — To make tidy; to neaten.

    adjective — Arranged neatly and in order.

    interjection — Expression of positive agreement, usually in reply to a question.

    noun — A cover, often of tatting, drawn work, or other ornamental work, for the back of a chair, the arms of a sofa, etc.

    noun — A child's pinafore.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • till

    preposition — Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).

    conjunction — Until, until the time that.

    noun — A cash register.

    noun — A removable box within a cash register containing the money.

    noun — The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.

    verb — To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • tilt

    verb — To slope or incline (something); to slant.

    verb — To be at an angle.

    noun — A slope or inclination.

    noun — The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.

    verb — To play worse than usual (often as a result of previous bad luck or losses).

    noun — The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • toil

    noun — Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.

    verb — To labour; work.

    noun — Trouble, strife.

    noun — (usually in plural) A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.

    verb — To struggle.

    verb — To work (something); often with out.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • ci×1
  • co×5
  • cy×1
  • di×6
  • do×2
  • ic×1
  • id×8
  • il×3
  • it×1
  • li×4
  • lo×1
  • od×1
  • oi×1
  • ol×1
  • ti×4
  • to×1

Words by first letter and length

456789Σ
c 2212·· 7
d 151·1· 8
i 5313·1 13
l 31·1·· 5
o 2·1··· 3
t 4·1··· 5
Σ 17115611 41

The numbers

Genius today takes 117 points of 168 available. The average answer runs 5.2 letters.

Total points vs. all 426 recorded puzzles
32nd percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
40th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 19216 recorded answers

417 today34.4% all-time511 today22.9% all-time65 today20.0% all-time76 today12.0% all-time81 today6.3% all-time91 today2.6% all-time101.3% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
c Monday, December 22, 2025 Tuesday, December 2, 2025
d Monday, December 22, 2025 Thursday, December 4, 2025
i ● Friday, December 19, 2025 Thursday, December 18, 2025
l Monday, December 22, 2025 Tuesday, December 9, 2025
o Sunday, December 21, 2025 Saturday, December 6, 2025
t Sunday, December 21, 2025 Sunday, December 21, 2025
y Thursday, December 11, 2025 Thursday, December 11, 2025

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 45
  2. naan 34
  3. nana 34
  4. toot 32
  5. onion 31
  6. loll 29
  7. mama 27
  8. mamma 27
  9. acacia 25
  10. acai 25
  11. nene 25
  12. cocoon 24
  13. onto 24
  14. toon 24
  15. mini 24
  16. minim 24
  17. loon 24
  18. olio 24
  19. aria 23
  20. imam 23
  21. maim 23
  22. mitt 23
  23. cancan 23
  24. canna 23
  25. neon 23

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.