NYT Spelling Bee Answers for September 20, 2024
Game Summary
| Center Letter | N |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | c, f, i, o, r, t |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 47 words |
| Total Points | 234 points |
| Genius Level | 164 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 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | - | 3 | 15 |
| F | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| I | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| N | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| O | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| R | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| T | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 | Σ | 14 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 2 | - | 4 | 47 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| C | CI×1 CO×13 CR×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FI×2 FO×1 FR×2 |
| I | IC×2 IN×3 IO×1 IR×2 |
| N | NI×2 NO×5 |
| O | ON×2 |
| R | RI×1 RO×1 |
| T | TI×2 TO×4 TR×2 |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| C | CIT×1 COC×1 COF×1 COI×1 CON×8 COR×1 COT×1 CRO×1 |
|---|---|
| F | FIC×1 FIN×1 FON×1 FRI×1 FRO×1 |
| I | ICO×2 INF×1 INT×2 ION×1 IRO×2 |
| N | NIT×2 NOI×1 NON×1 NOO×1 NOR×1 NOT×1 |
| O | ONI×1 ONT×1 |
| R | RIC×1 ROT×1 |
| T | TIN×2 TON×1 TOO×1 TOR×2 TRI×2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| fr...... † | FR8 | The rubbing of one object or surface against another. |
| ci.... | CI6 | A greenish yellow colour. |
| co.... | CO6 | The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa. |
| co.... | CO6 | A rectangular closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial. |
| co.. | CO4 | A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle. |
| co..... | CO7 | To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking. |
| co........ | CO10 | The preparing of a medicine, food or other substance out of many ingredients. |
| co.... | CO6 | Any of various kinds of food that have been immersed in a substance for both flavor and preservation. |
| co...... | CO8 | To stand or meet facing, especially in competition, hostility or defiance; to come face to face with |
| co... | CO5 | Synonym of conical |
| co..... | CO7 | To twist in a violent manner. |
| co........ | CO10 | The act of contorting, twisting or deforming something, especially oneself. |
| co........ | CO10 | The state of being contrite; sincere penitence or remorse. |
| co.. | CO4 | Any cereal plant grown for its grain, or the grain thereof. |
| co.... | CO6 | Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber. |
| cr... | CR5 | To hum or sing softly or in a sentimental manner. |
| fi..... | FI7 | Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose. |
| fi.... | FI6 | Finished; over with. |
| fo.. | FO4 | A receptacle in a church for holy water, especially one used in baptism. |
| fr... | FR5 | The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves. |
| ic.. | IC4 | An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion. |
| ic.... | IC6 | Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon. |
| in.. | IN4 | information. |
| in.. | IN4 | To or towards the inside of. |
| in... | IN5 | An introduction. |
| io... | IO5 | of, relating to, or containing ions |
| ir.. | IR4 | A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel. |
| ir.... | IR6 | (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony. |
| ni.... | NI6 | Of, pertaining to, or containing, nitrogen. |
| ni... | NI5 | the univalent NO2 functional group. |
| no.. | NO4 | Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre |
| no........ | NO10 | Written works intended to give facts, or true accounts of real things and events. Often used attributively. |
| no.. | NO4 | The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday. |
| no.. | NO4 | A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera). |
| no.... | NO6 | Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept. |
| on... | ON5 | A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. |
| on.. | ON4 | Upon; on top of. |
| ri... | RI5 | An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean. |
| ro.... | RO6 | A type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta similar to fusilli. |
| ti... | TI5 | A tint or colour. |
| ti.. | TI4 | A slight coloring. |
| to... | TO5 | Pertaining to tension, especially of muscles. |
| to.. | TO4 | A cartoon, especially an animated television show. |
| to.. | TO4 | past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed). |
| to..... | TO7 | Any of several sorts of ice-cream flavoured with rum or sherry, often containing chopped cherries and topped with almonds, crumbled macaroons, etc. |
| tr..... | TR7 | A three-sided hat with the brim turned up |
| tr.... | TR6 | the atomic nucleus of a tritium atom, consisting of a proton and two neutrons |
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.
- friction† (FR8)
- citron (CI6)
- cocoon (CO6)
- coffin (CO6)
- coin (CO4)
- concoct (CO7)
- concoction (CO10)
- confit (CO6)
- confront (CO8)
- conic (CO5)
- contort (CO7)
- contortion (CO10)
- contrition (CO10)
- corn (CO4)
- cotton (CO6)
- croon (CR5)
- fiction (FI7)
- finito (FI6)
- font (FO4)
- front (FR5)
- icon (IC4)
- iconic (IC6)
- info (IN4)
- into (IN4)
- intro (IN5)
- ionic (IO5)
- iron (IR4)
- ironic (IR6)
- nitric (NI6)
- nitro (NI5)
- noir (NO4)
- nonfiction (NO10)
- noon (NO4)
- nori (NO4)
- notion (NO6)
- onion (ON5)
- onto (ON4)
- ricin (RI5)
- rotini (RO6)
- tinct (TI5)
- tint (TI4)
- tonic (TO5)
- toon (TO4)
- torn (TO4)
- tortoni (TO7)
- tricorn (TR7)
- triton (TR6)
Answer Definitions
- friction† (noun): The rubbing of one object or surface against another.
- citron (noun): A greenish yellow colour.
- cocoon (noun): The silky protective case spun by the larvae of some insects in which they metamorphose, the pupa.
- coffin (noun): A rectangular closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial.
- coin (noun): A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle.
- concoct (verb): To prepare something by mixing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking.
- concoction (noun): The preparing of a medicine, food or other substance out of many ingredients.
- confit (noun): Any of various kinds of food that have been immersed in a substance for both flavor and preservation.
- confront (verb): To stand or meet facing, especially in competition, hostility or defiance; to come face to face with
- conic (adjective): Synonym of conical
- contort (verb): To twist in a violent manner.
- contortion (noun): The act of contorting, twisting or deforming something, especially oneself.
- contrition (noun): The state of being contrite; sincere penitence or remorse.
- corn (noun): Any cereal plant grown for its grain, or the grain thereof.
- cotton (noun): Gossypium, a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber.
- croon (verb): To hum or sing softly or in a sentimental manner.
- fiction (noun): Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose.
- finito (adjective): Finished; over with.
- font (noun): A receptacle in a church for holy water, especially one used in baptism.
- front (noun): The foremost side of something or the end that faces the direction it normally moves.
- icon (noun): An image, symbol, picture, or other representation usually as an object of religious devotion.
- iconic (adjective): Relating to, or having the characteristics of, an icon.
- info (noun): information.
- into (preposition): To or towards the inside of.
- intro (noun): An introduction.
- ionic (adjective): of, relating to, or containing ions
- iron (noun): A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel.
- ironic (adjective): (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
- nitric (adjective): Of, pertaining to, or containing, nitrogen.
- nitro (noun): the univalent NO2 functional group.
- noir (adjective): Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre
- nonfiction (noun): Written works intended to give facts, or true accounts of real things and events. Often used attributively.
- noon (noun): The time of day when the sun is in its zenith; twelve o'clock in the day, midday.
- nori (noun): A type of seaweed, a red alga, laver (genus Pyropia, including species P. yezoensis and P. tenera).
- notion (noun): Mental apprehension of whatever may be known, thought, or imagined; idea, concept.
- onion (noun): A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
- onto (preposition): Upon; on top of.
- ricin (noun): An extremely toxic lectin extracted from the castor bean.
- rotini (noun): A type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta similar to fusilli.
- tinct (noun): A tint or colour.
- tint (noun): A slight coloring.
- tonic (adjective): Pertaining to tension, especially of muscles.
- toon (noun): A cartoon, especially an animated television show.
- torn (verb): past participle of tear (rip, rend, speed).
- tortoni (noun): Any of several sorts of ice-cream flavoured with rum or sherry, often containing chopped cherries and topped with almonds, crumbled macaroons, etc.
- tricorn (noun): A three-sided hat with the brim turned up
- triton (noun): the atomic nucleus of a tritium atom, consisting of a proton and two neutrons