NYT Spelling Bee Answers for March 12, 2025
Game Summary
| Center Letter | F |
|---|---|
| Outer Letters | l, o, s, u, a, b |
| # of Pangrams | 1 (Perfect: none) |
| Total Words | 43 words |
| Total Points | 178 points |
| Genius Level | 125 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 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | - | 2 | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| B | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| F | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 22 |
| L | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 6 |
| O | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| S | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 3 |
| U | - | - | - | - | - | - | Σ | 16 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 43 |
Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.
| A | AF×1 AL×2 |
|---|---|
| B | BL×2 BO×1 BU×3 |
| F | FA×5 FL×7 FO×8 FU×2 |
| L | LO×4 LU×2 |
| O | OA×1 OF×2 |
| S | SO×3 |
| U |
Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.
| A | AFO×1 ALF×1 ALO×1 |
|---|---|
| B | BLU×2 BOF×1 BUF×3 |
| F | FAB×1 FAL×4 FLA×1 FLO×1 FLU×5 FOA×2 FOB×1 FOO×3 FOU×2 FUL×1 FUS×1 |
| L | LOA×2 LOO×2 LUF×2 |
| O | OAF×1 OFF×2 |
| S | SOF×2 SOU×1 |
| U |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| fa...... † | FA8 | Of or relating to fable, myth or legend. |
| af... | AF5 | In a state of collision or entanglement. |
| al..... | AL7 | A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop. |
| al... | AL5 | At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away. |
| bl... | BL5 | An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one's position in order to intimidate; braggadocio. |
| bl.... | BL6 | plural of bluff |
| bo... | BO5 | Outstanding; very good or successful. |
| bu.. | BU4 | Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals. |
| bu..... | BU7 | An animal from the subtribe Bubalina, also known as true buffalos, such as the Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer, or the water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis. |
| bu... | BU5 | plural of buff |
| fa.. | FA4 | To be moved downwards. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity. |
| fa..... | FA7 | A reduction or decline. |
| fa...... | FA8 | plural of falloff |
| fa... | FA5 | A waterfall. |
| fl.. | FL4 | Soft, loose flesh on a person's body; fat. |
| fl... | FL5 | A thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth. |
| fl.. | FL4 | An error; a mistake in the performance of an action. |
| fl... | FL5 | plural of flub |
| fl... | FL5 | Anything light, soft or fuzzy, especially fur, hair, feathers. |
| fl.... | FL6 | plural of fluff |
| fl.. | FL4 | plural of flu |
| fo.. | FO4 | A young horse or other equine, especially just after birth or less than a year old. |
| fo... | FO5 | plural of foal |
| fo.. | FO4 | plural of fob |
| fo.. | FO4 | A person with poor judgment or little intelligence. |
| fo... | FO5 | plural of fool |
| fo...... | FO8 | table soccer (US), table football (UK) |
| fo.. | FO4 | Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty. |
| fo... | FO5 | plural of foul |
| fu.. | FU4 | Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available. |
| fu.. | FU4 | Excessive activity, worry, bother, or talk about something. |
| lo.. | LO4 | (also loaf of bread) A block of bread after baking. |
| lo... | LO5 | plural of loaf |
| lo... | LO5 | Alternative form of loofah |
| lo.... | LO6 | plural of loofa |
| lu.. | LU4 | The vertical edge of a sail that is closest to the direction of the wind. |
| lu... | LU5 | plural of luff |
| oa.. | OA4 | plural of oaf |
| of... | OF5 | The internal organs of an animal, used as animal food. |
| of.. | OF4 | third-person singular simple present indicative of off |
| so.. | SO4 | A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting. |
| so... | SO5 | plural of sofa |
| so..... | SO7 | Full of emotion and vigor. |
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.
- fabulous† (FA8)
- afoul (AF5)
- alfalfa (AL7)
- aloof (AL5)
- bluff (BL5)
- bluffs (BL6)
- boffo (BO5)
- buff (BU4)
- buffalo (BU7)
- buffs (BU5)
- fall (FA4)
- falloff (FA7)
- falloffs (FA8)
- falls (FA5)
- flab (FL4)
- floss (FL5)
- flub (FL4)
- flubs (FL5)
- fluff (FL5)
- fluffs (FL6)
- flus (FL4)
- foal (FO4)
- foals (FO5)
- fobs (FO4)
- fool (FO4)
- fools (FO5)
- foosball (FO8)
- foul (FO4)
- fouls (FO5)
- full (FU4)
- fuss (FU4)
- loaf (LO4)
- loafs (LO5)
- loofa (LO5)
- loofas (LO6)
- luff (LU4)
- luffs (LU5)
- oafs (OA4)
- offal (OF5)
- offs (OF4)
- sofa (SO4)
- sofas (SO5)
- soulful (SO7)
Answer Definitions
- fabulous† (adjective): Of or relating to fable, myth or legend.
- afoul (adverb): In a state of collision or entanglement.
- alfalfa (noun): A plant, principally of Medicago sativa, grown as a pasture crop.
- aloof (adverb): At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
- bluff (noun): An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one's position in order to intimidate; braggadocio.
- bluffs (noun): plural of bluff
- boffo (adjective): Outstanding; very good or successful.
- buff (noun): Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals.
- buffalo (noun): An animal from the subtribe Bubalina, also known as true buffalos, such as the Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer, or the water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.
- buffs (noun): plural of buff
- fall (verb): To be moved downwards. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
- falloff (noun): A reduction or decline.
- falloffs (noun): plural of falloff
- falls (noun): A waterfall.
- flab (noun): Soft, loose flesh on a person's body; fat.
- floss (noun): A thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth.
- flub (noun): An error; a mistake in the performance of an action.
- flubs (noun): plural of flub
- fluff (noun): Anything light, soft or fuzzy, especially fur, hair, feathers.
- fluffs (noun): plural of fluff
- flus (noun): plural of flu
- foal (noun): A young horse or other equine, especially just after birth or less than a year old.
- foals (noun): plural of foal
- fobs (noun): plural of fob
- fool (noun): A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
- fools (noun): plural of fool
- foosball (noun): table soccer (US), table football (UK)
- foul (adjective): Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.
- fouls (noun): plural of foul
- full (adjective): Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available.
- fuss (noun): Excessive activity, worry, bother, or talk about something.
- loaf (noun): (also loaf of bread) A block of bread after baking.
- loafs (noun): plural of loaf
- loofa (noun): Alternative form of loofah
- loofas (noun): plural of loofa
- luff (noun): The vertical edge of a sail that is closest to the direction of the wind.
- luffs (noun): plural of luff
- oafs (noun): plural of oaf
- offal (noun): The internal organs of an animal, used as animal food.
- offs (verb): third-person singular simple present indicative of off
- sofa (noun): A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
- sofas (noun): plural of sofa
- soulful (adjective): Full of emotion and vigor.