Spelling Bee Answers for Tuesday, May 16, 2023
May 16, 2023, Tuesday Spelling Bee Answers for the Y, A, N, L, I, D, H honeycomb (center letter L) feature 36 words, a 142-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: DILLYDALLY.
NYT Spelling Bee Answers for May 16, 2023Get Daily Answers by Email
We send the complete answer list to your inbox as soon as each puzzle is published. No spam, ever.
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights
A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.
Difficulty
0/10
Easy4th percentile
Avg Word Length
5.08
Short wordsAll-time avg: 5.4
Rarity
1/100
CommonRarer than 1% of puzzles
Avg Solve Time
25 minutes
Quicker than usualTo reach Genius
2LL
12
Few pairsUnique two-letter openings
Bingo Status
No
Missing: YAll 7 letters start at least 1 word
GN4L
15
words to GeniusGN4L OTN
Yes
Exact 99 ptsVowel Split
33%
Consonant-heavy puzzle60 vowels · 123 consonants
Score Milestones
- 0%Beginner0 PTS
- 5%Good Start7 PTS
- 15%Moving Up21 PTS
- 25%Good36 PTS
- 40%Solid57 PTS
- 50%Nice71 PTS
- 60%Great85 PTS
- 65%Amazing92 PTS
- 70%Genius99 PTS
- 100%Queen Bee142 PTS
Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers
Here is the complete list of 36 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Tuesday, May 16, 2023. The answers are organized by word length and point value, along with today's pangram. Prefer a spoiler-free approach? Try the spelling bee hints for today or browse the full list of NYT spelling bee words.
Common openings
Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.
Puzzle Letters
Pangrams
Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution
Complete Answers
Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.
10-Letter Words 1 word
8-Letter Words 1 word
7-Letter Words 3 words
6-Letter Words 5 words
5-Letter Words 10 words
4-Letter Words 16 words
Browse calendar of past puzzles
Word Length Distribution
Share of 36 answers at each word length.
Letter Coverage
Share of 36 words using each hive letter.
Points by Length
Total points available at each word length.
Letter Frequency Distribution
Share of 36 words starting with each letter.
How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?
- Today’s score of 142 ranks in the 24th percentile among all puzzles.
- The last time a score this low appeared was on 2023-05-12.
- The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
- The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
- With 36 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 31st percentile overall.
- The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2023-05-12.
- The highest number of answers in any puzzle is 80, on 2026-02-01.
- The lowest number of answers in any puzzle is 16, on 2023-03-27.
- This puzzle ranks among the Easy puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
- Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is easier than usual.
- The letter set in this puzzle is considered Low, compared to typical puzzles.
- Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2023-05-15.
- The estimated solve time of 21–29 min is faster than typical puzzles.
- Players can expect a steady solving experience.
Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List
Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:
- aalii
- addnl
- adlai
- adlay
- aladdin
- alai
- alaihi
- alain
- alala
- alalia
- alan
- aland
- alani
- alanin
- alannah
- alanyl
- alay
- alday
- alia
- alida
- alidad
- aliya
- aliyah
- allah
- allan
- allyl
- anil
- anilid
- aniliid
- anilin
- dahl
- dahlin
- dail
- dali
- dayal
- dhal
- dialin
- diallyl
- dilli
- dylan
- hadal
- haily
- hala
- halala
- halalah
- halid
- hallah
- hallan
- handlaid
- hila
- hilda
- hili
- hyalin
- hyla
- idalian
- idyllian
- ilia
- iliad
- iliahi
- ilial
- ilian
- ilya
- inial
- inly
- inyala
- ladin
- ladyly
- lahnda
- laidly
- lall
- lally
- lana
- lanny
- layland
- liana
- lida
- lidia
- lila
- lilian
- lill
- lilly
- lina
- linalyl
- lind
- linda
- lindy
- linha
- linhay
- linin
- linn
- liny
- llyn
- lydia
- lydian
- lynn
- naily
- nallah
- niall
- nidal
- nihal
- nihil
- nill
- nyala
- yald
- yali
- yalla
- yill
*Every word here uses only the hive's seven letters, includes the center letter, and appears in our dictionary, but it was never published in the NYT's official answer list.