May 16, 2024, Thursday

Spelling Bee Answers for Thursday, May 16, 2024

May 16, 2024, Thursday Spelling Bee Answers for the L, A, T, I, G, N, V honeycomb (center letter L) feature 76 words, a 439-point total, 3 Pangrams (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 12-letter longest word: GALLIVANTING.

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Spelling Bee hive for May 16, 2024 with center letter L and surrounding letters A,T,I,G,N and V

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Thursday, May 16, 2024 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.

Difficulty

10/10

Very Hard

96th percentile

Avg Word Length

6.25

Long words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

92/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 92% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

84 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

words to Genius

1×12L1×11L3×10L1×9L14×8L16×7L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 307 pts

36 words1×12L1×11L3×10L1×9L14×8L16×7L

Vowel Split

37%

Balanced mix

176 vowels · 299 consonants

Score Milestones

0%Beginner0 PTS
5%Good Start22 PTS
15%Moving Up66 PTS
25%Good110 PTS
40%Solid176 PTS
50%Nice220 PTS
60%Great263 PTS
65%Amazing285 PTS
70%Genius307 PTS
100%Queen Bee439 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 76 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Thursday, May 16, 2024. 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

21%

20%

18%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2024-05-15

Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.

Other days with this pangram

2026-07-19(V)

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

12-Letter Words 1 word

11-Letter Words 1 word

10-Letter Words 3 words

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 14 words

7-Letter Words 17 words

6-Letter Words 6 words

5-Letter Words 14 words

4-Letter Words 19 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

19 words

14 words

6 words

17 words

14 words (Pangram)

1 word (Pangram)

3 words

10L

1 word

11L

1 word (Pangram)

12L

Share of 76 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

76 words

100%

62 words

82%

57 words

75%

53 words

70%

47 words

62%

36 words

47%

20 words

26%

Share of 76 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

19 pts

70 pts

36 pts

119 pts

119

119 pts (Pangram)

119

16 pts (Pangram)

30 pts

10L

11 pts

11L

19 pts (Pangram)

12L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

1621%

1520%

1418%

1317%

1114%

57%

23%

Share of 76 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

Today’s score of 439 ranks in the 100th percentile among all puzzles.
The last time a score this low appeared was on 2024-05-15.
The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
With 76 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 100th percentile overall.
The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2024-05-15.
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 Very Hard puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is harder than average.
The letter set in this puzzle is considered Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2024-05-11.
The estimated solve time of 71–97 min is slower than typical puzzles.
Players can expect a grind-heavy solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:

aalii
agal
aglaia
aglint
agnail
aillt
alai
alain
alala
alalia
alan
alang
alani
alanin
alant
alantin
algin
alia
alining
allan
alliant
alligating
altaian
altin
alvia
alvin
alvina
analgia
anginal
anglian
anil
anilin
antilia
antlia
antling
anviling
anvilling
atalanta
atlanta
atlantal
atlatl
atli
attagal
attal
attila
aval
avital
gaggling
gail
galanga
galangin
galant
galatian
galavant
galavanting
galgal
gali
galivant
galivanting
galla
gallanting
galli
gallian
gallivat
galt
ganglial
gatling
gavial
gila
gilgai
gilia
gillian
gingal
gingall
gingili
gingilli
gingival
gitalin
glial
gnatling
ilia
ilial
ilian
illing
inial
initialling
intagli
intail
intitling
intnl
invigilating
invital
ital
itala
itali
italian
italianating
itll
laang
lagan
lagna
lagting
lait
lalang
lall
lalling
lana
lang
langi
lanital
lant
lata
latian
latin
latitant
latitat
lattin
latvia
latvian
lavalava
lavant
lavinia
liana
liang
ligan
lignin
lila
lilian
lill
lina
ling
linga
lingala
linin
linn
litai
littling
livian
nagnail
nalita
natalia
natalian
natalitial
niall
nilgai
nill
nilling
nival
taal
tagal
tagala
taglia
tagtail
tala
talaing
talalgia
tallaging
talliating
tanala
tanling
tantalian
tilia
titillant
titivil
titling
tlingit
vail
vailing
vali
valva
valval
valving
vialing
vialling
vila
vili
vill
villan
villi
vinal
vinalia
vittling

*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.