Spelling Bee Answers for Sunday, December 15, 2024

Dec 15, 2024, Sunday Spelling Bee Answers for the F, R, N, I, O, T, U honeycomb (center letter U) feature 39 words, a 170-point total, 1 Pangram (0 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 9-letter longest word: INTUITION, NUTRITION.

Spelling Bee hive for December 15, 2024 with center letter U and surrounding letters F,R,N,I,O and T

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Sunday, December 15, 2024 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

6/10

Hard

56th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.33

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

63/100

Rare

Rarer than 63% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

38 minutes

Typical solve

To reach Genius

2LL

13

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

17

words to Genius
2×9L3×8L3×7L5×6L4×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 119 pts
17 words2×9L3×8L3×7L4×6L5×5L

Vowel Split

45%

Balanced mix

93 vowels · 115 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start9 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up26 PTS
  • 25%Good43 PTS
  • 40%Solid68 PTS
  • 50%Nice85 PTS
  • 60%Great102 PTS
  • 65%Amazing111 PTS
  • 70%Genius119 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee170 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 39 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Sunday, December 15, 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

T
33%
F
18%
R
15%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2024-12-14
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

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

9-Letter Words 2 words

8-Letter Words 3 words

7-Letter Words 3 words

6-Letter Words 5 words

5-Letter Words 11 words

4-Letter Words 15 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

15 words
4L
15
11 words
5L
11
5 words
6L
5
3 words
7L
3
3 words (Pangram)
8L
3
2 words
9L
2

Share of 39 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

U
39 words
100%
T
29 words
74%
O
26 words
67%
N
22 words
56%
R
22 words
56%
F
15 words
38%
I
14 words
36%

Share of 39 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

15 pts
15
4L
55 pts
55
5L
30 pts
30
6L
21 pts
21
7L
31 pts (Pangram)
31
8L
18 pts
18
9L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

T
1333%
F
718%
R
615%
U
410%
I
38%
N
38%
O
38%

Share of 39 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 170 ranks in the 37th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2024-12-13.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 39 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 39th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2024-12-13.
  • 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 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 Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2024-12-14.
  • The estimated solve time of 32–44 min is comparable than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a challenging solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

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

  • fitout
  • fuff
  • funori
  • funt
  • furfur
  • furoin
  • futurition
  • futuro
  • innuit
  • innutrition
  • inrun
  • inturn
  • nonfruition
  • nonrun
  • notturni
  • notturno
  • ourn
  • outfoot
  • outfront
  • outroot
  • outtrot
  • outturn
  • roun
  • ruffin
  • runnion
  • ruru
  • rutin
  • tiou
  • tourn
  • triunion
  • truff
  • trun
  • trunnion
  • tuff
  • tuffoon
  • tuno
  • turi
  • turio
  • turion
  • turr
  • tururi
  • tutin
  • tututni
  • unfur
  • unio
  • unition
  • unorn
  • unroof
  • unroot
  • unrun
  • untin
  • untorn
  • unturf
  • unturn
  • urutu

*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.

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