Spelling Bee Answers for Thursday, January 16, 2025

Jan 16, 2025, Thursday Spelling Bee Answers for the Y, O, B, L, N, A, T honeycomb (center letter B) feature 57 words, a 248-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 9-letter longest word: BLATANTLY.

Spelling Bee hive for January 16, 2025 with center letter B and surrounding letters Y,O,L,N,A and T

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Thursday, January 16, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

7/10

Hard

66th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.28

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

60/100

Rare

Rarer than 60% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

55 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

9

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: Y, O

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

27

words to Genius
1×9L1×8L8×7L13×6L4×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 174 pts
27 words1×9L1×8L8×7L9×6L8×5L

Vowel Split

36%

Consonant-heavy puzzle

107 vowels · 194 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start12 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up37 PTS
  • 25%Good62 PTS
  • 40%Solid99 PTS
  • 50%Nice124 PTS
  • 60%Great149 PTS
  • 65%Amazing161 PTS
  • 70%Genius174 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee248 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 57 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Thursday, January 16, 2025. 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

B
74%
N
9%
T
7%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-01-15
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

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 1 word

7-Letter Words 8 words

6-Letter Words 13 words

5-Letter Words 14 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

20 words
4L
20
14 words
5L
14
13 words
6L
13
8 words (Pangram)
7L
8
1 word
8L
1
1 word
9L
1

Share of 57 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

B
57 words
100%
O
41 words
72%
A
35 words
61%
L
28 words
49%
T
23 words
40%
Y
22 words
39%
N
20 words
35%

Share of 57 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

20 pts
20
4L
70 pts
70
5L
78 pts
78
6L
63 pts (Pangram)
63
7L
8 pts
8
8L
9 pts
9
9L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

B
4274%
N
59%
T
47%
A
35%
L
35%

Share of 57 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 248 ranks in the 73rd percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-01-15.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 57 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 84th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-01-15.
  • 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 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 2025-01-14.
  • The estimated solve time of 47–63 min is slower 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*:

  • abaton
  • abay
  • abba
  • abbott
  • abby
  • abolla
  • aboon
  • alba
  • alban
  • albany
  • albata
  • albyn
  • anba
  • atabal
  • attabal
  • baal
  • babaylan
  • babbly
  • babby
  • baboo
  • babool
  • babylon
  • bala
  • balan
  • balant
  • balanta
  • balao
  • balata
  • balboa
  • ballan
  • ballo
  • ballon
  • bally
  • balolo
  • balon
  • balt
  • bana
  • banaba
  • banat
  • banba
  • bannat
  • bant
  • bantay
  • bantayan
  • banty
  • banya
  • bataan
  • batan
  • batata
  • batoon
  • batt
  • batta
  • batton
  • baya
  • blan
  • blay
  • blolly
  • blotty
  • bobby
  • bobo
  • bobol
  • bolly
  • bolty
  • bona
  • bono
  • boobyalla
  • bool
  • booly
  • bootboy
  • botan
  • botonny
  • botony
  • bott
  • boyla
  • boyo
  • laban
  • labba
  • lablab
  • lobal
  • lobata
  • lobola
  • lobolo
  • loob
  • looby
  • nabal
  • nabby
  • nabla
  • nobby
  • oban
  • oblata
  • obol
  • taboot
  • talabon
  • talbot
  • toba
  • toby
  • totoaba
  • tybalt
  • yaba
  • yabby
  • yaboo
  • yobbo

*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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