Puzzles

LATEST EXPLANATIONS

NYT CONNECTIONS · #1200

Suriname & Bitcoin in Connections: “TERM” Endings Explained

SURINAME, RECORD LABEL, RUB-A-DUB and BITCOIN hide NAME, LABEL, DUB and COIN at their ends.

NYT CONNECTIONS · #1200

RUB-A-DUB in Connections: What It Means and Why DUB Matters

RUB-A-DUB means a drumming sound, while the puzzle separately uses DUB in its naming sense.

NYT CONNECTIONS · #1200

SPAM in Connections: Canned Meat, Not Junk Messages

The puzzle uses SPAM as the canned meat and groups it with other things that come in cans.

NYT SPELLING BEE · SEP 22

INNIE in Spelling Bee: Is It a Word and What Does It Mean?

INNIE is a real informal word for an inward-curving belly button and an accepted September 22 answer.

NYT SPELLING BEE · SEP 22

QUOIN Is a Word—Why Isn’t It in the Sept. 22 Spelling Bee?

QUOIN is a real word and fits the available letters, but it is absent from the day’s accepted-answer list.

NYT SPELLING BEE · SEP 22

QUININE in Spelling Bee: Meaning, Pronunciation & Spelling

QUININE is an accepted answer, pronounced roughly KWY-nine in U.S. English, and is not the pangram.

NYT SPELLING BEE

ENBY in Spelling Bee: It Means “N-B,” Not ENVY

ENBY is pronounced like “N-B,” refers to a nonbinary person and is a valid September 21 Spelling Bee answer.

APPLE NEWS+ QUARTILES

HIGHTAILED in Quartiles: HI + GH + TAI + LED

The four tiles are HI + GH + TAI + LED, forming the one-word past tense HIGHTAILED.

NYT SPELLING BEE

ANNAL vs. ANNEAL in Spelling Bee: Record vs. Heat Treatment

ANNAL is a yearly record; ANNEAL is a heat-treatment verb. Both fit the September 21 letter set.

NYT SPELLING BEE

HELIACAL vs. HELICAL in Spelling Bee: Sun vs. Spiral

HELIACAL relates to the Sun, while HELICAL means spiral-shaped. Both are valid words in the same puzzle.

NYT SPELLING BEE

TILTH Meaning in Spelling Bee: TILL vs. TILLAGE

TILTH describes the condition of cultivated soil, while TILLAGE is the process of working the soil.

QUORDLE / WORDLE

WAXEN in Quordle: Meaning, Wordle History & WAKEN Difference

WAXEN is a September 21 Quordle answer and a former Wordle answer, but it is not the September 21 Wordle answer.

NYT CONNECTIONS

BEET in Connections: Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin & Vivaldi

BEET, BRAH, CHOP and VIVA are the first four letters of four famous composers’ surnames.

NYT CONNECTIONS

NEAR DARK in Connections: Why HOVER Isn’t in the Vampire Movie Group

NEAR DARK is a vampire movie; HOVER is a real movie too, but the puzzle uses HOVERBOARD instead.