Bee Roots for 2025-07-06

The table provides clues for the roots of words in today's NY Times Spelling Bee. You're responsible for prefixes, suffixes, tense changes, plurals, doubling consonants before suffixes, and alternate spellings of roots. An exception: since Sam won't allow S, when the root contains an S, the clue may be for a plural or suffixed form. "Mice" for example. If a clue isn't self-explanatory, try googling it. The TL;DR about the site comes after the table.

Past clues are available here

 
Today's puzzle
  • Letters: I/ACHMRT
  • Words: 47
  • Points: 221
  • Pangrams: 1
Source: nationaltoday.com

Table content

root #answers coveredanswer's first letterclue for root (answer may need prefix, suffix, tense change, alt spelling, ...)
11AAfrican or Australian wattle tree
21ATrendy smoothie berry
31ANo longer in use (words, e.g.), adj.
41ANorth Pole adj. (… Circle or Ocean)
51AOpera solo
61AUpholstered seat with side supports; compound
71ASwelling and tenderness of one or more joints
81ALarge open-air or skylight covered space surrounded by a building, common in ancient Roman houses; an upper cavity of the heart
91AUnfinished room below roof; garret
101CSucculent plant with a thick stem that usually has spines, lacks leaves, and occasionally has brilliantly colored flowers
111C♀ sleeveless undergarment top, slang abbr.
121CThe process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions
131CSpiced Indian tea (… latte)
141CFurniture for sitting, noun; or lead a committee, verb, gerund form is a pangram
151CFaddish “pet” mint plant
161CFashionable
171CGirl, Spanish
181CPretentious style (or almost 2x fashionable)
191CIOU note, Navy memo
201CIdle small talk; slang compound noun/verb
211C“Around” when used before a year, Latin
221CCloud forming wispy streaks (“mare's tails”) at high altitude
231CTree genus that includes lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit, or the fruit of those trees
241CFault-finder (“everyone’s a …”), or arts & dining reviewer
251H“Age of Aquarius” ‘60s nude hippie rock musical, or what grows on your scalp
261HPacific yellowtail or amberjack, especially when used in sushi or sashimi
271HFatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine
281H“Psycho” director Alfred nickname, or slang for thumb a ride, verb; or device on a vehicle that allows it to attach a trailer, noun
291IPrayer leader at mosque
301IWhat you scratch (an …)
311MHawaiian double name for the dolphinfish or dorado
321MPermanently injure
331MMexican folk music
341M♀ head of a family or tribe, pangram
351MFlaky rock that breaks off in sheets
361MParrot someone’s speaking & mannerisms, verb; or the person doing it, noun
371MAmusement, especially laughter
381MCatcher’s glove, or Sen. Romney
391RIndian yogurt veg dip
401RWealthy, adj.
411TUnderstood without being stated (… agreement), adj.
421TAction planned to achieve a specific end (negotiating …)
431TJapanese rich, naturally fermented soy sauce
441TJapanese & dojo floor mats (畳)
451TJeweled, ornamental ½ crown
461TCharacteristic, often genetically determined (left-handedness, e.g.)
471TNeaten (hair) by snipping off ends

About this site

This site provides clues for a day's New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle. It follows in Kevin Davis' footsteps. The original set of 4,500 clues came from him, and they still make up about three quarters of the current clue set.

The "Bee Roots" approach is to provide explicit clues for root words, not every word. As logophiles, we are pretty good at putting on prefixes and suffixes, changing tense, and forming plurals (including Latin plurals!). The clues cover root words, arranged alphabetically by root word, with a count of words in the puzzle that come from each root. For example, if a puzzle includes ROAM and ROAMING, there will be a clue for ROAM and a count of 2. The root may not appear in the puzzle at all; for example, the 2021-07-23 Bee included ICED, DEICE, and DEICED. For such a puzzle, the clue would be for ICE with a word count of 3.

The Bee Roots approach involves judgement sometimes. For example, if a puzzle includes LOVE, LOVED, and LOVELY, how many roots are needed to cover them? LOVE and LOVED share the root LOVE, certainly, but LOVELY is tricky. LOVE is part of its etymology, but by now, the word means "exquisitely beautiful," which is a lot farther from the meaning of LOVE than swithcing to past tense. I'm inclined to treat LOVE and LOVELY as separate roots. You may not agree, which is fine. Another thing we logophiles share is a LOVE of arguing about words on Twitter.

A few words can have one meaning as a suffixed form and another as a stand-alone word. EVENING, for example. In those cases I will use the meaning that I think is more common.

One last complication, until another one pops up: a few roots have multiple spellings, for example LOLLYGAG and LALLYGAG. Depending on the day's letters, and maybe even the editor's whims, one or both could be in the puzzle's answer list. With such roots, you could see a word count of 2, even if there are no applicable prefixes or suffixes.

I will do my best to keep this site up to date and helpful (I hope). Check it out, and tweet feedback to @donswartwout Tweet to @donswartwout