Spelling Bee answers and hints for October 21, 2026

Today's puzzle is worth 244 points in total. These are the usual rank targets, worked out as a share of the total.

The longest answer is DILLYDALLY, at 10 letters.

• airily: lightly
• airplay: The playing of a particular song, band or genre on the radio, or the frequency with which it is p...
• allay: (transitive) To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
• ally: A person who co-operates with or helps another; an associate; a friend.
• appall: (transitive) To fill with horror or indignation; to dismay.
• apply: (transitive) To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case
• aril: (botany) A tissue surrounding the seed in certain fruits such as pomegranates.
• daily: That occurs every day, or at least every working day.
• dally: To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
• daylily: Any of several perennial plants, of the genus Hemerocallis, that have fleshy roots, grasslike lea...
• dial: (transitive) To select a number, or to call someone, on a telephone, regardless of whether a phys...
• diddly: (informal) A small amount of no worth.
• dill: Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are modera...
• dilly: Someone or something that is remarkable or unusual.
• dillydally: Alternative spelling of dilly-dally. [(intransitive) To dawdle; to waste time; to procrastinate.]
• drill: (transitive) To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill (tool).
• dryly: In a dry manner.
• idly: In an idle manner. [from 14th c.]
• idyl: (US) Alternative spelling of idyll. [Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of The...
• idyll: An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll...
• illy: Badly; poorly.
• lady: (polite or used by children) A woman: an adult female human.
• laid: (of paper) Marked with parallel lines, as if ribbed, from wires in the mould.
• lair: A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
• lapidary: A person who cuts and polishes, engraves, or deals in gems and precious stones.
• lard: Fat from the abdomen of a pig, especially as prepared for use in cooking or pharmacy.
• liar: A person who frequently lies; someone who tells a lie.
• lily: Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many o...
• lipid: (organic chemistry) Any of a group of organic compounds including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols,...
• lippy: (informal) Having a tendency to talk back in a cheeky or impertinent manner.
• lira: The basic unit of currency in Turkey.
• pail: A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually cylindrical and having a handle -- used especially ...
• palapa: An open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves.
• pall: A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse.
• pallid: Appearing weak, pale, or wan.
• pallidly: In a pallid manner.
• palp: To feel, to explore by touch.
• papal: Having to do with the pope or the papacy.
• papally: in papal fashion
• papilla: Any of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue often containing taste buds.
• papillary: Having the properties or appearance of a papilla (nipple).
• parlay: (ambitransitive, gambling) To carry forward the stake and winnings from a bet on to a subsequent ...
• piddly: (informal) Small, inconsequential, or not worth spending time on.
• pill: (broadly) A small, usually round or cylindrical object designed for easy swallowing, usually cont...
• pillar: (architecture) A large post, often used as supporting architecture.
• plaid: (textiles) A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
• play: (intransitive) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for th...
• radial: Arranged like rays that radiate from, or converge to, a common centre.
• radially: In a radial manner, outward from a center.
• rail: A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
• rally: A public gathering or mass meeting that is not mainly a protest and is organized to inspire enthu...
• rapidly: With speed; in a rapid manner.
• rial: The official currencies of Iran, Oman, and Yemen.
• rill: A very small brook; a streamlet; a creek, rivulet.
• ripply: Having ripples.
• riyal: The official currency of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.