Ins & Outs May 2025
In the month of May 2025, 28 words were added to the Bee lexicon, and 5 words were discontinued, for a net gain of 23 words.
Here's a summary of what came and went, along with a few notes about the month’s pangrams (numbers, types, and more), the lengths of the daily word lists, the rates at which the dreaded/adored -ED and -ING suffixes appeared, how often the BINGO characteristic appeared, center letter distribution, the complete list of pangrams and “Ins and Outs” in the month, and more.
27 new words were added that had never been used before, nor previously disallowed (IN)01 words were added that had been previously disallowed (OUT-IN)00 words that had been earlier allowed, then disallowed, were allowed again (IN-OUT-IN)00 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)-----28 total words added
- 5 words that had been previously allowed, now disallowed (IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT)------ 5 total words removed
Net gain: 23 words
Words were added (or restored) on 10 days this month.Words were removed on 4 days this month.No words were added or removed on 17 days this month.
PER-PUZZLE WORD COUNTS * Highest: 71 Lowest: 25 Average (Mean): 44.87 Median: 46 Mode(s): 46,40,47 * NOTE re: the Spelling Bee of 2025-05-14: Though the NYT’s official Hints page indicated that the 5-14 Bee had 41 words and 3 pangrams, in fact it had 40 words and 2 pangrams. The NYT had inadvertently left the pangram “headpin” out of that day’s Bee, and decided not to correct the game data, which remains inaccurate at the official site:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum.htmlLexiConnexxions alerted sbsolver.com to the situation; they have the correct data, but they chose not to mention the NYT’s error.https://www.sbsolver.com/s/2563 LexiConnexxions's analysis and reports are based on the actual puzzle with 40 words.
The BINGO characteristic was present in 17 of 31 puzzles (54.84%)The -ED SUFFIX was present in 5 of 31 puzzles (16.12%)The -ING SUFFIX was present in 5 of 31 puzzles (16.12%)
CENTER LETTER DISTRIBUTION The number of puzzles that began with specific letters during the month.15 different center letters were used during the month.
Frequency order:4 O3 I3 L3 M3 N3 P2 H2 R2 T1 B1 C1 D1 F1 K1 Y
Alphabetical order:1 B1 C1 D1 F2 H3 I1 K3 L3 M3 N4 O3 P2 R2 T1 Y
PANGRAMS, LETTER SETS, AND INS-AND-OUTS PANGRAMS Monthly total: 47 Daily average: 1.52 per puzzle Daily pangram numbers: 6 in 1 puzzle (03.26%) 4 in 0 puzzles (00.00%) 3 in 1 puzzle (03.26%) 2 in 9 puzzles (29.03%) 1 in 20 puzzles (64.52%)
Of the 31 Bee puzzles this month:
6 (19.35%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had never been used before. These 6 puzzles introduced 14 new pangrams and added a total of 23 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 3.83 new words per puzzle.
25 (80.65%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had been used before.* These 25 puzzles used 32 recycled pangrams and introduced one new pangram, and added a total of 5 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 0.20 new words per puzzle. * NOTE re: New Pangram Previously Disallowed: The Bee of 2025-05-26 introduced a pangram (ARCHDUCHY) that had been disallowed on the one occasion that the letter set had been previously used. The inclusion of a previously-disallowed pangram is very rare, as explained and demonstrated in the LexiConnexxions report "Pangrams Previously Disallowed," which can be read HERE.
Of the 25 puzzles with repeat letter sets and repeat pangrams: 07 letter sets were used for the second time 11 letter sets were used for the third time 03 letter sets were used for the fourth time 04 letter sets were used for the fifth time
Average “age” of all pangrams and letter sets this month: 2.74Average “age” of recycled pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.16
ALL THE PANGRAMS (brand-new ones designated with +) ARCHDUCHY+ [previously disallowed]ATONALITY+BEANPOLEBLOWPIPECHECKMATECHURCHYARDCOMPLETEEXPUNGINGGAINFUL+IDEOLOGYINITIALIZEKNEECAPPED+LOCOMOTIONLOVEABLYMATCHMAKEMEOWINGNATIONALITY+NATIONALLY+NIGHTLYNOTIONALITY+NOTIONALLY+OBEDIENCEOPENABLEOUTBOARDPANCAKED+PARANORMALPEACETIME+PHENOMENAPINHEADPINHEADEDPOTENCYPOTLATCHPRACTICAL+ROWDILYTANTALIZETECHNICIAN+TONALITY+TOUCHEDTROUBADOURUNBOXINGUNFAILING+UNFLAGGING+UNKEMPTVIROLOGYVOLLEYBALLWORDILYZOOLOGICAL
Words added, not previously disallowed (NEW WORDS) (IN)atonalityclaptrapdrubduchyfungalgainfulhooplaimpactkneecapkneecappedkneepadmowingnationalitynationallynotionalitynotionallypackedpancakepancakedpeacetimepeakedpracticaltechniciantimepiecetonalityunfailingunflagging Words added, previously disallowed (OUT-IN) archduchy Words allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (IN-OUT-IN) [none]
Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)[none]
Words previously allowed, now disallowed (IN-OUT)headpinhatchecklateenecotypeoocyte Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (OUT-IN-OUT) [none]
Words allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)anionic
Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT) [none]
27 new words were added that had never been used before, nor previously disallowed (IN)01 words were added that had been previously disallowed (OUT-IN)00 words that had been earlier allowed, then disallowed, were allowed again (IN-OUT-IN)00 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)-----28 total words added
- 5 words that had been previously allowed, now disallowed (IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)- 0 words that had been disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT)------ 5 total words removed
Net gain: 23 words
Words were added (or restored) on 10 days this month.Words were removed on 4 days this month.No words were added or removed on 17 days this month.
PER-PUZZLE WORD COUNTS * Highest: 71 Lowest: 25 Average (Mean): 44.87 Median: 46 Mode(s): 46,40,47 * NOTE re: the Spelling Bee of 2025-05-14: Though the NYT’s official Hints page indicated that the 5-14 Bee had 41 words and 3 pangrams, in fact it had 40 words and 2 pangrams. The NYT had inadvertently left the pangram “headpin” out of that day’s Bee, and decided not to correct the game data, which remains inaccurate at the official site:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/crosswords/spelling-bee-forum.htmlLexiConnexxions alerted sbsolver.com to the situation; they have the correct data, but they chose not to mention the NYT’s error.https://www.sbsolver.com/s/2563 LexiConnexxions's analysis and reports are based on the actual puzzle with 40 words.
The BINGO characteristic was present in 17 of 31 puzzles (54.84%)The -ED SUFFIX was present in 5 of 31 puzzles (16.12%)The -ING SUFFIX was present in 5 of 31 puzzles (16.12%)
CENTER LETTER DISTRIBUTION The number of puzzles that began with specific letters during the month.15 different center letters were used during the month.
Frequency order:4 O3 I3 L3 M3 N3 P2 H2 R2 T1 B1 C1 D1 F1 K1 Y
Alphabetical order:1 B1 C1 D1 F2 H3 I1 K3 L3 M3 N4 O3 P2 R2 T1 Y
PANGRAMS, LETTER SETS, AND INS-AND-OUTS PANGRAMS Monthly total: 47 Daily average: 1.52 per puzzle Daily pangram numbers: 6 in 1 puzzle (03.26%) 4 in 0 puzzles (00.00%) 3 in 1 puzzle (03.26%) 2 in 9 puzzles (29.03%) 1 in 20 puzzles (64.52%)
Of the 31 Bee puzzles this month:
6 (19.35%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had never been used before. These 6 puzzles introduced 14 new pangrams and added a total of 23 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 3.83 new words per puzzle.
25 (80.65%) were based on pangrams and letter sets that had been used before.* These 25 puzzles used 32 recycled pangrams and introduced one new pangram, and added a total of 5 new words to the Bee lexicon, an average of 0.20 new words per puzzle. * NOTE re: New Pangram Previously Disallowed: The Bee of 2025-05-26 introduced a pangram (ARCHDUCHY) that had been disallowed on the one occasion that the letter set had been previously used. The inclusion of a previously-disallowed pangram is very rare, as explained and demonstrated in the LexiConnexxions report "Pangrams Previously Disallowed," which can be read HERE.
Of the 25 puzzles with repeat letter sets and repeat pangrams: 07 letter sets were used for the second time 11 letter sets were used for the third time 03 letter sets were used for the fourth time 04 letter sets were used for the fifth time
Average “age” of all pangrams and letter sets this month: 2.74Average “age” of recycled pangrams and letter sets this month: 3.16
ALL THE PANGRAMS (brand-new ones designated with +) ARCHDUCHY+ [previously disallowed]ATONALITY+BEANPOLEBLOWPIPECHECKMATECHURCHYARDCOMPLETEEXPUNGINGGAINFUL+IDEOLOGYINITIALIZEKNEECAPPED+LOCOMOTIONLOVEABLYMATCHMAKEMEOWINGNATIONALITY+NATIONALLY+NIGHTLYNOTIONALITY+NOTIONALLY+OBEDIENCEOPENABLEOUTBOARDPANCAKED+PARANORMALPEACETIME+PHENOMENAPINHEADPINHEADEDPOTENCYPOTLATCHPRACTICAL+ROWDILYTANTALIZETECHNICIAN+TONALITY+TOUCHEDTROUBADOURUNBOXINGUNFAILING+UNFLAGGING+UNKEMPTVIROLOGYVOLLEYBALLWORDILYZOOLOGICAL
Words added, not previously disallowed (NEW WORDS) (IN)atonalityclaptrapdrubduchyfungalgainfulhooplaimpactkneecapkneecappedkneepadmowingnationalitynationallynotionalitynotionallypackedpancakepancakedpeacetimepeakedpracticaltechniciantimepiecetonalityunfailingunflagging Words added, previously disallowed (OUT-IN) archduchy Words allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (IN-OUT-IN) [none]
Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed again (OUT-IN-OUT-IN)[none]
Words previously allowed, now disallowed (IN-OUT)headpinhatchecklateenecotypeoocyte Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (OUT-IN-OUT) [none]
Words allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed again (IN-OUT-IN-OUT)anionic
Words disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed, then allowed, then disallowed (OUT-IN-OUT-IN-OUT) [none]