7 Little Words May 20, 2019 Answers
14 answers for the May 20, 2019 puzzle, 6–11 letters each — above the archive average of 10.3 per day.
May 20, 2019 — Complete Answer Guide
This page has every answer to the 7 Little Words puzzle published on May 20, 2019, a Monday. There are 14 answers in total, running from 6 to 11 letters and 114 letters combined. That puts this date above the archive-wide average of 10.3 answers per day.
The longest answer is IRIDESCENCE at 11 letters, and the shortest is FAILED at 6. Placing the longest tile groups first usually cuts the puzzle open, because the remaining fragments are then far easier to match. Each clue below is paired with its verified answer and letter count.
Across the 14 answers there are 5 different answer lengths, and 8 letters is the most common at 5 of them — useful when you are matching tile groups, because the length rules out most combinations before you try any. The answers use 43 vowels in total out of 114 letters, so vowel-heavy fragments are worth placing early on this board.
Looking for a different date? Step back to May 19, 2019 or forward to May 21, 2019, browse everything from 2019, or open the full daily archive covering 2,900 dates back to September 2018.
14 Answers for May 20, 2019
| # | Clue | Answer | Letters | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Big African forest dwellers | GORILLAS | 8 | |
| #2 | Did not succeed | FAILED | 6 | |
| #3 | Lack of variety | SAMENESS | 8 | |
| #4 | Lapses | BACKSLIDES | 10 | |
| #5 | Lustrous play of colour | IRIDESCENCE | 11 | |
| #6 | Memory unit | KILOBYTE | 8 | |
| #7 | Movie star Jack | NICHOLSON | 9 | |
| #8 | Payment under the table | KICKBACK | 8 | |
| #9 | Pinched off | NIPPED | 6 | |
| #10 | Refined lover of the arts | AESTHETE | 8 | |
| #11 | Splits open | WEDGES | 6 | |
| #12 | State of distress | AFFLICTION | 10 | |
| #13 | Swung like a pendulum | OSCILLATED | 10 | |
| #14 | Wrist spin bowler's delivery | SLIDER | 6 |
Clue-by-Clue Breakdown
Big African forest dwellers — 8 letters, 3 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Did not succeed — 6 letters, 3 vowels and 3 consonants. One of the shortest answers on this date.
Lack of variety — 8 letters, 3 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Lapses — 10 letters, 3 vowels and 7 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Lustrous play of colour — 11 letters, 5 vowels and 6 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.
Memory unit — 8 letters, 3 vowels and 5 consonants.
Movie star Jack — 9 letters, 3 vowels and 6 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Payment under the table — 8 letters, 2 vowels and 6 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Pinched off — 6 letters, 2 vowels and 4 consonants. One of the shortest answers on this date.
Refined lover of the arts — 8 letters, 4 vowels and 4 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Splits open — 6 letters, 2 vowels and 4 consonants. One of the shortest answers on this date.
State of distress — 10 letters, 4 vowels and 6 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Swung like a pendulum — 10 letters, 4 vowels and 6 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Wrist spin bowler's delivery — 6 letters, 2 vowels and 4 consonants. One of the shortest answers on this date.
Puzzles Around May 20, 2019
May 20, 2019 — Questions
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3 Tips for 7 Little Words
The board is the whole puzzle
Every answer is built from what the level actually shows you and nothing else. Counting that first rules out most of what comes to mind, which is quicker than trying words and being rejected.
Place the longest answer first
Long answers use up the awkward letters and leave a set that spells the short ones out for you. Starting long is consistently faster than sweeping for three-letter words.
Neighbouring levels are the best hint
Difficulty climbs gradually rather than in jumps, so the levels either side of a hard one reuse its patterns. They are more useful than any hint the game sells you.
How to Solve a 7 Little Words Level
The order that clears a board fastest.
Read what you are given
Letters, tiles or clues — count them before you start. That constraint is the strongest filter you have.
Anchor with the answers you are sure of
Each confirmed answer narrows the ones it touches, so the easy entries are worth the first minute.
Work outwards
Follow the chain from what you have placed rather than jumping around the board.
Verified Answers, Not Guesses
How we verify these answers
Every answer on this page is read from the game's own puzzle data rather than retyped from another site, and is checked against what the board actually provides — so nothing listed can use a letter the level does not give you. The counts shown are computed from the stored data, not typed in by hand.
Reviewed by Priya Raghunathan, Word Games Editor at Puzzle Solved. The full checking routine is in the methodology, and the standards every page is held to are in the editorial policy.
Last checked — Aug 26, 2026