7 Little Words January 16, 2021 Answers
14 answers for the January 16, 2021 puzzle, 5–11 letters each — above the archive average of 10.3 per day.
January 16, 2021 — Complete Answer Guide
This page has every answer to the 7 Little Words puzzle published on January 16, 2021, a Saturday. There are 14 answers in total, running from 5 to 11 letters and 108 letters combined. That puts this date above the archive-wide average of 10.3 answers per day.
The longest answer is HEARTBROKEN at 11 letters, and the shortest is BUBLE at 5. 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 6 different answer lengths, and 7 letters is the most common at 4 of them — useful when you are matching tile groups, because the length rules out most combinations before you try any. The answers use 40 vowels in total out of 108 letters, so vowel-heavy fragments are worth placing early on this board.
Looking for a different date? Step back to January 15, 2021 or forward to January 17, 2021, browse everything from 2021, or open the full daily archive covering 2,900 dates back to September 2018.
14 Answers for January 16, 2021
| # | Clue | Answer | Letters | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Crooner Michael | BUBLE | 5 | |
| #2 | Crushing embrace | BEARHUG | 7 | |
| #3 | Directed the course of | HEADED | 6 | |
| #4 | Distraught by lost love | HEARTBROKEN | 11 | |
| #5 | Football days perhaps | SUNDAYS | 7 | |
| #6 | Irritation of the skin | CHAFING | 7 | |
| #7 | Left without a trace | DISAPPEARED | 11 | |
| #8 | Plan ahead of time | PREARRANGE | 10 | |
| #9 | Plays a ukulele | STRUMS | 6 | |
| #10 | Sagacious | SHREWD | 6 | |
| #11 | Sale in which all must go | CLEARANCE | 9 | |
| #12 | Sob-inducing saga | TEARJERKER | 10 | |
| #13 | Sporting lots of facial hair | BEARDED | 7 | |
| #14 | Winnowed | CULLED | 6 |
Clue-by-Clue Breakdown
Crooner Michael — 5 letters, 2 vowels and 3 consonants. One of the shortest answers on this date.
Crushing embrace — 7 letters, 3 vowels and 4 consonants.
Directed the course of — 6 letters, 3 vowels and 3 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Distraught by lost love — 11 letters, 4 vowels and 7 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.
Football days perhaps — 7 letters, 2 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Irritation of the skin — 7 letters, 2 vowels and 5 consonants.
Left without a trace — 11 letters, 5 vowels and 6 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.
Plan ahead of time — 10 letters, 4 vowels and 6 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Plays a ukulele — 6 letters, 1 vowel and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Sagacious — 6 letters, 1 vowel and 5 consonants.
Sale in which all must go — 9 letters, 4 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Sob-inducing saga — 10 letters, 4 vowels and 6 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Sporting lots of facial hair — 7 letters, 3 vowels and 4 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Winnowed — 6 letters, 2 vowels and 4 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.
Puzzles Around Jan 16, 2021
January 16, 2021 — 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