Sunday · May 16, 2021

7 Little Words May 16, 2021 Answers

All 14 Clues Solved

14 answers for the May 16, 2021 puzzle, 4–10 letters each — above the archive average of 10.3 per day.

14 answers 4–10 letters 108 letters total ← May 15 May 17 →
14Answers
10Longest
108Total Letters
2,900Dates Archived
About this puzzle

May 16, 2021 — Complete Answer Guide

This page has every answer to the 7 Little Words puzzle published on May 16, 2021, a Sunday. There are 14 answers in total, running from 4 to 10 letters and 108 letters combined. That puts this date above the archive-wide average of 10.3 answers per day.

The longest answer is CATALOGUES at 10 letters, and the shortest is BILL at 4. 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 7 different answer lengths, and 10 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 42 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 May 15, 2021 or forward to May 17, 2021, browse everything from 2021, or open the full daily archive covering 2,900 dates back to September 2018.

All answers

14 Answers for May 16, 2021

#ClueAnswerLettersCopy
#1 Bending the truth FIBBING 7
#2 Buckets of bolts JALOPIES 8
#3 From the UK BRITISH 7
#4 Horse's mouth idiomatically SOURCE 6
#5 Lists of merchandise CATALOGUES 10
#6 Make cheerful BRIGHTEN 8
#7 Make unhappy DISPLEASE 9
#8 More developed RIPER 5
#9 One with sticky fingers PICKPOCKET 10
#10 Princess Leia's faction RESISTANCE 10
#11 Proposed law BILL 4
#12 Sewing kit string THREAD 6
#13 Speak up in a discussion CONTRIBUTE 10
#14 Treating as the same EQUATING 8
Clue breakdown

Clue-by-Clue Breakdown

#1 FIBBING

Bending the truth — 7 letters, 2 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.

#2 JALOPIES

Buckets of bolts — 8 letters, 4 vowels and 4 consonants.

#3 BRITISH

From the UK — 7 letters, 2 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.

#4 SOURCE

Horse's mouth idiomatically — 6 letters, 3 vowels and 3 consonants.

#5 CATALOGUES

Lists of merchandise — 10 letters, 5 vowels and 5 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.

#6 BRIGHTEN

Make cheerful — 8 letters, 2 vowels and 6 consonants.

#7 DISPLEASE

Make unhappy — 9 letters, 4 vowels and 5 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.

#8 RIPER

More developed — 5 letters, 2 vowels and 3 consonants. Contains a repeated letter, which narrows the tile groups that can fit.

#9 PICKPOCKET

One with sticky fingers — 10 letters, 3 vowels and 7 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.

#10 RESISTANCE

Princess Leia's faction — 10 letters, 4 vowels and 6 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.

#11 BILL

Proposed law — 4 letters, 1 vowel and 3 consonants. One of the shortest answers on this date.

#12 THREAD

Sewing kit string — 6 letters, 2 vowels and 4 consonants.

#13 CONTRIBUTE

Speak up in a discussion — 10 letters, 4 vowels and 6 consonants. The longest answer here — worth placing first, since it consumes the most tile groups.

#14 EQUATING

Treating as the same — 8 letters, 4 vowels and 4 consonants.

FAQ

May 16, 2021 — Questions

What are the 7 Little Words answers for May 16, 2021?
The May 16, 2021 puzzle has 14 answers: FIBBING, JALOPIES, BRITISH, SOURCE, CATALOGUES, BRIGHTEN, DISPLEASE, RIPER, PICKPOCKET, RESISTANCE, BILL, THREAD, CONTRIBUTE, EQUATING.
How many answers are in the May 16, 2021 puzzle?
There are 14 answers published for this date, above the archive average of 10.3 per day. Answer lengths run from 4 to 10 letters, 108 letters in total.
What is the longest answer on May 16, 2021?
The longest answer is CATALOGUES at 10 letters, and the shortest is BILL at 4.
Is this the newest 7 Little Words puzzle?
No. The newest puzzle on record is August 26, 2026. Browse every date in the daily archive.
Pro tips

3 Tips for 7 Little Words

01

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.

02

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.

03

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 play

How to Solve a 7 Little Words Level

The order that clears a board fastest.

STEP 01

Read what you are given

Letters, tiles or clues — count them before you start. That constraint is the strongest filter you have.

STEP 02

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.

STEP 03

Work outwards

Follow the chain from what you have placed rather than jumping around the board.

How we check

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
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