If you’ve been puzzling over today’s New York Times Spelling Bee, you’re not alone — this hive was both exciting and a little tricky. The center letter was T, which meant every word needed to include it. Surrounding it were the letters Y, N, E, D, P, L. With this mix, I quickly suspected there might be multiple long words and at least one pangram waiting to be uncovered.

How I Solved It

I started, as always, by jotting down every possible combination in my mind, focusing on common prefixes and suffixes. Words starting with “pen-,” “den-,” “ten-,” and “lent-” came to mind quickly. I then expanded into less obvious blends, experimenting with letter swaps to see if something would “click.”

The key breakthrough was spotting the potential for “DEPENDENTLY.” That instantly gave me the pangram for the day — it uses all the letters in the hive exactly once, making it a perfect pangram. After locking in the pangram, I worked backward to find every other possible valid word.

Today’s Pangram

• DEPENDENTLY (Perfect Pangram)

This word not only checks all the boxes but also feels satisfying to play — you know it when you see it.

Full Word List

Here’s the complete list of valid words I found for today’s puzzle, grouped by length for easier reference.

4-Letter Words

• tend

• lend

• pelt

• pent

• dent

• lend

• leet

• need

• teen

• tell

5-Letter Words

• petal

• pedal

• penal

• ended

• telyn

• pleat

• plate

• dealt

• delay

• platy

• needy

6-Letter Words

• planet

• plated

• panted

• dented

• plenty

• dental

• delete

7-Letter Words

• plenary

• penalty

• deleted

• entente

• nettled

• pendent

8-Letter Words

• patiently

•  teletype

• pelleted

9+ Letter Words

• dependently (pangram)

• dependent

Strategy Tips for Solving

1. Start with the obvious – Begin with the most common combinations you can see. For example, “pen-,” “ten-,” “den-,” and “pel-” are natural starting points.

2. Work in clusters – Build from one base word. “Dent” can lead to “dented,” “dental,” and “dentely.”

3. Check plurals carefully – The NYT Spelling Bee sometimes excludes simple plurals unless they are standard entries in the word list.

4. Search for the pangram early – Once you find a candidate like “DEPENDENTLY,” it can help you uncover related smaller words.

5. Don’t ignore the odd letters – In today’s puzzle, “Y” was less common, but words like “plenty” and “telyn” (a type of harp) rely on it.

Puzzle Reflections

Today’s puzzle was a rewarding mix of accessible short words and a few curveballs that pushed me to think more creatively. The presence of a perfect pangram, DEPENDENTLY, made it extra fun for word lovers. It’s days like this that remind me why I love the Spelling Bee — the right combination of letters can be both a challenge and a delight.

If you found different words from mine, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. Sharing strategies is one of the best ways to improve at puzzles like these, and who knows? You might teach me a new word!