Today’s New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle featured I as the center letter, surrounded by A, R, T, H, B, D. At first glance, the combination looked solid for forming compound words or something nature-related. After working through possible letter groupings, I discovered that the pangram for the day was BIRDBATH — and from there, the rest of the grid started falling into place.

In this post, I’ll share exactly how I solved it, step-by-step, and list all the valid words I found.

NYT Spelling Bee hints and answers explained:

Step 1: Scanning for Obvious Long Words

When tackling the Bee, I start by mentally testing combinations that could use all seven letters. The presence of both BIRD and BATH quickly caught my attention. Combining them gave me BIRDBATH, which not only uses every letter but also feels like the type of straightforward compound word the Spelling Bee likes to accept. Once I found that, I knew I had the pangram locked in early.

Step 2: Building Around the Pangram

After identifying BIRDBATH, I broke it down into its components — BIRD and BATH — and began searching for related words and variations:

• From BIRD: BIRD, BIRDS, BIRDIE, BIRDING

• From BATH: BATH, BATHS, BATHE, BATHED, BATHING

This approach usually gives me a strong starter list and triggers ideas for other unrelated words.

Step 3: Expanding with Letter Patterns

Next, I scanned for patterns with common prefixes and suffixes:

• BR-: BRAD, BRAID, BRITH

• -ARD / -ART endings: DART, HARD, RATH, HART

• TH-: THIRD, THAIR (if accepted), THARD (less likely)

By targeting these chunks, I could systematically pull out medium-length words without aimlessly guessing.

Step 4: Alternating Short and Long Word Hunts

I like to mix it up between quick 4-letter finds and more challenging 6- or 7-letter options. For example, I’d spot DIRT and HARD, then go hunting for something longer like BASTARD (not valid here because of missing “S”) or BRAITH (rare, but sometimes accepted). This keeps my brain fresh and prevents burnout.

Step 5: Sweeping for Missed Words

Finally, I went letter by letter, writing each possible starting letter down and scanning for unused combinations. This often catches stragglers like TRIAD, RADII, or BIRTH that might otherwise slip through.

Pangram

• BIRDBATH

Full Word List I Found

(Note: The NYT word list may vary.)

• BARD
• BIRD
• BRAD
• DART
• DIRT
• HAIR
• HARD
• HART
• RAID
• RATH
• RIBS
• BATH
• BIRR
• BRIT
• TARI

• BRAID
• THIRD
• RADII
• HABIT
• BIRDS
• BATHS
• BATHE

6-Letter Words:

• BIRTHS
• BIRRIA
• BRAITH
• RABBIT
• RIBBIT
• TIDBIT
• BATHED

7+ Letter Words:

• BIRDBATH (pangram)
•  HABITAT

Tips That Helped Me Solve It Today

1. Look for compound words early – With today’s letter set, BIRD and BATH practically shouted at me.

2. Break the pangram into chunks – This gives you multiple smaller word families to work from.

3. Use suffix and prefix scanning – Patterns like TH-, BR-, and -ARD are gold mines in Spelling Bee.

4. Alternate word lengths – Switching between short and long words keeps your search fresh.

5. Do a final sweep systematically – This is where I always pick up extra points from words I missed on the first pass.

Did You Spot the Pangram?

Today’s puzzle was satisfying because the pangram wasn’t hidden — once I spotted BIRDBATH, it felt natural to work outwards from there. The mix of common words and a few trickier ones kept it engaging.

If you’re chasing Queen Bee, remember that your goal is to balance efficiency and thoroughness: spot the big anchors first, then fill in the gaps with small and medium words. And don’t forget to double-check for plurals, alternate verb forms, and less common dictionary entries.

How did you do today? Did you spot BIRDBATH right away or only toward the end? Share your solving strategies — they might just help someone else climb the ranks tomorrow!