The hive for 4 September 2026 puts D at the centre, ringed by A, Z, N, Y, E, L.
Look at that for a second. D in the middle, E in the ring. Which means -ED is available on every single word you can build — and -ED is the most common word ending in English.
That one structural fact shapes the entire puzzle.
Step oneReading the grid
- The centre letter is the suffix.Normally you hunt for a required letter and hope it fits. Today the required letter is the past-tense marker itself. Every verb you can assemble from A, E, L, N, Y and Z becomes a legal answer the moment you add D.
- LAZE+ DLAZED
- DELAY+ EDDELAYED
- DAZZLE+ DDAZZLED
- Z is the scarce letter.Count the answers that use it. That scarcity is a gift, not an obstacle — because the pangram must contain Z, and there are very few places for it to hide.
- ADZE
- DAZE
- DAZED
- LAZED
- DAZZLE
- DAZZLED
- DAZEDLY
- ANALYZED
- Doubled letters carry real weight.DD in ADDED, DADDY, ADDLE. LL in DELL, DALLY. EE in NEED, NEEDY. ZZ in DAZZLE. If you're not testing repeats today you'll finish thirty points short.
Step twoFinding the pangram
I started where the constraint was tightest: Z.
Every Z-word on my list was short — ADZE, DAZE, LAZED. None came close to using all seven letters. So instead of extending them, I asked the question in reverse: what longer English word contains Z alongside A, N, L and Y?
- Z is scarcest start where it's tightest
- A · N · L · Y + Z say them out loud, in order
- ANALYZE six of the seven · missing D
- ANALYZED eight letters · pangram
Add the centre letter as the suffix it already was — and there's the small trap worth noting.
ANALYZE has no D — not a legal answer on its own
The pangram only exists in its past tense. Grids with a suffix-shaped centre letter do this often, and it's why scanning your near-misses for a missing D pays off.
The full word list
Grouped by length. Tap any word to mark it found — it counts towards your score above.
Answers hidden — no accidental spoilers
The ones people miss
- ADZEA woodworking tool with a curved blade set at right angles to the handle. Four letters, uses the rarest letter on the board, and constantly forgotten.
- DYNEA unit of force in physics.
- DANDLETo bounce a small child on your knee. DANDLED works too.
- ELANDThe largest African antelope. A Spelling Bee regular worth memorising.
- ADDENDA number that gets added to another.
- ANNEALEDTo anneal is to toughen metal or glass by heating and slow cooling. Eight letters, not the pangram.
- LANDLADYAlso eight letters, also not the pangram, and almost universally missed.
The takeaway
Two habits did all the work today.
Start at the scarcest letter. When one letter is that rare and the pangram must include it, you've cut the search down to almost nothing before you begin.
And read the centre letter as a suffix when it can be one. D, S, G, Y — when these sit in the middle, half your answers are just other answers wearing an ending. Sweep your verbs.
Next grid tomorrow.