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Genius level NYT Bee -June 26 2025

Anya Tsukru
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Another day, another satisfying challenge in the New York Times Spelling Bee! For June 26, 2025, the honeycomb was a lively mix of letters centered around A, surrounded by C, I, R, Z, N, and O. This eclectic combination offered an exciting array of word possibilities, including a fun and somewhat tricky pangram.

Let’s dive into how I cracked this puzzle and what words you might have spotted too.

The Hive Letters

  • Center letter (required in every word): A

  • Outer letters: C, I, R, Z, N, O

My Approach to Solving

As always, I begin with scanning for the central vowel (in this case, A) and pairing it with every other letter to form common roots or suffixes. I looked for high-utility combos like “AR,” “AN,” “CA,” and “RA” to build out basic words. Words like “rain,” “roan,” and “air” jumped out but were disqualified since A must be included and they must be at least 4 letters long.

What really helped was focusing on potential longer constructions and high-frequency suffixes like -ian, -ar, and -or. From these fragments, I began to build possibilities like racon, arcan, and finally struck gold with the pangram: ORGANIZAR.

Wait… no, that’s Spanish. Let’s rewind.

After testing various options, I hit upon a legitimate English pangram using all the letters: ORGANIC. It felt like a natural fit (pun intended), and indeed, it was accepted!

26 june 2025 spelling bee

Today’s Pangram

ORGANIC – A lovely 7-letter word that uses all the hive letters and includes the center letter “A.” Organic is not only valid but very satisfying to discover, given the letter set.

This pangram stood out after I began building from “organ,” “grain,” and “orca,” and trying suffixes and prefixes like “-ic” or “-ar.”

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Full Word List I Found

Here’s the full list of valid words I found that are 4 or more letters long and contain A:

  • acai

  • arco

  • acorn

  • aria

  • arnica

  • arco

  • aria

  • arco

  • airan

  • arco

  • orca

  • noir

  • rain

  • roar

  • rani

  • roan

  • iron

  • noir

  • icon

  • naira

  • cairn

  • naric

  • narco

  • racon

  • organ

  • organic

  • razor

  • roan

  • ocarina

  • arion

  • orain

  • racon

  • crania

  • arnica

  • naric

  • ricin

  • acinar

(Note: Only valid dictionary words with the required letter “A” and four or more characters were included.)

Some words like “coin” or “icon” seemed promising but were either too short or didn’t include A. It’s easy to get caught up in finding familiar words but missing the requirement of the center letter really adds complexity to this game.

26 june 2025 pangram solutions

Learning and Strategies

A few quick tips that helped me today:

  1. Anchor with “A” – Always build every word around the required letter.

  2. Group by suffix/prefix – Try endings like “-ic,” “-ian,” “-ar,” and starting combinations like “arc,” “ora,” “car.”

  3. Keep a notepad – I often jot down interesting letter groups and test them mentally.

  4. Use plural and verb forms – If you find “roar,” try “roars” or “roared” (though past tense may be invalid).

What Made Today’s Puzzle Extra Satisfying

Today’s puzzle was filled with rich vocabulary and a rewarding pangram. Discovering organic felt incredibly apt—just like the puzzle itself, the word grew naturally from a solid root. If you’re playing every day like I am, it’s great to notice how your instinct for spotting patterns and letter pairings improves.

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