Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle featured the letters B, N, A, I, E, G with M in the center. As always, every word must include the center letter M, and letters can be reused as many times as needed. No outside letters are allowed.

When I first looked at the hive, I immediately noticed the strong combination potential around M + A + N + I + E + G + B. Words like mean, main, and name instantly came to mind. But the real goal in Spelling Bee is to search for longer constructions — especially the pangram that uses all seven letters.

Step 1: Start with Small Words

I began by forming simple four-letter words:

• amen

• mean

• mane

• main

• mine

• mime

• game

• mega

• beam

• bean

• bane

• bang

• gain

• magi

These helped build momentum and confirm possible letter patterns.

Step 2: Build from Word Families

Next, I expanded into variations:

From “mean” family

• meaning

• menage

From “game” family

• gaming

From “bean” family

• beaming

• beam

• bean

From “main” family

• maine (proper noun not always accepted, but structurally valid)

Step 3: Spotting the Pangram

After playing around with combinations like megan, gamine, and beaming, the breakthrough came when rearranging:

M + A + N + I + E + G + B

That forms:

BEAMING

BEAMING is today’s pangram because it uses all seven letters: B, E, A, M, I, N, G

It perfectly satisfies the puzzle rule and unlocks the bonus points.

Complete Word List

Here are all the acceptable words derived from today’s hive:

4- LETTER WORDS

• AMEN
• BEAM
• GAME
• IAMB
• IMAM
• MAGE
• MAGI
• MAIM
• MAIN
• MAMA
• MANE
• MEAN
• MEGA
• MEME
• MIEN
• MIME
• MINE
• MINI
• NAME

5- LETTER WORDS

• AMEBA
• ANIMA
• ANIME
• BEGEM
• ENEMA
• GAMIN
• GAMMA
• GIMME
• IAMBI
• IMAGE
• MAGMA
• MAMBA
• MAMMA
• MANGA
• MANGE
• MANIA
• MANNA
• MINIM
• NIMBI

6- LETTER WORDS

• AIMING
• AMEBAE
• ANEMIA
• BAGMAN
• BAGMEN
• ENIGMA
• GAMINE
• GAMING
• IMBIBE
• MANAGE
• MEANIE
• MEMING
• MIMING
• MINIMA
• MINING
• NAMING

7- LETTER WORDS

• BEAMING (PERFECT PANGRAM)
• IMAGINE
• IMAGING
• MAIMING
• MANNING
• MEANING

8+ LETTER WORDS

• BEGEMMING
• IMAGINING
• IMBIBING
• MANAGING

(Some shorter duplicates like mega and magi may vary depending on dictionary acceptance.)

Strategy Reflection

What made this puzzle interesting was the balanced vowel-consonant mix. With three vowels (A, E, I) and four consonants (M, B, N, G), the structure naturally encouraged longer flowing words.

The biggest clue was the ending -ing pattern. Whenever a Spelling Bee includes N + G, it’s wise to check for -ing possibilities. That’s how beaming, gaming, and meaning surfaced quickly.

Another useful technique was spotting the unusual word menage, which often appears in puzzles when these letters combine. Likewise, gamine (meaning a mischievous or playful girl) is a classic Bee word.

Puzzle Reflections

Today’s puzzle was satisfying because it rewarded pattern recognition and suffix awareness. Once meaning and gaming appeared, the pangram was just one rearrangement away.

If you found beaming early, congratulations — that’s a strong vocabulary instinct at work. If it took longer, that’s the beauty of Spelling Bee: every puzzle sharpens pattern memory and word construction skills.

Come back tomorrow for the next hive challenge — and keep beaming with every pangram you find.