Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle was a satisfying one. The center letter was N, surrounded by T, O, R, F, A, M. As always, every word had to include N, and only these seven letters could be used.

At first glance, the letter set felt balanced. There were strong consonants (F, R, M, T) and useful vowels (A, O), which usually means we’re in for some good medium-length words. The key was to start small and build upward.

Step 1: Start with Short Words

I always begin by scanning for simple four-letter combinations that include the center letter. Immediately, a few popped out:

• moan

• roan

• torn

• form (not valid — missing N)

• from (not valid — missing N)

So I adjusted and focused on true “N-inclusive” words:

• norm

• morn

• fora (no N, so not valid)

That helped establish useful letter pairings like ON, OR, and AN, which often lead to longer words.

Step 2: Build to Medium Words

From there, patterns started forming:

• manor

• roman

• moron

• minor

• front

• afront

• format (no N — not valid)

The presence of both M and R strongly hinted that something longer might be hiding.

Step 3: Finding the Pangram

The breakthrough came when I noticed the sequence FRO–N–T. That gave me front. Then I asked: what if I add MAN?

Front + man.

And there it was:

FRONTMAN

That uses all seven letters: F – R – O – N – T – M – A

A clean, elegant pangram. Not overly obscure, not too tricky. Just perfect.

It’s always satisfying when the pangram is a real, everyday word rather than something technical or archaic.

Full Word List – 12 February 2026

Here are all the valid words from today’s puzzle (4+ letters, using only the allowed letters and including N):

• ANON
• FONT
• MOAN
• MONO
• MOON
• NAAN
• NANA
• NOON
• NORM
• ONTO
• RANT
• ROAN
• TOON
• TORN

• FRONT
• MANNA
• MANOR
• MANTA
• MORON

• ARRANT
• MAMMON
• MANTRA
• MAROON
• MATRON
• NATANT
• NONART
• NONFAT
• RATTAN
• TANTRA
• TARTAN

• AFFRONT
• ANNATTO
• FOOTMAN
• NOTATOR
• OTTOMAN
• TANTARA

• FRONTMAN (PANGRAM)
• ANNOTATOR
• MOONROOF
• NARRATOR