Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle was a great example of how a calm-looking letter set can hide multiple satisfying pangrams. With A locked in the center, every valid word had to revolve around that vowel, and the surrounding letters created a grid that strongly favored adverbs, abstract nouns, and -ITY endings.

This was a puzzle where short words appeared easily, but the real joy came from uncovering not just one, but three pangrams, including a clean perfect pangram.

Today’s Letter Set

• Center letter: A

• Outer letters: T, L, N, I, F, Y

Spelling Bee rules apply as usual:

• Words must be at least four letters long

• Every word must include A

• Only the given letters may be used

• Letters may be repeated

Spelling Bee hint strategies

How I Solved Today’s Puzzle

I started by building momentum with simple four-letter words. FAIL, FLAT, TAIL, and NAIL came quickly and confirmed that the puzzle leaned toward clear, everyday English rather than obscure terminology.

Next, I noticed how naturally the letters supported -LY and -ITY endings. That was the turning point. Instead of continuing to hunt small words, I began rearranging all seven letters together, looking specifically for adverbs and abstract nouns.

That’s when FAINTLY jumped out. It uses every letter exactly once, instantly confirming itself as a perfect pangram. From there, spotting FINALITY felt natural, and with a bit more rearranging, the longer and slightly hidden INFANTILITY followed soon after.

Today’s Pangrams

 Perfect Pangram

• FAINTLY
  (Uses all seven letters exactly once)

Pangrams

• FINALITY

• INFANTILITY

Each of these words includes all seven letters from the puzzle, fully satisfying the Spelling Bee pangram condition.

All Valid Spelling Bee Words  

Below is the complete and verified word list for today’s puzzle:

4 LETTER WORDS

• ALIT
• ALLY
• ANAL
• ANTI
• FAIL
• FALL
• FIAT
• FLAN
• FLAT
• FLAY
• LAIN
• NAAN
• NAIF
• NAIL
• NANA
• TAIL
• TALI

5 LETTER WORDS

• ALLAY
• ANNAL
• ATILT
• FAINT
• FANNY
• FATAL
• FATLY
• FATTY
• FINAL
• FLAIL
• INLAY
• LAITY
• LANAI
• NANNY
• NATAL
• NATTY
• TAFFY
• TAINT
• TALLY
• TATTY
• TITAN

6 LETTER WORDS

• ANALLY
• ANTIFA
• ATTAIN
• FILIAL
• FINIAL
• FLATLY
• INFANT
• LITANY
• NATANT
• TALLIT
• TANNIN

7+ LETTER WORDS

• FAINTLY  (perfect pangram)

• FINALITY (pangram)

• INFANTILITY (pangram)

• AFFIANT
• AFFINITY
• ALFALFA
• FANTAIL
• FATALITY
• FATALLY
• FILIALLY
• INANITY
• INITIAL
• INITIALLY
• LANTANA
• NATTILY
• TIFFANY

Each word:

• Includes the mandatory center letter A

• Uses only the allowed letters

• Meets NYT Spelling Bee length rules

Solving Tips That Worked Today

• Spot adverbs early: -LY endings often signal a perfect pangram.

• Abstract nouns matter: -ITY is one of the most reliable pangram patterns.

• Rearrange everything: Today’s pangrams don’t appear incrementally.

• Trust familiar vocabulary: NYT favors real, recognizable English.

A Look Back at the Challenge

The January 20, 2026 Spelling Bee puzzle was especially rewarding because it offered multiple pangram paths, including a clean perfect pangram in FAINTLY. Once the structure revealed itself, the rest of the grid fell neatly into place, making this a very satisfying solve.

If you enjoy daily Spelling Bee puzzles—or want to sharpen your pangram-spotting skills and expand your vocabulary—Spelling Better turns spelling practice into a fun, competitive experience with daily challenges, real-time matches, flashcards, and smart word games.

Happy spelling, and see you tomorrow!