Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle for February 17, 2026, featured the following letters:

Center letter: P
Surrounding letters: G, O, I, W, N, L

As always, every valid word must:

• Include the center letter P

• Be at least four letters long

• Use only the given letters

• Allow repeated letters

First Look at the Grid

When I first saw today’s puzzle, I immediately noticed that P combined well with both vowels (O and I) and strong consonants (L, W, G, N). That suggested we would likely see several -ING words and PL- combinations.

I began with quick four-letter starters to build momentum:

• PING

• PION

• POGO

• PONG

• PLOW

• POLO

This early stage helps unlock patterns and letter groupings.

Finding the Perfect Pangram

The key breakthrough came when I spotted PLOW.

Adding “ING” to PLOW immediately formed:

PLOWING

Let’s verify:

P 
L 
O 
W 
I 
N 
G

Each of the seven letters appears exactly once.

That makes PLOWING the Perfect Pangram for today.

A perfect pangram is especially satisfying because it uses every letter without repetition.

The Full Pangram

After finding PLOWING, I continued exploring variations. Adding extra letters while still using all seven produced:

PILLOWING

Let’s verify:

P 
I 
L 
L 
O 
W 
I 
N 
G

All seven required letters are present, though some are repeated.

This makes PILLOWING a standard pangram (but not perfect).

Full Word List

Here are the valid words derived from today’s letter set:

• GLOP
• GOOP
• LIPO
• LOOP
• PILL
• PING
• PLOP
• PLOW
• POGO
• POLL
• POLO
• PONG
• POOL
• POOP

• GLOOP
• POLIO

• LOLLOP
• LOPING
• PILING
• PILLOW
• PINING
• PINION
• PIPING
• PIPPIN
• POLING
• POPLIN
• POWWOW
• WIPING

• PLOWING (PERFECT PANGRAM)
• LIPPING
• LOOPING
• LOPPING
• NIPPING
• OPINING
• OPINION
• PIGGING
• PILLING
• PILLION
• PINGING
• PINNING
• POGOING
• POLLING
• POOLING
• POOPING
• POPPING

• PILLOWING (PANGRAM)
• GLOPPING
• LOLLIPOP
• LOLLOPING
• PINIONING
• PLOPPING
• POLLIWOG

How the Solve Came Together

The turning point today was recognizing that W + ING could work, and that PL- is a productive starting cluster.

Once PLOW appeared, the puzzle opened quickly:

• PLOW → PLOWING

• PILLOW → PILLOWING

• LOPING

• POLING

• OILING

Another helpful strategy was rotating vowels through consonant structures:

• LINGO → LOGIN

• PING → PONG

• POLO → POLIO

The presence of both I and O allowed flexibility, while W limited word volume slightly, keeping the puzzle balanced.

Difficulty Level

Today’s puzzle felt moderately challenging. The grid was not overloaded with vowel combinations, but the -ING pattern provided a clear pathway to success.

Spotting PLOW early was key. From there, it became a matter of systematic expansion.

What Made Today’s Puzzle Unique

The February 17, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee delivered a satisfying puzzle with:

• PLOWING as the Perfect Pangram

• PILLOWING as the full pangram

It rewarded pattern recognition and careful letter rotation. If you found the perfect pangram first, you likely focused on PL- combinations early. If not, building from smaller words upward is always the best strategy.

See you tomorrow for the next Spelling Bee breakdown.