Pangram: Choking
Center Letter: O
Total Letters: C, H, O, N, I, K, G
Minimum 4-letter words required. Must include the letter “O”.

 How I Solved Today’s NYT Spelling Bee

Today’s hive looked deceptively simple. The center letter was O, which meant every word I formed had to include it. Surrounding letters were C, H, N, I, K, and G — all strong consonants and a single vowel (I). Right away, I knew the grid had potential.

I always begin with the basics — scan the hive for common prefixes and suffixes. Seeing ING caught my eye, especially when paired with the CH or KN clusters. From there, I started exploring small base words like hog, chin, coin, icon, and king.

A quick shuffle of the letters in my head and on-screen, and boom — the pangram stood out like a spotlight in the fog: CHOKING. It was satisfying not only because it used all seven letters, but also because it’s a vivid word. That “aha” moment never gets old.

 Strategy Tips I Used

If you’re looking to improve your daily scores, here are the steps I followed:

• Start with 4-letter words: Look for simple constructions like gong, coin, and chin.

• Focus on clusters: The letters CH, KN, and NG are common in English — combining these helped me form words like chink, knock, and choking.

• Spot vowel-consonant balance: With only two vowels (O, I), I was conscious of pairing them with strong consonants to form recognizable syllables.

• Save the pangram for later: While I sometimes try to spot it early, today I worked through shorter words first. By clearing my mental deck, the pangram came naturally.

4-Letter Words

• chin

• coin

• cock

• coho

• conk

• cook

• gong

• goon

• hock

• honk

• icon

• inch

• king

• kino

• nick

• nook

 5-Letter Words

•  conch

• knock

•  going

• gook

• gonk

• chock

• cocci

•  ionic

• onion

6-Letter Words

•  noggin

•  iconic

•  ginkgo

• cocoon

•  honing

•  honcho

 7-Letter Words

• choking (Pangram)

• cocking

• cooking

• chignon

• gonging

• hocking

• honking

• cocking

• coining

• ongoing

• nocking

 8-Letter Words

• knocking

• chocking

9-Letter Words

• cocooning

Did You Spot the Pangram?

Today’s Spelling Bee was a test in visualizing letter clusters and not forcing uncommon words. The satisfying part of solving the pangram — choking — came only after I took a step back and looked at the bigger picture. If you’re using the Spelling Better App, try the realtime pangram simulation or test yourself with 1 vs 1 matches and daily flashcards — they’re designed to help you master word recall and pattern recognition. Plus, our group mode lets you challenge friends and family for extra fun!

Until tomorrow — happy buzzing!