Pangrams: WITCHING and TWITCHING

It couldn’t have been more poetic — on Halloween, the Spelling Bee hive gave us two spine-tingling pangrams: WITCHING and TWITCHING.
Today’s puzzle was both challenging and thematic, cleverly mixing consonants and vowels in just the right way to conjure up a spooky surprise.

The Hive Setup

Center Letter: W
Outer Letters: N, G, C, I, H, T

The hive immediately looked intriguing.
Having W in the center meant that every word would have a firm, weighty sound. The surrounding letters — a strong mix of consonants like T, G, N, C, H and the lone vowel I — hinted that we’d be building compact, consonant-heavy words with active tones like wing, thin, with, and twin.

But buried inside that mix were two perfectly thematic words — both hinting at movement, mystery, and a little Halloween magic.

How I Solved It

1. Starting Small

I began with the basics: win, wit, wing, with, thin, chin, and hint.
Getting those out first helped me understand the letter flow — how W, H, and T tended to pair naturally, forming clusters like wh, tw, and th.

Once I found witch and twitch, I suspected there might be longer versions lurking in the hive.

2. Building from Roots

When I found witch, I immediately tested witching, and it clicked — all letters valid, center letter used, and a perfect pangram!
Moments later, twitching followed, fitting the same pattern but with an added twist — a second T that made it even more expressive.

WITCHING – Found first, elegant and eerie.
TWITCHING – Found next, lively and rhythmic.

Both words use every letter and feel tailor-made for an October 31st puzzle.

3. Expanding the Word List

After uncovering the pangrams, I circled back to find smaller derivatives and connected words. That helped build the full list and boosted my score toward the “Genius” mark.

Today’s Pangrams

• WITCHING — Relating to or characteristic of witches; magical or bewitching.
  Example: “The witching hour began as the moon rose over the dark forest.”

• TWITCHING — To move with a sudden, small jerk or spasm.
  Example: “The leaves were twitching in the cold night air.”

It’s rare for a puzzle to have two pangrams that fit together so beautifully — one mystical, one physical — both capturing the energy of Halloween.

Spelling Bee word collection

4-Letter Words

• with
• wing
• twin
• twig
• twit
• whit

5-Letter Words

• witch
• winch
• wight
• which

6-Letter Words

• within
• twitch
• twinge
• nitwit
• wining

• witching (Pangram)
• twitching (Pangram)
• twinging
• twining
• twinning
• whining
• whiting
• wigging
• wincing
• winging
• winning
• witting

These represent the core valid and commonly accepted words from today’s hive. The NYT may include rare or variant forms, but these are the primary, playable entries

Solving Strategy Insights

Here’s what helped me get there:

• Look for letter pairs. With W, T, and H present, clusters like wh and tw almost always form something.

• Start with verbs. Many -ing words hide pangrams. If you can form a meaningful -ing ending word, you’re close.

• Follow the theme. It’s Halloween — testing witch, twitch, and thing just felt natural, and it paid off!

Today’s puzzle rewarded lateral thinking and thematic intuition.

Reflection

Some puzzles test vocabulary. Others test logic. But today’s felt crafted for storytelling.
The moment I found witching, I couldn’t help smiling — it was too perfect for October 31st. Then twitching appeared, tying the theme together with eerie precision.

It’s these moments that make Spelling Bee addictive — when words don’t just fit the grid, but the mood, too.

Summary

Wrapping Up Today’s Challenge

Today’s NYT Spelling Bee was one of those rare puzzles that felt alive with personality.
It perfectly captured the essence of Halloween — mysterious, clever, and just a bit mischievous.

If you reached Genius or found both pangrams, consider yourself officially spellbound.
And if you didn’t — don’t worry. Tomorrow brings a brand-new hive to unravel.

Until then, may your evening be full of words, wonder, and a little bit of witching magic.

Keep buzzing and keep spelling better!