Today's hive is the deepest grid we've had in a fortnight.
The puzzle for 3 September 2026 puts T at the centre, ringed by I, C, L, K, E, N. That's a friendly letter set — E and I give you real vowel flexibility, and T, L, N and C are among the most cooperative consonants in English. Expect a long list, and expect to have to work for the last two words.
Because today's pangrams don't come from the same place at all.
Step oneReading the grid
- The -LE ending is the engine.With L, E and a spare consonant to double, an enormous family of answers opens up: KETTLE, NETTLE, LITTLE, TITTLE, TICKLE, TINKLE. Six words from one pattern. If you sweep nothing else on this grid, sweep -TLE and -KLE.
- Doubled letters are everywhere.TT, LL, EE. LITTLE, TILL, TELL, TEEN, TENET. Repeats are allowed and today they're essential — a third of the board depends on them.
- K is the scarce letter.Only these ten answers use it — which made K the natural place to start looking once I went hunting for pangrams.
- KILT
- KITE
- KNIT
- KNELT
- TICK
- TICKET
- TICKLE
- TINKLE
- KITTEN
- KINETIC
Step twoFinding both pangrams
Both pangrams need all seven: T, I, C, L, K, E, N.
PrefixKINETIC was missing one letter
KINETIC was already on my list — seven letters, using K, I, N, E, T, C. Six of the seven. The only thing missing was L. One L. Which prefix supplies an L and attaches naturally to a word about motion?
- KINETIC six of the seven letters
- L missing one letter, one gap
- TELE- television · telephone · distance
- TELEKINETIC eleven letters · pangram
Moving objects at a distance, and the longest word on today's board.
CompoundLITTLE was missing three
LITTLE was sitting near the top of my list. It covers L, I, T and E. Missing: C, K and N. In that arrangement, there's really only one short word available.
NECK has no T — not a legal answer on its own
A variety of small hard-shell clam, ten letters, second pangram.
The full word list
Grouped by length. Tap any word to mark it found — it counts towards your score above.
Answers hidden — no accidental spoilers
The ones people miss
- CLIENTELENine letters, not a pangram, and today's best near-miss.
- TITTLEThe tiniest possible mark or amount, as in "jot and tittle."
- LICITLawful. The opposite of illicit, and far rarer in everyday speech.
- LINTELThe horizontal beam above a doorway. Easy to confuse with LENTIL, which is also valid.
- INTELLECTNine letters hiding behind a double L that most solvers never test.
The takeaway
Two pangrams, two entirely different mechanics, and one lesson underneath both.
Find your six-out-of-seven words first, then read the single missing letter. KINETIC was missing only L, which pointed straight at a prefix. LITTLE was missing C, K and N, which pointed at a compound. Neither required inventing anything — both required noticing a gap and asking what fills it.
- PrefixTELEKINETIC
- Suffixnot needed today
- CompoundLITTLENECK
Prefixes, suffixes, compounds. That's the whole toolkit, and today's grid used two of the three.
Back tomorrow.