The New York Times Spelling Bee never fails to surprise us with clever combinations of letters. Today’s hive featured B at the center, with surrounding letters O, T, C, I, A, N. At first glance, the mix promised some solid word-building potential, especially with both vowels and strong consonants in the set. After working through the obvious smaller words and chasing down patterns, I discovered today’s pangram: BOTANIC.

Step 1: Starting With the Center Letter

The first and most important rule of Spelling Bee is that every word must include the center letter—in today’s case, B. So my initial approach was to anchor B with nearby vowels. Quickly, I found short, simple words like bin, ban, bit, bat, and boa. These early finds don’t just boost the word count; they give confidence and momentum to keep going.

Step 2: Finding the Short Words

The next step was to sweep through all the possible three- and four-letter words. These serve as the foundation for expanding into longer answers. Some quick wins were:

• bin, ban, boa, bat, bit, ton, ion, not.

• Then slightly longer ones like boat, bait, coat, icon, into.

By identifying these, I began to see recurring clusters like bo- and -ic, which hinted at larger words down the line.

Step 3: Spotting Word Patterns

As with most Spelling Bee puzzles, patterns are the real key. Today, several useful ones stood out:

• bo- starter: boat, boast, bonus.

• -ic ending: iconic, tonic, cubic (if “u” allowed with variations).

• -an/-ian endings: bani, botanic.

These patterns quickly opened up the path toward the pangram.

Step 4: The Pangram Discovery – BOTANIC

The “aha” moment came when I pieced together B + O + T + A + N + I + C. Seeing BOTANIC appear on the screen was immensely satisfying—it not only used a large variety of the hive’s letters but also carried a beautiful meaning, relating to plants and nature.

This was a classic Spelling Bee pangram—scientific, slightly uncommon in everyday speech, but entirely logical once discovered.

Step 5: Expanding the Word List

With the pangram secured, I went back to systematically uncover the rest of the word list. Here’s a breakdown of the possible words I found:

Word List

4-letter words:

• boat
• bait
• taco
• coat
• coin
• icon
• into
• nota
• baba

• tonic
• cubic
• baton
• taboo
• cabin
• abaci
• abbot
• bocci
• tibia

• action
• inborn
• baboon
• banana
• bionic
• biotin
• bobbin
• cabana
• obtain

• Pangram: botanic
• abiotic
• nanobot
• conation
• tobacco

• anabiotic
• antibiotic
• ciabatta

(Note: Depending on NYT’s dictionary, some variations may or may not be officially accepted, but these are logical constructions from the hive.)

Step 6: What Today’s Puzzle Teaches

This puzzle reminded me of the importance of persistence and paying attention to patterns. The hive’s consonant-heavy look at first seemed challenging, but the balance of vowels A, I, O provided just enough flexibility. The key was exploring the bo- starter and -ic endings, which ultimately revealed the pangram.

Buzzing Off with a Bang

September 13, 2025, brought us a puzzle that was both challenging and rewarding. From short, simple entries like bin and bat to the sophisticated pangram BOTANIC, today’s hive demonstrated the elegance of the Spelling Bee.

If you struggled to find the pangram, don’t be discouraged—puzzles like this often hide their biggest treasures in plain sight. The trick is to keep experimenting, spotting familiar clusters, and letting your curiosity guide you.

Tomorrow brings a new hive and a new opportunity to sharpen your wordplay. Until then, enjoy the sense of discovery that today’s puzzle delivered!