Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle is a satisfying one, especially once the pangram reveals itself. With a balanced mix of common and slightly tricky letters, the grid rewards careful observation rather than guesswork. Let’s break down how the puzzle was solved, highlight the pangram HOURLONG, and list all valid words you can form today.

Today’s Letters

• Center letter: L

• Outer letters: G, N, U, R, H, O

As always, every valid word must:

1. Contain the center letter L

2. Use only the given letters

3. Be at least four letters long

4. Avoid proper nouns and plurals ending in “s”

How I Solved Today’s Puzzle

I always start by anchoring myself around the center letter, because every valid word depends on it. Today’s center letter L pairs very naturally with vowels like O and U, so I immediately tested combinations like lo-, lu-, and ol-.

Next, I looked for word-building prefixes and suffixes:

• “hour”

• “long”

• “our”

• “roll”

• “lorn”

At that point, something clicked. Combining two strong word roots—hour and long—created a single word that used every letter in the puzzle. That’s the exact moment the pangram appeared.

Pangram Found: HOURLONG

This word uses all seven letters (H, O, U, R, L, O, N, G) and satisfies every Spelling Bee rule. It also feels very “NYT-style”: natural, descriptive, and not overly obscure.

Once the pangram is identified, the rest of the puzzle becomes easier. You can then reverse-engineer smaller words by removing letters from the pangram and testing variations.

All Possible Words for Today

Below is the complete word list, grouped for clarity.

Pangram

•  HOURLONG

6+-Letter Words

• GOOGOL
• LOGROLL
• LONGHORN
• OOLONG
• UNROLL

5-Letter Words

• GHOUL

4-Letter Words

• GLUG

• GULL
• HULL
• HURL
• LOGO
• LOLL
• LONG
• LOON
• LULL
• LULU
• ROLL

(Note: Word acceptance can vary slightly based on NYT’s internal dictionary, but all listed words follow standard Spelling Bee rules.)

Strategy Tip for Similar Puzzles

When you see L as the center letter:

• Try pairing it with O and U early

• Look for compound ideas (like hour + long)

• Scan for descriptive adjectives—NYT often favors them

Also, once you find a pangram, don’t stop there. Many hidden four- and five-letter words are nested inside it.

Wrapping Up Today’s Hive

Today’s Spelling Bee puzzle is a great example of how pattern recognition beats brute force. The pangram HOURLONG isn’t rare, but it’s easy to miss if you’re only thinking in short words. By combining natural word parts and systematically testing letter groupings, you can reach Genius level without frustration.

If you enjoy breaking down puzzles like this, daily pangram practice is one of the fastest ways to improve both vocabulary and pattern recognition.

Happy spelling—and see you tomorrow with a new grid.