Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle was a thoughtful way to close out the year. At first glance, the letter set looked compact and friendly, but the real challenge was spotting the one word that tied everything together. With T anchored at the center, every valid word had to revolve around it, and the surrounding letters hinted at something more sophisticated than everyday vocabulary.

This was a puzzle where patience and careful rearranging paid off.

NYT Spelling Bee daily answers explained

Today’s Letter Set

Center letter: T
Outer letters: F, U, A, O, M, C

As always, Spelling Bee rules apply:

• Words must be at least four letters long

• Every word must include the center letter T

• Only the given letters may be used (letters can repeat)

How I Solved Today’s Puzzle

I started by grounding myself with short, common words to see how the grid behaved. Words like FACT, COAT, MOAT, and AUTO appeared quickly and helped confirm that the puzzle leaned toward familiar roots.

Next, I focused on word families built around FACT and FORM, since those letter combinations felt especially strong. This is often a useful strategy when the center letter is T, because it commonly appears in nouns, verbs, and compound forms.

Instead of forcing longer guesses, I stepped back and tried rearranging all seven letters together. That shift made a big difference. Once I stopped thinking in small pieces and looked at the full set holistically, the pangram became clear.

Today’s Pangram

FACTOTUM

This word uses all seven letters — F, A, C, T, O, T, U, M — making it the pangram for today’s puzzle.

A factotum is a person who does many different kinds of work or handles a wide range of tasks—an excellent fit for a Spelling Bee pangram because it’s precise, legitimate, and slightly uncommon without being obscure.

Finding this word confirmed that the full letter set had been successfully explored.

All Possible Spelling Bee Answers 

Here is the complete and corrected list of valid words for today’s puzzle:

4 LETTER WORDS 

• ATOM
• AUTO
• COAT
• COOT
• FACT
• FOOT
• MOAT
• MOOT
• MUTT
• TACO
• TACT
• TAUT
• TOFU
• TOOT
• TOUT
• TUFT
• TUTU

5 LETTER WORDS 

• AFOOT
• MOTTO

6 LETTER WORDS

• CUTOFF
• CUTOUT
• TATTOO
• TOMATO
• TOMCAT

7+ LETTER WORDS

• FACTOTUM  (pangram)

• AUTOMAT
• AUTOMATA
• TOCCATA

All of these words include the mandatory center letter T and follow NYT Spelling Bee rules.

Solving Tips That Worked Today

• Start with everyday nouns: Words like FACT and COAT help map the grid quickly.

• Look for compound-style words: Pangrams often combine familiar roots.

• Rearrange all letters together: Today’s pangram didn’t reveal itself until I stopped building incrementally.

• Trust uncommon but valid vocabulary: NYT often rewards words you recognize but don’t use daily.

Buzzing Off with a Bang

Today’s Spelling Bee puzzle was a great reminder that not all pangrams are flashy or obvious. Discovering FACTOTUM felt especially satisfying because it emerged naturally from the letter set once everything clicked. The balance between simple everyday words and a more refined pangram made this a well-designed puzzle and a fitting close to December.

If you enjoy solving daily Spelling Bee puzzles—or want to improve your ability to spot pangrams and grow your vocabulary—Spelling Better makes learning fun with real-time challenges, group quizzes, flashcards, and daily word play.

Happy spelling—and happy New Year!