Today’s NYT Spelling Bee puzzle offered a satisfying mix of everyday words and one standout culinary pangram. With E as the center letter and the surrounding letters T, I, U, N, F, C, the grid initially looks simple—but reaching Genius requires careful pattern spotting and smart expansion.

After working through the grid step by step, the pangram for today is FETTUCCINE, a deliciously fitting word that uses all seven letters.

Today’s Letter Set

• Center Letter: E

• Outer Letters: T, I, U, N, F, C

• Pangram: FETTUCCINE

How I Solved Today’s Puzzle

I always begin a Spelling Bee puzzle by locking in short, high-confidence words to build momentum. With E in the center, I scanned for common endings like -NET, -TEN, -FINE, and -CITE. Words like fine, net, and cite appear quickly and help open up the grid mentally.

Next, I looked for double-letter opportunities, which are often key to finding pangrams. Seeing both T and C made me think of Italian food words, especially pasta names. That’s when fettuccine stood out—long, letter-rich, and clearly capable of using everything in the hive.

A quick mental check confirmed it:

• F

• E

• T

• T (allowed repeat)

• U

• C

• C (allowed repeat)

• I

• N

• E (repeat)

That locks it in as today’s pangram.

Once the pangram is found, the rest of the puzzle becomes easier. You can reverse-engineer smaller words from within it—net, cut, fine, unit, cite—and fill out the list steadily.

Pangram of the Day

• FETTUCCINE

This is a classic Spelling Bee pangram: familiar, thematic, and satisfying to uncover. Food-related pangrams are common favorites because they naturally include repeated consonants and vowels.

All Possible Words

4-Letter Words

• cent

• cite

• cute
• feet
• fete
• fief
• fife
• fine
• nene
• nice
• nine
• nite
• teen
• teff
• tent
• tine
• tune

5-Letter Words

• cutie
• ennui
• feint
• fence
• innie
• niece
• tenet
• tutee
• unite
• untie

6-Letter Words

• effect
• effete
• entice

• finite

• incite
• infect
• intent
• tuffet
• untune

7+ Letter Words

• fettuccine (pangram)

• efficient
• entente
• fifteen
• inefficient
• infinite
• nineteen

(Exact accepted word lists may vary slightly based on NYT validation rules, but all words above follow Spelling Bee constraints.)

Strategy Tips from Today’s Puzzle

• Watch for doubled letters: Repeating letters often unlock longer words.

• Think themes: Food, science, and verbs are common pangram categories.

• Build from the pangram: Once found, mine it for smaller words.

• Use vowel balance: Multiple vowels (E, I, U) usually signal longer solutions.

Lessons from Today’s Puzzle

The 24 January 2026 Spelling Bee was a rewarding puzzle that balanced accessibility with a clever pangram. FETTUCCINE isn’t just a fun word—it’s a great example of how pattern recognition and thematic thinking lead to Genius-level solutions.

If you enjoy breaking down puzzles like this, daily Spelling Bee solving is one of the best ways to sharpen vocabulary, spelling intuition, and pattern awareness.

Ready for tomorrow’s hive?