Today’s Spelling Bee puzzle looked simple at first glance — a bright yellow N in the center, surrounded by I, U, O, L, R, and P — but this hive was trickier than it seemed. With that elusive N as the required letter, I knew I had to find words that balanced vowels well since this set had a mix of U, I, and O, offering good flexibility for forming multiple short and medium-length words.

My Solving Strategy

I usually start by identifying the letter combinations that feel “natural” in English — for example, PL, PR, and IN are strong starters. Then, I look for common endings like -ION, -IN, -LIN, and -ORN.

Right away, the pair P + L + N stood out. After a few attempts like PLIN and PLAN (sadly missing an A!), I tried variations and suddenly saw the word PURLOIN flash in my mind — a perfect fit using all the letters. That’s when I knew I had today’s pangram!

The satisfying moment of finding “PURLOIN” — meaning to steal or take something, often in a sneaky or clever way — felt poetic, as if the puzzle itself had been hiding it in plain sight.

Once the pangram was found, the rest flowed naturally. I started hunting for smaller words built around N, like iron, lion, loin, and noir. Then I filled out the rest by focusing on letter pairings — pin, nip, poll, poor, and pull all came to mind.

Word practice with Spelling Bee Word Breakdown

4-letter words:

• loin
• iron
• ruin
• lion
• loon
• nior
• noon
• noun
• null
• upon

5-letter words:

• inurn
• onion
• pinup
• prono
• prion
• union
• unpin

6-letter words:

• pinion
• pippin
• poplin
• unroll

7+letter words:

• PURLOIN (pangram) 
• nonillion
• nonunion
• opinion
• pillion
• pronoun

While it wasn’t the longest word possible, “purloin” elegantly used every letter and captured the puzzle’s sneaky charm.

 Reflections on Today’s Puzzle

What made today’s Spelling Bee enjoyable was its balance between simplicity and trickiness. The presence of multiple vowels encouraged experimentation, but the absence of “E” or “A” limited options, making it feel like a mental tug-of-war. Words like purin and prion (both science-related) gave the hive a subtle educational flavor.

Also, “purloin” being the pangram added a story-like twist — it’s not a common everyday word, yet it’s so beautifully constructed. It reminds me how the Spelling Bee doesn’t just test our vocabulary; it quietly teaches us new words that have character and charm.

A Look Back at the Challenge

Solving today’s Spelling Bee was like uncovering a hidden treasure. The key was patience — starting small, building patterns, and paying attention to combinations that “sound right.” If you’re still building your list, try mixing consonants creatively — this puzzle rewards flexible thinking.

And as always, if you’re hooked on word challenges like me, try practicing pangrams and daily puzzles using the Spelling Better app — where you can play 1-vs-1 spelling games, challenge friends, and master daily pangrams in a fun and competitive way.

Happy buzzing!