NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Start with the shape of the puzzle, reveal only the help you want, and open the full list when you are ready.

ALOPRT Y
59Answers
1Pangrams
292Maximum
205Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

A8
L5
O3
P23
R10
T9
Y1

Words by length

412
523
613
79
81
91

Two-letter starts

AL3
AP2
AR3
LO5
OA1
OR2
PA12
PL2
PO7
PR1
PY1
RA4
RO6
TA4
TO1
TR2
TY2
YA1

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

9 letters · 16 points

First and last letters

P … L

Letter pattern

P•••••••L

R × 2, A × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

portrayal

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

A 8

  • allay
  • alloy
  • ally
  • apply
  • aptly
  • array
  • arroyo
  • arty

L 5

  • loopy
  • lorry
  • loyal
  • loyally
  • loyalty

O 3

  • oaty
  • orally
  • oratory

P 23

  • paltry
  • papally
  • papaya
  • pappy
  • parlay
  • parry
  • partly
  • party
  • patly
  • patty
  • payola
  • payroll
  • play
  • ploy
  • polyp
  • poorly
  • poppy
  • portly
  • portray
  • portrayalPangram
  • potty
  • pray
  • pyro

R 10

  • rally
  • raptly
  • rattly
  • ratty
  • ropy
  • rotary
  • rotatory
  • royal
  • royally
  • royalty

T 9

  • tally
  • tarry
  • tartly
  • tatty
  • totally
  • tray
  • troy
  • typo
  • tyro

Y 1

  • yappy

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Moderate at 28/100, compared with 17 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons