NYT Spelling Bee

Answers · Analysis · Spoiler controlled

Spelling Bee Answers & Analysis

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

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

ACELNW O
51Answers
1Pangrams
207Maximum
145Genius

Answer shape

Use the distributions before revealing any words.

Words by first letter

A6
C24
L8
N7
O3
W3

Words by length

421
514
69
73
82
92

Two-letter starts

AE1
AL4
AN1
CA7
CE1
CL3
CO13
LL1
LO7
NE2
NO5
OC1
OL1
ON1
WA1
WO2

Pangram ladder

Open one clue at a time.

Pangram 1
Length

9 letters · 16 points

First and last letters

A … E

Letter pattern

A•••••••E

A × 2, L × 2

Reveal Pangram — spoiler

allowance

Complete answer list

Reveal full answers — spoiler

A 6

  • aeon
  • allow
  • allowancePangram
  • aloe
  • alone
  • anon

C 24

  • cacao
  • callaloo
  • callow
  • cannon
  • canoe
  • canola
  • canon
  • cello
  • cloaca
  • clone
  • clown
  • coal
  • coca
  • cocoa
  • cocoon
  • cola
  • colcannon
  • colleen
  • colon
  • colonel
  • conceal
  • cone
  • cool
  • cowl

L 8

  • llano
  • loan
  • local
  • locale
  • loco
  • loll
  • lone
  • loon

N 7

  • neocon
  • neon
  • noel
  • nonce
  • none
  • nonlocal
  • noon

O 3

  • ocean
  • oleo
  • once

W 3

  • wallow
  • wool
  • woolen

How hard was this puzzle?

This puzzle's structural difficulty is Moderate at 42/100, compared with 21 available puzzles through this date.

Read the difficulty methodology and comparisons