Today's letters are below. The center letter, H, must be in every word.
Welcome back, Bee solvers! With H in the center and C, I, K, M, N, and U around it, this set looks compact but clever.
18 words · 79 points · 1 pangram
Hint 1: Word grid (first letter by word length)
How many words start with each letter, by length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| H | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
| I | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| K | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| M | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| N | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Hint 2: Two-letter starts
CH-7 · CI-1 · HI-1 · HU-2 · IN-1 · KI-1 · MU-3 · NU-2
Hint 3: Pangram first letters
M (8 letters)
Show the pangrams
MUNCHKIN
Show all 18 answers
C chic, chichi, chick, chin, chuck, chum, chunk, cinch
H hick, hunch, hunk
I inch
K kimchi
M much, munch, munchkin
N nunchuck, nunchuk
Pangrams are in bold.
Spelling Bee deep dive
More about today's puzzle. Everything in this section can include the answer.
Ranks and point targets
Today's puzzle is worth 79 points in total. These are the usual rank targets, worked out as a share of the total.
| Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 |
| Good Start | 2 |
| Moving Up | 4 |
| Good | 6 |
| Solid | 12 |
| Nice | 20 |
| Great | 32 |
| Amazing | 40 |
| Genius | 55 |
| Queen Bee | 79 |
Longest words (spoiler)
The longest answers are MUNCHKIN, NUNCHUCK, at 8 letters.
What every answer means (spoiler)
- chic: Elegant, stylish.
- chichi: (slang, Latin America, chiefly in the plural) A woman's breast.
- chick: (colloquial) An attractive, young woman; or, more generally, a woman.
- chin: The bottom of a face, (specifically) the typically jutting jawline below the mouth.
- chuck: (cooking) Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal.
- chum: (dated) A friend; a pal.
- chunk: A large or substantial portion of something.
- cinch: (informal) Something that is very easy to do.
- hick: (derogatory) An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person.
- hunch: A theory, idea, or guess; an intuitive impression that something will happen.
- hunk: (informal) An attractive man, especially one who is muscular.
- inch: An English unit of length equal to 1/12 of a foot or 2.54 cm, conceived as roughly the width of a...
- kimchi: A Korean dish made of vegetables, such as cabbage or radishes, that are salted, seasoned, and sto...
- much: To a great extent.
- munch: To eat vigorously or with excitement.
- munchkin: (informal) A child.
- nunchuck: Alternative form of nunchaku. [(countable) A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting o...
- nunchuk: Alternative form of nunchaku. [(countable) A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting o...
Play today's Spelling Bee at The New York Times
More hints for October 20, 2026
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