Today's letters are below. The center letter, L, must be in every word.
Happy Spelling Bee hunting! This set has a sleek, tricky feel with L in the center and a mix of sharp consonants and just a few vowels to wrangle.
29 words · 88 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 | 11 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| G | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | 4 |
| I | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | 3 |
| L | 6 | 3 | - | - | - | 9 |
| O | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| T | 5 | - | - | - | 1 | 6 |
Hint 2: Two-letter starts
CL-2 · CO-4 · GI-3 · GO-1 · IG-1 · IL-2 · LI-2 · LO-7 · OL-1 · TI-2 · TO-4
Hint 3: Pangram first letters
T (11 letters)
Show the pangrams
TOXICOLOGIC
Show all 29 answers
C clog, clot, coil, colic, colt, cool
G gigolo, gill, gilt, googol
I igloo, illicit, illogic
L licit, lilt, loci, loco, logic, logo, loll, loot, lotto
O olio
T till, tilt, toil, toll, tool, toxicologic
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 88 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 | 7 |
| Solid | 13 |
| Nice | 22 |
| Great | 35 |
| Amazing | 44 |
| Genius | 62 |
| Queen Bee | 88 |
Longest words (spoiler)
The longest answer is TOXICOLOGIC, at 11 letters.
What every answer means (spoiler)
- clog: A blockage.
- clot: A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.
- coil: Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
- colic: (pathology) Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to inte...
- colt: A young male horse.
- cool: (informal, of a person) Knowing what to do and how to behave; behaving with effortless and enviab...
- gigolo: A man who has a sexual relationship with a woman from whom he receives payment; a prostitute.
- gill: (zootomy) A breathing organ of fish and other aquatic animals.
- gilt: (uncountable) Gold or other metal in a thin layer; gilding.
- googol: A googol is the large number 10100 or ten to the power of one hundred.
- igloo: A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow.
- illicit: Unlawful.
- illogic: Lack of logic; unreasonableness; a fallacy.
- licit: Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.
- lilt: (intransitive) To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.
- loci: Alternative form of locie (“locomotive”). [(slang) A steam locomotive.]
- loco: (colloquial) Crazy.
- logic: (uncountable) A method of human thought that involves thinking in a linear, step-by-step manner a...
- logo: A visual symbol or emblem that acts as a trademark or a means of identification of a company or o...
- loll: (intransitive) To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.
- loot: (slang) Synonym of money.
- lotto: a lottery
- olio: (figuratively) A medley or mixture; a hotchpotch.
- till: (chiefly British) A cash register.
- tilt: (transitive) To slope or incline (something); to slant.
- toil: Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.
- toll: A fee paid for some liberty or privilege, particularly for the privilege of passing over a bridge...
- tool: Any physical device meant to ease or do a task.
- toxicologic: Of or pertaining to toxicology.
Play today's Spelling Bee at The New York Times
More hints for October 23, 2026
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