The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

CGIOTXL

Friday, October 23, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
29
Points
88
Genius
61
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 29 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • clog

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • clot

    noun — A thrombus, solidified mass of blood.

    verb — To form a clot or mass.

    noun — A solidified mass of any liquid.

    noun — A silly person.

    verb — To cause to clot or form into a mass.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • coil

    noun — Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.

    verb — To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.

    noun — A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.

    noun — Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.

    noun — A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.

    noun — Entanglement; perplexity.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • colic

    noun — Severe pains that grip the abdomen or the disease that causes such pains (due to intestinal or bowel-related problems).

    adjective — Relating to the colon; colonic.

    noun — A medicinal plant used to relieve such symptoms.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • colt

    noun — A young male horse.

    verb — To horse; to get with young.

    noun — A young crane (bird).

    noun — A youthful or inexperienced person; a novice.

    noun — A short piece of rope once used by petty officers as an instrument of punishment.

    noun — A young camel or donkey.

    Appeared in 8 recorded puzzles.

  • cool

    noun — A moderate or refreshing state of cold; moderate temperature of the air between hot and cold; coolness.

    adjective — Having a slightly low temperature; mildly or pleasantly cold.

    verb — To lose heat, to get colder.

    noun — A calm temperament.

    noun — The property of being cool, popular or in fashion.

    adjective — Allowing or suggesting heat relief.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • gigolo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • gill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 14 recorded puzzles.

  • gilt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • googol

    numeral — The number 10^{100}, or ten to the power of a hundred.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • igloo

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 7 recorded puzzles.

  • illicit

    noun — A banned or unlawful item.

    adjective — Not approved by law, but not invalid.

    adjective — Breaking social norms.

    adjective — Unlawful.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • illogic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • licit

    adjective — Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.

    adjective — Explicitly established or constituted by law.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • lilt

    noun — A cheerful or melodious accent when speaking.

    noun — Animated, brisk motion; spirited rhythm; sprightliness.

    noun — A lively song or dance; a cheerful tune.

    verb — To do something rhythmically, with animation and quickness, usually of music.

    verb — To utter with spirit, animation, or gaiety; to sing with spirit and liveliness.

    verb — To sing cheerfully, especially in Gaelic.

    Appeared in 26 recorded puzzles.

  • loci

    noun — A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime.

    noun — The set of all points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation or condition.

    noun — A fixed position on a chromosome that may be occupied by one or more genes.

    noun — (chiefly in the plural) A passage in writing, especially in a collection of ancient sacred writings arranged according to a theme.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • loco

    adverb — A direction in written or printed music to be returning to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher or lower.

    noun — A certain species of Astragalus or Oxytropis, capable of causing locoism.

    verb — To poison with the loco plant; to affect with locoism.

    adjective — Crazy.

    noun — A locomotive.

    verb — (by extension) To render insane.

    Appeared in 21 recorded puzzles.

  • logic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • logo

    noun — A visual symbol or emblem that acts as a trademark or a means of identification of a company or organization.

    noun — (by extension) An audio recording for the same purpose; a jingle.

    noun — A single graphic which contains one or more separate elements.

    noun — An ensign, a badge of office, rank, or power.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • loll

    verb — To act lazily or indolently while reclining; to lean; to lie at ease.

    verb — To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an animal heated from exertion.

    verb — To let (the tongue) hang from the mouth in this way.

    Appeared in 31 recorded puzzles.

  • loot

    noun — A kind of scoop or ladle, chiefly used to remove the scum from brine-pans in saltworks.

    noun — The act of plundering.

    verb — To steal, especially as part of war, riot or other group violence.

    noun — Plunder, booty, especially from a ransacked city.

    noun — Any prize or profit received for free, especially Christmas presents

    noun — Items dropped by defeated enemies.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • lotto

    noun — A game of chance similar to bingo

    noun — A lottery

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • olio

    noun — A medley or mixture; a hotchpotch.

    noun — A collection of various musical, theatrical or other artistic works; a miscellany.

    noun — A rich, thick, Spanish stew consisting of meat and vegetables.

    noun — (by extension) Vaudeville or similar miscellaneous musical or theatrical entertainment skits presented between the main acts of burlesque or minstrel shows.

    Appeared in 25 recorded puzzles.

  • till

    preposition — Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).

    conjunction — Until, until the time that.

    noun — A cash register.

    noun — A removable box within a cash register containing the money.

    noun — The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.

    verb — To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops.

    Appeared in 26 recorded puzzles.

  • tilt

    verb — To slope or incline (something); to slant.

    verb — To be at an angle.

    noun — A slope or inclination.

    noun — The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.

    verb — To play worse than usual (often as a result of previous bad luck or losses).

    noun — The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.

    Appeared in 26 recorded puzzles.

  • toil

    noun — Labour, work, especially of a grueling nature.

    verb — To labour; work.

    noun — Trouble, strife.

    noun — (usually in plural) A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey.

    verb — To struggle.

    verb — To work (something); often with out.

    Appeared in 13 recorded puzzles.

  • toll

    noun — Loss or damage incurred through a disaster.

    verb — To impose a fee for the use of.

    noun — The act or sound of tolling

    verb — To ring (a bell) slowly and repeatedly.

    verb — To draw; pull; tug; drag.

    verb — To take away; to vacate; to annul.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • tool

    noun — A mechanical device intended to make a task easier.

    verb — To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.

    noun — Equipment used in a profession, e.g., tools of the trade.

    noun — Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.

    noun — A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.

    noun — A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group.

    Appeared in 16 recorded puzzles.

  • toxicologic

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • cl×2
  • co×4
  • gi×3
  • go×1
  • ig×1
  • il×2
  • li×2
  • lo×7
  • ol×1
  • ti×2
  • to×4

Words by first letter and length

456711Σ
c 51··· 6
g 2·2·· 4
i ·1·2· 3
l 63··· 9
o 1···· 1
t 5···1 6
Σ 195221 29

The numbers

Genius today takes 61 points of 88 available. The average answer runs 4.8 letters.

Total points vs. all 481 recorded puzzles
4th percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
13th percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 21767 recorded answers

419 today34.3% all-time55 today22.9% all-time62 today20.2% all-time72 today12.1% all-time86.3% all-time92.6% all-time101.2% all-time111 today0.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
c Thursday, October 22, 2026 Saturday, October 10, 2026
g Monday, October 19, 2026 Friday, October 16, 2026
i Wednesday, October 21, 2026 Sunday, October 18, 2026
l ● Thursday, October 22, 2026 Wednesday, October 21, 2026
o Sunday, October 18, 2026 Saturday, September 26, 2026
t Thursday, October 22, 2026 Friday, October 2, 2026
x Wednesday, October 14, 2026 first recorded time

Other days with this pangram

Same seven letters

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 47
  2. naan 40
  3. nana 40
  4. onion 34
  5. toot 33
  6. loll 31
  7. acacia 30
  8. acai 30
  9. mama 30
  10. mamma 30
  11. nene 29
  12. mini 28
  13. minim 28
  14. cancan 27
  15. canna 27
  16. lilt 26
  17. till 26
  18. tilt 26
  19. imam 26
  20. maim 26
  21. onto 26
  22. toon 26
  23. tint 26
  24. cocoon 25
  25. mitt 25

Valid words the Bee rejected

Dictionary words the Bee never takes

Legitimate words (per the ENABLE list) that fit the letters but aren't official answers — usually judged too obscure.