The Unofficial Hive

NYT Spelling Bee answers & analysis

ILRTUYG

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Edited by Sam Ezersky

Words
21
Points
79
Genius
55
Pangram
1

Official answers

Show the 21 answersHide answers

Pangram highlighted. Click a word for its definition.

  • giggly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 5 recorded puzzles.

  • gill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 12 recorded puzzles.

  • gilt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • girl

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • girly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • girt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • glug

    noun — The sound made when a significant amount of liquid is poured suddenly out of something, such as a jug or bottle.

    verb — To flow in noisy bursts.

    noun — The amount of liquid issued when the "glug" sound is heard.

    verb — To quickly swallow liquid.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • glut

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 4 recorded puzzles.

  • grill

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 6 recorded puzzles.

  • grit

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • grittily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • gritty

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • guilt

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • guiltily

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • guilty

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • gull

    noun — A seabird of the genus Larus or of the family Laridae.

    noun — A cheating trick; a fraud.

    verb — To deceive or cheat.

    noun — Any of various pierid butterflies of the genus Cepora.

    noun — One easily cheated; a dupe.

    noun — (Oxford University slang) A swindler or trickster.

    Appeared in 9 recorded puzzles.

  • gully

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

  • guru

    noun — A Hindu or Sikh spiritual teacher.

    noun — (sometimes humorous) An influential advisor or mentor.

    Appeared in 10 recorded puzzles.

  • liturgy

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

  • trig

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 2 recorded puzzles.

  • ugly

    No cached definition. Look it up on Wiktionary.

    Appeared in 3 recorded puzzles.

liturgy is a perfect pangram — all seven letters, each used exactly once.

Hints, no spoilers

Words by first two letters

  • gi×6
  • gl×2
  • gr×4
  • gu×6
  • li×1
  • tr×1
  • ug×1

Words by first letter and length

45678Σ
g 943·2 18
l ···1· 1
t 1···· 1
u 1···· 1
Σ 114312 21

The numbers

Genius today takes 55 points of 79 available. The average answer runs 5.0 letters.

Total points vs. all 407 recorded puzzles
1st percentile
Word count vs. all recorded puzzles
2nd percentile

Word lengths, today vs. 18385 recorded answers

411 today34.6% all-time54 today22.9% all-time63 today19.9% all-time71 today12.0% all-time82 today6.3% all-time92.6% all-time101.3% all-time110.3% all-time120.1% all-time130.0% all-time

History

Today's letters, last seen

LetterLast in a puzzleLast as center
g ● Thursday, July 2, 2026 Sunday, June 21, 2026
i Sunday, July 5, 2026 Thursday, June 25, 2026
l Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Tuesday, June 2, 2026
r Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Saturday, June 20, 2026
t Saturday, July 4, 2026 Wednesday, June 24, 2026
u Wednesday, July 1, 2026 Tuesday, May 19, 2026
y Friday, June 26, 2026 Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Most common answers, all recorded puzzles

  1. noon 43
  2. onion 31
  3. naan 31
  4. nana 31
  5. toot 29
  6. loll 29
  7. mama 26
  8. mamma 26
  9. acacia 24
  10. acai 24
  11. nene 24
  12. olio 24
  13. cocoon 23
  14. loon 23
  15. neon 23
  16. none 23
  17. aria 22
  18. imam 22
  19. maim 22
  20. cancan 22
  21. canna 22
  22. bill 22
  23. mini 22
  24. minim 22
  25. lilt 21

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.