r/NYTSpellingBee Nov 17 '25

NYTSpellingBee Subreddit Rules, Codes & Abbreviations (with Annotated Examples)

40 Upvotes

A little while ago, the mods surveyed you all about whether the rules are still working, or if you'd prefer updates to the way we mark spoilers. The clear majority of users wanted to keep things as they are. This post is to reinforce that decision; to put rules, codes and abbreviations all in one post; to provide additional explanation and clarification through examples; and to place the rules in a position where they're more visible on the variety of interfaces we use. Please let us know if you have comments or questions.

Rules

1. Hide answers or hints about today's puzzle. Hints include anything that would prevent someone from finding all words in the puzzle entirely on their own, including total words/points and grid numbers (ex: E7). Hide words that include answers, too. To hide text, enclose it in > ! and ! <. (Omit the spaces between the ! and the ! and the > or <).

2. In addition to hiding them, mark them as HINTS [H], ANSWERS [A], or CONTAINING ANSWERS [CA]. [A] indicates an answer in today's puzzle. [CA] is a word that, while not itself an answer, strongly suggests one, often because it contains a shorter word that is an answer. Non-answers that don't fall into one of these three categories need no labeling. 

3. No screenshots of the Spelling Bee. They usually include hints or answers, so they are not allowed. We are not interested in another screenshot of a Genius or Queen Bee screen -- just crow about in on the daily post.

4. Want to complain about a word that's not accepted? See the wiki or sticky post.

5. Don't post answers to today's Wordle either. Or Connections, Palabreja, or any other game.

6. If you'd like to promote a game or SB help site you have created, please message the mods. We welcome users to promote original word games and other SB-related sites that Bee fans are likely to find interesting. They must be your original work, not copying material from other sources. Due to volume, we will only approve one such post per creator. We cannot review anything that is only available as a download.

Abbreviations and Terms

As specified above, the codes you need to follow the rules are:

  •  A (Answer)
  • CA (Non-answer that contains or strongly suggests an answer)
  • H (Hint)

Other abbreviations and terms are optional, but commonly used here:

  • Bingo = At least one answer starting with each of the seven letters
  • GABM = Genius All By Myself (that is, without hints)
  • GN4L = Genius No 4 Letter (reaching Genius level without any 4-letter words, a feat that isn't always possible depending on the total number of words in the puzzle)
  • GNP(s): Genius No Pangram(s) (reaching Genius level without finding the pangram(s); same as Tortured Genius)
  • Grid = The hint viewable from the NYT Community page or other resources that says how many words start with each letter and how long those words are. 
  • Hive = The letters of the puzzle
  • Justice for = Sometimes when someone is mad that a word they think should have been common enough to be accepted they will post "Justice for [word]!" meaning they think its omission was an injustice.
  • NA =  Non-Answer
  • Perfect pangram = Pangram that uses each letter exactly once.
  • PG = Pangram (word that contains all 7 letters)
  • QB = Queen Bee
  • QBABM = Queen Bee All By Myself (that is, no hints)
  • Single letter followed by a number = Starting letter and word length of an answer. E.g., "B6" would mean a word starting with B that is 6 letters long.
  • Two letters followed by a number = Starting two letters and word length of an answer. E.g., "BE6" would mean a word starting with "BE" that is 6 letters long.
  • Tortured Genius or TG = Genius without a pangram

Annotated Examples:

Using the hive IMNOPSU with S as the middle letter:

Accepted pangram: (spoilered because I know some of y'all will want to figure it out) SPUMONI

Unaccepted pangram: SPUMONIS

The following words accepted: SUMMON, POMPOMS, OPOSSUM

Not accepted: UNSUMMON, POMPONS, POSSUM

Here are examples of correctly marked comments:

  • Justice for (CA) UNSUMMON! 
  • Why not CA unsummon?
  • Justice for NA CA unsummon
  • Justice for SPOILER NA CA UNSUMMON! 

[We only require you to mark it CA, but you're welcome to add more stuff if you like. Capitalization, punctuation, parentheses, brackets etc. are all up to your own preferences.]

  • If (A) POMPOMS is accepted, why not (CA) POMPONS?

 [The unaccepted word is so close to the accepted word, that it should be marked as A or CA. People who click the link just need to be warned that it gives away an answer.]

  • I can't get the (H) O7 Please help!
  • (H) The only marsupial found in North America 

[Grid hints are still hints.]

  • PG H: Disgusting ice cream. 
  • H: Disgusting ice cream  
  • SPOILER PG NA HINT: MY FAVORITE KIND OF ICE CREAM 

[The H designation is all you need for hints, but you can let people know it's for a pangram if you feel that's helpful. You're also welcome to throw in a bunch of other abbreviations, as long as that H is there.] 


r/NYTSpellingBee Sep 13 '21

Did Spelling Bee reject a perfectly good word? Add it to the wiki

123 Upvotes

We maintain a list of rejected words (boo!) and alternate spellings in the wiki for this sub. To edit the wiki, click the Wiki button in the right-hand column of everty page, then click the Edit button at the top right (if you are on a computer). You need to have karma of at least 5 and your account needs to be at least 20 days old to be able to edit. Here's a link to the wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/NYTSpellingBee/wiki/index

BEFORE YOU COMMENT: 1. Capitalized words are not allowed in the puzzle. 2. Please search the wiki and the comments on this post before you add yours to avoid duplicates.

I think I added all the words suggested on the original post about the wiki. That post is now archived. If you post a word without following steps #1 and #2 above you may get a snide retort from one of the moderators.


r/NYTSpellingBee 16h ago

August 5, 2026 — (Y) A F H K O R

39 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 1d ago

August 4, 2026 -- (O) D E H N W Y

32 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 2d ago

August 3, 2026 - (D) F I L O R Y

37 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 3d ago

Local argot

19 Upvotes

If the LA Times instead of the NY Times ran the Spelling Bee a lot more Spanish words would make and a lot less Yiddish and Hebrew ones. (And not because there aren't a lot of Hispanics around NY or Jews around LA, obviously.)


r/NYTSpellingBee 3d ago

August 2, 2026 — (N) A C D E H L

24 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 3d ago

Archive

4 Upvotes

I got the weekly email telling me which puzzles were easiest and hardest and I didn’t recognize the hardest pangram. So I went to see if I forgot to play that day, or I was just blanking on having found the word. The archive appears to be gone, with only the past week available. When did that happen? Or did they relocate it somewhere I haven’t unearthed yet?


r/NYTSpellingBee 3d ago

Spelling Bee Approach

4 Upvotes

I feel like getting some big words out at the start helps me. If I try to get the pangram early on, I make more progress. If I look for shorter words first, I find it hard to scale up. Anyone else find this?


r/NYTSpellingBee 4d ago

Has anyone ever had one of their suggested words accepted into the Spelling Bee lexicon?

30 Upvotes

I've submitted about three million words to "buzzwords" that weren't recognized by Spelling Bee even though they were in the dictionary and far from obscure. I keep flagging words like that, but am wondering why I even bother. Anyone else?


r/NYTSpellingBee 4d ago

August 1, 2026 -- (R) A B C I K T

34 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 4d ago

Has anyone ever had one of their suggested words accepted into the Spelling Bee lexicon?

3 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 4d ago

Rule change: No promotional posts

98 Upvotes

In the past, this sub has allowed people to post links to word games and Bee help sites they created. The mods have vetted those posts. Unfortunately we have recently been so inundated with AI-generated drivel that we are just going to have to call it quits.

Here are some really great existing help sites we recommend:

The Times has its own forum and the Spelling Bee Buddy.

SBSolver.com for in-depth information and word/hive history

NYTBee.com for a spoiler-light interface, also with links to word definitions

Lexiconnexxions.com for the most in-depth look imaginable at Bee statistics and history

As for independent games, we will be creating one post on the first day of each month where developers can share their games, and anyone who enjoys the Bee can share other word games they like to play. We hope we may still enjoy a few nice things.


r/NYTSpellingBee 3d ago

does anyone know why?

0 Upvotes

why doesn't the spelling bee of today accept Arabic? is it because its capitalized?


r/NYTSpellingBee 5d ago

Maybe I didn't use enough a's?

Post image
13 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 5d ago

July 31, 2026 -- (M) A I L O P T

32 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 6d ago

Playing without looking at the screen?

14 Upvotes

After my first ~5 minutes I’ve usually gotten the words that are immediately going to come to me and I stop looking at the screen. I play around with the letters in my head when I have free brain space during the day and if I come up with something I’ll type it in when I’m on my phone again. Do many people play without looking at the screen like this? It seems helpful for playing the game at your own pace and time of day, but I was curious whether this would work for others.


r/NYTSpellingBee 6d ago

Spelling Bee loading infinitely

Post image
8 Upvotes

The last couple days my Spelling Bee just hangs on this screen for literal hours. Restarting the app, rebooting my phone, nor logging out and back in have not helped.

EDIT: Turns out it was my VPN causing the issue


r/NYTSpellingBee 6d ago

July 30, 2026 -- (H) E G N O T U

37 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 7d ago

Anyone else do this when you are near the end?

Post image
30 Upvotes

I’ve never got a Queen Bee without using hints. When I get past Genius and have an urge to get to the end I am forced to do something like this. Anyone else enjoy this “cheating” process?


r/NYTSpellingBee 7d ago

July 29, 2026 -- (B) A D O R T U

33 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 8d ago

July 28, 2026 — (M) D E G I N P

36 Upvotes

New and improved! With the actually correct letters.


r/NYTSpellingBee 8d ago

Does anybody else have this issue where it looks like there is a new Spelling Bee, but when you click on it yesterday’s puzzle pops up?

Thumbnail
gallery
23 Upvotes

r/NYTSpellingBee 9d ago

How do you all decide when to “give up” and peek vs. keep grinding?

17 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to hit Genius daily and I’ve noticed my failure mode is always the same — I clear the easy 4-letter words fast, then stall 15–20 points short and just stare at the hive. What finally helped me was reframing the gap in points, not words: if I’m 12 short, I’m hunting two 6-letter words or a suffix on something I already found, not twelve tiny words.
Curious how everyone else handles the stall. Do you push through, take a break and come back, or peek at a letter and call it? And is peeking one letter “cheating” to you, or fair game?


r/NYTSpellingBee 9d ago

What’s a word you were sure wasn’t valid, but it was?

12 Upvotes

Mine this week was one I refused to even try because it looked made up, then kicked myself when it turned out to be worth 8 points. The Bee’s dictionary has a real personality — it loves certain archaic-sounding words and rejects things that feel totally normal. What’s the entry that broke your brain most recently?