Your Spelling Bee Companion for Monday, May 18, 2026
A field guide for the P A C H T U Z hive: how many words you need, strategies for finding them, and (if you turn hint mode off) the full word lists you need to reach Genius and Queen Bee today.
Today's Board
Verified Answers
16
Disputed Words
6
Pangrams
1
Score for Queen Bee
60
Genius estimate: 42 points
Verified Answers
16
Find every accepted word in today's source list
Pangrams
1
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
6
In our dictionary but not the Spelling Bee list
Puzzle Snapshot
Solve The Hive Before The Spoilers
This page is currently in hint mode: you get the board, counts, estimated score targets, and strategy prompts without answer words. Reveal specific words only when you are ready to check your solve.
Today's Read
Tight
The P-center hive has 16 verified answers, 1 pangram, and a 60-point Queen Bee ceiling. Start with the longer P words and pattern families before cleaning up the 9 four-letter answers.
Verified answers
16
Max score
60
Genius
42
1 pangram
Pangram Hunt
Start by forcing every letter into longer shapes before clearing short entries. Pangrams are the fastest way to move the score.
60 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 42 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
16 verified answers
Queen Bee Path
Use the word lists below to scoop up every point you need to reach Queen Bee.
Study mode
Definition Pass
Click unfamiliar words to reveal their definitions and cement them in your memory for next time.
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
- Start with the biggest point swings: This board has 1 pangram, so the fastest route is to solve the all-letter shapes before sweeping short words. Examples: chutzpah, captcha, catchup, chuppah, cuppa.
- Use long-word stems before cleanup: There are 4 verified answers with seven or more letters. Work their stems first, because each one can be worth several short words. Examples: chutzpah, captcha, catchup, chuppah.
- Group by recurring starts: The strongest two-letter openings give you a structured scan instead of a random search through the hive. Examples: pact, papa, path, patch, chap.
- Save four-letter words for the last pass: 9 verified answers are four letters. They matter for Queen Bee, but they are low-value compared with pangrams and longer answers. Examples: chap, pact, papa, path, phat.
Common Prefixes
CA- starts
Several verified answers start with CA, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: captcha, catchup
CH- starts
Several verified answers start with CH, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: chuppah, chutzpah
CU- starts
Several verified answers start with CU, making it a productive opening scan.
Examples: cuppa, cutup
Common Suffixes
-PAH endings
The PAH ending repeats across verified answers, so test it against the center letter and available stems.
Examples: chuppah, chutzpah
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
Pangram 1
Look for a 8-letter answer that uses every letter in the hive and keeps P in the word.
Reveal words: chutzpah
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- chutzpahPangram
- captcha7 pts
- catchup7 pts
- chuppah7 pts
- cuppa5 pts
- cutup5 pts
- patch5 pts
- chap1 pts
- pact1 pts
- papa1 pts
Why these matter
- chutzpah
CHUTZPAH is a pangram, so it uses all seven letters and earns the bonus on top of its 8-letter base score.
- captcha
CAPTCHA is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- catchup
CATCHUP is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- chuppah
CHUPPAH is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- cuppa
CUPPA is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
- cutup
CUTUP is worth checking because repeated letters are allowed and often unlock accepted answers that a strict tile mindset misses.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- chutzpah
CHUTZPAH is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- captcha
CAPTCHA is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- catchup
CATCHUP is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- chuppah
CHUPPAH is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- cuppa
CUPPA is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- cutup
CUTUP is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- putt
PUTT is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
- putz
PUTZ is verified for this date; keep it on the list even if it feels less obvious than the cleaner pattern words.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
- huppah
HUPPAH fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- pataca
PATACA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- caput
CAPUT fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- pacha
PACHA fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- pzazz
PZAZZ fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
- caph
CAPH fits the letters and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it was not in the verified source answer list for this puzzle.
Answer Vault
All The Words You Need And A Few You Don't.
Trusted words are those you'll need to solve the puzzle. Disputed words are the ones we found in our dictionary that don't appear in the Spelling Bee's curated list. But we thought you might like to see them anyway.