Your Spelling Bee Companion for Monday, May 25, 2026
A field guide for the T A I M N R V hive: how many words to look for, where the big points are hiding, and full answer lists only when you decide you are ready to reveal them.
Today's Board
Verified Answers
43
Disputed Words
35
Pangrams
1
Score for Queen Bee
227
Genius estimate: 159 points
Verified Answers
43
Find every accepted word in today's puzzle
Pangrams
1
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
35
Real-looking words to treat with caution
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
Medium with one pangram and a lot of repeat-letter pressure
Today's T-centered hive has 43 verified answers and only one pangram, so this board is more about spotting durable letter families than spamming short filler. Start by working the TA- lane and the long -ANT / -AIN endings, because those stems unlock many of the best point jumps. Repeated letters matter more than they first appear, especially once you move from the six-letter core into the longer scoring answers.
Verified answers
43
Max score
227
Genius
159
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.
227 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 159 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
43 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.
Spoiler-Light Scan
Two-Letter Start Counts
Use these starts as a checklist without revealing full answers.
TA
10
words
MA
6
words
TR
6
words
RA
4
words
AT
3
words
TI
3
words
MI
2
words
VA
2
words
AN
1
word
AR
1
word
AV
1
word
IN
1
word
Score Planning
Word-Length Grid
Longer words carry more score. Clear them before the four-letter cleanup.
4 letters
9
one-point cleanup
5 letters
9
score-building row
6 letters
14
score-building row
7 letters
7
1 pangram
8 letters
3
score-building row
9 letters
1
score-building row
Progressive Hint
First-Letter Counts
T
19
answers
M
8
answers
A
6
answers
R
4
answers
V
3
answers
I
2
answers
N
1
answer
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
TA- family
This hive gives you a dense TA- cluster that carries both cleanup words and several of the best mid-length scores.
-ANT and -AIN endings
Once you spot the board's closing patterns, long answers start chaining together instead of arriving one by one.
Repeat the T before you repeat outer letters
The board rewards doubled T more often than flashy outer-letter repetition, so test TT shapes aggressively.
Save the V words for a scoring burst
There are only a few V-led answers, but they carry the pangram and some of the cleanest six- to seven-letter points on the board.
Long words grow from ordinary stems
Several of the board's biggest scores are just extended versions of common letter runs, so keep stretching valid middles before abandoning them.
Common Prefixes
ta-
The strongest opening on the board; it branches into both short keepers and longer reveal-worthy answers.
tr-
This start helps you move from one-point cleanup into better six- and eight-point words.
ma-
Useful when you want to convert common consonant frames into sturdy mid-length answers.
va-
A small family, but it contains the pangram and two high-value follow-ons.
Common Suffixes
-ant
One of the main scoring endings today, especially when you extend it into longer forms.
-ain
This ending turns several ordinary stems into reliable five- to eight-letter answers.
-ara
A less common but productive ending that explains why a few of the board's odd-looking words are still worth trying.
-tan
Short-to-mid answers keep circling this ending, so it is a good second-pass check after TA-.
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
Pangram shape
There is one pangram, and it is an 7-letter animal word built around a V opening with T anchoring the back half.
Pangram nudge
If you see VAR- early, keep going until the word closes with a familiar small-creature ending.
Pangram reveal
Use the full V-A-R-M-I-N-T shape if you want the direct bonus path.
Reveal words: varmint
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- varmintPangram
- invariant9 pts
- irritant8 pts
- maintain8 pts
- trimaran8 pts
- ratatat7 pts
- variant7 pts
- vitamin7 pts
- martini7 pts
- tamarin7 pts
Why these matter
- varmint
VARMINT is the day's only pangram, so finding it early is the fastest route to a meaningful score jump.
- invariant
INVARIANT is the board's only nine-letter answer and proves how far the core -VARIANT shape can stretch.
- irritant
IRRITANT is a strong reminder that repeated I and repeated T are productive, not accidental, on this board.
- maintain
MAINTAIN is the cleanest example of how the -AIN lane keeps expanding once you trust it.
- trimaran
TRIMARAN rewards solvers who keep extending the TRI/TRIM frame instead of cashing out at four letters.
- variant
VARIANT is a useful bridge word because it points straight toward both the pangram and the other V-led scorer.
- vitamin
VITAMIN is a surprisingly natural seven-letter score that becomes much easier once you stop hoarding the V.
- ratatat
RATATAT looks playful enough to second-guess, which makes it one of the more valuable confirmation words on the page.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- varmint
The only pangram is not visually obvious at first glance, so it is the best early bonus target once you see VAR-.
- invariant
This is the board's lone nine-letter answer and a big payoff for staying with an ordinary-looking stem.
- irritant
It pays off only if you trust repeated I and repeated T instead of treating duplicates as dead ends.
- trimaran
A high-value long word that grows out of a simple TRI/TRIM path many solvers stop too early.
- ratatat
Its comic-book rhythm makes it easy to dismiss, but it is a verified seven-letter scorer today.
- tatami
The repeated TA pattern feels almost too neat, which makes this one easier to skip than it should be.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
- trinitarian
TRINITARIAN fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- trainman
TRAINMAN fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- amanita
AMANITA fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- attaint
ATTAINT fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- martian
MARTIAN fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- titania
TITANIA fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- titrant
TITRANT fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
- vitrain
VITRAIN fits the hive and BuzzyWords can generate it, but it is not in the verified source answer list for 2026-05-25.
Answer Vault
All The Words You Need And A Few You Don't.
Trusted words are your safest answer list. Disputed words are real-looking candidates that may not count in the curated puzzle, but they can still be useful for review.