Your Spelling Bee Companion for Sunday, June 21, 2026
A field guide for the G I L O R V Y 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
28
Disputed Words
1
Pangrams
1
Score for Queen Bee
122
Genius estimate: 86 points
Verified Answers
28
Find every accepted word in today's source list
Pangrams
1
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
1
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 board with one pangram and repeated-letter traps
Today's hive puts G in the center and keeps most of the action in heavy GO-, GI-, and GR- clusters. Start by testing doubled-letter shapes and the short G- stems before you sweep the ten four-letter cleanups. The board only has 28 verified answers, so each long hit matters more than usual. If you get stuck, think about one science-flavored ending rather than hunting random short fillers.
Verified answers
28
Max score
122
Genius
86
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.
122 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 86 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
28 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.
GI
5
words
GO
5
words
GR
5
words
LO
3
words
VI
3
words
GL
1
word
GY
1
word
IG
1
word
OR
1
word
RI
1
word
VL
1
word
YO
1
word
Score Planning
Word-Length Grid
Longer rows carry more score. Clear them before the four-letter cleanup.
4 letters
10
one-point cleanup
5 letters
8
score-building row
6 letters
7
score-building row
7 letters
1
score-building row
8 letters
2
1 pangram
Progressive Hint
First-Letter Counts
G
17
answers
V
4
answers
L
3
answers
I
1
answer
O
1
answer
R
1
answer
Y
1
answer
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
- GI starts: The GI branch is the cleanest early sweep: it gives you short keepers and longer upgrades without changing much structure. Examples: gill, girl, girly, giggly, gigolo.
- GO / GOO shapes: This hive rewards doubled O and doubled G patterns. Once GO works, test the wobblier-looking variants instead of assuming they are fake. Examples: golly, goggly, googly, googol.
- GR ladder: GR answers step upward from a four-letter base into several of the best scoring non-pangrams on the board. Examples: grog, grill, groggy, groovy, groggily.
- Repeated letters stay live: A strict tile mindset will miss points here. Several of the best verified answers rely on doubled consonants or vowels. Examples: giggly, goggly, googly, groggy, igloo.
- -OGY finish: One short accepted word and the pangram both prove that the OGY ending is productive today, not just decorative. Examples: logy, virology.
Common Prefixes
GI
GI is the most productive opening family and quickly branches from four-letter entries into longer scores.
Examples: gill, girl, girly, giggly, gigolo
GO
GO answers often want a repeated O or G, so keep pushing after the first ordinary-looking hit.
Examples: golly, goggly, googly, googol, gory
GR
GR is where the scoring ladder lives, from the tiny base word to the long doubled-letter payoff.
Examples: grog, grill, groggy, groovy, groggily
VI
VI matters because it opens both a solid mid-board word and the full pangram path.
Examples: vigil, vigor, virology
Common Suffixes
-GLY
This ending repeats in the oddball doubled-letter cluster and is worth checking once one version lands.
Examples: giggly, goggly, googly
-GOR
The GOR ending gives you a reliable pair of strength-building five-letter answers.
Examples: rigor, vigor
-ORY
ORY shows up in both a short cleanup word and a stronger five-letter extension.
Examples: gory, glory
-OGY
OGY is a real answer shape today, culminating in the board's only pangram.
Examples: logy, virology
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
No-spoiler nudge
There is only one pangram, and it sits outside the punchier GO- and GR- families.
Shape hint
Build around a familiar science/medical ending: think of an eight-letter word that finishes with -OLOGY.
Letter reveal
The pangram starts with VI- and still needs the center G plus the outer R and Y to finish.
Full reveal
Use this only if you want the full-board unlock.
Reveal words: virology
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- virologyPangram
- groggily8 pts
- logroll7 pts
- googol6 pts
- groovy6 pts
- vlog1 pts
- vigil5 pts
- gigolo6 pts
- giggly6 pts
- goggly6 pts
Why these matter
- virology
VIROLOGY is the only pangram and the single fastest way to unlock the full hive plus the bonus.
- groggily
GROGGILY is the longest non-pangram, and it rewards anyone who keeps extending GROG instead of stopping at the shorter obvious hits.
- logroll
LOGROLL is a seven-letter score that comes from a very plain LOG base, so it is a strong pattern-conversion checkpoint.
- googol
GOOGOL is the board's best reminder that unusual but standard dictionary spellings can be worth real points.
- groovy
GROOVY turns the GR family into a six-point payoff and confirms that doubled O stays active deep into the board.
- vlog
VLOG is strategically useful because it clears a short modern word that many solvers hesitate to trust.
- vigil
VIGIL is a sturdy five-letter answer that helps open the VI lane before the pangram reveal.
- gigolo
GIGOLO shows how productive the GI family becomes once you allow repeated G and O shapes.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- vlog
VLOG is easy to talk yourself out of because it feels modern and clipped, but it is verified for this puzzle.
- googol
GOOGOL is the math term, not the search engine spelling, and it is a valuable six-point catch.
- goggly
GOGGLY looks wrong at first glance, which makes it one of the easiest verified answers to skip.
- groggily
GROGGILY is the longest non-pangram and only appears if you keep extending the GROG / GROGGY branch.
- vigil
VIGIL is a clean five-letter score that hides behind the flashier VIROLOGY route.
- yogi
YOGI is short, legitimate, and easy to miss if you only scan for G-starting answers.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
- grig
GRIG is a real-looking short candidate already known to BuzzyWords, but it does not appear in today's accepted source list.
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.