Your Spelling Bee Companion for Thursday, July 16, 2026
A field guide for the D A C I R T Y 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
37
Disputed Words
2
Pangrams
1
Score for Queen Bee
166
Genius estimate: 116 points
Verified Answers
37
Find every accepted word in today's puzzle
Pangrams
1
Use all seven letters
Disputed Words
2
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
Moderate board with one high-value pangram and dense D-word families
Today's hive puts D in the center and keeps the board compact at 37 verified answers, so random cleanup is slower than pattern hunting. Start by testing the AC- and DI- families, because the best point swings come from longer abstract nouns and technical-looking builds rather than a flood of short filler. Once those are gone, the four-letter D words become a much easier final sweep.
Verified answers
37
Max score
166
Genius
116
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.
166 possible points
Point Density
The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 116 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.
37 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.
DI
8
words
AC
6
words
DA
4
words
AR
3
words
CA
3
words
DR
3
words
RA
3
words
AD
1
word
CI
1
word
DY
1
word
TA
1
word
TI
1
word
Score Planning
Word-Length Grid
Longer words carry more score. Clear them before the four-letter cleanup.
4 letters
12
one-point cleanup
5 letters
14
score-building row
6 letters
4
score-building row
7 letters
4
score-building row
8 letters
2
1 pangram
9 letters
1
score-building row
Progressive Hint
First-Letter Counts
D
16
answers
A
10
answers
C
4
answers
R
3
answers
T
3
answers
Y
1
answer
Pattern Prompts
Work The Board Without Reveals
ACID / ACRID family
This is the cleanest scoring lane on the board: one stem expands into short entries, adjectives, and the pangram-building noun family.
DI- academic chain
Several of the longest verified answers start with DI-, including the technical-looking words that drive the midgame score.
-ITY endings matter
Three verified abstract nouns share the same ending, which is a strong cue once you notice the board wants concept words, not just plain descriptors.
Double-D repeats are live
Repeated letters are doing real work here, so do not filter out answers just because the middle looks doubled or heavy.
DR- and DY- cleanup pass
After the longer families, the DR/DY cluster gives you a compact short-word sweep with a few easy-to-miss finishers.
RA- short words hide late
The RAI/RAD pocket is low-scoring but useful for closing the gap to Genius after the long words are gone.
Common Prefixes
AC-
AC- is the most productive opening because it feeds both the acid and acrid branches.
DI-
DI- drives the longest technical answers and several reliable mid-length words.
DA-
DA- gives a mix of doubled-letter and cleanup words.
RA-
RA- becomes useful late when you are sweeping the short list.
Common Suffixes
-ITY
This ending anchors three of the board's strongest noun targets, including the pangram.
-TIC
The technical ending appears in two of the longer score builders.
-DDY
The doubled D/Y finish is a clear reminder that repeated letters are part of the board's logic.
Progressive Help
Pangram Hints
First nudge
The pangram begins with AC- and turns a harsh adjective into an abstract noun.
Second nudge
Think of ACRID plus the common -ITY ending; that eight-letter noun uses every letter in the hive.
Reveal
Use the full pangram if you want the bonus now.
Reveal words: acridity
Spoiler Control
Notable Words
- acridityPangram
- diacritic9 pts
- didactic8 pts
- acidity7 pts
- arcadia7 pts
- aridity7 pts
- cardiac7 pts
- addict6 pts
- acidic6 pts
- cicada6 pts
Why these matter
- acridity
ACRIDITY is today's pangram, so it is the cleanest single jump toward Genius and the best proof that -ITY matters on this board.
- diacritic
DIACRITIC is the longest non-pangram and a strong reminder to test technical-looking DI- builds early.
- didactic
DIDACTIC gives you another long DI- score and points back to the smaller didact/dicta branch.
- acidity
ACIDITY is a high-value extension from a very short base, making it one of the most efficient stem upgrades available.
- arcadia
ARCADIA is a useful seven-letter target because it looks less obvious than the acid family but pays almost as well.
- aridity
ARIDITY confirms that the board likes abstract-noun endings in more than one stem family.
- cardiac
CARDIAC is a strong mid-length score that rewards you for keeping CA- and DI- letters in play together.
- addict
ADDICT is one of the best repeated-letter checks and helps train the doubled-consonant mindset for the rest of the board.
Hard Finds
Tricky Accepted Words
- acidy
ACIDY is easy to skip if you only think of the more common adjective acidic first.
- arcadia
ARCADIA is a long proper-looking shape that still counts, so it is a strong hidden score source.
- dicta
DICTA is short, useful, and easy to miss if you only search for singular-looking forms.
- didact
DIDACT feels more niche than didactic, which is exactly why it slips through first passes.
- radii
RADII is a classic plural trap that can be there even when radius is not playable.
- acridity
ACRIDITY is the full-board payoff, and spotting its ending early unlocks the whole AC-/ -ITY structure.
Disputed Candidates
Plausible Rejections
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.