Your Spelling Bee Companion for Saturday, July 18, 2026

A field guide for the C A E I L P T 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.

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Today's Board

caeilpt

Verified Answers

Disputed Words

Pangrams

Score for Queen Bee

389

Genius estimate: 272 points

Verified Answers

Find every accepted word in today's puzzle

Pangrams

Use all seven letters

Disputed Words

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

Dense C board with two pangrams and a long TIC/TAC scoring ladder

Today's puzzle puts C in the center of a dense AEILPT hive, so almost every productive path starts by chaining C into TAC, TIC, CAL, or LAC patterns. There are 73 verified answers and two pangrams, which means this is less about hunting random fours and more about spotting long stems, repeated C/L pairings, and the words that keep stretching once you find a base. Start with the heavy C-opening families, then sweep the -TIC and -ECE endings for point density before you bother with cleanup.

Verified answers

Max score

389

Genius

272

3 pangrams

Pangram Hunt

Start by forcing every letter into longer shapes before clearing short entries. Pangrams are the fastest way to move the score.

389 possible points

Point Density

The current candidate pool estimates a Genius target around 272 points. Longer words matter more than raw word count.

73 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.

CA
11
words
TA
8
words
LA
7
words
AC
6
words
EL
5
words
CE
3
words
CL
3
words
EC
3
words
LI
3
words
PA
3
words
PE
3
words
PI
3
words

Score Planning

Word-Length Grid

Longer words carry more score. Clear them before the four-letter cleanup.

4 letters
16
one-point cleanup
5 letters
17
score-building row
6 letters
18
score-building row
7 letters
14
score-building row
8 letters
5
score-building row
9 letters
2
1 pangram
10 letters
1
1 pangram

Progressive Hint

First-Letter Counts

C
19
answers
P
11
answers
A
10
answers
E
10
answers
L
10
answers
T
8
answers
I
5
answers

Pattern Prompts

Work The Board Without Reveals

CA- opening ladder
The board is loaded with CA openings, so once you find one real stem you can often stretch it sideways into longer scoring answers.
-TIC endings
This hive rewards solvers who keep testing TIC endings, because that family carries both medium answers and some of the highest non-pangram scores.
TAC / TACT extensions
TAC is not just cleanup here; it is the base for a full scoring ladder that moves from four letters into longer tactical shapes.
-ECE payoff words
Once you see the ECE ending, it opens both a compact mid-board answer and one of the day's most valuable long words.
Double-letter pressure
Several of the best answers repeat C, L, or I, so this is a board where repeated letters create points instead of blocking them.

Common Prefixes

CA
CA is the dominant opening family and the fastest way to unlock long verified answers.
TA
TA starts a productive second family with both cleanup words and long point-density extensions.
EL
EL drives the best long E words, including one pangram and several strong six- to eight-letter follow-ons.
LA
LA is worth a dedicated sweep because it branches into several accepted science-leaning or texture-leaning words.

Common Suffixes

tic
TIC is the most reusable ending on the board and carries real scoring weight.
cit
CIT looks odd at first glance, but it anchors multiple accepted answers and helps confirm the board's long-word logic.
ate
ATE turns several bases into reliable medium-value answers.
ece
ECE is a small but lucrative ending family because it links a short helper word to a pangram-level payoff.

Progressive Help

Pangram Hints

All-letter scan

Both pangrams lean on the dense E-L-I-P-T cluster, so test long C words that can absorb nearly every outer letter before repeating one.

Pangram with a curve

One pangram is a 10-letter adjective that doubles both L and I and ends with a familiar -CAL sound.

Reveal words: elliptical

Pangram with an object ending

The other pangram is a 9-letter noun that starts with a common TAI- opening and finishes with an -ECE ending you can also reuse in a shorter verified word.

Reveal words: tailpiece

Spoiler Control

Notable Words

Why these matter

elliptical
ELLIPTICAL is the longer pangram and the clearest sign that this board rewards repeated letters instead of punishing them.
tailpiece
TAILPIECE is the cleaner pangram shape, and spotting its -ECE ending can also lead you into shorter accepted helpers.
epileptic
EPILEPTIC is a huge non-pangram score and a good reminder to keep testing dense -TIC builds once the board opens up.
eclectic
ECLECTIC stacks the board's most useful letters into one long answer and proves that EC- is worth more than a quick glance.
pellicle
PELLICLE shows how much value lives in repeated L/C patterns on this hive.
piccata
PICCATA is strategically useful because once you trust the doubled C spelling, several other C-heavy shapes become easier to test.
electee
ELECTEE is one of the board's sneakiest verified long words and a high-value follow-on after ELECT.
lattice
LATTICE is a reliable medium scorer that rewards solvers who keep pushing past the first LAC or LAT fragment.

Hard Finds

Tricky Accepted Words

electee
Easy to miss because it looks like a word you might talk yourself out of, but it is fully verified and valuable once you spot ELECT.
piccata
The doubled C plus culinary spelling make this one a classic trap even after you see PICA.
pellicle
Repeated L and the unusual ending hide a strong long answer inside what looks like a near miss.
ipecac
Shorter than it feels, but the repeated C and unusual vowel pattern make it worth a deliberate check.
lacteal
This one rewards anyone who keeps extending the LAC stem instead of stopping at the first accepted form.
eclat
A compact non-obvious answer that often looks like it should be rejected unless you already know it.
celiac
The letter order is awkward enough that it can hide in plain sight even if you know the term.

Disputed Candidates

Plausible Rejections

acatalectic
It fits the letter bank and looks perfectly legal after CATAL-, but today's verified source list does not include it.
apical
A clean common-looking formation from the right letters, but it is not on the accepted source set for this date.
capacitate
It feels like a natural long extension once CAP- is open, yet the source answer list stops short of accepting it today.
ceca
Short plural-style forms can be tempting on dense C boards; this one was generated by BuzzyWords but not verified by the source.
ceil
Looks straightforward because the letters cooperate nicely, but it remains outside the source-backed answer set.
cella
A plausible classical-looking noun that fits the hive without making today's published list.
celt
Compact and believable, but not verified for this puzzle.
icecap
The board absolutely supports the shape, yet the source list does not accept it today.
piccalilli
A flashy long candidate that feels plausible after PICCATA, but it is still solver-only here.
pice
Another neat short form that fits cleanly but does not make the verified list.
plaice
Looks especially tempting because PLACE is accepted, but the extra I pushes it into disputed territory.
plicate
A reasonable technical-looking extension from PLICA, though the source list does not validate it for this board.
telic
Very plausible with the available letters and C requirement, but it remains solver-only after reconciliation.

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.

Trusted Words

Reveal 73 trusted words

Disputed Words

Reveal 13 disputed words

Spoiler-Light Strategy

Chase 3 pangrams and longer words first, then use the 73 higher-confidence candidates as your verification lane. The current score estimate is 389 points, putting the Genius target near 272. Save the 13 disputed candidates for a final review pass after your main solve.

Trust Tiers

73 trusted candidates are available after reveal.
13 disputed candidates remain hidden until explicitly opened.

Definition Checkpoints

Revealed words link to their word pages, where definitions and trust context can turn a raw answer into useful study material. Prioritize pangrams, longer words, and unfamiliar candidates first.

Puzzle Notes

BuzzyWords Daily pages focus on the puzzle facts players need: the hive, score targets, pangram guidance, answer reveals, and caution notes for words that look tempting but may not count.

BuzzyWords is an independent puzzle companion and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times.

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