Spelling Bee Answers for Friday, May 26, 2023

May 26, 2023, Friday Spelling Bee Answers for the B, L, E, D, K, O, C honeycomb (center letter C) feature 49 words, a 221-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: COLDCOCKED.

Spelling Bee hive for May 26, 2023 with center letter C and surrounding letters B,L,E,D,K and O

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Friday, May 26, 2023 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

A closer look at this NYT puzzle difficulty, word patterns, scoring, and solve time.

Difficulty

6/10

Hard

64th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.47

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

63/100

Rare

Rarer than 63% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

47 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

9

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: E, K, O

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

22

words to Genius
1×10L1×9L3×8L5×7L12×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 155 pts
22 words1×10L1×9L3×8L5×7L10×6L2×5L

Vowel Split

35%

Consonant-heavy puzzle

95 vowels · 173 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start11 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up33 PTS
  • 25%Good55 PTS
  • 40%Solid88 PTS
  • 50%Nice111 PTS
  • 60%Great133 PTS
  • 65%Amazing144 PTS
  • 70%Genius155 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee221 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 49 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Friday, May 26, 2023. The answers are organized by word length and point value, along with today's pangram. Prefer a spoiler-free approach? Try the spelling bee hints for today or browse the full list of NYT spelling bee words.

Common openings

C
61%
B
16%
D
16%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2023-05-25
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.
Other days with this pangram

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

10-Letter Words 1 word

9-Letter Words 1 word

8-Letter Words 3 words

7-Letter Words 5 words

6-Letter Words 13 words

5-Letter Words 8 words

4-Letter Words 18 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

18 words
4L
18
8 words
5L
8
13 words
6L
13
5 words (Pangram)
7L
5
3 words
8L
3
1 word
9L
1
1 word
10L
1

Share of 49 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

C
49 words
100%
O
38 words
78%
E
35 words
71%
D
30 words
61%
K
25 words
51%
L
25 words
51%
B
13 words
27%

Share of 49 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

18 pts
18
4L
40 pts
40
5L
78 pts
78
6L
42 pts (Pangram)
42
7L
24 pts
24
8L
9 pts
9
9L
10 pts
10
10L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

C
3061%
B
816%
D
816%
L
36%

Share of 49 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 221 ranks in the 62nd percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2023-05-25.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 49 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 66th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2023-05-25.
  • The highest number of answers in any puzzle is 80, on 2026-02-01.
  • The lowest number of answers in any puzzle is 16, on 2023-03-27.
  • This puzzle ranks among the Hard puzzles, based on overall difficulty scoring.
  • Compared to recent puzzles, today’s challenge is harder than average.
  • The letter set in this puzzle is considered Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2023-05-24.
  • The estimated solve time of 40–54 min is slower than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a challenging solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

Wondering why these words aren't on the official list*:

  • becked
  • belock
  • bleck
  • bodock
  • bollock
  • cebell
  • cele
  • cleck
  • cleek
  • cleeked
  • clodded
  • cloke
  • cobb
  • cobbed
  • coble
  • cobol
  • cocco
  • cockled
  • coco
  • cocobolo
  • codded
  • codebook
  • codec
  • codo
  • coked
  • coldblood
  • coldblooded
  • cole
  • coled
  • coll
  • colocolo
  • coocoo
  • cooee
  • cooeed
  • cookee
  • deblock
  • deblocked
  • decede
  • deckel
  • decl
  • decoke
  • dolce
  • ecbole
  • ecce
  • eccl
  • ecod
  • ecol
  • elec
  • kebbock
  • keck
  • kecked
  • keckle
  • keckled
  • kedlock
  • leck
  • lobcock
  • locoed
  • ollock

*Every word here uses only the hive's seven letters, includes the center letter, and appears in our dictionary, but it was never published in the NYT's official answer list.

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