Spelling Bee Answers for Monday, December 22, 2025

Dec 22, 2025, Monday Spelling Bee Answers for the C, N, L, K, E, D, U honeycomb (center letter U) feature 59 words, a 270-point total, 2 Pangrams (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 8-letter longest word: KNUCKLED, UNNEEDED.

Spelling Bee hive for December 22, 2025 with center letter U and surrounding letters C,N,L,K,E and D

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Monday, December 22, 2025 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

8/10

Hard

79th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.36

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

76/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 76% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

57 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

14

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

27

words to Genius
2×8L10×7L15×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 189 pts
27 words2×8L10×7L14×6L1×5L

Vowel Split

41%

Balanced mix

129 vowels · 187 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start14 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up41 PTS
  • 25%Good68 PTS
  • 40%Solid108 PTS
  • 50%Nice135 PTS
  • 60%Great162 PTS
  • 65%Amazing176 PTS
  • 70%Genius189 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee270 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 59 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Monday, December 22, 2025. 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

D
36%
C
22%
L
12%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2025-12-21
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.

8-Letter Words 2 words

7-Letter Words 10 words

5-Letter Words 12 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

20 words
4L
20
12 words
5L
12
15 words
6L
15
10 words (Pangram)
7L
10
2 words (Pangram)
8L
2

Share of 59 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

U
59 words
100%
E
47 words
80%
D
43 words
73%
L
31 words
53%
C
27 words
46%
N
23 words
39%
K
20 words
34%

Share of 59 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

20 pts
20
4L
60 pts
60
5L
90 pts
90
6L
77 pts (Pangram)
77
7L
23 pts (Pangram)
23
8L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

D
2136%
C
1322%
L
712%
E
610%
U
58%
N
47%
K
35%

Share of 59 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 270 ranks in the 81st percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2025-12-21.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 59 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 88th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2025-12-21.
  • 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 2025-12-21.
  • The estimated solve time of 48–66 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*:

  • cedule
  • cuck
  • cudden
  • culdee
  • cullen
  • cund
  • deuced
  • duce
  • duded
  • dudeen
  • duelled
  • duende
  • dulce
  • dundee
  • dunkle
  • dunne
  • ekuele
  • elul
  • kluck
  • klunk
  • kuku
  • leku
  • lendu
  • leud
  • leuk
  • luce
  • lucence
  • lucule
  • ludden
  • lude
  • luke
  • lunel
  • lunn
  • lunule
  • neuk
  • nucule
  • nudd
  • nulled
  • nunc
  • nuncle
  • udell
  • ukelele
  • ululu
  • unculled
  • undeck
  • undecked
  • undeduced
  • undee
  • undeeded
  • undelude
  • undeluded
  • undenuded
  • unduke
  • undull
  • undulled
  • uneduced
  • unended
  • unendued
  • unked
  • unkeeled
  • unken
  • unkend
  • unkenned
  • unkennel
  • unkenneled
  • unkennelled
  • unknelled
  • unled
  • unluck

*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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