Spelling Bee Answers for Thursday, August 20, 2026

Aug 20, 2026, Thursday Spelling Bee Answers for the G, I, N, O, Q, T, U honeycomb (center letter T) feature 47 words, a 262-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 10-letter longest word: OUTGUNNING.

Spelling Bee hive for August 20, 2026 with center letter T and surrounding letters G,I,N,O,Q and U

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Thursday, August 20, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

7/10

Hard

69th percentile

Avg Word Length

6.19

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

60/100

Rare

Rarer than 60% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

45 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

12

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

24

words to Genius
1×10L2×9L7×8L13×7L1×6L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 183 pts
24 words1×10L2×9L7×8L11×7L3×5L

Vowel Split

41%

Balanced mix

119 vowels · 172 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start13 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up39 PTS
  • 25%Good66 PTS
  • 40%Solid105 PTS
  • 50%Nice131 PTS
  • 60%Great157 PTS
  • 65%Amazing170 PTS
  • 70%Genius183 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee262 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 47 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Thursday, August 20, 2026. 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

T
45%
I
17%
O
13%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-08-19
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 2 words

8-Letter Words 7 words

6-Letter Words 8 words

5-Letter Words 4 words

4-Letter Words 12 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

12 words
4L
12
4 words
5L
4
8 words
6L
8
13 words (Pangram)
7L
13
7 words
8L
7
2 words
9L
2
1 word
10L
1

Share of 47 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

T
47 words
100%
N
40 words
85%
I
37 words
79%
G
31 words
66%
O
28 words
60%
U
27 words
57%
Q
4 words
9%

Share of 47 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

12 pts
12
4L
20 pts
20
5L
48 pts
48
6L
98 pts (Pangram)
98
7L
56 pts
56
8L
18 pts
18
9L
10 pts
10
10L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

T
2145%
I
817%
O
613%
Q
49%
U
49%
G
24%
N
24%

Share of 47 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 262 ranks in the 78th percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-08-19.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 47 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 61st percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-08-19.
  • 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 easier than usual.
  • The letter set in this puzzle is considered Medium, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-08-19.
  • The estimated solve time of 38–52 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*:

  • giggit
  • gigot
  • gitonin
  • gittin
  • goto
  • guitguit
  • guti
  • gutt
  • gutti
  • ingoting
  • init
  • initio
  • inition
  • innuit
  • inti
  • intuito
  • niggot
  • nintu
  • ninut
  • nito
  • niton
  • noint
  • nonuniting
  • notition
  • nunting
  • nutting
  • oint
  • oont
  • ototoi
  • otto
  • outquoting
  • outtonguing
  • quintin
  • quinto
  • quinton
  • quiting
  • quito
  • quitu
  • quoit
  • quoiting
  • quot
  • quott
  • tignon
  • tigon
  • ting
  • tingi
  • tining
  • tinni
  • tino
  • tiou
  • titi
  • togo
  • togt
  • toit
  • toiting
  • toitoi
  • tonn
  • tonto
  • toto
  • totquot
  • totting
  • toug
  • tugui
  • tung
  • tungo
  • tunning
  • tunnit
  • tuno
  • tunu
  • tutin
  • tutto
  • tututni
  • ungot
  • ungt
  • unigniting
  • unition
  • unnoting
  • unquit
  • unquoting
  • untiing
  • untin
  • ununiting

*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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