Spelling Bee Answers for Monday, August 31, 2026

Aug 31, 2026, Monday Spelling Bee Answers for the A, B, D, L, O, R, Y honeycomb (center letter L) feature 60 words, a 276-point total, 2 Pangrams (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 8-letter longest word: ADORABLY, BALLADRY, BALLYARD, LOBLOLLY.

Spelling Bee hive for August 31, 2026 with center letter L and surrounding letters A,B,D,O,R and Y

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Monday, August 31, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

9/10

Very Hard

85th percentile

Avg Word Length

5.32

Typical length

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

83/100

Very Rare

Rarer than 83% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

66 minutes

Longer than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

16

Typical spread

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

No

Missing: Y

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

29

words to Genius
4×8L7×7L12×6L6×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 193 pts
29 words4×8L7×7L8×6L10×5L

Vowel Split

28%

Consonant-heavy puzzle

89 vowels · 230 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start14 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up41 PTS
  • 25%Good69 PTS
  • 40%Solid110 PTS
  • 50%Nice138 PTS
  • 60%Great166 PTS
  • 65%Amazing179 PTS
  • 70%Genius193 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee276 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 60 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Monday, August 31, 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

B
35%
L
23%
D
18%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-08-30
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 4 words

7-Letter Words 7 words

6-Letter Words 12 words

4-Letter Words 19 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

19 words
4L
19
18 words
5L
18
12 words
6L
12
7 words (Pangram)
7L
7
4 words (Pangram)
8L
4

Share of 60 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

L
60 words
100%
O
42 words
70%
A
34 words
57%
Y
34 words
57%
D
32 words
53%
B
30 words
50%
R
26 words
43%

Share of 60 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

19 pts
19
4L
90 pts
90
5L
72 pts
72
6L
56 pts (Pangram)
56
7L
39 pts (Pangram)
39
8L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

B
2135%
L
1423%
D
1118%
A
58%
R
58%
O
47%

Share of 60 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 276 ranks in the 83rd percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-08-30.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 60 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 89th percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-08-30.
  • 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 Very 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 Low, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-08-29.
  • The estimated solve time of 56–76 min is slower than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a grind-heavy solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

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

  • abdal
  • abolla
  • aboral
  • aborally
  • adlay
  • adoral
  • adorally
  • alala
  • alar
  • alary
  • alay
  • alba
  • alborada
  • alday
  • aldol
  • allo
  • allobar
  • allod
  • alloo
  • allyl
  • alod
  • arboral
  • arolla
  • arrayal
  • aryl
  • baal
  • babbly
  • babool
  • bala
  • balada
  • balao
  • balboa
  • baldy
  • ballard
  • ballo
  • bally
  • balolo
  • balor
  • barbal
  • barbola
  • barolo
  • bayardly
  • blad
  • blady
  • blay
  • bldr
  • blolly
  • bobol
  • bolar
  • boldo
  • bolly
  • boobyalla
  • bool
  • booly
  • boral
  • boryl
  • boyla
  • brolly
  • brool
  • byrl
  • byrlady
  • dardaol
  • darryl
  • daryl
  • dayal
  • dobla
  • dolabra
  • dooly
  • doyly
  • labara
  • labba
  • lablab
  • labra
  • labrador
  • labral
  • ladyly
  • lall
  • lally
  • lalo
  • larboard
  • lardry
  • lardy
  • larry
  • lloyd
  • lobal
  • lobar
  • lobola
  • lobolo
  • lola
  • lollard
  • lollardry
  • lollardy
  • lolly
  • lolo
  • loob
  • looby
  • loord
  • loory
  • lora
  • loral
  • lory
  • loyd
  • lyra
  • obol
  • obolary
  • odal
  • odyl
  • oldy
  • olla
  • orlo
  • orly
  • rall
  • robalo
  • rollo
  • rool
  • roral
  • ryal
  • yald
  • yalla
  • yarl

*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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