Spelling Bee Answers for Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Sep 22, 2026, Tuesday Spelling Bee Answers for the E, I, N, O, Q, U, X honeycomb (center letter N) feature 18 words, a 78-point total, 1 Pangram (1 Perfect Pangram perfect), and the 8-letter longest word: NONUNION.

Spelling Bee hive for September 22, 2026 with center letter N and surrounding letters E,I,O,Q,U and X

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Tuesday, September 22, 2026 NYT Spelling Bee Puzzle Insights

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

Difficulty

0/10

Easy

3rd percentile

Avg Word Length

5.11

Short words

All-time avg: 5.4

Rarity

4/100

Common

Rarer than 4% of puzzles

Avg Solve Time

12 minutes

Quicker than usual

To reach Genius

2LL

11

Few pairs

Unique two-letter openings

Bingo Status

Yes

All 7 covered

All 7 letters start at least 1 word

GN4L

8

words to Genius
1×8L2×7L2×6L3×5L

GN4L OTN

Yes

Exact 55 pts
8 words1×8L2×7L1×6L4×5L

Vowel Split

55%

Vowel-heavy puzzle

51 vowels · 41 consonants

Score Milestones

  • 0%Beginner0 PTS
  • 5%Good Start4 PTS
  • 15%Moving Up12 PTS
  • 25%Good20 PTS
  • 40%Solid31 PTS
  • 50%Nice39 PTS
  • 60%Great47 PTS
  • 65%Amazing51 PTS
  • 70%Genius55 PTS
  • 100%Queen Bee78 PTS

Full List of NYT Spelling Bee Answers

Here is the complete list of 18 answers for the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle for Tuesday, September 22, 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

N
39%
E
17%
O
11%

Try starting with these letters when you're stuck.

Puzzle Letters

Previous2026-09-21
Today's AnswersGo to Today

Pangrams

Reveal letter by letter or uncover a full solution

The Center letter is highlighted in Yellow.

Complete Answers

Sort it your way: longest words or highest scores.

8-Letter Words 1 word

7-Letter Words 2 words

6-Letter Words 2 words

5-Letter Words 6 words

4-Letter Words 7 words

Browse calendar of past puzzles

Word Length Distribution

7 words
4L
7
6 words
5L
6
2 words
6L
2
2 words (Pangram)
7L
2
1 word
8L
1

Share of 18 answers at each word length.

Letter Coverage

N
18 words
100%
E
13 words
72%
I
10 words
56%
O
10 words
56%
U
9 words
50%
Q
5 words
28%
X
3 words
17%

Share of 18 words using each hive letter.

Points by Length

7 pts
7
4L
30 pts
30
5L
12 pts
12
6L
21 pts (Pangram)
21
7L
8 pts
8
8L

Total points available at each word length.

Letter Frequency Distribution

N
739%
E
317%
O
211%
Q
211%
U
211%
I
16%
X
16%

Share of 18 words starting with each letter.

How does this puzzle compare to other puzzles?

  • Today’s score of 78 ranks in the 2nd percentile among all puzzles.
  • The last time a score this low appeared was on 2026-09-14.
  • The highest score recorded is 506, seen on 2023-09-24.
  • The lowest score recorded is 47, seen on 2023-03-27.
  • With 18 possible answers, this puzzle falls in the 1st percentile overall.
  • The last puzzle with fewer answers occurred on 2026-08-05.
  • 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 Easy 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 High, compared to typical puzzles.
  • Puzzles with similar letter rarity last appeared on 2026-05-29.
  • The estimated solve time of 9–15 min is faster than typical puzzles.
  • Players can expect a steady solving experience.

Other Dictionary Words Not on This Puzzle's Official List

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

  • enqueue
  • euxine
  • exine
  • exion
  • exon
  • exxon
  • inion
  • inique
  • inne
  • inone
  • ione
  • ioni
  • ionone
  • ixion
  • nein
  • ninon
  • ninox
  • niue
  • nixe
  • nixie
  • nixon
  • noex
  • noix
  • nonene
  • nonion
  • nonunique
  • nunni
  • nuque
  • oenin
  • oenone
  • quin
  • quinin
  • quinon
  • quinone
  • quinquino
  • quoin
  • unequine
  • unie
  • uninn
  • unio
  • unix
  • unqueen
  • ununique

*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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