Today's NYT Spelling Bee Answers & Hints - September 15, 2026
- 19Total words
- 107Total points
- 75Genius
- 1Pangram
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Today's pangram
Every letter used at least once — worth a bonus 7 points on top of the length score.
Letter by letter
8 letters · tap any tile to reveal just that letter.
Spelling Bee hints for today's puzzle
Three levels of help, gentlest first — take only as much as you need. Skip straight to the answers →
Words per starting letter
The gentlest nudge — which letters do the heavy lifting today.
Two-letter tally
How many words start with each pair — if a pair isn't here, nothing starts with it.
- cr2
- gr1
- im1
- mi8
- pi2
- pr4
- ri1
Word length grid
The most specific spoiler-free hint — hunt a missing word by its length.
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 2 |
| G | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| I | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| M | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 8 |
| N | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| P | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 6 |
| R | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Σ | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
Today's Spelling Bee answers
The full word list, grouped by length — pangram first, then longest to shortest. Tap a group to reveal.
P
- crimping15
9
- impinging9
8
- primping8
7
- mincing7
- pimping7
- priming7
- rimming7
6
- miming6
- mining6
- miring6
5
- crimp5
- mimic5
- minim5
- mirin5
- primp5
4
- grim1
- mini1
- pimp1
- prim1
Today's puzzle by the numbers
Difficulty, rank thresholds, pangram etymology and what makes today unusual.
Difficulty
6/ 10
Today is a moderately tricky puzzle that rewards solvers who can systematically layer prefixes and suffixes onto a tight cluster of consonants. With only 19 words against a historical average of 44.2 and a max score of 107 versus the archive average of 203.8, the list is unusually short and compact — meaning fewer footholds and less margin for error. The letter mix is heavily weighted toward -ING endings and doubling patterns, which can feel repetitive and make it easy to miss subtler variations. The single pangram is gettable once the core consonant cluster clicks, but the overall sparseness of the board is what earns today its above-average difficulty.
Points per rank
| Rank | Points | % |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Bee 👑 | 107 | 100% |
| Genius | 75 | 70% |
| Amazing | 54 | 50% |
| Great | 43 | 40% |
| Nice | 27 | 25% |
| Solid | 16 | 15% |
| Good | 9 | 8% |
| Moving Up | 5 | 5% |
| Good Start | 2 | 2% |
| Beginner | 0 | 0% |
About the pangram
crimping15 pts
From Dutch or Low German 'crimpen,' meaning to contract or wrinkle, entering English in the 17th century; it originally described the pinching of fabric or metal edges and later extended to hair styling and food preparation.
Puzzle facts
- Longest word9 letters
- 4-letter words4 of 19
- Pangram bonus+7 points
- Puzzles archived85
Try another puzzle
Two more NazoKai hints, ready when you are.
How to play NYT Spelling Bee
The rules, the difficulty scale, and when the next puzzle drops.
The goal
Spelling Bee gives you seven letters arranged in a hive. Build as many words of four or more letters as you can — every word must use the centre letter, and letters may repeat.
Scoring & ranks
Four-letter words score 1 point; longer words score one point per letter. A pangram uses all seven letters and earns a 7-point bonus. Hit enough points and you climb from Beginner to Genius.
When it resets
A new Spelling Bee drops at 3 AM Eastern. Yesterday's puzzle moves to the archive, where every past answer stays searchable.