If you’ve ever played the New York Times Spelling Bee, you know how satisfying it feels to find that one word hiding in plain sight.

About today’s puzzle

Center letter R anchors every entry; surrounding letters I, G, A, L, H, T give a strong consonant set with two vowels. That balance makes the hive feel moderately open — easy to find many four-letter staples but also room for longer words and satisfying combinations.

NYT Spelling Bee Words and Answers: 16 November

Here’s a list of NYT spelling bee answers. Keep in mind: some are rare or unusual, so the official NYT list may vary:

  • alright
  • aright
  • right
  • trial
  • trail
  • girth
  • grill
  • grit
  • trill
  • rail
  • rath
  • rial
  • rill
  • hart
  • garth

Pangram of the day

The pangram for today is alright. It works because it uses every letter available in the hive — R (center) plus A, L, I, G, H, and T — in a single, common English word. Fun detail: "alright" strings together the consonant cluster and both vowels naturally, making it feel obvious once you spot it, but it can be easy to miss when you focus only on four-letter builds.

Quick tactics for any puzzle

  • Start with the center letter
  • Play with prefixes and suffixes
  • Anagram your discoveries
  • Use repeated letters
  • Begin with easy 4-letter words

Final thoughts

Nice puzzle today — balanced and clever. If you found anklebone, kudos. Tell us how many words you uncovered and whether you spotted any unusual entries. Sharing scores helps the hive get smarter and more competitive.