The NYT Spelling Bee for 20 December 2025 offered a neat, slightly tricky letter set with G sitting firmly at the center. As always, every valid word had to include that center letter and be at least four letters long. With a balanced mix of vowels and consonants, this puzzle felt moderately challenging, rewarding careful pattern spotting more than rapid guessing.
About today’s puzzle
Today’s hive placed G in the middle, surrounded by A, D, E, L, M, and N. The set felt fairly tight, with limited vowel flexibility but good potential for longer constructions. Repeated-letter words helped open things up, and the presence of both M and N nudged solvers toward layered, compound-style words rather than short bursts.
Words and answers: 20 December 2025
Here’s a best-effort list of words that fit today’s rules. Keep in mind: some are rare or unusual, so the official NYT list may vary.
- aged
- angel
- angle
- angled
- dangled
- game
- gamed
- gang
- gland
- glean
- legged
- mangle
Pangram of the day
Mangled
Today’s standout solution uses all seven hive letters in one clean sweep. It naturally builds from a common root and allows for extensions, making it easier to spot once shorter words like “angel” or “angle” are found. Its structure highlights how rearranging familiar letter clusters can unlock the puzzle’s full potential and boost your score quickly.
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
Overall, 20 December’s puzzle struck a nice balance between restraint and creativity. Many players likely landed in the low-to-mid teens before hitting a wall. Did you spot the longest words early, or did they come last?
Discussion