The New York Times Spelling Bee for 22 December 2025 offered a compact but tricky hive built around the center letter U. As always, every valid word had to include that center letter and be at least four letters long. With several hard consonants and limited vowels, this puzzle leaned more challenging than average and rewarded careful word-building rather than rapid-fire guesses.

About today’s puzzle

Today’s hive featured U at the center, surrounded by L, D, N, C, E, and K. The set felt consonant-heavy, with only one clear vowel supporting most constructions. That made the puzzle feel tight rather than expansive, encouraging repeated-letter plays and longer builds instead of a flood of short, obvious words.

Words and answers: 22 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.

  • clunk
  • clued
  • duke
  • duked
  • dunk
  • dunked
  • nuke
  • nuked
  • uncle
  • uncled

Pangram of the day

Today’s standout solution was CLUNKED, which neatly uses all seven hive letters in one clean sweep. It’s a satisfying pangram because it doesn’t rely on obscure spelling or awkward repetition. Instead, it feels natural and discoverable once you spot “clunk” early on, then extend it with a well-placed ending to unlock maximum points and momentum.

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

This December 22 puzzle leaned compact and deliberate, likely yielding a modest word count for most players. Persistence mattered more than speed here. How many words did you manage to uncover before finding the pangram?