NYT Spelling Bee · Daily puzzle archive
Spelling Bee answers · Saturday, January 17, 2026
Longest word
portrayal
9 letters
Top scorer
portrayal
16 points
Starting letters
7 of 7
every letter starts a word
Average length
5.4
letters per word
Words by length
Spoiler-safe. Use it to see where the long ones hide.
The hints grid
How many words of each length start with each letter — the classic Bee cheat sheet.
4
5
6
7
8
9
Σ
A
2
5
1
–
–
–
8
L
–
3
–
2
–
–
5
O
1
–
1
1
–
–
3
P
4
8
7
3
–
1
23
R
1
3
3
2
1
–
10
T
4
3
1
1
–
–
9
Y
–
1
–
–
–
–
1
Σ
12
23
13
9
1
1
59
Two-letter pairs
The first two letters of every answer, and how many words start with each pair.
A
al 3ap 2ar 3
L
lo 5
O
oa 1or 2
P
pa 12pl 2po 7pr 1py 1
R
ra 4ro 6
T
ta 4to 1tr 2ty 2
Y
ya 1
All 59 answers
292 points total · tap a word for its definition · pangram gets a ★allay5
alloy5
ally1
apply5
aptly5
array5
arroyo6
arty1
loopy5
lorry5
loyal5
loyally7
loyalty7
oaty1
orally6
oratory7
paltry6
papally7
papaya6
pappy5
parlay6
parry5
partly6
party5
patly5
patty5
payola6
payroll7
play1
ploy1
polyp5
poorly6
poppy5
portly6
portray7
★portrayalpangram16
potty5
pray1
pyro1
rally5
raptly6
rattly6
ratty5
ropy1
rotary6
rotatory8
royal5
royally7
royalty7
tally5
tarry5
tartly6
tatty5
totally7
tray1
troy1
typo1
tyro1
yappy5