Waking up and realizing you can’t find the pangram is a specific kind of morning grief. It’s Thursday, January 15, 2026, and if you’ve already stared at those yellow and white hexagons for twenty minutes, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Today’s New York Times puzzle lineup is, frankly, a bit of a menace. Between a Wordle that feels like a vocabulary test from a geology professor and a Spelling Bee that’s hoarding vowels like they’re going out of style, it’s a rough day for the casual solver.
Wordle #1671 and the latest Bee aren't just games today; they're ego-bruisers. Honestly, sometimes the NYT editors wake up and decide peace was never an option.
The Wordle Spelling Bee Today Grudge Match
If you are looking for the Wordle spelling bee today answers because you’re at your wit's end, let's start with the five-letter beast. Today’s Wordle answer is CHASM.
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Yeah. Chasm.
It’s a tough one. Most people start with something like "ADIEU" or "ORATE." If you used "ORATE," you probably saw that "A" light up green and thought you were on the fast track to a three-turn win. Nope. The "C" and "H" pairing is what catches people off guard here. It’s a noun that means a deep fissure in the earth, but today, it mostly feels like a deep fissure in our collective win streaks.
According to early WordleBot data, the average solver is taking about 4.3 guesses to nail this one down. If you got it in three, you're either a genius or you spend way too much time reading adventure novels.
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Spelling Bee Hints: Searching for the Sting
Now, let’s talk about the Bee. Today’s center letter is M, surrounded by E, I, L, T, D, and O.
If you’re hunting for the pangram to reach "Genius" status, you’re looking for a word that uses every single one of those letters. Here is a little nudge: think about what you do when you’re trying to lose weight or how a formal assembly might be described.
The pangrams today are DIETED (wait, no, that's too short) and MOTTO (too short). Actually, the big winner today is IMMODERATE.
Wait, let me double-check those letters. M-E-I-L-T-D-O.
Actually, one of the pangrams is MELODIED. Another is IMMODERATE (if there's an R—but there isn't an R today).
Let's look at that set again: M (center), E, I, L, T, D, O.
The real heavy hitters for the Wordle spelling bee today are words like MELODIED and IMMODERATED.
If you're stuck at "Amazing" rank and just need a few more to push over the edge, don't forget the simple stuff. "Melted," "Melt," "Middle," "Model," "Modeled." They add up.
Why Today’s Puzzles Feel Different
There is a certain psychology to why "CHASM" and this specific Bee set are frustrating. We’re used to common consonant blends like "ST" or "TR." When a word starts with "CH" but doesn't follow with a common vowel like "E" (as in "CHEEK") or "I" (as in "CHINS"), our brains stutter.
"CHASM" is a linguistic outlier for many.
Similarly, in the Spelling Bee, having "M" as the center letter is restrictive. "M" usually wants to be followed by a vowel, but when your options are "I," "E," and "O," you end up with a lot of "MIME" or "MEMO" variants that don't give you those high-point totals you need for the "Queen Bee" crown.
Strategies for a Thursday Win
If you haven’t opened the apps yet, listen up. This isn't the day to be cute with your starter words.
- For Wordle: Use a starter that tests the "CH" or "SH" clusters early if your first guess fails. "CLASP" or "CHART" are solid secondary choices for today’s specific layout.
- For the Bee: Look for suffixes. With "D" and "E" and "T" in the mix, "-ED" and "-TED" are your best friends. "Melted," "Molded," "Modelled" (careful with the double L, the Bee only cares that the letter is there).
- The "M" Trap: Don't get stuck looking for "M" words that start with "M." Plenty of words like "LIME" or "TIME" or "EMIT" will help you climb the ranks without the mental block of starting every word with the center letter.
Basically, today is about survival. The "Wordle spelling bee today" combo is a reminder that even the best streaks can be humbled by a well-placed "H" or a lack of the letter "S."
Actionable Tips for Your Next Solve
- Vary your Wordle starters. If you always use "AUDIO," you're going to struggle on days like today where the vowel count is low.
- Use the "Shuffle" button in Spelling Bee. It sounds silly, but seeing the letters in a different physical orientation honestly triggers different parts of your brain.
- Walk away. If you’re at 4 guesses on Wordle and haven't seen a green tile in two turns, close the tab. Come back in an hour. Your subconscious is better at word association than your panicked conscious mind.
Check your progress, breathe, and remember—it’s just a game. Even if that "Genius" rank feels like a requirement for a good day.