NYT Letter Boxed Hints and Answer for Monday, Nov. 9, 2026: Par 5 and 248 Two-Word Routes

Letter Boxed from The New York Times (NYT) for Monday, Nov. 9, 2026 has the sides N/R/C, L/U/K, A/S/O and M/I/H and a par of 5 words, according to the puzzle data on the Letter Boxed page. The saved list has 1,947 words. Par 5 is high next to the 248 two-word routes hiding in it, and the rules are on our Letter Boxed page. Letter pairs, a route count and five hints come first; the Times’ own solution is the last thing here.

The four sides

Side	Letters
1	N, R, C
2	L, U, K
3	A, S, O
4	M, I, H

Every one of the 1,947 saved words follows the side rule, with no two neighboring letters from the same side.

Which letter pairs are hard on these sides?

Twelve letters on four sides give 108 ordered pairs that may sit next to each other in a word. A script counted how often each one occurs in the day’s list.

Pair, first letter then second	Words that use it
L then R	0
L then H	0
C then M	1
S then R	1
M then K	1
H then C	1
H then K	2
L then N	3

The other 100 pairs show up at least four times each. The L is the awkward letter: in this list it is never followed by R or H, and it only leads into N in 3 words. Another sign of a tight corner is the U, which ends just 23 words, while the S ends 654 of the 1,947.

How close does the 1,947-word list get to a one-word cover?

Not close. The longest word is 13 letters, and two words in the list reach that length. One uses 8 different letters and the other uses 7. The most any single word covers is 9 of the 12 letters, and 20 words get there. Nothing finishes alone, so the shortest route has two words.

What we counted	Today
Two-word routes that chain and cover all 12 letters	248
Different first words in those routes	109
Different second words	97
One-word solutions	0
Longest word in the list	13 letters
Most letters of the box covered by a single word	9 (20 words)
Fewest total letters in a two-word route	13 (8 routes)
Most total letters in a two-word route	24

Starts are lopsided. M opens 46 routes and H opens 46, C opens 40, U opens 28 and A opens 20. By side, 101 routes open on the M/I/H side, 59 on N/R/C, 45 on L/U/K and 43 on A/S/O. Ends are lopsided too: 104 routes close on S, 81 on K, 22 on H and 15 on N.

Word length in the list	Words
3 letters	139
4 letters	367
5 letters	424
6 letters	387
10 letters or more	76
12 letters or more	11

Par is 5 here, while the list allows a finish in two words. A solver who lands any of the 248 routes beats par by three words.

Five hints, light to strong

1. The Times’ own solution is two words, three fewer than par.
2. The first word has 9 letters and the second has 6.
3. The first word starts on the M/I/H side and ends on the A/S/O side; the second word starts on that same last letter.
4. The first word never touches the H, R, N or K; the second word holds all four.
5. The first word starts with M and ends in S. The second starts with S and ends in K.

Warm-up words

These fit the box and the side rule, and none belongs to the Times’ own solution. Use them to test a route.

Word	Letters
Alarm	5
Lock	4
Ankh	4
Amour	5

Keep a streak on the November 2026 calendar or the weekly printable. Yesterday’s box: Sunday, Nov. 8 Letter Boxed. More Monday puzzles: Wordle, Connections, Strands, Pips and Spelling Bee.

Today’s Letter Boxed answer (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

The Times’ own solution for Nov. 9, 2026 is Malicious, then Shrink.

Follow the side numbers below to trace the route on the box.

Word	Side of each letter, in order
Malicious	M4, A3, L2, I4, C1, I4, O3, U2, S3
Shrink	S3, H4, R1, I4, N1, K2

247 other pairs of words from the puzzle's own word list also solve the box in two. The 10 shortest:

• Humoric, then Clanks
• Ilmorans, then Shuck
• Knars, then Scholium
• Krans, then Scholium
• Manhours, then Slick
• Mucor, then Rinkhals
• Narks, then Scholium
• Ranks, then Scholium
• Achromous, then Slink
• Ainhum, then Marlocks

The S that ends the first word starts the second, and together the two words use all twelve letters. Both were matched to the puzzle’s official data before posting. Their 15 letters sit near the low end of the 13 to 24 letters that the 248 routes span.

Yesterday's Letter Boxed answer

The Times' own solution to Letter Boxed on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 was Chopstick, then Knave, with sides H/T/A, O/I/V, S/E/K, C/P/N. Yesterday's hints and full solution.