The board

AKY
MBS
LED
ONF

Sides: AKY · LED · ONF · MBS · 889 words in the day's dictionary

Official solution

NYT's answer in 2 words

Tap to reveal
FLANKS – SOMEBODY

Each word starts with the last letter of the one before, and together they use all twelve letters.

1 two-word solution

Checked against every word in the official dictionary for this board. The shortest:

Show them
PairLength
FLANKS – SOMEBODY14 letters

About this Letter Boxed

The Sunday, August 2, 2026 board put AKY, LED, ONF, MBS on its four sides. Every word has to alternate sides — no two consecutive letters from the same side — and each new word starts with the last letter of the previous one. Par was 4 words; finishing in two is the classic flex, and the table above shows whether that was possible.

More Letter Boxed

Unofficial guide — not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. Boards, solutions and dictionaries come from the official puzzle data.