The board

YCB
PHA
ENI
KJU

Sides: YCB · ENI · KJU · PHA · 364 words in the day's dictionary

Official solution

NYT's answer in 2 words

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KEYPUNCH – HIJAB

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

2 two-word solutions

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

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PairLength
KEYPUNCH – HIJAB13 letters
KEYPUNCH – HIJABI14 letters

About this Letter Boxed

The Thursday, August 27, 2026 board put YCB, ENI, KJU, PHA 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 6 words; finishing in two is the classic flex, and the table above shows whether that was possible.

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