New Delhi, July 14 -- VITRIOLIC (9 letters, 16 points), which uses all seven letters exactly once.

Hint 1: The pangram is an adjective describing language or criticism that is bitterly harsh and corrosive in tone - the kind used to attack, not to persuade.

Hint 2: A 7-letter word in today's grid names the sulfuric acid compound at the root of the pangram's meaning.

Hint 3: Today's letters generate a cluster of words ending in -OLL, -OOT, -ILL, and -OT. Expect the four-letter tier to fill fast once the pattern clicks.

Today's pangram: VITRIOLIC

VITRIOLIC means sharply hostile, bitterly harsh - language so corrosive it leaves a mark. The adjective comes from VITRIOL, itself a 7-letter word also valid in today's puzzle. Vitriol, origina...