Are the key words repeated over time?

[Jacki]

Not sure if the key word is the right one, but hopefully you know what I mean - the one with all the letters! Having played similar word games for twenty five years I was just wondering if the Chihuauhua ones were recycled over time? Maybe with a different letter to be included?

[Alan W]

Yes, Jacki, the big words (let's call them) can be recycled. The rules were described when this recycling practice was introduced in 2009:

Up until now, a nine-letter word that had been used in a daily puzzle was never used in another puzzle - daily, "Your puzzles" or random - but since there's a finite supply of suitable nine-letter words, this policy couldn't be sustained indefinitely. I've now implemented a new policy which allows a nine-letter word from a daily puzzle to be reused after a year, provided the mandatory letter is different, and to be reused after three years, even with the same mandatory letter.

The same rules apply to reusing 10-letter words.