Strands is The New York Times' themed word search. The board has 48 letters in six columns and eight rows, and every single letter belongs to one of the answers. Find them all and the board is solved.
The rules
- Read the theme clue at the top. It hints at what the answers have in common, and it's often a pun.
- Drag across letters to make words. Letters connect in any of eight directions, including diagonally, and words can twist and turn.
- Each letter is used once, and the answers never overlap.
- Theme words turn blue. The special spangram turns yellow.
What is a spangram?
The spangram is the answer that names the theme. It always touches two opposite sides of the board, either top and bottom or left and right, so it is usually the longest word on the board. It can be one long word or several words joined together, such as STICKYANDSWEET.
How hints work
Any valid word of four letters or more that isn't a theme word still counts. Every three of them fills the hint meter. Using a hint highlights the letters of one theme word, and you still have to find the order yourself. Using no hints is a nice bragging right but not a rule.
A real example
Strands #950 (October 9, 2026) had the clue "That can't be right". The spangram was UNBELIEVABLE, and the theme words were all words for nonsense: BALDERDASH, DRIVEL, HOOEY, NONSENSE and RUBBISH. Once you found one of them, the clue clicked and the rest followed.
Where to start
- Edges and corners first. Letters there have fewer neighbours, so fewer words can pass through them.
- Hunt rare letters. A Q, Z, X or J limits what can be built around it.
- Guess the theme, then search. If the clue suggests food, look for food words before random ones.
- Earn a hint early. If the theme makes no sense, find three ordinary words, take the hint, and work backwards from the highlighted answer.
Want a nudge for today's puzzle? The Strands hints today page explains the theme in plain words and helps with the spangram before showing any answers.