Strands #970 hints
The official theme was "Double, double toil and trouble". The hints below go from a plain-words reading of it to the spangram itself.
Hints used: 0
-
What's the theme in plain words?Gentle hint
Witches in a famous Shakespeare play toss gross things into their brew, including creepy crawlers and body parts, plus a couple of hot, bubbly things.
Was this hint -
How many words am I looking for?Gentle hint
There are 8 theme words plus the spangram.
Was this hint -
A nudge toward the spangramHelpful hint
Seek the big pot where all those ingredients get stirred, a classic piece of witch gear.
Was this hint -
How do the theme words start?Helpful hint
The theme words start with: B, B, F, L, N, S, T, W.
Was this hint -
How long is the spangram, and which way does it run?Strong hint
The spangram has 8 letters and runs from left to right.
Was this hint
Play Strands #970
Play the real board here. Trace words by dragging or tapping, and tap the last letter twice to check. Blue means a theme word, yellow means the spangram. Nothing you do here touches your NYT stats.
Strands #970 in numbers
- Theme words
- 8
- Recent average
- 5.7
- Spangram length
- 8 letters
- Longest theme word
- 6 letters
- Rare letters on this board: K, W, Z. Words with them are a good place to start, since few words can use them.
- The 9 answers use all 48 letters, an average of 5.3 letters each.
Strands #970 answers
Careful: the answers for October 29, 2026 are below.
Reveal one word at a time
Only want a foothold? Open one word, find it on the board, then go back and try for the rest. Shorter words come first because they give away the least.
Theme word 1 (4 letters)
FIRE. It starts in row 7, column 3, counting from the top left.
Theme word 2 (4 letters)
NEWT. It starts in row 1, column 4, counting from the top left.
Theme word 3 (4 letters)
WORM. It starts in row 1, column 3, counting from the top left.
Theme word 4 (5 letters)
BLOOD. It starts in row 8, column 2, counting from the top left.
Theme word 5 (5 letters)
SNAKE. It starts in row 7, column 5, counting from the top left.
Theme word 6 (6 letters)
BUBBLE. It starts in row 3, column 3, counting from the top left.
Theme word 7 (6 letters)
LIZARD. It starts in row 1, column 6, counting from the top left.
Theme word 8 (6 letters)
TONGUE. It starts in row 5, column 2, counting from the top left.
The spangram (8 letters)
CAULDRON. It starts in row 4, column 1, counting from the top left.
Everything at once
Show every theme word and the solved board
Spangram: CAULDRON
Theme words: BLOOD, BUBBLE, FIRE, LIZARD, NEWT, SNAKE, TONGUE, WORM
The clue is a line from the witches' chant in Shakespeare's Macbeth, where they stir up a nasty potion. The answers are things that go into or happen around that brew, like NEWT, LIZARD, SNAKE, WORM, TONGUE, and BLOOD, along with FIRE and BUBBLE, all tied together by the CAULDRON.
Puzzle note
The puzzle turned once the Macbeth line clicked and the witches' brew came to mind. Those ingredients all go in the pot. FIRE and BUBBLE were the trickier pair, since they happen around the brew rather than going into it, so when a clue quotes a famous scene, think about the whole setting and not only the ingredients.
On the board, the spangram CAULDRON stretches between the left and right edges.
Recent Strands puzzles
| Date | Puzzle | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28 | #969 | Comedy club |
| Oct 27 | #968 | Who ya gonna call? |
| Oct 26 | #967 | Please, be my guest! |
| Oct 25 | #966 | Something to build on |
| Oct 24 | #965 | Re-fresh-ing |
| Oct 23 | #964 | None of your beeswax! |
| Oct 22 | #963 | Any relation? |
About Strands
Strands is a daily New York Times word search with a theme. Every letter on the six-by-eight board belongs to an answer, and one answer, the spangram, names the theme and stretches between opposite sides of the board. Past puzzles are a good way to learn how the themed clues are usually worded.
Other puzzles on Oct 29
Strands #970 questions
What was the Strands spangram on October 29, 2026?
The spangram for Strands #970 was CAULDRON, for the theme "Double, double toil and trouble".
What were the Strands theme words on October 29, 2026?
BLOOD, BUBBLE, FIRE, LIZARD, NEWT, SNAKE, TONGUE, WORM, plus the spangram CAULDRON.
What did the Strands #970 clue mean?
The clue is a line from the witches' chant in Shakespeare's Macbeth, where they stir up a nasty potion. The answers are things that go into or happen around that brew, like NEWT, LIZARD, SNAKE, WORM, TONGUE, and BLOOD, along with FIRE and BUBBLE, all tied together by the CAULDRON.
How long was the Strands #970 spangram?
CAULDRON has 8 letters, and the 8 theme words started with B, B, F, L, N, S, T, W.