Strands #987 hints
The official theme was "Foiled again!". If that alone doesn't help, work down the hints below.
Hints revealed: 0
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What's the theme in plain words?Gentle hint
Words here are bad guys that a caped crime fighter from Gotham keeps butting heads with.
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How many words am I looking for?Gentle hint
There are 5 theme words plus the spangram.
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A nudge toward the spangramHelpful hint
Who does that hero always end up fighting? Remember, the hero is named in the first part of the answer.
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How do the theme words start?Helpful hint
The theme words start with: F, J, P, R, S.
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How long is the spangram, and which way does it run?Strong hint: spangram length
The spangram has 13 letters and runs from left to right.
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Play Strands #987
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 #987 in numbers
- Theme words
- 5
- Recent average
- 5.8
- Longest theme word
- 9 letters
- Rare letters on this board: J, K, V, W, Y. Words with them are a good place to start, since few words can use them.
- The 6 answers use all 48 letters, an average of 8.0 letters each.
Strands #987 answers
Spoiler zone. Below are the spangram and all theme words for November 15, 2026.
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 (5 letters, reveals the word)
JOKER. It starts in row 2, column 2, counting from the top left.
Theme word 2 (7 letters, reveals the word)
FIREFLY. It starts in row 6, column 2, counting from the top left.
Theme word 3 (7 letters, reveals the word)
PENGUIN. It starts in row 8, column 5, counting from the top left.
Theme word 4 (7 letters, reveals the word)
RIDDLER. It starts in row 1, column 3, counting from the top left.
Theme word 5 (9 letters, reveals the word)
SCARECROW. It starts in row 8, column 1, counting from the top left.
The spangram (13 letters, reveals it)
BATMANVILLAIN. It starts in row 4, column 1, counting from the top left.
Everything at once
Show every theme word and the solved board (full spoiler)
Spangram: BATMANVILLAIN
Theme words: FIREFLY, JOKER, PENGUIN, RIDDLER, SCARECROW
The clue 'Foiled again!' fits the villains who keep getting beaten by the Caped Crusader. FIREFLY, JOKER, PENGUIN, RIDDLER and SCARECROW are all foes he stops, and BATMANVILLAIN ties them together.
Puzzle note
When a clue sounds like a taunt, ask who is being foiled and let that guide your first guesses. Here the Caped Crusader was the giveaway, so JOKER, PENGUIN, RIDDLER and SCARECROW were easy to place once you thought Batman. FIREFLY was the sneaky one.
On the board, the spangram BATMANVILLAIN stretches between the left and right edges.
What does FIREFLY mean?
A lesser-known Batman villain, not the glowing insect. Garfield Lynns is an arsonist who uses a flamethrower and a jetpack. In this puzzle it is one of the Batman foes, so the insect meaning is a decoy.
Recent Strands puzzles
| Date | Puzzle | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 14 | #986 | Preschool fun |
| Nov 13 | #985 | Not a good sign |
| Nov 12 | #984 | Facing the music |
| Nov 11 | #983 | Work it out |
| Nov 10 | #982 | Influentially online |
| Nov 9 | #981 | Idle chatter |
| Nov 8 | #980 | Disciplined combat |
About Strands
NYT Strands is a themed word search: 48 letters, a short clue, and one spangram that runs edge to edge. Looking at past themes shows how often the clue is a pun, which is the key to solving quickly.
Other puzzles on Nov 15
Strands #987 questions
What was the Strands theme on November 15, 2026?
The official clue for Strands #987 was "Foiled again!", with 5 theme words plus a spangram.
What was the Strands spangram on November 15, 2026?
The spangram for Strands #987 was BATMANVILLAIN, for the theme "Foiled again!".
What were the Strands theme words on November 15, 2026?
FIREFLY, JOKER, PENGUIN, RIDDLER, SCARECROW, plus the spangram BATMANVILLAIN.
What did the Strands #987 clue mean?
The clue 'Foiled again!' fits the villains who keep getting beaten by the Caped Crusader. FIREFLY, JOKER, PENGUIN, RIDDLER and SCARECROW are all foes he stops, and BATMANVILLAIN ties them together.
How long was the Strands #987 spangram?
BATMANVILLAIN has 13 letters, and the 5 theme words started with F, J, P, R, S.