Insights and Solutions for Strands: January 14, 2025
Searching for clues and solutions for Strands on January 14, 2025? You’ve come to the right place! This post will provide insights and guidance, culminating in the answer to the puzzle themed “Bundle up.”
For effortless daily access to our Strands hints, consider bookmarking this page. Previous hints are also archived here, allowing you to revisit any clues you may have missed in earlier puzzles.
Below are some subtle hints for today’s Strands answers. Further down, the spangram and complete answers will be disclosed. Take your time and select only the hints you find necessary!
Spangram Clue for Today’s Strands Puzzle
Look for two words representing gear associated with the chilliest season.
Hints for Themed Words in Today’s Strands Puzzle
These are examples of items one might wear to “bundle up” against the cold.
WARNING: Answers Ahead for Today’s Strands Puzzle!
Now, the solutions for today’s Strands puzzle will be revealed.
Today’s Spangram
The spangram for today is WINTERCLOTHES.
Theme Words in Today’s Strands
The theme words today include: MITTENS, SCARF, JACKET, PARKA, GLOVES, BEANIE.
Here’s what the solved board looks like:
Decoding Today’s Strands
The anticipation for today’s puzzle centers on words that relate to warmth during winter.
Indeed, SCARF dominates the puzzle’s center. 🔵
Adjacent to it on the left is MITTENS. 🔵
PARKA finds its place in the top right corner. 🔵
In the bottom left, JACKET is located. 🔵
GLOVES sit centrally, and WINTER straddles the middle of the puzzle alongside CLOTHES, forming the spangram: WINTERCLOTHES. 🟡
Lastly, BEANIE completes the list. 🔵
Strands #317 “Bundle up” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🟡🔵
Playing Strands
The Strands game is available on the New York Times website and through the NYT Games app.
Upon initiating play, participants will view a board filled with various letters, accompanied by a clue suggesting a theme—typically a phrase like “Better with age.” Your task is to identify hidden words on the board associated with that theme.
Combination of Crossword and Word Search
The essence of the game lies in uncovering the “spangram,” a word that succinctly encapsulates the puzzle’s theme. For example, if the theme is “Better with age,” the spangram is FERMENTED, identifying products that indeed improve with time. The spangram runs entirely across the board, either horizontally or vertically, and is highlighted in yellow when discovered, often simplifying the overall puzzle.
Words in Strands can be arranged in any direction, including diagonally and the letters can be utilized only once. Each puzzle has one definitive solution. Identifying any correct word will highlight it in blue.
If assistance is required in solving the puzzle, submitting non-theme words consisting of four or more letters will earn credit toward a hint. Present three such words to activate the “Hint” button, which when clicked, will reveal the letters in one of the theme words. The remaining letters must still be connected in the correct order to form the word. If hints are used repeatedly on the same board, the order of previously highlighted letters will also be shown.
Winning Strands
Strands differs from Connections and Wordle, as there are no penalties for incorrect guesses. Each guess leads to either a successful identification, credit towards hints, or a visual cue indicating the submission is invalid. Players cannot exhaust their guesses, and no time constraints apply.
Victory occurs when all letters on the board are accurately utilized, meaning the spangram and all theme words are found. Following the game, a shareable card summarizing daily performance appears: blue dots 🔵 display obtained theme words, a yellow dot 🟡 indicates the discovered spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 denotes words that received hints.
