Credit: Strands/NYT

Spangram Hint for Today’s Strands Puzzle

The word CHORUS has a closely related synonym that conveys a collective of individuals harmonizing together. This spangram characterizes the various groups that define this ensemble, so it may be beneficial to start with the theme words.

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Theme Words Hint for Today’s Strands Puzzle

These refer to specific singing roles within an ensemble, categorized by the vocal ranges each individual can comfortably achieve.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Strands Puzzle!

The answers to today’s Strands challenge are about to be revealed.

What is Today’s Spangram?

Today’s spangram is CHOIRPART.

What are the Theme Words for Today’s Strands?

The theme words for today are: SOPRANO, ALTO, TREBLE, MEZZO, BASS, BARITONE, TENOR.

Here is how the board appears when fully solved:

Credit: Strands/NYT

Decoding Today’s Strands

This puzzle brings to mind various roles within a choir, such as “soprano” and “alto.”

Located in the top left is the word SOPRANO. 🔵

Next to it lies ALTO. 🔵

The term CHOIR can be seen moving left to right just beneath ALTO, which is likely part of the spangram. Indeed, it is: CHOIRPART. 🟡

MEZZO is situated above the left segment of the spangram. 🔵

Above MEZZO, TREBLE resides. 🔵

BASS sits below the spangram. 🔵

What do you think? Post a comment.

Lastly, BARITONE is found in the bottom right section. 🔵

Finally, TENOR makes its appearance. 🔵

Strands #392
"Join the chorus"
🔵🔵🟡🔵
🔵🔵🔵🔵

Playing Strands: A Guide

The Strands game can be found on the New York Times website and through the NYT Games app.

Upon starting, players view a game board filled with various letters, accompanied by a clue hinting at the theme of the board—a phrase like “Better with age.” The objective is to discover hidden words in the board that align with the theme.

Combining Crossword Skills with Word Search

The primary goal is to locate the “spangram,” a term that further elucidates the theme of the puzzle. For example, if the theme is “Better with age,” the spangram may be FERMENTED, which represents items that indeed improve over time. The spangram will stretch across the board either horizontally or vertically and is distinguished by a yellow highlight once located. Identifying the spangram typically simplifies the rest of the puzzle’s completion.

In Strands, words can be arranged in any direction (up, down, left, right, or diagonally), and each letter can only be utilized once. There is only one correct answer for the puzzle. When a word is accurately identified (for instance, KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it is highlighted in blue.

If encountering difficulties with the puzzle, players can submit any non-theme words they find (provided they are at least four letters long) to earn a hint. Submitting three non-theme words will activate the “Hint” button, enabling players to see the letters of one of the theme words highlighted. However, the highlighted letters must still be connected in the correct sequence to form a theme word. If a hint has already been used, any subsequent hint will reveal the letter order of that specific word.

Achieving Victory in Strands

Strands does not present a failure condition like Connections or Wordle. When guesses are submitted, players will either correctly identify a word, earn a hint, or the text will shake, indicating the submitted word is either too short or invalid. There is no limit to the number of guesses, nor is there a time constraint.

The game concludes successfully when all the letters on the board have been used up, indicating that both the spangram and all theme words have been correctly discovered. As with other NYT games, upon solving the puzzle, players are shown a shareable card displaying their performance for the day. Blue dots 🔵 denote the theme words found, the yellow dot 🟡 signifies the spangram identified, and the lightbulb 💡 indicates words for which hints were received.