Clues and Solutions for Strands: January 18, 2025
In search of some guidance for the Strands puzzle dated January 18, 2025? You’re in the right place. This post contains hints, strategies, and ultimately the answer to the theme titled “O ___! My ___!”
To easily revisit our Strands hints on a daily basis, save this link. You will also find previous hints archived here if you’re curious about earlier puzzles you might have missed.
What follows are subtle hints regarding today’s Strands answers. Continue scrolling to uncover the spangram and final answers. Feel free to take only the clues you require!
Clue for Today’s Spangram
The word needed to fill in the blanks in the puzzle’s title is the name of a poem by Walt Whitman.
Clue for the Theme Words
These are iconic figures from popular culture that relate to the title in the spangram.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!
The answers to today’s Strands puzzle will now be disclosed.
What is Today’s Spangram?
The spangram featured today is CAPTAIN.
Theme Words Revealed
Today’s theme words include: CRUNCH, KANGAROO, PLANET, HOOK, UNDERPANTS, and OBVIOUS.
Here’s what the completed puzzle board looks like:
How to Approach Today’s Strands
Upon encountering the theme, “O Captain! My Captain!”—which references a renowned poem by Walt Whitman—it raises more questions than answers. Should alternatives to that title be considered or synonyms for the key term since “Captain” is the missing word?
Words like TOOK, TORAH, VAIN, and others are non-theme. However, CRUNCH is themed! 🔵 It hints at the Cap’n Crunch cereal, leading to conclusions about famous captains.
The central spangram, CAPTAIN, is clearly marked. 🟡
HOOK appears on the right side above the spangram. 🔵
PLANET runs horizontally across the top. 🔵
KANGAROO completes the upper section. 🔵
As for the bottom half, it’s a bit murkier. No “Nemo” or “America” jumps out, though UNDERPANTS does! 🔵
Finally, the word OBVIOUS fits right in. 🔵
Strands #321 “O ___! My ___!” 🔵🟡🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
Engaging with Strands
Strands can be accessed on the New York Times website or via the NYT Games app.
Upon starting a game, a board filled with letters appears alongside a clue hinting at the theme—typically a phrase like “Better with age.” The objective is to locate hidden words that relate to this theme.
A Fusion of Crossword and Word Search
The key word to find is the “spangram,” which explicitly encapsulates the puzzle’s theme (for instance, in a theme of “Better with age,” FERMENTED is the spangram). This word will outline the entire game board in either a horizontal or vertical direction, which is how it derives its name. Identifying the spangram usually simplifies the remainder of the task.
In Strands, words may be positioned in any direction: vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, utilizing each letter once. There exists only one valid solution. When a word is successfully identified (such as KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it’s highlighted in blue.
If challenges arise, submitting any non-theme four-letter words or longer grants credits toward hints. Submitting three such words activates the “Hint” button; upon clicking it, letters from one theme word are highlighted. While it still requires linking these highlighted letters correctly, this system provides useful assistive guidance. If hints have previously been used, the arrangement may be exposed with subsequent hints.
Winning Strategies for Strands
Unlike other puzzles like Connections or Wordle, failure in Strands is not an option. Attempts either yield a correct answer, accumulate hint credits, or a visual cue indicating the entry is too short or invalid. There’s no limit to guesses, nor is there a timer.
Completion occurs when all board letters are accurately utilized, identifying both the spangram and all theme words. As with other New York Times games, a shareable performance card will become available upon solution, displaying blue dots 🔵 for theme words found, a yellow dot 🟡 for the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 for hint-derived words.
