Searching for clues and solutions for the Strands puzzle on January 9, 2025? Keep reading for insightful hints, strategic tips, and the ultimate answers featuring the entertaining theme “Off the hook!”

To easily access our Strands tips every day, save this link. This page also archives previous hints, so you can catch up on any puzzles you have missed.

Further down, you’ll find subtle hints regarding today’s Strands answers. And don’t scroll too fast! The spangram and answers are at the bottom, so take only the guidance you need!

Image Source: Strands/NYT

Clue for the Spangram in Today’s Puzzle

Two terms that refer to a common category of saltwater fish typically found in cans—the most notable brand is likely Bumble Bee.

Clue for the Thematic Words in Today’s Puzzle

This relates to specific types of the aforementioned fish.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Puzzle!

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

What is Today’s Spangram?

The spangram for today is TUNAFAMILY.

What are Today’s Thematic Words?

The thematic words featured in today’s puzzle are: ALBACORE, SKIPJACK, YELLOWFIN, BLUEFIN, and BIGEYE.

Here’s how the completed puzzle board looks:

Image Source: Strands/NYT

Strategy for Solving Today’s Strands

Could these words relate to hooks, perhaps in a fishing context? 

Words like JACKAL, WALL, FALL, CABAL, and GENIE do not fit the theme. Time to check for hints! 💡

BIGEYE could be a relevant find. 🔵 That’s definitely a type of fish! 

BLUEFIN appears on the bottom right section. 🔵

Notably, FAMILY seems to connect with the spangram, hinting at something aquatic. Ah, TUNAFAMILY! 🟡 This indicates these words all specify types of tuna.

YELLOWFIN can be found on the bottom left. 🔵

SKIPJACK is located in the upper right. 🔵

Lastly, ALBACORE rounds out the list. 🔵

Strands #312
“Off the hook!”
💡🔵🔵🟡
🔵🔵🔵

Playing Strands: A Guide

The Strands game can be enjoyed on the New York Times website and in the NYT Games application.

Upon starting, a game board filled with an array of letters appears alongside a clue hinting at the theme—this will be a phrase like “Better with age.” Your task is to seek out hidden words in the grid that correspond to the theme of the puzzle.

A Fusion of Crossword and Word Search

The critical word to locate is the “spangram,” which directly relates to the puzzle’s theme. (For instance, in a puzzle centered on “Better with age,” the spangram would be FERMENTED, describing items that indeed improve over time.) The spangram will stretch across the entire grid, either horizontally or vertically (thus the term). Discovering the spangram typically simplifies the rest of the puzzle significantly.

Words in Strands can extend in any direction (upward, downward, left, right, and diagonally), and each letter is used once only. There’s only one correct resolution for each puzzle. When you identify any word (like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it will be highlighted in blue.

If struggling with a solution, submitting any non-theme words of four letters or more can earn you a hint. After submitting three non-theme words, the “Hint” button becomes active; clicking it will reveal the letters of one of the thematic words. You’ll still need to connect these letters in the correct order to form the intended word. Should there be an existing hint on the board, using another hint before resolving it will disclose the letter order for that word.

Winning at Strands

Unlike games like Connections and Wordle, Strands offers no opportunity for failure. Submissions will either yield correct words, gain credit toward hints, or shake the text to indicate that the word is either too short or invalid. There’s no finite number of guesses allowed, nor is there a countdown clock.

A victory is achieved when the player has successfully used all the letters on the board, signifying the identification of both the spangram and all theme words. As with other NYT games, after solving the puzzle, a shareable summary card illustrates your performance: blue dots 🔵 show theme words discovered, a yellow dot 🟡 denotes the spangram found, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates the words you needed hints for.