Credit: Strands/NYT

Hint for the Spangram

A pair of words to express that something has come to a halt.

Hint for Theme Words

The theme for today’s puzzle diverges from New Year’s resolutions—it delves into another interpretation of “resolution,” which relates to the concept of cessation.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Details about today’s Strands puzzle will be unveiled shortly.

What is Today’s Spangram?

The spangram for this puzzle is: ITSOVER.

What Are the Theme Words Today?

The theme words today include: CONCLUSION, FINALE, EPILOGUE, ENDING, CLOSURE, CODA.

Here is how the completed puzzle board appears:

Credit: Strands/NYT

Strategies for Solving Today’s Strands

Today’s puzzle presents a category aligned with the New Year. Most expect to see terms like “fitness” or “hobbies,” which often feature in personal commitments.

Interestingly, no direct references to New Year’s resolutions emerged! Instead, some randomly connected terms appeared: OLIVE, PILE, GOLF, FELON, SOLVE. A hint may provide clarity.

The hint emphasizes CODA, signifying the conclusion of something, paralleling the meaning of “resolution,” such as in the resolution of a narrative.

The term ENDINGS surfaced, albeit non-thematic. However, ENDING is relevant.

CLOSURE transitions smoothly between ENDING and CODA.

EPILOGUE can be found in the upper right corner.

CONCLUSION stretches diagonally from left to right.

The spangram also follows this path: ITSOVER.

Finally, FINALE rounds off the answers.

Strands #303
“Resolutions”

Participating in Strands

The Strands game can be accessed via the New York Times website or the NYT Games app.

Upon starting, players will observe a grid filled with letters, accompanied by a clue hinting at the puzzle’s theme—expressed as a phrase, such as “Better with age.” The objective is to uncover hidden words corresponding to the theme within the letter arrangement.

A Fusion of Crossword and Word Search

The most critical term to identify is the “spangram,” a word that succinctly encapsulates the theme of the puzzle. (For instance, for the phrase “Better with age,” the spangram is FERMENTED, relating directly to items that improve with age.) The spangram will traverse the full board, either horizontally or vertically. Once discovered, it is highlighted in yellow, often easing the completion of the remaining puzzle.

In Strands, words can be positioned in any direction (vertical, horizontal, diagonal), and each letter can only be utilized once. There exists only one correct solution. When a term like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI is correctly identified, it will appear highlighted in blue.

If facing difficulty, players can submit any non-theme words they find (as long as they have four or more letters) for a hint. Submitting three non-theme words enables the “Hint” button, which, when activated, highlights the letters of one of the theme words. It will still require connecting these highlighted letters appropriately. Using an additional hint for a word already on the board will reveal the order of its letters.

Achieving Success in Strands

Unlike other games such as Connections or Wordle, one cannot “lose” in Strands. Submitting guesses either leads to correct identifications, counting towards a hint, or results in a shake of rejection for words too short or invalid. There is no limit to the number of guesses, nor is there a time constraint.

Victory is declared when all the letters on the board have been utilized correctly, resulting in identifying both the spangram and all theme words. Following a successful completion, a shareable card reflecting performance that day is displayed: blue dots represent theme words found, yellow dot signifies the spangram, and a lightbulb indicates words that received a hint.