Hints for Today’s Strands Answers

Below are some indirect hints regarding today’s Strands answers. Be sure to scroll at a leisurely pace and only grab the hints needed!

Clue for the Spangram in Today’s Puzzle

The spangram of today’s challenge reflects the number of letters in each word featured in the puzzle. (Consider starting with the themed words.)

Clue for Today’s Theme Words

The theme features food items measured by their “length” in certain units—a detail that can be crucial when crafting a haiku, for example. Coincidentally, all of these items are fruits and vegetables.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Strands Puzzle!

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

What is the Spangram from Today’s Puzzle?

Today’s spangram is: FOURSYLLABLES.

What are the Theme Words in Today’s Strands?

The theme words today consist of: WATERMELON, ARUGULA, CAULIFLOWER, AVOCADO.

Here’s how the board appears once the puzzle has been solved:

Approach for Solving Today’s Strands

Initially, it seemed today’s game might involve terms like “delicious” or “delectable,” though confirmation was elusive.

The word FLOUR appeared on the board, leading to some speculation about possible baking connections, yet it didn’t fit. Attempts with FLOWER, WAFT, GRILL, and METER were unproductive. Also, the word “ABLE” caught attention, hinting at the end of “DELECTABLE,” but making it work was another challenge.

Several other attempts, such as LAMB, BELLY, and SCALE, led to no fruitful outcomes. It seemed prudent to seek out a hint. 💡

Ah, ARUGULA? 🔵 It fits within the food scenario. But does it imply a long word or a significant physical presence in terms of bulk?

Noticing AVOCADO on the far right was a revelation. 🔵 Although it was sensed earlier, the connection hadn’t been fully explored. Perhaps a dish was on the verge of being assembled?

Finding WATERMELON in the upper left corner was a final breakthrough. 🔵

And then there’s the spangram: FOURSYLLABLES. 🟡 This feels notably vague for a puzzle theme.

Lastly, there was CAULIFLOWER. 🔵

Overall, the experience wasn’t particularly enjoyable!

Strands #402
“That's quite a (tasty) mouthful”
💡🔵🔵🔵
🟡🔵

How to Engage with Strands

The Strands game is available on the New York Times website and via the NYT Games app.

When starting, the game board presents a variety of letters, complemented by a theme clue—a phrase like “Better with age.” The goal is to discover hidden words within the board that reflect this theme.

Crossword Meets Word Search

The key term to uncover is the “spangram,” which explicitly identifies the puzzle’s theme. (For instance, the spangram for “Better with age” is FERMENTED, indicating products that improve over time.) The spangram extends across the game board either horizontally or vertically, hence its name. Identifying the spangram usually simplifies solving the remainder of the puzzle significantly.

In Strands, words may be arranged in any direction (up, down, left, right, and diagonal), and each letter is used only once. A single correct solution exists. When a word is correctly identified (like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it highlights in blue.

For those encountering difficulties, submitting any non-themed words of four letters or more can grant credits toward a hint. After three such submissions, the “Hint” button becomes clickable, allowing players to reveal all letters in one of the theme words. The player must still reorder these highlighted letters correctly to form the theme word. If a hint is already present on the board, acquiring another hint before solving that word will subsequently disclose the letter order.

Winning in Strands

Unlike games such as Connections or Wordle, Strands cannot be lost. When guesses are provided, the player will either identify a correct answer, earn credit towards a hint, or see text shake, indicating the submission is invalid. There are no limitations on guesses or time constraints.

Winning occurs when all letters on the board have been utilized, demonstrating the identification of both the spangram and all theme words. Upon successfully solving the puzzle, a shareable card appears detailing performance: blue dots 🔵 indicate found theme words, a yellow dot 🟡 marks the spangram’s discovery, and a lightbulb 💡 shows words that received hints.