For those seeking guidance and solutions for the Strands puzzle dated February 21, 2025, you’re in the right place! This article will provide helpful clues, strategic insights, and ultimately, the answers centered around the theme of “To infinity and beyond!”

To easily revisit today’s clues in the future, consider bookmarking this page. This resource also holds past clues, making it simple to catch up on any puzzles you may have missed.

Here, readers will find subtle hints regarding today’s Strands solutions. Further down the article, the spangram along with the answers will be unveiled. Scroll gradually and take only the hints you desire!

Spangram Hint for Today’s Puzzle

Think about the animated film series featuring a plastic space ranger who repeats the theme of the puzzle multiple times.

Hints for the Thematic Words in Today’s Puzzle

Look for characters from the film series mentioned within the spangram.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Strands Puzzle!

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle will be disclosed shortly.

Today’s Spangram Reveal

The spangram for today is TOYSTORY.

Today’s Thematic Words

The words associated with today’s theme include: SLINKY, WOODY, WHEEZY, ALIEN, BULLSEYE, BUZZ, and TWITCH.

Here’s how the finished board appears once the puzzle is solved:

Credit: Strands/NYT

Decoding Today’s Strands Puzzle

Is it safe to say that today’s theme revolves around Toy Story? Let’s investigate further.

Indeed, TOYSTORY confirms our spangram. 🟡

BUZZ is positioned directly beneath the spangram. 🔵 This further supports the notion of Toy Story characters.

WOODY begins at the top row and bends leftward. 🔵

SLINKY resides in the upper left corner. 🔵

WHEEZY can be found above the spangram. 🔵

ALIEN occupies the upper right corner. 🔵

BULLSEYE is located in the bottom left corner. 🔵

And finally, TWITCH makes an appearance as well. 🔵

Strands #355
“"To infinity and beyond!"”
🟡🔵🔵🔵
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Engaging with Strands

The Strands puzzle is accessible on the New York Times website as well as within the NYT Games app.

Upon starting a game, players are presented with a board filled with letters, accompanied by a clue that hints at the theme—phrases such as “Better with age.” Your task is to unearth the hidden words that align with this theme within the board.

A Unique Blend of Crossword Puzzle and Word Search

The spangram is a crucial term, as it represents the essence of the puzzle’s theme. (For example, a spangram for the theme “Better with age” could be FERMENTED, indicating items that improve with age.) The spangram spans the entire board either horizontally or vertically, giving the puzzle its name. Finding it will typically simplify the task of completing the rest of the game.

In Strands, words can be arranged in any direction (including diagonally), with each letter used only once. There exists a single correct answer to the puzzle. Identified words will be highlighted in blue, such as KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI.

If you find yourself stuck, you can submit any non-theme words that contain four letters or more to earn a hint. Submitting three such words unlocks the “Hint” button, which, when activated, highlights all letters in one of the theme words. You must then correctly link these highlighted letters in order. Should there already be a hint on the board, using another hint before solving that word reveals the order of the letters.

Strategies for Victory in Strands

Unlike other games such as Connections or Wordle, Strands does not feature a failure condition. Submit guesses, and you’ll either find a correct answer, gain hint credits, or witness the text shake, signaling that your guess is invalid due to being too short or incorrect. There’s no limit on the number of guesses or time constraints.

Victory is achieved by correctly utilizing all letters on the board, which means identifying both the spangram and all the themed words. Like other NYT games, once the puzzle is solved, a shareable card will be displayed that details your performance: blue dots 🔵 denote the theme words you discovered, a yellow dot 🟡 indicates the spangram you found, and a lightbulb 💡 shows the words for which you received hints.