To easily revisit our daily Strands hints, bookmark this page. Archived hints are also available there for any previous puzzles you may want to check out.

Here you’ll find some subtle nudges towards today’s Strands answers. Further down, the spangram and complete answers will be shared. Scroll through at your own pace and take only the hints you desire!

Clue for the Spangram

Providing a hint for today’s full spangram is tricky. Instead, tune your attention to the two Zs located near the bottom of the board; they can lead to a word that describes something soft or comforting, like a bathrobe or a fluffy puppy.

Clue for Today’s Theme Words

You’ll be looking for items, animals, and materials characterized by their softness or fine, fuzzy hairs.

Warning: Spoilers Follow!

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

Today’s Spangram

The spangram for today is GETFUZZY.

Today’s Theme Words

The words representing today’s theme are: SLIPPERS, DUCKLING, CATERPILLAR, PEACH, CHENILLE.

Here’s a snapshot of the completed puzzle:

Strategy for Solving Today’s Strands

The term “softie” might suggest words describing gentle or tender individuals, which may guide your search today.

The presence of two Zs seems tied to the word FUZZY, which isn’t a theme word but might form part of the spangram given its placement in the puzzle.

Highlighting FUZZY also reveals DUCKLING hidden in the bottom left corner—a delightful find! 🔵 Clearly, the theme involves cute, fuzzy creatures.

SLIPPERS can be spotted along the left border. 🔵

Let’s take a shot with GETFUZZY for the spangram. 🟡 That checks out!

CHENILLE, known for its plush texture, shows up in the bottom right. 🔵

Last letters are proving challenging: could it be PALAR? CALAR? Or perhaps CHAPEL? Hmm…

Ah, there is PEACH. 🔵

What remains? CARPET? No, it’s definitely CATERPILLAR. 🔵

Strands #416
“What a softie!”
🔵🔵🟡🔵
🔵🔵

How to Play Strands

Access the Strands game through the New York Times website or the NYT Games app.

Upon starting, a game board filled with letters greets you, alongside a clue hinting at the puzzle’s theme—expressed as a phrase like “Better with age.” Your task is to identify the words concealed within the board that align with this theme.

Word Search Meets Crossword Puzzle

The standout term to search for is the “spangram,” which provides a clearer indication of the theme. (For instance, in the puzzle themed “Better with age,” the spangram is FERMENTED, implying items that improve over time.) The spangram spans the entire board horizontally or vertically and, upon finding it, will highlight in yellow. Locating the spangram typically simplifies the resolution of the entire puzzle.

In Strands, words can be arranged in any direction (vertically, horizontally, diagonally), and each letter can only be utilized once. Only one solution exists. A correct guess of any puzzle word (e.g., KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI) will be highlighted in blue.

If you’re facing difficulties, you can submit any non-theme words you spot (as long as they consist of four letters or more) to earn partial credit towards a hint. Submit three such words to activate the “Hint” button, which will reveal letters from one of the theme words. You’ll still need to order these highlighted letters correctly to form a valid word. If an earlier hint was provided, using another before completing that word will instead disclose the correct order of letters.

Winning Strands

Unlike other games such as Connections or Wordle, failing Strands isn’t a possibility. Your guesses will either validate answers, earn you hint credits, or shake to indicate an invalid submission. There’s no limit on guesses, nor is there a countdown.

You achieve victory by successfully identifying all letters on the board, including the spangram and all theme words. Upon completion, a shareable card showcasing your performance for the day will emerge: blue dots 🔵 represent words you uncovered, the yellow dot 🟡 indicates when the spangram was found, and the lightbulb 💡 marks words that gained hints.