Hints and Answers for Strands – February 14, 2025
Unravel the mystery behind the Strands puzzle themed “Will you be my valentine?” with the clues and solutions shared here.
For easy access to daily hints for Strands, it’s a great idea to bookmark this page. This page also archives previous hints, allowing you to revisit any puzzles you may have missed.
Below are some indirect hints to help you with today’s Strands answers. If you’re looking for the full solution, just keep scrolling until you reach it. Remember to only take the hints you need!
Spangram Hint for Today’s Strands Puzzle
It completes the saying “terms of ___.”
Clue for Theme Words in Today’s Strands Puzzle
These are affectionate nicknames you might use for a loved one—some are quite common, while others might appear a bit cheesy.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Strands Puzzle!
The answers to today’s Strands puzzle are about to be disclosed.
What is the Spangram in Today’s Strands?
The spangram for today is ENDEARMENT.
What are the Theme Words in Today’s Strands?
The theme words today include: POOKIE, SNOOKUMS, DARLING, HONEY, ANGEL, LOVEBUG.
Here’s a view of the completed board:
Steps to Solve Today’s Strands Puzzle
Today’s puzzle is likely to include elements related to Valentine’s Day, such as roses and chocolates.
Initial words noticed include SPIKE, SMOKE, SPOON, and LOVE, though none of these align with the theme.
However, LOVEBUG certainly fits! 
This suggests common pet names for loved ones.
Indeed, POOKIE makes an appearance in the top left corner.
SNOOKUMS is clearly visible in the upper right area. (Not the most appealing.)
Meanwhile, DARLING is positioned in the lower left.
HONEY can be found to the right of DARLING.
The spangram discovered is ENDEARMENT, as in “terms of ENDEARMENT.” 
The shape it takes somewhat resembles the top of a heart.
Lastly, the word ANGEL appears.
Strands #348 “Will you be my valentine?”
How to Play Strands
The Strands game can be accessed via the New York Times website and the NYT Games application.
Upon starting, you’ll be greeted by a board filled with letters, paired with a clue that hints at the underlying theme, often a phrase like “Better with age.” Your task is to locate the hidden words within the array that resonate with the puzzle’s theme.
A fusion of crossword and word search
The key word is known as the “spangram,” a term that succinctly encapsulates the theme of the puzzle. For instance, within the puzzle that revolves around the theme “Better with age,” the spangram is FERMENTED, signifying items that improve with time. This spangram stretches across the board, either horizontally or vertically, and is highlighted in yellow. Discovering the spangram generally simplifies the completion of the other parts of the puzzle.
Words in Strands can be arranged in any direction—vertical, horizontal, or diagonal—and each letter can only be used once. There is just one correct answer for the entirety of the puzzle. When you manage to spot any of the puzzle’s words (like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), those entries will be highlighted in blue.
If challenges arise while solving the puzzle, you can submit any non-theme words of four letters or more to gain credit for a single hint. By submitting three such words, the “Hint” option becomes accessible, which, when clicked, will highlight the letters in one of the theme words. You’ll need to now connect these highlighted letters in the right sequence to form a valid theme word. If you have already activated a hint and subsequently proceed with another before resolving the previously hinted word, the letter order for that word will be disclosed.
Achieving Victory in Strands
Unlike other games like Connections or Wordle, Strands does not permit failure. As you submit guesses, you either identify a correct answer, receive progress towards a hint, or see the phrase shake, indicating an invalid or too-short entry. There is no restriction on the number of guesses you can make, and no time constraints are imposed.
Triumph occurs when all letters on the board have been correctly utilized, meaning you’ve successfully identified both the spangram and the theme words. Similar to other NYT puzzles, upon completion, a shareable card will reveal your performance for the day: blue dots mark the words in the theme you discovered, the yellow dot indicates the spangram found, and a lightbulb 
denotes the words for which you received hints.
