Strands is a fresh daily puzzle from the New York Times that takes the classic word search up a notch. It’s a bit trickier, so you’ll need sharp focus and a keen eye to succeed!
How to play NYT Strands:
The goal in Strands is to find “theme words” hidden in a grid of letters. You can manipulate the letters by dragging or tapping them to form words. To confirm a word, double-tap the last letter. If you discover a theme word, it will highlight in blue, and those letters will no longer be available for selection.
If you happen to find non-theme words, don’t worry—those still help! For every three non-theme words that are at least four letters long, you’ll unlock a hint that reveals part of a theme word, which you can then unscramble.
A few things to remember:
- Every letter in the grid is part of a theme word, and there’s no overlap, so each letter is used only once.
- Each puzzle also has a “spangram,” which is a special theme word that spans across two opposite sides of the grid and hints at the puzzle’s theme. When you find it, it will be highlighted in yellow.
The aim is to solve the puzzle quickly while using as few hints as possible.
Hint for today’s NYT Strands puzzle:
Today’s theme is “Work out the bugs”.
Here’s a hint: think of insects you definitely don’t want to see.
Today’s NYT Strand answers:
Let’s kick things off with the spangram. This might help you unlock the rest of the puzzle:
Spangram: CREEPYCRAWLIES
And here are the theme words for today’s Strands puzzle:
- BEETLE
- MILLIPEDE
- SPIDER
- EARWIG
- TERMITE
Each of these words fits today’s creepy-crawly theme!