The New York Times Strands puzzle for today is exceptionally challenging, with some answers bordering on the non-standard. Here’s an expert breakdown to help you navigate the complexity.
How to Play Strands
Strands is a unique twist on the classic word search puzzle, brought to you by The New York Times. Currently in beta, this game is available daily, and its future will depend on player participation.
In each Strands game, you’re presented with a 6×8 grid of letters. Your goal is to identify a set of words that share a common theme. As you identify the words, they will be highlighted in blue.
Additionally, you’ll need to find a special word called a spangram. This word ties together two opposite sides of the grid and can be a proper noun, unlike the theme words which won’t be. The spangram will be highlighted in yellow once found.
You can connect letters vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, allowing you to trace words in any direction. The puzzle offers additional challenges, such as needing to complete phrases or identifying synonyms or homophones, making it vary in difficulty from day to day.
Once you discover three valid words of at least four letters (which are not part of the theme), the Hint button will unlock. Clicking this will highlight a letter from one of the theme words.
What Is Today’s Strands Hint?
Official Hint: Crossed Words
My Hint: Combos
Today’s Strands Puzzle Answers
The spangram for today is: PORTMANTEAUX.
Spangram Explanation: A portmanteau word is a blend of two words to form a new one, like “brunch” (breakfast + lunch) or “smog” (smoke + fog).
Here are today’s Strands puzzle answers with their combinations:
ATHLEISURE – Athletics + Leisure
ZORSES – Zebras + Horses
ANKLET – Ankle + Bracelet
BRUNCH – Breakfast + Lunch
SPORK – Spoon + Fork
SMOG – Smoke + Fog
Why Today’s Puzzle Was So Tough
Today’s Strands puzzle is one of the toughest yet, and it’s no exaggeration. Many of the words, like “zorse” (a hybrid of a zebra and a horse), are obscure, and combinations like “athleisure” might be tough to figure out. If you’re finding yourself stuck, take a moment to think about combining words that are not traditionally joined.
Despite the difficulty, solving puzzles like this is a rewarding exercise in both language and problem-solving. Keep at it, and you’ll get the hang of it.
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