Today’s NYT Strands hints and answers.
Looking for Wednesday’s Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:
Hello all! I hope you guys are having a great week so far.
Today’s NYT Strings hints, spangram and answers come to the fore immediately.
How to play strands
The New York Times’ Strings puzzle is a game with the classic word search. It’s in beta for now, meaning it will only survive if enough people play it every day.
There is a new game from Strands to play every day. The game presents you with a grid of six by eight letters. The goal is to find a group of words that have something in common, and you’ll get an idea of what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.
You will also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram connects at least two sides of the board, but may not start or end there. Although the theme words are not a proper noun, the spangram can be a proper noun. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.
Each letter is used once in one of the theme words and spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and it is possible to switch directions in the middle of a word. If you’re playing on a touchscreen, double-tap the last letter to submit your guess.
If you find three valid words of at least four letters that are not part of the theme, you will unlock the Hint button. Clicking this will highlight the letters that make up one of the theme words.
Be warned: you have to be on your guard. Sometimes you have to fill in the missing words in a sentence. On other days the game may revolve around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty level will vary from day to day and the puzzle creators will sometimes try to surprise you.
What’s today’s Strands hint?
Scroll slowly! Just after today’s hint Strands puzzle, I will reveal what the answer words are.
The official theme tip for today Beach puzzle is…
Better together
Do you need some extra help? Here’s another clue…
Lovely companions
There are seven theme words today, including the spangram.
What are today’s answers?
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll down the page until you’re ready to explore today’s information Strands answers.
I’ll first tell you the spangram and show you where it is on the grid. I will then tell you the other words and show you how they fit in.
This is your final warning!
Today Strings spangram is…
COMBO MEALS
Here you will find it on the schedule…
Screenshot from New York Times Strands, with the term COMBO MEALS highlighted.
The rest of today Strands theme words are…
- MACARONI
- COOKIES
- HAMBURGER
- COMBO MEALS
- SAUCE
- CHIPS
- CHEESE
This is what the finished grid looks like…
Completed Strands grid for June 26th with the words MACARONI, BISCUITS, BURGER, COMBO MEALS, … [+]
My first instinct was to look for things that normally come in pairs, even though I think that’s one Strands theme earlier. But when I saw GRAVY in the bottom right corner, I started to doubt that. And sure enough, BISCUITS in the top right corner made me realize that we are literally looking for two things that go together.
I then found CHEESE at the bottom, but that goes well with all kinds of things! I didn’t see the letters for “crackers” or “wine” anywhere. FRIES on the bottom left made me think that BURGER was on the roster somewhere. Sure enough, I found it seconds later. That helped the spangram stand out, giving MACARONI (which is a really great combination with cheese) the win.
Oddly enough, I had macaroni and cheese for dinner this week.
I didn’t need any hints to complete this grid and had a perfect game. The spangram was the sixth theme word I found.
That’s all it takes for today Strings clues and answers. Make sure to check out my blog for hints and the solution for Friday’s match if you need them.