About NYT Strands
Looking for the most recent NYT Strands puzzle answers? Daily answers and hints are published for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Strands is like a word find game, but without the list of words to find. Sometimes the theme is clear, and answers become recognizable right away. However, for those times when the solution isn't immediately apparent, Strands offers a loophole: players can make as many words of four or more letters as they want. For every three of those words found, the puzzle will highlight one of the answers. Players still need to unscramble that highlighted answer, which can be very tough.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
Today's Puzzle Overview
Today’s puzzle theme is fun and creative, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it's easy. Some of the words require significant effort to unscramble, and the spangram might not be immediately obvious to everyone. Read on for hints and all the answers.
Hints for Strands
Today’s Strands theme is: A figment of your imagination.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Did that really happen?
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are examples of words that can be used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
RIMS, CLOTH, CLOT, SPAT, PATS, MIRE, HILL, HILLS, WASP, IMAGE, CHIME, CHAT, CHAP, TOLL
Full Puzzle Answers
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When all theme words are found, every letter on the board will be used. Here are the non-spangram answers:
MIRAGE, CHIMERA, SPECTER, ILLUSION, PHANTASM
The Spangram Solution
Today’s Strands spangram is WILLOTHEWISP. (A will-o’-the-wisp is a ghostly light sometimes found in old scary stories and folktales.) To find it, start with the W that’s the last letter in the far-left vertical row, and wind up.
