Today’s NYT Strands hints and answers.
Looking for Saturday’s Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:
Hey, everyone! Happy Sunday.
Today’s NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers are coming right up.
How To Play Strands
The New York Times’ Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. It’s in beta for now, which means it’ll only stick around if enough people play it every day.
There’s a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and you’ll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.
You’ll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links at least two sides of the board, but it may not start or end there. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.
Every letter is used once in one of the theme words and spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and it’s 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’ll unlock the Hint button. Clicking this will highlight the letters that make up one of the theme words.
Be warned: You’ll need to be on your toes. Sometimes you’ll need to fill the missing word(s) in a phrase. On other days, the game may revolve around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty will vary from day to day, and the puzzle creators will try to surprise you sometimes.
What Is Today’s Strands Hint?
Scroll slowly! Just after the hint for today’s Strands puzzle, I’ll reveal what the answer words are.
The official theme hint for today’s Strand puzzle is…
Picture perfect
Need some extra help? Here’s another hint…
The creatives behind these are all thankful to the Academy.
There are six words to find today, including the spangram.
What Are Today’s Strands Answers?
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Strands answers.
I’ll first tell you the spangram and show you where that is on the grid. I’ll then tell you the other words and show you how they fit in.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Strands spangram is…
OSCAR WINNERS
Here’s where you’ll find it on the grid…
New York Times Strands screenshot, showing the highlighted term OSCAR WINNERS.
The rest of today’s Strands theme words are…
- PARASITE
- GLADIATOR
- SPOTLIGHT
- ROCKY
- CRASH
Here’s what the completed grid looks like…
Completed Strands grid for May 12 featuring the words PARASITE, OSCAR WINNERS, GLADIATOR, SPOTLIGHT, … [+]
This grid was right up my alley. I used my usual tactic of looking at the corners and quickly spotted CRASH in the bottom right. I found GHOST just to the left of that, but that wasn’t one of the theme words (even though that movie did win two Oscars).
However, everything clicked when I spotted ROCKY. Obviously, we were looking for Best Picture Oscar winners.
I found GLADIATOR next, then the spangram snaking up the center. SPOTLIGHT in the bottom left and PARASITE up top sealed the win.
I didn’t use any hints and the spangram was the fourth theme word I found.
That’s all there is to it for today’s Strands clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog for hints and the solution for Monday’s game if you need them.
P.S. If you haven’t watched Parasite yet, I highly recommend doing so. It’s quite possibly my favorite film of the last decade. It’s so ridiculously great.
Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
