How Strands works
Strands gives you a board of letters, six across and eight down, and a short theme clue. Every letter belongs to exactly
one answer, so when the puzzle is finished the whole board is used. You build words by linking neighbouring letters in
any direction, including diagonally. Most answers are theme words that fit the clue. One special answer, the spangram,
describes the theme itself and reaches from one side of the board to the opposite side.
Getting unstuck
Hunt for the spangram early. It is the longest answer and it has to touch two opposite edges, so it splits the
board into smaller areas that are much easier to search.
Earn hints with ordinary words. Words of four letters or more that are not on the theme still count toward the
game's own hint meter. Find three of them and the game will highlight the letters of one theme word for you.
Think about the corners. A letter in a corner has only three neighbours, so the word that uses it is heavily
constrained. Working in from the corners often reveals a theme word quickly.
Read the clue more than once. The theme clue is often a pun. If the obvious reading gives you nothing, try a
second meaning of one of its words.
MorningHint is an independent site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The New York Times Company. Wordle, Connections and Strands are trademarks of The New York Times Company. We publish hints only: no playable copies of these games and no archive of past Connections or Strands puzzles. Rights holders can reach us at the address below and we will respond promptly.
Word meanings are adapted from Wiktionary and reusable under CC BY-SA; all other content is ours.
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