Looking for a different day?
A new NEW Strands puzzle appears at midnight every day for your time zone – meaning some people always play ‘today’s game’ while others play ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for the Wednesday puzzle instead then click here: NEW Strand’s Hints and Answers for Wednesday, December 31 (Game #668).
Strands is the NYT’s latest word game, following the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult though, so read on for my Strands tips.
SPOILER ALERT: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NEW Strands today (game #669) – tip #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NEW Strands theme is… Not your average joe
NEW Strands Today (Game #669) – Hint #2 – Clue Words
Play one of these words to unlock the in-game hint system.
- LAME
- HE
- CAVE
- SOOT
- BITE
- LOVE
NEW Strands today (game #669) – tip #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are there in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 6 letters
NEW Strands today (game #669) – tip #4 – spangram position
What two sides of the board do today’s spangram touch?
First page: left, 5th row
Last page: right, 4th row
Okay, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NEW Strands today (game #669) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #669, are…
- BOLD
- STRONG
- AROMATIC
- SMOOTH
- NECESSARY
- BITTER
- VELVET
- SPANGRAM: COFFEE
- My assessment: Hard
- My score: Perfect
I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who thought today’s search would be related to famous people called Joe, rather than the many types of COFFEE.
I only saw the spangram today and was a bit thrown by its brevity – a one-word slang was a rarity in late 2025.
The search presented some difficulties and it took me a while to find NUTS and BITTER.
Yesterday’s NYT Strand’s Answer (Wednesday, December 31, Game #668)
- SPIN
- Whirlpool
- CIRCLE
- ORBIT
- PIROUETTE
- ROTATE
- SPAN FRAME: ROUND
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s not-so-new-anymore word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now a full-fledged member of NYT’s game stable that’s been running for a year and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I have a full guide on how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips to solve it, so check it out if you struggle to beat it every day.
