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 Thursday puzzle instead then click here: NEW Strand’s Hints and Answers for Thursday, July 16 (Game #865).
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.
Want more word-based fun? So check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle Today pages for tips and answers to these games, and Marc’s Wordle Today page for the original viral word game.
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 #866) – tip #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Categorically speaking
NEW Strands Today (Game #866) – Hint #2 – Clue Words
Play one of these words to unlock the in-game hint system.
- PRIVATE
- MINT
- STICK
- GRATE
- TROOP
- RENT
NEW Strands today (game #866) – tip #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are there in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 14 letters
NEW Strands today (game #866) – tip #4 – spangram position
What two sides of the board do today’s spangram touch?
• First page: left, 4th 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 #866) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #866, are…
- ENTERTAINMENT
- NATURE
- SPORT
- GEOGRAPHY
- SPANGRAM: TRIVIAL PURSUIT
- My assessment: Easy
- My score: Perfect
At first I thought we’d be looking for synonyms for the word category, but instead we were looking for the four of the six segments – or cheeses – that complete a game of TRIVIALPURSUIT.
History and science are missing from the list.
Spotting ENTERTAINMENT – a difficult word to hide – kicked things off for me and the letter V helped me connect the spanframe. All in all, quite a bit shorter than an actual game of TRIVIALPURSUIT.
Yesterday’s NYT Strand’s Answer (Thursday, July 16, Game #865)
- THANKS
- ZIGZAG
- TRIP
- LABOR
- DEVIATE
- PIVOT
- DIFFICULT
- SPANGRAM: COURSE OF CHANGE
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.
