Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle and its ilk for more than two years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar, including a daily today's Wordle answer column and a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Open-and-shut case
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- BEAR
- SEAL
- REAR
- HALF
- BOSS
- BAKE
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• On-the-go storage
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: left, 5th row
Last: right, 3rd row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #268) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #268, are…
- TOTE
- BARREL
- MESSENGER
- BUCKET
- DUFFEL
- CROSSBODY
- SPANGRAM: HANDBAGS
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 2 hints
Full disclosure: I am not an expert in HANDBAGS and struggled to solve today's game, let alone write about it. So don't expect too much in the way of entertaining or enlightening insight here (not that you necessarily get that on any day).
So yes, HANDBAGS. Those things you carry stuff around in. Apparently BARREL and BUCKET and DUFFEL and CROSSBODY are all examples, but I didn't know that until now. TOTE and MESSENGER too, but I thought of them more as bags in general, rather than handbags. I accept that I was wrong about this. I solved it by using two hints, then looking for random words, rather than knowing they might be answers. It took a while and was tedious and I'm glad the whole ordeal is over now. If, however, you do know about handbags then I suspect it was a lot more fun. This is all very much my failing, rather than the game's (on this occasion).
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 25 November, game #267)
- DATE
- MONTH
- HOLIDAY
- YEAR
- EVENT
- WEEK
- APPOINTMENT
- SPANGRAM: CALENDAR
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
