Want a different day?
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears every day at midnight for your time zone – which means some people are still playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s.” If you are looking for the Sunday puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands Tips and Answers for Sunday, October 12 (Game #588).
Strands is the latest pun from The New York Times after Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s a lot of fun. It can be difficult, though, so keep reading my Strands tips.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections Today and Quordle Today pages for tips and answers on these games, as well as Marc’s Wordle Today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: The information on today’s NYT Strands is below, so don’t continue reading if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #589) – clue #1 – theme of the day
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is…Bring Binoculars
NYT Strands today (game #589) – clue #2 – clue words
Play one of these words to unlock the game’s hint system.
- NOTION
- TARE
- SWIM
- WASH
- BOAST
- CUBE
NYT Strands today (game #589) – clue #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are there in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 14 letters
NYT Strands today (game #589) – clue #4 – spangram position
What are the two sides of the picture that today’s spangram touches?
First side: top, 6th column
Last side: bottom, 1st column
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #589) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #589, are…
- BULLFINCH
- FALCON
- GOOSE
- DUCK
- WARBLER
- WREN
- THRUSH
- SPANGRAM: AUTOMIGRATION
- My rating: Hard
- My rating: Perfect
“Bring binoculars” seemed like a real mystery at first. Binoculars are the kind of thing people would take on whale watching boat trips or if they were spies, but I couldn’t think of any occasion worthy of a Strands collection.
Then I found FINCH and HAWK on the board, and the penny dropped that the theme was related to birdwatching or more specifically, according to the extra-long spangram, FALLMIGRATION watching.
Despite some short bird names – aside from the tricky WARBLER – this game was far from easy and it took me longer than usual to complete.
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Strands (Sunday October 12, match #588)
- SPIKES
- HEARTS
- WHIST
- BRIDGE
- PINOCHLE
- EUCHRE
- SPANGRAM: FILMING
What are NYT Strands?
Strands is the not-so-new pun from The New York Times, after Wordle and Connections. It’s now a full member of the year-old NYT games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I have a complete guide on how to play NYT Strands, with tips for solving it, so check it out if you’re struggling to beat it every day.
