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’re looking for Saturday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands Tips and Answers for Saturday, July 4 (Game #853).
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 NYT Strands today is below, so don’t continue reading if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #854) – clue #1 – theme of the day
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Barking up the right tree
NYT Strands today (game #854) – clue #2 – clue words
Play one of these words to unlock the game’s hint system.
- POLITE
- ELF
- LIVER
- HUNGER
- TINT
- SPEEDING
NYT Strands today (game #854) – clue #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are there in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 13 letters
NYT Strands today (game #854) – clue #4 – spangram position
What are the two sides of the picture that today’s spangram touches?
• First side: bottom, 1st column
• Last side: top, 6th 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 #854) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #854, are…
- NEEDLE
- SPANIEL
- TERRIER
- DOG
- RECOVERY
- SPANGRAM: HUNTING BREEDS
- My rating: Easy
- My rating: Perfect
I immediately thought the theme must have something to do with dogs, but of course I was afraid of falling into a trap and barking up the wrong tree.
After spotting POINTER, it seemed clear that we were looking for dog breeds, but my dog knowledge wasn’t good enough to know we were looking for HUNTINGBREEDS until I plugged in SPANIEL and TERRIER, then the spangram.
Beyond the game itself, there was also an interesting crop of long non-gaming words. It’s rare that I find many more than five letters, but today the board was loaded with them.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands Answers (Saturday July 4, Game #853)
- BRIGHT
- COLORED
- DAZZLING
- EXCITING
- SPARKLING
- SPANGRAM: FIREWORKS
What is 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.
