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 Thursday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands Tips and Answers for Thursday, July 16 (Game #865).
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 #866) – clue #1 – theme of the day
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• The theme of today’s NYT Strands is… Emphatically
NYT Strands today (game #866) – clue #2 – clue words
Play one of these words to unlock the game’s hint system.
- PRIVATE
- MINT
- SHEETS
- GRID
- TROPE
- TO RENT OUT
NYT Strands today (game #866) – clue #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are there in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 14 letters
NYT Strands today (game #866) – clue #4 – spangram position
What are the two sides of the picture that today’s spangram touches?
• First side: left, 4th row
• Last side: right, 4th row
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #866) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #866, are…
- ENTERTAINMENT
- NATURE
- SPORTY
- GEOGRAPHY
- SPANGRAM: TRIVIALPURSUIT
- My rating: Easy
- My rating: Perfect
I originally thought we were 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 piece in TRIVIALPURSUIT.
History and science are missing from the list.
Spotting ENTERTAINMENT – a difficult word to hide – kicked things off for me, with the letter V helping me connect the spangram. Overall, it’s much shorter than a real game of TRIVIALPURSUIT.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands Answers (Thursday July 16, Match #865)
- NAIL
- ZIGZAG
- TURN
- FIRE
- DEVITE
- PIVOTE
- SHIFT
- SPANGRAM: CHANGE OF COURSE
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.
