Strands Hint Today: Wednesday, September 30, 2026

How Strands works

Strands is a word search with a theme. The board has 48 letters, and every letter belongs to exactly one answer. You connect letters in any direction, including diagonally, to find the theme words. One special answer, the spangram, describes the theme and stretches from one side of the board to the other. Finding non-theme words of four or more letters earns hints in the game.

How to use these hints

1. Spotted a possible word? Type it into the word checker: it tells you if it’s a theme word or the spangram and lights it up on the board.
2. Read the theme clue and think about what it could mean: it’s often a pun.
3. Use the spangram hints: its length, direction and first letter show where to look on the board.
4. Reveal theme words one at a time. Each shows its length and first letter before the full word.
5. Use “Highlight spangram” to see its path on the board when you’re ready.

Strands strategy

• Start at the edges and corners. Letters there have fewer neighbours, so there are fewer words they can be part of.
• Find the spangram early. It crosses the whole board, which splits the remaining letters into smaller areas.
• Use every letter. Since each letter is used once, leftover letters must form the last words.
• Build words with the tools. The word unscrambler lists words from a set of letters, handy for an area of the board you can’t crack.

Source: Strands is a puzzle game by The New York Times, and Strands is its trademark. Puzzle details come from the game’s public daily puzzle. The hints and explanations on this page are our own. This site is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. Play the puzzle on the NYT Games site or app.

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