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 #253) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… To your health!
NYT Strands today (game #253) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- RUSE
- TRACT
- PLACE
- PLACED
- HARM
- CHARM
NYT Strands today (game #253) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Playing House
NYT Strands today (game #253) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: top, 4th column
Last: bottom, 4th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #253) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #253, are…
- NURSE
- DOCTOR
- SURGEON
- PHARMACIST
- DENTIST
- SPANGRAM: MEDICALCAREER
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 1 hint
I needed a hint to get started today, which is hardly unusual for Strands given that the theme clues can be on the cryptic side of things sometimes. Today's was 'To your health!', which to me suggested 'Things you say as you toast someone' or similar – such as CHEERS. But I couldn't find that or any others, so asked for my hint and got NURSE.
At that point the task became rather more obvious, and I was able to find DOCTOR, SURGEON and PHARMACIST without too many issues. It took me a while to get the spangram, admittedly, but with that in place I spotted the final answer, DENTIST, and moved on.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, 10 November, game #252)
- JUMP
- CIVIL
- STRONG
- BUSINESS
- BIRTHDAY
- LEISURE
- SPANGRAM: WELLSUITED
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.
