I struggled a bit with today's Strands puzzle, for reasons which I go into below. Before that, though, you can check out my hints for the game if you need them.
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 #133) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Say my name
NYT Strands today (game #133) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- MOAN
- SLANT
- STALE
- LAST
- THORN
- POLL
NYT Strands today (game #133) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Sounds familiar
NYT Strands today (game #133) - 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 #133) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #133, are…
- MERRY
- WHINNY
- GALE
- FILL
- PEAT
- HAIRY
- RUSTLE
- ATOM
- SPANGRAM: HOMOPHONES
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: Perfect
I'm a little confused by this Strands puzzle. On the face of it, it's straightforward enough – the answers are all name homophones, for instance GALE is GAIL, FILL is PHIL, PEAT is PETE. But some are marginal at best. HAIRY kind of sounds like HARRY, but it's not really a homphone. Same with MERRY – MARY? And then there's ATOM, which I don't get at all. Is that a homophone for ADAM? For TOM? In fact, I ran each word through the excellent Rhymezone homophones finder, and it provided results for all except WHINNY (which I'm sure is WINNY) and ATOM. I genuinely don't know what that one is supposed to be.
Still, this was otherwise a good Strands puzzle. I always like homophones as a topic for the game, and this one was challenging without being impossible. More of this please.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday 13 July, game #132)
- TORTOISESHELL
- TUXEDO
- TABBY
- BLACK
- CALICO
- ORANGE
- SPANGRAM: FURCOAT
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.
