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 #168) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… What do you make of this?
NYT Strands today (game #168) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- CRUSH
- BASS
- BASIN
- SALE
- SEAL
- VOTE
NYT Strands today (game #168) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Artistic merit
NYT Strands today (game #168) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: right, 4th row
Last: left, 6th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #168) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #168, are…
- PAINT
- BRUSH
- CANVAS
- MOLD
- EASEL
- PALETTE
- CHARCOAL
- SPANGRAM: ARTCLASS
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: Perfect
Art is not my thing. I can appreciate it, sure, but ask me to actually draw or paint something and, well, you'd be better off asking my dog. I am terrible. As a result, this art-themed Strands puzzle from the NYT probably caused me more problems than it might otherwise have done.
There's nothing truly difficult about it, and I worked out what the theme was relatively early on (after finding PAINT and BRUSH by accident). However, I simply couldn't think of things that an artist would need beyond those two things. CANVAS was, admittedly, an easy one that I eventually spotted, but the likes of EASEL and PALETTE took me ages to find. Still, no complaints from me – it's good to get the brain working and I solved it in the end.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday 17 August, game #167)
- LEAF
- APPLE
- PICKLE
- SALAMI
- WATERMELON
- SPANGRAM: HUNGRYCATERPILLAR
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.
