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 #204) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Gnaw-it-alls
NYT Strands today (game #204) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- PINE
- LANE
- CHIC
- STUD
- STUDIO
- MAST
NYT Strands today (game #204) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• House of mouse!
NYT Strands today (game #204) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: right, 4th row
Last: left, 5th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #204) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #204, are…
- HAMSTER
- MUSKRAT
- SQUIRREL
- CHINCHILLA
- PORCUPINE
- SPANGRAM: RODENTS
- My rating: Easy
- My score: 1 hint
I'm rather annoyed at myself for not getting a perfect score today, because this is another fairly easy Strands puzzle from the NYT. But I needed another hint to get going, with no answers standing out despite the (in hindsight) relatively obvious theme clue. The frustrating thing is that 'Gnaw-it-alls' did suggest an animal to me, and I looked for beaver – which seemed the most obvious example. But that wasn't there and I used a hint to get started.
Once I had that first word (HAMSTER) it all became a lot easier. MUSKRAT and SQUIRREL were simple, the spangram even more so, and though the final two were more difficult, in large part due to their spellings, I completed the game in only about five minutes.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday 22 September, game #203)
- BRAIN
- LIVER
- HEART
- KIDNEYS
- STOMACH
- LUNGS
- SPANGRAM: INTERNALORGANS
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.