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.
NYT Strands today (game #271) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Give me a break
NYT Strands today (game #271) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
DOLLWINDRATEIRATENODEWANT
NYT Strands today (game #271) – hint #3 – spangram
What is a hint for today’s spangram?
• Busy doing nothing
NYT Strands today (game #271) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First: top, 3rd column
Last: bottom, 3rd column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #271) – the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today’s Strands, game #271, are…
CHILLRELAXUNWINDPAUSELOAFLOUNGELUXURIATESPANGRAM: DOWNTIME
My rating: ModerateMy score: 1 hint
This was a harder Strands puzzle than many, and for that I give it praise. Nobody wants a game that’s so easy it becomes formulaic, so kudos to the NYT team for this one, which needed a bit more thought than the type that merely involve naming objects in a particular group.
Sure, the theme here – words for DOWNTIME – is no more complex than some of the others, but unless you’re a walking thesaurus you’ll have needed to get that old gray matter working in order to find them all. As it happens, I needed a hint halfway through; I simply ran out of synonyms after CHILL, RELAX, UNWIND and PAUSE. Once I had the spangram things got a lot easier, as is usually the case, and I finished a few minutes later so I could go and LUXURIATE or LOAF elsewhere…
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Thursday, 28 November, game #270)
TURKEYPOTATOESGRAVYCRANBERRIESROLLSYAMSSPANGRAM: LETSFEAST
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.