The New York Times’ Strands puzzle is a brain-twister that challenges solvers to find common themes among six words in a six by eight grid of letters. The game is in beta, relying on daily players to stick around.
To play, focus on finding theme words and a special spangram – a word that links opposite sides of the board. Every letter appears once in either a theme word or spangram, allowing connections vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Be prepared for twists: some days may require filling missing word parts in phrases, while others will focus on synonyms or homophones.
The puzzle’s creator has dropped two hints:
1. “Combos” is the first hint.
2. The second hint remains classified until solved by players.
Today’s answers include:
PORTMANTEAUX
Decoding the combinations yields:
ATHLEISURE – Athletics and leisure
ZORSES – Zebras and horses
ANKLET – Ankle and bracelet
BRUNCH – Breakfast and lunch
SPORK – Spoon and fork
SMOG – Smoke and fog
This puzzle was one of the author’s hardest, with many nonsensical words to unravel. Even the term “zorse” – a real-life mixture of zebra and horse – stumped them.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/12/15/nyt-strands-hints-spangram-and-answers-for-monday-december-16-crossed-words