Looking for a different day?
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Friday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, May 16 (game #439).
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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc’s Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
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 #440) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… She’s got game
NYT Strands today (game #440) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- RALLY
- SORT
- VETO
- SEEM
- MASK
- BRUT
NYT Strands today (game #440) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 10 letters
NYT Strands today (game #440) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: bottom, 4th column
Last side: top, 5th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #440) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #440, are…
- LYNX
- WINGS
- STORM
- LIBERTY
- DREAM
- FEVER
- MERCURY
- SPANGRAM: BASKETBALL
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 1 hint
In my ignorance I thought we were looking for female game characters – and being unfamiliar with game characters male and female, I thought LYNX (which I got from a hint) sounded like a possibility.
It wasn’t until I tapped out the spangram that the penny dropped and I realized we were looking for WNBA team names to coincide with the start of the 2025 season.
Today’s search didn’t include the best-named and newest team to join the league – the Golden State Valkyries.
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (which means ’chooser of the slain’) is a female figure who guides souls of the dead to the god Odin’s hall Valhalla. I don’t quite know how this translates to basketball prowess, but it sounds good. Maybe they’ll arrive on court in a longboat.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Friday, May 16, game #439)
- GOWN
- PHOTO
- SPEECH
- DIPLOMA
- TASSEL
- PROCESSION
- SPANGRAM: GRADUATION
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.
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