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 Tuesday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, July 1 (game #485).
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 #486) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… … This is for the birds
NYT Strands today (game #486) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- WING
- MEAT
- STARS
- FINAL
- MASS
- GREAT
NYT Strands today (game #486) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 15 letters
NYT Strands today (game #486) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: right, 3rd row
Last side: 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 #486) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #486, are…
- FEATHER
- TWIG
- WOOL
- GRASS
- LEAF
- FLUFF
- MOSS
- SPANGRAM: NESTING MATERIAL
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
After immediately seeing the word “wing” in the grid, I thought that we were searching for bird parts. And despite it being wrong the first word I found – FEATHER – still had me believing that was the case, not that I could think of anything beyond beak.
After getting TWIG I realized what we were really looking for, but I didn’t get the spangram until the end, even though the word “nest” was hiding in plain sight.
I didn’t realize that you could buy NESTING MATERIAL until I googled it, but some people put balls of wool in their bird feeders in the spring to give our feathered friends a helping hand. With bird population under threat from habitat loss, it seems like the least we can do.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, July 1, game #485)
- SLIDE
- CAROUSEL
- TRAIN
- FUNHOUSE
- SCRAMBLER
- SPANGRAM: AMUSEMENT PARK
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.
Leave a comment