Strands fans, gather around! 🎉 The New York Times’ latest word game is making waves, and if you’re here, you might be looking for a little help with today’s puzzle. No worries—I’ve got hints, clues, and even the answers (if you need them).
Want more word fun? Check out my NYT Connections and Quordle pages for hints and answers for those games. And if you still need to solve today’s Wordle, Check Wordle Hints and Answer!
Check full list of NYT Strands Old Answers
🚨 SPOILER WARNING 🚨
NYT Strands hints and answers are just below! If you’re still working on today’s puzzle and don’t want any spoilers, stop scrolling now!
Table of Contents

NYT Strands #452, May 29, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Strands 452 Hints:
- Theme: It’s a little buggy
- Clue Words: Giant, Spare, Spam, Sale, Fast, Antics
- Spangram has 6 letters
Strands 452 Answers:
- BUTTERFLY
- MOTH
- WASP
- FLEA
- HORNET
- DRAGONFLY
- SPANGAM: INSECT
NYT Strands #451, May 28, 2025 — Hints & Answers
NYT Strands #451 Hints:
- Theme: Top contenders
- Clue Words: Tile, Then, File, Sail, Wine, Shine
- Spangram has 12 letters
NYT Strands May 28, 2025 Answers:
- WINNER
- CHAMP
- TITLEHOLDER
- VICTOR
- MEDALIST
- SPANGRAM: FINISH STRONG
NYT Strands #450, May 27, 2025 — Hints & Answers
NYT Strands #450 Hints:
- Theme: A strange new world
- Clue Words: Days, Male, Hand, Dinner, Later, Pages
- Spangram has 14 letters
- Spangram: First side: left, 1st row to Last side: right, 5th row
NYT Strands #450 Answers:
- FARM
- GAMES
- ANIMAL
- TALE
- HUNGER
- HANDMAIDS
- SPANGRAM: DYSTOPIAN NOVEL
NYT Strands #449, May 26, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Body language
- Clue Words: Stew, Worn, Grow, Teak, Taste, Wrote
- Spangram has 8 letters
Answers:
- HANDSHAKE
- SALUTE
- SHRUG
- KOWTOW
- NAMASTE
- CURTSEY
- SPANGRAM: GESTURES
NYT Strands #448, May 25, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Get out the dust buster!
- Clue Words: Glade, Greed, Clues, Plug, Roll, Sleet
- Spangram has 14 letters
Answers:
- SELL
- DONATE
- LABEL
- DECLUTTER
- REORGANIZE
- SPANGRAM: SPRING CLEANING
NYT Strands #447, May 24, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Flights of fancy
- Clue Words: Stop, Stoop, Poot, Clop, Claws, Cool
- Spangram has 10 letters
Answers:
- CHAMPAGNE
- PILLOW
- LEGROOM
- PRIVACY
- TOWELETTE
- SPANGRAM: FIRST CLASS
NYT Strands #446, May 23, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: The musical fruit
- Clue Words: Begin, Dint, Lane, Bait, Dink, Reek
- Spangram has 9 letters
Answers:
- FAVA
- KIDNEY
- BLACK
- GREEN
- NAVY
- CANNELLINI
- SPANGRAM: BEAN SALAD
NYT Strands #445, May 22, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Keeping an eye on things
- Clue Words: Strut, Need, Crude, Curse, Dine, Trap
- Spangram has 8 letters
Answers:
- STEWARD
- GUARDIAN
- PROTECTOR
- CUSTODIAN
- TRUSTEE
- SPANGRAM: TAKE CARE
NYT Strands #444, May 21, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Three’s a crowd
- Clue Words: Patch, Dome, Rent, Colt, Chirp, Tins
- Spangram has 13 letters
Answers:
Today’s NYT Strands answers are
MATCH
PAIR
PARTNERS
TWINS
TWOSOME
COUPLE
SPANGRAM: DOUBLE TROUBLE
NYT Strands #443, May 20, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Oh, of course!
- Clue Words: Slippers, Zippers, Dippers, Duets, Stress, Poet
- Spangram has 10 letters
Answers:
- DESSERT
- SOUP
- SALAD
- CHEESE
- APPETIZERS
- ENTREE
- SPANGRAM: FINE DINING
NYT Strands #442, May 19, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Taking the bait
- Clue Words: Turn, Sofa, Tour, Pest, Nights, Smoke
- Spangram has 15 letters
Answers:
- MACKEREL
- TROUT
- SALMON
- SNAPPER
- HALIBUT
- SPANGRAM: SOMETHINGS FISHY
NYT Strands #441, May 18, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: Riding the wind
- Clue Words: Sting, Hail, Mile, Duet, Tall, Blog
- Spangram has 8 letters
Answers:
- HELM
- MAST
- RIGGING
- KEEL
- TILLER
- HULL
- RUDDER
- STERN
- SPANGRAM: SAILBOAT
NYT Strands #440, May 17, 2025 — Hints & Answers
Hints:
- Theme: She’s got game
- Spangram has 10 letters
- Clue Words RALLY, SORT, VETO, SEEM, MASK, BRUT
Answers:
- LYNX
- WINGS
- STORM
- LIBERTY
- DREAM
- FEVER
- MERCURY
- SPANGRAM: BASKETBALL
NYT Strands #439, May 16, 2025 — Hints & Answers
🧠 Today’s Theme:
To a degree
🟨 Spangram (Main Theme Word):
GRADUATION
🔵 Theme Words:
- GOWN
- PHOTO
- SPEECH
- DIPLOMA
- TASSEL
- PROCESSION

🧐 What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the newest word game from the New York Times, following hits like Wordle and Connections. It’s finally out of beta, which means it’s here to stay! You can play it on the NYT Games site on both desktop and mobile.
The goal? Find hidden words related to the daily theme by connecting letters in a word search-style grid. And the spangram? That’s the big word that ties the whole puzzle together!
🏆 Strands Strategy Tips
Want to get better at Strands? Try these:
✅ Look for obvious words first – They’ll help unlock hints in the game!
✅ Find the spangram early – It usually reveals the theme and makes spotting other words easier.
✅ Don’t forget diagonal moves – Words can go up, down, left, right, AND diagonally!
✅ Think about the theme – Sometimes the answers are less obvious than you’d think!
Strands is a fun and challenging new way to test your word skills, and today’s puzzle was a slapshot to the brain! 🏒 If you cracked it, well done! If not, no sweat—tomorrow’s another chance to show off your word wizardry.
See you next time for more Strands hints & answers! 🎉 Happy puzzling! 🟦🟩