Today’s Strands puzzle isn’t as tricky as yesterday’s, but it’s not exactly easy either. So if you’re looking for help, let me point you in the direction of my hints. You’ll find them below, along with the answers and my commentary on the game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about today’s NYT Strands is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #66) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Can you do numbers?
NYT Strands Today (Game #66) – Hint #2 – Clue Words
What are good keywords these days?
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hint system.
• BAND
• BRAND
• STYLE
• STEEL
• HOLE
• MULE
NYT Strands today (game #66) – hint #3 – spangram
What’s a hint for today’s spangram?
• Natural or imaginary?
NYT Strands Today (Game #66) – Hint #4 – Spangram Position
Which two sides of the board do today’s spangrams touch?
• First: right, 5th row
• Second: left, 5th row
Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands Today (Game #66) – The Answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #66, are…
- BINARY
- WHOLE
- HAPPY
- BACON
- DANCE
- SERIAL
- TELEPHONE
- SPANGRAM: NUMBERS
- My score: Moderate
- My score: Perfect
I thought this Strands puzzle would be easy, but it isn’t. The theme clue – “Can you do numbers?” (after “Can you dig it?” yesterday; nice work, NYT) – immediately suggested numbers, and sure enough, I found that spangram walking backwards across the board almost immediately. BINARY and WHOLE, both under the spangram, were also simple solutions, and LUCKY followed because there was nothing else.
But LUCKY indicated that it might be harder than I predicted, and this is where I stopped. Unlike the first pair, LUCKY is not a mathematical term (or not necessarily one), but simply a term preceding ‘numbers’. And that was the case with almost everyone else. It took me quite some time to come up with any of the others; I saw PHONE, but it didn’t turn blue, and it wasn’t until a while later that I realized it was PHONE instead.
The others were all terrible. I wasn’t thinking broadly enough to consider BACON or DANCE, and SERIAL only took forever because of all the vowels. I got there eventually, but it wasn’t exactly a piece of cake.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands Answers (Tuesday May 7, Game #65)
- GOLD
- SILVER
- BUYER
- ANTIMONY
- ARSENIC
- BISMUTH
- SPANGRAM: HEAVY METAL
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s new word game, after Wordle and Connections. It is currently in beta and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I have a full guide to playing NYT Strands, complete with troubleshooting tips, so give that a read if you’re struggling to beat it every day.