NYT Strands Today — Hints, Answers, and Spangram for Saturday, August 31 (Contest #181)
Strands is the latest word game from the NYT after Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Connections—and it’s a lot of fun. It can be tricky, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Check out my Wordle Today, NYT Connections Today, and Quordle Today pages for hints and answers for those games.
SPOILER ALERT: Below is information about today’s NYT Strands. So don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands Today (Game #181) – Hint #1 – Today’s Theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• The theme of today’s NYT Strands is… Improvisational music
NYT Strands Today (Contest #181) – Hint #2 – Clue Words
Play one of these words to unlock the hint system in the game.
- SWIMMING POOL
- RINSE
- MOON
- PINE
- SOON
- GOLF
NYT Strands Today (Contest #181) – Hint #3 – Spangram
What’s a hint for today’s spangram?
• Unusual instrumentalists
NYT Strands Today (Contest #181) – Hint #4 – Spangram Position
Which two sides of the board are affected by today’s spangram?
First: left, 4th row
Last: right, 3rd row
Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands Today (Contest #181) – The Answers
The answers to today’s Strands question, game #181, are…
- SPOONS
- BROOM
- COWBELL
- WASHBOARD
- STOVE PIPE
- BONES
- SPANGRAM: JUGBAND
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: Perfect
Until today I had never heard of the term JUGBAND, but luckily the theme clue ‘Improvisational Music’, combined with the fact that I had found SPEONS early on, meant that the central concept was quickly cemented in my mind.
That made the task easier – but still not easy, because apart from a few entries (WASHBOARD, COWBELL) I had no idea these things were used as instruments. Solving them therefore became a trial and error task, searching for words, playing them, and seeing if they were answers. How do you play a BROOM? What’s a STOVEPIPE? I may never know the answer (unless I look it up), but I’m intrigued now.
How was your day? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands Answers (Friday, August 30, Contest #180)
- PRECIPITATION
- UNKNOWN
- MINECRAFT
- HALO
- OVERVIEW
- SPANGRAM: VIDEO GAMES
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the new word game from the NYT, after Wordle and Connections. It is now out of beta and is therefore a full member of the NYT stable of games and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I have a complete guide to playing NYT Strands, complete with tips to solve the game. If you are having a hard time beating the game every day, you can definitely check it out.
