NYT Strands Today — Hints, Answers, and Spangram for Friday, August 23 (Contest #173)
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 #173) – Hint #1 – Today’s Theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• The theme of today’s NYT Strands is… The nose knows
NYT Strands Today (Contest #173) – Hint #2 – Clue Words
Play one of these words to unlock the hint system in the game.
- DOSE
- NEED
- NEEDS
- ANY
- MOLD
- MADE
NYT Strands Today (Contest #173) – Hint #3 – Spangram
What’s a hint for today’s spangram?
• Smell it and see
NYT Strands Today (Contest #173) – Hint #4 – Spangram Position
Which two sides of the board are affected by today’s spangram?
First: top, 4th column
Last: Bottom, 4th column
Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands Today (Contest #173) – The Answers
The answers to today’s Strands question, game #173, are…
- MUSK
- SANDALWOOD
- CEDAR
- ROSE
- LEMON
- LAVENDER
- SPANGRAM: COMMON
- My rating: Moderate
- My score: 2 tips
No complaints about today’s Strands, it was just too hard for me to solve without some hints. But it’s a good one overall – nicely coherent in terms of the theme clue and spangram working well together, and with six other answers all available – but not easy.
The problem, I discovered, was that even when I knew what to do, I couldn’t wrestle COMMONSCENTS from the deepest recesses of my brain and onto the Strands board. LEMON was obvious, and I could see SANDALWOOD simply because of its position on the corner/side of the board, but for some reason I couldn’t think of MUSK and ROSE, even though they’re obvious in retrospect. I got there eventually, and that’s enough for me for today.
How was your day? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands Answers (Thursday, August 22, Contest #172)
- CHOP
- STIRRING
- WHIP
- PULSE
- LIQUIDIFY
- MILLING
- PURÉE
- BLENDER SETTING: SPANGRAM
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.
