Looking for Friday’s Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:
I’m back, dearest Strandistas! I’ve had a two week hiatus penning these Strands guides as my colleagues Kris Holt and Paul Tassi passed around the proverbial baton. It’s a fine, chilly, snowy weekend here in the mountains, so I’m all cozied up with some hot coffee as I write. Today’s puzzle is a bit of a tricky one, though one with a bit of gusto to warm up your little grey cells. (I just finished reading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, so Hercules Poirot and his various sayings are still on my mind). Alright, let’s solve this Strands!
Strands is the newest game in the New York Times’ stable of puzzle games. It’s a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day we’re given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the day’s theme.
Spoilers ahead.
Today’s Strands Hints
Today’s Theme: Turn it up a notch.
Hint #1: Words with energy.
Hint #2: Today’s words add a little extra on top to whatever they’re describing. Do it with gusto.
To help you uncover all the words, here are the first two letters of every word, including the spangram, in today’s puzzle:
Remember, spoilers ahead!
What Are Today’s Strands Answers?
Today’s spangram is: EXTRASOMETHING
Here’s the full list of words:
- ZING
- KICK
- FIZZ
- PIZZAZZ
- VERVE
- OOMPH
- SPARK
Here’s the completed Strands grid:
Today’s Strands Breakdown
This was tricky, even when I was pretty sure I knew what the theme was all about. I guessed ZING instantly, then FIZZ and KICK. SPARK was next, followed by OOMPH and then I was able to tease out the spangram, though it took a bit of trial and error. Along the way I got a bit hung up a couple times, partly because I forgot how to spell PIZZAZZ. But with that one and VERVE in the back, the puzzle was solved, even if it took a bit of time!
How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.
Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
