A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, November 4 (game #611).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #612) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… The butterfly effect
NYT Strands today (game #612) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- LIARHOMEDEANCHIAGREATCLASSIC
NYT Strands today (game #612) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 8 letters
NYT Strands today (game #612) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: left, 7th row
Last side: right, 7th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #612) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #612, are…
- CHRYSALISCATERPILLARHATCHMIGRATEMILKWEEDSPANGRAM: MONARCHS
- My rating: HardMy score: 1 hint
The migration of MONARCHS from Canada and northern US states is one of the wonders of the natural world and one of those Strands games that had me reading Wikipedia and downloading podcasts afterwards in an attempt to learn more.
The first cycle ends around about now, with millions of butterflies arriving in central Mexico before starting up again in the spring when those same MONARCHS will fly north in search of milkweed – the only plant they lay their eggs on and the only plant caterpillars will eat and one that will make the resulting butterflies toxic to birds, a magnificent trick of self preservation.
Anyway I digress, finding CHRYSALIS in the top left-hand corner made for an easy start but the other words was more of a challenge – not as big a challenge as a tiny insect travelling 3,000 miles, but a little taxing for a Wednesday morning commute.
Top marks, too, for a butterfly-shaped spangram.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, November 4, game #611)
- JAWSMILKHEATCLUECARSBABEHULKDUNESPANGRAM: FOURLETTERMOVIES
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
