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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

Your Strands expert

Marc McLaren
Your Strands expert

Marc McLaren

NYT Strands today (game #233) – hint #1 – today’s theme

What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Cool color!

NYT Strands today (game #233) – hint #2 – clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • BEAN
  • BEES
  • SAGE
  • BOLT
  • COAT
  • WIRE

NYT Strands today (game #233) – hint #3 – spangram

What is a hint for today’s spangram?

Sky and sea

NYT Strands today (game #233) – hint #4 – spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?

First: right, 5th row

Last: left, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #233) – the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 233 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Strands, game #233, are…

  • COBALT
  • AZURE
  • TURQUOISE
  • INDIGO
  • NAVY
  • PERIWINKLE
  • SPANGRAM: THEBLUES

  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

The theme clues for Strands can sometimes give away too much, and today was one of those days. ‘Cool color!’ screamed the hint, so clearly it was going to be shades of a particular color; ‘cool’ made it obvious it would be blue.

That didn’t make finding them all that simple of course, because though I got COBALT and AZURE near the top of the board early, then uncovered TURQUOISE by focusing on what the Q could go with, I got a little stuck for a while after that. I could see the word BLUE in the middle of the board and figured it would be part of the spangram, but it took me a while to establish that I needed THEBLUES. The other answers slotted into place fairly easily after that.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Monday, 21 October, game #232)

  • PACK
  • HERD
  • FLOCK
  • SWARM
  • SCHOOL
  • PRIDE
  • KNOT
  • COLONY
  • SPANGRAM: GROUPNAME

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT’s new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable and 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.

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