Looking for a different day?
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 Wednesday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, April 23 (game #416).
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 #417) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Coarse material
NYT Strands today (game #417) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- SNAP
- COOL
- SLOTH
- NEST
- SOAK
- FOOL
NYT Strands today (game #417) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 10 letters
NYT Strands today (game #417) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: top, 3rd column
Last side: bottom, 6th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #417) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #417, are…
- SANDPAPER
- ROPE
- PUMICE
- BARK
- LOOFAH
- SACKCLOTH
- SPANGRAM: ROUGH STUFF
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
Today’s theme had me immediately searching for SANDPAPER and that was indeed the first word I found.
Several peculiar bathtime items made it into our search for ROUGH STUFF – LOOFAH and PUMICE. Both items that few under the age of 50 own, but with natural exfoliating abilities that have stood the test of time.
I used to think that loofahs were the remains of a seaplant, like sponges, but they are actually a dried gourd, a sort of long pumpkin primarily used for scrubbing backs. The pumice comes from a similar old-school place, a porous piece of volcanic rock that’s good for cleaning and polishing.
The bizarre wonder of the pumice was celebrated in song by elderly English songwriter John Shuttleworth recently, who marvelled at its otherworldly wonder and crooned “I loved it so, it worked a treat, in removing hard skin from my feet”. Every home should have one.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, April 23, game #416)
- PEACH
- CATERPILLAR
- CHENILLE
- DUCKLING
- SLIPPERS
- SPANGRAM: GET FUZZY
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.
