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 Monday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, June 2 (game #456).
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 #457) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… That’s proprietary!
NYT Strands today (game #457) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- HACK
- CLASP
- PERK
- JAZZ
- TIMED
- RACIST
NYT Strands today (game #457) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 11 letters
NYT Strands today (game #457) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: left, 5th row
Last side: right, 6th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #457) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #457, are…
- VELCRO
- JACUZZI
- KLEENEX
- POPSICLE
- CHAPSTICK
- SPANGRAM: TRADEMARKED
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
A relatively straightforward Strands today, with lots of interesting hint words to find amid the real ones.
Proprietary products are things that have been produced by a particular company rather than a generic product. Confusion often occurs when that product becomes so successful that the product name replaces the name generic items in popular speech – such as Hoover instead of vacuum cleaner and, well, all of the products in today’s search.
The companies behind these products are often incredibly vigilant over their misuse and around enforcing their trademark. When I became a journalist, I realised this when I used the word Biro in place of ballpoint pen and used a lower case b. Two days later I received a firm letter from the solicitors for Biro, requesting I didn’t make the same mistake again.
Once, when the written word was much more edited than it is today, mistakes like that were uncommon and a publication or website would spend time verifying if the hot tub in question was an actual Jacuzzi or Jacuzzi wannabe.
Now, more often than not, the price of popularity is the loss of your capital letter and sharing your spotlight with your wannabe competitors.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Monday, June 2, game #456)
- PLUM
- CHERRY
- BEEFSTEAK
- HEIRLOOM
- JUBILEE
- LUNCHBOX
- SPANGRAM: TOMATO
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.
