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 Sunday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, January 18 (game #686).
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.
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 #687) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Shaking things up
NYT Strands today (game #687) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- STROBE
- BELT
- VASE
- BREAK
- CRAVE
- QUOTE
NYT Strands today (game #687) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 8 letters
NYT Strands today (game #687) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: top, 1st column
Last side: bottom, 3rd column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #687) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #687, are…
- VIBRATE
- QUAKE
- WOBBLE
- SWAY
- TREMBLE
- WAVER
- TEETER
- SPANGRAM: LETSROCK
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
A rare game where I got the spangram first, which revealed the word VIBRATE and a firmer grasp of the kind of words we were searching for.
The letter Q helped make piercing together QUAKE easier and unlocked the rest of the board, but had I needed a hint there were also plenty of visible non-game words.
The word WOBBLE always amuses me, mainly because it triggers memories of a vintage advertisement for a 1970s egg-shaped toy called Weebles, which rejoiced in the catchphrase “weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down”.
