Daily New York Times Unveils Clues and Solution for Puzzle Enthusiasts on May 5, 2025 (Monday's Puzzle)
Alright, here's a fresh take on the Strands hints and answers for May 5, 2025:
If you're on the hunt for some puzzle insights for today, you've come to the right place! I'll be dropping some clues and offering guidance, followed by the solution to the puzzle with a "On the side" theme.
Bookmark this page for an easy way to access our Strands hints every day, and also check out the past hints if you want to catch up on missed puzzles.
I'll start you off with some subtle hints for today's Strands answers. Then, a bit further down, I'll share the spangram and the actual answers. Go slow and only take as much as you need!
Hint for the spangram in today's Strands puzzle
A popular side dish commonly served with burgers or wings. It could be salty and crispy.
Hint for the theme words in today's Strands puzzle
Different shapes and styles of food that the spangram can represent.
SPOILER ALERT: We're about to unveil the answers to today's Strands puzzle.
What is the spangram in today's Strands?
Drumroll, please... Today's spangram is FRENCHFRIES.
What are the theme words in today's Strands?
The theme words today are: STEAK, SHoESTRING (a type of fry), HOME, CURLY, WAFFLE, and CRINKLE (a type of fry cut with crinkles). Need a visual? Here's a completed puzzle board for you:
How I found today's Strands answers
I have a feeling that today's puzzle will revolve around side dishes, maybe like fries or salad.
WAFFLE sits all snug in the bottom left corner. 🔵
I spotted FRIES twice, but none hit the mark. Hm, could WAFFLE be a type of fry after all?
Yeah, FRIES is part of the spangram: FRENCHFRIES. 🟡
CRINKLE resides in the bottom right. 🔵
STEAK (the least popular type of fry, sorry) occupies the center of the upper row. 🔵
SHOESTRING sits pretty in the upper left. 🔵
HOME mysteriously fits into the arc created by the spangram. 🔵
Finally, CURLY. 🔵
How to solve Strands
Head over to the New York Times website or grab the NYT Games app to get started with Strands.
In the game, you'll see a board filled with letters and a prompt with a clue hinting towards the theme of the puzzle (for example, "Better with age"). Your goal is to uncover the hidden words on the board that match the puzzle's theme.
Picture this: A crossword meets a word search
The most significant word to find is the "spangram," which more directly states the puzzle's theme. (For instance, the spangram for the puzzle with the theme "Better with age" is FERMENTED). The spangram will stretch across the entire board, either from left to right or top to bottom. Once you find the spangram, it will light up in yellow. Usually, finding the spangram makes the rest of the puzzle a piece of cake.
In Strands, words can move in any direction, including up, down, left, right, and diagonal. You'll use each letter only once, and there is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the puzzle's words, like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI, it will light up in blue.
If you're stuck, you can submit non-theme words of four or more letters to rake in a hint. If you submit three non-theme words, the "Hint" button will activate. When you click it, letters in one of the theme words will be highlighted for you. However, you'll still need to link these highlighted letters in the precise order to form one of the theme words. If an existing hint is in play and you use another hint without solving the word first, the word's letter order will be disclosed.
Winning Strands
Unlike Connections and Wordle, you can't lose at Strands. When you get guesses in, you'll either discover an answer, earn credit for a hint, or the screen will jitter, indicating that the word you submitted is too short or not accurate. There are no limitations on guesses or time.
You conquer the puzzle when you've tactically utilized all the letters on the board, meaning that you've uncovered the spangram and all the theme words. As with other NYT games, upon solving the puzzle, you'll see a shareable card displaying how you performed that day: Blue dots 🔵 indicate theme words you found, a yellow dot 🟡 indicates when you found the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates words you received a hint for.
- Today's Strands hints suggest that entertainment might revolve around food-related options like fries or salads.
- The spangram in today's Strands puzzle, FRENCHFRIES, could be related to popular side dishes.
- The theme words in today's Strands puzzle can represent different shapes and styles of food, such as steak, shoe string fries, home (perhaps implying a food setting), curly fries, waffles, and crinkle cut fries.
- If you're looking for ways to access the Strands hints every day, bookmarking this page or checking out the past hints on social-media could be useful methods.
- Maybe some of these theme words or the spangram could help you conquer the entertainment-themed Strands puzzle, with your ultimate goal being to uncover the spangram and all the theme words.
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