Strand's NYT Clues, Spangram and Response for Today, September 18, 2024

If you are looking for tips and answers about the beaches for Wednesday, September 18, 2024, then read on – I will give you some hints and tips and finally the solution to the puzzle on the topic of “Practical Helpers”.

So that you can easily return to our beach tips every day, Bookmark this page. You can also find our previous clues there if you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.

Below I'll give you some indirect clues to today's Strands answers. And further down the page I'll give you the spangram and the answers. Scroll slowly and take only the clues you need!

Note on the Spangram in today's Strands puzzle

A place to store items you use for repair or remodeling projects.

Note on the topic words in today's Strands puzzle

You can buy these at the hardware store.

WARNING: Spoilers for today’s Strands puzzle follow!

We're about to reveal the answers to today's Strands puzzle.

What is the spangram in today's strands?

Today's spangram is called TOOLCHEST.

What are the theme words in today's strands?

The topic words today are: SCREWDRIVER, PLIERS, HAMMER, WRENCH, SPIRIT LEVEL, KNIFE.

This is what the board looks like when the puzzle is solved:

Photo credit: Strands/NYT

How I solved today’s strands

Hmm, I'm not quite sure what to look for today – maybe things you put on your hands like gloves and mittens? Or maybe tools to help people with handy skills?

Yes, bottom right is WRENCH. 🔵

Right above it I see the word TOOL, which is probably part of the spangram. There it is: TOOLCHEST. 🟡

ZINC fills the middle of the top row. 🔵

I see the word DRIVER on the left, but it's not a thematic word. Oh, it's part of SCREWDRIVER. 🔵

HAMMER completes the upper half. 🔵

KNIFE is in the lower left corner. 🔵

And finally: LEVEL. 🔵

Strands #199
“Handy helpers”
🔵🟡🔵🔵
🔵🔵🔵

How to play Strands

You can find the Strands game on the New York Times website and the NYT Games app.

When you start playing, you'll see a game board with a selection of letters flanked by a clue that gives a hint to the theme of the board – this is a phrase like “Better with Age”. Your task is to find the hidden words on the board that reflect the theme of the puzzle.

A crossword puzzle crossed with a word search puzzle

The most important word to find is the “spangram,” a word that more clearly describes the theme of the puzzle. (For example, the spangram for the “Better with Age” themed puzzle is FERMENTED, which describes products that, you guessed it, get better with age.) The spangram spans the entire game board, either left to right or top to bottom (hence the name). When you find the spangram, it is highlighted in yellow. If you solve the spangram, the rest of the puzzle is usually much easier to solve.

In Strands, words can go in any direction (up, down, left, right, and diagonally) and you will only use each letter once. There is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the puzzle's words (for example, KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it will be highlighted in blue.

If you're having trouble solving the puzzle, you can submit any off-topic words you see (as long as they have four or more letters) to earn points for a single clue. If you submit three off-topic words, you can click the “Hint” button. Clicking it will highlight all of the letters in one of the theme words for you. You still have to connect those highlighted letters in the correct order to form one of the theme words. If there is already a clue on the board and you use another clue before solving that word, the letter order of that word will be revealed.

How to win Strands

Unlike Connections and Wordle, you can't fail Strands. When you make guesses, you either give a correct answer, get credit for a clue, or the text wiggles back and forth, indicating that the word you gave is too short or invalid. You can never run out of guesses, and there is no time limit.

You win when you've used all the letters on the board correctly, meaning you've identified the spangram and all the theme words. Like other NYT games, after you solve the puzzle, you'll see a shareable card that indicates your performance that day: blue dots 🔵 indicate the theme words you found, the yellow dot 🟡 indicates when you found the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates words you received a clue for.