Need a bit of help with NYT Strands today? No shame in that, and you've come to the right place. Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #981 as well as the answers, should it come to that.
We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #981, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #981.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #981 is... "Idle chatter."
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "It's good to talk."
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- RAGE
- TREES
- BASH
- GRAB
- WAGE
- MOOCH
- GAZE
- HOOTS
- STEER
Still struggling? The spangram touches two opposite sides of the board (but can start and end anywhere), and will give you a hint about the connection between the answers. Today, it starts with 'S' and ends with 'E'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's SHOOTTHEBREEZE.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #981?
Drumroll, please...
- CHINWAG
- SCHMOOZE
- GOSSIP
- BANTER
- GABFEST
...and the spangram was SHOOTHEBREEZE.
Strands #981
“Idle chatter”
🔵🔵🟡🔵
💡🔵🔵
Hi Strands fans. I was coasting on this puzzle until I couldn't separate the final two answers.
It began well enough, when I found CHINWAG down the left-hand side.
With SCHMOOZE below it, I was able to connect the spangram of SHOOTHEBREEZE running from the left-hand side to the top-right corner.
GOSSIP seemed like an obvious option, and I duly found it in the top-left corner.
But try as I might, I couldn't see a way to split the final two answers. So in the end I used a clue that revealed BANTER. That just left GABFEST to its right to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #980.
- KICKBOXING
- JUDO
- KARATE
- TAEKWONDO
- NINJUTSU
...and the spangram was MARTIALARTS.
Strands #980
“Disciplined combat”
🔵🔵🟡🔵
🔵🔵
Hi Strands fans. As straightforward a puzzle as I can remember today. The theme of "Disciplined combat" pointed directly to martial arts, and this was quickly confirmed when I connected the 'X' on the second row as part of KICKBOXING.
JUDO was to its left, and I then saw the spangram of MARTIALARTS running directly below my two answers.
Three words were left to find in the bottom half. KARATE was the obvious one, immediately below the spangram.
Now things got slightly trickier, as the two remaining answers were tougher to spell correctly.
I found TAEKWONDO immediately below KARATE, and that just left NINJUTSU in the bottom-left corner to complete the puzzle.
