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 #649, as well as the answers, should it come to that.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #649.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #649 is... "Shakespearean titles".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Parts of plays".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- CART
- HEART
- THEM
- SHARD
- MUSES
- SWEPT
- THEME
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 'T' and ends with 'D'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's THEBARD.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #649?
Drumroll, please...
- SHREW
- MIDSUMMER
- TEMPEST
- MERRY
- TWELFTH
- MERCHANT
...and the spangram was THEBARD.
Strands #649
“Shakespearean titles”
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Hi Strands fans. Finally, my degree in English Literature pays off! Other than shoehorning an Othello quote into a news story I wrote about a decade ago, it's been pretty poor value until now.
Anyway, "Shakespearean titles" isn't so much a mystery theme as telling you what to look for. And I made light work of it once I realized we were looking for parts of titles rather than the one-word names like Hamlet and Macbeth.
First I split the board in two with the spangram of THEBARD spelt across the middle from left to right. Then I spotted (The Taming of the) SHREW, above the end of it, followed by MIDSUMMER (Night's Dream) in the top-left corner. Between the two was (The) TEMPEST.
The bottom half wasn't any trickier. I found MERRY (Wives of Windsor) in the middle, with TWELFTH (Night) to its right. That just left MERCHANT (of Venice) on the left-hand side to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #648.
- ADDENDUM
- FOOTNOTE
- EPILOGUE
- POSTSCRIPT
...and the spangram was ANDFURTHERMORE.
Strands #648
“Let me elaborate ...”
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Hi Strands fans. This is the first time in a while I've needed to use a clue. I blame the somewhat vague theme of "Let me elaborate..." and the small number of available answers (which typically corresponds with longer words).
Anyway, that clue showed ADDENDUM in the bottom-left corner, which made the theme plain. This was a puzzle about after thoughts, which helped be find FOOTNOTE in the top-right corner.
I'd already found "prologue" as a clue word, so I was able to amend this to spell EPILOGUE in the bottom right. The rough shape of the spangram was now obvious, so I was able to connect ANDFURTHERMORE from the top of the board to the bottom.
Just one word was left to find. I uncoiled the remaining letters to spell POSTSCRIPT and completed the puzzle.
