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 #657, as well as the answers, should it come to that.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #657.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #656 is... "All the trimmings".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Lit up like a..."
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- BEETS
- TANGLES
- BEER
- STEAM
- START
- HORNS
- BRIE
- CORNS
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 'C' and ends with 'E'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's CHRISTMASTREE.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #657?
Drumroll, please...
- STAR
- TINSEL
- ANGEL
- ORNAMENT
- LIGHTS
- RIBBON
...and the spangram was CHRISTMASTREE.
Strands #657
“All the trimmings”
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Hi Strands fans. A nice, seasonal puzzle today, albeit one which sent me galloping off in the wrong direction. When I hear the phrase "all the trimmings", I think of food, which maybe says more about me than it does the puzzle.
In any case, I needed a clue to get started, and it revealed STAR in the top-right corner, which left me kicking myself. I immediately found TINSEL in the bottom-right corner, and then made the spangram of CHRISTMASTREE into a tree-shaped spangram in the middle of the board. Unusually, this answer touches three sides of the playing area.
From then on, it was just a case of finding things that go on Christmas trees, which isn't too tough. ANGEL was in the gap between the spangram and TINSEL, with ORNAMENT filling up the space in the top-left corner.
That left two answers to unpick in the untouched section. LIGHTS was at the top, with RIBBON below it to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #656.
- JULIENNE
- DICE
- SLICE
- CUBE
- MINCE
- CHIFFONADE
...and the spangram was MAKINGTHECUT.
Strands #656
“On the chopping block”
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Hi Strands fans. There was no great mystery about what "On the chopping block" might refer to.
This was clearly a puzzle about knives or cutting, and that was confirmed when I found JULIENNE at the top of the board. I then found DICE in the bottom-right corner and SLICE on the left-hand side.
There was a gap between JULIENNE and SLICE that was just perfect for the spangram. I followed it along to successfully spell out MAKINGTHECUT. This isolated CUBE in the top-right corner.
Two answers were left to find. MINCE was in the bottom-left corner, leaving me to decode the remaining letters into a word I was previously unfamiliar with: CHIFFONADE.
