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 #616, as well as the answers, should it come to that.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #616.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #616 is... "How enchanting!"
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Under your spell".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- BATH
- CRANES
- PLEADS
- HOPE
- TEENS
- CRIED
- TRIMS
- TRADES
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 CHARMEDIMSURE.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #616?
Drumroll, please...
- ENTRANCE
- CAPTIVATE
- SPELLBIND
- HYPNOTIZE
...and the spangram was CHARMEDIMSURE.
Strands #616
“How enchanting!”
💡🔵🔵🔵
🔵🟡
Hi Strands fans. It's always a little tricky when there there's a small number of words, as it means we're looking at longer answers.
Today's puzzle features just four of them plus the spangram, and I needed a clue to get started.
At first, revealing ENTRANCE in the top-left corner made no sense to me, as I read it to mean the entrance to a building. But then I revisited the theme of "How enchanting!" and realized this was likely meaning to put one under a trance, and I was away.
I found CAPTIVATE in the bottom-right corner, followed by SPELLBIND on the left. I then figured out that the pesky 'Z' was part of HYPNOTIZE in the top-right corner.
All that was left was to connect the spangram via the path created by my four answers. It was, of course, CHARMEDIMSURE.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #615.
- DOORWAY
- GATE
- PORTAL
- ENTRANCE
- THRESHOLD
- INGRESS
...and the spangram was LETMEIN.
Strands #615
“Knock, knock!”
🔵🔵🟡🔵
🔵💡🔵🔵
Hi Strands fans. A moderately tricky one, until you get what it's referencing.
At first, I assumed "Knock, knock!" would refer to the classic knock-knock joke. But then I found DOORWAY spreading across the middle of the board. It did, however, turn blue rather than yellow, revealing this wasn't the spangram itself.
Regardless, that didn't stop me thinking along those lines and I found GATE in the top-right corner, followed by the actual spangram of LETMEIN below it. I then located PORTAL and ENTRANCE above it to complete the top half of the board.
The outstanding pair of answers in the bottom half gave me pause however, and I eventually admitted defeat trying to disentangle them. I used a clue which revealed INGRESS on the right - though I actually used this intel to get THRESHOLD to its left first.
