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Today's NYT Strands hints and answer: solutions to game #677, January 9

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Need help with Strands #677? Here are some hints and the answers

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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 #677 as well as the answers, should it come to that.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #677.

Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints

The official theme for NYT Strands #677 is... "For cubs fans".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Mammals, not sports".

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:

  • DEAN
  • CLOWN
  • RACES
  • RAGES
  • SPEED
  • BLAND
  • COZY
  • READ

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 'B' and ends with 'D'.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's BEARSINMIND.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #677?

Drumroll, please...

  • BLACK
  • GRIZZLY
  • POLAR
  • PANDA
  • SPECTACLED
  • BROWN

Strands #677

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was BEARSINMIND.

Strands #677

“For cubs fans”

🔵🔵🔵🔵

🔵🔵🟡

Hi Strands fans. My heart sank when I saw the topic of "For cubs fans", as I dreaded another American sporting puzzle from here in London.

But then I noticed that "cubs" wasn't capitalized, and I realized I was on much safer grounds with literal bears.

I found BLACK in the middle of the board, with GRIZZLY above it. POLAR was to its left, with PANDA below that.

Continuing to move around the grid, I found SPECTACLED to PANDA's right, which left a gap for BROWN above it.

All that was left to do was to connect the remaining letters on the board into the spangram of BEARSINMIND, and I was done for another day.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #676.

  • FAITHFUL
  • BANISHMENT
  • MISSION
  • CASTLE
  • SHIELD

Strands #676

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was THETRAITORS.

Strands #676

“That's just reality (TV)”

🟡🔵🔵🔵

🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. I've never seen The Traitors, but my partner has, and I've picked up enough about the show via osmosis that I was able to get through today's puzzle without difficulty.

It helped that I found THETRAITORS written across the middle of the board right away. I had assumed that this would be one of many reality TV show answers, but it turned spangram yellow, so I instead began looking for words associated with the show.

FAITHFUL was the most obvious of these, and I found it right under the spangram. I then found BANISHMENT written down the left-hand side, with MISSION in the middle to complete the bottom half.

Moving onto the top section, I found CASTLE on the right, which just left SHIELD next to it to complete the puzzle.

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.

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