Today's NYT Strands hints and answer: solutions to game #658, December 21
Need help with Strands #658? Here are some hints and the answers
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 #658, 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 #658, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #658.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #658 is... "Big bad wolf".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Telling tails".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- BLIGHT
- LIGHTS
- BIRD
- SNOW
- STACKS
- TRIP
- STOP
- BLOCK
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 'S'.
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Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's THREELITTLEPIGS.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #658?
Drumroll, please...
- HUFF
- PUFF
- BRICKS
- STRAW
- STICKS
- BLOW
- DOWN
...and the spangram was THREELITTLEPIGS.
Strands #658
“Big bad wolf”
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Hi Strands fans. A nice easy one today, for those who remember their fairytales.
"Big bad wolf" clearly refers to the Three Little Pigs, though I forgot the first word, so couldn't see how to land the spangram of "littlepigs" to begin with.
Instead, I opted for connected words. HUFF and PUFF were in the top left and right corners, and I then saw the three building materials used by the eponymous pigs. BRICKS and STRAW were in the bottom right, with STICKS was in the bottom-left corner.
I then remembered the full title of the story and connected THREELITTLEPIGS at the top of the board. That just left BLOW and DOWN at the bottom to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #657.
- 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.
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.

