Today's NYT Strands hints and answer: solutions to game #706, February 7

NYT Strands on a cellphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide/NY Times/Shutterstock)
Strands today: Quick menu

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

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #706.

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #706 is... "Boo-o-o-o-ring".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "This is tedious."

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

  • SHELL
  • CHIDE
  • MOST
  • REAL
  • WADDLES
  • MALES
  • PRARY
  • CEDAR

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 'W' and ends with 'Y'.

Scroll down to find out what it is...


It's WATCHINGPAINTDRY.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #706?

Drumroll, please...

  • DULL
  • DREARY
  • HUMDRUM
  • MUNDANE
  • TIRESOME

Strands #706

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was WATCHINGPAINTDRY.

Strands #706

“Boo-o-o-o-ring”

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Hi Strands fans. I lucked out today by finding the spangram first. I saw the word "paint", and realized it must be part of a longer word, duly connecting WATCHINGPAINTDRY in a horseshoe shape around the top of the grid.

I briefly wondered if this would be about boring activities, or different painting techniques, but when I spotted DULL in the middle of the grid, I realized it actually concerned synonyms for "boring".

That made things quite straightforward. I uncovered DREARY above it, with HUMDRUM in the bottom-right corner.

It took me a while to find the next one, but when I figured out that word in the bottom-left corner was mundane, it was easy to connect TIRESOME spelt backwards up the board to complete the puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #705.

Strands #705

(Image credit: Alan Martin)
  • NOSE
  • MOUTH
  • EYES
  • BROWS
  • CHEEKS
  • FOREHEAD
  • HAIRLINE

...and the spangram was FEATURES.

Strands #705

“Let's face it”

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Hi Strands fans. A super easy one today, with "Let's face it" always likely to be about the face. That means you could tick off all the answers by simply looking in a mirror.

I found NOSE in the bottom-right corner, first. That was followed by MOUTH and EYES on the opposite side.

These three answers left a neat path for the start of the spangram between them. It was FEATURES spelt backwards from the bottom to the top of the board.

With the grid helpfully divided in two, I tackled the rest of the left-hand side first. I found BROWS at the top, with CHEEKS beneath it.

Moving onto the right-hand side, I just had to connect FOREHEAD in the middle and HAIRLINE above 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.