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 #854 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 #854, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #854.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #854 is... "Barking up the right tree".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "A specific kind of dog."
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- RUNT
- SIEVE
- HOUR
- HUNGER
- SLOP
- DEER
- VILE
- GREED
- LIVED
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 'H' and ends with 'S'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's HUNTERBREEDS.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #854?
Drumroll, please...
- POINTER
- HOUND
- SPANIEL
- RETRIEVER
- TERRIER
...and the spangram was HUNTINGDOGS.
Strands #854
“Barking up the right tree”
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Hi Strands fans. A nice easy one today, with the first word of the theme - "Barking up the right tree" - revealing the hidden topic.
I was already thinking about dogs when I saw POINTER at the top of the grid. When it was correct, I saw "breeds" up the right-hand side and followed it backwards to spell out the spangram of HUNTINGBREEDS.
Now it was just a case of ticking off all the hunting dog breeds I could think of. HOUND was an obvious one, tucked in the corner nook of the spangram. SPANIEL was coiled in a loop to its left.
Two words were left to find, neatly isolated in their own board sections. RETRIEVER was the last of the answers in the left-hand side, which left me connecting TERRIER in the bottom-right section to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #853.
- DAZZLING
- EXCITING
- SPARKLING
- BRIGHT
- COLORFUL
...and the spangram was FIREWORKS.
Strands #853
“Happy 4th of July!”
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Hi Strands fans. A nice colorful puzzle today, fitting for the theme.
I would have been completely lost about what said theme of "Ooh!" actually meant, were my eyes not drawn to the rare letters on the board. The double 'Z' in the top-left corner was part of DAZZLING, while the 'X' on the right was a bit of EXCITING.
At this point, I still didn't know the exact topic, but could see I was looking for 'flashy' kinds of words. I found SPARKLING in the bottom-right corner, and then BRIGHT in the bottom left.
I could then see the spangram of FIREWORKS spelt backwards from bottom to top, and that just left COLORFUL alongside it to complete the puzzle.
