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 #887 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 #887, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #887.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #887 is... "Struggling to find the words".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "What's it called again?".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- GAIT
- DECK
- GAGA
- GUNS
- MAGIC
- HAZY
- USED
- HOOD
- LLAMA
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 'T'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's WHATCHAMACALLIT.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #887?
Drumroll, please...
- GIZMO
- THINGAMAJIGGY
- DOOHICKEY
- DINGUS
...and the spangram was WHATCHAMACALLIT.
Strands #887
“Struggling to find the words”
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Hi Strands fans. After an enjoyable round of Strands yesterday, today's was incredibly frustrating, given it's made up of words that are on the verge of being nonsense. Indeed, one of them has the big red squiggly underline of disapproval as I write this.
At first, I thought the theme of "Struggling to find the words" might be about being tongue-tied. When I found nothing, I used a clue which revealed GIZMO. This was clearly about words to describe things when you can't remember the actual name.
I had previously seen "what" above it and assumed it to be part of the spangram. I could now see exactly how, connecting WHATCHAMACALLIT from the top-left corner to just four characters below, via the opposite side of the board.
THINGAMAJIGGY was the other word in the middle of the spangram, which left just two more to find in the top-right corner.
DOOHICKEY was up the right-hand side, with DINGUS to its left to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #886.
- CHERRY
- DOGWOOD
- MAGNOLIA
- REDBUD
- HAWTHORN
...and the spangram was FLOWERINGTREE.
Strands #886
“Blossoming forth”
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Hi Strands fans. An enjoyable puzzle, despite the fact I didn't know half the words that turned out to be answers. That made it more of a lateral-thinking puzzle for me than usual, and all the more fun for it.
Right away, I could see the word "flowering" that I correctly assumed to be part of the spangram. Only I was following it to the right from the 'N' rather than up, which incorrectly had me digging around the "wood" in the bottom-right corner.
Eventually I found CHERRY on the right-hand side, which reinforced my previous belief. But after exhausting all the options, I began to look at the letters in that corner to try and figure out what they could be if not the spangram. DOGWOOD, it turns out.
I then looked to the other side of what I assumed to be the spangram and tried to unpick an anagram over there. Sure enough, I was able to connect MAGNOLIA, which proved my theory about it being to do with "flowering".
I stared at it for some time, and was eventually able to see the route. It was, of course, FLOWERINGTREE.
That left two more anagrams to unpick. REDBUD was on the right, with HAWTHORN on the left to complete the puzzle.
