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 #986 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 #986, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #986.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #986 is... "Preschool fun."
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "A specific children's game."
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- CAREER
- READER
- CARE
- CLAD
- PILLOW
- TEST
- PEST
- POLL
- WISP
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 'F' and ends with 'R'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's FOLLOWTHELEADER.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #986?
Drumroll, please...
- JUMP
- WALK
- SKIP
- SPIN
- MARCH
- GALLOP
- TIPTOE
...and the spangram was FOLLOWTHELEADER.
Strands #986
“Preschool fun”
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Hi Strands fans. Well, this is a children's game that passed me by. Either Follow The Leader is not widely played in the UK, or I had a very sheltered childhood.
I actually found the first two answers without trying, connecting both WALK and JUMP at the bottom of the board. But with the theme of "Preschool fun", I was thinking this was the kind of things that very young children do, rather than an actual game.
In the end I used three clues, which revealed SKIP, SPIN and MARCH.
I was still lost, but could at least figure out the spangram of FOLLOWTHELEADER, which isolated the two remaining answers into easy-to-decode anagrams.
They were GALLOP in the top-right corner, and TIPTOE in the top left.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #985.
- FLOOR
- SALT
- MIRROR
- BROKEN
- THIRTEENTH
- SPILLED
...and the spangram was ROTTENLUCK.
Strands #985
“Not a good sign”
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Hi Strands fans. A nice easy one today, with the theme of "Not a good sign" instantly making me think of bad omens.
Sure enough, I saw the word "luck" written down the right-hand side, and followed it backwards to spell the spangram of ROTTENLUCK, splitting the board in two.
Three answers were in the bottom section. I found FLOOR first, with SALT and MIRROR to its right.
That last one helped me find BROKEN in the top-right corner, and then I was left racking my brains for more portents of bad luck.
THIRTEENTH seemed a good one in the top-left corner, and that just left SPILLED in the gap to complete the puzzle.
