Today's NYT Strands hints and answer — solutions to game #492, July 8

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 #492, 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 #492, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #492.

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #492 is... "So extra".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Additionals."

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

• SPADE
• MOCHA
• SPIDER
• BEST
• MOST
• CHAIRS
• STEED
• GRID
• PANDA

Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts and ends with 'S'.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's SPARES.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #492?

Drumroll, please...

• PARTS
• MOMENT
• HANDS
• CHANGE
• TIRES
• KEYS
• BEDROOM
• TIME

...and the spangram was SPARES.

Strands #492

“So extra”

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Hi Strands fans. Despite getting through today's puzzle without using a clue, I actually found it pretty tough.

In fact, I owe that success to being a bit lost. Unable to grasp what the theme of "So extra" might be about, I began looking for clue words. One of these was PARTS at the bottom of the grid, which was actually a correct answer.

From there, I found MOMENT to its right and HANDS to its left. These, in turn, helped me get the spangram of SPARES above them.

I had now established that the answers were anything that could be called spare in some way. I found CHANGE in a triangle above the spangram, which allowed me to get TIRES to its right. I then got KEYS spelt backwards in the top-left corner.

That left two words to find in the remaining space. I got BEDROOM first, and that just left TIME to complete the puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #491.

• BUNK
• LAKE
• LODGE
• FLAGPOLE
• CANTEEN
• FIELDHOUSE

...and the spangram was SUMMERCAMP.

Strands #491

“Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”

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Hi Strands fans. I'm loosely familiar with "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh", but summer camps aren't really a thing in the U.K.

That's my excuse for starting off with a clue, anyway. It revealed BUNK in the middle of the board, which was pretty conclusive and allowed me to quickly get LODGE above it and LAKE in the bottom-right corner.

I then got the spangram of SUMMERCAMP which, combined with LAKE, cordoned off FLAGPOLE in a straight line along the right-hand side.

That left two words to find on the opposite side. CANTEEN was in the top-left corner, and the remaining letters below it spelled out FIELDHOUSE to complete the puzzle.