Discover the “Celebrate!” theme and how the hidden words connect to parties and festivities.
Get hints for all six non-spangram words based on their starting letters and lengths.
Find the complete answers: BASH, RAGER, BANGER, SOIREE, SHINDIG, and FESTIVITY.
Today's NYT Strands puzzle presents an extremely common challenge: the non-spangram words are all familiar, though the passive connection between them must be discovered to figure them out. Once a few words appear, the overall theme becomes much easier to identify. Unlike the other theme words, the Spangram stretches across the grid, connecting two opposite sides. It can change direction as it winds through adjacent letters, making it one of the puzzle's defining features.
Today's NYT Strands is ‘Celebrate!’ Once you look at the theme, you probably got the point that it’s all about celebration synonyms. So, the words related to today’s theme are all connected to partying or enjoying in different ways. So, the non-spangram words of today are associated with synonyms of celebration.
Most of the words are easy to identify, although a few may be slightly trickier depending on familiarity with the vocabulary of players. The solution provides complete satisfaction because the theme remains unchanged from start to finish.
Here are the clues for each word in today’s puzzle:
First word: A four-letter word starting with BA
Second word: A five-letter word starting with RA
Third word: A six-letter word starting with BA
Fourth word: A six-letter word starting with SO
Fifth word: A seven-letter word starting with SH
Sixth word: A nine-letter word starting with FE
Also Read: NYT Connections Hints, Answers for August 20, 2026 (Puzzle #1165)
The non-spangram answers for the August 21 NYT Strands Answer are:
BASH,
RAGER,
BANGER,
SOIREE,
SHINDIG,
FESTIVITY
Spangram Explained
Spangram: LIFESAPARTY
Today's puzzle offers a simple yet enjoyable challenge featuring terms we often use when referring to parties or celebrating milestones. The NYT Strands Today puzzle combines entertaining wordplay with established categories to deliver a daily puzzle that offers satisfying gameplay for all players.