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October 26’s NYT Strands puzzle embraced the essence of the autumn season.
The spangram AUTUMN tied together the day’s theme, spotlighting the season’s signature motifs, from colorful FOLIAGE and ORCHARDS to hearty HARVESTS and festive PUMPKINS.
The puzzle challenged solvers’ pattern recognition and vocabulary while evoking the warmth and nostalgia of fall.
The NYT Strands puzzle presents a unique spin on the traditional word search, marrying observation, logic, and linguistic ability. Every day, the player is given a 6x8 grid of letters covering a group of theme words connected by a unifying concept.
What sets Strands apart from classic word searches is the addition of a distinctive feature, the spangram. This distinctive word unites opposite sides of the grid and shows the theme that connects all other words. Upon discovery, the spangram glows yellow, with theme words glowing blue.
Whether you’re a casual solver or a daily word-game devotee, Strands offers a blend of clever design, brain-teasing logic, and thematic fun.
Every Strands puzzle includes an official hint and an opportunity to uncover additional help during gameplay.
Official Hint: Fall-ing
Extra Hint: Leaf-changing staples
These clues point toward the autumn season, a time of falling leaves, cozy harvests, and crisp air.
For those who require a nudge, gamers can access an additional hint by finding three legitimate non-theme words of four or more letters. Once discovered, the ‘Hint’ button becomes active, showing one of the primary theme words to assist in completing the board.
Today’s spangram is: AUTUMN.
This word travels through the grid, connecting the entire autumn theme. Finding it early assists the players in being able to find similar words quickly and understand the overall theme of the puzzle.
Every word used in NYT Strands today honors a hallmark element of the autumn season:
ORCHARDS – Where pumpkins and apples bloom throughout the harvest.
FOLIAGE – The vibrant leaves that make up autumn scenery.
PUMPKIN – The season’s beloved fruit, employed in pies and decoration.
FOOTBALL – A traditional fall activity in many areas.
HARVEST – The focus of activity commemorating the season of plenty.
CORN – A symbol of abundance, closely associated with autumn celebrations.
All of these words create a rich image of fall heritage and seasonal splendor.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle brings autumn’s warm colors and harvest feeling to your computer screen. With the topic focused on AUTUMN, solvers had a balance of what they already knew and what they discovered, the sign of excellent puzzles.
Strands invites solvers to be clever, spot patterns, and make links, and so serves not only as a fun diversion but also as an everyday mental exercise. Whether you zipped through it quickly or lingered over each discovery, today’s Strands puzzle was a joyous celebration of the season’s shift.
