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The New York Times Strands puzzle continues to engage word enthusiasts with its clever themes and tricky word searches. Each day presents a fresh challenge, requiring players to decipher the theme and locate hidden words within a grid. For February 17, the theme comes with a sharp twist—one that might leave players feeling a little stung.
Explanation: Today's word list belongs to a list of creatures that might sting.
Players diving into today’s Strands puzzle will find themselves in familiar territory—if that territory includes unexpected and painful experiences. The theme revolves around situations that cause discomfort and a closer look at the grid will quickly reveal that all the words have something in common. A hint for today’s puzzle makes it even clearer: “Ouch!” It suggests that the words are related to painful encounters, but what exactly do they have in common?
The challenge today isn’t just finding words that relate to pain but rather identifying the specific source of this discomfort. With a little observation, the pattern starts to emerge. The answer lies in nature—specifically, in creatures that deliver a sharp, stinging sensation.
One of the most effective defences insects and some other animals have developed is a sting. Stings have become common in the animal kingdom, whether for self-defence, to hunt, or to dissuade predators. Some are simply irritating while others are venomous. This is the basis of today’s NYT Strands puzzle in which participants consider creatures renowned for their painful strikes.
Identify the Theme Early – Use the daily hint to understand the central concept of the puzzle.
Find the Spangram First – The longest word connecting the theme helps unlock other words.
Look for Common Word Patterns – Recognize familiar prefixes, suffixes, or letter groupings related to the theme.
Use Trial and Error – Experiment with different word paths to uncover hidden words.
Take a Break and Reassess – A fresh perspective can help spot missed words more easily.
Identifying the spangram (the keyword that holds the puzzle together) is one of the trickier parts of Strands. The question is whether it runs horizontally or vertically through the grid. Today's hint also states that the spangram appears vertically, providing one of the most crucial tips in solving the puzzle.
Hint: These are the words that describe animals that might sting.
Direction: Vertical
Answer: “STINGERS”
The puzzle employs a good variety of creatures and some of them might give a nasty sting. Here is the full list of today’s NYT Strands puzzle words with hints for those who would like some extra help or confirmation.:
Known for their trailing tentacles filled with venomous stingers, jellyfish can deliver painful stings to unsuspecting swimmers.
These arachnids are infamous for their venomous tails, used to defend themselves or subdue prey.
A larger and more aggressive relative of the wasp, hornets have a powerful sting that can be quite painful.
The spangram that ties the entire puzzle together.
While not as aggressive as some other stinging insects, bumblebees can sting when provoked.
A surprising entry in the list, the male platypus has venomous spurs on its hind legs, capable of delivering an excruciating sting.
Jellyfish
Scorpion
Hornet
Stingers
Bumblebee
Platypus
The NYT Strands puzzle from today fascinatingly explores the natural world, including some animals with one of nature’s most effective defence mechanisms. In this challenge, solvers were to find the commonality between these animals to decipher the hidden words among the grid items.
The puzzle focused on stinging creatures, fittingly using the theme and vertical spangram “Stingers”, it was entertaining but also educational. As usual, this allows the player to test their word-finding skills in the most fun way possible while, at least subliminally, teaching about the themes in some form that may not come without some wincing.
