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Today’s puzzle focuses on cold symptoms using both medical terms and sound-based descriptions.
The spangram COLDSYMPTOMS clearly defines the theme and connects all related answers.
Repeated starting letters help identify clusters of related words faster.
NYT Strands leans into seasonal discomfort in the Sunday, December 28 puzzle. Today’s grid feels familiar to anyone dealing with seasonal troubles. This grid mixes everyday language with sound-based clues. The challenge lies less in spotting the theme and more in recognizing how loosely some words fit together.
The official NYT Strands theme hint, “Load up on tissues,” points toward common cold-related experiences. Rather than focusing only on medical symptoms, today’s puzzle expands into sounds and actions associated with having a cold. The broad interpretation also explains, then, why some answers feel descriptive rather than precise, but still probably in line with the whole.
Here are gentle hints for each theme word, including starting letters and word lengths:
SN - Starts with SN, seven letters.
SN - Starts with SN, five letters.
SN - Starts with SN, six letters.
DR - Starts with DR, four letters.
CO - Starts with CO, five letters.
WH - Starts with WH, six letters.
HA - Starts with HA, four letters.
The non-spangram answers hidden in today’s grid are:
SNIFFLE
SNORT
SNEEZE
DRIP
COUGH
WHEEZE
HACK
Each word reflects either a cold symptom or a sound commonly associated with congestion and irritation.
The spangram, which was used in today’s puzzle, is COLD SYMPTOMS. The word stretches the grid, and also very well shows the theme. Although some of the answers are more related to the sound effects than to the textbook symptoms, the spangram does a good job of framing the puzzle’s intent, and it also unites the word set.
Seasonal themes typically depend on common sights, sounds, etc., rather than being strictly defined.
Words of sound might be used when the puzzle is more on the sensory side.
Common starting letters can indicate groups of connected answers.
Getting the spangram at an early stage can explain the presence of the unusual words in the theme.
The NYT Strands puzzle on December 28th catches the winter colds concept in a playful, somewhat messy way. Symptoms and expressive words are mixed, and the solvers are consequently challenged to think in a non-literal way. Such puzzles are still the means to develop the skills of vocabulary awareness and pattern recognition while maintaining the daily puzzle-solving practice that is both fresh and interesting.
