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NYT Strands is one of the unique word puzzles that challenge players to find new words from the randomly arranged letters.
The task is to form correct words that match the theme of the puzzle. Like today’s theme is ‘And the category is ...’
Players need to find six non-spangram words and a spangram word from the grid to solve the puzzle.
Looking for some brainstorming? Let’s solve NYT Strands. The October 16 puzzle grid is live with randomly scattered letters. Apparently, these letters don’t make any sense, but a careful observation will reveal meaningful words. From 5 to 50, anyone can solve NYT Strands from any corner of the globe. This word puzzle significantly differs from others, as it challenges gamers' vocabulary with each new puzzle.
Today’s NYT Strands presents a new challenge where players need to understand the theme and then observe the letter grid to form suitable words that match the theme. Finally, their goal is to discover the spangram.
The theme of NYT Strands on October 16, 2025, is ‘And the category is …’ Now, this looks a bit confusing, right? Though NYT experts have opined that today’s puzzle is a simple one, it varies from player to player. Therefore, it may take some time for some gamers to figure out the theme.
Today’s theme refers to different categories. Some are related to music, some are related to subjects that students generally study in school. To be precise, today’s words are very commonly used ones.
Also Read: NYT Connections Hints and Answers for October 15, 2025
To make the process a bit easier, here are the additional clues:
Hint 1: The first word starts with NE and is a four-letter word.
Hint 2: The second word starts with MO and is a five-letter word
Hint 3: The third word starts with MU and is a five-letter word
Hint 4: The fourth word starts with SP and is a six-letter word
Hint 5: The fifth word starts with HI and is a seven-letter word
Hint 6: The sixth word starts with GE and is a nine-letter word.
NYT Strands Answer of October 16, 2025, for non-spangram words include:
NEWS
MOVIES
MUSIC
SPORTS
HISTORY
GEOGRAPHY
All these words are related to speaking in a low tone or not speaking at all. Based on these, let’s discover the spangram of today’s NYT Strands:
Now, it's time to know today’s spangram. For the NYT Strands of October 16, 2025, the spangram is
This phrase stretches across two sides of the grid from the upper side to the lower side. Players will find it in the middle of the puzzle. Like every day, the snapgram defines the theme of the puzzle and justifies all the words. To know the locations of the words and the spangram, check out the image below:
NYT Strands is one of the most captivating word puzzle games by The New York Times, blending elements from renowned puzzle games like Spelling Bee, Connections, and traditional crosswords. If one is struggling with this puzzle, here are some tips to make the process smoother:
Players must focus on word patterns and associations.
Start finding words from the corner. The spangram is rarely at the corner of the grid so that non-spangram words can be there.
Don’t step back to get a hint. For every non-theme word, one guess will earn them a hint.
The spangram is generally stretched vertically across the board to look for it accordingly.
NYT Strands answers never disappoint players; instead, they enrich their vocabulary every day with multiple new words. The most interesting part involves players needing to think out of the box for most of the time to solve these puzzles. These words challenge players to think out of the box every day.
NYT Strands never repeats the theme, and all the themes test the knowledge and vocabulary of gamers in different sectors of daily life and work. Today’s one tested the gamer's vocabulary of subjects that students learn in school.
Also Read: NYT Wordle Answer Today for October 15, 2025: Hints and Expert Walkthrough
