NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Saturday, October 19

Strands is the latest daily puzzle from the New York Times, and it’s a bit of a twist on the classic word search, requiring sharp focus and a good eye to crack. If you enjoy games like Wordle, Connections, or the Mini Crossword, you’ll likely find Strands equally challenging, though it has its own unique spin that might leave you scratching your head some days. And hey, there’s no harm in needing a little help now and then! If you’re stuck on today’s puzzle, we’ve got the answers ready for you below.

How to Play Strands

In each Strands puzzle, your goal is to uncover “theme words” that are hidden within a grid of letters. You can create words by dragging your finger or tapping across the letters, and once you’ve crafted a word, double-tap on the last letter to lock it in. If the word you’ve found is one of the theme words, the letters will turn blue, and those letters won’t be available for other words anymore.

If you don’t happen to find a theme word but discover any other valid words (four letters or longer), it’s still useful! For every three non-theme words you uncover, you’ll earn a hint, which reveals letters from one of the theme words, making it easier to solve.

A key thing to remember is that every letter in the grid is part of a theme word, and each letter is used exactly once—there’s no overlap between words.

One exciting part of Strands is the “spangram,” which is a special theme word (or words) that connects two opposite sides of the grid. It represents the puzzle’s overall theme and will be highlighted in yellow when you find it.

Your goal is to solve the entire puzzle quickly while using as few hints as possible!

Hint for Today’s NYT Strands Puzzle

Today’s theme is “Turn it up a notch,” and here’s a little extra clue: think about words that describe adding something surprising, extra, or beyond the ordinary.

Today’s NYT Strands Answers

If you’re stuck, don’t worry—we’ve got today’s solutions here, starting with the spangram:

Spangram: EXTRASOMETHING

Now, here are the rest of the theme words you need to complete today’s Strands puzzle:

• FIZZ
• ZING
• KICK
• OOMPH
• SPARK
• VERVE
• PIZZAZZ

Each of these words fits the theme of adding that little extra flair, so now you’re all set to solve it and move on to tomorrow’s challenge!