This is the toughest Strands puzzle I've yet played, I think. Whether you find it as difficult remains to be seen; maybe I was having an off day. However, if it does baffle you too, my hints below may help point you in the right direction.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle and its ilk for more than two years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar, including a daily today's Wordle answer column and a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
NYT Strands today (game #82) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Raise a glass
NYT Strands today (game #82) - hint #2 - clue words
What are some good clue words today?
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• QUIZ
• PIGS
• CRAM
• CROCK
• ROAD
• TOAD
NYT Strands today (game #82) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Mix it up!
NYT Strands today (game #82) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
• First: top, 3rd column
• Last: bottom, 2nd column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #82) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #82, are…
- SOUR
- MOJITO
- SPRITZ
- GIMLET
- DAIQUIRI
- MARGARITA
- SPANGRAM: COCKTAILS
- My rating: Very hard
- My score: 5 hints
This is officially my worst performance in Strands so far. I needed 5 hints to solve it – meaning I only found two on my own. Given that one of them was a by-default solve, when there was nothing else that would fit, that's a terrible result.
What was the problem? Well, I definitely wasn't on form, but equally I think lots of people might struggle here. Though the theme is not too obscure, some of the spellings are; I tried for a long time to find a word that used the J, the Q or the Z and just couldn't come up with them. And let's face it, both MOJITO and DAIQUIRI do have uncommon word structures. The task wasn't helped by my never having heard of GIMLET, either. I'm just going to write this off as a bad day and move on, I think…
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday 23 May, game #81)
- MAFIA
- TWISTER
- CHARADES
- CELEBRITY
- TELEPHONE
- SPANGRAM: PARTYGAMES
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's currently in Beta and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
