NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Tuesday, May 28 (game #86)

NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Strands puzzle is an easy one, in my opinion, but this is the kind of game where individual episodes will tax some people more than others. Knowledge of the subject in question makes a big difference, so if you're struggling a little then read on for some hints.  

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Your Strands expert
Marc McLaren
Your Strands expert
Marc McLaren

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 #86) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's NYT Strands theme is… All atwitter

NYT Strands today (game #86) - hint #2 - clue words

What are some good clue words today?

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

BRILL

PART

CART

WHET

SHEER

SLOW

NYT Strands today (game #86) - hint #3 - spangram

What is a hint for today's spangram?

Dawn chorus

NYT Strands today (game #86) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: left, 5th row

Last: right, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #86) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 86 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #86, are…

  • CLUCK
  • TWEET
  • CHIRP
  • WARBLE
  • TRILL
  • SCREECH
  • WHISTLE
  • SPANGRAM: BIRDSONG

  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

This is probably the easiest Strands puzzle we've had for a week or more. The theme clue was reasonably obvious – though I did initially wonder if it might be a reference to social media platforms, or online discourse. However, CLUCK was the very first word I found, and that immediately confirmed my stronger hunch that what I needed was words for the sounds that birds make. 

None of the other answers were particularly hard to find, with the likes of TWEET and CHIRP standing out quickly. The task got easier still once I uncovered the spangram and gave the board some structure, and I solved it all with a minimum of fuss.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday 27 May, game #85)

  • SHELL
  • WHEEL
  • BOWTIE
  • TUBE
  • SPIRAL
  • RIBBON
  • ELBOW
  • SPANGRAM: PASTASHAPES

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.

Marc McLaren
Global Editor in Chief

Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief, the latest in a long line of senior editorial roles he’s held in a career that started the week that Google launched (nice of them to mark the occasion). Prior to joining TR, he was UK Editor in Chief on Tom’s Guide, where he oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage. He's also a former editor of the tech website Stuff and spent five years at the music magazine NME, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun. He’s based in London, and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and pretty much every other type of gadget you can think of. An avid photographer, Marc likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). He also enjoys live music, gaming, cycling, and beating Wordle (he authors the daily Wordle today page).

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