Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1711) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1711) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1711, are…

• NAVEL
• SHEER
• BIRTH
• TACKY

When you get stuck on a word with a missing letter and can’t see anything that would work, the key is invariably the letter V.

Two years into my Quordle obsession and I am still ignoring it, and today I spent ages ruling out every other combination before I final gazed upon NAVEL.

Daily Sequence today (game #1711) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1711, are…

• CLUNG
• SLURP
• WHEAT
• RECAP

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• OBEY
• CRUEL
• CORN
• SLAP
• REAL
• MATES

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #942) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #942) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #942, are…

• BREAK
• CRUMBLE
• COLLAPSE
• DISSOLVE
• FRAGMENT
• SPANGRAM: BEYONDREPAIR

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

I eventually got the spangram after multiple stages of feeling myself towards it — pair, then repair, then on repair, then finally BEYONDREPAIR. Once I’d made it, my gameplay felt the same way.

I was also slow to get going, but after finding half a dozen non-game words I took the lazy person’s way out and grabbed two hints: BREAk and CRUMBLE. From here it was easier, but I didn’t have my finest of days.

In the West we find the idea of things falling apart depressing, but in Japan there is a term — wabi-sabi — for taking pleasure and beauty in the natural decay and weathering of objects and displaying the patina of life. It’s lovely.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, September 30, game #941)

• CAPO
• PICK
• GUITAR
• DRUMS
• PIANO
• SYNTH
• AMPLIFIER
• SPANGRAM: MUSICSTORE

Devolo is best known for its range of PowerLine adaptors and range extenders but, as the name suggests, its new WiFi 7 Mesh BE6500 steps up to provide a full mesh Wi-Fi system for homes that need to extend their Wi-Fi coverage beyond the range of a single conventional router.

Wi-Fi 7 has been around for a few years now, but high-end tri-band routers that support the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz frequency bands are still quite expensive.

So, like a number of Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh systems that we’ve seen recently, the BE6500 keeps its price down by offering just dual-band Wi-Fi instead. However, it takes a slightly different approach from many of its dual-band rivals by giving you a choice about which frequency bands you can use.

You can opt to use the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands together to ensure compatibility with older devices that only support Wi-Fi 5 or 6. Alternatively, you can switch to using 2.4GHz and the faster 6.0GHz band for newer computers and mobile devices that support Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7.

That’s a good option for future-proofing your home network, as it will let you use the BE6500 with older computers and mobile devices while still providing an upgrade path for newer devices you may buy in the future.

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Price & release date

• Released in May 2026
• Available in EU and UK
• Three-pack costs £369.99/€399.90

Devolo products are widely available within the UK and Europe, but the company doesn’t currently operate in the US.

The Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500 is available as a two-pack containing two BE6500 routers for £249.99/€269.90. Devolo doesn’t quote the precise area covered by that two-pack option, merely saying that it is suitable for ‘small-to-medium’ homes.

However, I tested the three-pack option for ‘larger’ homes, which costs £369.99/€399.90. If required, you can further extend your mesh network by buying additional BE6500 routers, costing £129.99/€149.90 each. Those prices are very competitive when compared to rivals in a similar price range, such as Amazon’s Eero 7 and the Netgear Orbi 373, which only support dual-band Wi-Fi 7 on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

• Value score: 4/5

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Specs

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Design

• Compact design
• Four Ethernet ports per router
• Setup is a bit fussy

The BE6500 routers are neatly designed, with each plain white unit standing 175mm high, 118mm wide and 72mm deep, so they will fit comfortably onto any convenient table or shelf.

The routers look identical, with four Ethernet ports located on the side, including a 2.5Gbps port for high-speed broadband connections and three 1Gb ports to provide a local (LAN) connection for devices, such as a games console or PC, that may work better with a lag-free wired connection.

However, one of the routers is labelled as the ‘Controller’, and this router will need to be connected to your existing broadband router or modem in order to use its internet connection.

Setting up the Controller router is fairly straightforward, as Devolo’s Home Network app for iOS/Android allows you to simply scan a QR code to connect to the Controller. However, adding the other two routers – referred to as ‘Extensions’ – requires a little more effort.

The app tells you to plug both of the Extension routers into a mains power supply close to the Controller, but it can only connect one Extension to your network at a time. This means that you have to go through the process of connecting the first Extension to your network, and then unplug it so that you can move it to another location, and then repeat the same process for the second Extension.

We’ve seen other mesh Wi-Fi systems that can automatically connect multiple routers in order to create your new network for you, so Devolo could do more to simplify the initial set-up process.

• Design score: 4/5

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Features

• App is a bit confusing
• Some features are enabled via a browser

The setup process was also unclear how to choose the frequency bands that are used for your new network.

The app doesn’t ask which frequencies you would like to use, but after randomly tapping buttons within the app for a while I did find a mention of the fact that the network was using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

However, there was no option within the app to switch to the 6.0GHz band instead, so I had to connect a laptop to the Devolo network using the default 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, and then use a web browser to view more detailed network settings.

And, again, after some more random button tapping, I did find an option that allowed me to switch to using the 2.4GHz and 6.0GHz bands instead. The browser interface also includes other features, such as a QoS option – Quality Of Service – that allows you to prioritise tasks such as gaming or streaming video.

That’s not a very user-friendly approach though, and may well be confusing for people who aren’t used to configuring their network via a web browser interface, so Devolo needs to make its app more straightforward for new users.

• Features score: 4/5

Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500: Performance

The BE6500 could certainly be more user-friendly, but I can’t fault its performance, and the three-pack system that I tested worked a treat for tackling the Wi-Fi deadspot that I have in an office towards the back of my building.

Devices in the same room as my normal broadband router can generally achieve the full 150Mbps available with my office broadband service both for Steam downloads and the Ookla Speed Test.

My aging router struggles to reach that back office though, so I have to rely on PowerLine adaptors to provide a more reliable wired network connection.

I placed one of the BE6500 Extension routers in that office, with the second placed roughly halfway between the back office and the main Controller router. Steam downloads did slow down a little initially, when using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, dipping to 130Mbps as I walked along the corridor with my laptop, but quickly recovered to hit 150Mbps once more.

That pattern was repeated with the Ookla Speed Test as well. Performance was even better when I switched to using the 2.4GHz and 6.0GHz bands, with the BE6500 trio maintaining a smooth 150Mbps throughout my tests.

Some people might prefer a true tri-band router or mesh system that allows you to use the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands simultaneously. That will be more expensive though, and if you need an affordable Wi-Fi upgrade that can cover a larger home with reliable Wi-Fi, then the BE6500 is good value for money.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should I buy the Devolo Wi-Fi 7 Mesh BE6500?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: September 2026

TP-Link is now selling the first Wi-Fi 8 router to come onto the market, although the very latest wireless tech won't come cheap as you might expect.

The TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra is available to buy in the UK and Australia, as well as Germany and some other countries (not yet specified by the router manufacturer).

Pricing will naturally vary by region, but the cost in the UK is £669.99 if you place a pre-order now, although that price tag will be bumped up to £899.99 later on. In Australia, pre-orders are open now, with the Archer 8 Ultra priced at AU$1,499.99. There's no indication of a price bump once the router officially launches.

With the Archer 8 Ultra you get Wi-Fi 8 coverage of up to 3,600 square feet (or 3,000 square feet in Europe). In case you weren't aware, this new wireless standard is about improving performance in different ways other than raw speed.

The key advantages for Wi-Fi 8 over Wi-Fi 7 are that it deals more capably with interference in crowded signal-dense environments, and it's more reliable with a greater number of client devices connected. Wi-Fi 8 also ensures that there's a better signal at the extremities of the network.

TP-Link has told us a bit more about what its Wi-Fi 8 StabilityEngine tech achieves in the Archer 8 Ultra, noting the presence of features such as UEQM, MCS, and 2×LDPC. These are designed to "hold throughput steady in a noisy home, delivering up to 33% more consistent throughput at mid-to-long ranges and up to 24% more consistent throughput than Wi-Fi 7 under interference."

You don't really need to know the ins-and-outs of the various acronyms involved, save to say that they help the Wi-Fi signal drop off less sharply as you move further away from the router, and they cut down on dropped network packets (helping to keep a more stable connection).

TP-Link also boasts about its Multi-Floor Mode feature, which reshapes the Wi-Fi signal to take into account where devices are actually present. The firm says that this directs coverage to multiple floors when devices are spread over different levels, but it flattens to a "wide single-floor pattern" when they're not.

TP-Link further observes that as the Wi-Fi 8 standard matures – it's still in its draft form right now – firmware updates will be applied to the Archer 8 Ultra to keep it up to speed.

The Archer 8 Ultra also comes with the Aireal AI Assistant which allows less technically inclined users to employ natural language queries to understand and tweak their Wi-Fi coverage. This AI also keeps a constant eye on how the router is performing and continuously optimizes and prioritizes wireless traffic, with other benefits such as an Eco mode to bring power usage right down at night when everyone's asleep.

On the security front, this router has an integrated VPN at the hardware level encrypting the traffic of selected devices (it works with third-party VPNs too, if you already have one). Smart gadgets (Internet of Things devices), with their greater levels of potential security risks, are kept on their own network away from the main network (and the guest network is separate too, as you'd imagine).

There's also an optional TP-Link HomeShield service which offers real-time protection for your devices as well as parental controls.

Analysis: is it worth getting on board with the future of Wi-Fi today?

With the Archer 8 Ultra now on pre-order, it's likely that the mesh Wi-Fi system TP-Link also revealed at IFA 2026 – the Deco 8 Ultra – won't be that far behind.

The price tag is predictably high with the Archer 8 Ultra, though, albeit pre-ordering does get you a pretty chunky discount. (The same will doubtless be true of the Deco 8 Ultra when it pitches up – the price of that will also depend on how many units you need based on the size of your home).

At any rate, now the Archer 8 Ultra can be yours, should you rush to pre-order to benefit from all the mentioned Wi-Fi 8 goodies? Well, no, because there isn't any consumer hardware (phones, tablets, laptops) that supports Wi-Fi 8 yet, and you need those client devices as well as the actual router. They won't arrive until next year, and they'll be thin on the ground even then.

So buying this TP-Link router right now is more about being future-proofed than anything else (though you will get some slight benefits from the Archer 8 Ultra with current Wi-Fi 7 or earlier devices). The thing is that if you're prepared to wait, the hefty early adopter premium on the Archer 8 Ultra (or other Wi-Fi 8 routers) will lessen, and really, that's your best bet as I've previously discussed at length.

If you do fancy grabbing the Archer 8 Ultra, though, definitely make sure you get that cheaper pre-order price.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1710) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1710) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1710, are…

• CHOKE
• BATCH
• MOSSY
• EAGER

A close call today as I struggled to guess EAGER.

Fortunately I only had a few letters left, but if it had been possible I would most definitely have guessed “lager” or “cager”. A lack of options saved me.

Daily Sequence today (game #1710) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1710, are…

• STOLE
• UNDUE
• JOIST
• SERIF

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SLIP
• RINK
• CRIER
• ROUND
• FUSE
• FAMILY

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #941) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #941) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #941, are…

• CAPO
• PICK
• GUITAR
• DRUMS
• PIANO
• SYNTH
• AMPLIFIER
• SPANGRAM: MUSICSTORE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I have only been in a MUSICSTORE twice in my life and on both occasions it was to buy the cheapest thing they sold — a guitar PICK, or “plectrum” as we liked to call them in my brief-lived teenage band.

I played the bass even though I only knew two bass lines, something called “walking bass” and the hook of Peaches by The Stranglers. I was terrible, and didn’t improve over the two months of our existence.

Anyway, I digress. I did originally think the theme may be connected to instrumental classics such as Green Onions or Tequila, but CAPO ended that assumption. Then, after getting PICK I thought it might be about musical accessories, but thankfully GUITAR and PIANO stopped that as I couldn't think of any more musical accessories — well, until I managed to spot AMPLIFIER.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, September 29, game #940)

• PRESSURE
• BLOOD
• VEIN
• PULSE
• ARTERY
• ATRIUM
• SPANGRAM: CARDIOVASCULAR

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1709) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1709) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1709, are…

• BILGE
• MEDAL
• LODGE
• PORCH

My three starter words gave me an excellent head start today, with every word becoming highly gettable from the beginning.

Best of all was BILGE — probably my favorite old man insult and also a reminder of an art-punk band called Bilge Pump that I saw once at a music festival. What a great name for a band. Also a great name for a piece of equipment that removes unwanted water that collects in the lowest part of a boat's hull

Daily Sequence today (game #1709) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1709, are…

• TRUCE
• LARVA
• LUNAR
• GLAND

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• VERDANT
• DIARY
• CLASS
• CARVED
• SCUM
• TRAY

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #940) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #940) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #940, are…

• PRESSURE
• BLOOD
• VEIN
• PULSE
• ARTERY
• ATRIUM
• SPANGRAM: CARDIOVASCULAR

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I donate blood every now and then, so I was quite familiar with this hearty vocabulary — but I’ll be honest, when I think of the word atrium I imagine a large glass roof in a shopping mall rather than a chamber of the heart.

These six letters aside I whizzed through this game, though. It was also a pleasure to see the heartbeat-styled 14-letter spangram made up of a single word rather than two or three.

Adding to the enjoyment was a bounty of interesting non-game words. I was particularly thrilled to get “verdant” as this is far longer than my usual spots.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, September 28, game #939)

• WOOD
• CLAY
• GLASS
• SOAPSTONE
• BRONZE
• MARBLE
• SPANGRAM: SCULPTURE

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1708) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1708) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1708, are…

• BRUNT
• TORSO
• STONE
• HEATH

Words beginning in T and ending in O always look exotic to me — possibly because the one that I’d first think of would be tango.

There are also two brilliant cities in Tokyo and Tromso, which today’s most difficult-to-get word, TORSO, shares some of its letters with.

Daily Sequence today (game #1708) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1708, are…

• TEDDY
• BLUFF
• CHOCK
• OTHER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• TALES
• SPOT
• TONE
• SUGAR
• BRAG
• POSTAL

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #939) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #939) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #939, are…

• WOOD
• CLAY
• GLASS
• SOAPSTONE
• BRONZE
• MARBLE
• SPANGRAM: SCULPTURE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Some NYT crossover here, as yesterday we had a Sculpture Media category in Connections — although plaster was missing from that particular group of four.

Regardless, it still took me a while to realize that we were looking for materials, a failing that’s highlighted by the fact that I had both soap and stone in my list of non-game words before realizing that SOAPSTONE was a thing.

Anyway, this poor piece of gameplay aside this was a relatively easy search and a nice start to the week.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, September 27, game #938)

• SUNSCREEN
• MOISTURIZER
• CLEANSER
• SERUM
• TONER
• SPANGRAM: BEAUTYCARE

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1707) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1707) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1707, are…

• VALET
• CHEST
• VIGIL
• PUREE

I took this game very slowly and it paid off. I was particularly pleased about getting VALET, as the letter V is one I’ve suffered a strange blindness to in the past.

My only risk was guessing PUREE instead of “purge”, a good one as it turned out.

Daily Sequence today (game #1707) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1707, are…

• STRAW
• OVERT
• FEWER
• SAINT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SUET
• CLEAR
• TRACE
• STIR
• RAISE
• ROUTE
• NOSE

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #938) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #938) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #938, are…

• SUNSCREEN
• MOISTURIZER
• CLEANSER
• SERUM
• TONER
• SPANGRAM: BEAUTYCARE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I would normally begin by finding words connected to any rare letters or double-letter combinations, but in today’s game it was impossible to ignore SUNSCREEN in the top left-hand corner.

From here I moved on to MOISTURIZER and then realised with these two finds I had exhausted my knowledge of skincare products.

Fortunately, these two spots opened up the spangram and CLEANSER. I did get the final two words without a hint, but even though they were both just five letters long it took me a stupidly long time to uncover SERUM and TONER.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, September 26, game #937)

• BREEZE
• ZEPHYR
• GUST
• WHIFF
• PUFF
• FLURRY
• CURRENT
• SPANGRAM: GENTLEWIND

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1706) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1706) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1706, are…

• SNORT
• BIBLE
• LAPSE
• CRANE

I had one of those moments here where I was absolutely certain I would be seeing the bouncy letters that mean you have completed the game.

Aptly, however, my guess of “false” turned out to be completely wrong.

Fortunately, I had space for a mistake.

Daily Sequence today (game #1706) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1706, are…

• GLEAM
• GOUGE
• DWELL
• ROGUE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• CURE
• FEEL
• PREY
• BREW
• DICE
• SWIFT

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #937) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #937) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #937, are…

• BREEZE
• ZEPHYR
• GUST
• WHIFF
• PUFF
• FLURRY
• CURRENT
• SPANGRAM: GENTLEWIND

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I began, as I’m sure most players did, by finding the words linked to the two letter Zs.

However, while BREEZE was a breeze, ZEPHYR was not something I would have got without the fact that its letters connected straight down.

ZEPHYR is, like all of today’s game words, a way of describing a GENTLEWIND — but prior to today its only appearance in my life was in The Zephyr Song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which seemed to imply it was some kind of magical vehicle we could fly away on.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, September 25, game #936)

• NINE
• TWENTYFIVE
• FOUR
• EIGHTYONE
• THIRTYSIX
• SPANGRAM: SQUARENUMBER

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1705) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1705) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1705, are…

• SWEAR
• FLOOD
• GUPPY
• GROAN

A close call today.

Even though I only had nine letters left — and four of them were J,Q, X and Z — I still made very hard work of getting GUPPY. In my defense, though, “gummy” is a far more likely word, isn't it?

Daily Sequence today (game #1705) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1705, are…

• CAROL
• RAVEN
• PARER
• PERKY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BEST
• REST
• FARE
• BARE
• THEY
• STIR

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #936) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #936) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #936, are…

• NINE
• TWENTYFIVE
• FOUR
• EIGHTYONE
• THIRTYSIX
• SPANGRAM: SQUARENUMBER

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Is it just me or is this game missing a few words?

We have FOUR, which is the SQUARENUMBER of two, and NINE (the square of three), but then we miss sixteen (the square of four) before jumping back in again with TWENTYFIVE (the square of five) and THIRTYSIX (the square of six). However, we then skip seven and eight, before resuming with EIGHTYONE, the square of nine.

Maybe I'm overthinking this…

Anyway, this quibble aside, the hardest aspect of this game was trying to find the non-game words for this column. There really were barely any, so I hope you didn’t need hints.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, September 24, game #935)

• SANDBOX
• TREEHOUSE
• SWINGS
• POOL
• TRAMPOLINE
• FORT
• SPANGRAM: BACKYARD

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1704) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1704) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1704, are…

• TOPIC
• METRO
• SCALP
• FREED

I should have known better than to risk using a rare letter, but after the letter J appeared yesterday I followed a hunch and guessed “toxic”.

Fortunately, my hunches paid off after getting TOPIC, although I did come close to incorrectly submitting “retro” instead of METRO.

Daily Sequence today (game #1704) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1704, are…

• BLURB
• KRILL
• ENEMY
• QUART

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• HOBO
• WINK
• WINGS
• TRACK
• FAME
• TRAP

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #935) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #935) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #935, are…

• SANDBOX
• TREEHOUSE
• SWINGS
• POOL
• TRAMPOLINE
• FORT
• SPANGRAM: BACKYARD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

The first word I saw on the board was “tree”, but fortunately I wasn’t switched on enough to see the adjoining word “house” and put them together.

I say 'fortunately', because in the absence of spotting a game word I did see the spangram and gave a little whoop of joy as the letters turned yellow.

This was also quite a melancholy game for me, as it reminded me of all the clutter that used to fill up my BACKYARD that is no longer there — a sign that my kids have grown up and no longer need a SANDBOX or SWINGS or the safety nightmare that is a TRAMPOLINE.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, September 23, game #934)

• BYGONE
• ARCHAIC
• ANCIENT
• PRIMEVAL
• TIMEWORN
• SPANGRAM: THATSOLDNEWS

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1703) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1703) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1703, are…

• SHEET
• BLAND
• JOIST
• GUAVA

I suffered from temporary insanity playing today’s game, in thinking that we needed not one but two rare letters.

Such was the shock of seeing a letter J that I risked a word beginning with Q — and when that was wrong, I remembered that common Quordle game word of GUAVA. It’s been a while since we’ve seen it, but thankfully it was still in my memory bank.

Daily Sequence today (game #1703) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1703, are…

• DRIFT
• TRIAL
• MOSSY
• PAUSE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #934) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #934) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• THONG
• SOLD
• PRIMAL
• SWORN
• CRATE
• CHART

NYT Strands today (game #934) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #934) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #934) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #934, are…

• BYGONE
• ARCHAIC
• ANCIENT
• PRIMEVAL
• TIMEWORN
• SPANGRAM: THATSOLDNEWS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

Today’s theme was a mystery. “Practically paleolithic”? What could that mean? A practical person who follows a paleo diet? A very well-organized dinosaur? Or was this more Bill and Ted-style slacker slang that had passed me by?

As it turned out it was about things that were old, tired and out of date, something that I only discovered after getting a hint of BYGONE following an exhausting search to make sense of it all.

From here I spotted the spangram THATSOLDNEWS and began my toil around the board to get the other words.

Incidentally, I know that it’s impossible to include apostrophes in word search games but I hate seeing THATS without one.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, September 22, game #933)

• SWITCH
• CHANGEOVER
• TRANSITION
• PROGRESSION
• SPANGRAM: FALLEQUINOX

Meta has reached an agreement with Prospect union to allow access to its UK employees to speak about membership opportunities.

The move comes as a deadline for compliance with new union membership rules under the Employment Rights Act 2025 looms in October 2026.

Under the agreement, Prospect will have access to all 5,000 of Meta’s UK employees, allowing the union to talk to Meta workers about the benefits of union membership and recruit workers.

New union rules strengthen UK workers

A spokesperson for Meta said, “Employees who want to find out more about union membership have a straightforward way to do so. Meta's industrial relations team already works with employee representative groups in multiple markets, and we are approaching this in the same way.”

Initial trade union reforms as part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 took effect in February of this year. But subsequent reforms, due to take effect on 30 October, add additional requirements for employers to inform workers of their right to join a union, provide greater access for unions to workplaces, add additional protections for union representatives, and give workers greater protections when taking industrial action.

Meta is therefore providing Prospect with access to Meta employees ahead of the deadline, which Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect, said “is to Meta’s credit that they have struck this voluntary deal with Prospect, rather than waiting for the new Right of Access to kick in, sending a positive message to staff that they are open to engaging with a union.”

Prospect currently has over 160,000 UK workers within its membership pool, covering technology, broadcasting, creative industries, defense and education.

The beginnings of a UK union bounce back?

According to official statistics from the UK Department for Business & Trade, union membership has been on a steady decline. In 1995, 28.8% of those in employment belonged to a union. But by 2025, this number has reached a historic low of just 19.9%.

Ahead of the reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Bill, union membership as a percentage of those in employment rose to 20.4% in 2025, potentially being bolstered ahead of the Bill’s formal introduction.

There are a number of reasons for the steady decline in union membership - some good, and some bad. The UK economy shifting away from industrial industries that traditionally held union-heavy employment is one of the most significant factors.

But Anti-union legislation introduced under Margaret Thatcher’s premiership during the 1990s also weakened the power of unions significantly. Unions lost legal protections against strikes, outlawed sympathy strikes, and introduced mandatory secret votes on union leadership ahead of strike action.

New rules introduced as part of employment protections and regulations - such as the minimum wage introduced in 1998 - have also reduced the need for unions to negotiate fair pay or organise industrial action in events of extreme unfairness.

Looking forward, the rapid introduction of AI to UK industries and the fear of job displacement are also likely fueling union membership in the UK.

It's a tale far too rich to contain in, say, a classic 140-character tweet, but I'll attempt to unpack it here, with insights from Bluebird, Inc. President and General Counsel Stephen Coates.

"I call it the 'Tweenix,' " Coates tells me, after I noted that Tweet.app's new blue logo looks a little like a phoenix. The imagery is apt. It signifies classic Twitter rising from the ashes, but also Bluebird's initial success and then failure to revive 'Twitter', before ultimately launching Tweet.app a few weeks ago.

Two years ago, Bluebird began the skunkworks project to revive Twitter, a brand Elon Musk effectively killed when he bought Twitter in 2022 and then in 2023 rebranded it to X, leaving vestiges of the old 'Twitter' scattered throughout the services, a fact that played a crucial role in Bluebird's ability to revive the brand.

Coates told me that after his company tried to file for a cancellation of the 'Tweet' and 'Twitter' trademarks in December of last year, X quickly filed a federal injunction. In the meantime, Bluebird launched Twitter.now. Months later, the judge ruled that because X still had "formerly Twitter" on the Apple App Store listing, it had brand rights. Coates called the ruling surprising, but Bluebird quickly pivoted and rebranded to Tweet.

The company, he told me, has no plans to go after the iconic Twitter bird logo, even though it's not well protected as a brand by X. Hence, the Tweenix.

Tweet, though, still seems like a risky name. Coates told me, "We're optimistic... It seems highly likely we’ll prevail on 'Tweet'."

That remains to be seen. When you sign up for Tweet, you must acknowledge that you know it's not affiliated with X. Search Tweet in the App Store, and the first result is still X. However, Tweet.app operating relatively under the radar might help it avoid further scrutiny from X and Elon Musk.

It has, by Coates' measure, just about 8,000 users. "[That's] pretty good, considering it's paid," Coates told me. The platform is so small that you could conceivably read all the tweets — I'm not sure that's a selling point, but Coates said there are "already community and inside jokes."

The company is using the income from those users to pay its small team of 10 employees and contractors as it builds the platform and tweaks the moderation filters, something Coates considers of critical importance.

Tweet.app, which does resemble old-school Twitter, is currently using AI to scale its moderation, including its still-in-beta Vera tool, which measures content for misinformation and applies a score. Eventually, Tweet.app members will have a dial connected to those ratings to automatically filter out their desired level of misinformation.

That's right, Tweet.app won't be in the business of rooting out all fake news. The creed will be, "Freedom of speech but not freedom of reach," said Coates.

Where Twitter, under former CEO Dick Costolo, whom Coates worked under, struggled with how to be a town square when there was one guy shouting obscenities in the corner, Tweet.com will let the guy shout, but also let users hide the obscenities they don't want to see in their feeds.

If it works, all of it will be powered by this AI. "I call it AI for good. We're not creating tools that will create AI outputs," said Coates, who has worked as counsel for Meta, Reddit, and TikTok.

None of this, of course, ensures success. Classic social media, including Twitter, was built on viral moments, like the Arab Spring, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and selfies that broke the internet.

Coates acknowledged the power of these "inflection" moments, but reminded me that you can't predict them. Tweet.app is happy to grow slowly. Coates knows that paying members will be more deeply engaged than people who simply hop on the platform for free. "At some point will it be open to everyone? I certainly hope so," he told me.

I asked Coates why we need this or any other new social media. He told me that he sees room for reinvention, with space for social media that gives users control. "We're empowering them to control the algorithm," which is an idea that well-established social media platforms have only recently approached.

As the other upstart micro-blogging social media platform, Bluesky, moves away from the town square concept, Coates sees an opportunity to build an alternative to the only other big open platform: X.

"There's room for more. I think people will come for the nostalgia of Twitter and tweeting and stay for the control and experience. It’s a grand experiment."

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1702) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1702) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1702) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1702) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1702) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1702) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1702, are…

• COMFY
• LOBBY
• DRESS
• PANEL

After making a speedy start I ground to a halt trying to get my last word.

Fortunately, it only took me two guesses to find COMFY, but I wasted lots of time thinking I was looking for another double-letter word.

Daily Sequence today (game #1702) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1702, are…

• SPOOL
• LUPUS
• SHELL
• HAIRY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
• Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #933) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #933) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• FAIL
• SAVERS
• TWIN
• CHAIN
• VOTES
• SOIL

NYT Strands today (game #933) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #933) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #933) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #933, are…

• SWITCH
• CHANGEOVER
• TRANSITION
• PROGRESSION
• SPANGRAM: FALLEQUINOX

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

Even as I was collecting the words I still thought that the theme was about work and the moment when the day shift and the night shift swap over.

It wasn’t until I got the spangram — I had been ignoring the game’s two rare letters until then — that the penny finally dropped and I understood that the words were connected to what AI tells me is “the precise astronomical moment when the center of the Sun crosses Earth's equator, marking the official astronomical start of autumn”.

Every day’s a school day with Strands!

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, September 21, game #932)

• NEON
• LYCRA
• GRUNGE
• SCRUNCHIES
• TRACKSUITS
• SPANGRAM: NINETIESTREND

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1701) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1701) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1701) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1701) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1701) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1701) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1701, are…

• WAXEN
• HIPPO
• PETAL
• LEASH

For one of my words I had “rhino” stuck in my head as it featured an H, I and O, which meant I managed to ignore the other animal answer of HIPPO.

The far bigger challenge, though, was arriving at WAXEN — a word I had pondered earlier in the game but ruled out because of the rare letter X. Eventually I had no choice but to take the plunge.

Daily Sequence today (game #1701) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1701, are…

• ANGEL
• OLIVE
• GRIMY
• MARCH

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
• Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
• Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #932) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #932) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• CAUSING
• STAR
• GRUNT
• RING
• DARK
• RETURN

NYT Strands today (game #932) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #932) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #932) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #932, are…

• NEON
• LYCRA
• GRUNGE
• SCRUNCHIES
• TRACKSUITS
• SPANGRAM: NINETIESTREND

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

This one took me a while and a couple of hints to make any progress.

As someone who lived through the 1990s I really should have found this easier, but even though I was certain of the theme after getting LYCRA (I still have nightmares about a colleague who turned up to work in cycling shorts) I struggled to think of anything else that could be linked to the decade.

Thinking about plaid shirts and Teen Spirit help me get GRUNGE, but the remaining two words took me an embarrassingly long time.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, September 20, game #931)

• BOAST
• BRAG
• FLEX
• GLOAT
• STRUT
• BLUSTER
• POSTURE
• SPANGRAM: GRANDIOSITY

Unfortunately, not everything can be boiled down into a simple image, diagram, or video. Some concepts are just too complex to be simplified. When I am forced to read a body of text, I prefer to hear someone read to me rather than read it for myself.

The problem is that not every resource has an accompanying audio feature. I could use my web browser’s reading mode, but there’s usually only a limited number of voices, and they often sound electronic and overprocessed. That’s why I’ve recently started using Speechify.

This simple and straightforward app features over 200 lifelike voices, each of which can be customized by type, pitch, and accent. The app can read uploaded files, images, and pasted text and integrates seamlessly into a range of workflows and file repositories. You can even choose the reading speed to be up to 4.5 times the normal speed, although I wouldn't recommend that!

AI voices that sound natural

Whatever you like to read, Speechify has so many voices on offer that you’re bound to find one that you enjoy listening to. The app guides users through a series of questions that help you narrow down the best choice for your requirements. It begins by asking you which type of voice you’d like. You can choose between conversational, narration, acting, professional, meditation, and educational.

From there, the app asks you whether you’d like the voice to sound bright, soft, neutral, crisp, warm, or deep, and whether you like a low, mid, or high pitch. The final option is to choose between British, American, and Australian accents. Unfortunately, these are the only three possibilities at the moment, although I’m sure they’ll add more in time.

With these simple questions answered, Speechify scans its 200+ voices and tells you which voices are the best fit. All you have to do is select your favorite, choose a document to read, and sit back and enjoy. And if you fancy a change, picking a different voice is easy.

An abundance of workflows

Speechify offers a number of different workflows, all of which are accessible through the Home tab of the app. First up is an AI-driven option where the app asks you, “What do you want to work on today?” Anyone who has used ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar will be familiar with this workflow.

Simply describe your task or ask anything, either with text or through the microphone, and Speechify will look it up for you. You can even attach files to complement your search request. Answers are presented as text but can be ‘read’ by the voice assistant. You can also ask follow-up questions to delve deeper into a topic.

If you already have a document that you’d like read out, you can choose from the list of seven workflow options. These are upload files from your phone, upload from a cloud repository, scan pages, paste text, find a book, paste a link, and dictate text.

I expected Speechify to handle PDFs and web pages with ease, but what I was most impressed with was its ability to analyze and read out images. I tested the app with several different photos, and it was able to read all types of information, including technical details. The images also didn’t have to be the highest quality or the best lit.

One of the best things about Speechify is that it lets me do a lot more multitasking. Prior to using the app, I would have to allocate a lot more time to sitting down and having focused reading time. Now I can upload a file or take a picture of something and crack on with house chores at the same time. It’s transformed how I spend my time.

Getting the most out of Speechify

The free version of Speechify provides a reasonable number of features, but it lacks offline listening, advanced voices, faster playback, and additional features such as dictation. To access these, you’ll need a Premium account, which costs $175 / £129.99 per year. There’s a free 3-day trial so you can test out the additional features before committing.

Also, if you love audiobooks, Speechify also has a library of over 100,000 books across every genre. This includes fiction, classics, self-help, and more. This costs $80 / £60 for lifetime access but is often discounted down to $35 / £25. At this price, Speechify Library is an affordable alternative to Amazon’s Audible service.

Whether you read to study, for leisure, learn a language, or simply want to boost your productivity, Speechify will help you realize your goals in super-fast time.

Download Speechify on iOS and Android.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1700) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1700) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1700) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1700) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1700) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1700) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1700, are…

• DERBY
• LIMBO
• GAWKY
• REIGN

It took me a couple of guesses to get GAWKY, but this bump aside I was happy to navigate a pretty tricky collection of words.

GAWKY, incidentally, is exactly how I’d feel if I was coerced into taking part in a LIMBO competition.

Daily Sequence today (game #1700) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1700, are…

• SKULL
• MADLY
• PRIOR
• FLACK

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
• Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
• Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
• Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #931) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #931) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• PURE
• GRASS
• BURST
• TOAST
• SIXTY
• BRAIDS

NYT Strands today (game #931) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #931) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #931) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #931, are…

• BOAST
• BRAG
• FLEX
• GLOAT
• STRUT
• BLUSTER
• POSTURE
• SPANGRAM: GRANDIOSITY

• My rating: So easy
• My score: Perfect

A left-to-right spangram aside, this was a fairly straightforward search once I’d bagged my first word, but that’s probably because I’m the greatest Strands player that the world has ever known.

And it’s not just me saying that. Everyone says so.

I have never lost a single game of Strands and I never need to use a hint because it’s all so easy — probably the easiest way to spend two minutes in the world, actually, because that’s how long it takes me to complete even the hardest Strands game. Two minutes! Actually, probably closer to 120 seconds.

(Not really!)

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, September 19, game #930)

• ARRR
• HEARTIES
• AVAST
• MATEY
• SAVVY
• YOHOHO
• SPANGRAM: TALKLIKEAPIRATE

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• HATE
• PEAK
• LIKE
• KEEPER
• STARE
• MEAT

NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #930) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #930) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #930, are…

• ARRR
• HEARTIES
• AVAST
• MATEY
• SAVVY
• YOHOHO
• SPANGRAM: TALKLIKEAPIRATE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Saturday 19 September — so, today — is International TALKLIKEAPIRATE Day. I didn’t know that before playing today’s Strands, but am now cursed with calling everybody I meet MATEY.

The thing that caught my eye immediately was seeing three letter Rs in a row, and it was quite the delight to get ARRR correct.

From here, the search was a little bit trickier, but I managed to avoid the temptation of using a hint as the theme tune to Pirates of the Caribbean buzzed around my head.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, September 18, game #929)

• COVENANT
• PACT
• TREATY
• CONTRACT
• AGREEMENT
• SPANGRAM: LETSMAKEADEAL

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1699) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1699) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1699) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1699) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1699) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1699) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1699, are…

• SCOPE
• HEIST
• PULSE
• CHAMP

I played this game very tactically, waiting until the latest moment, and ruling out another word beginning with the letter P, before guessing CHAMP.

When you can see a word from the start, but cannot be certain, it’s really hard not to follow your hunch — well, it is for me anyway — so I’m pleased with my restraint.

Daily Sequence today (game #1699) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1699, are…

• ELEGY
• OPIUM
• FUGUE
• SUAVE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
• Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
• Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
• Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
• Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1698) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1698) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1698, are…

• MUCUS
• MIRTH
• APPLE
• TILDE

I made quite a meal over APPLE, mainly due to the fact that the were so many options for words containing a letter A and ending in LE.

Fortunately, it only took me one wrong guess.

Elsewhere, two words beginning with the letter M were the major helper.

Daily Sequence today (game #1698) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1698, are…

• IONIC
• KIOSK
• VOILA
• BORNE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
• Quordle #1696, Wednesday, 16 September: SPEAR, PRICE, BLUNT, FISHY
• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
• Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
• Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
• Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
• Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
• Quordle #1678, Saturday, 29 August: OVINE, ALLOY, VOICE, CARVE