If you are looking for clues and answers for Strands for Friday, July 19, 2024, read on: I will share some hints and tips, and finally the solution to the riddle on the theme “And the Oscar goes to…”
To easily return to our Strands tips each day, Bookmark this page. You can also find our past clues there, in case you wanted to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints about today’s Strands answers. And further down the page, I’ll reveal the spangram and the answers. Scroll slowly and pick up just the hints you need!
Clue for the spangram in today’s Strands puzzle
A two-word spangram referring to one of the most prestigious awards for individuals at the Oscars.
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle theme words
The last names of the people who won this prestigious award.
WARNING: Spoilers for today’s Strands puzzle!
We’re about to reveal the answers to today’s Strands puzzle.
What is the spangram of today’s Strands?
Today’s spangram is BESTACTING.
What are the key words in today’s Strands?
Today’s keywords are: FIELD, SWANK, BERRY, PHOENIX, HUNT, STONE, BRIDGES.
This is what the board looks like when the puzzle is solved:
How I Solved Today’s Problems
My first instinct is to look up the last names of famous Oscar winners, like “Streep.”
After searching for a minute I find BRIDGES in the lower right corner. ? Maybe a reference to Jeff Bridges?
STONE is at the bottom left. ? (Emma Stone.)
HUNT is above that. ? (Helen Hunt.)
FIELD is top left. ? (Sally Field.)
I see the word BEST and realize it’s probably part of the spangram. Yes, BESTACTING. ? It’s a little strange, but maybe it’s a way to get around the title of the award which is Best Actor or Best Actress depending on the gender of the recipient.
PHOENIX is below the spangram. ? (Joaquin Phoenix.)
SWANK is on the top right. ? (Hilary Swank.)
Finally, BERRY. ? (Halle Berry.)
How to play Strands
You can find the Strands game on the New York Times website and in the NYT Games app.
When you start playing, you will see a game board with an assortment of letters, flanked by a clue that gives a hint about the theme of the board. This will be a phrase, such as “Better with age.” Your task is to find the hidden words on the board that reflect the theme of the puzzle.
A crossword puzzle with a word search
The most important word to find is the “spangram,” a word that more explicitly states the theme of the puzzle. (For example, the spangram for the puzzle with the theme “Better with age” is FERMENTED, which describes products that, you guessed it, get better with age.) The spangram spans the entire game board, either from left to right or from top to bottom (hence the name). When you find the spangram, it’s highlighted in yellow. Solving the spangram usually makes the rest of the puzzle much easier to complete.
In Strands, words can travel in any direction (up, down, left, right, and diagonally), and you will only use each letter once. There is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the words in the puzzle (for example, KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it will be highlighted in blue.
If you are having trouble solving the puzzle, you can submit any non-themed word you see (as long as it is four letters or more) to receive credit for a single clue. If you submit three non-themed words, the “Hint” button will be clickable; clicking it will highlight all of the letters in one of the themed words for you. You will still need to connect these highlighted letters in the correct order to form one of the themed words. If there is already a clue on the board and you use another clue before solving that word, the letter order of that word will be revealed.
How to earn Strands
Unlike Connections and Wordle, you can’t miss Strands. When you submit guesses, you either correctly identify an answer, receive credit for a clue, or the text oscillates back and forth, indicating that the word you submitted is too short or invalid. You can’t run out of guesses, and there is no time limit.
You win when you have correctly used all the letters on the board, meaning you have identified the spangram and all the keywords. As in other NYT games, after you solve the puzzle, you will see a shareable card that shows your performance that day: the blue dots ? indicate the keywords you found, the yellow dot ? indicates when you found the spangram, and a light bulb ? indicates the words for which you received a clue.