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July 17, 2026#866

NYT Strands hints & answer

Strands is a daily hidden-word search on a letter grid: trace chains of touching letters to find words tied to a secret theme, plus one special "spangram" that stretches across the whole board and names the theme itself. Non-theme words you find along the way unlock hints.

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Hints — one at a time

Hint 1 of 5

Today's puzzle theme is built around a classic game people play to test what they know.

Hint 2 of 5

Think about the different subjects that game quizzes you on — the hidden words are named after some of those subject areas.

Hint 3 of 5

The game splits knowledge into six classic wedges, but only four of them are hiding on this board.

Hint 4 of 5

The long spangram is literally the two-word name of the trivia board game itself.

Hint 5 of 5

Look for words describing fields like showbiz, the outdoors and wildlife, athletics, and world locations — those are the four category words to find.

The answer — spoilers!

Reveal the full answer

Theme

Categorically speaking ...

Spangram

TRIVIALPURSUIT

Theme words

ENTERTAINMENT · GEOGRAPHY · NATURE · SPORTS

Previous days

Want the strategy, not just today's answer? Read the full daily puzzle lineup.