NYT Strands — August 8, 2026
Hints — one at a time
Hint 1 of 5
Today's grid is about a thrill ride that twists and dips — good stretches and bad, ups and downs, just like the ride itself.
Hint 2 of 5
Every answer names a feature or move you'd find on a classic amusement-park thrill ride.
Hint 3 of 5
The spangram is the ride itself: a 13-letter word for the looping, plunging attraction the whole puzzle is built around.
Hint 4 of 5
The theme words include a spiral twist, a dark passage the cars roll through, the rail the cars run on, a sharp reversing turn, a circular inversion, and the sudden plunge that makes you scream.
Hint 5 of 5
Look for CORKSCREW, TUNNEL, TRACK, CUTBACK, LOOP and DROP — all spanned by ROLLERCOASTER.
The answer — spoilers!
Reveal the full answer
It has its ups and downs
ROLLERCOASTER
CORKSCREW · CUTBACK · DROP · LOOP · TRACK · TUNNEL
This puzzle by the numbers
- 13 letters
- 6
Counted from our own archive of NYT Strands answers — not published anywhere else.
