August 27, 2026#907archive

NYT Strands — August 27, 2026

Hints — one at a time

Hint 1 of 5

Today's grid is built around one word with many different meanings.

Hint 2 of 5

Every non-spangram word is a different definition of the same twisting word.

Hint 3 of 5

One entry is a painful ankle injury; another is an unexpected plot development in a story.

Hint 4 of 5

The spangram is the exclamation you might say when something takes an unexpected turn.

Hint 5 of 5

Look for DANCE, DISTORTION, HAIRSTYLE, SPRAIN and SURPRISE, all spanned by WHATATWIST.

Reveal the full answer

Theme

Spiraling definitions

Spangram

WHATATWIST

Theme words

DANCE · DISTORTION · HAIRSTYLE · SPRAIN · SURPRISE

Counted from our own archive of NYT Strands answers — not published anywhere else.