AAH7!
September 13, 2026#924archive

NYT Strands — September 13, 2026

Looking for today's NYT Strands? →

Hints — one at a time

Hint 1 of 5

Today's grid is full of words for someone secretly working for the other side.

Hint 2 of 5

Every non-spangram word is a term for a spy or someone embedded in disguise.

Hint 3 of 5

One entry is a double agent hunting down enemy spies; another is someone secretly planted inside an organization.

Hint 4 of 5

The spangram describes someone hiding their true identity or purpose.

Hint 5 of 5

Look for AGENT, ASSET, COUNTERSPY, MOLE, OPERATIVE and PLANT, all spanned by UNDERCOVER.

The answer — spoilers!

Reveal the full answer

Theme

Top secret

Spangram

UNDERCOVER

Theme words

AGENT · ASSET · COUNTERSPY · MOLE · OPERATIVE · PLANT

This puzzle by the numbers

Spangram length
10 letters
Theme words to find
6

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

A tall Strands-style board six tiles wide, mostly blank, with two highlighted rows: a pink one spelling FLOWER right across the board and a shorter amber one spelling ROSE
On the Strands board the theme word and the shorter answers are traced straight through the letters. Example board, not today’s puzzle.