If you are present, you are looking for help with Strands, the New York Times’ advanced word-search game.

Strands invites players to reinvent the classic word search. Words are created from adjacent letters in any direction, including diagonally, and can shift direction, forming distinctive shapes. Each letter in the grid contributes to a solution. There’s a theme that connects all the answers, along with the “spangram,” a unique word or phrase that embodies the day’s theme and stretches across the grid either horizontally or vertically.

By providing an unclear clue and excluding the word list, Strands offers a mind-bending challenge that requires more time to solve compared to other games like Wordle and Connections.

If you find yourself in a bind or pressed for time, we have all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle to aid you in advancing at your own speed.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Honest-to-goodness

The words pertain to authenticity.

Today’s NYT Strands theme simply clarified

These words characterize realness.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today’s spangram is Bonafide.

NYT Strands word list for August 14

– Real
– Authentic
– Genuine
– Bonafide
– Legitimate
– Kosher
– True

Searching for more daily online games? Mashable’s Games page features additional hints, and if you’re on the lookout for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games available now!

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Not the date you’re interested in? Here’s the solution for yesterday’s Strands.