If you are viewing this, you are looking for help with Strands, the New York Times‘ advanced word-search challenge.

Strands features a distinctive spin on the classic word search. Words can be made from adjoining letters — vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, with the option to alter direction, forming intriguing shapes and designs. Each letter in the grid contributes to a solution. There exists a theme tying all solutions together, in addition to the “spangram,” a unique word or phrase that represents the day’s theme and stretches across the entire grid either horizontally or vertically.

By providing an obscure hint and omitting a word list, Strands establishes a demanding game that typically takes longer to complete than others, such as Wordle and Connections.

If you find yourself unable to proceed or lack 10 or more minutes to tackle today’s puzzle, we have all the NYT Strands hints necessary to continue at your own pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Dash it!

The words pertain to punctuation.

Today’s NYT Strands theme clearly explained

These words are unified by a dash.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today’s NYT Strands spangram is laid out horizontally.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today’s spangram is Hyphenated.