NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #164 (Wednesday, August 14 2024)

NYT Strands on a cellphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide/NY Times/Shutterstock)
Strands today: Quick menu

Need a bit of help with NYT Strands today? Today's puzzle theme — "Honey I'm home!" — isn't too difficult to decipher, but some of the answers are.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #164, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #164, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #164.  

Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints

The official theme for NYT Strands #164 is... "Honey I'm home!"

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "It's where the heart is."

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:

  • WOLF
  • TALE
  • SWOLE
  • SUGAR
  • RATS
  • FLOW

Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it both starts with 'H' and ends with 'S'.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's HOUSES.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #164?

Drumroll, please...

  • COTTAGE
  • CABIN
  • RANCH
  • BUNGALOW
  • CRAFTSMAN
  • COLONIAL

Strands #164

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was HOUSES.

Strands #164

“Honey I'm home!”

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Hi Strands fans. Unlike yesterday's, today was rather tough. Maybe it's just me, but the last two answers I got aren't what I would associate with the theme - HOUSES - so I assume it's a US thing! I had to brute force it in the end.

But it started well enough: I spotted COTTAGE in the bottom right-hand corner, having assumed that the theme - "Honey I'm home!" - was about types of houses. CABIN immediately above it solidified things, as did the spangram of HOUSES spelt backwards on top of that.

Afterwards, I was struggling a bit. I actually had to use a clue, but was left kicking myself when it was revealed to be RANCH - admittedly not a thing on this side of the Atlantic, but at least something I'm familiar with. I then found BUNGALOW to its left, spelt backwards from right to left.

The last two are words that, as I said in the intro, I didn't associate with houses. Thankfully, they were both isolated in different sections, so it was just a case of decoding two anagrams: SMNCTARFA was CRAFTSMAN, while CLOONLIA was COLONIAL.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #163 right here.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.