NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #221 (Thursday, October 10 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 theme — "Think about it" — might seem cryptic on the surface, but finding its related answers is pretty straightforward once you get it.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #221, 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 #221, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #221.  

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #221 is... "Think about it".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "This is getting quite meta".

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

  • GROSS
  • MASS
  • BLUE
  • SWAM
  • MUMBLE
  • GROW
  • DIES

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

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's PUZZLES.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #221?

Drumroll, please...

  • CROSSWORD
  • MAZE
  • JIGSAW
  • JUMBLE
  • SUDOKU
  • CRYPTOGRAM

Strands #221

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

..and the spangram was PUZZLES.

Strands #221

“Think about it”

🟡🔵🔵🔵

🔵🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. Unlike yesterday's, today's Strands was an absolute breeze. It helped that there were two 'Z's slap-bang in the middle of the board, which gave me the spangram of PUZZLES right away. 

If there's one topic that someone who plays Strands and Wordle every day knows intimately, it's puzzles, so this was completed in record time.

CROSSWORD was immediately above the spangram in the top-right corner, but I couldn't decode anything to its left right away. So I decided to leave it until I knew how many words were hidden there.

With that, I turned my attention to the bottom half of the board, starting with the third 'Z' on the board, which had to be part of MAZE. JIGSAW was directly below it, and these two combined to make an obvious path for JUMBLE. That left just SUDOKU to complete the bottom half.

I now knew only one answer was left in the top left, which made it a bit easier to decode. After a little head scratching, I realized that the 'Y' belonged near the start rather than the end as I'd previously assumed. I connected CRYPTOGRAM to complete this rather meta puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #220 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.

Read more
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #324 (Tuesday, January 21 2025)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #377 (Saturday, March 15 2025)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #332 (Wednesday, January 29 2025)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #366 (Tuesday, March 4 2025)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #323 (Monday, January 20 2025)
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #327 (Friday, January 24 2025)
Latest in Gaming
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 tipster may have just leaked release month and launch plans
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Amazon is giving away a ton of free games for its Big Spring Sale — here’s how to claim yours
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Tuesday, March 25 (#653)
Wordle answer for #1,244, Thursday, November 14
I used ChatGPT to help me win at Wordle — here's what happened
half-life alyx
Latest Half-Life 3 rumors point to a 2025 release — and maybe pigs will fly
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #387 (Tuesday, March 25 2025)
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 tipster may have just leaked release month and launch plans
Disney Plus logo
Disney Plus upgrade just fixed one of my biggest problems with the home page
Tom Hiddleston as Robert Laing in "High Rise" now streaming on Netflix
5 best Netflix movies in March you haven't watched yet
iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence logo for iOS 18.1
iOS 18.4: All the newest Apple Intelligence features coming to your iPhone
Maria Debska in "Just One Look" now streaming on Netflix
3 best Netflix shows in March you haven't watched yet
Split image featuring the Galaxy S25 Edge (left) and Galaxy S25 Ultra (right)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge just tipped for two Galaxy S25 Ultra-level features