NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #285 (Friday, December 13 2024)

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

Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "One for the Swifties" — is obvious, but that's not much help if you're not one (I am not).

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #285, 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 #285, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #285.

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #285 is... "One for the Swifties".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Taylor time".

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

  • LOSS
  • ROLL
  • MODEL
  • REMOVE
  • RATE
  • FELT
  • SMITH
  • DELVE

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

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's ALBUMTITLE.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #285?

Drumroll, please...

  • LOVER
  • EVERMORE
  • MIDNIGHTS
  • FEARLESS
  • FOLKLORE

Strands #285

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was ALBUMTITLE.

Strands #285

“One for the Swifties”

🔵💡🔵🟡

🔵💡🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. My heart sunk when I saw today's theme: "One for the Swifties". I am not a Swiftie, and as such I knew I was going to struggle today, barely being able to list three Taylor Swift songs, let alone any of her albums.

Perhaps it's surprising that I managed to get an answer without using a clue, then. But the word LOVER in the bottom left corner certainly sounded like it could be a song title (I didn't know it was about albums yet) so I went for it, and was rewarded with my first correct answer.

But that lucky streak couldn't last and eventually, I conceded I needed to use a clue. It revealed EVERMORE which I wouldn't have ever got, and this helpfully underlined "album" - part of the spangram of ALBUMTITLE.

That cordoned off MIDNIGHTS in the bottom-right corner for another freebie, but I had to use a second clue to separate my two final answers, intertwined at the top of the grid. It revealed FEARLESS, which meant I just had to get FOLKLORE in the top left to complete the 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 #284 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.

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