NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #339 (Wednesday, February 5 2025)

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 — "What's your reaction?" — seems a little bit vague at first, but is revealed to be pretty clever when you have an answer or two on the board.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #339, 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 #339, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #339.

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #339 is... "What's your reaction?"

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Immune response".

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

  • CRANE
  • MOAN
  • READ
  • TALE
  • DARE
  • DREAD
  • CELLAR

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

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's ALLERGENS.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #339?

Drumroll, please...

  • SMOKE
  • POLLEN
  • LATEX
  • FRAGRANCE
  • MOLD
  • DANDER
  • DUST

Strands #339

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was ALLERGENS.

Strands #339

“What's your reaction?”

🔵🔵🔵🟡

🔵🔵🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. A good one this! While I initially assumed that "What's your reaction?" would refer to an emotional response ("excitement", "sorrow", etc.) it's actually all about allergic reactions.

Fortunately, I didn't have to use a clue, as I found SMOKE in the bottom-right corner, while trying to collect clue words for the helpful section above.

When it was confirmed to be one of the answers, I began looking for other nearby words, and found something that I myself am vulnerable to in summer: POLLEN.

At this point, it was clear what the theme reffered to, and I found a use for the 'X' in the top-left corner by connecting LATEX. I then found the spangram of ALLERGENS spelt from top to bottom of the board.

Now it was just a case of finding plausible things that can give people allergic reactions, not all of which I was familiar with. FRAGRANCE, for example, seemed a bit broad, but was indeed correct, and that allowed me to get MOLD directly below it.

Two answers were left to find on the opposite side of the grid. I found DANDER first, and that meant only DUST was 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 #338 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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