NYT Strands — hints, spangram and answers for game #53 (Thursday, April 25, 2024)

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

Need a bit of help with NYT Strands #53? No shame in that, and you've come to the right place. Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #53, 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 #53, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #53.  

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #53 is... "That's cap!"

And here's an unofficial hint from me: Wherever I lay my hat...

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

  • BUTTER
  • CORNER
  • TONER
  • OWNER
  • BONE
  • TENOR

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

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's HEADWEAR.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #53?

Drumroll, please...

  • BEANIE
  • BERET
  • HELMET
  • CROWN
  • FEDORA
  • TURBAN
  • BONNET

Strands #53

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was HEADWEAR.

Clues used: 0.

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Hey Strands fans. I came close to using a clue for the first time in ages today - not because I couldn't figure out the theme, but because it turns out I don't know that many types of hats.

In fact, I spotted BEANIE right away, possibly because there's a photo of my cat Hamilton wearing one on the wall of my office (don't ask). BERET also sprang to mind quickly, and I duly found it in the bottom right-hand corner.

Looking to the right of BEANIE, I spotted HELMET, which neatly set me up for the spangram below it: HEADWEAR.

After that, I was stumped for a little while. Eventually, I saw CROWN in the middle, and working backwards in the gap between it and BERET to decode FEDORA.

Only two left, and I figured out that I could spell TURBAN in the gap created underneath. From there it was just a case of descrambling the last six letters into BONNET.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #52 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.