NYT Strands Hints and Answer for December 9, 2024 (#281)

NYT Strands puzzle #281 for Monday, December 9, 2024, has the theme “Quiet at first.” The hints below move from broad to specific; stop before the spoiler section if you want to solve it yourself.

Today’s Strands hints for December 9

Theme hint

Quiet at first.

What the theme means

Look for words that begin with a silent letter.

Theme-word initials

The six theme answers begin with MN, KN, HO, GN, WR, and PS, in that order.

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Spangram clue

What’s an aphthong?

Spangram position

The spangram runs horizontally, starting at the left side of row four and reaching the right side in row three.

Spoiler: December 9 Strands answers

The six theme words are GNOME, HONESTY, KNUCKLE, MNEMONIC, PSALM, and WRAP.

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The spangram is SILENT LETTER (also written as SILENTLETTER).

How Strands hints work

Strands is a word-search-style game. Words can run in any direction, but letters cannot be reused or crossed; each letter is used once in the completed set. Finding three non-theme words of at least four letters earns an in-game hint that highlights one theme word. Theme words turn blue when found, while the spangram turns yellow, describes the theme, and connects two opposite sides of the board.

Quick Recap

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