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NYT Strands puzzle #717, dated Wednesday, February 18, 2026, has the theme clue “Cold competition.” For spoiler-light help, start with the hints below; the full reveal is farther down. The spangram is WINTERSPORTS, and the five theme words are LUGE, BOBSLED, SNOWBOARDING, HOCKEY, and CURLING.
Hints for Strands #717
Read these in order and stop when you have enough help to continue solving.
- Theme clue: “Cold competition.”
- Gentle hint: Think of competitive athletic events performed on snow or ice.
- Words to find for in-game hints: BROAD, STOP, SPOTS, BRINE, RING, and BIRD. These are starter words for unlocking hints, not theme answers.
- Spangram clue: It has 12 letters. It runs from the top edge at column one to the bottom edge at column six.
Strands #717 answers
Spangram: WINTERSPORTS
- LUGE — a winter sliding sport.
- BOBSLED — a team sled event on an icy track.
- SNOWBOARDING — riding a board over snow.
- HOCKEY — a team sport played on ice.
- CURLING — an ice sport in which players slide stones toward a target.
How Strands hints work
Theme words fill the board without overlapping. The spangram describes the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. Finding three non-theme words earns an in-game hint, which reveals letters of a theme word.
Sources
The answers and hints are corroborated by date-specific guides from TechRadar, Wordhint, Parade, FandomWire, and Insider Gaming. These are secondary puzzle guides, not an official NYT answer archive.
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