NYT Strands puzzle #260, dated Monday, November 18, 2024, has a sea-life theme. The official hint is “Coming up for air”; try the extra nudge below before opening the answers.
Today’s NYT Strands hint for November 18
Official theme hint: “Coming up for air.”
Extra hint: Sea-faring creatures.
Use the clues to look for animals that live in or around the sea. Strands is a word-search-style game: on its six-by-eight board, connect adjacent letters horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and change direction as needed. The spangram captures the theme and connects at least two sides of the board. Theme words turn blue when found; the spangram turns yellow. To earn an in-game hint, find three valid non-theme words of at least four letters; the hint then highlights the letters of a theme answer.
Spoilers: NYT Strands answers for November 18
Spangram: MARINE MAMMALS
Theme words: DOLPHIN, SEAL, NARWHAL, ORCA, MANATEE, and WALRUS.
The source’s listed first-two-letter sequence, in puzzle order, is MA, DO, SE, NA, OR, MA, and WA. The spangram is listed separately from the six animal answers.
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About Strands
Strands is a New York Times word-search game available on the NYT website and in the NYT Games app. Each puzzle’s theme words are connected by a spangram, which describes their shared link.
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