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Today’s NYT Strands is game #712, dated Friday, February 13, 2026. The theme is “See what I mean?” If you want a nudge before the solution, start with the hints below; the full answer list and spangram are in the spoiler-marked section.
Hints for today’s Strands
Try these in order, stopping when you have enough to continue on your own.
- Theme clue: “See what I mean?”
- A gentler clue: “You must see it to believe it.”
- Words that unlock the in-game hint: MAIN, FROTH, DRIP, HIGH, CHAT, CHIVE. TechRadar reported these as clue words for the hint system.
- Opening letters: MO, PH, DI, IN, CH, VI. Forbes reported these as the starts of the six theme answers.
- Spangram clue: It has 10 letters. TechRadar reports that its path touches the top edge at column 1 and the bottom edge at column 6.
Spoiler warning: full answers and spangram
The following list gives away the complete solution to the February 13 puzzle.
- CHART
- DIAGRAM
- INFOGRAPHIC
- MODEL
- PHOTO
- VIDEO
Spangram: VISUALAIDS
How the answers fit the theme
Each answer names a visual format or representation that can help communicate or explain an idea. Together, CHART, DIAGRAM, INFOGRAPHIC, MODEL, PHOTO, and VIDEO fit the prompt “See what I mean?”; VISUALAIDS names the category they share.
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How Strands hints and the spangram work
A third-party rules guide describes the standard Strands board as a 6-by-8 grid of 48 letters. Each letter is used once across the theme answers and the spangram. The spangram is the theme-defining word or phrase and connects opposite edges of the board. The guide also says that finding three valid non-theme words of at least four letters earns an in-game hint, which highlights the letters of an unsolved theme word.
These mechanics are described by an independent rules explainer, not confirmed here against an official NYT rules page.
Quick Recap
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