NYT Strands puzzle #677 for Friday, January 9, 2026, has the theme “For cubs fans.” The spangram is BEARSINMIND. If you want to solve it yourself first, use the hints below before opening the full word list.
Hints for Strands #677
- The theme points to bears, including several kinds of bear.
- Parade’s thematic hint is “Like Gentle Ben.”
- The spangram begins with BE and describes the theme.
- Its path touches the top edge at the fifth column and the bottom edge at the sixth column, according to TechRadar.
Finding three non-theme words can earn an in-game hint that reveals letters from a theme word. TechRadar says Strands is available through NYT Games on desktop and mobile.
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Spoiler warning: full answers below
The answer list below is based on TechRadar’s coverage. Parade confirms the theme and spangram but gives a conflicting solution list, so its disputed entries are not included.
Theme words
- POLAR
- GRIZZLY
- PANDA
- SPECTACLED
- BROWN
- BLACK
Spangram
BEARSINMIND
Optional words for earning a hint
TechRadar lists these non-theme words as words that can trigger the in-game hint system:
#1 Best Overall
- GEAR
- RACE
- BACK
- KNOW
- DIAL
- GRACE
- READ
Answer-list discrepancy
Parade independently confirms “For cubs fans” and BEARSINMIND, but its published list includes “GRIZZY” and “THETRAITORS,” which do not match TechRadar’s coherent set of six bear-related theme words. The list above follows TechRadar’s answer coverage; the official NYT puzzle page was not available to confirm the board independently.
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