NYT Strands game #943 for Friday, October 2, 2026, has the theme “On the sly.” If you want to solve it yourself, start with the hints below; the full set of theme words and the spangram appears farther down.
Hints for October 2’s NYT Strands
- Theme: “On the sly.”
- Words to try: SKINT, FISH, NEEDS, SAVE, GOAT, and NEAT can activate the in-game hints, according to TechRadar’s October 1 guide.
- Spangram: It has 14 letters. The guide reports that it starts on the left edge in row five and ends on the left edge in row eight.
How Strands hints work
A third-party explainer describes Strands as a 6-by-8 grid where letters can be connected horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, with direction changes allowed during a word. It reports that finding three valid non-theme words unlocks a hint that highlights a theme word. The explainer says it is not affiliated with The New York Times: GamesRadar’s Strands explainer.
October 2 Strands answers
Spoilers below. TechRadar’s date-specific guide gives these five theme answers:
- SHIFTY
- COVERT
- DEVIOUS
- STEALTHY
- FURTIVE
Spangram
SNEAKINGAROUND
The archive also lists Friday, October 2, 2026, with the theme “On the sly,” five words, and a 14-letter spangram: NYT Strands Answers archive.
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