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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →NYT Strands puzzle #422, dated Tuesday, April 29, 2025, uses the theme “I’ve got you covered.” Want a nudge without the full reveal? Start with the hints below; the spangram and six theme words are farther down.
Hints for Strands #422
The clues move from broad to more specific. Stop at any point if you want to keep solving.
- Theme: “I’ve got you covered.”
- Hint: Turtles and the like.
- Clue: But also peanuts.
- Starting-letter pairs, in answer-list order: TO, NA, TA, WA, NU, AR.
Spangram
SHELLS
All six theme words
- ARMADILLO
- NAUTILUS
- NUCLEUS
- TACO
- TORTOISE
- WALNUT
How the theme fits
The answers connect through shells or shell-like coverings. TORTOISE and ARMADILLO are animals; NAUTILUS is a shelled marine animal; WALNUT has a hard outer covering; and a TACO can have a shell. NUCLEUS is a less obvious member of the set, as is NAUTILUS in the broader grouping noted by Forbes.
How Strands works
Strands is a daily themed word-search game. Find the theme words and the spangram, which runs across the grid from one side to another. Letters may be traced in any direction, but cannot be reused or crossed. Finding valid words of at least four letters that are not theme answers contributes toward hints.
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Sources
Two contemporaneous guides independently report the same puzzle number, theme, spangram and answer set: Try Hard Guides’ Strands #422 guide and Forbes’ April 29 guide. These are secondary guides rather than an official NYT puzzle record.
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