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Spoiler warning: The hints below lead to the full answers for the August 23, 2024, NYT Strands puzzle, #173. Start with the gentle clue if you want a nudge before seeing the solution.
Hints for Strands #173
- Theme: “The nose knows.”
- Gentle hint: Think about what your nose detects.
- Closer hint: The answers include familiar scents, from flowers and wood to a fruit.
These are spoiler-light clues, not a claimed list of official NYT hints. The answer guide identifies the theme and final answers, but does not document an official hint ladder. Try Hard Guides’ August 23 answer guide lists the solution for puzzle #173.
Spangram for August 23, 2024
COMMONSCENTS
The spangram is a pun on “common sense” and “scents,” tying the wordplay to the puzzle’s smell theme.
All answers for Strands #173
The six theme words and the spangram make seven listed answers in total:
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- LAVENDER
- ROSE
- CEDAR
- MUSK
- LEMON
- SANDALWOOD
- COMMONSCENTS — spangram
The same answers appear in the Strandsanswers archive. No official NYT archive page is cited for this historical solution.
How Strands hints work
Strands is a word-search-style puzzle played on a 6-by-8 letter grid. Players connect adjacent letters horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and can change direction within a word. Across the full solution, every letter is used once. As Forbes contributor Kris Holt describes it, “The New York Times’ Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search.”
- Theme words are highlighted blue when found; the spangram is highlighted yellow.
- The spangram names or describes the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. It does not have to start or finish at those edges.
- Three valid non-theme words of at least four letters unlock the Hint button, which highlights the letters of a theme word.
These rule details are described in Forbes’ 2024 Strands explainer and the current third-party Strands.Game rules page; the latter says it is not affiliated with NYT. Interface details may change.
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