Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is #702, dated Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The theme is “On key.” If you want to solve it yourself, start with the hint below; the spangram and complete answer list are marked as spoilers.
Hints for Strands #702
- Theme: “On key.”
- Additional hint: “Special characters.”
- First two letters: AS, HA, TI, BR and UN for the theme words; SY for the spangram.
- Spangram direction: Parade reports that it is mostly horizontal.
In Strands, find theme words to fill the board; those words are highlighted blue. The spangram describes the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. Parade’s account of the game instructions says that each three non-theme words found earns a hint, and that letters can be selected by dragging or tapping. These instructions are reported by Parade, rather than independently verified against the official NYT page.
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Spoilers: spangram and answers
Spangram: SYMBOL
Theme answers: ASTERISK, HASHTAG, TILDE, BRACKET, UNDERSCORE and CARET.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The entries are names for symbols or typographic characters: SYMBOL identifies the shared category, and the other six answers name specific marks.
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Answer verification
Parade’s February 3 guide and Try Hard Guides’ guide to puzzle #702 agree on the date, puzzle number and complete answer list. The official NYT Strands page was not accessible for direct verification, so the answers are corroborated by these two secondary guides.
Quick Recap
Sources: Parade; Try Hard Guides.
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