Umm, I think today’s Strands was my worst solve to date and it beat my wits to a pulp with a club. Even after solving the entire puzzle somehow, I still couldn’t make sense of it. Some research gave me an idea, and I do not want you to go through the same pain. So, here are some hints and answers for the May 9 NYT Strands to make it easier for you.
What is the Theme for Today’s NYT Strands?
As revealed by the New York Times, the theme for today’s Strands is “Tap to play”.
Spangram Hint for Today’s Strands
Spoiler Warning #1 Even though we try our best to be subtle, the hints below might partially spoil the experience. You’ve been warned.
Every Strands game has that one Spangram that you need to decipher and today’s was no exception. The hint for today’s Spangram is – “Club-and-ball sport”.
Theme Words Hints for Today’s Strands
If you have figured out the Spangram from the above hint, figuring out the theme words will be easy. However, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Instead, here are three theme word hints that may help you:
- Hint #1: Royal families used to live here
- Hint #2: Converts wind energy into rotational energy
Spoiler Warning #2 The next sections reveal the answers for today’s NYT Strands. So, I’d recommend not scrolling further if you are still solving the puzzle. However, if you are stuck, I suggest scrolling a wee bit to see the Spangram answer.
Spangram Answer for NYT Strands on May 9
The Spangram for today’s NYT Strands puzzle is MINIGOLF, and it runs from left to right on the letters grid.
Apart from the Spangram, you need to find 6 theme words in today’s puzzle. However, if you are having a tough time getting through the Strands, check out some tips and tricks in my guide on how to play NYT Strands.
Anyway, with that being said, let’s go to the next section. However, proceed only if you are ready to check out the theme words.
List of Theme Words for NYT Strands on May 9
If you have scrolled this far, you are probably ready to see the answers. So, let’s take a look at today’s theme words in Strands:
- TUNNEL
- BOULDER
- CASTLE
- WATERFALL
- WINDMILL
- RAMP
As always, I started the round by making random words on the grids. Soon, I found TUNNEL as a theme word, and couldn’t make any sense out of it. I spent the next fifteen minutes trying to find another theme word. I gave up and used a hint to find RAMP, and used another to find CASTLE at the bottom.
I refrained from using another hint as long as I could and finally found WATERFALL somehow. However, that didn’t last long, and soon, I had to use another hint to get BOULDER. My brain basically gave up at this point. I thought hard to get WINDMILL at the bottom right, which led me to find MINIGOLF as the Spangram for today’s Strands.
Three hints, sigh. We’ll never talk about this round EVER AGAIN. What about you though? Do take to the comments down below to tell me that you had a hard time solving it as well. If not, well, the golfer in you is definitely feeling all kinds of blessed right now.
Sanmay Chakrabarti
