Today’s NYT Strands Hints and Answers

NYT Strands is a popular word-guessing game where you need to connect random letters in a grid to find the words related to that day’s theme. Today’s NYT Strands theme, “Make it fancy”, is about the stylish little additions that take a basic beverage to brilliant. But if you’re feeling a bit shaken or stirred by today’s grid, don’t worry. Here are the hints and answers for puzzle #707 on February 8, 2026.

NYT Strands Hints Today

Finding the words in a Strands puzzle can be quite tricky, and even if you know how to play NYT Strands, you may have trouble finding the last word to complete the game.

NYT Strands Theme Today

While the hint for today’s theme should be enough to connect the dots and figure out the answer to the Strands game, we have included additional hints for your ease here:

If the hints above still didn’t help you discover the words for today’s Strands game, here are the first two letters of each word to help you out.

• TW
• OL
• CH
• SP
• SH
• CE
• CO

Looking for more NYT puzzle games to play after Strands? Maybe try today’s Connections puzzle

NYT Strands Spangram Hint: Is It Vertical or Horizontal?

The Spangram hint for today’s Strands, February 8, 2026, is Horizontal, and starts from the Left and goes to the Bottom. Here’s another hint for the Spangram: it begins with the letters “CO”.

Today’s Strands Spangram

Couldn’t figure out the puzzle answer even after looking at today’s strands hint shared above? No problem, we have the answers for you. The Spangram answer for February 8, 2026, Strands is:

Do you like word-guessing games? Then check out today’s Wordle and see if you can solve that one?

Spoiler Warning!

Scroll past this AT YOUR OWN RISK. The theme word answers for today’s Strands below.

NYT Strands Answer Today

Still looking for the theme words to complete today’s NYT Strands puzzle? Well, I won’t keep you waiting anymore. Here are the answers: 

• TWIST
• OLIVE
• CHERRY
• SPRIG
• SHRIMP
• CELERY

You can also check out yesterday’s NYT Strands puzzle, whose theme was ‘Boo-o-o-o-ring,” which goes over things that make you yawn and feel mundane to do. But if that is still not enough, then the Spangram, ‘WATCHINGPAINTDRY’ should be helpful.

Difficulty Level for February 8 NYT Strands

As a veteran player of NYT Strands and based on my experience with the game, I would rank today’s game 2 out of 5. Here, 1 is the easiest, and 5 is the hardest.

Today’s Strands puzzle was another quick solve, all thanks to my skill of visiting my nearest bar quite often. Jokes aside, from the theme to Spangram, today’s grid came naturally to me, and I was able to spot words, left, right and, center. Finally solving the grid, in under 2 minutes, which is my personal best record.

What is NYT Strands Spangram and How Does It Work?

Unlike your typical word-finding puzzle, Strands feature a unique twist called “Spangram”. This is a special word that runs along the entire length of the grid, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. But that does not mean the first letter of Spangram starts at the edge of the grid. 

This is considered a key hint to solving the Strands puzzle, and that’s for a good reason. Figuring out the Spangram early not only offers another clue for today’s theme. It also splits up the grid, making some of the words in Strands easier to figure out. 

Tips and Tricks for Mastering NYT Strands Puzzles

If you want to master every day’s Strands puzzle, then here are some quick tips to become a pro at solving the game: 

• Look up ‘Today’s Strand Hint’: One thing I always do before starting a puzzle is to look up the theme on Google. This helps me get a clear idea of the words I need to search for in the game. Sometimes, it can even help me find the words I am looking for. 
• Pay close attention to corners: Another good strategy I practice is to check the corners, as it becomes easy to find words there and provides a starting point. 
• Try to get Strands Hints: The puzzle can be quite tricky on some days, so rather than giving up, I suggest you try to connect random words to get hints. Please don’t be ashamed to get a clue, as even one could be the key to solving the entire puzzle. 
• Go for the Spangram first: The Strand Spangram takes up the entire height or width of the puzzle grid, so solving it gives you another clue to find the rest of the words, and also divides the grid, which makes it easy to solve the puzzle.

That is it for today! We will meet again for another NYT Strands game tomorrow. In the meantime, you could check out some of the other New York Times puzzles.