Explaining That Confusing NYT Strands Spoonerism Puzzle

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Today’s now Strands puzzle is exceptionally tough, let’s just admit it. The connections between the hidden words are not easy to figure out, and even the spangram might be a word you don’t know. If you need hints and answers but don’t want huge spoilers, read on. We’ll explain the whole thing at the end, so go ahead and scroll down if you want that explanation now.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Sound switching

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Garbled words

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• BEND, GINS, SPOON, SPOONS, SING, SLIP, SLIPS, NIGH, SWELL, STINK, GRIT, GRITS, STICK, HIPS, CHIP, POSE, POSES, BLUSH, WELL.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• CROW, SHIPS, WELLS, BEDDING, BLUSHING, STRICKEN.

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SPOONERISMS. To find it, start with the S that’s five letters down on the farthest row to the left, and wind across.

So here’s the explanation for this complex puzzle. A “spoonerism” is a phrased named for British clergyman William Archibald Spooner, who reportedly mangled his own words, switching letters in a phrase.

Two of the answers to today’s puzzle are BLUSHING CROW. That’s a Spoonerism for “crushing blow.”

Two more answers are BEDDING WELLS. That’s a Spoonerism for “wedding bells.”

And the last two answers are STRICKEN CHIPS. That’s a Spoonerism for “chicken strips.”