NYT Strands Puzzle — January 5, 2024

word game

Looking for a different day's puzzle? A new NYT Strands game appears at midnight each day tailored to your time zone. This means some players are always engaged with 'today's game,' while others are still working on 'yesterday's.' If you're interested in Monday's puzzle instead, check out: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, January 5 (game #673).

About NYT Strands

Strands is the latest addition to the NYT's collection of word games, following popular titles like Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Connections. It's a fun but challenging game that tests your word-guessing skills. As with all puzzles, hints can help—so read on for some tips and answers.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you don't want to see the answers for today's puzzle, stop reading now.

Today's Strands (Game #674) Highlights

Theme of the Day

The theme for today's puzzle is "Look up!"—encouraging players to think of things associated with looking upward.

Clue Words

Try playing any of these words to unlock in-game hints:

NOONGANG
BANGLE
BRAIL
KINK
BANKER
TRAP
NECK

Spangram Details

The spangram—anagrams using all 14 letters—is central to today's game. The letters involved are lengthy and touch two specific sides of the game board:

Left side: 8th row
Right side: 8th row

Today's Answers (Game #674)

Below are the solutions for today's Strands puzzle. Do not scroll further if you wish to avoid spoilers!

BALLOON
BIRD
KITE
DRONE
AIRPLANE
ROCKET

Spangram solution: DEFYINGGRAVITY

My Experience

I managed to spot BALLOON early, although I struggled with the others initially. After getting BIRD, I slowly realized the theme and picked AIRPLANE — an obvious choice for looking up. The words KITE and DRONE weren't as obvious at first. ROCKET was tricky, but once I saw the hint, I was singing DEFYINGGRAVITY. Overall, a challenging but rewarding puzzle!

Yesterday's (Monday, January 5) Answers

BRISK
SPEEDY
SWIFT
STAINED
FILTHY
GRUBBY

Spangram: QUICK AND DIRTY

About NYT Strands

Strands is the NYT’s evolving word game, available daily on the NYT Games site for both desktop and mobile. It’s part of a portfolio of engaging puzzles designed to keep the brain sharp. For helpful hints and guides, check out our full solution guide.

Author: Johnny — a veteran pop culture journalist with a penchant for internet trends, music, and football. He’s interviewed celebrities from Elton John to Blur, and once made up stories about Madonna’s sausage roll addiction (which is not true). Based in North London, Johnny enjoys cycling and shouting at pigeons in his free time.