NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, July 16 (game #865)

NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
(Image credit: New York Times)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Wednesday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #864).

Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc’s Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #865) – hint #1 – today’s theme

What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Rerouting…

NYT Strands today (game #865) – hint #2 – clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • NOISE
  • CHANCE
  • VERSE
  • TRUANT
  • GIVE
  • SKATE

NYT Strands today (game #865) – hint #3 – spangram letters

How many letters are in today’s spangram?

Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #865) – hint #4 – spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: left, 8th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #865) – the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 865 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Strands, game #865, are…

  • TACK
  • ZIGZAG
  • TURN
  • VEER
  • DEVIATE
  • PIVOT
  • SWERVE
  • SPANGRAM: CHANGECOURSE

  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 1 hint

Rerouting… is a word I used to see a lot when I used a sat nav in my car, so this is exactly the theme I was expecting — but I still struggled over it.

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

It’s not until you play Strands that you realize how many different ways there are to say the same thing, in this case a change of direction.

I took a hint to get going, but TACK didn’t help much. Then, I connected the two Zs for ZIGZAG and finally got motoring.


Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, July 15, game #864)

  • QUIXOTIC
  • IDEALISTIC
  • ROMANTIC
  • IMPRACTICAL
  • SPANGRAM: PIEINTHESKY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT’s not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.

Johnny is a freelance pop culture journalist who has been writing about the internet, music, football and famous people since the iPhone was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye. Previously known by the pseudonym the Pop Detective, his journalistic career began making up stories about Madonna’s addiction to sausage rolls (this is not true by the way). A man of few talents, his career is rich and various and includes the highs of interviewing Elton John and Blur; and the lows of interviewing Right Said Fred, appearing on a Channel 5 documentary about Peter Kay, and fact-checking the instruction manual for a German cooker. Somehow still affording to live in North London he is at his happiest riding his bicycle and shouting at pigeons.

Hot this week

Google burning through cash with spiralling AI costs

Google parent Alphabet saw its business continue to grow...

Wildberries: Russia’s businesses under strain from Ukraine’s attacks on retail warehouses

Ukrainian drones have hit several retail warehouses belonging to...

China’s animal lovers take fight against abuse offline and overseas

When videos showing the horrific killing of a stray...

Houthis claim attack on Saudi tankers in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis say they have attacked two Saudi oil...

US signs landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia

The US and Saudi Arabia have signed a landmark...

Topics

Google burning through cash with spiralling AI costs

Google parent Alphabet saw its business continue to grow...

China’s animal lovers take fight against abuse offline and overseas

When videos showing the horrific killing of a stray...

Houthis claim attack on Saudi tankers in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis say they have attacked two Saudi oil...

US signs landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia

The US and Saudi Arabia have signed a landmark...

Canada’s ‘powerful’ dairy sector is in Trump’s trade crosshairs

Canada's dairy industry policy is among the most politically...

FareShare North East ‘devastated’ by Middlesbrough break-in

A charity distributing food to the most needy said...

Africa’s camels are dying from extreme heat as temperatures soar

Even camels can't cope: Africa's ships of the desert...

Related Articles

Popular Categories