Are you ready to tackle the NYT Strands puzzle for Wednesday, October 1, 2025? Don’t worry, FYM News is here to help! We understand the challenge of these word puzzles, and our goal is to provide you with the hints and, if needed, the answers to keep your winning streak alive. Strands is a fascinating game that blends word search elements with a crossword-like experience, testing your vocabulary and pattern recognition skills. In this guide, we’ll provide hints to nudge you in the right direction, and ultimately, reveal the solution so you can confidently conquer the puzzle. Whether you’re a seasoned Strands player or a newcomer, our guide has got you covered. Let’s dive in and unravel today’s Strands puzzle, themed ‘That’s got a ring to it!’
Hint for the spangram in today’s Strands puzzle
“Ring” in the puzzle theme refers to a public show or spectacle traditionally exhibited within a circle-shaped enclosure—the spangram describes who or what might be in those rings.
Hint for the theme words in today’s Strands puzzle
Specific acts. Some are thrilling, and others are just humorous.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Strands puzzle!
We’re about to give away the answers to today’s Strands puzzle.
What is the spangram in today’s Strands?
Today’s spangram is CIRCUSPERFORMERS.
What are the theme words in today’s Strands?
The theme words today are: CONTORTIONIST, JUGGLER, CLOWN, ACROBAT.
Here’s what the board looks like when the puzzle is solved:
How I solved today’s Strands
I assume today’s puzzle will feature things with rings, in all of its potential meanings.
CIRCUS isn’t a theme word, surprisingly (I was thinking “three-ring CIRCUS”). Ah, but CIRCUSPERFORMERS is the spangram. 🟡
CONTORTIONIST is along the left edge. 🔵
JUGGLER is below that. 🔵
ACROBAT is below the right half of the spangram. 🔵
Lastly, CLOWN. 🔵
How to play Strands
You can find the Strands game on the New York Times website and in the NYT Games app.
When you start playing, you’ll see a game board with an assortment of letters, flanked by a clue that gives a hint at the board’s theme—this will be a phrase, like “Better with age.” Your job is to find the hidden words within the board that reflect the puzzle’s theme.
A crossword crossed with a word search
The most important word to find is the “spangram,” a word that more explicitly states the puzzle’s theme. (For example, the spangram for the puzzle with the theme “Better with age” is FERMENTED, which describes products that are, you guessed it, better with age.) The spangram will span the entire game board, either from left to right or top to bottom (hence the name). When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted in yellow. Solving the spangram usually makes the rest of the puzzle much easier to complete.
In Strands, words can travel any direction (up, down, left, right, and diagonal), and you will only use each letter once. There is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the puzzle’s words (for example, KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it will be highlighted in blue.
If you are struggling to solve the puzzle, you can submit any non-theme words you see (as long as they are four letters or more) to receive credit toward a single hint. If you submit three non-theme words, the “Hint” button will be clickable; if you click it, all of the letters in one of the theme words will be highlighted for you. You will still have to link these highlighted letters in the right order to form one of the theme words. If there is already a hint on the board and you use another hint before solving for that word, that word’s letter order will be revealed.
How to win Strands
Unlike Connections and Wordle, you cannot fail Strands. When you submit guesses, you will either correctly identify an answer, receive credit toward a hint, or the text will shake back and forth, indicating that the word you submitted is too short or not valid. You can’t run out of guesses, and there is no time limit.
You win when you’ve correctly used all the letters on the board, meaning that you have identified the spangram and all of the theme words. Like other NYT games, upon solving the puzzle, you will see a shareable card that indicates how you performed that day: blue dots 🔵 indicate theme words you found, the yellow dot 🟡 indicates when you found the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates words that you received a hint for.
Conclusion
We hope our hints and solutions helped you conquer today’s NYT Strands puzzle! Remember, Strands is all about combining your vocabulary, pattern recognition, and problem-solving skills. Whether you relied on our hints or solved it independently, celebrate your success. Keep checking FYM News for daily Strands hints and answers, along with guides for other popular word games. Happy puzzling!
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