Looking for Latest Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hintsas well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Now NYT Poisons puzzle is easier than most, once you recognize the theme. If you need tips and answers, read on.
I’m going to go deep into the rules for Strands in this story.
If you are looking for current Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hint page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turn 1: These Are Today’s 5 Hardest Puzzles
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
The current Strands theme is: It’s part of the game.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a hint: Throw it here.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find the hidden words that match the theme of the puzzle. If you’re stuck, look up 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 the hints but any words of four or more letters you can find will work:
- BOOT, SAVE, PLE, PALED, CRAB, LOVE, PAVE, PAVED, LIKE
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers tied to the theme. The object of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that extends from one side of the puzzle to the other. Once you have them all (at first I thought there would always be eight, but realized the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the non-spangram responses:
- BASE, FOOT, BASKET, PADDLE, PICKLE, RACQUET, VOLLEY
Current Strands spangram
The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 31, 2026.
Today’s Strands spangram HAVE BALL. To find it, look for the H five letters down the far left vertical row, and ignore it.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred source of Google.









