NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Thursday, November 21 (game #263)

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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

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

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

  • MINE
  • ROOM
  • BARE
  • POKE
  • MANE
  • FINE

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

The answers to today’s Strands, game #263, are…

  • POKER
  • CHIMNEY
  • BROOM
  • FLUE
  • HEARTH
  • SCREEN
  • MANTEL
  • SPANGRAM: FIREPLACE

  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

This will date me, but does anyone else remember those wonderful Busytown and Lowly Worm books by Richard Scarry? I loved these as kids, poring over the illustrations in search of all of the different named objects and characters. Playing Strands sometimes feels like a similar exercise. “Today’s theme, children, is FIREPLACE. Now name as many words as you can that are related. Yes, CHIMNEY, that’s a good one. Oh well done, you got BROOM!”

That is the point of Strands, I guess, but equally it’s more challenging when the puzzle is a little more creative – for instance when it involves pairs of things, or phrases, or logic in some way. Just naming things is a lot easier, and Strands is not a difficult game at the best of times. We’re 250-plus games in now, and I don’t think I’ve ever failed one. Contrast that with Connections, where I fail regularly, and you can see the problem.

Anyway, there’s no major problem with today’s game, it’s just a little straightforward to hold the attention for longer than a few minutes. Maybe that’s no bad thing, given how busy we all are, though.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


  • LITTER
  • BONE
  • COLLAR
  • KIBBLE
  • BALL
  • LASER
  • CATNIP
  • SPANGRAM: PETSUPPLIES

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