Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 24, #296 – CNET

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Today’s Strands has a fun topic. I used to watch the CBS soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful, and it always occurred to me how many of the characters had names that were also things in nature — Ridge, Thorne and Brooke being the main ones. So this was an entertaining theme for me. If you need more hints and answers for today’s Strands puzzle, read on.

Also, I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: What on earth…?

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Mother Nature.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find 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 those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• HEAL, LEAN, VEER, TINE, VINE, MANE, RIVE, MEAL, MALE, ALES, MALES, ROOK, CULL, VINA, RILL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• HOLLY, BROOK, RIVER, LAUREL, WILLOW, CLEMENTINE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is NATURENAMES. To find it, start with the N that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.