Skip to main content

NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Tuesday, September 10

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.

How to play Strands

You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.

If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it.

Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once.

Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow.

The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints.

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s theme is “Give it a whirl!”

Here’s a hint that might help you: on the dance floor

Today’s Strand answers

NYT Strands logo.
NYT

Today’s spanagram

We’ll start by giving you the spangram, which might help you figure out the theme and solve the rest of the puzzle on your own:

  • BALLROOMDANCE

Today’s Strands answers

  • JIVE
  • RUMBA
  • SALSA
  • WALTZ
  • FOXTROT
  • QUICKSTEP
Sam Hill
Sam Hill is a journalist and the gaming guides editor at Digital Trends. He's also written tech guides for Input and has…
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is a knockout victory
Key art for Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics will finally launch this week, and it's a cathartic moment. These influential fighting games haven't been readily available on modern gaming platforms for a long time, and this rerelease is their chance to capture the hearts of fighting game fans during this genre renaissance. I've been playing Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection ahead of its wide release, and I'm happy to report that it's exactly what fans of this series have been waiting for. From The Punisher to Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Capcom's Marvel arcade games of the 1990s are represented here in glorious, unadulterated fashion.

Fighting game fans and those particularly in love with titles like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 will be happy with the tournament-ready emulated versions of all the games here. They all hold up alongside modern fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8. Those with less nostalgia for these games, but an appreciation for their history will enjoy seeing Capcom's Marvel video game efforts evolve over time. There's also a museum with plenty of interesting content from the development of these games.
A series revived
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection features the American and Japanese versions of seven different arcade games: The Punisher, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. If nothing else, it's fascinating to both play and see how this loose series of games evolved over seven or so years.

Read more
Destiny 2 moving to two smaller expansions per year instead of one big one
A ship that's crashed on a planet. It's in pieces and there are a copule white structures in the background.

Bungie announced big changes to Destiny 2 with the hope thatthey'll help bring in new players and free up developers following massive layoffs in July.

In a post published Monday, the development team laid out the Codename: Frontiers road map, which will bring the live-service shooter through the end of 2025. Each Destiny 2 year will have a new makeup going forward; instead of one major expansion per year and and three episodes, the game will now have two medium-sized expansions and four "major updates."

Read more
How to access all secret exits in Astro Bot
Astro Bot rides on a PS5 controller.

Not only has Astro Bot shot its way up to become one of the best PlayStation 5 games, but it is also in the conversation for the best 3D platformer among the likes of Mario. Besides the great graphics, tight platforming, and creative levels and powers, there are tons of things to collect in each world. Bots are the most common, and puzzle pieces are a bit more rare, but it is the secret exits that will have you scratching your head. There are only 10 of these in the entire game, with two per nebula. If you want to collect every Trophy, you will need to track them all down, so we'll point you in the right direction of every secret exit.
All secret exits in Astro Bot
As mentioned, there are 10 secret exits divided between each of the game's five nebulas. We'll go through each to show you where they are hidden.
Az-Tech Trail secret exit

As you progress with the snake gloves in this level, you will come to this room, where you need to use them to yank a red square out of the wall to spawn a bug you can use as a bounce pad to reach the upper area. Before you do, use it to punch all four of the torches on this wall to open it up and reveal the exit.
Creamy Canyon secret exit

Read more