Today's NYT Strands is live for Wednesday, July 22, 2026 (Puzzle #871). Stuck on today's Strands? We've got progressive hints, from gentle nudges to full solutions, so you can solve at your own pace.
How Strands Works (New Players Start Here)
Strands hides themed words inside a 6x8 letter grid. Your mission: find every word connected to the day's theme. Letters link in any direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) and words can twist and turn. Every letter gets used exactly once.
The spangram is the key word or phrase that captures the theme and stretches across the entire board, touching opposite edges.
Need a boost? Find any 4+ letter word (even non-theme words) three times, and the game reveals a hint highlighting theme word letters.
Theme Decoder
Today's Theme Prompt: ""What is ...""
What It Really Means
You are hunting for the familiar pieces and actions that define a long-running televised quiz format.
Think About...
- A studio contest built on knowledge.
- The equipment contestants use to signal.
- The structure that sorts clues by subject and value.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Top to bottom down the board
Letter Count: 10 letters
Starting Zone: Row 1, letter 3
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): This familiar phrase describes being exposed to danger or loss, with a playful nod to televised competition.
Hint 2 (Warmer): Think of the condition contestants enter when their score or standing could be lost.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is I, last letter is Y
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INJEOPARDY
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: What you supply after deciphering a clue.
Closer: In this format, contestants must phrase their response in an interrogative form.
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 6 letters total
Answer
ANSWER
Word 2
Vague: A surface that organizes the available choices.
Closer: Contestants select a subject and value from this large onstage display.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 5 letters total
Answer
BOARD
Word 3
Vague: A device used to claim the next turn.
Closer: Contestants press it to signal that they are ready to respond.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 6 letters total
Answer
BUZZER
Word 4
Vague: A label that gathers related material under one topic.
Closer: It appears as the subject heading above several clue values.
Letter Clue: Starts with C, 8 letters total
Answer
CATEGORY
Word 5
Vague: A request for information, often ending with a particular punctuation mark.
Closer: On this show, the contestant's spoken response must take this grammatical form.
Letter Clue: Starts with Q, 8 letters total
Answer
QUESTION
Word 6
Vague: An amount put at risk on an uncertain outcome.
Closer: Contestants choose how much of their score to risk before certain clues.
Letter Clue: Starts with W, 5 letters total
Answer
WAGER
Full Answers
Spangram: INJEOPARDY
Theme Words:
- ANSWER
- BOARD
- BUZZER
- CATEGORY
- QUESTION
- WAGER
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Medium, the familiar setting becomes clear once one term lands, but the broad everyday senses of BOARD and ANSWER can delay the breakthrough.
Trickiest Word: BOARD is the likeliest stumbling block because its many everyday meanings can obscure the game-show display sense intended here.
Our Take: INJEOPARDY gives the set its central wordplay, while ANSWER, BOARD, BUZZER, CATEGORY, QUESTION, and WAGER build out the show's familiar machinery. The prompt adds the finishing touch by reversing the usual relationship between a clue and its response.
