Today's NYT Strands is live for Thursday, August 13, 2026 (Puzzle #893). 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: "Coming in hot"
What It Really Means
You are hunting for adjectives that convey powerful passion, force, or emotional temperature.
Think About...
- Wholehearted devotion to a cause.
- Forceful emotion during conflict or competition.
- Oppressive climate or breathless momentum.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Left to right across the board
Letter Count: 9 letters
Starting Zone: Row 1, letter 1
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Picture a person whose blazing convictions stir everyone nearby.
Hint 2 (Warmer): The target is a label for a provocative, passionately outspoken agitator.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is F, last letter is D
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FIREBRAND
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: Deeply passionate and sincere.
Closer: Think of wholehearted devotion to a belief, principle, or mission.
Letter Clue: Starts with F, 7 letters total
Answer
FERVENT
Word 2
Vague: Forceful, formidable, and hard to withstand.
Closer: A predator's attack or a competitor's determination can carry this quality.
Letter Clue: Starts with F, 6 letters total
Answer
FIERCE
Word 3
Vague: Charged with anger or strong emotion.
Closer: Think of an argument whose emotional temperature keeps rising.
Letter Clue: Starts with H, 6 letters total
Answer
HEATED
Word 4
Vague: At an extreme level of strength or concentration.
Closer: A demanding workout, penetrating stare, or concentrated burst of pressure can earn this label.
Letter Clue: Starts with I, 7 letters total
Answer
INTENSE
Word 5
Vague: Scorching in climate or breathless in pace.
Closer: A scorching desert day or a breathless romance is described this way.
Letter Clue: Starts with T, 6 letters total
Answer
TORRID
Word 6
Vague: Full of energetic devotion to a cause.
Closer: An advocate whose enthusiasm runs beyond ordinary eagerness fits this description.
Letter Clue: Starts with Z, 7 letters total
Answer
ZEALOUS
Full Answers
Spangram: FIREBRAND
Theme Words:
- FERVENT
- FIERCE
- HEATED
- INTENSE
- TORRID
- ZEALOUS
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Medium, because the answers occupy a tight semantic cluster.
Trickiest Word: TORRID is the trickiest word because its literal sense of scorching heat can distract from its figurative use for impassioned or fast-moving situations.
Our Take: FIREBRAND gives the theme a human center, while FERVENT, FIERCE, HEATED, INTENSE, TORRID, and ZEALOUS spread the idea across conviction, conflict, emotion, and climate. The result is a cohesive word list whose overlapping meanings create the puzzle's main challenge.
