Today's NYT Strands is live for Tuesday, September 29, 2026 (Puzzle #940). 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: "Have a heart"
What It Really Means
The prompt points to the body's circulation system. Look for its parts, what moves through them, and signs of how the system is working.
Think About...
- Routes through the body.
- A space inside the central pump.
- Signs a clinician can check.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Left to right across the board
Letter Count: 14 letters
Starting Zone: Row 5, letter 1
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Think of the whole system rather than one of its parts.
Hint 2 (Warmer): The term joins the pumping organ with the network that carries fluid throughout the body.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is C, last letter is R
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CARDIOVASCULAR
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: A route leading away from the body's central pump.
Closer: This vessel usually carries oxygen-rich fluid away from the heart.
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 6 letters total
Answer
ARTERY
Word 2
Vague: A receiving space inside that pump.
Closer: The heart has two of these upper receiving chambers.
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 6 letters total
Answer
ATRIUM
Word 3
Vague: The fluid traveling through this system.
Closer: Red cells, white cells, and platelets travel in this fluid.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 5 letters total
Answer
BLOOD
Word 4
Vague: A measure of the force within the system.
Closer: An upper-arm cuff gives this reading as two numbers.
Letter Clue: Starts with P, 8 letters total
Answer
PRESSURE
Word 5
Vague: A repeating signal you can feel without equipment.
Closer: Place two fingers on your wrist to feel this repeating beat.
Letter Clue: Starts with P, 5 letters total
Answer
PULSE
Word 6
Vague: A route that returns the traveling fluid toward the central pump.
Closer: Vessels of this type in the legs have valves that help fluid return to the heart.
Letter Clue: Starts with V, 4 letters total
Answer
VEIN
Full Answers
Spangram: CARDIOVASCULAR
Theme Words:
- ARTERY
- ATRIUM
- BLOOD
- PRESSURE
- PULSE
- VEIN
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Medium. ATRIUM has an architectural meaning that can pull you away from the theme.
Trickiest Word: ATRIUM is the trickiest word: it can mean a building's central hall as well as an upper chamber of the heart.
Our Take: CARDIOVASCULAR ties the grid together neatly, with ARTERY, ATRIUM, BLOOD, PRESSURE, PULSE, and VEIN covering anatomy, the fluid in motion, and signs you can measure or feel. ATRIUM adds the best misdirection because its architectural meaning briefly opens another line of thought.
