Today's NYT Strands is live for Monday, October 12, 2026 (Puzzle #953). 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: "In a manner of speaking"
What It Really Means
Look for words that describe how people speak, especially the vocabulary and habits shared by a place, profession, or community.
Think About...
- Speech shaped by where someone grew up.
- Technical vocabulary shared by colleagues.
- Everyday expressions heard around a community.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Left to right across the board
Letter Count: 12 letters
Starting Zone: Row 8, letter 1
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Think about how something is worded, rather than what it means.
Hint 2 (Warmer): A distinctive way of expressing an idea, the kind of wording you might admire in a writer.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is T, last letter is E
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TURNOFPHRASE
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: Your hometown can leave its mark on this.
Closer: A regional variety of a language, with distinctive vocabulary and grammar as well as pronunciation.
Letter Clue: Starts with D, 7 letters total
Answer
DIALECT
Word 2
Vague: Clear to insiders, confusing to outsiders.
Closer: Specialist terms used by doctors, lawyers, or engineers that can leave everyone else needing a translation.
Letter Clue: Starts with J, 6 letters total
Answer
JARGON
Word 3
Vague: A casual label for a group's way of talking.
Closer: An informal word for the language or vocabulary you need to pick up when joining a new crowd.
Letter Clue: Starts with L, 5 letters total
Answer
LINGO
Word 4
Vague: The customary wording used in a particular setting.
Closer: A formal term for customary expression, often found after 'in common' or 'in legal.'
Letter Clue: Starts with P, 8 letters total
Answer
PARLANCE
Word 5
Vague: The speech of ordinary daily life.
Closer: The everyday language of a region or community, contrasted with formal or literary expression.
Letter Clue: Starts with V, 10 letters total
Answer
VERNACULAR
Full Answers
Spangram: TURNOFPHRASE
Theme Words:
- DIALECT
- JARGON
- LINGO
- PARLANCE
- VERNACULAR
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Medium, with closely related meanings making PARLANCE and VERNACULAR harder to distinguish.
Trickiest Word: PARLANCE is the toughest pick because it names customary usage rather than a clearly regional or technical variety of speech. Thinking of the expression 'in common parlance' gives it a concrete foothold.
Our Take: The prompt neatly shifts attention from what we say to the way we say it, with DIALECT and JARGON offering concrete starting points. TURN OF PHRASE ties that idea together, while PARLANCE and VERNACULAR add a satisfying challenge through their overlapping meanings.
