Today's NYT Strands is live for Friday, October 30, 2026 (Puzzle #971). 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: "All charged up"
What It Really Means
Look for words associated with circuits, batteries, and what makes devices run.
Think About...
- What travels through a wire.
- What a battery stores and supplies.
- The tiny flash that can start a flame.
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): Think about how an appliance gets connected before you switch it on.
Hint 2 (Warmer): This phrase describes a lamp once its cord is connected to a wall socket.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is P, last letter is N
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PLUGGEDIN
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: A flow that belongs in a circuit or a river.
Closer: Amperes measure this flow of charge.
Letter Clue: Starts with C, 7 letters total
Answer
CURRENT
Word 2
Vague: The phenomenon behind lightning and a working desk lamp.
Closer: The utility supplies this through your home's wiring to run lights and appliances.
Letter Clue: Starts with E, 11 letters total
Answer
ELECTRICITY
Word 3
Vague: What a drained battery lacks and a rested person has.
Closer: In physics, this is the capacity to do work, measured in joules.
Letter Clue: Starts with E, 6 letters total
Answer
ENERGY
Word 4
Vague: A drink word with a second life in battery talk.
Closer: You squeeze it from an orange, or say your phone has run out of it.
Letter Clue: Starts with J, 5 letters total
Answer
JUICE
Word 5
Vague: A word for authority that also belongs on an appliance button.
Closer: Measured in watts, this is the rate at which work is done.
Letter Clue: Starts with P, 5 letters total
Answer
POWER
Word 6
Vague: A brief flash that can get something started.
Closer: The tiny discharge you can see when static jumps from your finger to a doorknob.
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 5 letters total
Answer
SPARK
Full Answers
Spangram: PLUGGEDIN
Theme Words:
- CURRENT
- ELECTRICITY
- ENERGY
- JUICE
- POWER
- SPARK
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Easy to medium, with a direct theme cue and a small slang detour in JUICE.
Trickiest Word: JUICE is the likeliest stumbling block because its beverage meaning pulls attention away from its slang use for electricity or battery charge.
Our Take: The theme's "All charged up" cue leads neatly to PLUGGEDIN, which gives the board a concrete household connection. CURRENT, ELECTRICITY, ENERGY, and POWER supply the technical vocabulary, while JUICE and SPARK add slang and a visible flash. That mix gives a straightforward theme enough variety to stay engaging.