Today's NYT Strands is live for Thursday, February 5, 2026 (Puzzle #704). 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: "Quint-essential"
What It Really Means
You're looking for things that come in groups of five. The theme centers on quintets, sets, collections, or categories that traditionally have five members.
Think About...
- Common groups of five in everyday life
- Things you can count on one hand
- Sets that are universally recognized as having five elements
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Down towards the lower right
Letter Count: 10 letters
Starting Zone: Third letter of the first row
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): This phrase is what you might say when asking for a high-five or celebrating a success.
Hint 2 (Warmer): It's a common celebratory expression that literally asks for five fingers.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is G, last letter is E
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GIVEMEFIVE
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: A standard division of time
Closer: The days you typically work
Letter Clue: Starts with W, 8 letters total
Answer
WEEKDAYS
Word 2
Vague: Fundamental speech sounds
Closer: The core letters in every alphabet
Letter Clue: Starts with V, 6 letters total
Answer
VOWELS
Word 3
Vague: Body parts on your feet
Closer: What you wiggle when you're nervous
Letter Clue: Starts with T, 4 letters total
Answer
TOES
Word 4
Vague: Large bodies of water
Closer: The major divisions of the world's seas
Letter Clue: Starts with O, 6 letters total
Answer
OCEANS
Word 5
Vague: Administrative divisions
Closer: New York City's five main parts
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 9 letters total
Answer
BOROUGHS
Word 6
Vague: Ways we perceive the world
Closer: Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 6 letters total
Answer
SENSES
Full Answers
Spangram: GIVEMEFIVE
Theme Words:
- WEEKDAYS
- VOWELS
- TOES
- OCEANS
- BOROUGHS
- SENSES
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Moderate
Trickiest Word: BOROUGHS (Not everyone immediately thinks of NYC's five boroughs as a quintet)
Our Take: A clever theme that plays on the "quint-" prefix. The spangram GIVEMEFIVE ties everything together perfectly. Some words like WEEKDAYS and VOWELS are obvious quintets, while BOROUGHS requires specific geographic knowledge. Solid puzzle with good variety in word lengths.
