Today's NYT Strands is live for Tuesday, February 3, 2026 (Puzzle #702). 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: "On key"
What It Really Means
You're looking for symbols and punctuation marks found on computer keyboards.
Think About...
- Common keyboard symbols above numbers
- Punctuation marks used in typing
- Special characters in programming or social media
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Diagonally down to the right then diagonally right upwards
Letter Count: 6 letters
Starting Zone: First letter of the fifth row
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): A general term for any mark or character that represents something else
Hint 2 (Warmer): This word describes all the theme words collectively
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is S, last letter is L
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SYMBOL
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: A star-shaped punctuation mark
Closer: Often used to denote footnotes or wildcards
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 8 letters total
Answer
ASTERISK
Word 2
Vague: Social media's favorite symbol
Closer: Used for tagging topics on Twitter/X
Letter Clue: Starts with H, 7 letters total
Answer
HASHTAG
Word 3
Vague: A wavy line symbol
Closer: Often used in Spanish or for approximation
Letter Clue: Starts with T, 5 letters total
Answer
TILDE
Word 4
Vague: A pair of enclosing marks
Closer: Used in programming and mathematics
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 7 letters total
Answer
BRACKET
Word 5
Vague: A line below text
Closer: Often used for emphasis or in file names
Letter Clue: Starts with U, 11 letters total
Answer
UNDERSCORE
Word 6
Vague: A small upward-pointing symbol
Closer: Used to indicate exponentiation or insertion point
Letter Clue: Starts with C, 5 letters total
Answer
CARET
Full Answers
Spangram: SYMBOL
Theme Words:
- ASTERISK
- HASHTAG
- TILDE
- BRACKET
- UNDERSCORE
- CARET
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Moderate
Trickiest Word: CARET (Many players confuse it with "carrot" or forget this less common symbol)
Our Take: A clever keyboard-themed puzzle that tests your symbol recognition. The "On key" prompt was a smart play on words, and the diagonal spangram added a nice twist. Most symbols were familiar, but CARET might trip up casual typists who rarely use this programming symbol.
