Today's NYT Strands is live for Wednesday, June 24, 2026 (Puzzle #843). 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: "Just chill"
What It Really Means
Today's puzzle is all about beverages you reach for when you want to relax, refresh, and unwind. Think cold drinks -- the kind you grab from a cooler on a warm day or pour over ice after a long one.
Think About...
- Popular drinks served cold or over ice
- Beverages you'd stock in a cooler for a party or picnic
- Categories of refreshment -- alcoholic, carbonated, still, fermented
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Vertical (snaking down, left, then right and up)
Letter Count: 15 letters
Starting Zone: Third letter of the fourth row
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Think of a portable container designed to keep your drinks ice-cold.
Hint 2 (Warmer): This term combines the category of drinks you'd serve chilled with the vessel that keeps them cold.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is B, last letter is S
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BEVERAGECOOLERS
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: An alcoholic beverage often associated with game day and backyard barbecues.
Closer: A cold, carbonated malt drink that comes in bottles, cans, and on draft.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 4 letters total
Answer
BEER
Word 2
Vague: A carbonated soft drink that comes in dozens of flavors.
Closer: The generic term for fizzy sweet drinks like cola, lemon-lime, and root beer.
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 4 letters total
Answer
SODA
Word 3
Vague: A bubbly drink that contains no sweeteners or flavorings.
Closer: Carbonated water, often used as a mixer or consumed plain with a squeeze of citrus.
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 7 letters total
Answer
SELTZER
Word 4
Vague: The most essential beverage for hydration, served chilled or at room temperature.
Closer: The clear, calorie-free liquid that covers most of the planet and keeps you alive.
Letter Clue: Starts with W, 5 letters total
Answer
WATER
Word 5
Vague: A drink made by extracting liquid from fruits or vegetables.
Closer: Fresh-squeezed or from concentrate, this drink is a breakfast staple and a mixer favorite.
Letter Clue: Starts with J, 5 letters total
Answer
JUICE
Word 6
Vague: A fermented tea beverage that has surged in popularity as a probiotic-rich alternative to soda.
Closer: This tangy, effervescent drink is made from sweetened tea fermented by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.
Letter Clue: Starts with K, 8 letters total
Answer
KOMBUCHA
Full Answers
Spangram: BEVERAGECOOLERS
Theme Words:
- BEER
- SODA
- SELTZER
- WATER
- JUICE
- KOMBUCHA
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Trickiest Word: KOMBUCHA (It's the least obvious "chill" beverage in the set -- more trendy than classic -- and its 8 letters can be tough to spot in the grid if you're not expecting it.)
Our Take: A refreshingly straightforward Wednesday puzzle. Once you decode "Just chill" as a cooler full of cold drinks, the word list practically writes itself. The spangram BEVERAGECOOLERS is a mouthful at 15 letters but it snakes through the grid in a satisfying way. Nothing overly tricky here -- just a clean, theme-locked set that rewards pattern recognition over deep wordplay.
