Today's Strands Sports Edition is live for Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (Puzzle #14). Stuck on today's Strands Sports Edition? We've got progressive hints, from gentle nudges to full solutions, so you can solve at your own pace.
How Strands Sports Edition Works (New Players Start Here)
Strands Sports Edition is the free daily sports word search from The Athletic and NYT Games. It hides sports-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 two opposite sides.
Need a boost? Every three non-theme words you find (four letters or longer) earn a hint that highlights the letters of a theme word. A new puzzle arrives every day at midnight local time.
Theme Decoder
Today's Theme Prompt: "Stick the landing"
What It Really Means
Think of the Olympic sport built around acrobatic routines on apparatus. You're hunting for equipment and event terms.
Think About...
- Women's Olympic competition.
- Men's apparatus finals.
- The tumbling floor.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Left to right across the board
Letter Count: 10 letters
Starting Zone: Row 6, letter 1
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Think of a sport that puts strength, flexibility, and precise body control together.
Hint 2 (Warmer): Judges assess acrobatic routines on apparatus, with a steady landing providing the finishing touch.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is G, last letter is S
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GYMNASTICS
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: An explosive event built around a brief flight.
Closer: A sprint toward a takeoff board leads to a push off a padded table.
Letter Clue: Starts with V, 5 letters total
Answer
VAULT
Word 2
Vague: An apparatus that makes balance the central challenge.
Closer: Leaps and turns unfold on a narrow, raised surface in women's competition.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 4 letters total
Answer
BEAM
Word 3
Vague: Suspended equipment that demands exceptional upper-body control.
Closer: The iron cross is a signature strength hold on these suspended circular handholds.
Letter Clue: Starts with R, 5 letters total
Answer
RINGS
Word 4
Vague: An apparatus for continuous leg circles supported by the hands.
Closer: Raised handles sit atop a padded body while the athlete circles the legs without touching down.
Letter Clue: Starts with P, 11 letters total
Answer
POMMELHORSE
Word 5
Vague: Equipment associated with swings, releases, and catches.
Closer: The apparatus name can follow either 'uneven' or 'parallel.'
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 4 letters total
Answer
BARS
Word 6
Vague: A competition that rewards versatility across apparatus.
Closer: Scores from each apparatus combine to decide this individual title.
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 9 letters total
Answer
ALLAROUND
Full Answers
Spangram: GYMNASTICS
Theme Words:
- VAULT
- BEAM
- RINGS
- POMMELHORSE
- BARS
- ALLAROUND
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Medium, with familiar apparatus names providing entry points and longer compound answers adding resistance.
Trickiest Word: POMMELHORSE is the strongest candidate to stall a solve. Its joined spelling and double M demand more care than the shorter apparatus names.
Our Take: 'Stick the landing' gives this puzzle a concrete sporting cue, and GYMNASTICS ties the answers together cleanly. VAULT and BEAM offer approachable footholds, while POMMELHORSE adds a spelling challenge and ALLAROUND broadens the list beyond equipment.