Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Monday, October 20, 2025

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Trump announces tariffs and an end to U.S. aid to Colombia amid clash over drug trade

Supporters of Colombian President Gustavo Petro display a Palestinian flag as he addresses a rally in Ibague, Colombia, Oct. 3, 2025.

The U.S. will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country's leader, Gustavo Petro, "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

(Image credit: Fernando Vergara)

NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, October 20 (game #596)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, October 19 (game #595).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #596) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's NYT Strands theme is… “It's in the mail”

NYT Strands today (game #596) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • CHASE
  • MESS
  • BUNCH
  • MORE
  • SNACK
  • DUDE

NYT Strands today (game #596) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #596) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 7th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #596) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 596 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #596, are…

  • MEMO
  • SIGNATURE
  • ROUTING
  • NUMBER
  • ADDRESS
  • AMOUNT
  • SPANGRAM: CHECKLIST
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 1 hint

Playing from the UK I was uncertain about the terminology for sending a check in the mail, but it all made sense in the end.

Ironically, considering this was a search all about financial terminology, “chase” was the first non-game word I found, along with a few others to give me a leg up with a hint. 

Getting MEMO didn’t help much, but I spotted CHECKLIST next – which helped reveal SIGNATURE; it’s always a shock when you realize that such a long word has been hiding in plain sight.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, October 19, game #595)

  • SAUCE
  • JELLY
  • BUTTER
  • CIDER
  • COMPOTE
  • STRUDEL
  • FRITTER
  • SPANGRAM: APPLES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.