Saturday, January 17, 2026

NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, January 18 (game #686)

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 Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, January 17 (game #685).

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 #686) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Soft skills

NYT Strands today (game #686) - hint #2 - clue words

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

  • TEXT
  • EXTRA
  • VEIL
  • HOPE
  • PACT
  • MARKET

NYT Strands today (game #686) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #686) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 3rd 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 #686) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 686 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #686, are…

  • QUILT
  • WEAVE
  • CROCHET
  • KNIT
  • EMBROIDER
  • APPLIQUE
  • SPANGRAM: TEXTILEART
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

This was one of those puzzles where the mists cleared very rapidly for me after I found the first word.

'Soft skills' left me clueless as to what we were looking for, but the letters Q and X made for obvious starting points and helped me WEAVE my way to victory.

The only sticky spot could have been APPLIQUE, but unlike some of the other crafty words in the search it was relatively easy to make all the connections.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, January 17, game #685)

  • DRAT
  • CURSES
  • FIDDLESTICKS
  • TARNATION
  • PHOOEY
  • SPANGRAM: FOILEDAGAIN

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.

Friday, January 16, 2026

NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, January 17 (game #685)

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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, January 16 (game #684).

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 #685) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… That's putting it mildly!

NYT Strands today (game #685) - hint #2 - clue words

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

  • TARN
  • PONY
  • RATE
  • PHASE
  • SACKED
  • CAKE

NYT Strands today (game #685) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #685) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: bottom, 1st column

Last side: top, 4th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #685) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 685 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #685, are…

  • DRAT
  • CURSES
  • FIDDLESTICKS
  • TARNATION
  • PHOOEY
  • SPANGRAM: FOILEDAGAIN
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

I love a polite swearword. If you hear someone curse “fudge” or “sugar” it is firstly very funny, but secondly also pointless because everyone knows what you are really trying to say.

Perhaps a better option is to come up with something a bit more creative, like calling someone the son of an aardvark or yelling peanuts when you accidentally hurt yourself. There is a brilliant story a UK journalist called Jon Ronson wrote about being asked by his son what the worst swearword in the world was, and he randomly replied “limone” – it worked, for a while, until one day he returned home from school and called his father a very, very rude word for lying to him.

Anyway, I digress. A great, fun search in which I thankfully was not FOILEDAGAIN. 

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, January 16, game #684)

  • JOKER
  • ROBIN
  • CAPE
  • MANOR
  • JUSTICE
  • PENGUIN
  • VENGEANCE
  • SPANGRAM: BATMAN

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.

A South Korean court sentences Yoon to 5 years in prison on charges related to martial law decree

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

A South Korean court has sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison, the first verdict in eight criminal trials for allegations that include his 2024 martial law decree.

(Image credit: Lee Jin-man)

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Airbnb seemingly confirms Apple’s self-driving car — and what it reveals about Apple’s AI shift, and Airbnb’s future

  • Airbnb’s CTO hiring news seemingly confirms Apple’s long-rumored self-driving car project
  • It adds context to Apple’s broader AI strategy, especially with the Google partnership news
  • It also shows off Airbnb's AI ambitions, which are decidedly focused on the human element

Apple is known for being one of the most secretive companies in tech, rarely confirming projects in development and typically announcing new hardware or software only when the timing is right. Entire initiatives can live – and quietly die – inside Cupertino without ever being publicly acknowledged.

That’s why it’s notable that, after years of rumors surrounding Apple’s work on autonomous vehicles, an unexpected confirmation appears to have come from Airbnb.

As part of a publicly shared internal announcement naming Ahmad Al-Dahle as Airbnb’s new Chief Technology Officer, a memo sent to employees states:

“In 2014, Ahmad created and led Apple’s autonomous technology group, responsible for developing the core AI systems for the company’s self-driving car project.”

Airbnb hiring blog post (Airbnb announces Ahmad Al-Dahle as Chief Technology Officer)

(Image credit: Airbnb)

While Apple has never formally confirmed the project, the statement closely aligns with long-standing reporting and offers one of the clearest acknowledgements yet that the effort existed in a serious, sustained way.

The memo also highlights the length and breadth of Al-Dahle’s time at Apple. He joined the company two years before the first iPhone shipped, working on multitouch and display systems, then contributed to the development of the Apple Watch and other hardware initiatives, before eventually leading Apple’s autonomous systems work.

Al-Dahle left Apple in 2020 and joined Meta, focusing on AI and, since 2023, working within Meta’s Generative AI group. There, he helped launch Llama and roll out AI features across Meta’s suite of apps.

What makes the disclosure particularly striking is not just what it reveals, but how it surfaced. Rather than an official Apple announcement or regulatory filing, confirmation arrived via Airbnb’s hiring announcement – an unusual but revealing route for such a high-profile effort.

Apple Google Gemini deal

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The timing also adds context to Apple’s broader AI strategy, including its recent partnership with Google to use Gemini as the foundation for the next-gen Siri and other AI-powered features. Viewed together, these developments suggest less of a retreat and more of a recalibration.

Autonomous vehicles are one of the most complex intersections of hardware, software, and AI, and Apple’s decision to wind down the project appears consistent with a renewed focus on areas where it can ship products at scale within its existing ecosystem.

Partnering with Google on foundational AI models similarly reflects a pragmatic approach, one in which it can accelerate and potentially offload some of its AI capabilities, while also focusing on the finished product, the user experience, and putting user privacy at the center internally.

Airbnb Experiences

(Image credit: Airbnb)

For Airbnb, the hire underscores how central AI has become to its future. Al-Dahle brings experience building large AI systems and scaling them, which aligns with Airbnb’s expanding use of the tech across its platform.

In 2025, Airbnb rolled out a comprehensive redesign of its iOS and Android apps, emphasizing cleaner navigation, improved discovery, and expanded experiences beyond just rentals. The company has also introduced AI-powered customer service tools and personalized recommendations, while continuing to experiment with social features.

Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky has been increasingly vocal about AI’s role in daily life. In the same employee communication, he emphasized a human-first approach:

“In a world becoming more artificial, people are craving what’s real: real connection with real people in the real world. No company is better positioned to meet this need than Airbnb.”

Aribnb logo

(Image credit: Airbnb)

Chesky added that Al-Dahle “shares our belief that technology should serve people – not the other way around – and that its highest purpose is to bring us closer together.”

Airbnb is unlikely to venture into autonomous vehicles, but it’s clear from Chesky's statement that it intends to remain focused on the customer experience and on encouraging people to connect in the real world.

Chesky’s announcement of the CTO hire also offers a rare window into Apple’s past ambitions and the evolving ways major tech companies approach AI. Although the confirmation came in a unique way, it’s still unconfirmed by Apple.

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