Wednesday, July 15, 2026

NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, July 16 (game #865)

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 Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #864).

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

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's NYT Strands theme is… Rerouting…

NYT Strands today (game #865) - hint #2 - clue words

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

  • NOISE
  • CHANCE
  • VERSE
  • TRUANT
  • GIVE
  • SKATE

NYT Strands today (game #865) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #865) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: left, 8th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #865) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 865 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #865, are…

  • TACK
  • ZIGZAG
  • TURN
  • VEER
  • DEVIATE
  • PIVOT
  • SWERVE
  • SPANGRAM: CHANGECOURSE
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 1 hint

Rerouting… is a word I used to see a lot when I used a sat nav in my car, so this is exactly the theme I was expecting — but I still struggled over it.

It’s not until you play Strands that you realize how many different ways there are to say the same thing, in this case a change of direction.

I took a hint to get going, but TACK didn’t help much. Then, I connected the two Zs for ZIGZAG and finally got motoring.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, July 15, game #864)

  • QUIXOTIC
  • IDEALISTIC
  • ROMANTIC
  • IMPRACTICAL
  • SPANGRAM: PIEINTHESKY

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.

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Ebola is spreading faster in eastern Congo than it can be tracked, as deaths pass 700

A health worker stands at the Evangelical Medical Center, in Bunia, eastern Congo, Friday, July 3, 2026, where Ebola clinical trials are scheduled to take place.

Eighty percent of new Ebola cases in eastern Congo are emerging from unknown chains of transmission, according to WHO, a sign the outbreak is spreading faster than health officials can track.

(Image credit: Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #864)

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 Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, July 14 (game #863).

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

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's NYT Strands theme is… Rose-colored glasses

NYT Strands today (game #864) - hint #2 - clue words

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

  • QUIT
  • MARKET
  • MAIN
  • PLACE
  • PLINTH
  • RELICS

NYT Strands today (game #864) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #864) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: bottom, 3rd 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 #864) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 864 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #864, are…

  • QUIXOTIC
  • IDEALISTIC
  • ROMANTIC
  • IMPRACTICAL
  • SPANGRAM: PIEINTHESKY
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 1 hint

Just four long words made up today’s game, but that didn’t make the search any easier.

I am more familiar with a slight variation on today’s theme — rose-tinted spectacles — which I had viewed as meaning to look favorably on something you are biased towards (such as the fortunes of your team). But the words here leaned more towards fanaticism.

Regardless of interpretation I needed a hint to get going and was rewarded with QUIXOTIC, a word I would have failed to see otherwise. From here I found the other two words with a T-I-C ending, before the spangram helped me to locate IMPRACTICAL.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, July 14, game #863)

  • CHAIR
  • ROCKER
  • BEANBAG
  • OTTOMAN
  • RECLINER
  • THRONE
  • SPANGRAM: HAVEASEAT

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.