A popular princess drives support for having a female Japanese Emperor. But the country's first female prime minister opposes it.
(Image credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi)
Japan revises law to ensure supply of (male) heirs to the imperial throne
Thursday, July 16, 2026
NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, July 17 (game #866)
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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, July 16 (game #865).
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 #866) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Categorically speaking
NYT Strands today (game #866) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- PRIVATE
- MINT
- PLUGS
- GRATE
- TROPE
- RENT
NYT Strands today (game #866) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 14 letters
NYT Strands today (game #866) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
• First side: left, 4th row
• Last side: right, 4th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #866) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #866, are…
- ENTERTAINMENT
- NATURE
- SPORTS
- GEOGRAPHY
- SPANGRAM: TRIVIALPURSUIT
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
Initially I thought we would be looking for synonyms of the word category, but instead we were on the hunt for the four of the six segments — or cheeses — that complete a game piece in TRIVIALPURSUIT.
Missing from the list are history and science.
Spotting ENTERTAINMENT — a tricky word to hide — kicked things off for me, with the letter V helping me connect the spangram. All in all a good deal shorter than an actual game of TRIVIALPURSUIT.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, July 16, game #865)
- TACK
- ZIGZAG
- TURN
- VEER
- DEVIATE
- PIVOT
- SWERVE
- SPANGRAM: CHANGECOURSE
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.
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
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.
Sen. Shaheen discusses new Russia sanctions bill
A conversation with Jeanne Shaheen, Democratic Senator from New Hampshire, about a bipartisan bill she put together with the late Senator Lindsey Graham that slaps new sanctions on Russia.
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Ebola is spreading faster in eastern Congo than it can be tracked, as deaths pass 700
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
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.
Rep. Ro Khanna on being detained by Israeli settlers in the West Bank
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., about his recent trip to the occupied West Bank and temporary detention by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
