NYT Strands #74 - hints, spangram, and answers for game May 16th

Afraid to lose your Strands’ streak? We are here to help you out with some clues and answers.

While it’s definitely more fun to solve puzzles on your own, I know how frustrating it can sometimes be, especially with games from the New York Times.

Today’s puzzle seems to be an easy, or shall I say, a tasty walk in the park. However, I still needed some clues to get started. So, in case you need a little push too, I’m about to give you some hints and answers to keep that streak going.

What’s the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

Today’s NYT Strands topic is “Tasty.”

How many words does today’s NYT Strands have?

Today’s NYT Strands have 9 words. They’re 4-7 letters long.

What words will earn me clues?

The 6x8 grid also contains words not related to today’s topics. While they won’t count as answer words, discovering those will earn you hints. Some of the hidden words in today’s puzzle are:

BELT

TRUE

TROP

NASTY

FILM

SPORT

A hint for today's spangram

Today’s word describes, well, different tasting experiences.

A second hint for today’s spangram

It’s plural. Spices and herbs add them to dishes.

How many letters does today’s spangram have?

Today’s spangram consists of 7 letters, and starts with ‘F’ and ends with ‘S’.

Where does today’s spangram start and end?

Today’s spangram starts at column 1, row 8, and ends at column 6, row 2.

DISCLAIMER: The text and visuals below contain today’s NYT Strands answers.

May 16th NYT Strands spangram:

FLAVORS

May 16th NYT Strands answers:

SOUR

SWEET

TART

FLAVORS

SPICY

PIQUANT

SALTY

UMAMI

BITTER

How to play NYT Strands?

Strands is yet another popular game you can play via the New York Times website. The puzzle contains a 6x8 grid. You need to find all the theme-related words to solve the puzzle.

The rules:

• Theme words fill the board entirely.

• Found theme words stay highlighted in blue.

• The puzzle contains one spangram – a related word that touches two opposite sides of the grid. It may consist of two words.

• Try looking for non-topical words, too, as discovering three not related words will earn you one hint.

When did the Strands game start?

Strands is a part of the widely popular NYT Games library that is probably best known for Wordle – another game we’ve been playing and can help you out with by giving hints.

Strands is a relatively new game, released in March 2024. It was created by Juliette Seive, a research director of NYT Games.