NYT 'Strands' Hints & Answers for Sunday, December 15

Looking for the secrets of Saturday's Strands? You've come to the right place. Dive in as we explore the fascinating world of this unique puzzle game.

Discover the Mysteries of Strands with Us

How To Play Strands

The New York Times' Strands puzzle is a delightful twist on the classic word search. Currently in beta, it thrives on daily participation. Every day, a new six by eight grid of letters awaits. The goal is to identify a group of words with a common theme, accompanied by a clue. Once a theme word is found, it shines in blue. Additionally, there's a special spangram that reveals the commonality among the words. It links opposite sides of the board and can be a proper name. All letters are used once in either the theme words or the spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, and even change directions mid-word. On a touchscreen, double-tap the last letter to submit your guess. If you find three valid words of at least four letters not part of the theme, the Hint button unlocks, highlighting the letters of a theme word.Strands presents various challenges. Sometimes, you need to fill in missing words in a phrase. Other days, it revolves around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty varies daily, keeping you on your toes.

What Is Today's Strands Hint?

We begin with the official hint: Moonlighting. And here's my hint: Glowing New Year.

What Are Today's Strands Answers?

Scroll slowly as we reveal the answers. First, the spangram is: LUNARPHASE. And here's where it is on the board:StrandsNYTThe answers are:WAXINGWANINGCRESCENTFULLQUARTERGIBBOUSI had to look up what a Gibbous moon is, and it's basically when three-quarters of the moon is visible with the rest in shadow. The others, like Waxing and Waning, describe how the moon is progressing or regressing. No eclipse in sight.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky, and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels, the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.