NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Tuesday, November 5 (game #247)

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 Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

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 #247) – hint #1 – today’s theme

What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

Today’s NYT Strands theme is… More than just sports

NYT Strands today (game #247) – hint #2 – clue words

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

  • BEAT
  • DART
  • CHAT
  • MARE
  • DARE
  • STORE

NYT Strands today (game #247) – hint #3 – spangram

What is a hint for today’s spangram?

In the club

NYT Strands today (game #247) – hint #4 – spangram position

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

First: left, 4th row

Last: right, 3rd row

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

NYT Strands today (game #247) – the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 247 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Strands, game #247, are…

  • BAND
  • CHOIR
  • DRAMA
  • DEBATE
  • YEARBOOK
  • ORCHESTRA
  • SPANGRAM: AFTERSCHOOL

  • My rating: Moderate
  • My score: 6 hints

Well, this was a disaster. I needed six hints to solve today’s Strands, which means I needed hints for every single answer bar the spangram, which I got at the end when there were no other words that could possibly fit. And really I had no idea what the theme was until very late on.

Part of the problem was that in the UK, where I am, several of these AFTERSCHOOL activities are not common – or at least have different names. I’ve never seen the likes of BAND, YEARBOOK or ORCHESTRA listed among my kids’ after-school activities, anyway. DEBATE, CHOIR and DRAMA are there – plus dozens of sports and many other activities – but I didn’t put them together to make the theme.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Monday, 4 November, game #246)

  • TICK
  • MINUTE
  • JIFFY
  • FLASH
  • MOMENT
  • SECOND
  • MOMENT
  • INSTANT
  • SPANGRAM: SMALLTIME

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT’s new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable and 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.