Need a bit of help with NYT Strands today? No shame in that, and you've come to the right place. Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #487, as well as the answers, should it come to that.
We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #487, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #487.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #487 is... "Beyond vanilla".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Exotic flavors."
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- RETCH
- CHEER
- SCOFF
- TRAY
- SCORER
- BOATS
- TREE
Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with 'I' and ends with 'M'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's ICECREAM.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #487?
Drumroll, please...
- CHERRY
- BUTTERSCOTCH
- COFFEE
- PISTACHIO
- BROWNIE
...and the spangram was ICECREAM.
Strands #487
“Beyond vanilla”
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Hi Strands fans. Slightly annoyed I needed a clue today, but I simply drew a blank as soon as I started the second half.
The theme of "Beyond vanilla" didn't leave me in any doubt that this would be about ICECREAM, and sure enough I found the spangram spelt backwards from the bottom of the grid to the top, dividing the board in two.
On the left-hand side, I quickly found CHERRY at the top, with the rest of the letters forming BUTTERSCOTCH.
But the right-hand side really tripped me up. Eventually I used a clue, revealing COFFEE. Perhaps I should have got this, but it's a bit of a blind spot for me as someone who doesn't do hot drinks.
Thankfully that opened up the board nicely, with PISTACHIO clearly spelled out in the gap between COFFEE and the spangram. All that was left was to connect BROWNIE in the bottom-right corner to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #486.
- FLUFF
- LEAF
- MOSS
- WOOL
- TWIG
- GRASS
- FEATHER
...and the spangram was NESTINGMATERIAL.
Strands #486
“This is for the birds”
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Hi Strands fans. Another puzzle with a nice pictorial spangram. NESTINGMATERIAL forms the shape of a bird nest in a tree, which is a very nice touch.
Not that I understood this to be the meaning of the theme right away. Fortunately, I found FLUFF on the left-hand side, followed by LEAF above it. This was enough for the theme to click and I connected the huge spangram of NESTINGMATERIAL.
This wasn't just helpful in terms of revealing the kinds of answers I was hunting for, but also in dividing the board in three. MOSS completed the bottom-left area, while WOOL and TWIG finished the top section.
That left two answers to find in the bottom-right segment. I found GRASS on the left first, and FEATHER followed it to complete a rather enjoyable puzzle.
