If you’re here, you’re probably looking for some help with Strands, the New York Times’ unique word-search game.
Strands puts a spin on the traditional word search by allowing words to be formed from connected letters in any direction, creating interesting shapes and patterns. Each letter in the grid is part of an answer, with a theme tying everything together. The “spangram” sums up the theme and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
Unlike other games like Wordle and Connections, Strands adds an extra challenge by providing only a vague hint and no word list, making it a brain-teasing game that may take a bit longer to solve.
If you’re feeling stuck or short on time, we’ve got all the hints you need to breeze through today’s NYT Strands puzzle.
### NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: This is for the birds
Today’s words are related to animals.
### Today’s NYT Strands theme explained
The words are items used for bird homes.
### NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
The spangram for today is horizontal.
### NYT Strands spangram answer today
The spangram is “Nesting Material.”
### NYT Strands word list for July 2
– Leaf
– Wool
– Twig
– Nesting Material
– Fluff
– Moss
– Grass
– Feather
Looking for more daily online games? Check out Mashable’s Games page for hints and puzzles. And if you’re into Mahjong, Sudoku, or free crosswords, Mashable has you covered.
Not the day you were hoping for? No worries, here’s the solution to today’s Strands.


