"NYT ‘Strands’ Hints, Spangram, and Answers for Sunday, April 13"

13 Apr, 2025

Sure! Here's a polished and slightly more concise rewrite of the original article, maintaining the casual and informative tone:

Hey everyone! Ready for today’s NYT Strands hints, spangram, and answers for Sunday, April 13? Let’s dive in.

🧩 How To Play Strands

Strands is The New York Times’ twist on a classic word search. You can play it on the NYT website or in the NYT Games app, alongside hits like Wordle and Connections.

Each day brings a fresh puzzle with a 6x8 grid of letters. Your goal is to find a set of words that share a common theme, guided by a daily clue. Theme words you discover will stay highlighted in blue.

One special word, called the spangram, reveals what all the words have in common. It connects at least two sides of the board (not necessarily starting or ending there) and appears in yellow. Unlike the theme words, the spangram can be a proper name.

You can form words by connecting letters vertically, horizontally, or diagonally — and even change direction mid-word. On touchscreens, double tap the last letter to submit.

Find three valid words of four or more letters (that aren’t part of the theme), and you’ll unlock a Hint button, which highlights one of the theme words on the board.

Keep in mind: puzzles can vary in difficulty. Some days might require filling in a missing word, others might involve homophones, synonyms, or something a little trickier.

🧠 Today’s Strands Puzzle - April 13, 2025

Official theme clue: Orange door hinge
Extra hint: Bright white
You’re looking for eight theme words, including the spangram.

🔤 First Two Letters of Each Theme Word

Spoiler alert ahead!
The first two letters of today’s words are:

✨ Today’s Spangram

Spangram: COLOR RHYMES

Here's how it fits the theme: Each of the words rhymes with a color.

✅ Today’s Theme Words

HELLO (yellow)
SPREAD (red)
QUEEN (green)
PLAQUE (black)
HEIGHT (white)
PILOT (violet)
FLEW (blue)
COLOR RHYMES (spangram)

🧩 My Solve Notes

This one was tricky. I was stuck at the start until a hint gave me FLEW, then I spotted HEIGHT nearby. Still had no clue about the theme. A few more hints revealed HELLO, QUEEN, PLAQUE, and PILOT, which eventually outlined the spangram for me. SPREAD was the last one I found.

Used five hints total, and the spangram was my seventh theme word.

Not my favorite puzzle, but hey — some days are tougher than others.

See you back here tomorrow for more Strands fun! And if you enjoy these recaps, follow my blog for daily updates on Strands, Connections, and more word and video game coverage. Join my Discord for community chats and follow me on [Bluesky], [Twitter], or [LinkedIn].

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