NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, May 18 (game #806)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, May 17 (game #805).

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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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 #806) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… The daily rind

NYT Strands today (game #806) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SURE
• MULE
• CAMEL
• POLE
• GATE
• GNAT

NYT Strands today (game #806) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 6 letters

NYT Strands today (game #806) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 3rd row

Last side: right, 8th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #806) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #806, are…

• ORANGE
• CLEMENTINE
• LIME
• KUMQUAT
• POMELO
• TANGERINE
• SPANGRAM: CITRUS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Another easy game, although it was made slightly harder with the elimination of the most common of CITRUS fruits, the lemon.

In lemon’s place we had two lesser-spotted fruits: the KUMQUAT, which is like a miniature orange and which is often used to make marmalade, and POMELO, a pomegranate-melon hybrid which took me a couple of goes to get because I kept trying to connect it as polemo.

After finishing the game I was excited to discover that the polemo does actually exist and is famous (although not that famous, obviously) for being the largest citrus fruit.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, May 17, game #805)

• SCOREBOARD
• LANES
• PINS
• BALLS
• LOUNGE
• ARCADE
• SPANGRAM: BOWLINGALLEY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, May 17 (game #805)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, May 16 (game #804).

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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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 #805) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Strike one!

NYT Strands today (game #805) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• RACE
• BLADE
• SPIN
• LAND
• BREAD
• LACED

NYT Strands today (game #805) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #805) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: top, 2nd column

Last side: bottom, 4th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #805) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #805, are…

• SCOREBOARD
• LANES
• PINS
• BALLS
• LOUNGE
• ARCADE
• SPANGRAM: BOWLINGALLEY

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I scored my 88th Spangram First today, although BOWLINGALLEY was not exactly hard to spot — they may as well have put flashing neon bulbs around it.

To say that I found this search easier than a game of Ten Pin Bowling would be an understatement. Although I love playing the game — I even like the shoes — I am shockingly bad at it and in the unlikely event that I ever get a strike I will follow it up with 1s and 2s that defy science.

I was, then, familiar with all the many aspects and attractions of a BOWLINGALLEY although I spent longest over the final word ARCADE.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, May 16, game #804)

• MOUSSE
• CROISSANT
• ECLAIR
• MACARON
• MERINGUE
• SPANGRAM: FRENCHBAKERY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

https://ift.tt/7Szt204

No, Google is not ending its 15GB of free Gmail storage policy — it's testing a 5GB initial limit that jumps to the full amount if you add a phone number

• Google is changing its storage policy for new Gmail accounts
• New accounts in some regions will only get 5GB of free storage space
• Adding a phone number will unlock the standard 15GB of room

For many years, Google has given users 15GB of free cloud storage space when they sign up for Gmail (which is actually shared across Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive) — but a change to that policy is now being trialled.

Google has confirmed to Android Authority that it is "testing" a new approach in "select regions" where new users only get 5GB initially. That then goes up to the full 15GB once the account owner adds a phone number to their details.

This is only for new accounts, only in certain parts of the world, and only a test (for now) — if you've already got a Google account, nothing is going to happen to your 15GB of free storage for Gmail and Google's other services.

The move will "help us continue to provide a high quality storage service to our users, while encouraging users to improve their account security and data recovery" says Google. It sounds as though Google wants to be better able to verify identities behind accounts, while also collecting more data on its users, of course.

Paying with your privacy

Gmail now gives 5gb free if you sign up without phone number from r/degoogle

Officially, Google doesn't require a phone number when you create a new account, though if you search the web you'll find it does sometimes insist on a number being registered. It's not clear why exactly, but the requirement may kick in if Google's systems suspect some kind of fraudulent or spam activity.

The new approach means adding a phone number isn't compulsory — but you'll only get a third of the free storage if you do. The change was originally reported by PiunikaWeb based on a Reddit thread from a user who hit the limitation.

Reactions on that thread are about as negative as you might expect: one commenter suggests Google has moved to "the 'bribery for your data' stage", while another says that "you're paying for your privacy" if you sign up with Gmail.

This comes against the backdrop of a wider age verification crackdown in tech, with an increasing number of apps and websites asking users to confirm they are who they say they are, ostensibly to boost user security and safely silo off adult content.

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, May 16 (game #804)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, May 15 (game #803).

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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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 #804) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Bon appétit

NYT Strands today (game #804) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• STAGE
• CUTE
• RING
• RACE
• NEAR
• FRAME

NYT Strands today (game #804) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #804) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 1st row

Last side: right, 7th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #804) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #804, are…

• MOUSSE
• CROISSANT
• ECLAIR
• MACARON
• MERINGUE
• SPANGRAM: FRENCHBAKERY

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Seeing the word “French” along the top row was impossible to ignore making FRENCHBAKERY, one of the easiest-to-spot spangrams I can remember.

From here on in it was simply a case of how much patisserie you are familiar with — as someone who is a fan of TV cooking shows and of eating as many cakes and pastries as possible, I found it all rather easy. That said, I'm sure everyone saw MOUSSE immediately too.

Indeed the biggest challenge of the day was spelling CROISSANT. Actually, scratch that, the biggest challenge of the day is not leaving my desk to go out to buy a CROISSANT.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, May 15, game #803)

• OTTER
• BADGER
• FERRET
• MARTEN
• POLECAT
• WOLVERINE
• SPANGRAM: MUSTELIDS

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

https://ift.tt/PjKQFLr

Quordle hints and answers for Friday, May 15 (game #1572)

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, May 14 (game #1571).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1572) - hint #1 - Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1572) - hint #2 - repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1572) - hint #3 - uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1572) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1572) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• E

• S

• F

• P

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

Quordle today (game #1572) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1572, are…

• EPOCH
• SPIKY
• FAINT
• PENNE

I could only think of two words ending A-I-N-T from the letters I had left: “taint” or FAINT.

Typically, I guessed the wrong of the two, but fortunately I had enough space left to make an error. No stress.

Daily Sequence today (game #1572) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1572, are…

• SAUNA
• COUNT
• ROUSE
• GROSS

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1571, Thursday, 14 May: SEVEN, DECRY, VILLA, MILKY
• Quordle #1570, Wednesday, 13 May: SKUNK, CHAFE, INTER, SOOTH
• Quordle #1569, Tuesday, 12 May: AGLOW, AVAIL, BADLY, STING
• Quordle #1568, Monday, 11 May: CLUMP, SALTY, BOAST, YIELD
• Quordle #1567, Sunday, 10 May: DONOR, FAITH, ROBOT, EXILE
• Quordle #1566, Saturday, 9 May: SHALL, ERUPT, WISER, DRIER
• Quordle #1565, Friday, 8 May: TOXIN, HELIX, FLOUT, ADULT
• Quordle #1564, Thursday, 7 May: DEALT, LOWLY, AHEAD, CHEEK
• Quordle #1563, Wednesday, 6 May: DRESS, SWIFT, HOARD, STEAD
• Quordle #1562, Tuesday, 5 May: SNEER, NEVER, RAMEN, TODDY
• Quordle #1561, Monday, 4 May: IMBUE, FIFTY, STEEP, PINTO
• Quordle #1560, Sunday, 3 May: HATER, FORCE, BASTE, TROUT
• Quordle #1559, Saturday, 2 May: DENIM, WAIVE, CHANT, RENAL
• Quordle #1558, Friday, 1 May: LUMEN, LINEN, GOING, THANK
• Quordle #1557, Thursday, 30 April: LOYAL, CACHE, SWEAT, LIGHT
• Quordle #1556, Wednesday, 29 April: TRAIL, RENEW, BELLE, GREED
• Quordle #1555, Tuesday, 28 April: CLINK, BONUS, BRUSH, DRIER
• Quordle #1554, Monday, 27 April: ARGUE, LUNAR, SEVER, THEIR
• Quordle #1553, Sunday, 26 April: PITHY, BOAST, PRIED, BLIMP
• Quordle #1552, Saturday, 25 April: RESET, DRINK, DEITY, SLACK

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Europe wants to dodge troublesome regions by building undersea cables beneath the Arctic

• The EU is considering routing subsea cables through the Artic
• It aims to avoid regions of conflict and instability such as Russia and Iran
• The routes are projected to cost €2 billion and be operational by 2030

If you currently access or communicate with the internet in Asia as a European, around 90% of your traffic travels via subsea internet cables in the Middle East.

Given the recent conflict between the US and Iran, expanding capacity and building new projects has been a bit of a non-starter, as Meta well knows.

To combat this bottleneck, and to avoid the obvious troubles of navigating the internet via Russia, the European Union wants to take the Northwest Passage, or transit the North Pole.

Putting the internet on ice

The two proposed solutions, under the name Polar Connect, come with their own challenges, but apparently the EU is willing to take icebergs and thick sea ice over a region of periodic instability and Vladimir Putin, so much so that the EU has listed Polar Connect as a priority project with an operational goal of 2030.

For one route, going via the Northwest Passage in Canada to Asia, there is the obvious issue that has plagued navigators from John Cabot to John Franklin: the region is packed with sea ice. The unfortunate silver lining is that climate change has reduced the Arctic ice pack by a considerable amount, making the route a viable option.

As for the North Pole route, the cables would start in Scandinavia and travel across the North Pole.

Both routes would require specialist ice-breaking cable-laying equipment with a hefty price tag, or one ship to break ice and another to lay cable - which is equally expensive. But the costs seem to be a reasonable price to pay to have a more reliable connection with Asia.

This isn’t the first time undersea cables have been laid beneath the Arctic ocean. Quintillion was the last company to attempt such a venture, and had some success. A length of cable began at Nome, ran along the northern coast of Alaska, and reached Prudhoe Bay. Unfortunately, icebergs can drag their lower halves across the bottom of the seafloor at depths beyond that of an undersea cable, damaging or even cutting them in an event known as an “ice scour”.

When Quintillion encountered this problem in June 2023, they did not have access to an icebreaker and so had to wait for the ice to melt before being able to repair the cable. The same happened again in January 2025, leading to an eight month downtime leaving many Alaskans without high-speed internet. Quintillion never laid the rest of the route to Asia.

But given the expense of attempting to lay, repair cables — and navigate the potential taxation of undersea cables by unfriendly nations in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden — a €2 billion route through the Arctic provides Europe with sovereignty over their cables, and the data flowing through it.

Via The Verge

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NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, May 14 (game #802)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, May 13 (game #801).

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 NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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 #802) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Men in tights

NYT Strands today (game #802) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• CHEER
• FROST
• TOWN
• GUIDE
• YEAR
• SHIN

NYT Strands today (game #802) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #802) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 1st row

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

NYT Strands today (game #802) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #802, are…

• ARCHERY
• DISGUISE
• FOREST
• FRIAR
• OUTLAW
• SHERIFF
• SPANGRAM: ROBINHOOD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

“Men in tights” could only mean one thing surely? Superheroes and their sidekicks. It was with confidence therefore that I tapped out “robin” — the name of Batman’s sidekick back in the tights era. Alas, it was not to be.

Fortunately I spotted “hood” on the top row and realized that the “men in tights” we were seeking were from an era far beyond the 1960s.

From here on it was just a case of remembering the significant factors of the ROBIN HOOD tale — although the only version I’m familiar with involved a fox, a tortoise and a bear who was into jazz.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, May 13, game #801)

• SPUNK
• PLUCK
• GRIT
• NERVE
• GUMPTION
• FIBER
• HEART
• SPANGRAM: WHATITTAKES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which 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.

https://ift.tt/LGHBh5p