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 Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, January 6 (game #674).
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 #675) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Open wide
NYT Strands today (game #675) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
MINT
RENT
FORCE
THERE
BRUT
RULER
NYT Strands today (game #675) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 14 letters
NYT Strands today (game #675) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: left, 5th row
Last side: right, 5th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #675) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #675, are…
DRILL
FLOSS
TOOTHBRUSH
MIRROR
FLUORIDE
SPANGRAM: DENTISTSOFFICE
My rating: Easy
My score: Perfect
The needlessly long spangram aside this was a relatively easy trip around the board.
That said, before I chanced upon DRILL I was under the impression that we were looking for words connected to wide-open spaces, rather than wide-open mouths.
I think I was traumatised as a teenage about dentistry after seeing the film Marathon Man on TV; it features a very graphic dental torture scene and I didn’t go for a decade. I would recommend avoiding it if you are in any way squeamish about a trip to your DENTISTSOFFICE.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, January 6, game #674)
BALLOON
BIRD
KITE
DRONE
AIRPLANE
ROCKET
SPANGRAM: DEFYINGGRAVITY
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.
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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, January 5 (game #673).
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 #674) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Look up!
NYT Strands today (game #674) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
NOON
GANG
BANGLE
BRAIL
KINK
BANKER
TRAP
NECK
NYT Strands today (game #674) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 14 letters
NYT Strands today (game #674) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: left, 8th 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 #674) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #674, are…
BALLOON
BIRD
KITE
DRONE
AIRPLANE
ROCKET
SPANGRAM: DEFYINGGRAVITY
My rating: Hard
My score: 1 hint
I spotted BALLOON almost immediately today, but despite finding lots of non game words I drew a blank on any others that could fit the theme.
After a hint gave me BIRD I was on my way, but I made very slow progress of trying to think of other things you might look up to spot – only getting the glaringly obvious AIRPLANE after the more unlikely KITE and DRONE.
ROCKET was the real curveball of the set, but fortunately I was already home and singing DEFYINGGRAVITY when that became my final word.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, January 5, game #673)
BRISK
SPEEDY
SWIFT
STAINED
FILTHY
GRUBBY
SPANGRAM: QUICKANDDIRTY
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.
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, January 4 (game #672).
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 #673) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Slapped together
NYT Strands today (game #673) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
QUIP
SWIPE
BRAND
STAY
RISKY
DEEP
NYT Strands today (game #673) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 13 letters
NYT Strands today (game #673) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: right, 3rd row
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 #673) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #673, are…
BRISK
SPEEDY
SWIFT
STAINED
FILTHY
GRUBBY
SPANGRAM: QUICKANDDIRTY
My rating: Hard
My score: 1 hint
This was a puzzling game for the most part, mainly down to my not understanding what the theme was until late in the game.
Getting non-game words was no problem at all, but the ones we actually needed posed a challenge – so I went for a hint to get started.
Prioritizing speed over elegance has become a cultural trend with food, although I must admit it confused me for a long time and I was too embarrassed to ask what friends meant when they said they were going for a “dirty” pizza.
Were they going to eat it off the floor (Mmmm… floor pizza) or were the ingredients so fresh they were still covered in dirt?
In the end I worked out that it was dirty because it was supposed to be some kind of self-shaming phrase – we know it’s bad for us, but we love it.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, January 4, game #672)
MEDIUM
ORACLE
CLAIRVOYANT
TELEPATH
PSYCHIC
SPANGRAM: SIXTHSENSE
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.
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, January 3 (game #671).
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 #672) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… I just know …
NYT Strands today (game #672) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
SLEEP
DISH
HIDE
CALM
PATH
MICE
NYT Strands today (game #672) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 10 letters
NYT Strands today (game #672) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: top, 1st 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 #672) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #672, are…
MEDIUM
ORACLE
CLAIRVOYANT
TELEPATH
PSYCHIC
SPANGRAM: SIXTHSENSE
My rating: Hard
My score: 2 hints
This was one of those very difficult games where even getting a hint presented us with a challenge – especially for those of us for whom our spelling isn’t the greatest.
This was also an interesting game where several of the non-game words appeared to match up with the game words.
I was also struck by how many different words we have – regardless of whether you believe or not – for people who claim to be able to speak to those who have passed away and how none of them embrace modern technology. Deathly communications, it seems, have remained stubbornly analog.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, January 3, game #671)
INVENTIVE
SEMINAL
FRESH
ORIGINAL
NOVEL
SPANGRAM: BREAKNEWGROUND
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.
Notion is a strange beast, even for those who use it regularly. The app’s bread and butter may once have been database management and a place to store notes, but as we head into 2026 it's now grown into something that encompasses so much more.
Last year, I pointed out how you can use a series of tools within the free version of the app to set goals, manage tasks, and build templates. If you want a primer on some of the basic things it can do, I'd recommend reading that first.
But Notion is now able to do so much more, thanks to new tools and, yes, AI. If you’ve spent any time with Notion in the last few years, you may be surprised at what it can help you achieve now.
To give you an idea of how I use it, here are my five favorite new tools that could help power your creativity and productivity in equal measure in 2026.
1. Embracing the Agent
(Image credit: Notion / Future)
Notion is definitely leaning further into AI than ever before, as you might expect.
While there’s a whole bunch of AI tools, like being able to create charts from data and asking Notion AI to search through your workspace for something you may have referenced months ago, a more recent feature is Notion Agent.
As the name suggests, this is the company’s Agentic AI. Think of it less like having a tool that can find data or analyze what’s there, and more like having a handy extra pair of hands that can enter data, update pages, and much more. You can get a trial of Notion AI in the free and Plus plans, but for full access to the Agent you need the Business plan ($20 / £16.50 per month, around AU$30 per month). That's what I'm on.
You can ask your Notion Agent to build a database for just about anything, adding as much information as you can, and it’ll build it in seconds while explaining what it can do and the steps you may want to take next – very handy.
Not all of Notion's AI-powered features need a subscription (for example, Mail and Calendar are free), but understanding what Notion Agent can do could be a huge boon for your organizational outlook in 2026. A good place to start is this video intro to Notion Agent.
2. Managing meetings
(Image credit: Notion / Future)
One of my favorite features Notion added this year is its Meeting Notes. Real-time transcription is one of the most useful AI tools around, but with Notion you can use a backslash and then ‘meeting’ to get it to listen out for calls.
It’ll also trigger automatically if you want to jump on a quick call and have it take a bunch of notes, with options for a full transcript, summary notes, and an AI summary.
It gets dropped right into your workspace, too, so you can send it to your colleagues or instantly turn it into an action plan, and it’s all searchable with Notion AI, too.
The only downside is that you do need the Business plan ($20 / £16.50 per month, around AU$30 per month), to unlock a limited number of AI Meeting Notes.
3. Organising email
(Image credit: Notion / Future)
TL;DR What's new in Notion?
Notion has a new suite of AI tools, including connections to popular models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
The standalone Calendar app has been joined by Notion Mail for managing your email.
Its enterprise tools are getting better, too, meaning you can now search on services like Slack for key details.
Last year, Notion added a second app to its staple with Notion Calendar. In the months since, that app has gotten better with each update. It’s clean, easy to parse at a glance, and it finally removed that additional panel with keyboard shortcuts on the side.
It adjusts to time zones, and has a built-in scheduling tool, while it has access to your Notion database so you can update information there without going to a separate app.
New in 2025, though, is Notion Mail. Since it arrived, it’s also become more useful. Using Notion AI, you can filter incoming mail automatically, meaning it can surface documents that need signing, emails with meeting invites, and much more.
With snippet support, suggested responses, and scheduled send, it’s helped me get through my inbox much more quickly.
4. Connecting work tools and AI models
(Image credit: Notion / Future)
Another huge improvement that comes with Notion Agent is that it can tie into a whole bunch of non-Notion apps.
That includes dev tools like Jira and Github, storage locations like iCloud Drive and Box, and workspace solutions like Slack, Teams, and more. This means your agent can dive deep into just about anything you give it access to.
Asking it to find articles I’ve written, as well as drafts from my Google Drive that correspond, is more helpful than you’d perhaps expect, letting me see what’s live, what isn’t, and much more.
If you’re already using some kind of AI chatbot, you might be able to integrate it into your Notion, too. At the time of writing, it includes Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3 Pro, and ChatGPT 5.1, with the caveat that these are in beta.
5. Building a task manager
(Image credit: Notion / Future)
This isn’t an AI task (and Notion Agents can’t create automations… yet), but you might be surprised at how much you can get done by building your own.
As an example, when I log a piece of work as having been sent to a client, it automatically marks it as done on my Kanban board. When I add an invoice date, it marks it as invoiced, and so on, and so forth.
When you tie it with other services and tools, you can get pretty complex. My task manager can input tasks using an email trigger, so my Notion can send the relevant data from my email, to that address, which then populates it on my to-do list with a deadline, client name, and more. The only real limits are what you can think of.
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 Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, January 2 (game #1439).
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 #1440) - 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 #1440) - 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 #1440) - 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.
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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, January 1 (game #669).
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 #670) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Home is where the hearth is
NYT Strands today (game #670) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
CROSSED
TAPE
STROBE
MEDAL
SALE
PAPER
NYT Strands today (game #670) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 8 letters
NYT Strands today (game #670) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: top, 3rd 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 #670) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #670, are…
BLANKET
SLIPPERS
COCOA
ROBE
FIREPLACE
CUDDLES
SPANGRAM: STAYWARM
My rating: Easy
My score: Perfect
A nice and cosy game to remind us of the pleasures of the great indoors in the heart of winter.
The words in today’s search immediately made me think of a fantasy version of a grandparents' house, the reality of which tends to be totally different for most of us.
While I was playing it I was thinking that all of these words could form the basis of a great themed restaurant, where instead of tables and chairs everyone would be sat in rocking chairs beside a FIREPLACE with a BLANKET (or cat) on their laps as they are brought cups of COCOA and cookies.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, January 1, game #669)
BOLD
STRONG
AROMATIC
SMOOTH
NUTTY
BITTER
VELVETY
SPANGRAM: COFFEE
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.
