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 #442) – hint #1 – today’s theme

NYT Strands today (game #442) – hint #2 – clue words

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

• TURN
• SOFA
• TOUR
• PEST
• NIGHTS
• SMOKE

NYT Strands today (game #442) – hint #3 – spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #442) – hint #4 – spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #442) – the answers

The answers to today’s Strands, game #442, are…

• MACKEREL
• TROUT
• SALMON
• SNAPPER
• HALIBUT
• SPANGRAM: SOMETHINGS FISHY

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

About a quarter way through today’s search I thought to myself “there’s no way Strands would have a spangram as long as SOMETHINGS FISHY is there?”

But, oh how wrong I was and there it is taking up a third of the grid when we could be fishing for fishy words.

I also find it hard to look at without the apostrophe – as in ‘something’s fishy’ – even though that would not work in a word search, but maybe I’m alone with that.

MACKEREL was the easiest word to find thanks to the CK in its name, while SNAPPER proved the hardest to tap out as there were several variants to the order of the letters.

Other than that, today’s search was about as easy as shooting fish in a bucket, but in fairness it was limited to a tasty and fancy selection – none of these fine sources of omega 3 are likely to find themselves as an ingredient in a stick or a burger.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Sunday, May 18, game #441)

• HELM
• MAST
• RIGGING
• KEEL
• TILLER
• HULL
• RUDDER
• STERN
• SPANGRAM: SAILBOAT

Johnny is a freelance pop culture journalist who has been writing about the internet, music, football and famous people since the iPhone was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye. Previously known by the pseudonym the Pop Detective, his journalistic career began making up stories about Madonna’s addiction to sausage rolls (this is not true by the way). A man of few talents, his career is rich and various and includes the highs of interviewing Elton John and Blur; and the lows of interviewing Right Said Fred, appearing on a Channel 5 documentary about Peter Kay, and fact-checking the instruction manual for a German cooker. Somehow still affording to live in North London he is at his happiest riding his bicycle and shouting at pigeons.