The date is June 13. Puzzle number 832. If you need help with the other New York Times puzzles — Mini Crossword, Connections, or Wordle — head to CNET’s main puzzle page. I cover the Strands rules elsewhere. This one’s about today’s board.
The theme
Track event? No. That’s misleading.
Actually the theme is about music performance. Specifically the kind where you sing into a microphone while looking at lyrics on a screen. If you’re stuck here is a hint.
Pick your tune.
That’s it.
Unlocking hints
The game works in layers. Find three words that are at least four letters long. Strands gives you a theme word. Do this enough and the board fills up. You don’t have to guess the big ones first. Just find small words. Any small words.
I used these to get unstuck. DIME. LIME. DIMES. CARE. SEAR. OMEN. OMENS. DICE. DICES. PEAK. You might use others. Doesn’t matter. As long as they’re real words. Four letters or more.
Finding common words first saves you from staring at the grid until your eyes bleed.
The answers
Here are the words that actually fit the theme. They tie into singing or the apparatus of it.
- SONG
- MUSIC
- QUEUE
- LYRICS
- MICROPHONE
- LOUDSPEAKER
And the big one. The Spangram. This runs across the board. Usually it’s the hardest to see because it snakes around.
KARAOKE
Start at the K on the left. It’s four letters down from the top. Follow the line up and over. It wraps around nicely. When you place it all the other letters usually lock into place. Or at least they should. The number of theme words changes per puzzle. It isn’t always eight. Sometimes fewer. Sometimes more. You know it’s done when the board is empty. Every single tile used.
Tougher puzzles
Some days are worse than others. I have a list of the absolute worst Strands themes I’ve played.
- Dated slang.
- Whale biology terms.
Let’s talk about #1. Slang. It hurts. Especially if you weren’t around when the words were cool. You’re supposed to find the word PHAT. It felt ancient immediately.
Why does the New York Times love niche hobbies? Maybe they don’t. Maybe the algorithm just does. I don’t know. I just solved another one today. I might do it again tomorrow. Probably.
