Another day. Another puzzle. If you’re digging for the solution to Strands #850 from July 1. Keep scrolling. Or look elsewhere, depending on your mood. The theme for this one? Not a red herring.
Sounds straightforward, right. It’s a trap. Or at least, it feels like one when you’re staring at a grid full of letters that refuse to make sense. There are just so many words that technically fit. Your brain gets fatigued trying to pick the right ones. Unscrambling the harder answers feels like wrestling a greased pig. If you need the help. I’ve got it.
Before we get to the meat. Here are some basics for the newcomers, or the tired veterans who need a reminder. Find the words that fit the theme. Find any four-letter words. Find three. Boom. One of the actual theme words unlocks. It’s how the game feeds you its own secrets. You don’t even have to pick the best words. Just any valid ones. Words like HILT. Or TILL. Maybe even NILL. Weird one, that last one, but it works.
So. Let’s cut the chase.
What Is The Answer?
The theme isn’t subtle. Not a red herring means something real. Something actual. Something pointing toward the truth.
Here are the words that matter. The ones you need to fill that grid:
- CLUE
- HINT
- EVIDENCE
- INDICATION
- INTIMATION
Five words. They cover the board nicely if you spot them. Miss one? The puzzle stays locked. You just spin in circles, wondering if you missed a double-letter combo somewhere in the bottom right. It happens to the best of us.
And then there is the spangram. The long word. The one that spans from left to right. The final boss.
TELLTALE SIGN
It’s a mouthful. To find it? Start with that T near the top. Five letters from the right edge. Snake it down. It winds its way through the noise until it clicks into place. Suddenly, every other letter on the board belongs to the five words listed above. The grid empties itself.
Feels good, right.
Why Are Some Days So Much Worse Than Others?
This puzzle wasn’t easy. But it wasn’t the worst. I’ve seen worse. Much worse. Some Strands puzzles feel personal. Like the creator wants to break your spirit specifically on a Tuesday.
Dated slang. Try finding PHAT when you were six years old in 2012. It just doesn’t compute.
Sea life? Good luck. Unless you are a marine biologist who spends their weekends cataloging whale parts. Words like BALEEN. Or RIGHT (as in, right whale). It’s obscure. It’s annoying.
Or maybe you got stuck on Bigeye tuna. SKIPJACK. The game loves fishing terms. I don’t know why.
Here’s a thought. Why do they pick words only three people know? Is it for fun? Or just to pad the difficulty stats?
Maybe next week will be kinder. Maybe it’ll be about coffee. Or dogs.
Who knows.
