NYT Strands hints, answers for July 19, 2026

NYT Strands hints, answers for July 19, 2026

The New York Times Strands puzzle for Sunday, July 19, 2026, challenges players with the theme Big talk. While the clue may suggest gossip or political speeches, the actual objective involves identifying synonyms for things of immense size and scale.

The puzzle, identified as Strands #868, utilizes a 6 x 8 board containing 48 letters. To win, players must find the spangram and all associated theme words, ensuring every letter in the grid is used exactly once. Words in Strands can be formed by linking letters in any direction—up, down, left, right, or diagonal—and can change direction to create irregular shapes.

The Solution

The spangram for the July 19 puzzle is SUPERSIZEIT. This phrase, which spans the board from left to right and is highlighted in yellow upon discovery, is a play on the phrase once used at McDonald's to request the largest possible order size.

The theme words, which are highlighted in blue when found, include:

• BEHEMOTH
• COLOSSUS
• GIANT
• LEVIATHAN
• MAMMOTH

Reports on the puzzle's difficulty highlight that LEVIATHAN was particularly challenging to locate due to a zig-zagging path. Other players noted a puzzling "Z" along the right edge of the grid during the solving process.

Game Mechanics and Strategies

Strands differs from other NYT offerings like Wordle and Connections because players cannot fail. There is no time limit and no maximum number of guesses. When a player submits an incorrect guess, the text simply shakes to indicate the word is invalid or too short.

Because the game does not provide a word list, players often spend 10 or more minutes on a single puzzle. To assist those who are stuck, the game provides a hint system. Players can uncover non-theme words of four letters or more to earn credit. For every 3 non-theme words found, the Hint button becomes active, highlighting the letters of a theme word without revealing the sequence. If a second hint is used before the first is solved, the correct letter order is revealed.

Upon completion, the game generates a shareable results card. This card uses blue dots to represent theme words, a yellow dot for the spangram, and a lightbulb icon to indicate any words solved using a hint.

The game is currently in beta and is accessible through the official Strands website and the NYT Games app.