Tough day. Really. The June 9 Strands puzzle (#828) had a nasty curveball hidden in it. Most days are straightforward, today made you think twice. Maybe three times.
Need answers for Wordle or Connections too? The CNET hints page has the usual roundup for those games. This one stands alone.
Dramamine, anyone?
That’s the theme hint. Vague, but useful. If your head isn’t spinning with the idea yet, think yacht.
Unlocking the Grid
Here’s the grind. You don’t need to guess the theme right away. Find anything. Three words. Four letters or more. Just plug them in and let the game spill its guts.
I found these to trigger the hints:
– SACK
– SNACK
– SING
– BOAT
– DINT
– RADS
– MESS
– SENSE
– WARD
It works like magic. The game lights up once you hit that three-word threshold.
The Answers
The non-theme words fill the spaces, but the theme ties it together. The spangram —the big word stretching across the whole board—is usually the key to unlocking everything else.
The theme words here were:
– DECK
– WAVES
– DRINKS
– SNACKS
– DANCING
– SEASICKNESS
And the spangram itself? IMONABOAT.
Start with the I. Far left row, five letters down. Wind across. There it is. I’m on a boat. Clever, annoying, correct.
How to Survive Tomorrow
Stuck again tomorrow? Try these tricks.
- Pluralize. Found WIND? Look for WINDS. Found BOAT? Add an S. It’s lazy, effective, and often works.
- Swap letters. Saw WILL? Maybe it’s BILL or SILL if the surrounding letters line up.
- Force the reveal. Got a theme word but can’t unscramble it in your head? Guess three more clue words. The puzzle will spell it out letter by letter. It cheats for you. Why not let it.
Was it fair? Barely. But you got it. Or you didn’t.
The waves wait for no one. 🌊
