StrandsNYTDeeply difficult puzzle today, no exaggeration. One of the hardest I have ever done as it borderline doesnt use actual words. Youll see.How To Play StrandsThe New York Times Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. Its in beta for now, which means itll only stick around if enough people play it every day.Theres a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and youll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.Youll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links two opposite sides of the board. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.Every letter is used once in one of the theme words and spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and its possible to switch directions in the middle of a word. If youre playing on a touchscreen, double tap the last letter to submit your guess.MORE FOR YOUIf you find three valid words of at least four letters that are not part of the theme, youll unlock the Hint button. Clicking this will highlight the letters that make up one of the theme words.Be warned: Youll need to be on your toes. Sometimes youll need to fill the missing word(s) in a phrase. On other days, the game may revolve around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty will vary from day to day, and the puzzle creators will try to surprise you sometimes.What Is Todays Strands Hint?I will do the official hint first and then move on to one I make myself, which I think you will need this time.Crossed WordsAnd my hint is:CombosWhat Are Todays Strands Answers?The spangram will show up first and then I will do the full list of answers below that.PORTMANTEAUXAnd here is where you find that on the board:StrandsNYTThe answers are here, and I will just write what the combination words are if you want to know:ATHLEISURE - Athletics and leisureZORSES - Zebras and horsesANKLET - Ankle and braceletBRUNCH - Breakfast and lunchSPORK - Spoon and forkSMOG - Smoke and fogStrandsNYTEasily one of the hardest puzzles I have ever done, here no exaggeration, because most of these are not even real words you could even try to unscramble. Had no idea a Zorse, a literal mixture of a zebra and a horse, was a real thing. Athleisure was almost impossible to figure out. Just a wild puzzle today.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.