Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 27, #299

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Connections puzzles.

Today’s Strands puzzle might have been written just for me. I co-wrote Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?, a book about the lost toys, tastes and trends of the 1970s and 1980s, so I’m pretty familiar with the fashion and beauty styles of that era. If you remember acid-washed jeans and still own a Benetton sweater or two, you should do fine on today’s puzzle. But if you need some hints and answers for today’s Strands puzzle, read on.

Also, I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Back in style

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Leg warmers and shoulder pads.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• REEK, SAND, NONE, SMUT, MILL, PREM, MUTE, MUTES, MULL, NREAK, SMIT, JUMP, JUMPS, BRIS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• NEON, PERM, MULLET, SPANDEX, JUMPSUIT, WINDBREAKER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is EIGHTIES. To find it, start with the E that’s three letters in from the left on the very top row, and wind down.