Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 29, #332

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Todays NYT Strands puzzle is a tough one. Even after I got the spangram, I had to read all the clues over and kind of think about each one to determine how it fit the theme. Once I got it, I laughed, though. If you need hints and answers, 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: Show of hands.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Kermit the Frog is one.

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:

• ROTTEN, MEME, DANK, LOPE, NOTE, ROST, LOVE, SPAM, CITE, FRET, STEM, METS, STEP, ROSE, PATE, TIRE, TENT, PUPS, TAME

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:

• SOCK, GLOVE, STICK, FINGER, SHADOW, MARIONETTE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is PUPPETMASTER. To find it, start with the P that’s the last letter on the top row, and wind across.