Today’s NYT Strands Hints (and Answer) for Tuesday, May 6, 2025

If you’re looking for hints and answers for Strands on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, you’re in the right place. In this guide, I’ll share clues, tips, and the solution for the puzzle with the theme “I’m in love.”

For daily Strands hints, bookmark this page! You can also revisit past hints to catch up on puzzles you may have missed.

Hints for Today’s Puzzle

Spangram Hint:
A category of jewelry that requires piercing and a few months of healing.

Theme Word Hint:
Specific types of jewelry you might hang from a lobe—or a tragus, conch, or other ear piercings.

Spoiler Alert: The answers appear below.

Today’s Strands Answers

Spangram:

• EARRINGS

Theme Words:

• TEARDROP
• HOOP
• CUFF
• STUD
• CLIPON
• CHANDELIER
• PLUG

Non-theme Words:
STUFF, TUFF, POOT, PIER, CHIP, ARDOR, CHAIN, PAIN, HURT

How I Solved the Puzzle

Initially, the word “lobe” made me think of brain lobes, thanks to my studies in neurology. But after spotting EAR in the puzzle, it clicked—earlobes! That led to EARRINGS as the spangram.

• STUD: bottom left corner
• CUFF: above STUD
• HOOP: above CUFF
• TEARDROP: upper left corner
• CHANDELIER: right side of the spangram
• PLUG: bottom right corner
• CLIPON: remaining spot

How to Play Strands

Strands is available on the New York Times website and the NYT Games app. The game combines elements of a crossword and word search:

• You receive a board with letters and a theme clue (e.g., “Better with age”).
• Find words reflecting the theme; the most important word is the spangram, which spans the board from top to bottom or left to right.
• Words can move in any direction (up, down, diagonal), and each letter can only be used once.
• Non-theme words (four letters or more) can be submitted for credit toward hints.

Read More: This Hands-Off Method Is the Only Way I’ll Ever Cook Bacon

Winning Strands

There’s no fail state in Strands. You either correctly identify a word, get hint credit, or see feedback if the word is invalid. You win by uncovering the spangram and all theme words. After solving, a shareable card appears:

• Blue dots 🔵: theme words found
• Yellow dot 🟡: spangram found
• Lightbulb 💡: hints used