• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Happy …
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, May 11 (game #434)

Looking for a different day?
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Saturday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, May 10 (game #433).
Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc’s Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #434) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
NYT Strands today (game #434) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- LOFT
- FLOW
- BEAR
- BEAK
- FAST
- THAT
NYT Strands today (game #434) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 10 letters
NYT Strands today (game #434) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: top, 3rd column
Last side: bottom, 4th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #434) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #434, are…
- FLOWERS
- BREAKFAST
- PARTY
- HUGS
- CARDS
- DRAWINGS
- SPANGRAM: MOTHERS DAY
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
I’m writing this from the UK, where we have Mother’s Day earlier in the year, but it still didn’t take me long to spot the theme here. Mostly that was because I found FLOWERS first, and coupled with the theme clue of ‘Happy…’ it was rather obvious.
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Finding the remaining words was more difficult. DRAWINGS, in particular, really surprised me – until I remembered that children give their mothers gifts on this day too, not just old geezers like me.
I’m pretty sure I’ve never made my mum BREAKFAST on MOTHER’S DAY either, but then again she only really eats porridge in the morning, and I don’t think it really works in that regard. “Happy Mother’s Day, mum – here’s a bowl of warmed oats!” Nah, I think she’d prefer FLOWERS and HUGS.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Saturday, May 10, game #433)
- CHORIZO
- SALAMI
- LIVERWURST
- KIELBASA
- ANDOUILLE
- SPANGRAM: SAUSAGES
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.
Looking for a different day? A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Saturday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers…
Recent Posts
- Apple Music is celebrating 10 years with a personalized ‘All Time’ Playlist, and there’s a way for Spotify listeners to get in on the action
- Steam can now show you how much frame generation changes your games
- AT&T says ‘our network’ wasn’t to blame for Trump’s troubled conference call
- NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1473, Tuesday, July 1
- Apple iOS 26: Here are all the new features and improvements for the new iPhone operating system
Archives
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020