• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Roll with it
NYT Strands today — my hints, answers and spangram for Thursday, December 19 (game #291)
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 #291) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
NYT Strands today (game #291) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- ROCK
- PRESS
- SKIN
- TILT
- RAGE
- VITAL
NYT Strands today (game #291) – hint #3 – spangram
What is a hint for today’s spangram?
• Swaying
NYT Strands today (game #291) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: right, 4th row
Last side: left, 5th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #291) – the answers

The answers to today’s Strands, game #291, are…
- GLAM
- METAL
- PROGRESSIVE
- GRUNGE
- PUNK
- ALTERNATIVE
- SPANGRAM: ROCKING
- My rating: Easy
- My score: 1 hint
After yesterday’s SPINNERS, today we had rolling, although it wasn’t the kind that comes from moving along a surface and was instead the one that goes with ROCKING.
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There are hundreds of rock genres from Acid Rock to Yacht Rock but Strands took it easy on us and went with the A-listers – although I did go with Prog before seeing the full-length PROGRESSIVE.
I used to have a friend whose brother was massively into Prog Rock and as children we’d marvel at their album collection and the gatefold sleeves, which would invariably involve pyramids and some form of nudity. We’d attempt to make sense of the music, with its 12-minute-long jams and songs about mice called Gerald, but mainly it was looking at the album covers. Who doesn’t love a pyramid?
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, 18 December, game #290)
- DRYER
- EARTH
- TIRES
- FOOTBALL
- PINWHEEL
- BALLERINA
- SPANGRAM: SPINNERS
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable and 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.
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…
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