If today’s Strands puzzle has you tied in knots, relief is just moments away.
The New York Times’ latest word game hides a carefully themed puzzle inside a compact maze of letters.
You can connect letters in any direction (up, down, sideways, or diagonally), but each can be used only once.
The only guide is the puzzle’s cryptic title.
Find three non-themed words, and you’ll unlock a helpful hint. Piece them all together, and you’ll discover the “spangram”, a theme-defining word or phrase that stretches across the entire board.
Below, you’ll find helpful hints and solutions to unlock the entire puzzle.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Strike one!
This refers to the location where the sport of knocking down targets with a heavy spherical object takes place.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today's spangram is BOWLINGALLEY.
NYT Strands word list for 17-May-2026
- Arcade
- Balls
- Lanes
- Lounge
- Pins
- Scoreboard
Keep your streak alive — visit our NYT Strands hub to find today’s theme, hints, and previous puzzle archives.
See Also
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