Strandshas a whole new puzzle grid with seemingly random letters all jumbled up inside of it. to win this puzzle, you’ll need to find all five themed words and the Spangram hiding in it. But therules ofStrandsget even more complex than that; you also have to use all the letters and can’t overlap any words or letters.
It’s so easy to get stuck playing this game, and you might not want to use the in-game hint system since it spoils entire words for you. If you are searching for other kinds of help, you can find it in the article below.
The NYT Games Strands Puzzle #78 for July 22, 2025
Today’sStrandsclue isFowl Fairy Tale.There are six things to find in this puzzle: one Spangram category and five themed words.
New York Times Games Strands Clues
In thisbrowser-based puzzle game, the in-game hint system does spoil part of the puzzle for you. If you would rather just have some clues to will get you close to the answer without ruining any of the words, you can find three hints in the sections below.
Hint 1: What can Fowl mean in this context?
Hint 2: Fairy tales that feature birds of some kind.
General Hint 3
Hint 3: This is about a fairy tale that involves a swan.
Spoilers for Two of the Words in Today’s Strands
Want even more help with thisdifficult puzzle gametoday? Below are two words from the puzzle along with their positions in the letter grid of today’sStrands.
Word 2: Swan
The Answer to Today’s New York Times Games Strands
The complete spoiler for today’sNew York Times GamesStrandscan be found in the expandable section below. It contains all the words, the Spangram, and their positions inside the puzzle’s grid.
The category for today isUglyDuckling. The words are Journey, Beautiful, Misfit, Swan, and Reflection.
Today’s Strands Explained
Need an explanation for how the themed words, the Spangram category, and the clue all fit together? You can find that in the expandable section below; just press the Read More button to see it in full.
Fowl Fairy Talerefers to how the story called theUgly Ducklingis a fairy tale about a bird, because fowl is another word for bird. Each of the themed words is something that is important to this fairy tale.
Want to play? Check out theNew York Times Games Strandswebsite available on almost any device with a browser.
