The New York Times Strands puzzle for October 17th challenges players to identify theme-related words hidden within a grid of letters. The puzzle’s central concept is “Gait Keeping,” referencing how people or animals move on foot. If you’re stuck, here’s a breakdown of hints, helpful words, and the complete solution.
Understanding the Puzzle
Strands requires identifying chains of letters that form words related to the daily theme. The game reveals theme words as you find enough non-theme words (four letters or longer). The ultimate goal is to uncover all theme words, including a “spangram” that spans the entire grid.
Hints and Clues
The theme is “Gait Keeping.” A notable clue connects the puzzle to a famous Monty Python sketch, suggesting a humorous element. If that’s not enough, consider that Monty Python had a ministry dedicated to this concept.
Helpful Words to Unlock Hints
To trigger in-game hints, find any words with four or more letters. Here’s a list of words from today’s solution that you can use:
- HALE
- SHALE
- PANT
- CANT
- SLAG
- SCUT
- STAG
- GATE
- RATE
- RATES
Complete Answers for Today’s Strands
The complete solution for Strands #593 includes the following theme words:
- CAPER
- CAVORT
- PRANCE
- TRAIPSE
- GALUMPH
- SCUTTLE
The spangram (the word that spans the entire grid) is not listed in the original article.
Why This Matters
Strands, like other NYT games, encourages daily engagement with language and logic. It’s a popular mental exercise that blends wordplay with pattern recognition. The difficulty varies, but the challenge keeps players coming back for more. This puzzle’s theme, “Gait Keeping,” is relatively niche, which likely made it more difficult for some to solve.
