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If you mean the May 9, 2026 puzzle, the reported answers are ARTICHOKE, LETTUCE, RADISH, ONION and ASPARAGUS. Its spangram is reported as SPRINGVEGGIES. The title’s year matters: the May 9 puzzle had different answers in 2025.
May 9, 2026 Strands answers
TechRadar identifies this as game #797 and gives the theme as “Garden variety.” Its answer list is:
- ARTICHOKE
- LETTUCE
- RADISH
- ONION
- ASPARAGUS
The spangram—the word or phrase expressing the puzzle’s shared category—is SPRINGVEGGIES, according to TechRadar’s May 9, 2026 answer guide.
Why the year changes the answer
“May 9” alone does not identify a Strands puzzle. For 2025, Forbes reports a different theme, “Outsiders,” with CAMPING GEAR as the spangram and these theme words: TENT, BACKPACK, THERMOS, COOLER, GRILL and LANTERN. See Forbes’ May 9, 2025 guide.
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A date-specific result also identifies May 9, 2024 as puzzle #67, with “Tap to play” as its theme and MINIGOLF as the spangram. That page was not available to verify, so treat those details as less certain than the 2025 and 2026 answer lists.
Spangram spelling and theme wording
Sources differ on the 2026 wording. TechRadar reports “Garden variety” and SPRINGVEGGIES; the Strands Today archive uses “Garden varieties” and the singular SPRINGVEGGIE. The full set of vegetable answers is consistent with a spring-produce theme, but the precise label and spangram spelling are not settled across these sources. No board-position data is established here.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Strands works
Strands is a daily word-search-style game on the New York Times website and NYT Games app. Its board has six rows and eight columns. Connect adjacent letters horizontally, vertically or diagonally to form words related to the theme. The spangram names the shared category and reaches two opposite edges of the board. Three valid words that are not theme answers unlock a hint that highlights a theme word. Beebom’s Strands explanation describes theme words as blue and the spangram as yellow.
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