For the January 13, 2026, NYT Strands puzzle, the theme is “You need to chill.” If you want a nudge before seeing the solution, think of items kept frozen. The complete answer list is below.
Hints for January 13’s Strands puzzle
Theme hint
The puzzle’s theme hint is “Brrrr!” The theme points to foods kept frozen. Parade’s January 13 guide also gives starting-letter pairs if you need another nudge: PI, PO, VE, WA, SH and FR. FR starts the spangram.
Spangram and answers
The two detailed answer guides identify the January 13 puzzle as #681. The theme is “You need to chill,” and the spangram is FROZENFOOD.
- PIZZA
- POPSICLES
- SHERBET
- VEGETABLES
- WAFFLES
Try Hard Guides’ January 13 answer guide lists the date, theme and words. The date and matching answer set identify this puzzle; a conflicting puzzle number shown in one search result is not supported by the two detailed guides.
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How NYT Strands hints work
Strands is a daily themed word search. Find theme words across the board; the words can bend, and the spangram describes the theme while touching two opposite sides. Finding three non-theme words earns a hint that reveals letters in a theme word. These directions are reported in Parade’s guide; a general overview is also available from Wikipedia.
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