You’ve been staring at a grid of 48 letters for twenty minutes. Your coffee is cold. You’ve found the word "DIET" and "TEXTS," but neither of them turned blue. Honestly, the New York Times Strands is the only game that can make a person feel like a linguistic genius and a total blockhead in the same sixty-second span.
It’s Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Today’s puzzle is a weird one.
The official theme is “Oh boy!” which is about as vague as a "we need to talk" text from an ex. If you’re stuck, you aren't alone. Strands is basically a word search that went to grad school and came back with an attitude. Unlike Wordle, where you’re just guessing a five-letter brick, Strands requires you to weave through a tapestry of letters that can bend, twist, and double back on themselves like a mountain road.
Today’s Strands NYT Hints (January 14)
If you just want a nudge without having the whole thing ruined, think about elation.
The "Oh boy!" theme isn't about children or gender. It’s about that specific, high-energy feeling you get when you’re genuinely pumped for something. You’re looking for words that describe being "all in" or incredibly eager.
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Still not seeing it? Here’s a slightly bigger hint: the words today are mostly adjectives.
If you’re looking for those "clue tokens" to unlock a hint in the game, try finding words like NERVES, SEIZES, or LORES. They won't be part of the final solution, but finding three of these non-theme words will highlight the letters of a real answer for you. It’s a bit of a grind, but it works.
The Spangram for Jan 14
The Spangram is the "North Star" of the board. It’s the word or phrase that touches two opposite sides of the grid and explains everything else.
Today’s Spangram is LET’S DO THIS (written as LETSDOTHIS).
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It runs mostly horizontally across the board. Once you find it, the remaining letters usually start making a lot more sense. You’ll see that the theme is essentially "enthusiasm."
Breaking Down the Word List
Once you’ve got the Spangram, the rest of the board starts to crumble. The words are all synonyms for being excited.
- FERVENT
- EAGER
- ZEALOUS
- EXCITED
- ENTHUSIASTIC
Basically, if you were a golden retriever waiting for a tennis ball, these words would describe your soul. ENTHUSIASTIC is a long one, so keep an eye out for how it snakes through the right side of the board. ZEALOUS often trips people up because of that "Z"—it’s tucked away on the left.
Why Strands Is Harder Than Wordle (And Why We Like It)
Let’s be real. Wordle is a morning routine. Connections is a logic test. But Strands? Strands is a spatial nightmare.
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You aren't just looking for words; you’re looking for how words fit together without overlapping. Since every single letter on the board must be used, the game becomes a puzzle of elimination. If you see a lone "Q" or "Z" in a corner, that letter has to belong to a specific word. You can’t just ignore it.
Start with the corners
This is the oldest trick in the book for a reason. A letter in the corner only has three neighbors. A letter in the middle has eight. By starting at the edges, you limit the number of possible paths your brain has to process. If there's an "X" in the corner, it’s much easier to figure out its partner than if it were buried in the center of the grid.
The "Sidekick" Method
If you’re truly desperate, there’s a community forum called the "Strands Sidekick" (often linked in the game’s lightbulb icon). It’s full of people who take this way too seriously, and it's a great place to see how other players approach the board. Sometimes just seeing one starting letter is enough to unstick your brain.
Improving Your Strands Game
Mastering this isn't about having a massive vocabulary. It's about pattern recognition.
- Look for suffixes: Look for "-ING," "-ED," or "-TION" clusters. Even if they aren't part of the theme, they can help you clear the "noise" and earn hints.
- Don't overthink the theme: The NYT loves puns. If the theme is "A Piece of Cake," the words might be "EASY," "SIMPLE," and "BREEZE," or they might literally be "FLOUR," "SUGAR," and "EGGS."
- Step away: Honestly, the best strategy is to put the phone down for ten minutes. Your brain keeps working on the pattern in the background. You’ll come back, look at the grid, and "FERVENT" will practically jump off the screen at you.
For tomorrow's puzzle, keep an eye on the theme's punctuation. A question mark or an exclamation point usually signals that the NYT editors are being cheeky.
Check back on the NYT Games app tomorrow at midnight for the next board. If you've finished today's "Oh boy!" puzzle, you might want to head over to Connections—word on the street is the "Purple Category" today is a total nightmare.