Strands August 31, 2026: Answers, Spangram & Hints (#1098)
The written hints below were assembled automatically from the puzzle data rather than composed by an editor. Every number in them is counted off the board, so they are accurate — just plainer than usual.
Recap
The spangram was POWERWASH, running vertically across the 8 by 6 board, and the 6 theme answers were BLEACH, CLEANSER, DETERGENT, SCRUB, SOAP, SOLVENT. The official clue was "With a little elbow grease". This recap was assembled automatically from the puzzle data rather than written by an editor, so it lists what appeared on the board without commentary on how hard any individual answer proved to be. Answer lengths ran from 4 to 9 letters.
The official theme clue
With a little elbow grease
Printed above the board in the app itself that day — the line that decided which of the many words hiding in the grid actually counted.
Strands hints, one rung at a time
Six rungs, softest first. The recap above already named the answers, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.
-
Hint 1: What the theme was getting at
A reading of the theme. No answers.
Auto-generated hint: no written reading of the theme was available, so here is what the puzzle itself tells you. There are 6 theme entries hidden in the 8 by 6 grid, plus the long entry that ties them together. Their lengths are 6, 8, 9, 5, 4 and 7. Read the official clue printed above the grid and use these counts to narrow down what fits.
-
Hint 2: The category, said plainly
The same idea, unhedged.
Auto-generated hint: 6 entries share one topic, and the official clue printed above the puzzle is the fastest way into it.
-
Hint 3: Board facts: how many words, how long
Counted off the grid.
The board was 6 letters wide and 8 tall. 6 theme answers were hidden in it, plus the spangram, which ran top to bottom and was 9 letters long.
- Theme word 1
- 6 letters
- Theme word 2
- 8 letters
- Theme word 3
- 9 letters
- Theme word 4
- 5 letters
- Theme word 5
- 4 letters
- Theme word 6
- 7 letters
- Spangram
- 9 letters, top to bottom
-
Hint 4: One clue per word, easiest first
Crossword-style.
Theme word 1 (6 letters)
Auto-generated hint: this entry is 6 characters long and begins with the pair BL.
Theme word 2 (8 letters)
Auto-generated hint: this entry is 8 characters long and begins with the pair CL.
Theme word 3 (9 letters)
Auto-generated hint: this entry is 9 characters long and begins with the pair DE.
Theme word 4 (5 letters)
Auto-generated hint: this entry is 5 characters long and begins with the pair SC.
Theme word 5 (4 letters)
Auto-generated hint: this entry is 4 characters long and begins with the pair SO.
Theme word 6 (7 letters)
Auto-generated hint: this entry is 7 characters long and begins with the pair SO.
-
Hint 5: First two letters of every theme word
Enough to start tracing.
- Theme word 1
- BL… (6 letters)
- Theme word 2
- CL… (8 letters)
- Theme word 3
- DE… (9 letters)
- Theme word 4
- SC… (5 letters)
- Theme word 5
- SO… (4 letters)
- Theme word 6
- SO… (7 letters)
-
Hint 6: What the spangram meant
The long one that tied the board together.
Auto-generated hint: the long entry is 9 characters and runs from the top of the grid all the way down to the bottom, touching both edges. Trace a single unbroken chain across the whole thing and the rest becomes much easier to see.
It touched both edges, running top to bottom across all 8 rows.
The starting letter board
The grid as printed, 6 across and 8 down. Read only — reveal an answer below and this board traces it.
Every Strands answer and the spangram
Every answer from that board, folded. Opening one traces its path above — the spangram in gold.
Theme word 1 · 6 letters
BLEACH
BLEACH — 6 letters, one of the 6 theme answers.
Theme word 2 · 8 letters
CLEANSER
CLEANSER — 8 letters, one of the 6 theme answers.
Theme word 3 · 9 letters
DETERGENT
DETERGENT — 9 letters, one of the 6 theme answers.
Theme word 4 · 5 letters
SCRUB
SCRUB — 5 letters, one of the 6 theme answers.
Theme word 5 · 4 letters
SOAP
SOAP — 4 letters, one of the 6 theme answers.
Theme word 6 · 7 letters
SOLVENT
SOLVENT — 7 letters, one of the 6 theme answers.
Spangram · 9 letters, top to bottom
POWERWASH
POWERWASH — the spangram, 9 letters, spanning the board vertically.
This puzzle by the numbers
- Puzzle
- (#1098) · Monday, August 31, 2026
- Theme answers
- 6 plus the spangram
- Board
- 6 × 8 letters
- Answer lengths
- 4–9 letters
- Spangram
- 9 letters, top to bottom
- Difficulty
- medium for a weekday board
- Valid non-theme words
- 1125 accepted for hints
More Strands
See the live Strands hints and answers page for the current puzzle, or browse every archived Strands date by month.
Try another puzzle
-
The live NYT Connections hints and answers page
Sixteen tiles, four groups, and a graded hint ladder from nudge to full answer.
-
The live NYT Pips hints and answers page
Easy, medium and hard boards with domino inventories and full walkthroughs.