NYT Strands today – my hints and answers for May 30 (#453)
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Looking for a different day?
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, May 29 (game #452).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… And here's the kicker…
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
RIFLE
SPEED
FIRST
DRAWER
SEEK
KEEP
• Spangram has 6 letters
First side: left, 5th row
Last side: right, 6th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
The answers to today's Strands, game #453, are…
FORWARD
DEFENDER
GOALKEEPER
STRIKER
MIDFIELDER
SPANGRAM: SOCCER
My rating: Easy
My score: Perfect
Anyone interested in learning the rules of SOCCER should seek out England's official 1990 World Cup song World In Motion by New Order, which features a rap by the country's most talented MIDFIELDER of the era.
'You've got to hold and give,' John Barnes explains. 'Defend and attack, there's only one way to beat them, get round the back.'
There are of course other crucial elements to association football, but essentially it's passing, tacking, and shooting at the goal all performed by the positions featured in today's word search.
Once you've mastered the basics you can then learn about the offside rule and its many sub-clauses and exceptions. That should take a year or so, by which time you'll be ready to watch the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and USA.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
BUTTERFLY
MOTH
WASP
FLEA
HORNET
DRAGONFLY
SPANGAM: INSECT
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
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