Strands #1,117
September 17, 2026Today's theme is “A little comic relief”. There are 6 theme words and a spangram, which touches two opposite sides of the board.
Hint 1: how long each theme word is
- 4 letters
- 5 letters
- 5 letters
- 7 letters
- 7 letters
- 7 letters
Hint 2: first letters
- Z··· — 4 letters
- M···· — 5 letters
- Z···· — 5 letters
- B······ — 7 letters
- P······ — 7 letters
- P······ — 7 letters
Hint 3: the spangram
- THEFUNNYPAGES
Today's Strands answers, #1,117
The theme
The clue today is “A little comic relief”, and every theme word belongs to it. If you are stuck, the quickest way in is usually to find the spangram first, because it touches two opposite sides of the board, so it is long, and finding it takes a lot of letters out of play.
Strands hides a theme. This one hides a headline.
One real news sentence a day, twenty to thirty words, something that actually happened. Keep the five words a headline would keep and let the rest go. Here is yesterday's, solved.
At Camden Lock, a 71-year-old woman, Beatrice Millar, took off her shoes, jumped in after a drowning man and saved him by holding his head above water.
Five tries. blue is the right word in the right place, orange is one of the five sitting somewhere else, grey is not one of them. The result beats the process, a name or a job beats a place, and the little words never count.
How you finish decides which sticker you keep.
FAQ
What is today's Strands spangram?
For September 17, 2026, puzzle #1,117, the spangram is THEFUNNYPAGES.
What are today's Strands answers?
THEFUNNYPAGES is the spangram. The theme words are BLONDIE, MUTTS, PEANUTS, PICKLES, ZIPPY, ZITS.
What is today's Strands theme?
“A little comic relief”.
When does this page update?
Within a few hours of midnight Eastern, from the New York Times puzzle data for the day. Today: 2:21 AM ET.
Is this the official Strands site?
No. Official Strands is on the New York Times. This page is unofficial hints and answers, then Long Story Short, a different game.