Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "Open-and-shut case" — is really tough if you don't know the subject matter (as I don't!).
Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #268, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #268, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #268.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #268 is... "Over-and-shut case".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "A useful carry-all".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- GATE
- SORT
- EARN
- DRESSER
- BAKE
- GREED
- LEARN
- LANDERS
Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with 'H' and ends with 'S'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's HANDBAGS.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #268?
Drumroll, please...
- TOTE
- BARREL
- BUCKET
- MESSENGER
- DUFFEL
- CROSSBODY
...and the spangram was HANDBAGS.
Strands #268
“Open-and-shut case”
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Hi Strands fans. If you don't know fashion or wear a handbag, you'll really struggle today, as I did. I used no fewer than three clues, and for the final word, I was just joining letters until something worked. I really didn't enjoy it!
So let's get this painful revisiting of the puzzle over with. As mentioned above, I had to use three clues, which revealed TOTE, BARREL and BUCKET.
I knew these were types of bag, but hadn't appreciated they were HANDBAGS until I connected the spangram through a gap created by the answers I'd been given.
So now I had to painfully figure out the three missing words, knowing full well I knew nothing of the subject matter.
MESSENGER was a nice starter, as it was completely cordoned off at the top of the grid. I then saw DUFFEL underneath the spangram and chanced it as a possible - it was indeed correct.
The last one had me struggling for ages. I had to decode the anagram of OYBDCSSOR, and I was absolutely stumped, even after I saw the word "body" in the mix. After a lot of trial and error, I finally decoded it as CROSSBODY.
Not a fun puzzle for me, but hopefully you had more luck...
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #267 right here.