Strands
Strands

NEW YORK — The New York Times' Strands puzzle for Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, is game No. 983, with the theme "Work it out." This guide gives hints first, then the spangram and all six theme words.

Spoiler warning: The answers appear below the hints.

How Strands works

Strands is a word search with a twist. Players get a grid of letters and a theme clue, and must find a set of theme words that together use every letter on the board. Words can bend in any direction, including diagonally, but each letter is used only once.

Each puzzle also has a spangram, a word or phrase that describes the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. It lights up yellow when found, while regular theme words appear in blue. Players who find three non-theme words of four or more letters earn a hint, which highlights the letters of one theme word.

Today's theme: "Work it out"

The clue is a pun. "Work it out" can mean solving a problem, but here it points to the gym. Think about what gets a workout when you exercise.

Hints for Strands #983

Hint 1: Think about what trainers mean when they say "leg day" or "arm day." Hint 2: Several answers are gym slang, shortened forms of longer anatomical names. Hint 3: The spangram has 11 letters and starts with M and ends with P. Hint 4: The spangram starts on the left side of the board in the second row and ends on the right side in the third row, mixing horizontal and vertical moves. Hint 5: The six theme words begin with these letters: LA, PE, BI, OB, QU and HA.

Today's spangram

The spangram for Strands #983 is:

MUSCLEGROUP

Today's theme words

The six theme words are:

LATS: short for the latissimus dorsi, the broad muscles of the back. PECS: short for the pectorals, the chest muscles. BICEPS: the muscles at the front of the upper arm. OBLIQUES: the muscles along the sides of the abdomen. QUADS: short for the quadriceps, the large muscles at the front of the thigh. HAMSTRINGS: the muscles along the back of the thigh.

Solving tips for today's board

Today's grid mixes full anatomical names with gym slang. LATS, PECS and QUADS are short and easy to miss among the other letters, while HAMSTRINGS, at 10 letters, takes up much of the board.

Some players found OBLIQUES the hardest, partly because the letter Q is rare and the word itself is less familiar than BICEPS or QUADS. Once you find the Q, though, it can lead you to QUADS as well as OBLIQUES.

Finding the spangram early helps a lot. Because it runs across the board, it splits the grid into smaller sections and makes the remaining words easier to find.

General Strands tips

Start with the spangram. Look for a long word that connects two opposite sides of the board. Look for uncommon letters. Letters like Q, X, Z and J usually belong to only one or two theme words. Collect hints. Spotting random non-theme words is worthwhile, because every three earns a hint. Read the clue loosely. Strands themes often use puns, as today's "Work it out" shows.

About the game

Strands joined New York Times Games in 2024 and has become a daily favorite alongside Wordle, Connections and the Mini Crossword. The puzzle is free on the New York Times Games website and app, and a new board comes out every day at midnight local time.