Strands, the daily word-search-style puzzle from The New York Times, delivered a spirited challenge today. The theme “Ivy League” set the tone, with a lineup of mascot-inspired words and a unifying spangram tying everything together. The grid offered a fun mix of familiar collegiate references and animal-themed finds.
22 November 2025 NYT Strands Theme: “Ivy League”
Today’s theme leaned heavily on university mascots, giving the grid a lively and competitive feel. Each find hinted at a different campus identity, and the puzzle cleverly balanced recognizable animals with a couple of trickier plural forms. It wasn’t overly complex, but it did reward solvers who thought in terms of sports teams rather than academics.
22 November 2025 NYT Strands: Hints
- Think about the mascots of major Ivy League schools.
- Several answers are animals closely associated with well-known college teams.
- Look for plural forms—they matter today.
- The grid hides some longer team names weaving across multiple directions.
- Expect at least one word tied to school spirit and athletic identity.
- The spangram ties everything together through a shared umbrella: the overarching idea of team identity.
22 November 2025 NYT Strands: Answers
- lions
- tigers
- bears
- bulldogs
- quakers
- crimson
Spangram
Sports Team
This spangram linked all the mascot-themed answers under a single idea, highlighting the athletic traditions of Ivy League universities and unifying the grid with a clear collegiate identity.
How Strands works
Strands is a daily word search puzzle with a twist:
• You’re given a theme.
• The grid is packed with hidden words tied to that theme.
• Words can run in any direction, including diagonals.
• Once you find all the theme words, you’re done!
Each puzzle usually has around 6–8 theme words.
Tips to become a NYT Strands pro
- Start with obvious words. Look for clear connections to the theme first.
- Scan diagonals early. Strands loves to hide words at an angle.
- Build around found words. Once one word is cleared, the leftover letters often point to the next.
- Use hints wisely. Earn them steadily by spotting extra words, then save them for when you’re truly stuck.
- Think about synonyms. The theme clue isn’t always literal—broaden your thinking.
Final Thoughts
This was a fun and energetic puzzle, leaning more toward the moderate side of difficulty. The theme was clear once a couple of mascots appeared, but the mix of plurals added a small twist. How many did you spot before the spangram clicked?
