NYT Strands Hints and Answers for January 5, 2026 (#673)
Spoiler-safe hints for the NYT Strands puzzle of January 5, 2026: the theme clue first, then first letters, word lengths, the spangram, and the full grid.
Stuck on the Strands puzzle of January 5, 2026? Start with the theme, take one rung at a time, and stop as soon as the grid opens up. Nothing below is revealed until you tap it.
Hints for January 5, 2026, one rung at a time
ThemeToday’s theme
Slapped together
The puzzle calls today’s theme “Slapped together”. Read it loosely: the 6 answers are examples of it, not synonyms for it.
Hint 2First letters
Sorted alphabetically, the first letters are B, F, G, S, S, S. Two of them start with the same letter (S).
Hint 3Word lengths
The theme words are 5, 5, 6, 6, 6 and 7 letters long. The shortest is 5 letters, the longest 7.
SpangramThe spangram
QUICKANDDIRTY
It is a single word of 13 letters and it touches two opposite sides of the board.
Starts with Q, ends with Y.
AnswersAll theme words
- BRISK5 letters
- SWIFT5 letters
- FILTHY6 letters
- GRUBBY6 letters
- SPEEDY6 letters
- STAINED7 letters
BoardThe completed grid
Theme wordSpangramEach line follows one word; the small number is that letter’s place in it.