The New York Times Strands puzzle for Monday, October 19, 2026 (Puzzle No. 960), challenges players with a classical theme: “It’s all Greek to me.” If you are looking for helpful clues, the daily spangram, or the complete list of answers to finish your board, everything you need is right here.
The NYT Strands Rules
For those new to the New York Times word-search game, Strands asks players to uncover hidden words on a 6×8 grid based on a daily theme. Unlike a standard word search, words can twist in any direction-up, down, left, right, and diagonally-using every single letter on the board exactly once.
The puzzle features standard theme words highlighted in blue and a special category-defining word called the spangram, highlighted in yellow, which stretches from one side of the board to the other. If you get stuck, submitting three non-theme words of four letters or more will unlock a hint.
Hints for Today’s Strands Theme (“It’s all Greek to me”)
If you want to solve the puzzle yourself with just a few gentle nudges rather than full spoilers, consider these progressive hints:
- Theme general vibe: Think about classic creatures, supernatural beings, and legendary figures from ancient Mediterranean folklore rather than specific individual names like Zeus or Hera.
- Spangram hint: A 12-letter word that means relating to ancient legends, fables, or folklore not based in historical reality. It starts in the bottom-left corner and spans horizontally across the board.
- First letters of theme words: The seven theme words begin with the letters D, D, F, F, M, N, and S.
Today’s NYT Strands Spangram Answer
The spangram for puzzle No. 960 explicitly states the core theme connecting all the hidden elements on the grid.
Today’s Spangram: MYTHOLOGICAL
Complete Answers for NYT Strands #960 (October 19, 2026)
If you are ready for the complete solution, here are all seven theme words included in today’s Greek mythology-inspired puzzle:
- DRYAD
- SATYR
- NYMPH
- DEITY
- FURIES
- MUSES
- FATES
How the Board Comes Together
Once solved, the grid fills every available square without any leftover letters. The horizontal spangram MYTHOLOGICAL anchors the board, while classic mythological groupings like NYMPH, SATYR, DRYAD, DEITY, FATES, FURIES, and MUSES fill out the remaining spaces. Share your results with friends using the iconic blue and yellow grid layout once you complete today’s challenge!
