If you’re stuck on today’s NYT Strands puzzle (No. 770), don’t worry. The mirror-themed puzzle is one of those days where the connections aren’t immediately obvious, and hunting for words that fit can feel like staring at your reflection trying to figure out what’s different.
The good news? We’ve got the answers. The spangram for today is INTHEMIRROR, and it winds its way across the puzzle board starting from the I that sits three letters to the right on the top row. It’s one of those satisfying moments when you finally see how it all connects.
Finding Your Way Through
For those unfamiliar with how Technology puzzles like Strands work, the basic premise is straightforward: find hidden words that tie into a theme. Every time you uncover three words with four letters or more, Strands rewards you by revealing one of the theme words. The ultimate goal is to find them all, including the spangram, which stretches from one edge of the puzzle to the other.
The tricky part? Sometimes the words are genuinely tough to spot. Sometimes they’re just obscure enough that your brain skips right over them. That’s where hints come in handy.
If you’re looking for a broader nudge rather than a straight answer, here’s one that might help: “Sit at your vanity.” That clue alone might spark recognition for some of the trickier terms hiding in today’s grid.
The Broader Puzzle Landscape
It’s worth noting that Strands themes vary wildly in difficulty. Some topics are straightforward. Others? Not so much. The NYT puzzle team has tackled everything from dated slang (where PHAT turned out to be the real head-scratcher) to marine biology deep dives (BALEEN and RIGHT had people scrambling for Wikipedia) to obscure fish species (BIGEYE and SKIPJACK left a lot of us feeling humble).
The beauty of these daily puzzles is that they force you to think sideways. You’re not just looking for obvious words. You’re hunting for connections, theme-related vocabulary, and sometimes just random five-letter combinations that somehow fit the grid.
If you’re also tackling the other NYT offerings today, you can find hints and answers for the Mini Crossword, Wordle, and Connections puzzles on the main puzzle hints page. But for now, focus on getting that spangram. Everything else tends to fall into place once you see the through-line.
The real satisfaction isn’t just solving the puzzle. It’s that moment when the theme clicks and suddenly all those scattered words make perfect sense together.
