Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 13, #285

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Connections puzzles.

Shake it off, Strands players, today’s puzzle is really easy for fans of a certain musical artist, and bound to cause some bad blood for those who don’t know one era from another. I’m just gonna say it: It’s Taylor Swift day over at Strands, so strap on your friendship bracelets and get to solving. Here are some hints, and the answers.

Also, I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: One for the Swifties

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: The Tortured Poets Department.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• FUME, FUMES, LATE, META, MODE, LOVE, REED, EVER, MORE, MULE, MILE, MOVE, LIME, FOLK, LORE, BLUE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• LOVER, EVERMORE, FEARLESS, FOLKLORE, MIDNIGHTS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is ALBUMTITLE. To find it, start with the A that’s four letters down on the far left column, and wind across.

Upgrade your audio game with the Logitech for Creators Blue Yeti USB Microphone. With over 33,730 ratings and an impressive 4.6 out of 5 stars, it’s no wonder this is an Amazon’s Choice product. Recently, 5K+ units were purchased in the past month.

Available in five stunning colors: Teal, Silver, Pink Dawn, Midnight Blue, and Blackout, this microphone is perfect for creators looking to produce exceptional audio. Priced at only $84.99, it’s a deal you can’t afford to miss.

Elevate your recordings with clear broadcast-quality sound and explore your creativity with enhanced effects, advanced modulation, and HD audio samples. Order now for just $84.99 on Amazon!