If today’s NYT Strands puzzle made you feel a little under the weather, that’s by design. The December 28 edition leaned heavily into a familiar seasonal theme, offering a relatively approachable challenge compared with some of the game’s more abstract grids. Strands is the latest daily word game from The New York Times, putting a clever spin on the classic word search. Instead of straight lines, players can link letters in any direction — including diagonals — and words can bend, twist, and change direction. Every letter in the grid must be used exactly once.
How NYT Strands Works
Each Strands puzzle contains a hidden theme that connects all the answers. Players must uncover multiple related words, plus a special solution known as the spangram. The spangram summarizes the theme and stretches across the grid either vertically or horizontally.
Unlike Wordle or Connections, Strands does not provide a word list upfront. This makes the puzzle more time-consuming, but also more rewarding for players who enjoy exploratory problem-solving.
Today’s NYT Strands Theme Hint
The official hint for December 28 was:
“Load up on tissues.”
That clue pointed directly toward sickness-related vocabulary — a theme that quickly became clear once a few words were uncovered.
Theme Explained
All of today’s solutions describe symptoms commonly associated with being ill, particularly with a cold. Once players identified one or two words, the rest of the grid became easier to decode.
Spangram Details
Spangram orientation: Vertical
Spangram answer: Cold Symptom
The spangram ran vertically through the grid and tied together every remaining word.
NYT Strands Answers for December 28
Here is the full word list for today’s puzzle:
Sneeze
Cough
Wheeze
Sniffle
Snort
Hack
Drip
Cold Symptom (spangram)
Each word reflects a physical response associated with congestion, irritation, or respiratory discomfort, making this one of the more straightforward themed puzzles in recent days.
Why Today’s Puzzle Was Manageable
Compared with more abstract themes, today’s Strands relied on highly familiar words. Most players reported that once sneeze or cough appeared, the overall pattern became obvious. The main challenge came from identifying shorter words like hack and drip, which were easier to overlook in the grid.
More Daily Puzzle Help
If Strands isn’t enough to satisfy your daily puzzle routine, The New York Times also publishes Wordle, Connections, the Mini Crossword, and Strands: Sports Edition — all of which refresh at midnight local time.
