NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Friday, September 6 (game #187)

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today , NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #187) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Just right

NYT Strands today (game #187) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• BRIDGE
• SHARE
• SHARPIE
• BRIDE
• RIDE
• BRASH

NYT Strands today (game #187) - hint #3 - spangram

What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Bear-y tale

NYT Strands today (game #187) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First: left, 5th row

Last: right, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #187) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #187, are…

• PORRIDGE
• BEDS
• CHAIRS
• MAMA
• BABY
• PAPA
• HARD
• SOFT
• SPANGRAM: THREEBEARS

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: Perfect

A good Strands puzzle can itself be a lot like the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story that provides the theme for today's game: not too easy, not too hard, but just right .

And by that measure, this is a good Strands puzzle, because it sits comfortably in that middle range, presenting a challenge for sure, but not an insurmountable one.

The theme clue – that aforementioned just right – provided a relatively obtuse hint to the concept, but fortunately I spotted PORRIDGE very early on and knew then what was needed here. But actually finding the words was a different matter. It's a long time since I've read the story, obviously, and while I recalled some bits – BEDS and CHAIRS were easy – I got a bit stuck after that.

Fortunately, placing the THREEBEARS spangram made the process a lot simpler, and I was able to fill in the remaining answers after a little thought and a lot of searching.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday 5 September, game #186)

• POTATO
• TURNIP
• BEET
• TARO
• RUTABAGA
• JICAMA
• SPANGRAM: ROOTVEGETABLES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to h ow to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.