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Tuesday, April 14, 2026  ·  Your daily stash of puzzle hints. Answers stay hidden until you ask for them.
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Strands · Hints and answers

Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, April 14, 2026

NYT theme clue: "It's a little unclear" · Edited by Tracy Bennett

Tuesday's Strands board has seven theme words plus a 10-letter spangram, under the NYT clue "It's a little unclear". The ladder below climbs from the theme to the spangram - take one hint at a time.

Hints, in order

Hint 0 of 3

Tap to show one hint at a time.

Hint 1 of 3

The NYT clue is "It's a little unclear" - take it literally before you take it sideways. The spangram runs 10 letters and touches opposite sides of the board.

Hint 2 of 3

The seven theme words run 4 to 8 letters (lengths: 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8). Every one of them belongs to the family the clue points at.

Hint 3 of 3

The spangram starts with O and ends with S. It is OUTOFFOCUS - find it and the rest of the board falls into place.

Spangram and theme words

The spangram first, then all seven theme words.

SPANGRAM
OUTOFFOCUS
BEDIMMEDTheme word
BLURRYTheme word
CLOUDYTheme word
FADEDTheme word
HAZYTheme word
MUTEDTheme word
SOFTTheme word
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