Strands · Hints and answers
Strands hints and answers for Thursday, July 23, 2026
Thursday's Strands board has five theme words plus a 9-letter spangram, under the NYT clue "Hail to the chief petty officer". The ladder below climbs from the theme to the spangram - take one hint at a time.
Hints, in order
Hint 0 of 3Tap to show one hint at a time.
Hint 1 of 3
The NYT clue is "Hail to the chief petty officer" - take it literally before you take it sideways. The spangram runs 9 letters and touches opposite sides of the board.
Hint 2 of 3
The five theme words run 6 to 10 letters (lengths: 6, 7, 7, 9, 10). Every one of them belongs to the family the clue points at.
Hint 3 of 3
The spangram starts with N and ends with S. It is NAVYRANKS - find it and the rest of the board falls into place.
Spangram and theme words
The spangram first, then all five theme words.
SPANGRAM
NAVYRANKS
ADMIRALTheme word
COMMANDERTheme word
ENSIGNTheme word
LIEUTENANTTheme word
RECRUITTheme word
Next on the board
NYT Mini Crossword →
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