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Thursday, October 1, 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 Thursday, October 1, 2026

NYT theme clue: "Things fall apart" · Edited by Tracy Bennett

Thursday's Strands board falls to pieces: five theme words for things breaking down into bits, plus a 12-letter spangram for the point where fixing is no longer possible. The NYT clue quotes the falling apart directly.

Hints, in order

Hint 0 of 3

Tap to show one hint at a time.

Hint 1 of 3

Think of structures, plans and solid things giving way: what they do as they come apart, piece by piece.

Hint 2 of 3

Every theme word is a way of breaking down: a snap, a sudden caving-in, a slow falling into crumbs, a solid disappearing into liquid, and a piece broken off the whole.

Hint 3 of 3

The spangram is two words pushed together, 12 letters: BEYOND REPAIR, the verdict on something that has fallen apart for good.

Spangram and theme words

The spangram first, then all five theme words.

SPANGRAM
BEYONDREPAIR
BREAKTheme word
COLLAPSETheme word
CRUMBLETheme word
DISSOLVETheme word
FRAGMENTTheme word
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