Strands Hints, Spangram & Answers #971 for October 30, 2026

The board is a grid of 48 letters. Drag through adjacent letters (up, down, sideways or diagonally) to spell words. Words that fit the theme light up blue, and when every theme word is found, every letter on the board has been used exactly once.

The spangram is the star of the puzzle: it touches two opposite sides of the board and describes the theme in one or more words run together. It lights up yellow.

If you're stuck, find non-theme words of four or more letters. Every three of them fills the hint meter, and a hint outlines the letters of one theme word for you to unscramble.

• Decode the clue first. Theme clues are often puns. Say it aloud, think of a second meaning, and list a few words that might fit before touching the board.
• Hunt for the spangram early. Because it spans the whole board, finding it splits the grid into smaller, easier regions and confirms what the theme really is.
• Work the corners and edges. Letters in corners have only three neighbours, so the words that use them are easy to pin down.
• Look for awkward letters. A lone Q, J, X or Z has to belong to some word, so follow it.
• Bank hints. Spotting a few ordinary words along the way builds hints you can save for the final, toughest word.