NYT Strands Hints and Answers: September 28, 2026 (Puzzle #939)

The New York Times Strands puzzle #939 brings a board all about materials used to shape and create art. If you want to protect your perfect streak without using up the in-game hints, we have you covered.

Below, you’ll find today’s theme clue, targeted hints for the Spangram, and the complete solution at the bottom of the page.

Today’s Strands Strategy and Commentary

Finding the Spangram first can be tricky since it has 10 letters. Spotting shorter theme words first clears up space and helps you earn hints to find the rest. Once you have all the theme words, the Spangram becomes much easier to connect. Every word on the board is a material used for carving or making art.

Today’s Strands Hints

To get you started without spoiling the specific words, use these structural clues to navigate the board:

• Today’s Official Theme Clue: “Materials used to form art”
• Spangram Hint: It is the art of creating shapes or figures from solid materials.
• Spangram Start/End Letters: Starts with S and ends with E, and there are 10 letters in total.

Here is my result for today’s puzzle:

Strands #939
“A form of art”
💡🔵🔵💡
🔵🔵🔵💡
🔵💡🔵🟡

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: The Spangram answer and full list of theme words are shown below. Don’t scroll down if you still want to solve it yourself and follow the hints and clue above.

Today’s Strands Answers

Here are all the theme words found on the board:

• CLAY
• BRONZE
• GLASS
• MARBLE
• SOAPSTONE
• STEEL
• WOOD

Yesterday’s Answer

Catch up on yesterday’s solution. This record shows the Spangram and theme words from the previous game, so you can compare results or double-check the past grid.

Below is yesterday’s answer for NYT Strands hints & answers for puzzle #938.

• Spangram: BEAUTYCARE
• Theme Words: CLEANSER, MOISTURIZER, SERUM, SUNSCREEN, TONER

For older solutions, see our Strands answers archive.

How did you do?

Did you spot the art materials theme early or did the Spangram take you longer to work out? Share your experience in the comments below.

A new puzzle becomes available every midnight based on your local time zone. It appears at different times around the world including United States UTC-4 to UTC-8, Philippine Standard Time UTC+8, Australia UTC+8 to UTC+11, and New Zealand UTC+12 or UTC+13.

Check back tomorrow for more Strands hints, strategy tips, and the next answer.