Hints, Spangram And Answers For Friday, September 5th

The thunder is rolling in the mountains. Just before writing this post, there was some really serious claps. Crackling claps of thunder. Shook the very firmament! I get worried mostly about power outages. Just when you go to get some work done, BANG! Lightning takes out the grid. So far, though, we seem to be in business. Let’s solve this Strands before things get worse!

Looking for Wednesday’s Strands? Check out our guide right here.


How To Play Strands

Strands is the newest game in the New York Times’ stable of puzzle games. It’s a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day we’re given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the day’s theme.

Spoilers ahead.

Today’s Strands Hints

Read on for today’s theme and some hints to help you uncover today’s words.

Today’s Theme: Getting into gear

Hint: Athletic gear

Clue: Not any one sport, but things you’d find at a Big 5

Here are the first two letters of each word:

Remember, spoilers ahead!

What Are Today’s Strands Answers?

Today’s spangram is: SPORTINGGOODS

Here’s the full list of words:

  • CLEATS
  • RACKET
  • GLOVE
  • PADDLE
  • SKATES
  • HELMET

Here’s the completed Strands grid:

Today’s Strands Breakdown

I thought at first (after finding HELMET and GLOVE) that this would be a football / NFL-themed Strands given that the season is kicking off this weekend. I was wrong. There are not, to my knowledge, SKATES or PADDLEs or RACKETs in American football. These were all just random SPORTINGGOODS it turns out. C’est la vie.


How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.

Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/09/04/todays-nyt-strands-puzzle-hints-spangram-and-answers-for-friday-september-5th/