Today's Strands clue is "A little comic relief". Use the hints below to find the theme words and the spangram.
Ready for a breezy solve? Start with the simplest-looking clusters and let the grid do the giggling.
Theme nudge: What to look for
Look for familiar titles linked to short, lighthearted cartoons from the newspaper.
Hint 1: How many words to find
There are 6 theme words plus one spangram.
Hint 2: The spangram
The spangram has 13 letters, starts with T, and runs from the top of the board to the bottom.
Hint 3: Theme word lengths and first letters
- 7 letters, starts with B
- 5 letters, starts with M
- 7 letters, starts with P
- 7 letters, starts with P
- 5 letters, starts with Z
- 4 letters, starts with Z
Show the spangram
THEFUNNYPAGES
Show all theme words
BLONDIE, MUTTS, PEANUTS, PICKLES, ZIPPY, ZITS
About this puzzle
- Made by Christina Iverson
- Edited by Tracy Bennett
Strands deep dive
More about today's puzzle. Everything in this section can include the answer.
The solved board
Gold squares are the spangram, green squares are theme words.
What the theme words mean
- BLONDIE: A sweet, chewy, generally vanilla-flavoured and chocolate-free baked good: a blond-colored brownie.
- MUTTS: A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin.
- PEANUTS: (informal, figurative) Especially of a salary: a very insufficient or small amount.
- PICKLES: (colloquial) Nonsense; folly.
- ZIPPY: (informal) Energetic and lively.
- ZITS: (Canada, US, slang) Pimple
Play today's Strands at The New York Times
More hints for September 17, 2026
Wordle hints · Connections hints · Pips hints · Mini Crossword hints · NYT Crossword hints · Contexto hints · Quordle hints · Octordle hints