The New York Times Strands puzzle for Wednesday, November 11, 2026, asks players to “Work it out,” and its solution points to the gym rather than to conflict resolution. The spangram is MUSCLEGROUP, while the theme words are BICEPS, OBLIQUES, PECS, LATS, QUADS, and HAMSTRINGS.
For players who want only a nudge, the spangram hint describes how a personal trainer might categorize parts of the body or organize a workout. The theme-word hint points to things you might want to grow or strengthen at the gym. Spoilers follow for the full solution to Strands puzzle #983.
The puzzle’s author initially read “Work it out” as a phrase about resolving an argument and looked for conflict-resolution terms. That approach produced near-misses such as SPECIES, QUIB, SQUAT, SMASH, SQUIB, and SQUARING, none of which were theme words. The breakthrough came with MUSCLEGROUP running across the center of the board, confirming that the theme was exercise.
From there, BICEPS appeared across the top row. The QU in the upper half of the puzzle belonged to OBLIQUES, and the QU in the lower half belonged to QUADS. HAMSTRINGS was found in the bottom right, PECS sat below the start of the spangram, and LATS was the final theme word. The completed share card reads Strands #983, “Work it out,” with the yellow spangram dot followed by six blue theme-word dots.
Strands is available on the New York Times website and in the NYT Games app. Each puzzle presents a letter board and a clue suggesting the theme. Players search for hidden theme words, with the spangram spanning the board and stating the theme more explicitly. Correct theme words are highlighted in blue, while the spangram is highlighted in yellow. Players can submit valid non-theme words of four or more letters to earn credit toward a hint, and the game has no time limit or failure state. The puzzle is solved when every letter on the board has been used correctly.
Original Source: https://lifehacker.com/entertainment/strands-nyt-hint-today-work-it-out-november-11-2026
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Publish Date: 2026-11-11 10:30:00
