Sat Jan 25 12:20:00 UTC 2025: ## NYT’s Strands Puzzle Stumped Players with Uncommon Bird

**New York City** – The New York Times’ daily word puzzle, Strands, challenged players Friday with an unusually difficult spangram: “Whippoorwill.” The game, a word-search variation currently in beta testing, requires players to identify themed words linked by a spangram that spans the puzzle grid.

This week’s puzzle proved particularly challenging, with many players reportedly struggling to identify the obscure bird, a North American species unfamiliar to many. The official hint from the NYT, “Hard to think of a second one this time, admittedly,” further alluded to the puzzle’s difficulty.

The game’s format presents players with a 6×8 grid of letters. They must uncover a set of thematically related words, a clue to which is provided. The theme words highlight in blue, while the spangram, which can be a proper noun unlike the theme words, highlights in yellow.

While the NYT hints at varying difficulty, Friday’s puzzle highlights the potential for unexpected challenges in the game, which is designed to test players’ vocabulary and word-finding skills. The game’s future depends on its continued popularity during its beta phase.

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