NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, April 4 (game #397)

My clues will help you solve the NYT's Strands today and keep that streak going

· TechRadar

News By Johnny Dee Contributions from Marc McLaren published 3 April 2025

(Image credit: New York Times) Jump To:

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, April 3 (game #396).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #397) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Step on it!

NYT Strands today (game #397) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • MEAT
  • WOOD
  • TIRE
  • REAL
  • WHALE
  • MATE

NYT Strands today (game #397) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #396) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: right, 7th row

Last side: left, 7th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #397) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #397, are…

  • CONCRETE
  • HARDWOOD
  • LINOLEUM
  • LAMINATE
  • TERRAZZO
  • SPANGRAM: FLOORING
  • My rating: Moderate
  • My score: 2 hints

The beauty of Strands is that it gets you thinking about things you wouldn’t normally think about, like today’s search for FLOORING.

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