NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, July 13 (game #497)

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 12 July 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 Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, July 12 (game #496).

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 #497) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Completely fabricated

NYT Strands today (game #497) - hint #2 - clue words

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

  • SAND
  • AXEL
  • KILO
  • LOST
  • NOTE
  • RAIN

NYT Strands today (game #497) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #497) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: bottom, 3rd column

Last side: top, 4th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #497) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #497, are…

  • LINEN
  • WOOL
  • SILK
  • COTTON
  • RAYON
  • POLYESTER
  • SPANGRAM: TEXTILES
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 3 hints

A real muddle through Strands for me today, with three hints needed to get things done and a head scratcher at the end before I finally saw that the word we were looking for was POLYESTER.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors