NYT Strands Hints and Answers for Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 (#974): Hints for the Spangram and Seven Theme Words

Today’s Strands from The New York Times (NYT) is puzzle #974, for Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, and its theme clue is “High and mighty.” Think of the tallest places in a landscape. The puzzle was constructed by Christina Iverson and edited by Tracy Bennett. Below are hints for the spangram and each theme word; the answers wait in a marked spoiler section at the end.

How Strands works

The board is six letters wide and eight tall. Theme words are made by linking letters that touch, up, down, sideways or diagonally, and every letter is used exactly once. One special answer, the spangram, names the theme and stretches from one side of the board to the opposite side. Find three non-theme words and you earn a hint that highlights the letters of a theme word.

Spangram hints

• Hint 1

  It is the place where a climber stops, at the highest point.
• Hint 2

  It is one word made from two shorter words, a landform and a word for the upper end of something.
• Hint 3

  Eleven letters, and the first letter is M.

Theme word hints

There are seven theme words, all about high places or what you find on them:

• 5 letters, starts with C

  a steep rock face at the edge of high ground.
• 7 letters, starts with G

  a slow river of ice.
• 4 letters, starts with P

  the pointed top of a mountain.
• 5 letters, starts with R

  a long, narrow line of high ground.
• 6 letters, starts with S

  a low point between two peaks, or a seat on a horse.
• 4 letters, starts with S

  frozen flakes that cap high ground.
• 6 letters, starts with S

  the highest point of a mountain.

Solving tips

Start with the spangram. It is long. At eleven letters it is the longest answer, and on today’s board it begins in the bottom-left corner and ends in the top-right corner. The seven theme words use 37 letters, so the spangram and the theme words together fill all 48 tiles. Glacier is the longest theme word. Peak and Snow are the only four-letter theme words, so look for them once the long words are out of the way. Cliff holds two F letters and Saddle holds two D letters. If you get stuck, spell any ordinary words you can see to earn a hint.

Keep a streak log on our printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 printable calendar.

More of today’s puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints and Pips hints.

Today’s Strands answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

• Spangram: Mountaintop
• Theme words: Cliff, Glacier, Peak, Ridge, Saddle, Snow, Summit

All eight answers fit the clue: the spangram is the top of a mountain, and the seven theme words are high places or things found on them.

We checked the answers against the puzzle’s official data before posting. Puzzle #975 arrives at midnight.

Yesterday's Strands answer

Strands on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 had the theme clue "For the rest of the day". The spangram was Zzzzzzzz, and the theme words were Catnap, Doze, Drowse, Siesta, Sleep, Slumber, Snooze. Yesterday's hints and full solution.