NYT Strands Answers for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 (#979): Hints First, Spoilers Last

Today’s Strands from The New York Times (NYT) is puzzle #979, for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, and its theme clue is “In the blink of an eye.” All seven theme words describe moving very fast, or the sound of it. It was constructed by Christina Iverson and edited by Tracy Bennett. Hints for the spangram and each theme word come first; the answers wait in a marked spoiler section at the end.

For the rules, see our Strands page; today’s twist is a 13-letter spangram that shares the board with seven theme words.

Spangram hints

• Hint 1

  A question you might shout at a friend who is dashing out the door.
• Hint 2

  Three words, and the first one is a contraction.
• Hint 3

  Thirteen letters, opening with W.
• Reveal the spangram

  Whatsthehurry
• Letter by letter: the spangram, one more letter per tap.
  Show the first letter

  w____________ (1 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 2

  wh___________ (2 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 3

  wha__________ (3 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 4

  what_________ (4 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 5

  whats________ (5 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 6

  whatst_______ (6 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 7

  whatsth______ (7 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 8

  whatsthe_____ (8 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 9

  whatstheh____ (9 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 10

  whatsthehu___ (10 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 11

  whatsthehur__ (11 of 13 letters)

  Show letter 12

  whatsthehurr_ (12 of 13 letters)

  Show the last letter

  whatsthehurry (13 of 13 letters)

Theme word hints

Each theme word is a way of going quickly, or the noise it makes:

• 4 letters, starts with R

  to hurry, or a sudden surge.

  Show the word

  Rush
• 4 letters, starts with W

  to fly by with a buzz.

  Show the word

  Whiz
• 4 letters, starts with Z

  to speed along, or a video call.

  Show the word

  Zoom
• 5 letters, starts with F

  a sudden burst of light, or a quick move.

  Show the word

  Flash
• 6 letters, starts with H

  to travel at reckless speed.

  Show the word

  Hurtle
• 6 letters, starts with S

  a long thin line, or to dash past.

  Show the word

  Streak
• 6 letters, starts with W

  the sound of something passing at speed.

  Show the word

  Whoosh

Where today’s spangram and theme words sit

13 tiles make up the spangram, and its path opens at row 4, column 1. It closes at row 1, column 5, touching the top, left and right edges and turning 4 times, across rows 1 to 6 and columns 1 to 6. Its longest straight run is 6 tiles.

The densest corner is the top-left quarter (rows 1 to 4, columns 1 to 3). It holds 11 theme tiles and 1 spangram tiles. Whole theme words that fit inside it: the 6-letter W word.

By length, the 6-letter H word, the 6-letter S word and the 6-letter W word tie for longest at 6 letters, and the 4-letter R word, the 4-letter W word and the 4-letter Z word tie for shortest at 4 letters. At 13 letters the spangram outruns the longest theme word by 7. Quarter by quarter, the theme tiles split as top-left 11, top-right 7, bottom-left 9, bottom-right 8.

Theme word	Rows	Columns	Where it sits
5-letter F word	7 to 8	2 to 4	mostly bottom-left (3 of 5 tiles)
6-letter H word	2 to 5	2 to 3	mostly top-left (5 of 6 tiles)
4-letter R word	7 to 8	5 to 6	entirely bottom-right
6-letter S word	1 to 5	3 to 4	mostly top-right (4 of 6 tiles)
4-letter W word	2 to 5	5	mostly top-right (3 of 4 tiles)
6-letter W word	1 to 3	1 to 3	entirely top-left
4-letter Z word	6 to 8	1 to 2	entirely bottom-left

Solving tips

Two of the seven answers contain the letter Z, so hunt for that tile first. Mark your solve days on the printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 printable calendar.

More puzzles for this date: Wordle, Connections and Pips.

Today’s Strands answers (spoilers)

Spoilers start below this line.

• Spangram: What’s the Hurry
• Theme words: Flash, Hurtle, Rush, Streak, Whiz, Whoosh, Zoom

The seven theme words are all synonyms for speed in motion, and the spangram is the phrase you ask a person who is moving too quickly.

Yesterday's Strands answer

Strands on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026 had the theme clue "Autumn walk in the woods". The spangram was Forestfloor, and the theme words were Acorn, Branch, Husk, Leaves, Moss, Pinecone, Twig. Yesterday's hints and full solution.