Hints, Answers and Help in Today’s New York Times, December 23, No. 295

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today Branches The puzzle may make you hungry. There’s a delicious array of holiday flavors that sound like Starbucks’ offerings. Today’s Strands puzzle wasn’t too difficult, but if you need more hints and answers, keep reading. I also delve into it The rules of the threads in this story.

If you are looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers then visit the site CNET’s NYT Mysteries Tips Page.

Read more: NYT Connections turns 1: These are the 5 toughest puzzles yet

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands topic is: Pass the eggnog.

If that doesn’t help, here’s a guide: Tastes at the Right Time.

Keywords to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find the hidden words that fit the theme of the puzzle. If you’re stuck, search for any words you can find. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the keywords. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any four or more letter words you find will work:

• holiday, pine, cane, room, moor, reading, berry, ginger, bread, cote, mint, pepper

Today’s Strands Puzzle Answers

These are the answers that relate to the topic. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, which is a thematic word that connects from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you get them all (I initially thought there were always eight but learned the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the non-Spanish answers:

• Cocoa, cranberry, ginger, mint

Strands spangram today

Strands spangram today is Holiday flavor. To find it, start with H, which is the first letter in the top row, and then move down again and again, staying near the top of the letter grid.