NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Monday, July 1 (game #120)

You’re never too far from a mistake in Strands, but fortunately the game is quite forgiving; it’s very hard to lose in the way you can in Connections or Wordle. The challenge is in solving it without using a hint – but it was a challenge I failed today. If you need help, read on.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

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 #120) – hint #1 – today’s theme

What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

Today’s NYT Strands theme is… We’ve got the beat

NYT Strands today (game #120) – hint #2 – clue words

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

  • CLAM
  • BOOT
  • TINT
  • ANGLE
  • ANGLER
  • TILE

NYT Strands today (game #120) – hint #3 – spangram

What is a hint for today’s spangram?

Hit me!

NYT Strands today (game #120) – hint #4 – spangram position

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

First: top, 3rd column

Last: bottom, 3rd column

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

NYT Strands today (game #120) – the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 120 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Strands, game #120, are…

  • GONG
  • DRUM
  • TRIANGLE
  • RATTLE
  • CYMBAL
  • TAMBOURINE
  • SPANGRAM: PERCUSSION

  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: 1 hint

Is this really easy? I made one mistake, but with hindsight I feel like I shouldn’t have done, and that I was merely too impatient. Here’s what happened: I looked at the theme clue and immediately thought ‘Oh, it’ll be something to do with drumming’. So I looked for a few – SNARE? No. TOMTOM? No. BASS? No. KICK? No. The problem was, I thinking drums, not percussion. So I used my hint, got GONG, realized my mistake then knocked the others off one by one without any major issues.

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Sunday 30 June, game #119)

  • SAPPHIRE
  • EMERALD
  • TOPAZ
  • GARNET
  • AMETHYST
  • SPANGRAM: JEWELTONES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT’s new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.