Strands Hint

#768Friday, April 10, 2026

Strands answers for April 10, 2026 — “On the sly” (#768)

The NYT Strands spangram for April 10, 2026 (puzzle #768) is LIKEAFOX, a 8-letter answer to the theme "On the sly". The 7 theme words are CANNY, CRAFTY, CUNNING, DEVIOUS, SHREWD, SLICK and WILY.

CANNYCRAFTYCUNNINGDEVIOUSSHREWDSLICKWILYLIKEAFOX

Where is each answer on the April 10 Strands board?

Here are all 7 theme words from the April 10, 2026 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.

The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 8 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.

Verified board positions, Strands puzzle #768
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
CANNY5row 2, column 1row 5, column 2top to bottom
CRAFTY6row 1, column 2row 2, column 5left to right
CUNNING7row 6, column 5row 4, column 6diagonally across the grid
DEVIOUS7row 3, column 5row 1, column 4diagonally across the grid
SHREWD6row 6, column 3row 8, column 1diagonally across the grid
SLICK5row 8, column 4row 8, column 2diagonally across the grid
WILY4row 5, column 5row 4, column 3diagonally across the grid
LIKEAFOX8row 1, column 1row 8, column 5diagonally across the grid

What did the April 10 Strands grid look like?

Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 8 words tile all 48 cells of the April 10, 2026 grid.

LCRSUOCIATYINAKFDVNEYLEGRYAIWNEHSFCIWCIOUNDKLSXN

Spangram — 8 letters7 theme words

Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.

Read across the grid, row 1 reads L-C-R-S-U-O, row 2 reads C-I-A-T-Y-I, row 3 reads N-A-K-F-D-V, row 4 reads N-E-Y-L-E-G, row 5 reads R-Y-A-I-W-N, row 6 reads E-H-S-F-C-I, row 7 reads W-C-I-O-U-N, and row 8 reads D-K-L-S-X-N.

How hard was the April 10 Strands puzzle?

Measured against the full archive, the April 10, 2026 puzzle lands in the average range — above 39% of all Strands puzzles.

Difficulty
39
percentile, average
Path turns
23
direction changes
Decoy words
617
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
5.7
letters per theme word

Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.

Who made the April 10 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #768 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.

Common questions about the April 10 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on April 10, 2026?

The Strands clue for April 10, 2026 is “On the sly”, on puzzle #768. It is answered by the spangram LIKEAFOX, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on April 10, 2026?

The 7 Strands theme words for April 10, 2026 are CANNY, CRAFTY, CUNNING, DEVIOUS, SHREWD, SLICK and WILY, plus the spangram LIKEAFOX.

What was the big word in the April 10, 2026 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for April 10, 2026 is LIKEAFOX, 8 letters long, running from row 1, column 1 to row 8, column 5. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.

What did the Strands theme “On the sly” mean?

The Strands theme “On the sly” for April 10, 2026 means LIKEAFOX — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 7 theme words is an example of it.

How many theme words are in Strands April 10, 2026?

Strands puzzle #768 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the April 10, 2026 Strands puzzle?

Strands #768 rates average on a computed index, harder than 39% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on April 10, 2026?

The Strands puzzle published on Friday, April 10, 2026 is #768, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.


Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in April 2026, part of the full Strands archive.