#772Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Strands answers for April 14, 2026 — “It's a little unclear” (#772)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 14, 2026 (puzzle #772) is OUTOFFOCUS, a 10-letter answer to the theme "It's a little unclear". The 7 theme words are BEDIMMED, BLURRY, CLOUDY, FADED, HAZY, MUTED and SOFT.
Where is each answer on the April 14 Strands board?
Strands #772 resolves to these 7 theme words plus the spangram OUTOFFOCUS.
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.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEDIMMED | 8 | row 7, column 1 | row 2, column 1 | bottom to top |
| BLURRY | 6 | row 1, column 4 | row 2, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| CLOUDY | 6 | row 8, column 4 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| FADED | 5 | row 1, column 3 | row 5, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| HAZY | 4 | row 3, column 3 | row 6, column 3 | top to bottom |
| MUTED | 5 | row 4, column 5 | row 8, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| SOFT | 4 | row 6, column 1 | row 3, column 1 | bottom to top |
| OUTOFFOCUS | 10 | row 1, column 1 | row 8, column 1 | top to bottom |
What did the April 14 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #772 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 10 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 O-U-F-B-L-U, row 2 reads D-E-T-A-Y-R, row 3 reads T-M-H-O-D-R, row 4 reads F-M-A-F-M-E, row 5 reads O-I-Z-F-U-D, row 6 reads S-D-Y-O-T-Y, row 7 reads B-E-C-E-O-D, and row 8 reads S-U-D-C-L-U.
How hard was the April 14 Strands puzzle?
Strands #772 scores easy on our difficulty index, harder than 3% of every Strands puzzle published so far.
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 14 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #772 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 14 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 14, 2026?
The Strands clue for April 14, 2026 is “It's a little unclear”, on puzzle #772. It is answered by the spangram OUTOFFOCUS, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 14, 2026?
The 7 Strands theme words for April 14, 2026 are BEDIMMED, BLURRY, CLOUDY, FADED, HAZY, MUTED and SOFT, plus the spangram OUTOFFOCUS.
What was the big word in the April 14, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 14, 2026 is OUTOFFOCUS, 10 letters long, running from row 1, column 1 to row 8, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “It's a little unclear” mean?
The Strands theme “It's a little unclear” for April 14, 2026 means OUTOFFOCUS — 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 14, 2026?
Strands puzzle #772 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 14, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #772 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 3% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 14, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 is #772, 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.