#779Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Strands answers for April 21, 2026 — “Risky business” (#779)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 21, 2026 (puzzle #779) is DAREDEVILS, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Risky business". The 5 theme words are ADVENTUROUS, BOLD, COURAGEOUS, GUTSY and INTREPID.
Where is each answer on the April 21 Strands board?
The 5 theme words for Strands on April 21, 2026 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADVENTUROUS | 11 | row 2, column 4 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| BOLD | 4 | row 6, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| COURAGEOUS | 10 | row 5, column 3 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| GUTSY | 5 | row 4, column 6 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| INTREPID | 8 | row 7, column 5 | row 8, column 2 | right to left |
| DAREDEVILS | 10 | row 5, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the April 21 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for April 21, 2026 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 10 letters5 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 R-U-N-V-D-S, row 2 reads O-T-E-A-T-Y, row 3 reads U-E-D-E-V-U, row 4 reads S-R-O-U-I-G, row 5 reads D-A-C-R-L-S, row 6 reads O-E-G-A-O-B, row 7 reads U-I-E-T-I-L, and row 8 reads S-D-P-R-N-D.
How hard was the April 21 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #779 comes out above average, ahead of 68% of them.
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 21 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #779 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 21 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 21, 2026?
The Strands clue for April 21, 2026 is “Risky business”, on puzzle #779. It is answered by the spangram DAREDEVILS, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 21, 2026?
The 5 Strands theme words for April 21, 2026 are ADVENTUROUS, BOLD, COURAGEOUS, GUTSY and INTREPID, plus the spangram DAREDEVILS.
What was the big word in the April 21, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 21, 2026 is DAREDEVILS, 10 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 5, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Risky business” mean?
The Strands theme “Risky business” for April 21, 2026 means DAREDEVILS — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands April 21, 2026?
Strands puzzle #779 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 21, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #779 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 68% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 21, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 is #779, 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.