Strands Hint

#54Friday, April 26, 2024

Strands answers for April 26, 2024 — “Staff members” (#54)

The NYT Strands spangram for April 26, 2024 (puzzle #54) is NOTATION, a 8-letter answer to the theme "Staff members". The 7 theme words are CLEF, FLAT, MEASURE, NATURAL, REST, SHARP and SIGNATURE.

CLEFFLATMEASURENATURALRESTSHARPSIGNATURENOTATION

Where is each answer on the April 26 Strands board?

Here are all 7 theme words from the April 26, 2024 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 #54
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
CLEF4row 4, column 5row 6, column 5diagonally across the grid
FLAT4row 3, column 5row 1, column 6diagonally across the grid
MEASURE7row 3, column 2row 5, column 3diagonally across the grid
NATURAL7row 5, column 6row 8, column 4diagonally across the grid
REST4row 2, column 3row 3, column 3diagonally across the grid
SHARP5row 8, column 1row 6, column 1diagonally across the grid
SIGNATURE9row 1, column 1row 5, column 1top to bottom
NOTATION8row 8, column 3row 1, column 5diagonally across the grid

What did the April 26 Strands grid look like?

Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 8 words tile all 48 cells of the April 26, 2024 grid.

SIGENTANRSOATMTIFLRUETCLEAEAENPSRTFARAUOATSHNLRU

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 S-I-G-E-N-T, row 2 reads A-N-R-S-O-A, row 3 reads T-M-T-I-F-L, row 4 reads R-U-E-T-C-L, row 5 reads E-A-E-A-E-N, row 6 reads P-S-R-T-F-A, row 7 reads R-A-U-O-A-T, and row 8 reads S-H-N-L-R-U.

How hard was the April 26 Strands puzzle?

On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #54 comes out easy, ahead of 13% of them.

Difficulty
13
percentile, easy
Path turns
24
direction changes
Decoy words
1377
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 26 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #54 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Heidi Erwin. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.

Common questions about the April 26 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on April 26, 2024?

The Strands clue for April 26, 2024 is “Staff members”, on puzzle #54. It is answered by the spangram NOTATION, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on April 26, 2024?

The 7 Strands theme words for April 26, 2024 are CLEF, FLAT, MEASURE, NATURAL, REST, SHARP and SIGNATURE, plus the spangram NOTATION.

What was the big word in the April 26, 2024 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for April 26, 2024 is NOTATION, 8 letters long, running from row 8, column 3 to row 1, 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 “Staff members” mean?

The Strands theme “Staff members” for April 26, 2024 means NOTATION — 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 26, 2024?

Strands puzzle #54 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the April 26, 2024 Strands puzzle?

Strands #54 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 13% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on April 26, 2024?

The Strands puzzle published on Friday, April 26, 2024 is #54, 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 2024, part of the full Strands archive.