#785Monday, April 27, 2026
Strands answers for April 27, 2026 — “The ayes have it!” (#785)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 27, 2026 (puzzle #785) is EYEOPENERS, a 10-letter answer to the theme "The ayes have it!". The 7 theme words are ICICLE, ICON, IDOLIZE, IOTA, IRONIC, ISLAND and IVORY.
Where is each answer on the April 27 Strands board?
Strands #785 resolves to these 7 theme words plus the spangram EYEOPENERS.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICICLE | 6 | row 4, column 4 | row 4, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| ICON | 4 | row 8, column 1 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| IDOLIZE | 7 | row 6, column 1 | row 3, column 2 | bottom to top |
| IOTA | 4 | row 1, column 1 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| IRONIC | 6 | row 7, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| ISLAND | 6 | row 5, column 5 | row 5, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| IVORY | 5 | row 1, column 6 | row 2, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| EYEOPENERS | 10 | row 1, column 2 | row 8, column 3 | top to bottom |
What did the April 27 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
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 I-E-Y-E-V-I, row 2 reads O-T-O-Y-R-O, row 3 reads A-E-P-C-I-C, row 4 reads Z-I-E-I-E-L, row 5 reads L-O-N-D-I-S, row 6 reads I-D-E-N-A-L, row 7 reads N-O-R-O-R-I, and row 8 reads I-C-S-N-I-C.
How hard was the April 27 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #785 as easy: it sits at the 19th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
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 27 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #785 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the April 27 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 27, 2026?
The Strands clue for April 27, 2026 is “The ayes have it!”, on puzzle #785. It is answered by the spangram EYEOPENERS, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 27, 2026?
The 7 Strands theme words for April 27, 2026 are ICICLE, ICON, IDOLIZE, IOTA, IRONIC, ISLAND and IVORY, plus the spangram EYEOPENERS.
What was the big word in the April 27, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 27, 2026 is EYEOPENERS, 10 letters long, running from row 1, column 2 to row 8, column 3. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “The ayes have it!” mean?
The Strands theme “The ayes have it!” for April 27, 2026 means EYEOPENERS — 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 27, 2026?
Strands puzzle #785 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 27, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #785 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 19% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 27, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, April 27, 2026 is #785, 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.