#161Sunday, August 11, 2024
Strands answers for August 11, 2024 — “Home stretch?” (#161)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for August 11, 2024 (puzzle #161) is BONUSSPACES, a 11-letter answer to the theme "Home stretch?". The 6 theme words are BALCONY, DECK, PATIO, SUNROOM, TERRACE and VERANDA.
Where is each answer on the August 11 Strands board?
Strands #161 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram BONUSSPACES.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALCONY | 7 | row 6, column 4 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| DECK | 4 | row 4, column 4 | row 3, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| PATIO | 5 | row 4, column 1 | row 1, column 1 | bottom to top |
| SUNROOM | 7 | row 8, column 6 | row 8, column 2 | right to left |
| TERRACE | 7 | row 7, column 3 | row 5, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| VERANDA | 7 | row 1, column 2 | row 1, column 6 | left to right |
| BONUSSPACES | 11 | row 5, column 1 | row 6, column 6 | left to right |
What did the August 11 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #161 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 11 letters6 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-V-E-R-N-A, row 2 reads I-T-U-A-D-Y, row 3 reads A-N-K-S-O-N, row 4 reads P-O-C-D-S-C, row 5 reads B-E-E-P-A-L, row 6 reads C-A-A-B-E-S, row 7 reads R-E-T-C-R-N, and row 8 reads R-M-O-O-U-S.
How hard was the August 11 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #161 as hard: it sits at the 85th 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 August 11 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #161 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 August 11 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on August 11, 2024?
The Strands clue for August 11, 2024 is “Home stretch?”, on puzzle #161. It is answered by the spangram BONUSSPACES, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on August 11, 2024?
The 6 Strands theme words for August 11, 2024 are BALCONY, DECK, PATIO, SUNROOM, TERRACE and VERANDA, plus the spangram BONUSSPACES.
What was the big word in the August 11, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for August 11, 2024 is BONUSSPACES, 11 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 6, 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 “Home stretch?” mean?
The Strands theme “Home stretch?” for August 11, 2024 means BONUSSPACES — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands August 11, 2024?
Strands puzzle #161 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the August 11, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #161 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 85% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on August 11, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, August 11, 2024 is #161, 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 August 2024, part of the full Strands archive.