#680Monday, January 12, 2026
Strands answers for January 12, 2026 — “Appeal to a hire power” (#680)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 12, 2026 (puzzle #680) is RESUME, a 6-letter answer to the theme "Appeal to a hire power". The 6 theme words are AWARDS, CONTACT, EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, NAME and SKILLS.
Where is each answer on the January 12 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #680 is 6 theme words and one spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWARDS | 6 | row 2, column 5 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| CONTACT | 7 | row 8, column 1 | row 4, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| EDUCATION | 9 | row 1, column 1 | row 3, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| EXPERIENCE | 10 | row 8, column 6 | row 5, column 6 | bottom to top |
| NAME | 4 | row 6, column 3 | row 4, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| SKILLS | 6 | row 7, column 1 | row 5, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| RESUME | 6 | row 4, column 1 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the January 12 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #680 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 6 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 E-D-T-I-M-E, row 2 reads U-A-O-U-A-S, row 3 reads C-N-S-W-R-D, row 4 reads R-E-E-A-C-T, row 5 reads L-S-A-M-A-E, row 6 reads I-L-N-T-C-E, row 7 reads S-K-N-N-R-P, and row 8 reads C-O-E-I-X-E.
How hard was the January 12 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #680 as average: it sits at the 33th 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 January 12 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #680 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 January 12 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 12, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 12, 2026 is “Appeal to a hire power”, on puzzle #680. It is answered by the spangram RESUME, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 12, 2026?
The 6 Strands theme words for January 12, 2026 are AWARDS, CONTACT, EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, NAME and SKILLS, plus the spangram RESUME.
What was the big word in the January 12, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 12, 2026 is RESUME, 6 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 1, 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 “Appeal to a hire power” mean?
The Strands theme “Appeal to a hire power” for January 12, 2026 means RESUME — 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 January 12, 2026?
Strands puzzle #680 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 12, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #680 rates average on a computed index, harder than 33% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 12, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, January 12, 2026 is #680, 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 January 2026, part of the full Strands archive.