#694Monday, January 26, 2026
Strands answers for January 26, 2026 — “Grape expectations” (#694)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 26, 2026 (puzzle #694) is BYTHEBOTTLE, a 11-letter answer to the theme "Grape expectations". The 5 theme words are CHARDONNAY, MALBEC, MERLOT, SHIRAZ and ZINFANDEL.
Where is each answer on the January 26 Strands board?
Here are all 5 theme words from the January 26, 2026 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHARDONNAY | 10 | row 6, column 3 | row 5, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| MALBEC | 6 | row 6, column 6 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| MERLOT | 6 | row 4, column 4 | row 4, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| SHIRAZ | 6 | row 2, column 4 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| ZINFANDEL | 9 | row 5, column 3 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| BYTHEBOTTLE | 11 | row 7, column 3 | row 1, column 3 | bottom to top |
What did the January 26 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 6 words tile all 48 cells of the January 26, 2026 grid.
Spangram — 11 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 D-N-E-L-I-R, row 2 reads E-A-T-S-H-A, row 3 reads L-F-N-T-E-Z, row 4 reads A-I-O-M-R-T, row 5 reads N-Y-Z-B-L-O, row 6 reads N-H-C-E-C-M, row 7 reads O-A-B-H-E-A, and row 8 reads D-R-Y-T-B-L.
How hard was the January 26 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #694 comes out above average, ahead of 69% 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 January 26 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #694 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 26 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 26, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 26, 2026 is “Grape expectations”, on puzzle #694. It is answered by the spangram BYTHEBOTTLE, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 26, 2026?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 26, 2026 are CHARDONNAY, MALBEC, MERLOT, SHIRAZ and ZINFANDEL, plus the spangram BYTHEBOTTLE.
What was the big word in the January 26, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 26, 2026 is BYTHEBOTTLE, 11 letters long, running from row 7, column 3 to row 1, 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 “Grape expectations” mean?
The Strands theme “Grape expectations” for January 26, 2026 means BYTHEBOTTLE — 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 January 26, 2026?
Strands puzzle #694 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 26, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #694 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 69% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 26, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, January 26, 2026 is #694, 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.