#697Thursday, January 29, 2026
Strands answers for January 29, 2026 — “Talk of the town” (#697)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 29, 2026 (puzzle #697) is CLAIMTOFAME, a 11-letter answer to the theme "Talk of the town". The 5 theme words are CELEBRITY, HERO, ICON, PERSONALITY and SUPERSTAR.
Where is each answer on the January 29 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #697 is 5 theme words and one spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CELEBRITY | 9 | row 8, column 3 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| HERO | 4 | row 2, column 2 | row 2, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| ICON | 4 | row 7, column 5 | row 7, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| PERSONALITY | 11 | row 1, column 3 | row 4, column 2 | top to bottom |
| SUPERSTAR | 9 | row 1, column 5 | row 5, column 6 | top to bottom |
| CLAIMTOFAME | 11 | row 1, column 4 | row 8, column 4 | top to bottom |
What did the January 29 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #697 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
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 R-E-P-C-S-U, row 2 reads O-H-E-L-E-P, row 3 reads I-T-R-A-R-S, row 4 reads L-Y-S-I-A-T, row 5 reads A-N-O-M-T-R, row 6 reads T-I-R-A-F-O, row 7 reads Y-E-B-M-I-N, and row 8 reads L-E-C-E-C-O.
How hard was the January 29 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #697 as above average: it sits at the 56th 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 29 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #697 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 29 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 29, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 29, 2026 is “Talk of the town”, on puzzle #697. It is answered by the spangram CLAIMTOFAME, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 29, 2026?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 29, 2026 are CELEBRITY, HERO, ICON, PERSONALITY and SUPERSTAR, plus the spangram CLAIMTOFAME.
What was the big word in the January 29, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 29, 2026 is CLAIMTOFAME, 11 letters long, running from row 1, column 4 to row 8, column 4. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Talk of the town” mean?
The Strands theme “Talk of the town” for January 29, 2026 means CLAIMTOFAME — 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 29, 2026?
Strands puzzle #697 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 29, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #697 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 56% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 29, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, January 29, 2026 is #697, 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.