Strands Hint

#86Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Strands answers for May 28, 2024 — “All atwitter” (#86)

The NYT Strands spangram for May 28, 2024 (puzzle #86) is BIRDSONG, a 8-letter answer to the theme "All atwitter". The 7 theme words are CHIRP, CLUCK, SCREECH, TRILL, TWEET, WARBLE and WHISTLE.

CHIRPCLUCKSCREECHTRILLTWEETWARBLEWHISTLEBIRDSONG

Where is each answer on the May 28 Strands board?

The full answer set for puzzle #86 is 7 theme words and one spangram.

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.

Verified board positions, Strands puzzle #86
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
CHIRP5row 7, column 3row 6, column 1diagonally across the grid
CLUCK5row 4, column 4row 6, column 6diagonally across the grid
SCREECH7row 4, column 2row 2, column 2diagonally across the grid
TRILL5row 6, column 4row 8, column 6diagonally across the grid
TWEET5row 3, column 2row 1, column 5diagonally across the grid
WARBLE6row 7, column 2row 8, column 3diagonally across the grid
WHISTLE7row 2, column 4row 4, column 6diagonally across the grid
BIRDSONG8row 5, column 1row 5, column 6left to right

What did the May 28 Strands grid look like?

The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.

ECEETIEHWWHSRTSOLTCSDCNEBIRLUGPARTCKRWCBRLIHELIL

Spangram — 8 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 E-C-E-E-T-I, row 2 reads E-H-W-W-H-S, row 3 reads R-T-S-O-L-T, row 4 reads C-S-D-C-N-E, row 5 reads B-I-R-L-U-G, row 6 reads P-A-R-T-C-K, row 7 reads R-W-C-B-R-L, and row 8 reads I-H-E-L-I-L.

How hard was the May 28 Strands puzzle?

The difficulty index rates puzzle #86 as average: it sits at the 52th percentile of every Strands grid to date.

Difficulty
52
percentile, average
Path turns
24
direction changes
Decoy words
536
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
5.7
letters per theme word

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 May 28 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #86 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 May 28 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on May 28, 2024?

The Strands clue for May 28, 2024 is “All atwitter”, on puzzle #86. It is answered by the spangram BIRDSONG, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on May 28, 2024?

The 7 Strands theme words for May 28, 2024 are CHIRP, CLUCK, SCREECH, TRILL, TWEET, WARBLE and WHISTLE, plus the spangram BIRDSONG.

What was the big word in the May 28, 2024 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for May 28, 2024 is BIRDSONG, 8 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 5, 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 “All atwitter” mean?

The Strands theme “All atwitter” for May 28, 2024 means BIRDSONG — 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 May 28, 2024?

Strands puzzle #86 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the May 28, 2024 Strands puzzle?

Strands #86 rates average on a computed index, harder than 52% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on May 28, 2024?

The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 is #86, 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 May 2024, part of the full Strands archive.