Strands Hint

#241Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Strands answers for October 30, 2024 — “How sweet!” (#241)

The NYT Strands spangram for October 30, 2024 (puzzle #241) is CANDYSTORE, a 10-letter answer to the theme "How sweet!". The 5 theme words are CHOCOLATE, GUMDROP, LICORICE, LOLLIPOP and TOFFEE.

CHOCOLATEGUMDROPLICORICELOLLIPOPTOFFEECANDYSTORE

Where is each answer on the October 30 Strands board?

The 5 theme words for Strands on October 30, 2024 are listed below, followed by the 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.

Verified board positions, Strands puzzle #241
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
CHOCOLATE9row 5, column 5row 7, column 5diagonally across the grid
GUMDROP7row 6, column 6row 7, column 3right to left
LICORICE8row 1, column 3row 2, column 1diagonally across the grid
LOLLIPOP8row 8, column 1row 4, column 2bottom to top
TOFFEE6row 1, column 5row 2, column 4diagonally across the grid
CANDYSTORE10row 1, column 4row 8, column 2diagonally across the grid

What did the October 30 Strands grid look like?

The Strands board for October 30, 2024 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.

CILCTOEOAEEFCIRNOFOPDYHCPLTSCOILOALGORPTEULEORDM

Spangram — 10 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 C-I-L-C-T-O, row 2 reads E-O-A-E-E-F, row 3 reads C-I-R-N-O-F, row 4 reads O-P-D-Y-H-C, row 5 reads P-L-T-S-C-O, row 6 reads I-L-O-A-L-G, row 7 reads O-R-P-T-E-U, and row 8 reads L-E-O-R-D-M.

How hard was the October 30 Strands puzzle?

Measured against the full archive, the October 30, 2024 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 85% of all Strands puzzles.

Difficulty
85
percentile, hard
Path turns
27
direction changes
Decoy words
975
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
7.6
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 October 30 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #241 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 October 30 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on October 30, 2024?

The Strands clue for October 30, 2024 is “How sweet!”, on puzzle #241. It is answered by the spangram CANDYSTORE, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on October 30, 2024?

The 5 Strands theme words for October 30, 2024 are CHOCOLATE, GUMDROP, LICORICE, LOLLIPOP and TOFFEE, plus the spangram CANDYSTORE.

What was the big word in the October 30, 2024 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for October 30, 2024 is CANDYSTORE, 10 letters long, running from row 1, column 4 to row 8, column 2. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.

What did the Strands theme “How sweet!” mean?

The Strands theme “How sweet!” for October 30, 2024 means CANDYSTORE — 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 October 30, 2024?

Strands puzzle #241 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the October 30, 2024 Strands puzzle?

Strands #241 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 85% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on October 30, 2024?

The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 is #241, 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 October 2024, part of the full Strands archive.