#186Thursday, September 5, 2024
Strands answers for September 5, 2024 — “Going underground” (#186)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for September 5, 2024 (puzzle #186) is ROOTVEGETABLES, a 14-letter answer to the theme "Going underground". The 6 theme words are BEET, JICAMA, POTATO, RUTABAGA, TARO and TURNIP.
Where is each answer on the September 5 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on September 5, 2024 are listed below, followed by the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEET | 4 | row 4, column 6 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| JICAMA | 6 | row 4, column 1 | row 2, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| POTATO | 6 | row 7, column 1 | row 8, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| RUTABAGA | 8 | row 4, column 3 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TARO | 4 | row 5, column 5 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| TURNIP | 6 | row 4, column 4 | row 3, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| ROOTVEGETABLES | 14 | row 7, column 6 | row 5, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the September 5 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for September 5, 2024 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 14 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 M-A-B-A-G-A, row 2 reads A-C-A-I-E-T, row 3 reads I-T-P-U-N-E, row 4 reads J-U-R-T-R-B, row 5 reads S-E-T-E-T-A, row 6 reads L-B-A-G-O-R, row 7 reads P-A-T-E-T-R, and row 8 reads O-T-O-V-O-O.
How hard was the September 5 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the September 5, 2024 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 95% of all Strands puzzles.
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 September 5 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #186 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 September 5 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on September 5, 2024?
The Strands clue for September 5, 2024 is “Going underground”, on puzzle #186. It is answered by the spangram ROOTVEGETABLES, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on September 5, 2024?
The 6 Strands theme words for September 5, 2024 are BEET, JICAMA, POTATO, RUTABAGA, TARO and TURNIP, plus the spangram ROOTVEGETABLES.
What was the big word in the September 5, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for September 5, 2024 is ROOTVEGETABLES, 14 letters long, running from row 7, column 6 to row 5, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Going underground” mean?
The Strands theme “Going underground” for September 5, 2024 means ROOTVEGETABLES — 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 September 5, 2024?
Strands puzzle #186 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the September 5, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #186 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 95% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on September 5, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, September 5, 2024 is #186, 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 September 2024, part of the full Strands archive.