NYT Strands for 14 October 2026 has the theme “Folk & fairy tale twosomes”. There are six theme words and one spangram to find.
14 October 2026 NYT Strands #955 Theme: “Folk & fairy tale twosomes”
The board has 8 rows and 6 columns, and every letter belongs to one of the six theme words or the spangram.
14 October 2026 NYT Strands: Hints
Open the hints one at a time. Each hint gives away more than the one before it.
Hint 1 · literal clue
Treat the clue as a reference to traditional stories, not as wordplay.
Hint 2 · paired figures
Look for individual members of familiar story pairs, including people and animals.
Hint 3 · first letters
The theme words start with B, B, F, H, P and T.
Hint 4 · spangram shape and meaning
The spangram has four words, with letter counts of 4, 4, 1 and 4. It means long ago, as in the traditional opening of a fairy tale.
Three words that earn a hint
These three words are valid on today’s board and are not theme words: BEEN, INTO and SINCE. Entering three such words earns one hint in the game.
14 October 2026 NYT Strands: Answers
The six theme words and the spangram are folded below. Open them one at a time.
First two letters of each theme word
The theme words start with BE, BE, FR, HA, PR and TO.
Today’s six theme words
- Beast
- Beauty
- Frog
- Hare
- Princess
- Tortoise
Spangram
The spangram names the theme and runs from one side of the board to the opposite side.
Spangram letter count
The spangram has 13 letters.
First and last spangram letters
The spangram starts with O and ends with E.
Today’s spangram
ONCE UPON A TIME
Once upon a time is a traditional opening for stories. The theme words form familiar pairs: Beauty and Beast, Frog and Princess, and Hare and Tortoise.
Reveal the board one word at a time
Each fold below adds one word to the board, so you can stop after any word. The last fold adds the spangram.
Word 1 of 7 on the board
Beast
Word 2 of 7 on the board
Beauty
Word 3 of 7 on the board
Frog
Word 4 of 7 on the board
Hare
Word 5 of 7 on the board
Princess
Word 6 of 7 on the board
Tortoise
Word 7 of 7 on the board
ONCE UPON A TIME
Yesterday’s Strands answer for 13 October 2026
Yesterday’s theme was “Well, this is awkward”. The theme words were Appall, Chagrin, Embarrass, Mortify and Nonplus, and the spangram was CRINGEWORTHY.
More Strands: Yesterday’s puzzle · Play Strands on The New York Times
Also today: Wordle · Connections · Pips · Phrazle · Quordle · Keyword · Colordle · Unwordle · Hurdle · NYT Crossword · NYT Mini · NYT Midi · Jumble · Spelling Bee · Letter Boxed · Parseword · Poeltl
Earlier days: 13 Oct · 12 Oct · 11 Oct · 10 Oct · 9 Oct · 8 Oct · 7 Oct
Questions about Strands
When does Strands change to a new puzzle?
A new puzzle arrives at midnight in the player’s own time zone.
How many tries does a player get in Strands?
There is no limit on guesses, and the game cannot be lost.
Where can a person play Strands?
Play on The New York Times Games site or in the NYT Games app: Strands.
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