NYT Strands Hints and Answers for September 28, 2026 (#939)

Puzzle snapshot

This record identifies the published puzzle before any answer-level help appears. The facts below come from the normalized puzzle record and the verified paths used to build this page.

Print date: September 28, 2026
Game ID: 939
Editor: Tracy Bennett
Constructor: Tracy Bennett
Board: 6 columns by 8 rows, covering 48 cells
Verified answer set: 7 theme answers and 1 spangram

Published theme

A form of art

This is the clue attached to game #939. Read it as the first hint level, then return to the board before opening a stronger reveal. This page does not add a definition or an interpretation that was absent from the puzzle record.

Puzzle board

The board has 6 columns and 8 rows. Its 48 letters are shown in published row order.

AOSRED PSUWOO TONTEY AEPZCA LSSLNL EGUORB LAMCET BRSLES

Use the displayed letters as the solving surface. The page keeps every full answer below the final reveal, so scanning this board does not require passing through an answer list.

How to use these hints

The four levels move from the published clue to the complete solution. Open one level, test the new information on the board, and stop as soon as you can continue on your own.

Level 1 repeats the published theme clue. It does not expose any answer letters.
Level 2 reveals the spangram's length, first letter, final letter, and verified board direction. It keeps the word itself hidden.
Level 3 shows a mask for each theme answer. Each mask preserves the answer's length and its first and last letters without printing the full word.
The complete solution names the spangram and all 7 theme answers. Leave this panel closed if the earlier levels give you enough to resume solving.

The hint path

Choose how much help you want. Each stronger level stays closed until you select its reveal button.

Published theme

A form of art

This is the theme clue exactly as published with the puzzle. Try another pass across the board before moving to the next level.

Spangram pattern

Reveal spangram pattern

The spangram has 9 letters, begins with S, ends with E, and its verified path runs top to bottom.

Use those constraints together. The two boundary letters narrow possible starts and finishes, while the direction describes which opposite board edges the verified path reaches. The connected route may still bend between those edges.

Theme word patterns

Reveal answer patterns

B _ _ _ _ E6 letters, starts with B
C _ _ Y4 letters, starts with C
G _ _ _ S5 letters, starts with G
M _ _ _ _ E6 letters, starts with M
S _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E9 letters, starts with S
S _ _ _ L5 letters, starts with S
W _ _ D4 letters, starts with W

Compare a mask with unresolved regions of the board. A mask confirms the shape of one verified theme answer, but it does not supply the missing letters or a meaning that was not present in the source record.

Complete solution

Reveal all verified answers

Spangram

SCULPTURE

Verified spangram

BRONZE

Verified theme answer

CLAY

Verified theme answer

GLASS

Verified theme answer

MARBLE

Verified theme answer

SOAPSTONE

Verified theme answer

STEEL

Verified theme answer

WOOD

Verified theme answer

How the answer words fit this board

This profile records each revealed word's length and endpoints, using the same verified coordinate paths as the published board.

BRONZE: 6 letters; starts row 6, column 6; ends row 3, column 5.
CLAY: 4 letters; starts row 4, column 5; ends row 3, column 6.
GLASS: 5 letters; starts row 6, column 2; ends row 5, column 3.
MARBLE: 6 letters; starts row 7, column 3; ends row 6, column 1.
SOAPSTONE: 9 letters; starts row 1, column 3; ends row 4, column 2.
STEEL: 5 letters; starts row 8, column 6; ends row 8, column 4.
WOOD: 4 letters; starts row 2, column 4; ends row 1, column 6.

The spangram and theme-answer paths together use all 48 board cells, confirming the completed grid without adding an unsupported interpretation.

Use each revealed word's letter count and endpoints to trace its exact route on the board. That geometry shows how the listed theme words interlock around the spangram and complete this puzzle.

Verified puzzle structure

The final set contains 7 theme answers and one spangram. The theme answers range from 4 to 9 letters.

The verified theme-answer length distribution is: 2 answers with 4 letters; 2 answers with 5 letters; 2 answers with 6 letters; 1 answer with 9 letters.

These counts describe the normalized answer set without naming a word. Use the distribution to compare the open regions of the board with the lengths that remain. The spangram's exact pattern stays in level 2, and the theme-answer masks stay in level 3.

How this solution was checked

Before publishing this page, the validator checked the puzzle date and confirmed that the board has 6 columns and 8 rows. It compared every stored coordinate with the letter at that board position.

The validator also checked that consecutive coordinates are adjacent, that no final answer reuses a cell, and that the complete set covers exactly 48 cells. A record that misses a cell, overlaps a solved path, or jumps between nonadjacent cells does not pass those checks.

The values on this page come from that validated record. The template uses the prepared counts, dimensions, direction, and masks rather than recalculating them while it renders the HTML.

Questions about this puzzle

How many theme words?: There are 7 theme words. The spangram is separate from that count.
How long is the spangram?: The exact length is inside the level 2 spangram pattern reveal. Open that panel only when you want a stronger hint.
Which direction does it span?: The verified direction is inside the same level 2 reveal, beside the first and final letters.
Where are the complete answers?: The spangram and all theme words are in the complete solution reveal at the end of the hint path. That panel starts collapsed.