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Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you love to celebrate.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 4, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Ooh!

The words are related to the Fourth of July.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe a holiday celebration.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

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NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Fireworks.

NYT Strands word list for July 4

• Dazzling

• Bright

• Colorful

• Fireworks

• Exciting

• Sparkling

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a foodie.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for July 4, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for July 4, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

An Italian staple.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter Z appears twice.

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Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter P.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

PIZZA

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

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Skoove’s app analyzes audio coming from an acoustic piano or a connected USB/MIDI keyboard, identifies the notes you played, and compares them against what the current lesson called for. If you stumble, the app pauses and waits for you to correct yourself. If you nail it, you move forward. That tight feedback loop is the part traditional sheet music and YouTube tutorials can’t replicate, and it works whether you’re on iOS, Android, Mac, or Windows.

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Skoove’s library includes more than 400 lessons plus thousands of instructional videos, with new lessons and songs added every month. Beginners can start with the basics like posture and single-hand playing, then move into chords, theory, and full pieces in genres including classical, pop, and blues. More experienced players can jump straight into chart hits by John Legend, The Beatles, and Adele, or pieces from Bach and Beethoven.

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Malcolm Todd is currently one of the fastest-rising stars in the music industry, with his viral hit "Earrings" recently topping the Spotify charts.

However, Todd has just fallen off the Spotify charts after an internal investigation by the company found manipulation through artificial streaming. As a result of the investigation, Spotify removed 500,000 streams for his song. "Earrings" fell to fourth on the charts after the stream removals.

“All streaming services face ever-changing stream manipulation. Spotify has best-in-class detection and mitigation practices for manipulated streams, and we don’t pay out associated royalties,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement.

The manipulation has been linked to those who placed bets on prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi. The artist is not believed to be involved, according to Financial Times.

Both Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to bet on which artists will have the top charting songs. In fact, the investigation into botted listens seems to have been sparked by other prediction market traders who closely analyze Spotify data and noticed fishy activity.

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Last week, Kalshi gave Todd a 2.5 percent chance of having the number one charting Spotify song by the end of June. Earlier this week, in the final days of the month, artificial streaming manipulation caused Todd's song to skyrocket 70 percent to the top of the charts within a 24-hour period. 

Spotify has since confirmed the manipulation after its investigation. The company also requested that Polymarket and Kalshi remove Spotify logos from their websites to prevent users from believing there is a partnership between the entities, according to Bloomberg.

Kalshi and Polymarket are actively reviewing the claims, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter and Wired.

Prediction markets have grown in popularity in recent years. However, these companies have also struggled to deal with increasingly common cases of insider trading and market manipulation.

Happy 4th of July, America. This year's Independence Day celebrations are a little extra special as we celebrate the United States of America's 250th birthday.

Across the country, many people will spend the day at the beach or at a barbecue, capping the night off with a fireworks display. But, if you're spending the night indoors, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate with an array of July 4th fireworks livestreams.

Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks 

Perhaps the most well-known of the Independence Day celebrations is the Macy's 4th of July fireworks. If you live in NYC, you can catch them live. Otherwise, you can tune into NBC or Peacock at 8 p.m. on July 4th to watch the show.

While the U.S. is celebrating its 250th, Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks is also celebrating a milestone with its 50th anniversary this year.

PBS's America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together

While many of the livestream options on this list will require a paid subscription to a particular streaming platform, PBS is airing its 4th of July special on YouTube for absolutely free.

America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together will start at 8 p.m. on July 4th and culminate in a fireworks and pyrotechnics display from Colonial Williamsburg.

Disney Celebrates America

Disney is also getting in on the 250th anniversary of the United States celebrations with its own event.

Disney+, Hulu, and the ESPN app will stream a 24-hour broadcast called "Disney Celebrates America" that checks in on 4th of July celebrations around the country, which will ostensibly include at least a few fireworks displays. The grand finale, Star-Spangled Bash in Nashville, will also be hosted by ABC and deliver one of the country's largest fireworks and drone shows.

The broadcast kicks off at 10 p.m. on Friday, July 3rd, with the main event out of Nashville starting at 8 p.m. on July 4th.

Freedom 250 fireworks display

There's been a lot of controversy surrounding President Donald Trump's own Freedom 250 group, set up to lead Trump's 250th anniversary celebrations. You've probably seen the memes about the lackluster attendance for Trump's Great American State Fair all week.

With that said, Freedom 250 is claiming they're about to have a record-breaking 40 minute long firework display on the 4th of July with more than 850,000 fireworks. And, according to the group, the MonumentCam atop the Washington Monument will be the premier free-to-watch livestream to watch it all.

The Great American Block Party 250

Paramount+ and CBS are hosting their own 3-hour Independence Day special at 8 p.m. on July 4th. 

Like Disney's, the show will check in on 4th of July celebrations and firework displays from around the country. The broadcast will also culminate in their own feed of Freedom 250's Washington, DC, fireworks display.