NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, April 27 (game #420)

Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.

Apr 26, 2025 - 16:16

NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, April 27 (game #420)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, April 26 (game #419).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #420) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Sleep tight

NYT Strands today (game #420) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

MENTAL
TRAM
TRUE
TIDE
NOTE
BIND

NYT Strands today (game #420) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 7 letters

NYT Strands today (game #420) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: right, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #420) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 420 on a blue background — (Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #420, are…

MASK
EARPLUGS
MELATONIN
MEDITATION
MOUTHGUARD
SPANGRAM: BEDTIME

My rating: Moderate
My score: 1 hint

My search started off well after quickly getting MASK and EARPLUGS, but then took a devious turn.

Even after getting a hint and the many letters of MELATONIN I struggled connecting the letters, which became the story of all the other words.

You could argue that the theme and spangram are inaccurate and what we were actually looking for today were sleep aids for those among us who struggle to fall asleep without assistance.

I count myself among a growing demographic trying desperately to improve their sleep quality. I actually got measured for my pillow, have a yearly app subscription just so I can listen to the same 10-minute MEDITATION every night, and have earplugs, mask, and aromatherapy spray all at hand should I struggle to reach the land of nod.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, April 26, game #419)

POWDER
BRONZER
PRIMER
CONCEALER
FOUNDATION
SPANGRAM: MAKEUP EXAM

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.