Tech
NYT Strands hints, answers for October 26, 2025
Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you love the current season.
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.
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.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Fall-ing
The words are related to a season.
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe the harvest season.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today's spangram is Autumn.
NYT Strands word list for October 26
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Orchards
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Pumpkins
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Corn
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Autumn
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Football
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Harvest
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Foliage
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.
Tech
Hurdle hints and answers for November 16, 2025
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
A music and film genre.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
INDIE
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A hut.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
SHACK
Hurdle Word 3 hint
Rough.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
RIGID
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Hereditary material.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
GENES
Final Hurdle hint
A jewelry measurement.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
KARAT
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Tech
A MacBook Air under $200? No, it’s not a typo.
TL;DR: Get a refurbished Apple MacBook Air on sale for $194.97 with free shipping through Nov. 16 (reg. $999). This is a great device for everyday use.
Yes, you read that right. You can grab one of Apple’s infamous MacBook Airs for under $200, and there’s no catch. Well, inventory is extremely low, so you’ll have to make sure to get yours before they sell out.
But you get the same performance, portability, and quality MacBooks are known for, except you only pay $194.97 vs. the $999 MSRP because of its refurbished status. You’ll also receive free shipping for a limited time.
Powered by a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor and Intel HD Graphics 6000, this MacBook Air breezes through web browsing, email, shopping, streaming, and basic work projects. It’s paired with 128GB of flash storage, giving you plenty of space for documents, photos, and apps, all while keeping things zippy.
And with 12 hours of battery life, you won’t be tethered to an outlet, whether you’re at home, at the office, or camped out at a coffee shop.
The 13.3-inch widescreen display with 1440×900 resolution allows your movies, spreadsheets, and FaceTime calls to look sharp and vibrant. Meanwhile, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth make it easy to stay connected and share files across your devices.
This machine isn’t just affordable; it’s also worry-free. With its Grade A/B refurbished rating, you may notice a tiny scuff or scratch, but inside, you’re getting a fully functional MacBook ready to roll.
At this price, it’s perfect as a primary laptop, a backup machine, or even a dedicated travel computer. Lightweight, reliable, and sleek — it’s the kind of deal that makes sense whether you’re working, learning, or just binge-watching.
Don’t miss this refurbished MacBook Air deal: $194.97 until Nov. 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT, or when inventory runs out (reg. $999).
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Tech
Last chance get a Microsoft Office lifetime license for $40
TL;DR: Get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows on sale for $39.97 through Nov. 16 — a one-time purchase for lifelong access (reg. $219.99).
This is your last chance to ditch Microsoft 365’s subscription fees for good. Until tomorrow, Nov. 16, at midnight, you can grab a lifetime license to Microsoft Office 2021 for 81% less than its usual retail price. Simply pay once, download the full software suite, and never worry about renewals again.
We know what you’re thinking, but rest assured, this isn’t some stripped-down lite version either. It’s the real deal. Whether you’re writing reports, crunching numbers, building presentations, managing emails, or wrangling databases, the lifetime version of Microsoft Office has you covered.
It’s a one-time download for one Windows PC, so once it’s yours, it’s yours. The full pro-level toolkit, minus the stress of a subscription. Plus, with instant license delivery and free customer support, getting started is as painless as your new spreadsheet workflow.
No more “trial expired” pop-ups. No more surprise charges. Just the latest versions of Microsoft’s best apps, ready to support all of your work and personal needs.
Download Microsoft Office for Windows while it’s on sale for $39.97 until Nov. 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT (reg. $219.99). No coupon is needed.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
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