NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, May 15 (game #438)

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

May 14, 2025 - 16:12

NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, May 15 (game #438)

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 Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, May 14 (game #437).

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 #438) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Animal drives

NYT Strands today (game #438) - hint #2 - clue words

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

BILE
MUSE
STAGE
BOOT
POEM
PEEL

NYT Strands today (game #438) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #438) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 5th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #438) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 438 on a blue background — (Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #438, are…

BEETLE
BRONCO
MUSTANG
RABBIT
IMPALA
JAGUAR
SPANGRAM: AUTOMOBILES

My rating: Hard
My score: 2 hints

It took me a while to get going today and the word my hint gave me – BEETLE – didn’t help much, as Beetle Drive is a game. Fortunately, another hint set me on my way: there’s no game called BRONCO Drive.

From the Chevrolet IMPALA to the Ford MUSTANG, American car manufacturers love naming their AUTOMOBILES after members of the animal kingdom, particularly land animals or sleek aerodynamic creatures like the Baracuda or Falcon.

This is not the case in Europe, where they like giving their different models letters and numbers, winds or made-up word-sounds containing the letter Q. The exception, is of course, the Beetle, which was originally called the Volkswagen Type 1 until its nickname stuck.

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

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, May 14, game #437)

HUSTLE
MACARENA
FOOTLOOSE
WOBBLE
LOCOMOTION
SPANGRAM: LINE DANCE

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.