The horror: Strands NYT hints and answers (May 4)

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle really played tricks on my mind. Strands themes are usually just a subtle hint about the solution’s words, so I wasn’t expecting “the horror” to be about the most obvious topic—but it is.

Here’s a look at how to play Strands and the solutions for the May 4 puzzle, “The horror.”

How to play NYT Strands

You should be on the right track to play the May 4 NYT Strands if you take the theme almost literally. As usual, the best ways to play the game are to either look for the Spangram first or find three random words, whether they fit the theme or not, just to unlock that first hint that will make everything click.

I always prefer to unlock hints first since finding the right letters to connect right off the bat is really hard for me. Finding one word from the solution helps me narrow down the possibilities since each letter is only part of one word.

Remember, the Spangram gives more details about the theme and stretches from one side of the grid to the other, either left to right or top to bottom. All other solution words are also related to it, and it’s connected to the main theme.

NYT Strands “The horror” hints (May 4)

The first specifics of “the horror” theme that came to my mind were horror movies. While I couldn’t find “kill” or “murder”, I tried “shovel” and “chop,” though they weren’t part of the solution. I unlocked a hint that showed me I was on the right track.

When you’re playing, don’t be scared to try two-word guesses. Watch the board closely for any word that can fill up your hints bar to get you closer to the solution.

NYT Strands “The horror” Spangram and solutions (May 4)

Today’s NYT Strands Spangram is SCARYMOVIE, starting from the “s” in the bottom row to the “e” in the top row. It was hard for me to find both because its bottom-to-top direction is unintuitive and it’s actually two words in one when I was instead looking for a single, long word like “terrify.”

So, all the words you need to look for are titles of horror movies. This time, there are only other five words to complete the puzzle. The full solution for the May 4 NYT Strands is:

• SCARYMOVIE (Spangram!)
• SCREAM
• HOSTEL
• PSYCHO
• HALLOWEEN
• POLTERGEIST

A new Strands game will be available at midnight in your time zone.