‘What do you make of this?’ Strands NYT hints and answers for today (Aug. 18)

The Sunday Strands puzzle explores the nature of creation with a clue in the form of a simple question: “What do you make of this?”

Unlike yesterday’s brain-buster edition of this fun little word game, this puzzle is much more approachable. But if you still feel like you’re in need of assistance finding the Spangram of one of those pesky hiding words, we’ve got you covered.

‘What do you make of this?’ Strands Spangram hints and answer (Aug. 18)

• Hint 1: Today’s Spangram is a two-word phrase.
• Hint 2: The Spangram’s first letter is “A” and the last letter is “S.”
• Hint 3: “What do you make of this?” refers to the study of various creative disciplines.

This is your last chance to stop scrolling before we reveal today’s Spangram!

Aug. 18’s Spangram is “ARTCLASS.” It’s one of those tricky solutions that go from right to left, and it starts from the “A” in the fourth row of the right column and ends on the “S” in the sixth row of the left column. Here’s what it looks like:

‘What do you make of this?’ Strands (Aug. 18) word hints and final solution

While this Strands clue isn’t the easiest one to crack (I was initially thinking of materials myself, like aluminium), it’s not one of the hardest, either, and finding just one or two words will no doubt put you on the right track.

• Hint 1: A range of colors (and the thing you arrange them on). (7 letters)
• Hint 2: A ____ with death, or love, or even Christmas. (5 letters)
• Hint 3: Fungi-formed structure, but that’s not quite the meaning you’re looking for here. (4 letters)

Here’s the full answer for Aug. 18s “What do you make of this?” Strands with all words in their right placements:

• ARTCLASS (Spangram)
• CANVAS
• MOLD
• EASEL
• PAINT
• PALETTE
• BRUSH
• CHARCOAL

‘What do you make of this?’ Strands (Aug. 18) difficulty rating and solving process

Unlike yesterday’s Carle classic Strands, I found this to be an enjoyable solve. I spent some time fruitlessly looking for materials like aluminum, then dove straight into the corners to find short words, which is how I honed in on BRUSH. The neighboring CHARCOAL was a serendipitous find after that point, which also eliminated all vertical Spangram possibilities.

Moving up, I spotted PALETTE, at which point I was fairly sure about the nature of the clue, so I looked for ART- on the board and identified ARTCLASS as the Spangram. PAINT and CANVAS followed, with a quick wrap-up on MOLD and EASEL. No hints needed whatsoever, and a fun progression along the board all the way through the end.

If you pressed me for a difficulty rating on today’s Strands for difficulty, I’d give it a gentle two out of five, as even if you can’t decipher the clue until late into the puzzle, the words themselves are clustered around an easily identifiable topic that will help you go around the board even without spotting ARTCLASS.

Other word games to try after completing the NYT Strands

If you are looking for more word game action, the NYT Mini Crossword for the day and Spelling Bee are just a few clicks away—or for even more crosswords, it’s worth trying the LA Times and the Washington Post.