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The NYT Strands logo on a gray background with "Fowl fairy tale" written in white.
Screenshot and remix by Dot Esports

Fowl fairy tale – Strands NYT hints and answers (May 20)

The Spangram of today's Strands will make your thoughts flock to the right answer.

Today’s Strands is about a specific fairytale involving birds. This might seem obvious at first since the theme is “Fowl fairy tale,” but you and I know how the NYT likes to make some obscure references in Strands themes. That’s not the case today, though.

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How to play NYT Strands and find the Spangram

The hint I gave you in the first sentence of this story is the best one you can have to find today’s Spangram. “Fairy tale” in singular form is very important here: it shows how today’s Strands is about one specific story, not several of them. It took me some time to realize that, and while trying to look for broad answers, I accidentally bumped into the right one. I highly recommend you think about fairy tales that have a bird’s name in their title. Which ones can you remember? It could be the Spangram.

Today’s Strands Spangram is UGLYDUCKLING, starting from the “U” in the right column and going backward to the “G” in the first column. All answers on the board are about The Ugly Duckling fairy tale, first published in 1843. They’re either related to the characters or important moments of the story.

Another hint I can give you to find the rest of the words is that, luckily, you can form most of them from left to right, so you won’t have to spend too much time thinking backward. I accidentally found the Spangram when I tried “DUCKLING” and found it was not part of the answer. I looked to the right to find “UGLY” to finally form it properly.

Full list of words in Fowl fairy tale Strands (May 20):

  • UGLYDUCKLING (Spangram)
  • MISFIT
  • SWAN
  • REFLECTION
  • BEAUTIFUL
  • JOURNEY
The May 20 Strands solution showing Uglyduckling in yellow as the Spangram.
The May 20 words in their right placements. Screenshot by Dot Esports

You can play a new Strands puzzle at midnight in your time zone.


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Author
Image of Bhernardo Viana
Bhernardo Viana
Bhernardo is senior guides writer and strategist at Dot Esports. He's been working in the gaming industry for over 9 years, with works published on Destructoid, Prima Games, ESPN, and more. A fan of Pokémon since 6 years old and an avid Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch player. Now writing strategy and quests guides for several mobile and PC titles.