New York Times “Strands” Puzzle #613: Theme, Hints, and Answers for Thursday, November 6
By Staff Writer
The New York Times’ daily word‑game Strands (game #613) for Thursday, 6 November 2025, challenges players with a theme and hidden spangram word tying together a set of seven thematic answers.
Theme & Gameplay
Today’s theme is “City”, prompting solvers to think of city nicknames or monikers.
The grid is composed of a 6×8 letter board in which words may connect horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, with one special word (the spangram) using all letters in the grid.
Players are encouraged to find non‑theme words (four letters or more) to earn clue tokens: every three such words unlock a hint showing letters of a hidden theme word, and using additional hints will reveal the full word, but using hints affects final scoring.
Hints Provided
The spangram is 8 letters long.
It starts with the letter N.
Some of the suggested in‑game clue words (non‑theme) include: TOOK, DUEL, LUMEN, RATES, MALE, TRICK.
Here are the theme words and spangram for today’s puzzle:
Theme words (names of city nicknames): MAGIC, MOTOR, WINDY, EMERALD, ETERNAL, MUSIC, GOLDEN.
Spangram: NICKNAME.
Players who worked through the grid will find that the thematic words correspond to iconic nicknames of cities (for example “Windy” for Chicago, “Motor” for Detroit), tying back to the “City” theme.
Final Thoughts
For word‑puzzle aficionados, today’s Strands offers a fun mix of pop‑culture and geography via city nicknames, anchored by a well‑defined spangram. Even if you needed a few hints, the game gives structure to the hunt while encouraging pattern‑recognition and lateral thinking. If you missed one or got stuck, brokers of puzzle‑help services have all the answers.