Tips, answers and help in today’s New York Times, December 28, Issue 300

I’m looking for Latest Answer branches? Click here for Strands Daily Tipsplus our daily answers and hints for The New York Times’ Small, Word, and Connections crossword puzzles.

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today Branches The puzzle has some very long words. There are only four of them — I can’t remember another Strands puzzle that only had four answers, but these long words take up the entire answer grid. If you need more hints and answers for today’s Strands puzzle, read on.

I also delve into it The rules of the threads in this story.

If you are looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers then visit the site CNET’s NYT Mysteries Tips Page.

Read more: NYT Connections turns 1: These are the 5 toughest puzzles yet

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands topic is: Just the essentials.

If that doesn’t help, here’s a clue: It smells nice.

Keywords to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find the hidden words that fit the theme of the puzzle. If you’re stuck, search for any words you can find. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the keywords. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any four or more letter words you find will work:

• Lathe, mule, stay, wash, claw, poor, cedar, wood, meat, patch, patch, trap.

Today’s Strands Puzzle Answers

These are the answers that relate to the topic. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, which is a thematic word that connects from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you get them all (I initially thought there were always eight but I’ve learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the non-Spanish answers:

• Lavender, cedarwood, patchouli, eucalyptus

Spanggram threads today

Strands spangram today is Aromatherapy. To find it, start with the letter A, which is two letters away on the far right row, and scroll back and forth.