The New York Times Strands puzzle for October 22, 2026, is number 963. This daily word game challenges players to find theme-related words in a 6×8 grid, utilizing every letter available. Today’s theme is “Any relation.”
Strands No. 963 Hint: Closer Than Just Friends
The internal hint for today’s puzzle is “Closer than just friends.” This suggests that the hidden words are centered around the various ways we categorize people within a genealogical or familial structure. You are looking for terms that range from formal collective nouns to specific biological descriptors.
For the spangram, look for a two-word phrase that describes the metaphorical bonds between relatives. It typically spans from one side of the grid to the other, touching both the left and right borders.
Answers for Today’s Strands
Warning: The following section contains the complete list of answers and the spangram for Strands No. 963. Do not scroll further if you wish to solve the puzzle on your own.
The Spangram
The spangram for October 22, 2026, is FAMILYTIES. This word connects the board and summarizes the theme of kinship.
Theme Word Solutions
- BLOOD
- KINFOLK
- BRETHREN
- OFFSPRING
- ANCESTORS
Today’s puzzle is particularly tight, with the five theme words and the spangram accounting for a total of 48 letters. This total perfectly fills the 6×8 grid, leaving no unused letters once the final word is found. According to reports from Forbes, the theme focuses exclusively on the bonds of relation, moving from those who came before to those who follow.
The difficulty in this specific grid often lies in “BRETHREN” and “KINFOLK,” which are less common in casual conversation compared to the other familial terms. Finding the spangram first may help clear enough space to identify the remaining multi-syllable words like “OFFSPRING” and “ANCESTORS.”
