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NYT Strands Answer & Hints — “The ears have it!”, January 15, 2026

Stuck on the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle? Here are progressive hints and the full answer for the “The ears have it!” puzzle (Strands #376 of 509 in our archive). Every reveal is hidden by default — click to open the ones you need.

Spoiler warning. The answers below are for the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle. Scroll past this section if you want to solve it yourself first.
Hint 1: The themeReveal

The theme for the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle is “The ears have it!”. Every theme word and the spangram connects back to this phrase, so think about what related words might fit a 6×8 grid of 48 letters before you start scanning.

Hint 2: Spangram length and first letterReveal

The spangram for the “The ears have it!” puzzle is 8 letters long and starts with the letter H. It touches two opposite edges of the grid, as every NYT Strands spangram does.

Hint 3: How many theme wordsReveal

Besides the spangram, the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle has 7 theme words. Together with the spangram, they use every letter on the 6×8 grid exactly once.

Answer: Full spangramReveal

The spangram for the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands “The ears have it!” puzzle is HEARHEAR. It spans two opposite edges of the 6×8 grid and captures the theme directly.

Answer: All theme wordsReveal

Here are the 7 theme words for the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands “The ears have it!” puzzle:

  • ANVIL
  • CANAL
  • CARTILAGE
  • DRUM
  • HAMMER
  • LOBE
  • STIRRUP

Plus the spangram HEARHEAR, that’s every word on the grid — all 48 letters accounted for.

Answers for the January 15, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle. Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive — today's NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com/games/strands.

About the "The ears have it!" NYT Strands puzzle

The theme "The ears have it!" comes with an exclamation point and all the energy that implies. This arts & culture Strands puzzle hides words that connect to a bold, expressive idea. When you see punctuation in a Strands theme, it's usually a sign that the puzzle maker is referencing a familiar phrase or reaction — let that emotional context guide your word search across the grid.

At 7 theme words, this is one of the denser puzzles in the archive. The grid is packed, so words will be closer together. With 8 letters, the spangram is mid-length — long enough to stand out in the grid but still requiring careful scanning to trace from edge to edge. Originally published on a Thursday, Puzzle #376 is a more recent addition to the 509+ puzzle archive.

#376
Puzzle Number
7
Theme Words
8
Spangram Letters
Medium
Difficulty

How to approach "The ears have it!"

  • The energetic theme title suggests vivid, expressive vocabulary. Look for words that match the theme's bold tone and emotional charge.
  • There are 7 theme words packed into this grid. Try to find 2-3 shorter words first to free up space and make the remaining words easier to trace.
  • Work from the corners of the grid — corner letters have fewer possible neighboring connections, which limits where words can go and makes them easier to trace.
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Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive of past Strands puzzles. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times Company. NYT Strands is a trademark of The New York Times Company. Today's daily puzzle is free at nytimes.com/games/strands.