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NYT Strands Answer & Hints — “That's not very polite”, January 21, 2026

Stuck on the January 21, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle? Here are progressive hints and the full answer for the “That's not very polite” puzzle (Strands #382 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 21, 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 21, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle is “That's not very polite”. 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 “That's not very polite” puzzle is 10 letters long and starts with the letter D. 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 21, 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 21, 2026 NYT Strands “That's not very polite” puzzle is DONTBERUDE. 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 21, 2026 NYT Strands “That's not very polite” puzzle:

  • BURP
  • GLOAT
  • INTERRUPT
  • POINT
  • SHOUT
  • STARE
  • TEASE

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

Answers for the January 21, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle. Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive — today's NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com/games/strands.

About the "That's not very polite" NYT Strands puzzle

The theme "That's not very polite" sets the scene for this Strands puzzle with a descriptive phrase that hints at what the hidden words have in common. Descriptive themes in Strands work like a title for a category — they paint a picture, and the theme words are the details that fill it in. This general puzzle asks you to find words that fit within the world the theme describes, with the spangram acting as the key that connects them all.

At 7 theme words, this is one of the denser puzzles in the archive. The grid is packed, so words will be closer together. The 10-letter spangram is notably long, consuming a good chunk of the grid's 48 letters. Its size makes it easier to find if you focus on the grid's edges. Originally published on a Wednesday, Puzzle #382 is a more recent addition to the 509+ puzzle archive.

#382
Puzzle Number
7
Theme Words
10
Spangram Letters
Challenging
Difficulty

How to approach "That's not very polite"

  • The theme paints a picture. Brainstorm 5-10 words that come to mind when you read it, then scan the grid for those words or close variants.
  • With 7 theme words and a long spangram, nearly every letter in the grid belongs to a word. Start with the spangram — it uses many letters and opens up the board significantly.
  • Every single letter in the grid belongs to exactly one word. If you've found most theme words, the remaining letters must spell out what's left — use process of elimination.
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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.