#173Friday, August 23, 2024
Strands answers for August 23, 2024 — “The nose knows” (#173)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for August 23, 2024 (puzzle #173) is COMMONSCENTS, a 12-letter answer to the theme "The nose knows". The 6 theme words are CEDAR, LAVENDER, LEMON, MUSK, ROSE and SANDALWOOD.
Where is each answer on the August 23 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on August 23, 2024 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEDAR | 5 | row 2, column 1 | row 2, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| LAVENDER | 8 | row 2, column 4 | row 3, column 1 | right to left |
| LEMON | 5 | row 8, column 2 | row 8, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| MUSK | 4 | row 6, column 5 | row 8, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| ROSE | 4 | row 7, column 1 | row 5, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| SANDALWOOD | 10 | row 1, column 5 | row 5, column 4 | top to bottom |
| COMMONSCENTS | 12 | row 3, column 2 | row 8, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the August 23 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for August 23, 2024 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 12 letters6 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads E-D-A-M-S-A, row 2 reads C-R-O-L-M-N, row 3 reads R-C-V-A-O-D, row 4 reads E-N-E-N-A-L, row 5 reads D-E-S-D-O-W, row 6 reads O-S-C-E-M-O, row 7 reads R-M-O-T-N-U, and row 8 reads E-L-N-S-K-S.
How hard was the August 23 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the August 23, 2024 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 81% of all Strands puzzles.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the August 23 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #173 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the August 23 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on August 23, 2024?
The Strands clue for August 23, 2024 is “The nose knows”, on puzzle #173. It is answered by the spangram COMMONSCENTS, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on August 23, 2024?
The 6 Strands theme words for August 23, 2024 are CEDAR, LAVENDER, LEMON, MUSK, ROSE and SANDALWOOD, plus the spangram COMMONSCENTS.
What was the big word in the August 23, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for August 23, 2024 is COMMONSCENTS, 12 letters long, running from row 3, column 2 to row 8, column 4. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “The nose knows” mean?
The Strands theme “The nose knows” for August 23, 2024 means COMMONSCENTS — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands August 23, 2024?
Strands puzzle #173 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the August 23, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #173 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 81% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on August 23, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, August 23, 2024 is #173, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in August 2024, part of the full Strands archive.