#716Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Strands answers for February 17, 2026 — “The year of the ...” (#716)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for February 17, 2026 (puzzle #716) is ZODIACSIGNS, a 11-letter answer to the theme "The year of the ...". The 7 theme words are DRAGON, GOAT, HORSE, MONKEY, RABBIT, SNAKE and TIGER.
Where is each answer on the February 17 Strands board?
Strands #716 resolves to these 7 theme words plus the spangram ZODIACSIGNS.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRAGON | 6 | row 5, column 3 | row 4, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| GOAT | 4 | row 2, column 5 | row 2, column 2 | right to left |
| HORSE | 5 | row 3, column 1 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| MONKEY | 6 | row 7, column 2 | row 8, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| RABBIT | 6 | row 4, column 2 | row 8, column 1 | top to bottom |
| SNAKE | 5 | row 1, column 4 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TIGER | 5 | row 7, column 5 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| ZODIACSIGNS | 11 | row 5, column 1 | row 6, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the February 17 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #716 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 11 letters7 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 R-S-E-S-N-A, row 2 reads O-T-A-O-G-K, row 3 reads H-D-I-A-C-E, row 4 reads O-R-N-O-G-S, row 5 reads Z-A-D-R-A-I, row 6 reads B-B-S-N-G-R, row 7 reads I-M-K-E-T-E, and row 8 reads T-O-N-Y-I-G.
How hard was the February 17 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #716 as easy: it sits at the 20th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
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 February 17 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #716 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Rohit Crasta. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the February 17 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on February 17, 2026?
The Strands clue for February 17, 2026 is “The year of the ...”, on puzzle #716. It is answered by the spangram ZODIACSIGNS, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on February 17, 2026?
The 7 Strands theme words for February 17, 2026 are DRAGON, GOAT, HORSE, MONKEY, RABBIT, SNAKE and TIGER, plus the spangram ZODIACSIGNS.
What was the big word in the February 17, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for February 17, 2026 is ZODIACSIGNS, 11 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 6, column 3. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “The year of the ...” mean?
The Strands theme “The year of the ...” for February 17, 2026 means ZODIACSIGNS — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 7 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands February 17, 2026?
Strands puzzle #716 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the February 17, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #716 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 20% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on February 17, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 is #716, 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 February 2026, part of the full Strands archive.