#681Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Strands answers for January 13, 2026 — “You need to chill” (#681)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 13, 2026 (puzzle #681) is FROZENFOOD, a 10-letter answer to the theme "You need to chill". The 5 theme words are PIZZA, POPSICLES, SHERBET, VEGETABLES and WAFFLES.
Where is each answer on the January 13 Strands board?
The 5 theme words for Strands on January 13, 2026 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIZZA | 5 | row 5, column 3 | row 6, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| POPSICLES | 9 | row 6, column 4 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| SHERBET | 7 | row 6, column 6 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| VEGETABLES | 10 | row 2, column 2 | row 2, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| WAFFLES | 7 | row 2, column 4 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| FROZENFOOD | 10 | row 5, column 6 | row 5, column 1 | right to left |
What did the January 13 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for January 13, 2026 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 10 letters5 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 A-B-L-E-F-L, row 2 reads T-V-S-W-F-E, row 3 reads E-E-N-E-A-S, row 4 reads G-O-F-Z-O-R, row 5 reads D-O-P-E-H-F, row 6 reads Z-I-A-P-R-S, row 7 reads E-Z-C-O-T-B, and row 8 reads S-L-I-S-P-E.
How hard was the January 13 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the January 13, 2026 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 97% 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 January 13 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #681 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 January 13 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 13, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 13, 2026 is “You need to chill”, on puzzle #681. It is answered by the spangram FROZENFOOD, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 13, 2026?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 13, 2026 are PIZZA, POPSICLES, SHERBET, VEGETABLES and WAFFLES, plus the spangram FROZENFOOD.
What was the big word in the January 13, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 13, 2026 is FROZENFOOD, 10 letters long, running from row 5, column 6 to row 5, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “You need to chill” mean?
The Strands theme “You need to chill” for January 13, 2026 means FROZENFOOD — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands January 13, 2026?
Strands puzzle #681 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 13, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #681 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 97% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 13, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 is #681, 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 January 2026, part of the full Strands archive.