#685Saturday, January 17, 2026
Strands answers for January 17, 2026 — “That's putting it mildly!” (#685)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 17, 2026 (puzzle #685) is FOILEDAGAIN, a 11-letter answer to the theme "That's putting it mildly!". The 5 theme words are CURSES, DRAT, FIDDLESTICKS, PHOOEY and TARNATION.
Where is each answer on the January 17 Strands board?
The 5 theme words for Strands on January 17, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURSES | 6 | row 6, column 3 | row 7, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| DRAT | 4 | row 7, column 6 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| FIDDLESTICKS | 12 | row 1, column 6 | row 6, column 6 | top to bottom |
| PHOOEY | 6 | row 5, column 3 | row 3, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| TARNATION | 9 | row 1, column 3 | row 4, column 2 | top to bottom |
| FOILEDAGAIN | 11 | row 8, column 1 | row 1, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the January 17 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for January 17, 2026 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 11 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 R-A-T-N-I-F, row 2 reads N-O-E-I-D-D, row 3 reads A-O-Y-A-E-L, row 4 reads T-N-H-G-S-T, row 5 reads I-O-P-A-C-I, row 6 reads R-U-C-D-K-S, row 7 reads S-E-S-E-T-D, and row 8 reads F-O-I-L-A-R.
How hard was the January 17 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the January 17, 2026 puzzle lands in the average range — above 53% 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 17 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #685 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Sam Corbin. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the January 17 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 17, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 17, 2026 is “That's putting it mildly!”, on puzzle #685. It is answered by the spangram FOILEDAGAIN, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 17, 2026?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 17, 2026 are CURSES, DRAT, FIDDLESTICKS, PHOOEY and TARNATION, plus the spangram FOILEDAGAIN.
What was the big word in the January 17, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 17, 2026 is FOILEDAGAIN, 11 letters long, running from row 8, column 1 to row 1, 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 “That's putting it mildly!” mean?
The Strands theme “That's putting it mildly!” for January 17, 2026 means FOILEDAGAIN — 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 17, 2026?
Strands puzzle #685 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 17, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #685 rates average on a computed index, harder than 53% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 17, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, January 17, 2026 is #685, 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.