#690Thursday, January 22, 2026
Strands answers for January 22, 2026 — “Ode to joy” (#690)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 22, 2026 (puzzle #690) is SEVENTHHEAVEN, a 13-letter answer to the theme "Ode to joy". The 5 theme words are BLISS, ECSTASY, ELATION, EUPHORIA and RHAPSODY.
Where is each answer on the January 22 Strands board?
Here are all 5 theme words from the January 22, 2026 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLISS | 5 | row 2, column 1 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| ECSTASY | 7 | row 3, column 3 | row 3, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| ELATION | 7 | row 7, column 4 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| EUPHORIA | 8 | row 6, column 6 | row 7, column 3 | right to left |
| RHAPSODY | 8 | row 4, column 3 | row 4, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| SEVENTHHEAVEN | 13 | row 8, column 1 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the January 22 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 6 words tile all 48 cells of the January 22, 2026 grid.
Spangram — 13 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 I-S-S-S-T-N, row 2 reads B-L-C-A-S-E, row 3 reads O-D-E-Y-A-V, row 4 reads S-Y-R-H-E-T, row 5 reads P-H-T-H-A-I, row 6 reads A-E-N-L-O-E, row 7 reads E-V-A-E-N-U, and row 8 reads S-I-R-O-H-P.
How hard was the January 22 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #690 comes out hard, ahead of 90% of them.
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 22 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #690 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the January 22 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 22, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 22, 2026 is “Ode to joy”, on puzzle #690. It is answered by the spangram SEVENTHHEAVEN, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 22, 2026?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 22, 2026 are BLISS, ECSTASY, ELATION, EUPHORIA and RHAPSODY, plus the spangram SEVENTHHEAVEN.
What was the big word in the January 22, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 22, 2026 is SEVENTHHEAVEN, 13 letters long, running from row 8, column 1 to row 1, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Ode to joy” mean?
The Strands theme “Ode to joy” for January 22, 2026 means SEVENTHHEAVEN — 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 22, 2026?
Strands puzzle #690 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 22, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #690 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 90% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 22, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, January 22, 2026 is #690, 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.