#89Friday, May 31, 2024
Strands answers for May 31, 2024 — “On the yellow brick road” (#89)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for May 31, 2024 (puzzle #89) is RUBYSLIPPERS, a 12-letter answer to the theme "On the yellow brick road". The 5 theme words are POPPIES, RAINBOW, SCARECROW, TWISTER and WIZARD.
Where is each answer on the May 31 Strands board?
The 5 theme words for Strands on May 31, 2024 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| POPPIES | 7 | row 6, column 6 | row 6, column 1 | right to left |
| RAINBOW | 7 | row 8, column 6 | row 7, column 1 | right to left |
| SCARECROW | 9 | row 1, column 6 | row 2, column 2 | right to left |
| TWISTER | 7 | row 6, column 3 | row 4, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| WIZARD | 6 | row 3, column 5 | row 5, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| RUBYSLIPPERS | 12 | row 4, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the May 31 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for May 31, 2024 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 12 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 O-R-C-A-C-S, row 2 reads B-W-E-R-I-Z, row 3 reads U-Y-S-L-W-A, row 4 reads R-T-E-R-I-R, row 5 reads S-I-P-P-D-S, row 6 reads S-W-T-E-R-P, row 7 reads W-E-I-P-P-O, and row 8 reads O-B-N-I-A-R.
How hard was the May 31 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #89 comes out above average, ahead of 67% 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 May 31 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #89 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 May 31 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on May 31, 2024?
The Strands clue for May 31, 2024 is “On the yellow brick road”, on puzzle #89. It is answered by the spangram RUBYSLIPPERS, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on May 31, 2024?
The 5 Strands theme words for May 31, 2024 are POPPIES, RAINBOW, SCARECROW, TWISTER and WIZARD, plus the spangram RUBYSLIPPERS.
What was the big word in the May 31, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for May 31, 2024 is RUBYSLIPPERS, 12 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 5, 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 “On the yellow brick road” mean?
The Strands theme “On the yellow brick road” for May 31, 2024 means RUBYSLIPPERS — 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 May 31, 2024?
Strands puzzle #89 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the May 31, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #89 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 67% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on May 31, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, May 31, 2024 is #89, 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 May 2024, part of the full Strands archive.