Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a puzzler. Some of the answers are long and a bit tough to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Dire straits.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Oh no! Get me out of here!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• PICK, PIED, DIRT, DIRE, MANE, MILE, MAIL, MALE, DAME, FRET, MACE, RENT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• PICKLE, MESS, MUDDLE, DILEMMA, QUANDRY, PREDICAMENT

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is INAFIX. To find it, look for the I that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind up.

Microsoft will increase the prices of its Xbox Series consoles once again in October. This latest increase comes just five months after it raised prices due to tariffs. 

An Xbox support page notes the upcoming price increase happening on Oct. 3, as first reported by Windows Central on Friday. Console costs will jump $20 to $70, depending on the version. 

The new prices are:

• Xbox Series S 512GB: $380 to $400
• Xbox Series S 1TB: $430 to $450 
• Xbox Series X Digital: $550 to $600
• Xbox Series X: $600 to $650
• Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: $730 to $800

To provide some context on the pricing, the Xbox Series S 512GB was $300 at launch, and the Xbox Series X was $500. In December 2023, the Xbox Series X went for as low as $350. 

Microsoft says the price changes are «due to the changes in the macroeconomic environment.» This likely refers to the tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump, which have also caused prices to increase for other video game hardware from Nintendo and Sony. 

«We are navigating an incredibly dynamic environment right now,» a company source told Windows Central. «We’ve assessed the changing macroeconomic environment and addressed the applicable impacts.»

When asked for further comment, a Microsoft spokesperson pointed CNET to the Xbox support page.

Where to get an Xbox Series X at its original price

The Xbox price hike won’t take effect until Oct. 3. Until then, you can pick up the Xbox Series consoles for the current pricing at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart. 

Like your martinis shaken, not stirred? If you have dreams of joining James Bond in the British foreign intelligence service, MI6, you’d better know how to use a virtual private network. On Friday, the outgoing chief of MI6, Richard Moore, announced a new dark web portal called Silent Courier that MI6 will use to recruit agents online. If you want to use it, make sure you’re familiar with VPNs.

Silent Courier marks MI6’s first attempt to use the dark web for recruitment. The government statement notes that the anonymity of the platform allows «anyone, anywhere in the world with access to sensitive information relating to terrorism or hostile intelligence activity to securely contact the UK and offer their services.»

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The statement goes on to specifically call out «potential new agents in Russia and around the world.»

MI6 will post instructions on how to access the recruitment portal on its verified YouTube channel, and advises those interested to «use trustworthy VPNs and devices not linked to themselves, to mitigate risks which exist in some countries.»

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, protecting knowledge of your physical location. So it makes sense that a Russian who’s dreaming of spying against their own country might not want to reveal where they’re located.

Read more: Being James Bond: How 007 Movies Got Me Into Intelligence Work

The US has tried something similar

The statement notes that MI6’s portal is similar to an approach taken by the CIA, which published social-media videos targeting potential Russian spies in 2023.

One such video, released in January 2024, tried to convince Russians who might be dissatisfied with Russia’s war in Ukraine to join the US side as a spy.

According to Reuters, in the video, a fictional employee of Russia’s military intelligence agency is presented as a patriot who loves Russia, but feels betrayed by corruption among the country’s leadership. In the video’s final shot, he is seen reaching out to the CIA from a mobile phone.

Read more: Ready for a New James Bond? This Is Your Ultimate 007 Guide to How We Got Here

James Bond: The Best Order to Watch Every 007 Film

+25 More

See all photos