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 is a tough one. Some of the answers are really difficult 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: Far from ordinary.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Not your average situation.

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:

• BITE, CARE, RACE, DIRT, HIED, WIRE, MALL, PALL, REAL, QUIT, MADE, DAME, WALL, CENT, BARE

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:

• ZANY, ABSURD, QUIRKY, MADCAP, BIZARRE, ECCENTRIC

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is OFFTHEWALL. To find it, look for the O that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Whether you’re preparing for a trip or want a better way to focus on the job, a pair of noise-canceling headphones is a must. Though Apple, Beats and Bose are some of the best-known brands out there, Dyson is in on the mix. None of these brands comes cheap, but we’ve found a pair of the Dyson OnTrac headphones for a record low of $260 at Amazon right now. This saves you a massive $240 for a limited time, and is a fantastic deal for anyone who didn’t get to shop this past Labor Day weekend. Buying now can also help your future finances if you have any tariff concerns.

Though not as dramatic of a discount, Best Buy also has them on sale for $200 off, down to $300.

Dyson’s OnTrac headphones can reduce noise by up to a massive 40 decibels, which should help you avoid distractions from typical office noises, shuffling or other people’s conversations.

With a battery life of up to 55 hours, a quick charge once a week should keep your headphones ready if you use the OnTrac headphones throughout your work day. If you’re in a pinch, a 10-minute charge can provide up to 2.5 hours of battery life so you can get through your flights, bus rides or other tasks.

Dyson also includes a wider sound range of between 6Hz to 21Hz, which means you can get deep bass, clear treble, better dialogue and more out of your listening experience. The OnTrac headphones are also known for their customizable ear caps, which let you remix your look so you can feel like you constantly have new gear.

To get more out of these headphones, you can download the MyDyson app and customize your sound levels, get software updates and more.

We’re keeping tabs of any and all lingering Labor Day deals and have a list of the best over-ear headphones we’ve tested if you want to look at more options.

Why this deal matters

Dyson makes excellent appliances, and this pair of headphones is no exception. With a long-lasting battery life that provides you with up to 55 hours of listening time, better sound range than many other brands and custom earcup options that can help you change your look, they’re certainly unique. Plus, Amazon’s discount of $240 isn’t too shabby.

Disney will pay a $10 million penalty for mislabeling videos on YouTube and allowing personal data to be collected from children without notifying parents or getting their consent, the FTC said in an announcement.

The complaint filed in a US District Court, the FCC said, alleged that Disney uploaded videos to YouTube in channels that defaulted to «Not Made For Kids» when the videos should have been labeled «Made For Kids.»

Due to the mislabeling, videos intended for children collected more information than they should have and used that information to target advertising to children under 13. The error, which enabled features like autoplay on the videos, violated COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

A representative for Disney did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

In addition to the $10 million civil penalty for allegedly violating COPPA, Disney has agreed to comply with COPPA by notifying parents and getting consent for videos that are «Not Made For Kids» and establishing a review program on how their videos should be labeled. According to the FTC, «this forward-looking provision reflects and anticipates the growing use of age assurance technologies to protect kids online.» 

Separately, the FTC also took COPPA-related action against toy maker Apitor Technology, which makes robots aimed at children ages 6 to 14. The FTC alleges the company collected geolocated information from children via a third-party app in China. The FTC is imposing a $500,000 penalty.