Thursday, December 18 (Natural Remedies)

A week from today is Christmas. It’s been so nice here, it really hasn’t felt like Christmas much to me. I’m behind on my Christmas shopping, also, but I usually am. I enjoy getting people gifts but I don’t like to come up with so many gifts, and all by a specific time. I prefer to sort of stumble across things I think someone might like and just give it spontaneously. C’est la vie. I’ve had a bit of a cold the last couple days, so today’s Strands is pretty on-point. Let’s solve it!

Looking for Wednesday’s Strands? Check out our guide right here.

How To Play Strands

Strands is the newest game in the New York Times’ stable of puzzle games. It’s a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day we’re given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the day’s theme.

Spoilers ahead.

Today’s Strands Hints

Read on for today’s theme and some hints to help you uncover today’s words.

Today’s Theme: Natural remedies

Hint: Think along the lines of chicken noodle soup or tea.

Here are the first two letters of each word:

Remember, spoilers ahead!

What Are Today’s Strands Answers?

Today’s spangram is: IMMUNE BOOSTERS

Here’s the full list of words:

• ELDERBERRY
• TURMERIC
• GARLIC
• HONEY
• LEMON

Here’s the completed Strands grid:

Today’s Strands Breakdown

Once again, a pretty straightforward Strands, especially if you’ve used these various IMMUNEBOOSTERS in the past (which I have). Of course, GARLIC goes in most savory dishes I make, and HONEY and LEMON go nicely in a steaming mug of tea. ELDERBERRY isn’t something I normally use, but it’s in teas and supplements. TURMERIC is another good spice you can add to lots of dishes. It’s good and good for you . . . .

How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.

Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!