NYT Strands Answer Today (#944) – 3 Oct 2026 Solution & Hints
- About Today’s Strands
- Today’s Theme
- General Hints
- Spangram Length
- Spangram Orientation
- Spangram First & Last Letters
- First & Last Letters of All Words
- Spangram (Click to Reveal)
- Spangram Definition (Click to Reveal)
- Sample Words (Click to Reveal)
- Full Solution (Click to Reveal)
- Definitions of All Words (Click to Reveal)
About Today’s Strands
Puzzle #944 (published 3 Oct 2026). One special word — the Spangram — spans the grid and ties the theme together.
Today’s Theme
Theme: A figment of your imagination
General Hints
- Tonight’s grid is haunted by things that flicker, fool the eye, or vanish the moment you reach for them.
- Every entry here describes something your senses swear is there — until it isn’t.
- Think folklore and ghost stories: shapes in the fog that were never really solid to begin with.
Spangram Length
The Spangram has 12 letters and is two words.
Spangram Orientation
The Spangram runs horizontal, stretching across the grid from the left edge to the right edge.
Spangram First & Last Letters
Begins with W and ends with P.
Pattern preview (length-obscured): W___P
Note: We always display first/last letters as X___Y with three underscores, regardless of true length.
First & Last Letters of All Words
- Word 1: C___A
- Word 2: I___N
- Word 3: M___E
- Word 4: P___M
- Word 5: S___R
Spangram preview: W___P
Spangram
Click to reveal today’s Spangram
Will-o’-the-Wisp
Spangram Definition
Click to reveal the definition of the Spangram
Will-o’-the-Wisp — An eerie flickering light sometimes seen over marshes at night, long explained in folklore as a mischievous spirit leading travelers astray.
Example: “Hikers in the old stories blamed a Will-o’-the-Wisp for leading them off the marked trail after dark.”
Sample Words
Click to reveal two words from today’s solution
- CHIMERA
- MIRAGE
Full Solution
Click to reveal the complete answers
Theme: A figment of your imagination
Spangram: Will-o’-the-Wisp
All words:
- CHIMERA
- ILLUSION
- MIRAGE
- PHANTASM
- SPECTER
- Will-o’-the-Wisp (Spangram)
Definitions of All Words
Click to reveal definitions of today’s words
- CHIMERA — A creature or idea made up of wildly mismatched parts, used to describe something fantastical and unreal.
- ILLUSION — A perception that doesn’t match reality, often created deliberately to deceive the senses.
- MIRAGE — An optical effect, often seen in deserts or on hot roads, that makes something appear where nothing actually is.
- PHANTASM — A ghostly or dreamlike apparition that exists only in the mind.
- SPECTER — A ghost or haunting presence, often used figuratively for a looming, unsettling possibility.
- Will-o’-the-Wisp — An eerie flickering light sometimes seen over marshes at night, long explained in folklore as a mischievous spirit leading travelers astray.
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