Today's NYT Strands hints and answer — solutions to game #469, June 15
Need help with Strands #469? Here are some hints and the answers

Need a bit of help with NYT Strands today? No shame in that, and you've come to the right place. Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #469, as well as the answers, should it come to that.
We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #469, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #469.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #469 is... "Here's to him!"
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Dad words".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- AWARD
- PLAY
- SPORES
- CZAR
- PORES
- ROLES
- POOL
Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with 'F' and ends with 'Y'.
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Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's FATHERSDAY.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #469?
Drumroll, please...
- POPSICLE
- POPCORN
- CHALUPA
- CLAWDAD
- PAPARAZZI
...and the spangram was FATHERSDAY.
Strands #469
“Here's to him!”
🟡🔵🔵🔵
💡🔵🔵
Hi Strands fans. A theoretically easy one today, but I still needed to use a clue thanks to a word I've literally never heard used here in the U.K.
Obviously, as it's Father's Day today, the theme of "Here's to him!" was likely to be something to do with that, and I duly connected the spangram of FATHERSDAY to split the board in two.
I then found POPSICLE in the bottom left, and realized the theme actually refered to things with synonyms for "Dad" in the mix. Confirming my theory, I found POPCORN to its right to complete the bottom half.
Moving onto the top, I found CHALUPA. I guess that's because it has "pa" in it, but that's more then a little tenuous.
I was now stumped, and used a clue, which revealed CRAWDAD, the word I've never heard used (it's apparently crayfish in my part of the world). That just left PAPARAZZI to complete the puzzle.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #468.
- STRIPE
- STAR
- CROWN
- TRIANGLE
- MOON
- SHIELD
- CROSS
...and the spangram was FLAGSYMBOL.
Strands #468
“It's a banner day”
🔵🔵🔵🟡
🔵🔵🔵🔵
Hi Strands fans. After a little initial confusion, I was able to cotton on to what today's puzzle was all about without using any clues.
That was because I saw the word "flag" quite early on, and while I couldn't see a way to connect it, I assumed it would be part of the spangram so made a mental note to look for flag-related things.
Sure enough, I found STRIPE on the left-hand side, and STAR above it. I then located CROWN in the opposide corner, and was able to finish the spangram in the gap these words created: FLAGSYMBOL.
With the board neatly divided in two, I was able to mop up the four remaining answers pretty easily. TRIANGLE was in the bottom-left corner, with MOON directly above it to complete the left-hand side. On the right, I quickly got both SHIELD and CROSS to complete the puzzle.
Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.
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