Looking for a different day?A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, October 11 (game #952).Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Strands today (game #953) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?• Today's NYT Strands theme is… In a manner of speakingNYT Strands today (game #953) - hint #2 - clue wordsPlay any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.SLINGRANGERFOULGONELONGRACONNYT Strands today (game #953) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?• Spangram has 12 lettersNYT Strands today (game #953) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?• First side: left, 8th row• Last side: right, 4th rowRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Strands today (game #953) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Strands, game #953, are…PARLANCEJARGONVERNACULARLINGODIALECTSPANGRAM: TURNOFPHRASEMy rating: EasyMy score: PerfectAnother easy game where I got the Spangram second (there are no prizes or badges for that, unfortunately). Very annoying, although I did appreciate how TURNOFPHRASE took a turn across the board.I was expecting to find the word “slang” on the board, but made do with the non-game word “sling”. Instead, we had the many different ways in which languages can be described.Personally, I think DIALECT is fascinating, particularly how someone in the same country can ask for a cup of coffee in a hundred different ways depending on where they come fromYesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, October 11, game #952)PAGERICEBOXINKWELLTYPEWRITERTELEGRAMSPANGRAM: OLDFASHIONEDWhat is NYT Strands?Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.