NYT Strands Answer Today #780 Wednesday, 22 April 2026

Welcome to BriefLedger’s daily guide for the NYT Strands puzzle. Today is Wednesday, 22 April 2026 — Strands #780. If you’re after hints first, you’re in the right place: the full answer is hidden below a clear spoiler warning so you can take as many hints as you need before we reveal anything.

NYT Strands Hints for 22 April 2026 (No Spoilers)

Before we give anything away, here are five gentle hints to nudge you in the right direction:

• Hint 1 — Theme: Today’s theme is tied to an annual global event celebrated on 22 April every year.
• Hint 2 — The clue: The official in-game clue is “Love your mother” — think planet, not parent.
• Hint 3 — Word type: All theme answers are action words — things you do to help the environment.
• Hint 4 — Letter count: Theme answers range from 5 to 7 letters. The spangram is much longer — 12 letters — and stretches from one side of the board to the other.
• Hint 5 — First letters: Theme answers begin with the letters R and D. The spangram starts with C.

Still need a little more? Some useful filler words to unlock in-game hints include: DEER, CREE, LATE, FLAT, DIET, PAVE, SLAT, CONE, LOIN. Any four-letter-or-longer word you find will help unlock a theme word.

NYT Strands Answer for 22 April 2026

Today’s Strands theme is Earth Day, and fittingly, every answer reflects one of the core principles of the environmental movement. Here are all six theme answers:

Today’s Spangram:

To find CONSERVATION on the board, start with the C four letters down on the far-left column, then wind up and over to the opposite side. It’s the word that ties the whole puzzle together — conservation is the overarching principle behind every individual action in the theme answers.

The puzzle timed its Earth Day theme perfectly: 22 April has been observed as Earth Day since 1970, when American Senator Gaylord Nelson launched it after witnessing the devastation of a 1969 oil spill. Today it is marked in more than 190 countries, and the UN officially recognises it as International Mother Earth Day — which makes the in-game clue “Love your mother” especially apt.

How Did We Do Today?

We’d rate today’s Strands a medium challenge. The Earth Day theme is a warm, accessible hook — most players will make the connection quickly — but locating every theme word on the board, and especially unspooling the 12-letter spangram CONSERVATION, takes a careful eye. If you aced it without any hints, nice work! Share your score in the comments and let us know how many hint words you needed to unlock.

Missed yesterday’s puzzle? Catch up with our NYT Strands answer for Tuesday, 21 April 2026 (#779). You might also enjoy our look at the UK video games market hitting a record £8.76bn — proof that gaming culture in Britain has never been stronger.