Need help with today's NYT strand? Today's theme, “Best of the best” is quite difficult. In fact, I had a hard time understanding it until I answered all the questions correctly!

Below are some helpful hints and answers for Strand #238 when you need them. I'll start with the hints and then the full answer to Strand #238.

WARNING: There are spoilers for Strands #238.

The official theme for NYT Strands #238 is... “The Best of the Best.”

And here's an unofficial tip from me: “Top Dog.”

If you're still in the dark, here are a few useful words that will give you valuable hint tokens:

Still struggling? Spangram gives you a hint on conjunctions. Today it starts with a 'P' and ends with an 'R'.

Scroll down to see what it is.

PERFECTPAIR.

Now, what's the answer to today's strand?

Drumroll, please.

... Spangram was PERFECTPAIR.

Strands #238

“Best of the best”

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Hello Strands fans! I am ashamed to admit that I didn't really understand the subject of this puzzle until I got all the answers on the board. This is despite the fact that with no hints, I immediately recognized the spangram PERFECTPAIR.

I think you already know the answer, but if not, I will explain it at the end. But first, let me explain how I got there.

After getting the spangram, I assumed it was a proper noun, hence I got CLASS first; PARTY, CROP, and LITTER are words I found on the way to completing the bottom half.

I did the same for the top half, just looking at the words and connecting them appropriately. I started with CREAM, followed by PICK. Then I split the remaining eight letters into HEAD and LIFE.

So what connections are there? The bottom half of the word pairs with the bottom half of the answer, creating the famous phrase for something being “the best.”

In other words, CREAM of the CROP, PICK of the LITTER, LIFE of the PARTY, and HEAD of the CLASS. It's a clever puzzle, but it never quite got into my head until the very end!

Reading this late in the day? The full text of Strand's solution to yesterday's game #237 can be found here.