New Delhi, July 20 -- The NYT Strands answer for Monday, July 20, 2026, is puzzle #869, themed "Very small." The spangram is ITSYBITSY, and the five-strand words are all synonyms for diminutive size.

Hints for Strands #869 (July 20, 2026)

Hint 1: The theme describes something at the extreme lower end of the size scale. Hint 2: The spangram is a playful compound phrase most people first encounter as a child. Hint 3: Two of the strand words are often used in scientific or technical contexts. Hint 4: The shortest strand word has only four letters.

Spangram: ITSYBITSY

ITSYBITSY comes from the nursery rhyme "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" - the tiny arachnid that climbs the waterspout. The phrase is a reduplication, a linguistic pattern where a wo...