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 #494, as well as the answers, should it come to that.

Looking for some help with today's NYT Strands? An extra hint and the answers are right here to help you finish the grid and keep your streak intact.

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.