Today's NYT Strands puzzle really played tricks on my mind. Strands themes are usually just a subtle hint about the words in the solution, so I didn't expect "the horror" to be about the most obvious topic, but it is.

Here's a look at how to play Strands and the solutions to the May 4th puzzle, "The Horror".

You should be on track to play the May 4 NYT Strands if you take the theme almost literally. As usual, the best ways to play the game are to search for the Spangram first or find three random words, whether they fit the theme or not, just to unlock that first clue that makes everything fall into place.

I always prefer to unlock hints first, because it is very difficult for me to find the right letters to connect right away. Finding one word from the solution helps me to narrow down the possibilities, because each letter is only a part of one word.