Today's NYT Strands Answers, Clues, and Hints on July 20 (#869)

Strands is one of the newest daily word puzzles from the New York Times that follows the success of other popular word games like Wordle and Connections. It's often more of a brain teaser than those two, and generally takes longer, so looking for hints comes in handy if you're hoping to solve today's Strands without wasting too much time. To get the most out of solving today's Strands puzzle, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with its unique gameplay mechanics.