March 19, 2025 Strands Puzzle Hints and Solutions
Seeking insights and solutions for the Strands puzzle themed “Upright and grand” for March 19, 2025? This article will provide you with helpful hints, guidance, and ultimately reveal the answers.
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In the sections below, you will find subtle clues regarding today’s Strands answers, followed by the spangram and definitive answers. Take your time, and only extract the hints you need!
Clue for the Spangram
Think of two terms that describe parts of an instrument available in various designs—consider “upright” and “grand” as examples.
Clue for Theme Words
These are particular parts of the same instrument, including elements that are handled with your hands and feet, along with some internal components.
Caution: Spoilers Ahead!
The answers to today’s Strands puzzle will be disclosed shortly.
What is Today’s Spangram?
The spangram for today is PIANOPARTS.
What are the Theme Words?
The theme words for today’s puzzle include: HAMMERS, FRAME, STRINGS, PEDALS, COVER, KEYBOARD.
Below is what the completed board looks like:
Strategy for Solving Today’s Strands
The terms “upright” and “grand” are undoubtedly references to types of pianos, correct?
At first glance, PIANO and PIANOS can be observed spanning from the right side toward the center, yet their connections remain elusive.
A near-attempt to derive the word SOPRANO falters slightly.
The terms PEDAL and BOARD do not fit into the main theme.
STRINGS appears prominently in the top right corner, suggesting connections to string instruments, potentially implying components of an orchestra or a piano.
It turns out that PEDALS was the correct term instead of PEDAL.
COVER rests in the lower left area.
Ah, the spangram unveils itself: PIANOPARTS!
Thus, KEYBOARD must be the word rather than BOARD.
HAMMERS presents itself in the upper left corner.
Lastly, FRAME is confirmed.
Strands #381 “Upright and grand” 🔵🔵🔵🟡 🔵🔵🔵
How to Play Strands
The Strands game is accessible on the New York Times website and in the NYT Games app.
Upon starting the game, a board filled with letters will appear, accompanied by a clue that indicates the theme—often phrased as an expression, such as “Better with age.” Your task is to pinpoint the concealed words within the board that correlate with the puzzle’s theme.
A Fusion of Crossword and Word Search
The key term to identify is the “spangram,” a word that succinctly expresses the puzzle’s essence. For instance, within a puzzle themed “Better with age,” the spangram is FERMENTED, referring to products that indeed improve with time. The spangram will stretch across the game board either horizontally or vertically, and it will be highlighted in yellow upon discovery. Finding the spangram generally simplifies the process of completing the remaining puzzle.
In Strands, words can be arranged in any direction (up, down, sideways, or diagonally), with each letter appearing only once. There is a singular valid solution per puzzle. When you correctly identify a word, such as KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI, it will be marked in blue.
If assistance is needed during solving, submitting any non-theme words that contain at least four letters can yield a clue. After submitting three such words, the “Hint” button will activate, allowing you to highlight the letters of one theme word, although the arrangement must still be correct to form that word. If a hint is already in play on the board, and additional hints are utilized before guessing the targeted word, the order of that word’s letters will be unveiled.
Achieving Victory in Strands
Unlike other games such as Connections and Wordle, Strands offers players an opportunity to continue guessing without the possibility of losing. Each guess leads either to a correct identification, hint credit, or a shaking motion indicating that the submitted word is either too short or invalid. There are no limitations on guesses, and there is no imposed time constraint.
Success is achieved when all letters on the board have been utilized effectively, indicating that both the spangram and all theme words have been accurately identified. As with other NYT games, completing the puzzle leads to a shareable card illustrating your daily performance: blue dots 🔵 represent the theme words you discovered, a yellow dot 🟡 indicates the spangram you found, and a lightbulb 💡 signifies the words that were aided by hints.
