NYT Strands Hints and Answers for March 16, 2024

I’m back again, Strands heads! Today’s puzzle was probably the easiest of all the ones that I have solved so far. It was also my fastest solve, for sure. However, there’s a small twist midway through the puzzle, and it may leave you slightly confused. I was, for sure. With that being said, let me take you through March 16’s NYT Strands.

What is the Theme for Today’s NYT Strands?

As revealed by the New York Times, the theme for today’s Strands is “Grow up!”.

Compared to last day’s “Old haunts” theme, this felt a lot more narrowed down right off the bat. The theme can’t lead to whole new avenues and is pretty straightforward. You’ll know what I mean soon. Having grown up hearing my parents say it all the time, the theme hits too close to home.

Oh, by the way, if you are new to this game, check out our guide on how to play NYT Strands.

Spangram Hint for Today’s Strands

Spoiler Warning #1

Even though we have tried our best to be subtle, the hints below might partially spoil the experience. Proceed with caution.

When it comes to NYT Strands, there are two categories of words in the game. The Spangrams are the ones that you should be targeting first since the other regular theme words fall under it directly. Every Strands game has one Spangram that you need to decipher. Think of it as the main theme of sorts.

Uncovering the Spangram as early on as possible makes completing the game easier. The hint for today’s Spangram is “The duty of a lifetime.”

Theme Words Hints for Today’s Strands

Now, if you have figured out the Spangram from the above hint, figuring out the theme words will understandably be fairly easy. However, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Instead, here are hints to 2 out of 8 theme words that may help you:

• Hint #1: Finally independent, but at what cost?
• Hint #2: Most innocent stage of a human’s life.

Spoiler Warning #2 The next sections reveal the answers for today’s NYT Strands. So, I’d recommend not scrolling further if you are still solving the puzzle. However, if you are stuck, I suggest scrolling a wee bit to see the Spangram answer.

Spangram Answer for NYT Strands on March 16

The Spangram for today’s NYT Strands is PARENTHOOD.

Alongside the Spangram, you have 8 theme words in today’s puzzle, which is the highest I have seen since my time playing it. That brings us to the next section. However, proceed only if you are ready to take a look at the theme words.

List of Theme Words for NYT Strands on March 16

If you are still reading this, you are probably ready to see the answers. So, let’s take a look at today’s theme words in Strands:

• ADULT
• BABY
• FROG
• TADPOLE
• HORSE
• SHEEP
• LAMB
• FOAL

The theme was a very big hint to the entire game today. Seconds after I saw the theme hint, I started picking theme words like flash. I spotted ADULT and BABY at the top of the grid on opposing sides. Right in the middle of the two theme words, I found PARENT and thought of it to be another theme word. It wasn’t, and I just filled up the hint meter a bit.

However, I traced PARENT further to find PARENTHOOD flowing from top to bottom and I knew I had found the Spangram early! It was after this that I hit a roadblock, and started looking for other words like TEEN or TEENAGER. Not finding those, I ended up constructing random words such as ATOM and FETAL in an attempt to find a theme word. After a while, I filled up the hint box, and it was time to get help.

From the hint, I made out FROG from the bottom right grid, starting at the third row in the second column from the right. This finally made me realize that the “Grow up!” theme was not just about humans. With that in mind, TADPOLE in the second column, fourth row from the left was an easy find, and it turned out to be a theme word.

Next, I spotted HORSE easily as well starting in the second column and fifth row from the right. With fewer unsolved grids now, the other theme words were right there. Took me seconds to spot SHEEP, LAMB, and FOAL (did try LOAF first, hilariously enough). With that, today’s Strands was done and dusted!

Last day’s Strands had me for a moment, and I was confused at first. But, today’s game was way too simple, and apart from that hiccup in the middle, I plowed through it like a madman. The fact that I had to use that one hint is still bothering me. But, had an absolute blast solving it, nevertheless.

What about you? Did you find today’s Strands super easy as well? How many hints did you use to solve today’s game? Let me know in the comments down below!