Today, we are back with another game of NYT Strands. You have probably noticed the “we”, and yes, I was not alone in today’s puzzle. It was a group effort, and the game was much more fun because of that. Anyway, I have mentioned all the hints and answers for the March 22 NYT Strands. So, read on to know all about it.
What is the Theme for Today’s NYT Strands?
As revealed by the New York Times, the theme for today’s Strands is “Animal sounds”.
I have become very fond of these puns intertwined with the theme of daily NYT Strands. Well, is it a pun yet again, or just as direct as it seems? Sometimes, things are definitely not how they sound. Did I just drop a subtle hint for you right there? You will know soon! Read on.
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 Strands, there are two categories of words in the game. The Spangrams are the ones 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 “Things that sound similar but aren’t”.
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: Coral reefs are nature’s jewels
- Hint #2: Look out, it’s a grizzly!
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 22
The Spangram for today’s NYT Strands is HOMOPHONES.
Keeping the Spangram aside, you have 7 theme words to find in today’s puzzle. The highest number of theme words we have seen in Strands so far was on March 16. This came close.
Just like last day’s game, the theme words were easy to find this time as well. But, today’s game was more of a team effort, and hence, took us probably 5 mins to wrap up the whole game. Don’t worry, I’ll let you in on the fun too, pretty soon!
Anyway, with that being said, let’s go 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 22
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:
- HOARSE
- WAIL
- MOUSSE
- GRISLY
- CHORAL
- MUSCLE
- DEAR
As soon as I loaded up today’s Strands, I was joined by Anmol (our Editor-in-Chief) and Akshay (our Content Strategist). I think we have already established that Akshay is amazing at Strands. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out last day’s Strands. That’s also annoying, for he has already solved the puzzle before my brain registers anything.
This time though, with Anmol in the picture as well, the game was over in the blink of an eye. I was just the guy these two had to connect the letters on the board. We started the game looking for literal animal sounds like Moo and Bleat. Didn’t take the two geniuses to figure out that the game today was about HOMOPHONES. This was the Spangram for the day.
However, before we got to the Spangram, we found a couple of theme words. We found HOARSE starting at the first column, fifth row from the left. Then, WAIL was an easy find at the bottom right corner. Once we found that, our sweet tooths immediately recognized MOUSSE at the other bottom corner.
With that, GRISLY, starting at the first column and third row from the right, was a quick spot. Right above it, we had CHORAL zig-zagging through to the top. The top left corner housed MUSCLE, and under the M of the spangram today, started DEAR. With that, we finally ended today’s game.
Understandably, it was yet another game where no hints were used. This was way too much fun and did make me want to update my guide on how to play NYT Strands with an important tip – play with your friends when you can. Not only does the game become 10x more fun, it’s also faster to solve. This way, you can plow through these daily puzzles like absolute champs.
What about you? Did you end today’s Strands without using a single hint as well? If not, how many hints did you use to solve it? Let me know in the comments down below!
Sanmay Chakrabarti
