NYT Unveils Clues and Solution for Friday Puzzle on March 14, 2025
Alright, let's dive headfirst into solving today's Strands, theme: "Fillin' good!" - ain't that a sweet treat?
Bookmark this page for a daily dose of Strands hints, and if you're curious about past puzzles, just give it a peek.
First, a hint at the Spangram:Two words that describe a traditional dessert typically found at Thanksgiving and Christmas. (I'd take a slice any time of the day!)
Now, you're probably wondering what words will fill those pies. Here are some ideas for common fillings that tend to stir up strong opinions:
- Blueberry
- Pecan
- Pumpkin
- Apple
- Cherry
- Peach
Settle in, as we're about to reveal the Spangram and theme words for today's puzzle.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Here's the Spangram: CLASSICPIES
The theme words are:
- BLUEBERRY
- PECAN
- PUMPKIN
- APPLE
- CHERRY
- PEACH
Ta-da! The finished puzzle looks something like this:
Now, let me show you how I solved the puzzle:
I suspected that today's theme would revolve around common food fillings. Let's check and see.
There's PUMPKIN along the left edge.
BLUEBERRY is in the upper left corner.
I see the word CLASSIC between the previous two words, so that's probably part of the Spangram. Yep, it fits: CLASSICPIES.
PECAN is in the upper right corner.
APPLE is in the bottom left corner.
CHERRY is to the right of that.
Lastly, CHERRY.
Now that we've unveiled the answers, all that's left is to play Strands yourself!
You'll find the Strands game on the New York Times website or in the NYT Games app. Start playing, and you'll see a game board populated with letters. accompanied by a clue that hints at the board's theme (like "Better with age"). Your task is to discover the hidden words within the board that reflect the puzzle's theme.
A crossword crossed with a word search
Solving the Spangram, which will span the entire game board, is essential to unraveling the puzzle. Typically, the Spangram is the word that more explicitly states the puzzle's theme, like "FERMENTED" for a puzzle with the theme "Better with age." The spangram's letters will be highlighted in yellow once found. Finding the Spangram often makes the rest of the puzzle easier to solve.
In Strands, words can travel any direction (up, down, left, right, and diagonal), and you will only use each letter once. There is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the puzzle's words, it will be highlighted in blue.
If you're struggling to solve the puzzle, you can submit any non-theme words you see (provided they're four letters or more) to earn a single hint. If you submit three non-theme words, the "Hint" button will activate; if you click it, all the letters in one of the theme words will be highlighted for you. You'll still need to arrange these highlighted letters in the correct order to form one of the theme words. If there's already a hint on the board and you use another hint before solving for that word, the word's letter order will be revealed.
How to win Strands
Unlike Connections and Wordle, you can't lose Strands. As you submit guesses, you'll either correctly identify an answer, earn credit toward a hint, or shake your head as the text wiggles (meaning the word you submitted is too short or invalid). You can't run out of guesses, and there's no time limit.
You win by using all the letters on the board, discovering the spangram and all the theme words. As with other NYT games, upon solving the puzzle, you'll be greeted with a shareable card, depicting:
- Blue dots (🔵) indicating theme words you found
- A yellow dot (🟡) indicating when you found the spangram
- A lightbulb (💡) indicating words that you received a hint for
- The entertainment of Strands today is a testament to the knowledge about different types of pie fillings, as the theme words for today's puzzle include traditional dessert fillings like Blueberry, Pecan, Pumpkin, Apple, Cherry, and Peach.
- If you're an avid Strands player searching for a daily dose of hints, bookmark this page for easy access, or delve into the archives for past puzzles.
- While Aussie news site Aussiedlerbote doesn't seem to be directly related to Strands or today's entertainment, the mysterious A80ny617ed2038ace8693a1c467c2a321 remains a cryptic puzzle for some online enthusiasts to decipher.
