NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, March 18 (game #380)

NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
(Image credit: New York Times)
Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #379).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #380) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's NYT Strands theme is… Grrr

NYT Strands today (game #380) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • SOUTH
  • REED
  • ROVE
  • SCAR
  • SIRE
  • SANK

NYT Strands today (game #380) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

Spangram has 9 letters

NYT Strands today (game #380) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 6th row

Last side: right, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #380) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 380 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #380, are…

  • TOUCHY
  • GRUMPY
  • PEEVED
  • IRKED
  • SURLY
  • CRANKY
  • VEXED
  • SPANGRAM: CROSSWORD

  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

The words featured in today’s search perfectly sum up my feelings when I’m struggling with Strands.

Although not today, as I cheerfully breezed through the puzzle – with the only stumbling block being when I thought CROSS was one of the answers, before seeing it was the Spangram: CROSSWORD. Top punning.

I like to think of all of these words as being generational, with babies being VEXED by the complications of the world, children PEEVED by their parents’ invasions and teenagers SURLY without really knowing why before becoming TOUCHY if they’re misunderstood.

Then, as we age, there is the slow, almost inevitable progression from feeling IRKED, then GRUMPY, before the final era of Grrr – when your loved ones forgive you but your neighbors dislike you for being CRANKY.

It’s best to accept these emotions, but the more fleeting they are the better life is.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.


Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 17 March, game #379)

  • CROW
  • CHIPS
  • WELLS
  • BEDDING
  • BLUSHING
  • STRICKEN
  • SPANGRAM: SPOONERISMS

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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Contributor

Johnny is a freelance pop culture journalist who has been writing about the internet, music, football and famous people since the iPhone was just a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. Previously known by the pseudonym the Pop Detective, his journalistic career began making up stories about Madonna's addiction to sausage rolls (this is not true by the way). A man of few talents, his career is rich and various and includes the highs of interviewing Elton John and Blur; and the lows of interviewing Right Said Fred, appearing on a Channel 5 documentary about Peter Kay, and fact-checking the instruction manual for a German cooker. Somehow still affording to live in North London he is at his happiest riding his bicycle and shouting at pigeons.

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