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Today's NYT Strands hints and answer: solutions to game #740, March 13

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Need help with Strands #740? Here are some hints and the answers

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Need a bit of help with NYT Strands today? No shame in that, and you've come to the right place. Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #740 as well as the answers, should it come to that.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #740.

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Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints

The official theme for NYT Strands #740 is... "Mountain band".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "American folk."

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:

  • AMINO
  • CHARMS
  • FIRM
  • BARGE
  • RAGU
  • CLUE
  • GRIDDLE
  • RIDDLES
  • FILES

Still struggling? The spangram touches two opposite sides of the board (but can start and end anywhere), and will give you a hint about the connection between the answers. Today, it starts with 'B' and ends with 'C'.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's BLUEGRASSMUSIC.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #740?

Drumroll, please...

  • GUITAR
  • BANJO
  • FIDDLE
  • HARMONICA
  • MANDOLIN

Strands #740

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was BLUEGRASSMUSIC.

Strands #740

“Mountain band”

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Hi Strands fans. After being initially a bit confused by today's puzzle, I eventually got through without using any clues.

I could see the word "music" in the middle of the grid, but wasn't sure how to land it as part of the spangram, so went searching for other words.

Eventually I found GUITAR in the bottom-right corner, which set me off hunting for instruments. Sure enough, I then saw BANJO in the top-left corner, which revealed a possible route to "music".

Working backwards, I was able to connect BLUEGRASSMUSIC in a loop from the bottom of the grid to the top and back again. Hidden in the middle of this spangram was FIDDLE.

Two answers were left to find, both isolated in their own segments. HARMONICA was on the right-hand side, with MANDOLIN in the bottom-left corner to complete the puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #739.

Strands #739

(Image credit: Alan Martin)
  • TOTAL
  • COMPLETE
  • VERITABLE
  • THOROUGH
  • UTTER

...and the spangram was DYEDINTHEWOOL.

Strands #739

“Out-and-out”

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Hi Strands fans. I lucked out with today's puzzle, not having a clue what the theme of "Out-and-out" meant when I first saw it.

But then I accidentally connected TOTALLY near the top-left corner, while looking for clue words and it turned blue. With the four letters immediately above it spelling "dyed", I followed this along and was able to complete the spangram of DYEDINTHEWOOL, with it ending at the bottom of the grid.

I still didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but with the board split in two, things were quite a bit easier. I found COMPLETE in the top-right corner, which only left room for one more word below it: VERITABLE.

There were two answers left to find on the opposite side. I connected THOROUGH in the bottom-left corner first, and that just left UTTER above it to complete the puzzle.

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.