NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #353 (Wednesday, February 19 2025)

NYT Strands on a cellphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide/NY Times/Shutterstock)
Strands today: Quick menu

Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "Pick your own prefix" — is a rather clever one that it took an embarrassing amount of time to click for me.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #353, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #353, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #353.

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #353 is... "Pick your own prefix".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Small fruits".

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

  • BEAR
  • CLUCK
  • HUSK
  • CLEAR
  • TRAWL
  • GLARES
  • SHINE

Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with B and ends with S.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's BERRIES.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #353?

Drumroll, please...

  • GOLDEN
  • BLUE
  • BLACK
  • RASP
  • STRAW
  • HUCKLE
  • ELDER
  • SALMON

Strands #353

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was BERRIES.

Strands #353

“Pick your own prefix”

🔵🔵🔵💡

🔵🔵🟡🔵

💡🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. This was a painful one for me - thanks both to the clever hint within the theme, which I completely failed to spot, and because some of the prefixes in question just aren't used in the UK.

That theme was "Pick your own prefix" and when I found GOLDEN in the bottom-left corner, I thought it was (somewhat tenuously) about positive nicknames to attach to your own.

When that failed, I resorted to looking for colors, which proved a bit more fruitful (pun very much intended), even if I didn't know why. I found BLUE in the bottom-right corner, followed by BLACK spelt backwards in the middle of the board.

But now I was stumped, and I had to use a clue, which revealed RASP. I thought back to prefixes and realized it had to be about types of berries - something confirmed when I found STRAW spelt backwards along the top of the grid.

With that, I connected BERRIES across the middle of the board for the spangram, and tried to find the remaining three answers.

HUCKLE was in the top-right corner, but then I was stumped again. I had to resort to a second clue, which revealed ELDER. That left one I've never heard of in the UK - SALMON - to complete the puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #352 right here.

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. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

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