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Today's NYT Strands hints and answer: solutions to game #749, March 22

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Need help with Strands #749? Here are some hints and the answers

NYT Strands on a cellphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide/NY Times/Shutterstock)
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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 #749 as well as the answers, should it come to that.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #749.

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

The official theme for NYT Strands #749 is... "Trademarked no more".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "A group of products."

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

  • RICE
  • GAMER
  • RACE
  • PECS
  • SPECTRUM
  • PEEL
  • TALE
  • RESPECT
  • DRUMS

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 'G' and ends with 'M'.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's GENERICTERM.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #749?

Drumroll, please...

  • ZIPPER
  • ASPIRIN
  • THERMOS
  • DUMPSTER
  • ESCALATOR

Strands #749

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was GENERICTERM.

Strands #749

“Trademarked no more”

💡🔵💡🔵

💡🔵💡🔵

🟡🔵

Hi Strands fans. As you'll see from the grid above, I was completely lost throughout today's puzzle. Not because I didn't get it, but due to a lack of knowledge over which products are no longer trademarked.

That meant that it was a series of clues giving me answers rather than any skill. The game gave me ZIPPER in the top-left corner, followed by ASPIRIN in the bottom left. THERMOS was in the top-right with DUMPSTER alongside ASPIRIN at the bottom.

It was only then that I was able to get the spangram spelt out diagonally above it: GENERICTERM.

That left a simple anagram to decode. I unpicked it to spell ESCALATOR to stumble over the finish line. Hopefully tomorrow's puzzle will redeem me.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Strands answers for game #748.

Strands #748

(Image credit: Alan Martin)
  • MUZZLE
  • SNOUT
  • SCHNOZZLE
  • PROBOSCIS
  • BEAK
  • HONKER

...and the spangram was ONTHENOSE.

Strands #748

“Sniff sniff”

🔵🔵🟡🔵

🔵🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. After a slow start, I was able to complete today's puzzle without using any clues.

Originally I thought "Sniff sniff" might refer to the oncoming hayfever that many of us are going to fall victim to. But the two double 'Z's on the left-hand side had my full attention.

I connected MUZZLE which wasn't part of the plan, but it helped me find SNOUT directly below it, which in turn revealed this was all about noses. Sure enough, I saw the word "nose" to its right, and was able to follow it backwards to spell out the spangram of ONTHENOSE.

Now it was just a case of finding nasal synonyms. SCHNOZZLE was in the top-left corner to make use of the second double 'Z', and I then saw PROBOSCIS in the bottom-right corner.

BEAK was above it, and that just left HONKER in the top-right corner 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.