Every single letter in the grid belongs to an answer.
Today's Strands puzzle theme focuses on greetings, with words like Hello, Howdy, Welcome, and Salutations forming the solution set. The spangram—a special word spanning the entire grid—is 'Good Day,' arranged diagonally rather than horizontally or vertically.
- Today's theme: greetings and ways of addressing someone
- Spangram 'Good Day' runs diagonally across the grid
- Six words to find: Hello, Howdy, Welcome, Greetings, Ahoy, Salutations
Mashable provides complete hints and answers for the New York Times Strands word puzzle game, with today's theme centered on greeting-related words and a diagonal spangram.
The New York Times Strands puzzle for March 10 centers on a simple theme: the many ways we say hello. If you're stuck on today's grid, or if you've got five minutes instead of fifteen, here's what you need to know.
Strands is the Times' twist on the word-search formula. Instead of finding words in a static grid, you're hunting for linked letters that can move up, down, left, right, or diagonally—and they can change direction mid-word, creating unexpected shapes. Every single letter in the grid belongs to an answer. There's always a theme tying the words together, and there's always a spangram: a special word or phrase that captures the day's theme and stretches across the entire grid in one direction.
Today's puzzle asks you to think about greetings. The words you're looking for all describe ways of addressing someone, ways of saying you've noticed them, ways of beginning a conversation. The list includes Hello, Howdy, Welcome, Greetings, Ahoy, and Salutations. Six words, each one a different flavor of the same human gesture.
The spangram—the word that holds the theme together and spans the grid—is Good Day. And here's the twist: it doesn't run horizontally or vertically. It's diagonal, cutting across the puzzle at an angle. That's the kind of detail that can trip you up if you're scanning the grid the usual way.
If you're playing Strands for the first time, know that it takes longer than the Times' other daily games. Wordle and Connections move faster. Strands asks you to sit with the grid, to trace paths with your finger or your cursor, to think about how words can bend and fold within the space. The puzzle gives you a theme hint—in this case, just the word "Hey"—and leaves you to do the real work of discovery. That's by design. The game wants you to think.
But if you're short on time, or if you've been staring at the grid for ten minutes and the words aren't coming, the answers are here. Take them and move on. The puzzle will be different tomorrow.
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the Times keep making these puzzles harder instead of easier?
Because the difficulty is the point. Wordle takes two minutes. Strands asks you to spend ten. That's the whole appeal—it's a puzzle that respects your time by asking you to use it.
So the diagonal spangram is a trick?
Not a trick. Just a detail you have to notice. The hint tells you it's diagonal, but you still have to find it. That's the balance Strands strikes.
Do people actually solve these without hints?
Some do. Most don't, at least not every day. The hints exist because the puzzle is genuinely hard. There's no shame in using them.
What makes today's theme—greetings—different from other themes?
It's straightforward, which is rare. Some days the theme is abstract or wordplay-based. Today it's just: here are six ways to say hello. It's almost restful.
Is there a strategy to finding the words faster?
Trace the obvious ones first—Hello, Welcome. Once you've placed those, the grid shrinks. The remaining words have fewer places to hide.