NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Monday, April 29 (game #57)

Another week, another set of Strands puzzles to solve courtesy of the New York Times’ Games section. And be warned – today’s is a tricky one. Read on for some (hopefully helpful) hints to see you on your way.

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 #57) – hint #1 – today’s theme

NYT Strands today (game #57) – hint #2 – clue words

NYT Strands today (game #57) – hint #3 – spangram

NYT Strands today (game #57) – hint #4 – spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #57) – the answers

The answers to today’s Strands, game #57, are…

• PINK
• COMMON
• SEAL
• PRINCE
• MEATLOAF
• JEWEL
• BRANDY
• SPANGRAM: MUSICIANS

• My rating: Difficult
• My score: Perfect

This was another fairly tough Strands puzzle, mainly because there are so many options that it was hard to know what to look for. This is a theme among the more difficult editions of the game; look at a Strands puzzle such as the Headwear one and there are only so many possible answers, most of which you’ll be able to think of. But musicians? That’s so vast as to be almost unmanageable. I mean where do you start?

I started with PINK, which I found entirely by accident. Coupled with the clue of Name dropping I figured it might be celebrities or pop stars, rather than musicians exactly, but I couldn’t find any other examples for ages.

The next answer I found was SEAL, again by accident, followed by COMMON. The latter was the one that made me realize it was probably a broader category of musicians that was needed, and I claimed the spangram not long after that. As if often the case that gave the board a little structure and I was able to eventually discover the other words after another long search. I’m not sure how much I enjoyed this game – I think they work better when more closely focused. But maybe that’s just me…

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.

Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Sunday 28 April, game #56)

• RAZOR
• WASHCLOTH
• SOAP
• SPONGE
• SHAMPOO
• CONDITIONER
• SPANGRAM: SHOWER