Today's NYT Strands puzzle is all about noodles and pasta. The "Noodle on this one" theme is a playful way to point out the answers without giving away the Spangram or the real-world connection between the words in the solution. Here are some hints to help you out.

Here’s the best strategy to start today’s word game puzzle: Search for types of pasta noodles on the NYT Strands board. You might find one or two, like I did, but you’ll quickly notice something is missing. Why aren’t “spaghetti” and “fettuccine” anywhere to be found? The Spangram will clear that up, and the following hints will help you find it:

The "Noodle on this one" Spangram is "PASTASHAPES." It starts at the "P" in the right column and goes to the "S" in the left column to form a backwards Spangram. So this puzzle isn't really about the names of different types of pasta, but about pasta shapes.Add Block

I have some extra hints to help you find some answer words if you are still struggling to get your puzzle started. The full list of words with their placements on the board is right after the list, so be careful not to scroll too much and give away the answer to yourself.