Today's NYT Strands taught me the importance of understanding the rules of the game in detail. While I tried to start my "pour it on" quest with the Spangram, I eventually discovered some words of the solution and learned that Spangrams are not necessarily always horizontal.
Strands 58 – NYT Word Search – April 30, 2024 #strands
While today’s puzzle prompted me to review the Strands rules, you can still play as usual. The theme for today, April 30, is “pour it on,” meaning that all of the words in the grid relate to that phrase in some way. Focus on finding the Spangram first, the longest word that helps narrow down the theme to what the remaining words are supposed to be about. Once you find the Spangram, things get easier, though not necessarily easy.
Today's Strands reminded me that a Spangram doesn't always have to run left to right; it also has to touch two opposite sides of the board, which can be the top and bottom of the grid.
When I was thinking about the "pour it on" theme for today's Strand, "water" and "rain" initially came to mind, even though there aren't any "Ws" in the grid and you can't make "rain." After trying to find a word, even ones that didn't relate to the theme, I unlocked a clue that made me see the puzzle differently.
