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Monday, December 30, 2024, was Strands game #302. Its theme was “Keep it classical.” Start with the gentle hint below; the full answers are farther down.
Spoiler warning: The section marked “Full answers” reveals the spangram and all five theme words.
Gentle hint
Think of musical pieces. The theme points to forms and labels for compositions rather than to particular performers or instruments.
Clue words and the in-game hint
TechRadar listed these words as finds that unlock the in-game theme hint: TOUR, COME, PRESS, NICE, CORE, and LOSER. They are clue words, not part of the final theme-answer set.
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The spangram hint is “Musical pieces.” TechRadar reports that the spangram first touches the left edge in the fourth row and last touches the right edge in the sixth row. That gives a board-level nudge without naming the word.
Full answers
Spoilers below. Two puzzle guides report the following solution for December 30, 2024, game #302:
- Spangram: COMPOSITION
- Theme answers: SONATA, PRELUDE, CONCERTO, SYMPHONY, OVERTURE
The theme groups these answers as musical forms or composition labels. The clue words above help uncover the game’s hint; they are not additional theme answers.
How the hint mechanic works
Try Hard Guides describes Strands as a grid where letters can be connected in any direction without reusing or crossing letters. Its guide says any four-letter-or-longer word that is not a theme answer contributes toward a hint, with one hint for every three such finds. This is that guide’s description of the mechanic, not an independently checked official rules statement.
Rank #3
Sources and date note
TechRadar and Try Hard Guides agree on the date, game number, theme, and answer set. The reviewed sources did not establish an official NYT archive record, so these are the answers reported by those puzzle guides. This page concerns December 30, 2024, game #302—not a Strands puzzle from another year’s December 30.
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