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NYT Strands puzzle #389, dated Thursday, March 27, 2025, has the theme “Playing the field.” The six answers are baseball team nicknames from the National League, and the 14-letter spangram is NATIONAL LEAGUE. Hints come first below; the full answers are in the spoiler section.
Theme hint
Think of the National League and the nicknames of its teams.
Clue words and spangram hints
TechRadar’s guide lists these in-game hint-trigger words: BARE, NILL, GONE, LINT, TRIP, and BRIDGE. Finding three non-theme words of at least four letters earns a hint that highlights a theme word, according to Try Hard Guides’ explanation of Strands.
- The spangram has 14 letters, ignoring the space.
- It begins and ends on the left edge: it starts at row 4 and ends at row 5, according to TechRadar’s guide.
Spoiler warning: NYT Strands #389 answers
The six theme answers are DODGER, PIRATE, BRAVE, MARLIN, GIANT, and BREWER. The spangram is NATIONAL LEAGUE.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Each theme answer is a singular form of a nickname associated with a National League team.
How Strands works
Strands is a themed word-search-style game. Try Hard Guides describes its letters as usable in any direction, without reusing or crossing them; finding three non-theme words of at least four letters earns a hint.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How this puzzle is identified
TechRadar and Try Hard Guides both identify this as game #389 for March 27, 2025, and report the same answer set. The original NYT puzzle record was not available for direct verification.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
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