NYT Strands puzzle #324, dated Tuesday, January 21, 2025, uses the theme clue “You don’t say …” for slang associated with earlier decades. If you want to solve it yourself, start with the graduated hints below; the full answer list is marked as spoilers.
Theme clue
“You don’t say …” points to popular words and terms from previous decades. Think of slang that might sound dated today.
First-letter hints
These prompts give the first two letters of each answer without revealing the complete words:
- PH
- BO
- CH
- TU
- FR
- MA
- RA
- DA — spangram
Extra hints and spangram location
In-game hint words reported for this puzzle are PAST, LARD, SLAM, SEAT, BULB, and TASTE. Finding three non-theme words earns an in-game hint that reveals letters in a theme word, according to Parade’s rules summary.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The spangram clue is “Old skool speak.” Its reported endpoints are at the left edge in the fifth row and the bottom edge in the fourth column.
Full answers (spoilers)
The puzzle’s spangram and seven theme words are:
- PHAT
- BOSS
- CHERRY
- TUBULAR
- FRESH
- MAJOR
- RADICAL
- Spangram: DATED SLANG (also written DATEDSLANG)
How Strands hints work
In Parade’s explanation of the rules, theme words remain blue on the board, while the spangram describes the theme, touches opposite sides of the board, and turns yellow when found. The same summary says that finding three non-theme words earns a hint that reveals letters in a theme answer.
Quick Recap
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