NYT Strands puzzle #323, dated January 20, 2025, has the theme clue “Curiouser and curiouser!” Use the hints below for a gradual nudge, or jump to the clearly marked spoiler section for the full answer set.
Hints for Strands #323
- Theme: “Curiouser and curiouser!”
- Story connection: Think of characters, creatures and a scene from Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland story.
- Spangram: It names the fantastical realm where the heroine finds herself. The ten-letter word runs from the top edge, fifth column, to the bottom edge, first column.
- Theme-word lengths: In listed order, the words have 11, 7, 8, 6 and 6 letters. Their initials are C, C, D, H and R.
Need an in-game nudge? Finding three valid non-theme words of at least four letters earns a hint that highlights the letters of one theme word.
Answers for Strands #323
Spoilers below.
The spangram is WONDERLAND. The five theme words are:
- CATERPILLAR
- CROQUET
- DORMOUSE
- HATTER
- RABBIT
The answers point to Carroll’s story rather than a set of unrelated words: the Caterpillar, Hatter, Rabbit and Dormouse are characters, while croquet recalls the Queen’s croquet ground. Carroll’s chapters include “Advice from a Caterpillar,” “A Mad Tea-Party” and “The Queen’s Croquet-Ground.” Read Project Gutenberg’s free online text of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for the literary context.
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