NYT Strands game #388, dated Wednesday, March 26, 2025, has a reported theme of “In the Circle of Life,” pointing to The Lion King. Use the hints below for a gradual nudge, or jump to the reported spangram and full word list.
Theme for Strands #388
The Economic Times’ March 26, 2025 answer guide reports the theme as “In the Circle of Life,” inspired by The Lion King. The clues point to animals associated with the film.
Hints, from general to specific
These clue descriptions are from The Economic Times guide. Read only as far as you need to avoid revealing the answers.
- A striped, horse-like African animal.
- A small, sociable animal that stands upright and lives in colonies.
- A wild pig with tusks.
- A group-living scavenger known for laughing sounds.
- A large, intelligent mammal with a trunk.
- A bird known for its colorful bill and distinctive nesting habits.
The guide also says players can unlock hints by finding three words with four or more letters. That is the guide’s description of the hint mechanic, not an independently confirmed NYT instruction.
Spangram and answers
Spoilers below. The third-party guide identifies LION KING as the spangram and reports these six theme words:
- ZEBRA
- MEERKAT
- WARTHOG
- HYENA
- ELEPHANT
- HORNBILL
Source and verification
The answers above are reported by The Economic Times’ March 26, 2025 guide, published at 6:32 p.m. IST. The page labels its article as third-party content and says ET does not verify, guarantee, or endorse it. No official NYT solution archive or independent corroboration is available here, so treat this as the reported answer set rather than an official confirmation.
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