The NYT Strands theme for Friday, November 15, 2024, is “Dress for lunch.” The five theme answers are types of salad greens, and the spangram is SALADGREENS. If you want to solve puzzle #257 yourself first, use the progressive hints below and stop before the answer key.
Progressive hints for Strands #257
Read these in order; each one gives more away.
- The theme is “Dress for lunch.”
- A first nudge: “I guess this is more like dressing.”
- Think of something people eat at lunch, but also at dinner.
- The theme answers begin with RO, KA, IC, WA, and RA. The spangram begins with SA.
- The spangram runs horizontally from left to right.
Full answer key
Spoilers below.
- ROMAINE
- KALE
- ICEBERG
- WATERCRESS
- RADICCHIO
- SALADGREENS — spangram
The five theme words are all salad greens, which resolves the clue’s wordplay: “dressing” points toward salad dressing, while “Dress for lunch” suggests what goes into a salad. The spangram, SALADGREENS, names the shared category and stretches horizontally from left to right. The answer set and clue are reported by Parade and Forbes.
How the Strands hints work
In the rules summary Parade attributes to the New York Times, theme words fill the board without overlapping, and the spangram describes the theme while touching two opposite sides. The reported rule wording is: “The spangram describes the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. It may be two words.” Players can trace words by dragging or tapping letters; finding three non-theme words earns a hint that reveals letters in a theme word. Parade’s 2024 guide says theme words highlighted blue and the spangram yellow; interface details may change over time.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
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