NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #356 (Saturday, February 22 2025)

NYT Strands on a cellphone
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide/NY Times/Shutterstock)
Strands today: Quick menu

Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "Here we (don't) go again" — doesn't really give much away at all.

Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #356, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #356, so read on if you need a little help.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #356.

Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints

The official theme for NYT Strands #356 is... "Here we (don't) go again".

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "We're not moving".

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:

  • WRING
  • MAGE
  • FIVER
  • CODES
  • ROVER
  • GRIFT
  • TROVE

Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with T and ends with M.

Scroll down to find out what it is...

It's TRAFFICJAM.

Today's Strands answers

So, what are today's Strands answers for game #356?

Drumroll, please...

  • BLOCKAGE
  • OVERCROWDING
  • CONGESTION
  • GRIDLOCK

Strands #356

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

...and the spangram was TRAFFICJAM.

Strands #356

“Here we (don't) go again”

💡🔵🟡🔵

🔵🔵

Hi Strands fans. Not the most exciting theme or puzzle today, but it does have the distinction of being, by my count, the smallest to date. There are just five answers on the grid, meaning you have longer words to find.

The theme of "Here we (don't) go again" meant absolutely nothing at to me, so I had to use a clue. It revealed the anagram of GEBALKOC, which I eventually decoded as BLOCKAGE.

That, combined with the somewhat tenuous theme, was enough for me to figure out that the topic was about being stuck in traffic, and I duly got the spangram of TRAFFICJAM across the middle of the board. This neatly cordoned off OVERCROWDING in the bottom-left corner, and I was over halfway there.

There were only two words to find in the top half, and they didn't take long to uncover. CONGESTION covered all three edges of the top half, and that just left GRIDLOCK in the middle to complete the puzzle.

Yesterday's Strands answers

Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #355 right here.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

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