NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #377 (Saturday, March 15 2025)
Need help with Strands #377? Here are some hints and the answers

Need some assistance with NYT Strands today? Today's theme — "Free for all" — is somewhat tenuous making for a tricky puzzle.
Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #377, 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 #377, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #377.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #377 is... "Free for all".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Event freebies".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- LOCATE
- SHRINE
- BADGE
- WEDGE
- SWAN
- TABLET
- SLICE
Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with S and ends with G.
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Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's SWAGBAG.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #377?
Drumroll, please...
- TOTE
- DECAL
- BOTTLE
- LANYARD
- NOTEBOOK
- PENCIL
- SHIRT
...and the spangram was SWAGBAG.
Strands #377
“Free for all”
💡🔵💡🔵
🟡🔵🔵🔵
🔵🔵
Hi Strands fans. Not the most inspiring puzzle today. Are the contents of swag bags really the most interesting topic to make a puzzle around? I'm not convinced.
Or maybe I'm just making excuses for the fact it took me two clues to figure out what was going on. The first revealed TOTE in the top-left corner, which left me none the wiser, while the second exposed DECAL below it.
Right, got it. I connected SWAGBAG across the middle of the board and then began thinking about the kinds of tat I've accumulated over a decade of attending events for work.
BOTTLE was the first one, in the bottom-right corner, followed by LANYARD to its left. I then grabbed NOTEBOOK in the bottom-left corner to complete the lower section.
Two words were left in the top-right corner, and I had a little trouble uncoupling them. But when I eventually connected PENCIL, there was only one way to link the remaining letters. It was, of course, SHIRT.
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #376 right here.
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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