#374Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Strands answers for March 12, 2025 — “Bearing gifts” (#374)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for March 12, 2025 (puzzle #374) is PRODIGY, a 7-letter answer to the theme "Bearing gifts". The 7 theme words are CHOPS, FLAIR, KNACK, PROWESS, SKILL, STRENGTH and TALENT.
Where is each answer on the March 12 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #374 is 7 theme words and one spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 8 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHOPS | 5 | row 8, column 5 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| FLAIR | 5 | row 6, column 4 | row 7, column 1 | right to left |
| KNACK | 5 | row 2, column 4 | row 1, column 1 | right to left |
| PROWESS | 7 | row 1, column 5 | row 4, column 6 | top to bottom |
| SKILL | 5 | row 7, column 5 | row 7, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| STRENGTH | 8 | row 6, column 1 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TALENT | 6 | row 2, column 1 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PRODIGY | 7 | row 5, column 1 | row 6, column 6 | left to right |
What did the March 12 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 7 letters7 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads K-C-A-N-P-R, row 2 reads T-E-L-K-W-O, row 3 reads N-A-O-D-S-E, row 4 reads T-R-R-E-I-S, row 5 reads P-T-A-L-N-G, row 6 reads S-I-I-F-G-Y, row 7 reads R-L-L-K-S-T, and row 8 reads S-P-O-H-C-H.
How hard was the March 12 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #374 as easy: it sits at the 15th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the March 12 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #374 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the March 12 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on March 12, 2025?
The Strands clue for March 12, 2025 is “Bearing gifts”, on puzzle #374. It is answered by the spangram PRODIGY, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on March 12, 2025?
The 7 Strands theme words for March 12, 2025 are CHOPS, FLAIR, KNACK, PROWESS, SKILL, STRENGTH and TALENT, plus the spangram PRODIGY.
What was the big word in the March 12, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for March 12, 2025 is PRODIGY, 7 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 6, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Bearing gifts” mean?
The Strands theme “Bearing gifts” for March 12, 2025 means PRODIGY — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 7 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands March 12, 2025?
Strands puzzle #374 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the March 12, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #374 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 15% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on March 12, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 is #374, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in March 2025, part of the full Strands archive.