Strands Hint

#13Saturday, March 16, 2024

Strands answers for March 16, 2024 — “Grow up!” (#13)

The NYT Strands spangram for March 16, 2024 (puzzle #13) is PARENTHOOD, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Grow up!". The 8 theme words are ADULT, BABY, FOAL, FROG, HORSE, LAMB, SHEEP and TADPOLE.

ADULTBABYFOALFROGHORSELAMBSHEEPTADPOLEPARENTHOOD

Where is each answer on the March 16 Strands board?

The full answer set for puzzle #13 is 8 theme words and one spangram.

The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 9 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.

Verified board positions, Strands puzzle #13
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
ADULT5row 1, column 6row 3, column 5diagonally across the grid
BABY4row 1, column 1row 2, column 2diagonally across the grid
FOAL4row 3, column 2row 2, column 1diagonally across the grid
FROG4row 6, column 5row 6, column 6diagonally across the grid
HORSE5row 5, column 5row 4, column 5diagonally across the grid
LAMB4row 4, column 3row 6, column 2diagonally across the grid
SHEEP5row 8, column 6row 6, column 4diagonally across the grid
TADPOLE7row 4, column 2row 8, column 2top to bottom
PARENTHOOD10row 1, column 4row 8, column 3top to bottom

What did the March 16 Strands grid look like?

The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.

BABPDALYARULAFENTSOTLTERAMAHHODBOPFGPLOEROOEDEHS

Spangram — 10 letters8 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 B-A-B-P-D-A, row 2 reads L-Y-A-R-U-L, row 3 reads A-F-E-N-T-S, row 4 reads O-T-L-T-E-R, row 5 reads A-M-A-H-H-O, row 6 reads D-B-O-P-F-G, row 7 reads P-L-O-E-R-O, and row 8 reads O-E-D-E-H-S.

How hard was the March 16 Strands puzzle?

Strands #13 scores easy on our difficulty index, harder than 11% of every Strands puzzle published so far.

Difficulty
11
percentile, easy
Path turns
21
direction changes
Decoy words
1082
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
4.8
letters per theme word

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 16 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #13 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Heidi Erwin. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.

Common questions about the March 16 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on March 16, 2024?

The Strands clue for March 16, 2024 is “Grow up!”, on puzzle #13. It is answered by the spangram PARENTHOOD, and all 8 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on March 16, 2024?

The 8 Strands theme words for March 16, 2024 are ADULT, BABY, FOAL, FROG, HORSE, LAMB, SHEEP and TADPOLE, plus the spangram PARENTHOOD.

What was the big word in the March 16, 2024 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for March 16, 2024 is PARENTHOOD, 10 letters long, running from row 1, column 4 to row 8, column 3. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.

What did the Strands theme “Grow up!” mean?

The Strands theme “Grow up!” for March 16, 2024 means PARENTHOOD — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 8 theme words is an example of it.

How many theme words are in Strands March 16, 2024?

Strands puzzle #13 has 8 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the March 16, 2024 Strands puzzle?

Strands #13 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 11% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on March 16, 2024?

The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, March 16, 2024 is #13, 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 2024, part of the full Strands archive.