#389Thursday, March 27, 2025
Strands answers for March 27, 2025 — “Playing the field” (#389)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for March 27, 2025 (puzzle #389) is NATIONALLEAGUE, a 14-letter answer to the theme "Playing the field". The 6 theme words are BRAVE, BREWER, DODGER, GIANT, MARLIN and PIRATE.
Where is each answer on the March 27 Strands board?
Strands #389 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram NATIONALLEAGUE.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRAVE | 5 | row 8, column 2 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| BREWER | 6 | row 2, column 2 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| DODGER | 6 | row 3, column 3 | row 4, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| GIANT | 5 | row 7, column 5 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| MARLIN | 6 | row 6, column 3 | row 5, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| PIRATE | 6 | row 1, column 6 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| NATIONALLEAGUE | 14 | row 4, column 1 | row 5, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the March 27 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 — 14 letters6 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 W-E-R-R-I-P, row 2 reads E-B-T-I-A-T, row 3 reads R-A-D-G-O-E, row 4 reads N-O-D-R-E-N, row 5 reads E-A-R-L-N-A, row 6 reads A-U-M-I-L-T, row 7 reads V-R-G-L-G-N, and row 8 reads E-B-A-E-I-A.
How hard was the March 27 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #389 as above average: it sits at the 68th 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 27 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #389 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the March 27 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on March 27, 2025?
The Strands clue for March 27, 2025 is “Playing the field”, on puzzle #389. It is answered by the spangram NATIONALLEAGUE, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on March 27, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for March 27, 2025 are BRAVE, BREWER, DODGER, GIANT, MARLIN and PIRATE, plus the spangram NATIONALLEAGUE.
What was the big word in the March 27, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for March 27, 2025 is NATIONALLEAGUE, 14 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 5, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Playing the field” mean?
The Strands theme “Playing the field” for March 27, 2025 means NATIONALLEAGUE — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands March 27, 2025?
Strands puzzle #389 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the March 27, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #389 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 68% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on March 27, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, March 27, 2025 is #389, 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.