#370Saturday, March 8, 2025
Strands answers for March 8, 2025 — “Two thumbs up” (#370)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for March 8, 2025 (puzzle #370) is BESTPICTURE, a 11-letter answer to the theme "Two thumbs up". The 5 theme words are CODA, MOONLIGHT, PARASITE, PLATOON and SPOTLIGHT.
Where is each answer on the March 8 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #370 is 5 theme words and one spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CODA | 4 | row 1, column 1 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| MOONLIGHT | 9 | row 6, column 2 | row 1, column 2 | bottom to top |
| PARASITE | 8 | row 8, column 1 | row 8, column 4 | left to right |
| PLATOON | 7 | row 6, column 5 | row 5, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| SPOTLIGHT | 9 | row 1, column 4 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| BESTPICTURE | 11 | row 1, column 3 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the March 8 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 — 11 letters5 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 C-T-B-S-P-T, row 2 reads O-H-E-T-O-H, row 3 reads A-D-G-S-L-G, row 4 reads N-L-I-T-O-I, row 5 reads O-O-P-O-T-N, row 6 reads R-M-I-A-P-E, row 7 reads A-A-T-C-L-R, and row 8 reads P-S-I-E-T-U.
How hard was the March 8 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #370 as hard: it sits at the 89th 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 8 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #370 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Jeff Petriello. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the March 8 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on March 8, 2025?
The Strands clue for March 8, 2025 is “Two thumbs up”, on puzzle #370. It is answered by the spangram BESTPICTURE, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on March 8, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for March 8, 2025 are CODA, MOONLIGHT, PARASITE, PLATOON and SPOTLIGHT, plus the spangram BESTPICTURE.
What was the big word in the March 8, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for March 8, 2025 is BESTPICTURE, 11 letters long, running from row 1, column 3 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 “Two thumbs up” mean?
The Strands theme “Two thumbs up” for March 8, 2025 means BESTPICTURE — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands March 8, 2025?
Strands puzzle #370 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the March 8, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #370 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 89% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on March 8, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, March 8, 2025 is #370, 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.