Sunday, March 15, 2026

NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 16 (game #743)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 15 (game #742).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #743) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… The Big Dance

NYT Strands today (game #743) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • BREAK
  • NICE
  • BLUE
  • ROVER
  • TRIBE
  • CHARM

NYT Strands today (game #743) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #743) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 4th row

Last side: right, 2nd row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #743) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 743 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #743, are…

  • CHALK
  • BUBBLE
  • BRACKET
  • OVERTIME
  • CINDERELLA
  • SPANGRAM: MARCHMADNESS
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 3 hints

Depending on your geographical location and predilection to sports you would have found today’s search incredibly easy or incredibly hard.

Considering that I live somewhere where the NBA barely reaches, I have not experienced MARCHMADNESS in its madcap glory beyond a few clips of last-nanosecond victories that my basketball-loving friend has shown me.

Instead, I took the theme literally and went searching for types of dances — after “break” came up blank I needed major help from hints to help me navigate the board.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, March 15, game #742)

  • DIRECTOR
  • SOUND
  • ACTOR
  • ACTRESS
  • PICTURE
  • SONG
  • SPANGRAM: ACADEMYAWARD

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

U.S. military names six killed in plane crash as Iran war enters third week

Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026.

The conflict in the Middle East has entered a third week, with Israel announcing a barrage of new strikes on western Iran on Sunday, while the U.S. defense department released the names of six service members who died when their military refueling aircraft crashed.

(Image credit: Ohad Zwigenberg)

Saturday, March 14, 2026

U.S. military bombs Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub, Trump says

This picture, taken a position in northern Israel, shows an Israeli Air Force fighter jet flying over the border area with southern Lebanon on March 13, 2026.

President Trump said on Friday the U.S. military had "totally obliterated" military targets in Kharg Island, home to the primary terminal that handles Iran's oil exports. This as all six crew members on a refueling plane that went down in western Iraq were confirmed dead.

(Image credit: Jalaa Marey)