The New York Times released its daily Strands puzzle number 722 on February 23, themed around guitar components. Players must find hidden words related to the theme 'Strike a chord,' with a clue noting that rockers sometimes smash them. Hints and answers are available to assist solvers.
The Strands puzzle, a popular word game from The New York Times, challenges players to uncover themed words within a grid of letters. For puzzle 722 on February 23, the theme is 'Strike a chord,' evoking musical elements, particularly guitars. A provided clue states that rockers sometimes smash them, pointing to instruments like guitars.
To unlock in-game hints, players can find any words of four letters or more. Examples given include CENT, CENTS, CONK, RITE, DOTE, CITE, CITES, BITE, BOGS, STOCK, HEAD, and BOARD. Each set of three such words reveals one theme word.
The non-spangram answers tied to the theme are BODY, NECK, PEGS, STRING, HEADSTOCK, FRETBOARD, and BRIDGE, all parts of a guitar. The spangram, which spans from one side of the grid to the other, is GUITAR. It begins with the G four letters down in the far-left vertical row and winds across the board.
Once all theme words are found, including the spangram, every letter on the board is used. The number of theme words can vary, though earlier assumptions suggested eight. For additional help with other New York Times puzzles like Wordle, Connections, or the Mini Crossword, resources are available on CNET's dedicated page.
This puzzle is designed to appeal to musicians, with some answers requiring unscrambling efforts.
