Today’s NYT Strands taught me the importance of understanding the game’s rules in detail. While I tried to start my “pour it on” search with the Spangram, I ended up discovering some of the solution’s words and learned that Spangrams aren’t necessarily always horizontal.
How to play NYT Strands
While today’s puzzle prompted me to revisit Strands’ rules, you can still play as usual. The theme for today, April 30, is “pour it on,” which means all words in the grid are related to that phrase in some way. Focus first on finding the Spangram, which is the longest word and helps narrow down the theme to what the remaining words should actually be about. Once you find the Spangram, everything becomes easier—though not necessarily simple.
Today’s Strands reminded me a Spangram doesn’t always have to go from left to right; it must touch two opposite sides of the board, which could be the top and bottom parts of the grid.
NYT Strands Pour it on hints (April 30)
When considering the theme “pour it on” for today’s Strand, “water” and “rain” initially came to mind, though there’s not a single “W” in the grid and you can’t make “rain.” After attempting to find any word, even those unrelated to the theme, I unlocked a hint that made me see the puzzle differently.
I can tell you water is not substantial enough for what we need in this puzzle. We’re looking for something thicker that a person can pour on other things. Once you figure it out, you’ll be in for a delicious surprise that will spice up the puzzle and add flavor to your guesses.
NYT Strands pour it on Spangram and solutions (April 30)
Today’s NYT Strands Spangram is CONDIMENT, starting from the first “C” in the third column and going down to the “T” in the last row. Yes, this Spangram is vertical. Now, it’s a matter of remembering condiments are anything you use to add flavor, like salt and pepper—though these are not a part of the solution.
The full list of condiments you’ll find are:
- CONDIMENT (Spangram)
- AIOLI
- MUSTARD
- KETCHUP
- SRIRACHA
- TZATZIKI
- MAYO
You can play a new Strands puzzle at midnight in your time zone.
If you’re interested in more content on word games, you can check out some of our other articles, including Wordle tips and tricks.
