Today's NYT Strands is live for Sunday, March 29, 2026 (Puzzle #756). Stuck on today's Strands? We've got progressive hints, from gentle nudges to full solutions, so you can solve at your own pace.
How Strands Works (New Players Start Here)
Strands hides themed words inside a 6x8 letter grid. Your mission: find every word connected to the day's theme. Letters link in any direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) and words can twist and turn. Every letter gets used exactly once.
The spangram is the key word or phrase that captures the theme and stretches across the entire board, touching opposite edges.
Need a boost? Find any 4+ letter word (even non-theme words) three times, and the game reveals a hint highlighting theme word letters.
Theme Decoder
Today's Theme Prompt: "A bit peckish"
What It Really Means
This theme is about bird food and feeding. You're looking for items that birds eat or that people put out for birds.
Think About...
- Common backyard bird feed
- Natural foods birds forage for
- Specialized bird diets and feeders
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Across and down then across and down again
Letter Count: 11 letters
Starting Zone: First letter of the first row
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): This phrase describes something trivial or unimportant, but here it literally refers to avian creatures.
Hint 2 (Warmer): It's a common idiom that starts with "for the..." and suggests something is worthless or silly.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is F, last letter is S
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FORTHEBIRDS
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: Small creatures that some birds hunt
Closer: Insects that woodpeckers and other birds eat
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 4 letters total
Answer
BUGS
Word 2
Vague: High-energy bird food
Closer: Rendered animal fat mixed with seeds
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 4 letters total
Answer
SUET
Word 3
Vague: Sweet plant product
Closer: Orchard produce that many birds enjoy
Letter Clue: Starts with F, 5 letters total
Answer
FRUIT
Word 4
Vague: What plants grow from
Closer: Small grains that fill bird feeders
Letter Clue: Starts with S, 5 letters total
Answer
SEEDS
Word 5
Vague: A type of grain
Closer: Small cereal grain often in birdseed mixes
Letter Clue: Starts with M, 6 letters total
Answer
MILLET
Word 6
Vague: Sweet liquid from flowers
Closer: What hummingbirds drink from feeders
Letter Clue: Starts with N, 6 letters total
Answer
NECTAR
Word 7
Vague: Small fruits
Closer: What robins and other birds forage for
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 7 letters total
Answer
BERRIES
Full Answers
Spangram: FORTHEBIRDS
Theme Words:
- BUGS
- SUET
- FRUIT
- SEEDS
- MILLET
- NECTAR
- BERRIES
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Trickiest Word: SUET (Less common term for rendered animal fat used in bird feeders)
Our Take: A straightforward bird-feeding theme with mostly common backyard items. The spangram "FORTHEBIRDS" cleverly plays on the idiom while literally describing the theme. Seven theme words instead of the usual six makes for a slightly longer solve, but all items are logically connected to avian diets.
