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NYT Strands puzzle #396, dated April 3, 2025, has the theme clue “Get the bug.” If you want to solve it yourself first, use the hints below from least to most revealing; the complete answer list is farther down.
Hints for Strands #396
- Theme clue: “Get the bug.”
- The answers connect to a field of study. In-game hint words reported for this puzzle are THAN, DOLE, SOAP, TOOL, SNAP, and LADS.
- The spangram has 10 letters.
- For a directional clue, it crosses from the left edge on row four to the right edge on row three.
What is the theme of NYT Strands #396?
The theme is “Get the bug.” Its answers are words that form familiar insect-related names when followed by “bug,” while the spangram names the field of study connected to insects. For example, “lady” completes “ladybug”; despite its name, a ladybug is a beetle, not a true bug.
NYT Strands #396 answers for April 3, 2025
Spoilers below. The six theme answers and the spangram, as reported by TechRadar and Try Hard Guides, are:
- ASSASSIN — assassin bug
- DOODLE — doodlebug
- LADY — ladybug
- LIGHTNING — lightning bug
- POTATO — potato bug
- STINK — stink bug
Spangram: ENTOMOLOGY
ENTOMOLOGY is the 10-letter spangram. It describes the theme and reaches from one side of the board to the opposite side.
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How to use hints in Strands
Letters can be connected in any direction, but a letter cannot be reused or crossed. Finding three qualifying words that are not theme answers earns an in-game hint that highlights a theme answer. Use that option if the clue words do not give you enough traction.
TechRadar and Try Hard Guides published matching answer guides on April 2, 2025, identifying this as the April 3 puzzle. The historical answer set is corroborated by those guides; an official NYT archive record was not established.
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