NYT Strands puzzle #172, published August 22, 2024, has a reported theme of “Smoothie moves.” Start with the spoiler-light hints below; the spangram and full answer list are farther down. One answer guide gives the theme wording as “Smoothie movies,” so the exact in-game phrasing is not confirmed by the available sources.
Theme hint for Strands #172
The theme is reported as “Smoothie moves,” pointing to actions associated with preparing a smoothie. Forbes reported a variant, “Smoothie movies,” while TechRadar and Try Hard Guides used “Smoothie moves.”
Progressive hints
Try these in order and stop when you have enough help. TechRadar published the clue words and spangram hint for this puzzle.
- Clue words: PORE, DROP, SITTER, PING, TIRE, BRIDE.
- Spangram clue: “Blade runnings.”
- Spangram location: TechRadar reports that it starts at the top in column four and ends at the bottom in column four.
Spoilers: spangram and answers
Stop here if you want to solve the board yourself. The complete solution is below.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteSpangram
BLENDERSETTING
Theme words
- CHOP
- STIR
- WHIP
- PULSE
- LIQUEFY
- GRIND
- PUREE
How Strands hints work
Try Hard Guides describes Strands as a themed word-search game: trace connected letters in any direction without reusing or crossing them. The spangram describes the theme. According to that guide, finding three non-theme words of at least four letters earns a hint that highlights a theme word. This is gameplay context from a secondary guide, not an official rules citation.
Quick Recap
Sources
- TechRadar supplied the staged clues, spangram location, and solution list.
- Try Hard Guides independently reported the theme and answers and summarized the game mechanics.
- Forbes independently reported the answer set but used the theme wording “Smoothie movies.”
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