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Spoilers ahead: NYT Strands puzzle #323, for January 20, 2025, has the theme clue “Curiouser and curiouser!” Its answers are CATERPILLAR, CROQUET, DORMOUSE, HATTER and RABBIT. The spangram is WONDERLAND.
Hints for Strands #323
The theme points to a classic fantasy novel and its topsy-turvy world. If you want to solve the board before seeing the words, start by looking for the spangram: it names the setting and runs from the top edge of the board to the bottom.
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The theme answers have these letter counts:
- CATERPILLAR — 11 letters
- CROQUET — 7 letters
- DORMOUSE — 8 letters
- HATTER — 6 letters
- RABBIT — 6 letters
Full answers for January 20, 2025
The five theme words are:
- CATERPILLAR — a character from Wonderland.
- CROQUET — the game associated with Wonderland.
- DORMOUSE — another Wonderland character.
- HATTER — the tea-party figure.
- RABBIT — the hurried character who sets Alice’s adventure in motion.
Spangram: WONDERLAND. It names the setting that ties the answers together.
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A solving approach
- Use the clue “Curiouser and curiouser!” to identify the Wonderland theme.
- Search for WONDERLAND, the spangram; the published hint says its path touches the board’s top and bottom edges.
- Look for familiar character names, then check the CROQUET reference to fill out the theme words.
Strands is commonly described as a themed word-search puzzle on a 6-by-8 grid. A third-party rules guide says that finding three valid non-theme words unlocks a hint highlighting a theme answer. That guide is not affiliated with The New York Times.
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About the answer paths
The dated answer guides agree on the theme and word list, but an official archived NYT board-path record was not available in the cited guides. The exact letter paths for these answers are therefore not confirmed here.
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