NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, March 12 (game #374)

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Tuesday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, March 11 (game #373).
Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc’s Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #374) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Bearing gifts
NYT Strands today (game #374) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
POLLFAILTALELEAKTARTSIGN
NYT Strands today (game #374) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 7 letters
NYT Strands today (game #374) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: left, 5th row
Last side: right, 6th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #374) – the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today’s Strands, game #374, are…
CHOPSFLAIRSKILLKNACKTALENTPROWESSSTRENGTHSPANGRAM: PRODIGY
My rating: ModerateMy score: 1 hint
A mildly troubling search to get us over hump day.
One thing I know for certain after laboring over today’s puzzle is that I am no puzzle prodigy. I needed a Hint to get me going, but CHOPS didn’t help at all – what did cuts of meat have to do with gifts? Any other word and I think I would have gotten there quicker.
By my second word I had it and felt all kinds of foolish – I think I must have a special KNACK for making life hard for myself.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, 11 March, game #373)
TADASHAZAMABRACADABRAPRESTOALAKAZAMSPANGRAM: CASTING SPELLS
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.