Need a bit of help with NYT Strands today? Today's puzzle theme — "Pixar fare" — isn't going to be much help if you're unfamiliar with the studio's output, even if you could recite the actual answers with very little trouble.
Below, we've compiled some useful hints for Strands #177, as well as the answers, should it come to that. We'll start off with some clues, before building up to the full answer for Strands #177, so read on if you need a little help.
Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Strands #177.
Today's NYT Strands answer — Today's theme and hints
The official theme for NYT Strands #177 is... "Pixar fare".
And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Vegetable patch".
If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words to give you those valuable clue tokens:
- POEMS
- TASTE
- TROPE
- MATES
- POPE
- TOMES
- TEAMS
- RAMS
Still struggling? The spangram will give you a hint about the connection word. Today, it starts with 'R' and ends in 'E'.
Scroll down to find out what it is...
It's RATATOUILLE.
Today's Strands answers
So, what are today's Strands answers for game #177?
Drumroll, please...
- ONIONS
- ZUCCHINI
- PEPPERS
- TOMATOES
- EGGPLANT
..and the spangram was RATATOUILLE.
Strands #177
“Pixar fare”
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Hi Strands fans. I was delighted when I saw today's theme - Pixar fare - fully expecting to rattle off beloved Pixar films or characters. But my enthusiasm quickly soured when I realized this was actually a culinary puzzle based on the ingredients of ratatouille, rather than the rodent-packed film of the same name.
In fact, it took me a while to even cotton onto that. After digging around the word 'toon' vainly looking for a 'car' to put in front of it, I eventually gave up and used a clue which revealed ONIONS.
After briefly racking my brains for a character called "Onions", I realized that the only relation this had to Pixar movies was the title of a single film. Instead, I had to come up with the ingredients for ratatouille - a dish I've never actually consumed.
The 'Z' looked like an inviting place to start, and after a bit of trial and error, I figured out it was part of ZUCCHINI (which we'd probably call "courgettes" in the UK). The double 'P' in the top-left corner also looked tempting, and I quickly established it was part of PEPPERS. I remembered from the film that it looked like a tomato-based dish, which helped me find the penultimate answer of TOMATOES.
At this point, I decided to make it official and connect the spangram of RATATOILLE, which only touches the bottom of the board before moving back up. Just as well I did, as I wouldn't have gotten EGGPLANT without being forced to decode an anagram - they're "aubergines" on my side of the Atlantic!
Actually sounds rather tasty. Something to try on one of my vegetarian days...
Yesterday's Strands answers
Reading this in a later time zone? You can find the full article on yesterday's Strands answers for game #176 right here.
