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NYT Strands Answer & Hints — “Happy Saint Patrick's Day!”, March 17, 2026

Stuck on the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle? Here are progressive hints and the full answer for the “Happy Saint Patrick's Day!” puzzle (Strands #436 of 508 in our archive). Every reveal is hidden by default — click to open the ones you need.

Spoiler warning. The answers below are for the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle. Scroll past this section if you want to solve it yourself first.
Hint 1: The themeReveal

The theme for the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle is “Happy Saint Patrick's Day!”. Every theme word and the spangram connects back to this phrase, so think about what related words might fit a 6×8 grid of 48 letters before you start scanning.

Hint 2: Spangram length and first letterReveal

The spangram for the “Happy Saint Patrick's Day!” puzzle is 7 letters long and starts with the letter G. It touches two opposite edges of the grid, as every NYT Strands spangram does.

Hint 3: How many theme wordsReveal

Besides the spangram, the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle has 8 theme words. Together with the spangram, they use every letter on the 6×8 grid exactly once.

Answer: Full spangramReveal

The spangram for the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands “Happy Saint Patrick's Day!” puzzle is GOGREEN. It spans two opposite edges of the 6×8 grid and captures the theme directly.

Answer: All theme wordsReveal

Here are the 8 theme words for the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands “Happy Saint Patrick's Day!” puzzle:

  • BERET
  • FLAG
  • GODDESS
  • LIGHT
  • PARTY
  • PEPPER
  • ROOM
  • THUMB

Plus the spangram GOGREEN, that’s every word on the grid — all 48 letters accounted for.

Answers for the March 17, 2026 NYT Strands puzzle. Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive — today's NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com/games/strands.

About the "Happy Saint Patrick's Day!" NYT Strands puzzle

"Happy Saint Patrick's Day!" — the exclamation mark says it all. This Strands puzzle brings energy and emphasis to its theme, and you can expect the hidden words to carry that same spirit. Exclamatory themes in Strands often reference vivid expressions, dramatic moments, or well-known catchphrases. The spangram ties it all together by naming the concept that makes you want to shout this phrase in the first place.

At 8 theme words, this is one of the denser puzzles in the archive. The grid is packed, so words will be closer together. The 7-letter spangram is on the shorter side, which can actually make it harder to spot — shorter words have fewer distinctive letter patterns to latch onto. Originally published on a Tuesday, Puzzle #436 is a more recent addition to the 508+ puzzle archive.

#436
Puzzle Number
8
Theme Words
7
Spangram Letters
Challenging
Difficulty

How to approach "Happy Saint Patrick's Day!"

  • The energetic theme title suggests vivid, expressive vocabulary. Look for words that match the theme's bold tone and emotional charge.
  • There are 8 theme words packed into this grid. Try to find 2-3 shorter words first to free up space and make the remaining words easier to trace.
  • Work from the corners of the grid — corner letters have fewer possible neighboring connections, which limits where words can go and makes them easier to trace.
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Strands Unlimited is an independent fan archive of past Strands puzzles. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times Company. NYT Strands is a trademark of The New York Times Company. Today's daily puzzle is free at nytimes.com/games/strands.