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Today’s NYT Strands puzzle honors the freedom and fun of non-motorized vehicles. From skateboards to bicycles, this puzzle offers a joyful ride through the world of wheels and tricks on May Day.
This May Day, with the dynamic energy of spring in full bloom, is an invitation for the puzzler to experience the thrills that motion can provide. Wheels are whirling; acrobatics are being performed: the theme encapsulates anything that has non-motorized might ever find along the ups and downs of life.
From the adrenaline of a skateboard to the wheels of the rollerblades, today’s grid celebrates the vehicles that move the world.
To open up clues in Strands, start by typing in any non-theme word that is four letters or more. For each three acceptable non-theme entries made, one useful hint will be obtained, giving direction through the puzzle. DACK, BLADE, CYCLE, or ROLL are good starters to begin with. These words might not be in the theme, but they are stepping stones to finding out what is hidden in between the grid.
By examining these common words, clues will increasingly become apparent so that a clearer sense of the theme can be achieved and the puzzle’s hidden words come into focus.
Today’s puzzle promotes the non-motorized vehicles that are always a part of the fun and epitomizes freedom and happiness. This theme evokes recollections of spinning wheels, from the exhilarating exhilaration of a bike ride to the gliding tricks on a skateboard, each offering a unique kind of excitement and enchantment.
WHEELIE, the spangram of an atypical clue, passing horizontally across the matrix into the center of much attraction, unites the entire theme. This word gives life to all wheeled things, thus completing every clue of the puzzle. As soon as WHEELIE was revealed, the total puzzle came into place, filling in the theme in full.
SKATEBOARD – A traditional one, where tricks are done on ramps and sidewalks both.
SCOOTER – Smooth and speedy, ideal for quick trips.
ROLLERBLADES – The height of speed and agility, the most popular choice.
BICYCLE – The classic ride, giving the sense of open-road freedom on just two wheels.
WAGON – The weird but wonderful vehicle that doesn’t do tricks but still does the job.
This May Day, the Strands puzzle presents a playfully dynamic challenge to relish the thrill of rolling and sliding. WHEELIE’s discovery brings it all together, as a good ride should. Gone are April’s puzzles, but May brings fresh challenges, new themes, and more ways to keep the mind active. Here’s to wheels that never tire, and to puzzles that never cease to occupy the mind
