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Today’s Strands puzzle drives solvers through a grid filled with car names inspired by animals. The spangram “AUTOMOBILES” ties together vehicles like BRONCO, MUSTANG, and JAGUAR, making for a clever and nostalgic challenge.
Today’s Strands puzzle gears up for more familiar terrain, driving down memory lane on a theme that revs both logic and identification. It’s the type of puzzle that marries the rush of a road trip with the contented rumble of oiled-up wordplay. Today’s installment is a smooth but surprising ride through vocabulary for everybody.
It’s as thrilling as taking the open road in a vintage car, each response a scenic detour on the way.
The puzzle grid contains a 6x8 layout of letters. Your task? Find theme words that share a common theme, and uncover the mid-grid ‘spangram’. This is a word or phrase that runs along one side of the grid to the other. This spangram connects all the theme words. Each successfully solved theme word flashes blue, while the spangram shines yellow once discovered.
To find the theme, you’ll first need to find at least three unrelated words that are four or more letters long. These are strategic breadcrumbs, not themed but necessary, to guide you to the correct path of the puzzle. When you crack these, the board is easier to navigate, and the themed answers start to emerge.
This is the word that holds it together. The string that dashes around the board. As soon as you see AUTOMOBILES, it becomes obvious: this day’s puzzle is powered by cars named for animals.
All these car names have something in common: they are also animals in the wild.
BRONCO – A tough, unbridled horse, and a similarly spirited car.
IMPALA – Elegant and speedy, on the savannah or the open road.
MUSTANG – The archetypal muscle car, named after the open-range horse.
BEETLE – Tiny and legendary, like its bug inspiration.
JAGUAR – Agile, muscular, and sumptuous, a purist in its pedigree.
RABBIT – Compact, speedy, and an unexpected tip of the hat to an iconic Volkswagen model.
Each of these titles spices up the puzzle, combining the realms of nature and car design. Some are immediately recognizable, while others evoke intrigue and a little retro memory.
Today’s Strands puzzle is an engaging detour through animal-inspired engineering. It’s a word search that honors both wild creatures and the cars we’ve named after them. The discovery of the spangram makes the rest of the answers click into place, making for a deeply satisfying solve.
Much like a classic road trip, it’s about the journey. Today’s journey ends with a sense of accomplished fun and wordy delight.
