Today’s NYT Crossword: Clues, Anagrams, and Solutions for Wednesday, May 15

The New York Times has introduced a challenging new daily puzzle called Strands, a twist on the classic word search that requires a sharp eye to solve. Similar to popular games like Wordle and Connections, Strands can be tricky on some days, but there’s no shame in seeking a little help.

To play Strands, players must find the “theme words” hidden in a grid of letters by manipulating and selecting letters to form words. Every letter in the grid is used to spell out the theme words without any overlap, and each letter is used only once. Players can also uncover hints by finding non-theme words that are at least four letters long.

Each puzzle includes a special “spangram,” a theme word that describes the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. The goal is to complete the puzzle quickly and efficiently without relying too heavily on hints.

Today’s theme for the Strands puzzle is “On board,” with a hint that the puzzle is all about baseball. The spangram for today’s puzzle is “DUGOUT,” with additional theme words including “STANDS,” “INFIELD,” “PLATE,” “MOUND,” “BASE,” and “BULLPEN.”

If you’re looking to challenge your mind and test your word skills, give Strands a try and see if you can solve the puzzle without too much assistance.