Today's NYT Strands puzzle is all about the Academy Awards — perfectly timed to coincide with Oscar weekend. It's a fun and topical theme, but some of the answers are trickier than they look at first glance. Here are all the hints and the full answer list for March 15, 2026.
What Is NYT Strands?
NYT Strands is the New York Times' elevated word-search game. Find themed words by connecting letters in any direction — up, down, left, right, or diagonally — and every letter in the grid must be used. Each puzzle has a spangram: a word or phrase that captures the day spans the entire grid from one side to the other.
Today's Theme Hint
The hint for March 15, 2026 is: "Best of all"
The words are all related to Academy Award categories. The theme lands right on Oscar weekend, making it a timely and satisfying solve for film fans.
Spangram Hint
- Horizontal or vertical? Horizontal
NYT Strands Spangram Answer — March 15, 2026
The spangram for today is: ACADEMYAWARD
ACADEMYAWARD spans the grid horizontally, tying all the theme words together under the banner of Hollywood's most prestigious honour.
NYT Strands Word List — March 15, 2026
All answers for today's puzzle:
- SONG
- ACTOR
- ACTRESS
- SOUND
- DIRECTOR
- PICTURE
Full Puzzle Answers Summary
Today's theme revolves around Academy Award categories. The spangram ACADEMYAWARD acts as the anchor, and every theme word is a category given out at the Oscars ceremony. PICTURE refers to Best Picture, the ceremony's top prize, while DIRECTOR and ACTOR are among the most hotly contested categories each year. ACTRESS, SONG, and SOUND round out the list — SOUND in particular can catch solvers off guard, as it's easy to overlook as an awards category rather than a general word.
For yesterday's puzzle, see our "Mountain band." March 13, 2026 NYT Strands hints and answers. You can also browse our archive starting with the "Out-and-out" March 12, 2026 Strands answers.
About NYT Strands
NYT Strands launched as a beta puzzle from The New York Times Games team and quickly became a daily fixture for word game fans. Unlike a standard word search, every single letter on the board must be used — which means finding all the theme words and the spangram is the only way to complete the grid. The spangram always stretches from one edge of the board to the opposite edge, making it a powerful anchor once you locate it.