Tech
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 31, 2026

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you believe in magic.
Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: While you were sleeping…
The words are related to a mythical creature.
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe a children's tradition.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today's spangram is Tooth Fairy.
NYT Strands word list for March 31
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Wings
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Exchange
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Tutu
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Wand
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Coin
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Note
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Pillow
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Tooth Fairy
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.
Tech
Dysons double-laser, ultra-light PencilVac just hit a record-low price at Amazon

SAVE 25%: As of April 3, you can get the Dyson PencilVac for $449.99, down from $599.99. That's a 25% discount or $150 savings.
If you've been looking for a vacuum that takes the term "stick vacuum" literally, the ultra-slim and aptly named Dyson PencilVac features a 1.5-inch handle that fits right into the palm of your hand.
Right now, you can get the Dyson PencilVac at Amazon for $449.99, down from $599.99. That's a 25% discount or a $150 price cut. It's also the lowest price we've seen this model go for, according to our trusty price-tracking tool CamelCamelCamel. (Prime members can also take advantage of free returns and fast delivery.)
Mashable's Senior Shopping Reporter and vacuum expert, Leah Stodart, says the Dyson PencilVac "is a stick vacuum in the most literal sense of the term." It's super lightweight (less than four pounds), and the motor, battery, and dustbin are built completely flush into the wand. It also features these cool "Fluffycones" that actively strip long hair from the brush roll so it doesn't get tangled — though it doesn't come with a mini motorized pet tool. However, it more than makes up for it with its dual-laser action that lights up hidden dust and crumbs on your hard floors.
Tech
This 55-inch Samsung OLED 4K TV is under $900 at Amazon — save $500

SAVE $500: The 55-inch Samsung OLED 4K S85F Series TV is on sale for $897.99 at Amazon, down from the list price of $1,397.99. That's a 36% discount.
The Amazon Big Spring Sale has come and gone, but Amazon forgot to turn off the discounts on TVs. We're still seeing many models sitting at their sale price two days later, but we're not mad. Baseball season is here, after all, and if you could use an upgrade to watch this year's games, check out this Samsung deal.
As of April 2, the 55-inch Samsung OLED 4K S85F Series TV is on sale at Amazon for $897.99, down from the list price of $1,397.99. That's a 36% discount that takes $500 off the price.
With 4K resolution, dynamic brightness, and excellent contrast, the 55-inch Samsung OLED TV will be a welcomed addition to your home's entertainment setup. Samsung mentions this model uses the brand's NQ4 AI Gen2 processor to ensure each scene has optimal brightness. Samsung also tapped into the color experts at Pantone to make sure skin tones were realistic and accurate.
When it comes to watching sports on the 55-inch Samsung OLED, the 120Hz Motion Xcelerator brings smoothness to quick movements. Plus, Samsung used object tracking sound technology which allows sound to follow objects on screen, giving a more life-like experience.
In addition to today's sale price, Amazon is tossing in free delivery and unpacking service, which usually costs $29.99. This means delivery will come to the room of your choice with unboxing and packaging removal.
Upgrade to the 55-inch Samsung OLED 4K S85F Series TV while it's still sitting at the sale price we saw earlier this week at Amazon's Big Spring Sale sale. You'll be saving $500 that can be used for your favorite streaming services in the future.
Tech
The PlayStation 6 could ditch the built-in disc drive

The next generation of PlayStation consoles might not appeal to people who enjoy building physical game collections.
A hardware leaker known as KeplerL2 posted in the NeoGAF forums this week (via WCCF Tech), claiming that the still-unconfirmed PlayStation 6 will not have a disc drive built in.
In a reply to another user's inquiry, KeplerL2 also said the base PS6 would come with just 1TB of storage space on its internal SSD. For reference, that's exactly the same as most PS5 models. Typically, specs like that only get better over time, but it seems like Sony might make a lateral move at best for storage capacity this time around.
That's almost certainly because of the AI-driven global RAM shortage, which was recently rumored to potentially cause the PS6 to miss its intended late 2027 launch date. All things being equal, Sony might be inclined to put a 2TB drive in each base PS5, but that might not be feasible right now.
As for the lack of a disc drive, that's going to ruffle feathers for a multitude of reasons.
Yes, the PS5 has had a no-disc-drive variant since its launch in 2020, but Sony also sells a standalone attachable disc drive unit in case users want one. Obviously, Sony could do the same with the PS6, but we don't know that yet. And while a large majority of video game sales happen in digital marketplaces as opposed to physical retail stores, plenty of people still like to own their games, whether it's out of concern for digital storefronts eventually shutting down, or just to build a nice collection of physical media. And, of course, sometimes you get good discounts on used games.
Needless to say, if this is true, it will be controversial.
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