Issue #576 Mon 21 Apr
Strands hints — April 21, 2025
The house lights dim and the velvet curtain rises on a sequence of short, punchy performances. This grid requires a steady hand to navigate the stage.
Theme 3 reveals
Today's theme
A spotlight sweeping across a bare floor, the smell of greasepaint, and the faint sound of a drum roll waiting for the next entrance.
Classic stage and theater performance arts.
COLLECTION OF PERFORMANCE TYPES
Spangram 4 nudges · 11 letters
The connector word
Compound noun consisting of two distinct words.
11 letters.
Starts with V, ends with S.
VARIETYACTS
Group hint 1 reveal
Show all starting letters
Starting letters
- 1 A (7 letters)
- 2 C (5 letters)
- 3 D (6 letters)
- 4 D (4 letters)
- 5 J (7 letters)
- 6 M (8 letters)
Group hint 1 reveal
Show the first two letters of each
First two letters
- 1 AC (7 letters)
- 2 CO (5 letters)
- 3 DA (6 letters)
- 4 DU (4 letters)
- 5 JU (7 letters)
- 6 MA (8 letters)
Theme word 1 of 6 5 nudges · 7 letters
A theme word
Someone who defies gravity and bends their body into impossible shapes on a high wire.
7 letters.
Starts with A.
Starts with AC.
ACROBAT
Theme word 2 of 6 5 nudges · 5 letters
A theme word
A person standing at a microphone delivering punchlines until the room erupts in laughter.
5 letters.
Starts with C.
Starts with CO.
COMIC
Theme word 3 of 6 5 nudges · 6 letters
A theme word
Moving in perfect rhythm to the music while every eye in the house tracks your footwork.
6 letters.
Starts with D.
Starts with DA.
DANCER
Theme word 4 of 6 5 nudges · 4 letters
A theme word
Two voices harmonizing perfectly or a pair of instruments playing a single, shared melody.
4 letters.
Starts with D.
Starts with DU.
DUET
Theme word 5 of 6 5 nudges · 7 letters
A theme word
Keeping five colorful pins in the air at once without letting a single one drop to the floor.
7 letters.
Starts with J.
Starts with JU.
JUGGLER
Theme word 6 of 6 5 nudges · 8 letters
A theme word
A deck of cards fans out and vanishes, leaving the audience wondering how the trick was done.
8 letters.
Starts with M.
Starts with MA.
MAGICIAN