Having trouble with the NYT Strand puzzle? Today's puzzle theme "Give it the ol' college try" is a difficult problem for those from outside the US.

Below are the clues and answers for Strands #134. Please read on if you need a little help, as we will start with the hints and then connect them to the full answer to Strands #134.

WARNING: There are spoilers for Strands #134.

The official theme of NYT Strands #134 is... The Old College Try.

And here's an unofficial hint from me: "Difficulty."

If you're still not sure, here's a handy word that gives you a valuable hint:

Still having trouble? Spangram gives you a hint on conjunctions. Today it starts with 'U' and ends with 'S'.

Scroll down to see what it is.

UNIVERSITIES.

Now, what is the answer to today's game #134 strand?

Drum roll please.

... Spangram was UNIVERSITIES.

Strands #134

"Give it the ol' college try"

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Hello Strands fans! Having been educated in the UK and never lived in the US, I don't know much about US universities other than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT.

That's why today's puzzle was really difficult and I actually had to use a clue on the first turn. The BROWN to its left was also a name I had heard of, but I did not recognize the TEMPLE.

UNIVERSITIES snaked just above those three words, splitting the board in two and leaving three answers in the top half.

After trying "Western," I realized this was part of the longer "NORTHWESTERN." With nine letters left, I found two answers.

RICE was another unfamiliar word, but I knew TUFTS.

This was really tricky for me, as it really shows that in Strands, if you don't know the subject matter of a topic, you are immediately in trouble. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to my strengths. ......

Are you reading this late in the day? The full text of Strand's answer to yesterday's Round 133 can be found here.