In the context of the New York Times’ Strands puzzle, “Spoonerism strands” refer to words that exemplify spoonerisms—a type of verbal error where the initial sounds or letters of two words are swapped, often resulting in humorous phrases. For example, saying “a lack of pies” instead of “a pack of lies.”
In the Strands puzzle for March 17, 2025, the spangram (the word that spans the entire grid) was “SPOONERISMS,” highlighting this theme. The puzzle featured words like “Bedding,” “Stricken,” “Blushing,” “Crow,” “Wells,” and “Chips,” which are examples of common spoonerisms when their initial letters are swapped, forming phrases such as “Bedding wells” (instead of “wedding bells”) and “Blushing crow” (instead of “crushing blow”).
Therefore, “Spoonerism strands” in this puzzle are interconnected words that, when their starting letters are interchanged, create familiar spooneristic expressions.