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"

??

?

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