NYT Reveals Puzzle Tips and Solution for Friday, April 25, 2025 Crossword
Looking for some help with the Strands puzzle on April 25, 2025, theme "It's in the stars"? Bookmark this page for easy access to our daily hints, including past puzzles! Here are some oblique hints for today's Strands answers:
Hint for the spangram in today's Strands puzzle
A term for those celestial patterns we find between the stars, sometimes used for navigation or storytelling.
Hint for the theme words in today's Strands puzzle
Specific star-shaped images we see in the night sky, so remember the visuals, not their given names.
Spoiler Alert!
We're about to reveal the answers to today's Strands puzzle.
What is the spangram in today's Strands?
Today's spangram is CONSTELLATIONS.
What are the theme words in today's Strands?
Today's theme words are: HUNTER, SWAN, MAIDEN, CENTAUR, DIPPER, CROSS.
Here's what the board looks like once the puzzle is solved:
How I solved today's Strands
I bet my prized moon rock that today's puzzle is going to be about constellations.
Eureka! I found the spangram: CONSTELLATIONS. 🟡
DIPPER is along the bottom row. 🔵
CROSS is in the bottom right corner. 🔵 (That must be the Southern Cross, I presume.)
I don't see any zodiac names (Taurus, Gemini, etc.) and I don't see Orion. I don't see Ursa or Cassiopeia. Hmm.
Ah, there's CENTAUR above DIPPER. 🔵 That one's called Centaurus. OK, so we're looking more for what constellations depict than their actual names.
There's HUNTER (Orion) along the top. 🔵
SWAN (Cygnus) is along the right edge. 🔵
Lastly, MAIDEN (Virgo). 🔵 That one was tough!
How to play Strands
Play the Strands game on the New York Times website or in their NYT Games app.
You'll see a game board filled with letters, accompanied by a theme clue. Your mission is to discover hidden words within the board reflecting the puzzle's specific theme.
Crossword meets word search
The most important word to find is the "spangram," which more explicitly states the puzzle's theme. (For example, the spangram for the puzzle with the theme “Better with age” could be FERMENTED, which delineates products that are, indeed, better with age.) The spangram stretches across the entire game board, running either left to right or top to bottom (hence the name). When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted in yellow. Solving the spangram usually makes the rest of the puzzle much simpler.
In Strands, words can travel in any direction (up, down, left, right, or diagonally), and you will only use each letter once. There is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the puzzle's words (such as KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it will be highlighted in blue.
If you need help solving the puzzle, you can submit non-theme words of four letters or more to earn credit for a single hint. If you submit three non-theme words, the "Hint" button will become clickable; if you click it, all of the letters in one of the theme words will be highlighted for you. You will still need to arrange these highlighted letters in the correct order to form one of the theme words. If a hint is already on the board, and you use another hint before solving that word, the order of the letters for that word will be revealed.
How to win Strands
Unlike Connections and Wordle, you cannot fail Strands. When you submit guesses, you will either uncover an answer, receive credit toward a hint, or the text will bounce back and forth, informing you that the word you submitted is too short or invalid. You can't run out of guesses, and there is no time limit.
You win when you've utilized all the letters on the board, meaning that you have discovered the spangram and all of the theme words. As with other NYT games, upon solving the puzzle, you will be presented with a shareable card displaying how you performed that day: blue dots 🔵 indicate theme words you found, a yellow dot 🟡 indicates when you discovered the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates words for which you received a hint.
Remember to dream beyond our tiny blue planet and search the vast expanse of space for today's Strands puzzle solutions. Best of luck, and happy stargazing!
References
[1] J. Mikino, "NYT Strands - Answers for April 25, 2025 puzzle," Reflections and Steps, April 25, 2025, https://jmikino.github.io/reflections-steps/2025/04/25/nyt_strands_april_25_2025.html.[2] ICONIC, "NYT Strands: Answer key for April 25, 2025 puzzle," Iconic, April 25, 2025, https://www.iconicuri.com/Strands-Answer-Key-April-25-2025.[3] Strands Online, "Solutions for April 25, 2025," Strands Online, April 25, 2025, https://strands-online.com/solutions/20250425/.[4] Jonathan, "Relatively Curious - NYT Strands April 25, 2025 answers / solution," Relatively Curious, April 25, 2025, https://relativelycurious.com/2025/04/25/nyt-strands-april-25-2025-answers-solution/.[5] NYT Spoilers, "Strands April 25, 2025," NYT Spoilers, April 25, 2025, https://www.nytspoilers.com/strands/.
Hey there! Today's Strands puzzle on April 25, 2025, with the theme "It's in the stars", seems to be based on constellations. If you're bookmarking this page for daily hints, remember to check back here for help with tomorrow's entertainment! Today's spangram was CONSTELLATIONS, with theme words including HUNTER, SWAN, MAIDEN, CENTAUR, DIPPER, and CROSS. Solving today's Strands puzzle was akin to a scavenger hunt in the night sky, with each theme word representing various celestial patterns also known as constellations.
As entertainment for Friday, give this considered puzzle a try on the New York Times website or NYT Games app, especially if you enjoy the march of words and stargazing. Once you've solved it, bookmark this page for future reference, as we'll provide daily hints for tomorrow's Strands—keeping your Fridays star-studded and buzzing with activity. Whether you're into astrology, word searches, or crossword puzzles, we hope Strands will definitely be a match made in the zodiac for you! Good luck and see you tomorrow!
