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Spoiler warning: The complete answers for NYT Strands game #527 appear below. Stop after the hints if you want to solve the archived Tuesday, August 12, 2025 puzzle yourself.
What is the Strands theme for August 12?
The theme is “Spitting image.” The clues point to words for a copy, counterpart, or close likeness.
Progressive hints for Strands #527
Theme clue
Think of something that looks exactly or very much like another thing.
First-letter clues
The five theme words begin with DO, FA, RE, DU, and LO. The spangram begins with CO.
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Spangram placement
The eight-letter spangram starts at the left edge of row four and ends at the right edge of row six.
Words that can unlock in-game hints
Finding three non-theme words of at least four letters earns an in-game hint that reveals a theme word. The reported hint-unlocking words are PORE, LIKE, FELT, SCALE, DITCH, and PLACES; these are not the puzzle’s answers.
Strands #527 answers
Ready for the full solution? The five theme words are:
- DOUBLE
- DUPLICATE
- FACSIMILE
- LOOKALIKE
- REPLICA
The spangram is COPY THAT—eight letters without the space.
Rank #3
How Strands clues work
Strands is a word-search-style game played on a letter grid. Find the theme words, then identify the spangram: a word or phrase that summarizes the theme and touches opposite sides of the board. The hint-unlocking words are separate from the theme answers; they help reveal an answer in-game rather than forming part of the solution.
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