The NYT Strands puzzle for Sunday, August 24, 2025, is game #539. Its theme clue is “Plug your ears.” If you want a nudge before seeing the solution, start with the spoiler-light hints below; the complete word list and spangram are farther down.
Hints for Strands #539
- Theme clue: “Plug your ears.”
- Extra nudge: Think “Deafening.” This is a hint from Forbes’ puzzle guide, not an official NYT clue.
Starting-letter hints
For a more specific nudge without revealing the full words, Parade gives these starting letters in order: LO, NO, BO, BL, ST, BO. The spangram begins HU.
Spangram direction
The spangram runs horizontally across the fifth row, from the right edge to the left, according to TechRadar.
Answers for Sunday, August 24
Spoilers below: the following list reveals every theme word and the spangram.
- BLASTING
- LOUD
- BOOMING
- NOISY
- STRIDENT
- BOISTEROUS
Spangram: HUBBUB
How the Strands puzzle works
Strands is a word-search-style game played on a six-by-eight grid. The goal is to find the theme words and a spangram, a word that describes their connection and reaches two opposite sides of the grid. The cited puzzle guides describe theme words as highlighted blue and the spangram as yellow. Parade says players can drag or tap letters, and that finding three non-theme words earns an in-game hint. These mechanics are descriptions in the guides rather than a fresh check of the original NYT interface.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the theme fits
The words all describe sound that is loud or hard to ignore: something can be loud, noisy, booming, strident, or boisterous; “blasting” evokes sound at high volume. “Hubbub” names the noisy commotion tying the set together.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
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