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Spoiler warning: This is the historical NYT Strands puzzle for Thursday, December 12, 2024—not today’s current puzzle. It’s game #284, themed “Shape and bake.” Hints are below in increasing order of detail, followed by the full answer list.
Hints for Strands #284
Stop after any hint if you want to keep solving without seeing the full solution.
- Theme: Think of a tool used to shape a baking treat.
- Spangram clue: “Kitchen template.”
- Letter nudge: The theme words begin BU, DI, HE, AN, FL, ST, and BE. The spangram begins CO.
- Placement hint: The spangram runs horizontally from the left side to the right side of the board, touching row five at both ends.
Full answers for December 12, 2024
The spangram is COOKIECUTTER. The seven theme words are:
- BUNNY
- BELL
- STAR
- DIAMOND
- HEART
- ANGEL
- FLOWER
The complete list, including FLOWER, follows Parade’s date-matched answer guide; TechRadar’s visible text list does not include that word.
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How Strands works
In the instructions reproduced by Parade and attributed to The New York Times, players find theme words to fill the board by dragging or tapping letters to form words. Theme words are highlighted in blue and do not overlap. The spangram describes the theme, touches two opposite sides of the board, and is highlighted in yellow. Finding three non-theme words earns an in-game hint that reveals letters in a theme word.
Quick Recap
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Sources
- TechRadar’s December 12, 2024 guide identifies game #284, the theme, spangram clue and placement, and puzzle context.
- Parade’s December 12, 2024 guide provides the complete answer list, letter hints, and reproduced gameplay instructions.
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