NYT Strands game #477, for Monday, June 23, 2025, has the theme “Breaking up the band.” Start with the hints below if you want to solve it yourself; the answers are farther down, after a spoiler warning.
Hints for Strands #477
- Theme: “Breaking up the band.”
- Think about: The theme points to three rock bands whose names can be split into two words.
- Spangram: It has 10 letters, not counting the space, and its path touches the left and right sides of the board at the fifth row.
Optional clue words listed by TechRadar for unlocking in-game hints are PAGE, TICK, SPLAT, PRAM, SACK and SCAM.
How to play NYT Strands
Strands is played on a 6×8 letter grid, with no word bank. Find words connected through neighboring letters; connections can run vertically, horizontally or diagonally, and a word’s path can change direction. You cannot use the same letter twice in one word. The theme guides you toward the themed answers, while the spangram names the theme and reaches two opposite sides of the board.
Find three valid words that are not theme answers to unlock a hint highlighting one theme word. These rules are described by Strands.Game, a third-party site that says it is not affiliated with the New York Times.
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Spoiler warning: Strands answers for June 23, 2025
The answers are below. Stop here if you still want to solve the puzzle without spoilers.
Theme answers
- CHEAP
- TRICK
- TALKING
- HEADS
- SMASHING
- PUMPKINS
Spangram
ROCK GROUPS
How the answers fit the theme
Pair the entries to form three band names: Cheap Trick, Talking Heads and Smashing Pumpkins. Together, the pairs are the “rock groups” named by the spangram.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
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