NYT Strands for Sunday, December 21, 2025, is game #658, with the theme clue “Big bad wolf.” Start with the spoiler-light nudges below; the full answer list is farther down.
Spoiler-light hints for Strands #658
The official theme clue reported for this puzzle is “Big bad wolf.” If you want a nudge without seeing the answers, think about a nursery-rhyme villain and what that character might do. Another hint: “Not by the hair of my chiny, chin, chin!”
For a stronger hint, the 15-letter spangram touches the right edge of the grid on row three and the left edge on row four. [TechRadar]
How Strands hints work
Strands is a themed word-search game played on a six-by-eight grid. Trace connected letters to form theme words; the answers fill the board. The spangram describes the theme and connects two opposite sides. Theme words turn blue when found, while the spangram turns yellow. Finding three valid words that are not theme answers earns an in-game hint showing letters from a theme word. These mechanics are summarized in the cited guides, which attribute the rules to NYT. [Forbes] [Parade]
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Full answers for December 21, 2025
Spoilers ahead. Forbes, TechRadar and Parade agree on the solution set for game #658. [Forbes] [TechRadar] [Parade]
- Spangram: THREELITTLEPIGS
- Theme words: HUFF, PUFF, BRICKS, STICKS, STRAW, BLOW and DOWN
The theme is “Big bad wolf.” The full board has seven theme words and one spangram.
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More spoilers: The answers begin with these letter pairs: HU, TH, PU, BR, ST, BL, DO and ST. This list includes the spangram; use it only if you want a final nudge before checking the complete solution. [Forbes]
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