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Need help with the August 19, 2025, NYT Strands puzzle? The theme is “Dash it!” Use the hints below before revealing the spangram and four theme words. Puzzle numbering differs between answer archives, so the date is the clearest way to identify it.
Hints for August 19, 2025
These are editorial hints based on the answer set, not official NYT clues. Stop at any point if you want to keep solving.
- Think of familiar expressions whose written form may include punctuation.
- The theme points to a punctuation mark that joins parts of a compound expression.
- The spangram describes that written treatment.
Answers for the August 19 Strands puzzle
Spoilers below.
- Theme: “Dash it!”
- Spangram: HYPHENATED
- Theme words: HOCUSPOCUS, HOITYTOITY, PELLMELL, WILLYNILLY
The four expressions are commonly written with hyphens: hocus-pocus, hoity-toity, pell-mell, and willy-nilly. HYPHENATED describes their shared written form. This is an explanation of the answer set, not a quoted explanation from the puzzle maker.
Why puzzle numbers differ
Strands Unlimited’s date-keyed archive labels this puzzle #228, while TechRadar calls the August 19 puzzle #534. The available records do not resolve the discrepancy, so identify this one by its date rather than treating either number as definitive. Strands Unlimited’s August 19 archive entry and TechRadar’s dated answer page agree on the theme and spangram.
Quick Recap
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