NYT Strands puzzle #480, for June 26, 2025, has the theme clue “Fowl business.” Need a nudge before the solution? Start with the clue and initials below, then open the spoiler sections for the spangram and full answer list.
Hints for Strands #480
Use these in order to reveal as little as possible:
- Theme clue: “Fowl business.”
- Theme-answer initials: QU, TU, GO, GR, PH, PA.
- Spangram hint: It runs mostly vertically. Its endpoints touch the left and right sides of the board in row five.
Spoiler: June 26 spangram
The spangram is GAMEBIRDS (“game birds”). It connects the theme to the category shared by the answers.
Spoiler: all six theme answers
- QUAIL
- TURKEY
- GOOSE
- GROUSE
- PHEASANT
- PARTRIDGE
The list is about game birds; it does not include chicken. That is an interpretation of the answer set, rather than a separately stated explanation from the New York Times. The answer set is also reported by Parade, TechRadar, Forbes, and Try Hard Guides.
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How Strands hints work
Theme words fill the board without overlapping. The spangram describes the theme and touches two opposite sides; it can consist of two words. Finding three non-theme words earns a hint that reveals the letters of a theme answer. If a hint is already active, the next one shows the order of its letters, according to the rules described by Parade and Try Hard Guides.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
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