NYT Strands is the daily word-search-style puzzle from the New York Times that challenges you to uncover theme-linked words hidden across a letter grid. On 31 December 2025, the theme “If you ask me …” focused on how we express personal views, with several related words and a spangram that neatly tied the whole idea together.

31 December 2025 NYT Strands Theme: “Circle Back”

Today’s theme revolved around things that move in loops or repeat endlessly. The puzzle felt intuitive once the idea clicked, but the overlapping letters and similar meanings made it slightly tricky. The spangram was fairly long, stretching across the grid and reinforcing the sense of continuous motion.

31 December 2025 NYT Strands: Hints

  • Think about actions that involve turning or moving around a center point
  • Look for verbs that describe continuous or repeated motion
  • Some words may feel similar in meaning, so pay attention to direction changes
  • Try tracing curved paths through the grid rather than straight lines
  • Spangram ties the idea of endless repetition together

31 December 2025 NYT Strands: Answers

  • Circle
  • Spin
  • Orbit
  • Whirl
  • Rotate

Spangram

Round and Round

The spangram captures the core idea of constant circular motion, linking all the theme words together by emphasizing repetition, loops, and movement that never truly stops.

How Strands works

Strands is a daily word search puzzle with a twist:

  • You’re given a theme.
  • The grid is packed with hidden words tied to that theme.
  • Words can run in any direction, including diagonals.
  • Once you find all the theme words, you’re done!

Each puzzle usually has around 6–8 theme words.

How to get and use hints

Hints are built right into Strands, and they’re super useful if you’re stuck:

  • To earn a hint, find any non-theme word of at least four letters in the grid.
  • Each valid extra word gives you one hint.
  • When you use a hint, one of the theme words will be revealed automatically, helping you move forward.

Pro tip: Don’t just burn hints — use them strategically when the grid feels impossible. Sometimes a single revealed word unlocks the entire board.

Tips to become a NYT Strands pro

  1. Start with obvious words. Look for clear connections to the theme first.
  2. Scan diagonals early. Strands loves to hide words at an angle.
  3. Build around found words. Once one word is cleared, the leftover letters often point to the next.
  4. Use hints wisely. Earn them steadily by spotting extra words, then save them for when you’re truly stuck.
  5. Think about synonyms. The theme clue isn’t always literal — broaden your thinking.

Final words

The 31 December 2025 NYT Strands puzzle was moderately challenging, with a fun theme that felt fitting for the end of the year. Once the circular idea clicked, the grid came together smoothly. How many did you find before spotting the spangram?

Come back tomorrow for a fresh grid and theme — and tell us in the comments which word stumped you the most today!