Listed here are the solutions for the NYT Strands puzzle #653 at the moment, launched on December sixteenth, 2025, and a few hints that will help you resolve them.
The New York Occasions are identified for the big selection of video games they publish for readers to finish on the each day. That they had additionally printed the viral phrase recreation, Wordle, in 2022, so as to add to their assortment.
A brand new recreation has been launched by the paper, referred to as Strands, which is at the moment in beta. On this recreation, there’s a theme of phrases on a board and you want to discover the theme associated phrases.
After getting discovered a theme associated phrase, it can keep stuffed in blue and to create these phrases, you will have to tug or sort the letters. The entire letters on the board are used to make up phrases for the theme and the letters don’t overlap into different phrases.

There may be additionally a “spangram” which is a phrase on the board that describes the theme of the puzzle for the day. It’s going to contact two reverse sides of the board and could also be two phrases.
After getting discovered the spangram phrase, it can keep highlighted in yellow.
An instance of a spangram is FRUIT, and the opposite themed phrases can be PEAR, BANANA and APPLE.

In case you are struggling to search out any phrases regarding the theme, you may attempt to discover different phrases on the board, which is not going to keep highlighted, however will show you how to to get hints. You have to to search out three non-theme phrases to get a touch.
Strands 653 Hints Today (December sixteenth, 2025)
Today’s theme or trace for the puzzle is, “LET ME COUNT THE WAYS” and there are six theme phrases to be discovered.

Extra hints that will help you resolve the Strands puzzle launched at the moment is:
- Two phrases within the Spangram at the moment.
- There are 4 and 6 letters within the Spangram phrases at the moment.
Strands 653 Spangram Reply Today (December sixteenth, 2025)
With each puzzle, there’s a spangram, which helps describe the theme. The spangram for the puzzle launched on December sixteenth is:
HIGH PRAISE
The phrase begins within the backside proper nook and ends on the high of the grid.
The precise location of the Spangram phrase might be seen beneath:

Strands 653 Answer Today (12/16/2025)
Listed here are the entire different themed phrases for the Stands 653 puzzle:
- FUNNY
- CHARMING
- SMART
- BEAUTIFUL
- KINDHEARTED

Tell us within the feedback beneath which phrases you bought caught on.
