NYT Strands Hints and Answers for June 27, 2025 (#481)
Spoiler-safe hints for the NYT Strands puzzle of June 27, 2025: the theme clue first, then first letters, word lengths, the spangram, and the full grid.
Stuck on the Strands puzzle of June 27, 2025? Start with the theme, take one rung at a time, and stop as soon as the grid opens up. Nothing below is revealed until you tap it.
Hints for June 27, 2025, one rung at a time
ThemeToday’s theme
Playing dirty
Start from the clue “Playing dirty”. Once you see what the 7 theme words have in common, the grid opens up quickly.
Hint 2First letters
Sorted alphabetically, the first letters are B, F, M, R, S, S, T. Two of them start with the same letter (S).
Hint 3Word lengths
The theme words are 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6 and 6 letters long. The shortest is 4 letters, the longest 6.
SpangramThe spangram
SANDBOXTOYS
It is a single word of 11 letters and it touches two opposite sides of the board.
Starts with S, ends with S.
AnswersAll theme words
- MOLD4 letters
- RAKE4 letters
- TRUCK5 letters
- BUCKET6 letters
- FUNNEL6 letters
- SHOVEL6 letters
- SIFTER6 letters
BoardThe completed grid
Theme wordSpangramEach line follows one word; the small number is that letter’s place in it.