NYT Strands Hints and Answers for September 18, 2025 (#564)
Spoiler-safe hints for the NYT Strands puzzle of September 18, 2025: the theme clue first, then first letters, word lengths, the spangram, and the full grid.
Stuck on the Strands puzzle of September 18, 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 September 18, 2025, one rung at a time
ThemeToday’s theme
Practice makes perfect
Start from the clue “Practice makes perfect”. Once you see what the 6 theme words have in common, the grid opens up quickly.
Hint 2First letters
Sorted alphabetically, the first letters are C, R, S, T, T, T. Two of them start with the same letter (T).
Hint 3Word lengths
The theme words are 4, 5, 5, 6, 7 and 9 letters long. The shortest is 4 letters, the longest 9.
SpangramThe spangram
PIANOLESSONS
It is a single word of 12 letters and it touches two opposite sides of the board.
Starts with P, ends with S.
AnswersAll theme words
- TUNE4 letters
- CHORD5 letters
- SCALE5 letters
- THEORY6 letters
- RECITAL7 letters
- TECHNIQUE9 letters
BoardThe completed grid
Theme wordSpangramEach line follows one word; the small number is that letter’s place in it.