NYT Strands Hints and Answers for December 9, 2025 (#646)
Spoiler-safe hints for the NYT Strands puzzle of December 9, 2025: the theme clue first, then first letters, word lengths, the spangram, and the full grid.
Stuck on the Strands puzzle of December 9, 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 December 9, 2025, one rung at a time
ThemeToday’s theme
On the court
Start from the clue “On the court”. 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, D, D, G, J, R, S. Two of them start with the same letter (D).
Hint 3Word lengths
The theme words are 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7 and 7 letters long. The shortest is 4 letters, the longest 7.
SpangramThe spangram
BASKETBALL
It is a single word of 10 letters and it touches two opposite sides of the board.
Starts with B, ends with L.
AnswersAll theme words
- DUNK4 letters
- JUMP4 letters
- BLOCK5 letters
- GUARD5 letters
- SCREEN6 letters
- DRIBBLE7 letters
- REBOUND7 letters
BoardThe completed grid
Theme wordSpangramEach line follows one word; the small number is that letter’s place in it.