NYT Strands Hints and Answers for December 15, 2025 (#652)
Spoiler-safe hints for the NYT Strands puzzle of December 15, 2025: the theme clue first, then first letters, word lengths, the spangram, and the full grid.
Stuck on the Strands puzzle of December 15, 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 15, 2025, one rung at a time
ThemeToday’s theme
Palette episodes
The puzzle calls today’s theme “Palette episodes”. Read it loosely: the 8 answers are examples of it, not synonyms for it.
Hint 2First letters
Sorted alphabetically, the first letters are A, B, B, G, G, G, L, W. Several share a starting letter (B, G).
Hint 3Word lengths
The theme words are 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6 and 6 letters long. The shortest is 4 letters, the longest 6.
SpangramThe spangram
COLORTV
It is a single word of 7 letters and it touches two opposite sides of the board.
Starts with C, ends with V.
AnswersAll theme words
- BLUE4 letters
- ACRES5 letters
- GIRLS5 letters
- GREEN5 letters
- LOTUS5 letters
- WHITE5 letters
- BLOODS6 letters
- GOLDEN6 letters
BoardThe completed grid
Theme wordSpangramEach line follows one word; the small number is that letter’s place in it.