NYT Strands Hints and Answers for December 28, 2025 (#665)
Spoiler-safe hints for the NYT Strands puzzle of December 28, 2025: the theme clue first, then first letters, word lengths, the spangram, and the full grid.
Stuck on the Strands puzzle of December 28, 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 28, 2025, one rung at a time
ThemeToday’s theme
Load up on tissues
Start from the clue “Load up on tissues”. 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 C, D, H, S, S, S, W. Two of them start with the same letter (S).
Hint 3Word lengths
The theme words are 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6 and 7 letters long. The shortest is 4 letters, the longest 7.
SpangramThe spangram
COLDSYMPTOM
It is a single word of 11 letters and it touches two opposite sides of the board.
Starts with C, ends with M.
AnswersAll theme words
- DRIP4 letters
- HACK4 letters
- COUGH5 letters
- SNORT5 letters
- SNEEZE6 letters
- WHEEZE6 letters
- SNIFFLE7 letters
BoardThe completed grid
Theme wordSpangramEach line follows one word; the small number is that letter’s place in it.