#419Saturday, April 26, 2025
Strands answers for April 26, 2025 — “Face time” (#419)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 26, 2025 (puzzle #419) is MAKEUPEXAM, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Face time". The 5 theme words are BRONZER, CONCEALER, FOUNDATION, POWDER and PRIMER.
Where is each answer on the April 26 Strands board?
Strands #419 resolves to these 5 theme words plus the spangram MAKEUPEXAM.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRONZER | 7 | row 2, column 5 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| CONCEALER | 9 | row 2, column 2 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| FOUNDATION | 10 | row 7, column 2 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| POWDER | 6 | row 7, column 3 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| PRIMER | 6 | row 4, column 4 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| MAKEUPEXAM | 10 | row 1, column 4 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the April 26 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #419 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 10 letters5 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads C-N-O-M-Z-E, row 2 reads E-C-A-N-B-R, row 3 reads R-A-L-K-O-R, row 4 reads I-E-E-P-I-M, row 5 reads T-O-N-U-R-E, row 6 reads D-A-P-E-X-R, row 7 reads N-F-P-W-R-A, and row 8 reads U-O-O-D-E-M.
How hard was the April 26 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #419 as hard: it sits at the 99th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the April 26 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #419 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Ian Livengood. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the April 26 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 26, 2025?
The Strands clue for April 26, 2025 is “Face time”, on puzzle #419. It is answered by the spangram MAKEUPEXAM, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 26, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for April 26, 2025 are BRONZER, CONCEALER, FOUNDATION, POWDER and PRIMER, plus the spangram MAKEUPEXAM.
What was the big word in the April 26, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 26, 2025 is MAKEUPEXAM, 10 letters long, running from row 1, column 4 to row 8, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Face time” mean?
The Strands theme “Face time” for April 26, 2025 means MAKEUPEXAM — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands April 26, 2025?
Strands puzzle #419 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 26, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #419 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 99% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 26, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, April 26, 2025 is #419, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in April 2025, part of the full Strands archive.