#545Saturday, August 30, 2025
Strands answers for August 30, 2025 — “No small matter” (#545)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for August 30, 2025 (puzzle #545) is BIGDEAL, a 7-letter answer to the theme "No small matter". The 6 theme words are COLOSSAL, ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC, HUGE, MASSIVE and MIGHTY.
Where is each answer on the August 30 Strands board?
Strands #545 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram BIGDEAL.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLOSSAL | 8 | row 5, column 3 | row 7, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| ENORMOUS | 8 | row 2, column 3 | row 2, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| GIGANTIC | 8 | row 5, column 4 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| HUGE | 4 | row 2, column 2 | row 3, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| MASSIVE | 7 | row 6, column 4 | row 6, column 1 | right to left |
| MIGHTY | 6 | row 3, column 5 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| BIGDEAL | 7 | row 5, column 1 | row 6, column 6 | left to right |
What did the August 30 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 7 letters6 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 U-O-M-R-O-Y, row 2 reads S-H-E-N-H-T, row 3 reads U-E-G-D-M-G, row 4 reads G-I-I-S-E-I, row 5 reads B-V-C-G-S-A, row 6 reads E-O-I-M-A-L, row 7 reads A-L-L-G-T-I, and row 8 reads S-S-O-A-N-C.
How hard was the August 30 Strands puzzle?
Strands #545 scores above average on our difficulty index, harder than 67% of every Strands puzzle published so far.
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 August 30 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #545 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the August 30 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on August 30, 2025?
The Strands clue for August 30, 2025 is “No small matter”, on puzzle #545. It is answered by the spangram BIGDEAL, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on August 30, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for August 30, 2025 are COLOSSAL, ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC, HUGE, MASSIVE and MIGHTY, plus the spangram BIGDEAL.
What was the big word in the August 30, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for August 30, 2025 is BIGDEAL, 7 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 6, 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 “No small matter” mean?
The Strands theme “No small matter” for August 30, 2025 means BIGDEAL — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands August 30, 2025?
Strands puzzle #545 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the August 30, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #545 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 67% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on August 30, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, August 30, 2025 is #545, 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 August 2025, part of the full Strands archive.