#647Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Strands answers for December 10, 2025 — “A Nobel effort” (#647)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 10, 2025 (puzzle #647) is LAUREATES, a 9-letter answer to the theme "A Nobel effort". The 5 theme words are CHEMISTRY, LITERATURE, MEDICINE, PEACE and PHYSICS.
Where is each answer on the December 10 Strands board?
Here are all 5 theme words from the December 10, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEMISTRY | 9 | row 5, column 2 | row 1, column 2 | bottom to top |
| LITERATURE | 10 | row 7, column 3 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| MEDICINE | 8 | row 3, column 4 | row 2, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| PEACE | 5 | row 7, column 6 | row 8, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| PHYSICS | 7 | row 4, column 6 | row 4, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| LAUREATES | 9 | row 1, column 3 | row 8, column 4 | top to bottom |
What did the December 10 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 6 words tile all 48 cells of the December 10, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 9 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 R-Y-L-D-I-C, row 2 reads S-T-A-E-E-I, row 3 reads E-I-U-M-H-N, row 4 reads H-M-R-S-Y-P, row 5 reads T-C-E-A-C-S, row 6 reads U-A-R-T-I-E, row 7 reads R-E-L-E-A-P, and row 8 reads E-T-I-S-E-C.
How hard was the December 10 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #647 comes out average, ahead of 48% of them.
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 December 10 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #647 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the December 10 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 10, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 10, 2025 is “A Nobel effort”, on puzzle #647. It is answered by the spangram LAUREATES, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 10, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for December 10, 2025 are CHEMISTRY, LITERATURE, MEDICINE, PEACE and PHYSICS, plus the spangram LAUREATES.
What was the big word in the December 10, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 10, 2025 is LAUREATES, 9 letters long, running from row 1, column 3 to row 8, column 4. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “A Nobel effort” mean?
The Strands theme “A Nobel effort” for December 10, 2025 means LAUREATES — 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 December 10, 2025?
Strands puzzle #647 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 10, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #647 rates average on a computed index, harder than 48% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 10, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 is #647, 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 December 2025, part of the full Strands archive.