#649Friday, December 12, 2025
Strands answers for December 12, 2025 — “Shakespearean titles” (#649)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 12, 2025 (puzzle #649) is THEBARD, a 7-letter answer to the theme "Shakespearean titles". The 6 theme words are MERCHANT, MERRY, MIDSUMMER, SHREW, TEMPEST and TWELFTH.
Where is each answer on the December 12 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on December 12, 2025 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MERCHANT | 8 | row 5, column 2 | row 8, column 1 | top to bottom |
| MERRY | 5 | row 6, column 4 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| MIDSUMMER | 9 | row 3, column 1 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| SHREW | 5 | row 4, column 4 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TEMPEST | 7 | row 3, column 5 | row 1, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| TWELFTH | 7 | row 8, column 4 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| THEBARD | 7 | row 4, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the December 12 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for December 12, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
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 R-M-U-T-S-E, row 2 reads E-M-S-M-P-W, row 3 reads M-I-D-E-T-E, row 4 reads T-H-E-S-H-R, row 5 reads E-M-B-A-R-D, row 6 reads R-C-H-M-H-T, row 7 reads N-A-E-Y-W-F, and row 8 reads T-R-R-T-E-L.
How hard was the December 12 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #649 comes out average, ahead of 35% 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 12 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #649 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 December 12 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 12, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 12, 2025 is “Shakespearean titles”, on puzzle #649. It is answered by the spangram THEBARD, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 12, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for December 12, 2025 are MERCHANT, MERRY, MIDSUMMER, SHREW, TEMPEST and TWELFTH, plus the spangram THEBARD.
What was the big word in the December 12, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 12, 2025 is THEBARD, 7 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 5, 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 “Shakespearean titles” mean?
The Strands theme “Shakespearean titles” for December 12, 2025 means THEBARD — 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 December 12, 2025?
Strands puzzle #649 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 12, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #649 rates average on a computed index, harder than 35% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 12, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, December 12, 2025 is #649, 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.