#287Sunday, December 15, 2024
Strands answers for December 15, 2024 — “Moonlighting” (#287)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 15, 2024 (puzzle #287) is LUNARPHASE, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Moonlighting". The 6 theme words are CRESCENT, FULL, GIBBOUS, QUARTER, WANING and WAXING.
Where is each answer on the December 15 Strands board?
Here are all 6 theme words from the December 15, 2024 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRESCENT | 8 | row 7, column 4 | row 5, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| FULL | 4 | row 2, column 4 | row 1, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| GIBBOUS | 7 | row 8, column 3 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| QUARTER | 7 | row 6, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| WANING | 6 | row 4, column 6 | row 1, column 5 | bottom to top |
| WAXING | 6 | row 2, column 1 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| LUNARPHASE | 10 | row 5, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the December 15 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 7 words tile all 48 cells of the December 15, 2024 grid.
Spangram — 10 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 A-X-L-L-G-I, row 2 reads W-I-U-F-N-N, row 3 reads N-A-R-P-H-A, row 4 reads G-N-E-N-A-W, row 5 reads L-U-C-T-S-E, row 6 reads O-B-E-S-U-Q, row 7 reads U-B-R-C-A-E, and row 8 reads S-I-G-R-T-R.
How hard was the December 15 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the December 15, 2024 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 80% of all Strands puzzles.
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 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #287 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 15 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 15, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 15, 2024 is “Moonlighting”, on puzzle #287. It is answered by the spangram LUNARPHASE, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 15, 2024?
The 6 Strands theme words for December 15, 2024 are CRESCENT, FULL, GIBBOUS, QUARTER, WANING and WAXING, plus the spangram LUNARPHASE.
What was the big word in the December 15, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 15, 2024 is LUNARPHASE, 10 letters long, running from row 5, 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 “Moonlighting” mean?
The Strands theme “Moonlighting” for December 15, 2024 means LUNARPHASE — 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 15, 2024?
Strands puzzle #287 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 15, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #287 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 80% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 15, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, December 15, 2024 is #287, 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 2024, part of the full Strands archive.