#652Monday, December 15, 2025
Strands answers for December 15, 2025 — “Palette episodes” (#652)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 15, 2025 (puzzle #652) is COLORTV, a 7-letter answer to the theme "Palette episodes". The 8 theme words are ACRES, BLOODS, BLUE, GIRLS, GOLDEN, GREEN, LOTUS and WHITE.
Where is each answer on the December 15 Strands board?
The 8 theme words for Strands on December 15, 2025 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACRES | 5 | row 6, column 3 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| BLOODS | 6 | row 8, column 4 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| BLUE | 4 | row 2, column 3 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| GIRLS | 5 | row 7, column 6 | row 5, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| GOLDEN | 6 | row 4, column 6 | row 1, column 6 | bottom to top |
| GREEN | 5 | row 1, column 3 | row 2, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| LOTUS | 5 | row 8, column 6 | row 8, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| WHITE | 5 | row 1, column 5 | row 3, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| COLORTV | 7 | row 6, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the December 15 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for December 15, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 7 letters8 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 E-E-G-H-W-N, row 2 reads N-R-B-I-D-E, row 3 reads U-L-T-E-O-L, row 4 reads E-L-O-R-T-G, row 5 reads O-E-S-S-L-V, row 6 reads C-R-A-T-I-R, row 7 reads O-O-C-U-O-G, and row 8 reads S-D-L-B-S-L.
How hard was the December 15 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #652 comes out average, ahead of 41% 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 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #652 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 15 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 15, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 15, 2025 is “Palette episodes”, on puzzle #652. It is answered by the spangram COLORTV, and all 8 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 15, 2025?
The 8 Strands theme words for December 15, 2025 are ACRES, BLOODS, BLUE, GIRLS, GOLDEN, GREEN, LOTUS and WHITE, plus the spangram COLORTV.
What was the big word in the December 15, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 15, 2025 is COLORTV, 7 letters long, running from row 6, 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 “Palette episodes” mean?
The Strands theme “Palette episodes” for December 15, 2025 means COLORTV — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 8 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands December 15, 2025?
Strands puzzle #652 has 8 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 15, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #652 rates average on a computed index, harder than 41% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 15, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, December 15, 2025 is #652, 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.