#294Sunday, December 22, 2024
Strands answers for December 22, 2024 — “Are you listening?” (#294)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 22, 2024 (puzzle #294) is WINTERWONDERLAND, a 16-letter answer to the theme "Are you listening?". The 5 theme words are BELLS, GLISTENING, SLEIGH, SNOW and WALKING.
Where is each answer on the December 22 Strands board?
Here are all 5 theme words from the December 22, 2024 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BELLS | 5 | row 1, column 4 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| GLISTENING | 10 | row 7, column 6 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| SLEIGH | 6 | row 1, column 3 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| SNOW | 4 | row 6, column 6 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| WALKING | 7 | row 2, column 3 | row 2, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| WINTERWONDERLAND | 16 | row 4, column 4 | row 4, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 22 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 6 words tile all 48 cells of the December 22, 2024 grid.
Spangram — 16 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 H-G-S-B-L-S, row 2 reads I-L-W-G-E-L, row 3 reads E-A-I-N-N-A, row 4 reads T-L-K-W-D-L, row 5 reads E-N-I-D-E-R, row 6 reads R-W-N-O-N-S, row 7 reads I-N-O-W-L-G, and row 8 reads G-N-E-T-S-I.
How hard was the December 22 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the December 22, 2024 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 97% 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 22 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #294 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Rohit Crasta. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the December 22 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 22, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 22, 2024 is “Are you listening?”, on puzzle #294. It is answered by the spangram WINTERWONDERLAND, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 22, 2024?
The 5 Strands theme words for December 22, 2024 are BELLS, GLISTENING, SLEIGH, SNOW and WALKING, plus the spangram WINTERWONDERLAND.
What was the big word in the December 22, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 22, 2024 is WINTERWONDERLAND, 16 letters long, running from row 4, column 4 to row 4, column 5. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Are you listening?” mean?
The Strands theme “Are you listening?” for December 22, 2024 means WINTERWONDERLAND — 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 22, 2024?
Strands puzzle #294 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 22, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #294 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 97% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 22, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, December 22, 2024 is #294, 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.