#663Friday, December 26, 2025
Strands answers for December 26, 2025 — “Please hold” (#663)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 26, 2025 (puzzle #663) is BOXINGDAY, a 9-letter answer to the theme "Please hold". The 8 theme words are BALLOT, GIFT, LUNCH, MATCH, PIZZA, SHOE, TACKLE and TOOL.
Where is each answer on the December 26 Strands board?
The 8 theme words for Strands on December 26, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALLOT | 6 | row 8, column 1 | row 8, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| GIFT | 4 | row 2, column 5 | row 3, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| LUNCH | 5 | row 3, column 6 | row 1, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| MATCH | 5 | row 3, column 3 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PIZZA | 5 | row 8, column 6 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| SHOE | 4 | row 3, column 2 | row 2, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| TACKLE | 6 | row 6, column 2 | row 6, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| TOOL | 4 | row 6, column 4 | row 5, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| BOXINGDAY | 9 | row 4, column 1 | row 7, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 26 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for December 26, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 9 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 H-C-T-H-C-N, row 2 reads O-E-A-I-G-U, row 3 reads H-S-M-F-T-L, row 4 reads B-O-X-I-N-G, row 5 reads C-K-L-L-O-D, row 6 reads A-T-E-T-O-A, row 7 reads A-L-L-Z-A-Y, and row 8 reads B-T-O-Z-I-P.
How hard was the December 26 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the December 26, 2025 puzzle lands in the easy range — above 9% 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 26 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #663 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Nicholas DiMeglio. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the December 26 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 26, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 26, 2025 is “Please hold”, on puzzle #663. It is answered by the spangram BOXINGDAY, and all 8 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 26, 2025?
The 8 Strands theme words for December 26, 2025 are BALLOT, GIFT, LUNCH, MATCH, PIZZA, SHOE, TACKLE and TOOL, plus the spangram BOXINGDAY.
What was the big word in the December 26, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 26, 2025 is BOXINGDAY, 9 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 7, 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 “Please hold” mean?
The Strands theme “Please hold” for December 26, 2025 means BOXINGDAY — 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 26, 2025?
Strands puzzle #663 has 8 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 26, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #663 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 9% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 26, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, December 26, 2025 is #663, 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.