#301Sunday, December 29, 2024
Strands answers for December 29, 2024 — “Festival of Lights delights” (#301)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 29, 2024 (puzzle #301) is HANUKKAHFOODS, a 13-letter answer to the theme "Festival of Lights delights". The 5 theme words are APPLESAUCE, BRISKET, CHALLAH, KUGEL and LATKES.
Where is each answer on the December 29 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #301 is 5 theme words and one spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APPLESAUCE | 10 | row 3, column 5 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| BRISKET | 7 | row 5, column 4 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| CHALLAH | 7 | row 8, column 6 | row 8, column 3 | right to left |
| KUGEL | 5 | row 2, column 1 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| LATKES | 6 | row 8, column 1 | row 5, column 1 | bottom to top |
| HANUKKAHFOODS | 13 | row 4, column 1 | row 8, column 2 | top to bottom |
What did the December 29 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 13 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 U-G-A-U-C-E, row 2 reads K-E-S-L-P-P, row 3 reads L-A-E-U-A-K, row 4 reads H-E-N-F-K-A, row 5 reads S-K-O-B-H-E, row 6 reads T-O-R-S-K-T, row 7 reads A-D-I-A-L-H, and row 8 reads L-S-H-L-A-C.
How hard was the December 29 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #301 as hard: it sits at the 93th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
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 29 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #301 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 29 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 29, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 29, 2024 is “Festival of Lights delights”, on puzzle #301. It is answered by the spangram HANUKKAHFOODS, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 29, 2024?
The 5 Strands theme words for December 29, 2024 are APPLESAUCE, BRISKET, CHALLAH, KUGEL and LATKES, plus the spangram HANUKKAHFOODS.
What was the big word in the December 29, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 29, 2024 is HANUKKAHFOODS, 13 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 8, column 2. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Festival of Lights delights” mean?
The Strands theme “Festival of Lights delights” for December 29, 2024 means HANUKKAHFOODS — 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 29, 2024?
Strands puzzle #301 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 29, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #301 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 93% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 29, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, December 29, 2024 is #301, 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.