#281Monday, December 9, 2024
Strands answers for December 9, 2024 — “Quiet at first” (#281)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 9, 2024 (puzzle #281) is SILENTLETTER, a 12-letter answer to the theme "Quiet at first". The 6 theme words are GNOME, HONESTY, KNUCKLE, MNEMONIC, PSALM and WRAP.
Where is each answer on the December 9 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on December 9, 2024 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GNOME | 5 | row 4, column 2 | row 8, column 1 | top to bottom |
| HONESTY | 7 | row 3, column 5 | row 6, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| KNUCKLE | 7 | row 1, column 6 | row 2, column 3 | right to left |
| MNEMONIC | 8 | row 5, column 3 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PSALM | 5 | row 7, column 2 | row 7, column 5 | left to right |
| WRAP | 4 | row 6, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| SILENTLETTER | 12 | row 4, column 1 | row 3, column 6 | left to right |
What did the December 9 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for December 9, 2024 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 12 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 C-I-L-K-U-K, row 2 reads N-M-E-C-E-N, row 3 reads O-I-E-T-H-R, row 4 reads S-G-L-N-T-O, row 5 reads N-E-M-E-L-N, row 6 reads O-Y-N-T-E-W, row 7 reads M-P-T-S-M-R, and row 8 reads E-S-A-L-A-P.
How hard was the December 9 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #281 comes out hard, ahead of 87% 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 9 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #281 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 9 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 9, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 9, 2024 is “Quiet at first”, on puzzle #281. It is answered by the spangram SILENTLETTER, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 9, 2024?
The 6 Strands theme words for December 9, 2024 are GNOME, HONESTY, KNUCKLE, MNEMONIC, PSALM and WRAP, plus the spangram SILENTLETTER.
What was the big word in the December 9, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 9, 2024 is SILENTLETTER, 12 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 3, 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 “Quiet at first” mean?
The Strands theme “Quiet at first” for December 9, 2024 means SILENTLETTER — 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 9, 2024?
Strands puzzle #281 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 9, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #281 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 87% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 9, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, December 9, 2024 is #281, 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.