#357Sunday, February 23, 2025
Strands answers for February 23, 2025 — “Oh, this old thing?” (#357)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for February 23, 2025 (puzzle #357) is COLLECTIBLES, a 12-letter answer to the theme "Oh, this old thing?". The 6 theme words are BOBBLEHEAD, COIN, COMIC, PLUSHIE, STAMP and VINYL.
Where is each answer on the February 23 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on February 23, 2025 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOBBLEHEAD | 10 | row 6, column 4 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| COIN | 4 | row 6, column 1 | row 3, column 2 | bottom to top |
| COMIC | 5 | row 1, column 6 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| PLUSHIE | 7 | row 1, column 3 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| STAMP | 5 | row 8, column 2 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| VINYL | 5 | row 3, column 5 | row 4, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| COLLECTIBLES | 12 | row 8, column 3 | row 1, column 4 | bottom to top |
What did the February 23 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for February 23, 2025 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 S-U-P-S-O-C, row 2 reads H-L-E-M-I-C, row 3 reads I-N-L-B-V-I, row 4 reads E-I-E-I-L-N, row 5 reads O-L-C-T-O-Y, row 6 reads C-A-L-B-B-B, row 7 reads M-T-O-H-E-L, and row 8 reads P-S-C-E-A-D.
How hard was the February 23 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #357 comes out above average, ahead of 77% 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 February 23 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #357 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Sam Corbin. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the February 23 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on February 23, 2025?
The Strands clue for February 23, 2025 is “Oh, this old thing?”, on puzzle #357. It is answered by the spangram COLLECTIBLES, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on February 23, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for February 23, 2025 are BOBBLEHEAD, COIN, COMIC, PLUSHIE, STAMP and VINYL, plus the spangram COLLECTIBLES.
What was the big word in the February 23, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for February 23, 2025 is COLLECTIBLES, 12 letters long, running from row 8, column 3 to row 1, column 4. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Oh, this old thing?” mean?
The Strands theme “Oh, this old thing?” for February 23, 2025 means COLLECTIBLES — 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 February 23, 2025?
Strands puzzle #357 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the February 23, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #357 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 77% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on February 23, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, February 23, 2025 is #357, 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 February 2025, part of the full Strands archive.