#339Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Strands answers for February 5, 2025 — “What's your reaction?” (#339)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for February 5, 2025 (puzzle #339) is ALLERGENS, a 9-letter answer to the theme "What's your reaction?". The 7 theme words are DANDER, DUST, FRAGRANCE, LATEX, MOLD, POLLEN and SMOKE.
Where is each answer on the February 5 Strands board?
The 7 theme words for Strands on February 5, 2025 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DANDER | 6 | row 4, column 3 | row 3, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| DUST | 4 | row 6, column 3 | row 5, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| FRAGRANCE | 9 | row 1, column 4 | row 3, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| LATEX | 5 | row 1, column 2 | row 2, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| MOLD | 4 | row 5, column 4 | row 5, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| POLLEN | 6 | row 8, column 4 | row 6, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| SMOKE | 5 | row 6, column 6 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| ALLERGENS | 9 | row 1, column 3 | row 8, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the February 5 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for February 5, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 9 letters7 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 A-L-A-F-R-A, row 2 reads T-E-X-L-C-G, row 3 reads E-R-L-E-N-R, row 4 reads D-A-D-E-O-A, row 5 reads N-T-R-M-L-D, row 6 reads N-S-D-G-M-S, row 7 reads E-U-E-N-O-K, and row 8 reads L-L-O-P-S-E.
How hard was the February 5 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the February 5, 2025 puzzle lands in the easy range — above 26% 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 February 5 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #339 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 5 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on February 5, 2025?
The Strands clue for February 5, 2025 is “What's your reaction?”, on puzzle #339. It is answered by the spangram ALLERGENS, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on February 5, 2025?
The 7 Strands theme words for February 5, 2025 are DANDER, DUST, FRAGRANCE, LATEX, MOLD, POLLEN and SMOKE, plus the spangram ALLERGENS.
What was the big word in the February 5, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for February 5, 2025 is ALLERGENS, 9 letters long, running from row 1, column 3 to row 8, 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 “What's your reaction?” mean?
The Strands theme “What's your reaction?” for February 5, 2025 means ALLERGENS — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 7 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands February 5, 2025?
Strands puzzle #339 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the February 5, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #339 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 26% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on February 5, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 is #339, 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.