#318Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Strands answers for January 15, 2025 — “Thar she blows!” (#318)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 15, 2025 (puzzle #318) is WHALES, a 6-letter answer to the theme "Thar she blows!". The 8 theme words are BALEEN, BELUGA, BLUE, GRAY, HUMPBACK, ORCA, RIGHT and SPERM.
Where is each answer on the January 15 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #318 is 8 theme words and one 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALEEN | 6 | row 1, column 6 | row 1, column 3 | right to left |
| BELUGA | 6 | row 4, column 1 | row 1, column 1 | bottom to top |
| BLUE | 4 | row 5, column 6 | row 8, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| GRAY | 4 | row 6, column 1 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| HUMPBACK | 8 | row 4, column 5 | row 3, column 2 | right to left |
| ORCA | 4 | row 7, column 3 | row 5, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| RIGHT | 5 | row 8, column 5 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| SPERM | 5 | row 8, column 3 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| WHALES | 6 | row 5, column 1 | row 4, column 6 | left to right |
What did the January 15 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #318 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 6 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 A-U-N-E-E-B, row 2 reads G-L-A-B-L-A, row 3 reads E-K-C-P-M-U, row 4 reads B-H-A-L-H-S, row 5 reads W-A-Y-A-E-B, row 6 reads G-R-R-C-L-H, row 7 reads M-P-O-U-T-G, and row 8 reads R-E-S-E-R-I.
How hard was the January 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands #318 scores average on our difficulty index, harder than 32% of every Strands puzzle published so far.
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 January 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #318 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 January 15 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 15, 2025?
The Strands clue for January 15, 2025 is “Thar she blows!”, on puzzle #318. It is answered by the spangram WHALES, and all 8 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 15, 2025?
The 8 Strands theme words for January 15, 2025 are BALEEN, BELUGA, BLUE, GRAY, HUMPBACK, ORCA, RIGHT and SPERM, plus the spangram WHALES.
What was the big word in the January 15, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 15, 2025 is WHALES, 6 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 4, 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 “Thar she blows!” mean?
The Strands theme “Thar she blows!” for January 15, 2025 means WHALES — 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 January 15, 2025?
Strands puzzle #318 has 8 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 15, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #318 rates average on a computed index, harder than 32% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 15, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 is #318, 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 January 2025, part of the full Strands archive.