#323Monday, January 20, 2025
Strands answers for January 20, 2025 — “Curiouser and curiouser!” (#323)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 20, 2025 (puzzle #323) is WONDERLAND, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Curiouser and curiouser!". The 5 theme words are CATERPILLAR, CROQUET, DORMOUSE, HATTER and RABBIT.
Where is each answer on the January 20 Strands board?
Strands #323 resolves to these 5 theme words plus the spangram WONDERLAND.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATERPILLAR | 11 | row 4, column 3 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| CROQUET | 7 | row 4, column 5 | row 1, column 6 | bottom to top |
| DORMOUSE | 8 | row 6, column 6 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| HATTER | 6 | row 2, column 2 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| RABBIT | 6 | row 1, column 4 | row 3, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| WONDERLAND | 10 | row 1, column 5 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the January 20 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #323 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 10 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 R-E-A-R-W-T, row 2 reads T-H-B-B-O-E, row 3 reads T-A-T-I-N-U, row 4 reads L-I-C-D-C-Q, row 5 reads L-P-A-E-R-O, row 6 reads A-R-T-R-E-D, row 7 reads R-E-L-U-S-O, and row 8 reads D-N-A-O-M-R.
How hard was the January 20 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #323 as average: it sits at the 36th 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 January 20 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #323 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 20 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 20, 2025?
The Strands clue for January 20, 2025 is “Curiouser and curiouser!”, on puzzle #323. It is answered by the spangram WONDERLAND, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 20, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 20, 2025 are CATERPILLAR, CROQUET, DORMOUSE, HATTER and RABBIT, plus the spangram WONDERLAND.
What was the big word in the January 20, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 20, 2025 is WONDERLAND, 10 letters long, running from row 1, column 5 to row 8, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Curiouser and curiouser!” mean?
The Strands theme “Curiouser and curiouser!” for January 20, 2025 means WONDERLAND — 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 January 20, 2025?
Strands puzzle #323 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 20, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #323 rates average on a computed index, harder than 36% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 20, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, January 20, 2025 is #323, 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.