#312Thursday, January 9, 2025
Strands answers for January 9, 2025 — “Off the hook!” (#312)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 9, 2025 (puzzle #312) is TUNAFAMILY, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Off the hook!". The 5 theme words are ALBACORE, BIGEYE, BLUEFIN, SKIPJACK and YELLOWFIN.
Where is each answer on the January 9 Strands board?
Strands #312 resolves to these 5 theme words plus the spangram TUNAFAMILY.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALBACORE | 8 | row 2, column 1 | row 3, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| BIGEYE | 6 | row 7, column 3 | row 6, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| BLUEFIN | 7 | row 5, column 4 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| SKIPJACK | 8 | row 2, column 4 | row 3, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| YELLOWFIN | 9 | row 8, column 1 | row 8, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| TUNAFAMILY | 10 | row 4, column 1 | row 3, column 6 | left to right |
What did the January 9 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
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 A-C-O-K-I-P, row 2 reads A-B-R-S-C-J, row 3 reads L-U-E-K-A-Y, row 4 reads T-N-F-A-M-L, row 5 reads L-A-W-B-L-I, row 6 reads L-O-F-E-F-U, row 7 reads E-I-B-Y-I-E, and row 8 reads Y-N-I-G-E-N.
How hard was the January 9 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #312 as hard: it sits at the 92th 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 9 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #312 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Joanne Song. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the January 9 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 9, 2025?
The Strands clue for January 9, 2025 is “Off the hook!”, on puzzle #312. It is answered by the spangram TUNAFAMILY, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 9, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for January 9, 2025 are ALBACORE, BIGEYE, BLUEFIN, SKIPJACK and YELLOWFIN, plus the spangram TUNAFAMILY.
What was the big word in the January 9, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 9, 2025 is TUNAFAMILY, 10 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 “Off the hook!” mean?
The Strands theme “Off the hook!” for January 9, 2025 means TUNAFAMILY — 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 9, 2025?
Strands puzzle #312 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 9, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #312 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 92% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 9, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, January 9, 2025 is #312, 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.