#495Friday, July 11, 2025
Strands answers for July 11, 2025 — “It could be verse” (#495)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for July 11, 2025 (puzzle #495) is POETRY, a 6-letter answer to the theme "It could be verse". The 7 theme words are ACROSTIC, BALLAD, ELEGY, EPIC, HAIKU, LIMERICK and SONNET.
Where is each answer on the July 11 Strands board?
Strands #495 resolves to these 7 theme words plus the spangram POETRY.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACROSTIC | 8 | row 5, column 4 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| BALLAD | 6 | row 3, column 5 | row 2, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| ELEGY | 5 | row 4, column 1 | row 3, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| EPIC | 4 | row 4, column 6 | row 1, column 6 | bottom to top |
| HAIKU | 5 | row 1, column 5 | row 1, column 1 | right to left |
| LIMERICK | 8 | row 5, column 3 | row 8, column 4 | top to bottom |
| SONNET | 6 | row 6, column 2 | row 6, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| POETRY | 6 | row 5, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the July 11 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 — 6 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 U-K-I-A-H-C, row 2 reads E-G-A-D-A-I, row 3 reads L-Y-L-L-B-P, row 4 reads E-O-E-T-R-E, row 5 reads P-I-L-A-C-Y, row 6 reads M-S-T-E-C-R, row 7 reads E-O-N-N-I-O, and row 8 reads R-I-C-K-T-S.
How hard was the July 11 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #495 as easy: it sits at the 1th 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 July 11 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #495 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the July 11 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on July 11, 2025?
The Strands clue for July 11, 2025 is “It could be verse”, on puzzle #495. It is answered by the spangram POETRY, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on July 11, 2025?
The 7 Strands theme words for July 11, 2025 are ACROSTIC, BALLAD, ELEGY, EPIC, HAIKU, LIMERICK and SONNET, plus the spangram POETRY.
What was the big word in the July 11, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for July 11, 2025 is POETRY, 6 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 5, 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 “It could be verse” mean?
The Strands theme “It could be verse” for July 11, 2025 means POETRY — 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 July 11, 2025?
Strands puzzle #495 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the July 11, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #495 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 1% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on July 11, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, July 11, 2025 is #495, 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 July 2025, part of the full Strands archive.