#438Thursday, May 15, 2025
Strands answers for May 15, 2025 — “Animal drives” (#438)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for May 15, 2025 (puzzle #438) is AUTOMOBILES, a 11-letter answer to the theme "Animal drives". The 6 theme words are BEETLE, BRONCO, IMPALA, JAGUAR, MUSTANG and RABBIT.
Where is each answer on the May 15 Strands board?
Here are all 6 theme words from the May 15, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEETLE | 6 | row 8, column 1 | row 6, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| BRONCO | 6 | row 2, column 2 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| IMPALA | 6 | row 5, column 1 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| JAGUAR | 6 | row 4, column 4 | row 2, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| MUSTANG | 7 | row 6, column 5 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| RABBIT | 6 | row 3, column 6 | row 1, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| AUTOMOBILES | 11 | row 3, column 2 | row 5, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the May 15 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 7 words tile all 48 cells of the May 15, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 11 letters6 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 N-C-O-A-T-I, row 2 reads O-B-R-U-B-A, row 3 reads R-A-A-G-B-R, row 4 reads U-O-M-J-L-E, row 5 reads I-T-O-B-I-S, row 6 reads L-M-P-E-M-U, row 7 reads A-A-E-L-G-S, and row 8 reads B-E-T-N-A-T.
How hard was the May 15 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #438 comes out hard, ahead of 88% of them.
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 May 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #438 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 May 15 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on May 15, 2025?
The Strands clue for May 15, 2025 is “Animal drives”, on puzzle #438. It is answered by the spangram AUTOMOBILES, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on May 15, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for May 15, 2025 are BEETLE, BRONCO, IMPALA, JAGUAR, MUSTANG and RABBIT, plus the spangram AUTOMOBILES.
What was the big word in the May 15, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for May 15, 2025 is AUTOMOBILES, 11 letters long, running from row 3, column 2 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 “Animal drives” mean?
The Strands theme “Animal drives” for May 15, 2025 means AUTOMOBILES — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands May 15, 2025?
Strands puzzle #438 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the May 15, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #438 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 88% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on May 15, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, May 15, 2025 is #438, 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 May 2025, part of the full Strands archive.