#590Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Strands answers for October 14, 2025 — “This & that” (#590)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for October 14, 2025 (puzzle #590) is ROCKANDROLL, a 11-letter answer to the theme "This & that". The 6 theme words are BOULDER, CRESCENT, DINNER, JELLY, PEBBLE and STONE.
Where is each answer on the October 14 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #590 is 6 theme words and one spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOULDER | 7 | row 2, column 3 | row 1, column 6 | left to right |
| CRESCENT | 8 | row 8, column 2 | row 7, column 6 | left to right |
| DINNER | 6 | row 6, column 4 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| JELLY | 5 | row 5, column 5 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| PEBBLE | 6 | row 1, column 3 | row 2, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| STONE | 5 | row 4, column 1 | row 4, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| ROCKANDROLL | 11 | row 5, column 1 | row 6, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the October 14 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #590 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
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 B-E-P-O-U-R, row 2 reads B-E-B-L-E-N, row 3 reads L-T-O-D-A-D, row 4 reads S-N-E-K-R-E, row 5 reads R-O-C-O-J-L, row 6 reads N-L-L-D-Y-L, row 7 reads E-N-I-S-C-T, and row 8 reads R-C-R-E-E-N.
How hard was the October 14 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #590 as average: it sits at the 42th 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 October 14 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #590 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the October 14 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on October 14, 2025?
The Strands clue for October 14, 2025 is “This & that”, on puzzle #590. It is answered by the spangram ROCKANDROLL, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on October 14, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for October 14, 2025 are BOULDER, CRESCENT, DINNER, JELLY, PEBBLE and STONE, plus the spangram ROCKANDROLL.
What was the big word in the October 14, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for October 14, 2025 is ROCKANDROLL, 11 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 6, column 2. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “This & that” mean?
The Strands theme “This & that” for October 14, 2025 means ROCKANDROLL — 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 October 14, 2025?
Strands puzzle #590 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the October 14, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #590 rates average on a computed index, harder than 42% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on October 14, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 is #590, 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 October 2025, part of the full Strands archive.