#557Thursday, September 11, 2025
Strands answers for September 11, 2025 — “Take a break” (#557)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for September 11, 2025 (puzzle #557) is METIME, a 6-letter answer to the theme "Take a break". The 7 theme words are EXERCISE, JOURNAL, MEDITATE, PAINT, READ, UNPLUG and WALK.
Where is each answer on the September 11 Strands board?
Here are all 7 theme words from the September 11, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXERCISE | 8 | row 2, column 2 | row 2, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| JOURNAL | 7 | row 3, column 5 | row 3, column 2 | right to left |
| MEDITATE | 8 | row 6, column 6 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| PAINT | 5 | row 6, column 2 | row 8, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| READ | 4 | row 5, column 6 | row 4, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| UNPLUG | 6 | row 1, column 3 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| WALK | 4 | row 6, column 3 | row 7, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| METIME | 6 | row 5, column 1 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the September 11 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 8 words tile all 48 cells of the September 11, 2025 grid.
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 P-N-U-E-S-I, row 2 reads L-E-X-E-R-C, row 3 reads U-L-U-O-J-E, row 4 reads G-A-N-R-M-D, row 5 reads M-E-T-I-A-R, row 6 reads A-P-W-A-E-M, row 7 reads I-K-L-E-I-E, and row 8 reads N-T-T-A-T-D.
How hard was the September 11 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the September 11, 2025 puzzle lands in the easy range — above 11% of all Strands puzzles.
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 September 11 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #557 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Nazar Ospanov. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the September 11 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on September 11, 2025?
The Strands clue for September 11, 2025 is “Take a break”, on puzzle #557. It is answered by the spangram METIME, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on September 11, 2025?
The 7 Strands theme words for September 11, 2025 are EXERCISE, JOURNAL, MEDITATE, PAINT, READ, UNPLUG and WALK, plus the spangram METIME.
What was the big word in the September 11, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for September 11, 2025 is METIME, 6 letters long, running from row 5, 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 “Take a break” mean?
The Strands theme “Take a break” for September 11, 2025 means METIME — 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 September 11, 2025?
Strands puzzle #557 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the September 11, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #557 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 11% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on September 11, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, September 11, 2025 is #557, 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 September 2025, part of the full Strands archive.