#197Monday, September 16, 2024
Strands answers for September 16, 2024 — “What a stud!” (#197)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for September 16, 2024 (puzzle #197) is PIERCING, a 8-letter answer to the theme "What a stud!". The 7 theme words are CHEEK, EARLOBE, EYEBROW, NAVEL, NOSE, SEPTUM and TONGUE.
Where is each answer on the September 16 Strands board?
Here are all 7 theme words from the September 16, 2024 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEEK | 5 | row 8, column 5 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| EARLOBE | 7 | row 3, column 5 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| EYEBROW | 7 | row 3, column 1 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| NAVEL | 5 | row 6, column 2 | row 7, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| NOSE | 4 | row 2, column 5 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| SEPTUM | 6 | row 4, column 3 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TONGUE | 6 | row 7, column 3 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PIERCING | 8 | row 4, column 1 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
What did the September 16 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 8 words tile all 48 cells of the September 16, 2024 grid.
Spangram — 8 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 W-O-E-S-B-E, row 2 reads Y-R-B-O-N-O, row 3 reads E-E-E-R-E-L, row 4 reads P-I-S-C-A-R, row 5 reads V-A-E-I-N-G, row 6 reads E-N-P-T-U-M, row 7 reads E-L-T-K-E-E, and row 8 reads U-G-N-O-C-H.
How hard was the September 16 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #197 comes out easy, ahead of 22% 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 September 16 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #197 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Katherine Oung. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the September 16 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on September 16, 2024?
The Strands clue for September 16, 2024 is “What a stud!”, on puzzle #197. It is answered by the spangram PIERCING, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on September 16, 2024?
The 7 Strands theme words for September 16, 2024 are CHEEK, EARLOBE, EYEBROW, NAVEL, NOSE, SEPTUM and TONGUE, plus the spangram PIERCING.
What was the big word in the September 16, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for September 16, 2024 is PIERCING, 8 letters long, running from row 4, 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 “What a stud!” mean?
The Strands theme “What a stud!” for September 16, 2024 means PIERCING — 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 16, 2024?
Strands puzzle #197 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the September 16, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #197 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 22% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on September 16, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, September 16, 2024 is #197, 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 2024, part of the full Strands archive.