#414Monday, April 21, 2025
Strands answers for April 21, 2025 — “What talent!” (#414)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 21, 2025 (puzzle #414) is VARIETYACTS, a 11-letter answer to the theme "What talent!". The 6 theme words are ACROBAT, COMIC, DANCER, DUET, JUGGLER and MAGICIAN.
Where is each answer on the April 21 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on April 21, 2025 are listed below, followed by the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACROBAT | 7 | row 1, column 6 | row 4, column 6 | top to bottom |
| COMIC | 5 | row 4, column 3 | row 5, column 6 | left to right |
| DANCER | 6 | row 8, column 6 | row 6, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| DUET | 4 | row 7, column 2 | row 7, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| JUGGLER | 7 | row 4, column 1 | row 8, column 1 | top to bottom |
| MAGICIAN | 8 | row 2, column 2 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| VARIETYACTS | 11 | row 8, column 4 | row 3, column 4 | bottom to top |
What did the April 21 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for April 21, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
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 A-C-N-A-R-A, row 2 reads Y-M-T-I-O-C, row 3 reads T-A-G-S-C-B, row 4 reads J-E-C-I-A-T, row 5 reads G-U-I-O-I-C, row 6 reads L-G-R-M-R-E, row 7 reads E-D-T-A-C-N, and row 8 reads R-U-E-V-A-D.
How hard was the April 21 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #414 comes out hard, ahead of 93% 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 April 21 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #414 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 April 21 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 21, 2025?
The Strands clue for April 21, 2025 is “What talent!”, on puzzle #414. It is answered by the spangram VARIETYACTS, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 21, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for April 21, 2025 are ACROBAT, COMIC, DANCER, DUET, JUGGLER and MAGICIAN, plus the spangram VARIETYACTS.
What was the big word in the April 21, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 21, 2025 is VARIETYACTS, 11 letters long, running from row 8, column 4 to row 3, column 4. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “What talent!” mean?
The Strands theme “What talent!” for April 21, 2025 means VARIETYACTS — 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 April 21, 2025?
Strands puzzle #414 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 21, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #414 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 93% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 21, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, April 21, 2025 is #414, 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 April 2025, part of the full Strands archive.