#416Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Strands answers for April 23, 2025 — “What a softie!” (#416)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 23, 2025 (puzzle #416) is GETFUZZY, a 8-letter answer to the theme "What a softie!". The 5 theme words are CATERPILLAR, CHENILLE, DUCKLING, PEACH and SLIPPERS.
Where is each answer on the April 23 Strands board?
Here are all 5 theme words from the April 23, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATERPILLAR | 11 | row 1, column 6 | row 6, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| CHENILLE | 8 | row 7, column 5 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| DUCKLING | 8 | row 8, column 4 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| PEACH | 5 | row 3, column 5 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| SLIPPERS | 8 | row 2, column 2 | row 6, column 1 | top to bottom |
| GETFUZZY | 8 | row 1, column 2 | row 8, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the April 23 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 6 words tile all 48 cells of the April 23, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 8 letters5 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 L-G-P-R-A-C, row 2 reads I-S-E-I-E-T, row 3 reads P-T-L-E-P-H, row 4 reads P-E-F-L-A-C, row 5 reads R-U-A-E-N-I, row 6 reads S-L-Z-R-H-L, row 7 reads N-I-K-Z-C-L, and row 8 reads G-C-U-D-Y-E.
How hard was the April 23 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the April 23, 2025 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 82% 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 April 23 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #416 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 23 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 23, 2025?
The Strands clue for April 23, 2025 is “What a softie!”, on puzzle #416. It is answered by the spangram GETFUZZY, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 23, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for April 23, 2025 are CATERPILLAR, CHENILLE, DUCKLING, PEACH and SLIPPERS, plus the spangram GETFUZZY.
What was the big word in the April 23, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 23, 2025 is GETFUZZY, 8 letters long, running from row 1, column 2 to row 8, column 5. 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 softie!” mean?
The Strands theme “What a softie!” for April 23, 2025 means GETFUZZY — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands April 23, 2025?
Strands puzzle #416 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 23, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #416 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 82% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 23, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 is #416, 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.