#418Friday, April 25, 2025
Strands answers for April 25, 2025 — “It's in the stars” (#418)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 25, 2025 (puzzle #418) is CONSTELLATIONS, a 14-letter answer to the theme "It's in the stars". The 6 theme words are CENTAUR, CROSS, DIPPER, HUNTER, MAIDEN and SWAN.
Where is each answer on the April 25 Strands board?
The 6 theme words for Strands on April 25, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENTAUR | 7 | row 4, column 3 | row 7, column 2 | top to bottom |
| CROSS | 5 | row 6, column 5 | row 8, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| DIPPER | 6 | row 8, column 2 | row 8, column 5 | left to right |
| HUNTER | 6 | row 1, column 6 | row 1, column 3 | right to left |
| MAIDEN | 6 | row 4, column 5 | row 3, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| SWAN | 4 | row 2, column 6 | row 4, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| CONSTELLATIONS | 14 | row 1, column 1 | row 8, column 1 | top to bottom |
What did the April 25 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for April 25, 2025 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 14 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 C-O-R-N-U-H, row 2 reads S-N-E-T-W-S, row 3 reads E-T-N-E-D-A, row 4 reads L-L-C-I-M-N, row 5 reads A-T-E-T-A-R, row 6 reads O-I-N-A-C-O, row 7 reads N-R-U-P-E-S, and row 8 reads S-D-I-P-R-S.
How hard was the April 25 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #418 comes out above average, ahead of 73% 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 25 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #418 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 25 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 25, 2025?
The Strands clue for April 25, 2025 is “It's in the stars”, on puzzle #418. It is answered by the spangram CONSTELLATIONS, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 25, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for April 25, 2025 are CENTAUR, CROSS, DIPPER, HUNTER, MAIDEN and SWAN, plus the spangram CONSTELLATIONS.
What was the big word in the April 25, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 25, 2025 is CONSTELLATIONS, 14 letters long, running from row 1, column 1 to row 8, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “It's in the stars” mean?
The Strands theme “It's in the stars” for April 25, 2025 means CONSTELLATIONS — 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 25, 2025?
Strands puzzle #418 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 25, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #418 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 73% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 25, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, April 25, 2025 is #418, 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.