#396Thursday, April 3, 2025
Strands answers for April 3, 2025 — “Get the bug” (#396)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 3, 2025 (puzzle #396) is ENTOMOLOGY, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Get the bug". The 6 theme words are ASSASSIN, DOODLE, LADY, LIGHTNING, POTATO and STINK.
Where is each answer on the April 3 Strands board?
Strands #396 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram ENTOMOLOGY.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSASSIN | 8 | row 6, column 1 | row 6, column 6 | left to right |
| DOODLE | 6 | row 7, column 6 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| LADY | 4 | row 1, column 3 | row 3, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| LIGHTNING | 9 | row 4, column 2 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| POTATO | 6 | row 7, column 2 | row 7, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| STINK | 5 | row 3, column 5 | row 2, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| ENTOMOLOGY | 10 | row 4, column 1 | row 3, column 6 | left to right |
What did the April 3 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 10 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 I-N-L-A-N-I, row 2 reads N-T-H-D-K-T, row 3 reads G-G-I-Y-S-Y, row 4 reads E-L-O-M-O-G, row 5 reads S-N-T-O-L-I, row 6 reads A-S-A-S-S-N, row 7 reads O-P-O-E-L-D, and row 8 reads T-A-T-D-O-O.
How hard was the April 3 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #396 as hard: it sits at the 80th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
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 3 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #396 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 April 3 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 3, 2025?
The Strands clue for April 3, 2025 is “Get the bug”, on puzzle #396. It is answered by the spangram ENTOMOLOGY, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 3, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for April 3, 2025 are ASSASSIN, DOODLE, LADY, LIGHTNING, POTATO and STINK, plus the spangram ENTOMOLOGY.
What was the big word in the April 3, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 3, 2025 is ENTOMOLOGY, 10 letters long, running from row 4, 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 “Get the bug” mean?
The Strands theme “Get the bug” for April 3, 2025 means ENTOMOLOGY — 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 3, 2025?
Strands puzzle #396 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 3, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #396 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 80% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 3, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, April 3, 2025 is #396, 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.