#165Thursday, August 15, 2024
Strands answers for August 15, 2024 — “Is this some kind of joke?” (#165)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for August 15, 2024 (puzzle #165) is YOUREKIDDING, a 12-letter answer to the theme "Is this some kind of joke?". The 6 theme words are BUFFOON, CLOWN, COMIC, FOOL, JESTER and PRANKSTER.
Where is each answer on the August 15 Strands board?
Strands #165 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram YOUREKIDDING.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUFFOON | 7 | row 8, column 5 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| CLOWN | 5 | row 4, column 1 | row 7, column 1 | top to bottom |
| COMIC | 5 | row 8, column 1 | row 7, column 4 | left to right |
| FOOL | 4 | row 1, column 2 | row 3, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| JESTER | 6 | row 2, column 2 | row 6, column 2 | top to bottom |
| PRANKSTER | 9 | row 1, column 6 | row 5, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| YOUREKIDDING | 12 | row 3, column 3 | row 8, column 4 | top to bottom |
What did the August 15 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #165 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 12 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 O-F-U-R-R-P, row 2 reads O-J-O-E-A-N, row 3 reads L-E-Y-K-S-K, row 4 reads C-T-S-I-E-T, row 5 reads L-E-D-R-O-O, row 6 reads O-R-D-I-F-N, row 7 reads N-W-I-C-N-F, and row 8 reads C-O-M-G-B-U.
How hard was the August 15 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #165 as hard: it sits at the 82th 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 August 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #165 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 August 15 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on August 15, 2024?
The Strands clue for August 15, 2024 is “Is this some kind of joke?”, on puzzle #165. It is answered by the spangram YOUREKIDDING, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on August 15, 2024?
The 6 Strands theme words for August 15, 2024 are BUFFOON, CLOWN, COMIC, FOOL, JESTER and PRANKSTER, plus the spangram YOUREKIDDING.
What was the big word in the August 15, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for August 15, 2024 is YOUREKIDDING, 12 letters long, running from row 3, column 3 to row 8, 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 “Is this some kind of joke?” mean?
The Strands theme “Is this some kind of joke?” for August 15, 2024 means YOUREKIDDING — 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 August 15, 2024?
Strands puzzle #165 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the August 15, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #165 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 82% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on August 15, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Thursday, August 15, 2024 is #165, 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 August 2024, part of the full Strands archive.