#535Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Strands answers for August 20, 2025 — “Mint condition” (#535)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for August 20, 2025 (puzzle #535) is GLOBALCURRENCY, a 14-letter answer to the theme "Mint condition". The 7 theme words are DOLLAR, EURO, KWANZA, PESO, POUND, RAND and RUPEE.
Where is each answer on the August 20 Strands board?
Here are all 7 theme words from the August 20, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOLLAR | 6 | row 5, column 5 | row 4, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| EURO | 4 | row 3, column 4 | row 4, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| KWANZA | 6 | row 4, column 2 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PESO | 4 | row 7, column 3 | row 7, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| POUND | 5 | row 2, column 4 | row 3, column 1 | right to left |
| RAND | 4 | row 8, column 5 | row 7, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| RUPEE | 5 | row 1, column 3 | row 2, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| GLOBALCURRENCY | 14 | row 1, column 4 | row 8, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the August 20 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 8 words tile all 48 cells of the August 20, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 14 letters7 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 E-P-R-G-L-O, row 2 reads N-E-U-P-U-B, row 3 reads D-U-O-E-R-A, row 4 reads A-K-A-R-O-L, row 5 reads Z-W-L-O-D-C, row 6 reads N-A-L-R-R-U, row 7 reads O-E-P-E-D-N, and row 8 reads S-Y-C-N-R-A.
How hard was the August 20 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the August 20, 2025 puzzle lands in the average range — above 41% 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 August 20 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #535 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 20 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on August 20, 2025?
The Strands clue for August 20, 2025 is “Mint condition”, on puzzle #535. It is answered by the spangram GLOBALCURRENCY, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on August 20, 2025?
The 7 Strands theme words for August 20, 2025 are DOLLAR, EURO, KWANZA, PESO, POUND, RAND and RUPEE, plus the spangram GLOBALCURRENCY.
What was the big word in the August 20, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for August 20, 2025 is GLOBALCURRENCY, 14 letters long, running from row 1, column 4 to row 8, column 2. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Mint condition” mean?
The Strands theme “Mint condition” for August 20, 2025 means GLOBALCURRENCY — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 7 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands August 20, 2025?
Strands puzzle #535 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the August 20, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #535 rates average on a computed index, harder than 41% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on August 20, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 is #535, 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 2025, part of the full Strands archive.