#521Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Strands answers for August 6, 2025 — “Paint me a picture” (#521)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for August 6, 2025 (puzzle #521) is STILLLIFE, a 9-letter answer to the theme "Paint me a picture". The 6 theme words are BOOK, FRUIT, GUITAR, JEWELRY, PITCHER and SUNFLOWERS.
Where is each answer on the August 6 Strands board?
Strands #521 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram STILLLIFE.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOOK | 4 | row 4, column 4 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| FRUIT | 5 | row 6, column 3 | row 8, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| GUITAR | 6 | row 1, column 4 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| JEWELRY | 7 | row 1, column 1 | row 5, column 1 | top to bottom |
| PITCHER | 7 | row 3, column 2 | row 8, column 2 | top to bottom |
| SUNFLOWERS | 10 | row 5, column 5 | row 4, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
| STILLLIFE | 9 | row 1, column 3 | row 8, column 4 | top to bottom |
What did the August 6 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 — 9 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 J-W-S-G-T-A, row 2 reads E-E-T-U-I-R, row 3 reads L-P-I-O-O-K, row 4 reads R-I-L-B-S-R, row 5 reads Y-T-L-L-S-E, row 6 reads C-R-F-I-U-W, row 7 reads H-U-I-F-N-O, and row 8 reads E-R-T-E-F-L.
How hard was the August 6 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #521 as easy: it sits at the 28th 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 6 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #521 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 6 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on August 6, 2025?
The Strands clue for August 6, 2025 is “Paint me a picture”, on puzzle #521. It is answered by the spangram STILLLIFE, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on August 6, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for August 6, 2025 are BOOK, FRUIT, GUITAR, JEWELRY, PITCHER and SUNFLOWERS, plus the spangram STILLLIFE.
What was the big word in the August 6, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for August 6, 2025 is STILLLIFE, 9 letters long, running from row 1, 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 “Paint me a picture” mean?
The Strands theme “Paint me a picture” for August 6, 2025 means STILLLIFE — 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 6, 2025?
Strands puzzle #521 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the August 6, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #521 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 28% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on August 6, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 is #521, 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.