#653Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Strands answers for December 16, 2025 — “Let me count the ways” (#653)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 16, 2025 (puzzle #653) is HIGHPRAISE, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Let me count the ways". The 5 theme words are BEAUTIFUL, CHARMING, FUNNY, KINDHEARTED and SMART.
Where is each answer on the December 16 Strands board?
Strands #653 resolves to these 5 theme words plus the spangram HIGHPRAISE.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEAUTIFUL | 9 | row 8, column 5 | row 4, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| CHARMING | 8 | row 6, column 1 | row 1, column 1 | bottom to top |
| FUNNY | 5 | row 2, column 2 | row 1, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| KINDHEARTED | 11 | row 1, column 5 | row 6, column 6 | top to bottom |
| SMART | 5 | row 8, column 3 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| HIGHPRAISE | 10 | row 8, column 6 | row 1, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 16 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 letters5 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 G-Y-N-E-K-I, row 2 reads N-F-N-S-N-D, row 3 reads I-M-U-I-H-A, row 4 reads R-A-L-A-E-R, row 5 reads H-F-U-R-E-T, row 6 reads C-I-T-P-H-D, row 7 reads A-M-U-A-G-I, and row 8 reads T-R-S-E-B-H.
How hard was the December 16 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #653 as hard: it sits at the 94th 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 December 16 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #653 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Sam Corbin. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the December 16 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 16, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 16, 2025 is “Let me count the ways”, on puzzle #653. It is answered by the spangram HIGHPRAISE, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 16, 2025?
The 5 Strands theme words for December 16, 2025 are BEAUTIFUL, CHARMING, FUNNY, KINDHEARTED and SMART, plus the spangram HIGHPRAISE.
What was the big word in the December 16, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 16, 2025 is HIGHPRAISE, 10 letters long, running from row 8, column 6 to row 1, 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 “Let me count the ways” mean?
The Strands theme “Let me count the ways” for December 16, 2025 means HIGHPRAISE — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands December 16, 2025?
Strands puzzle #653 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 16, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #653 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 94% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 16, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 is #653, 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 December 2025, part of the full Strands archive.