#293Saturday, December 21, 2024
Strands answers for December 21, 2024 — “Keeping the faith” (#293)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 21, 2024 (puzzle #293) is SACREDSPACES, a 12-letter answer to the theme "Keeping the faith". The 5 theme words are ABBEY, MONASTERY, MOSQUE, TABERNACLE and TEMPLE.
Where is each answer on the December 21 Strands board?
The full answer set for puzzle #293 is 5 theme words and one spangram.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABBEY | 5 | row 5, column 2 | row 6, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| MONASTERY | 9 | row 7, column 1 | row 8, column 6 | left to right |
| MOSQUE | 6 | row 1, column 2 | row 4, column 1 | top to bottom |
| TABERNACLE | 10 | row 1, column 6 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TEMPLE | 6 | row 4, column 5 | row 5, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| SACREDSPACES | 12 | row 4, column 6 | row 6, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 21 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #293 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
Spangram — 12 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 O-M-E-B-A-T, row 2 reads S-R-N-A-C-E, row 3 reads U-Q-R-C-A-L, row 4 reads E-B-E-D-T-S, row 5 reads B-A-E-S-E-E, row 6 reads S-Y-A-P-L-M, row 7 reads M-E-C-T-P-R, and row 8 reads O-N-A-S-E-Y.
How hard was the December 21 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #293 as hard: it sits at the 86th 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 21 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #293 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the December 21 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 21, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 21, 2024 is “Keeping the faith”, on puzzle #293. It is answered by the spangram SACREDSPACES, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 21, 2024?
The 5 Strands theme words for December 21, 2024 are ABBEY, MONASTERY, MOSQUE, TABERNACLE and TEMPLE, plus the spangram SACREDSPACES.
What was the big word in the December 21, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 21, 2024 is SACREDSPACES, 12 letters long, running from row 4, column 6 to row 6, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Keeping the faith” mean?
The Strands theme “Keeping the faith” for December 21, 2024 means SACREDSPACES — 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 21, 2024?
Strands puzzle #293 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 21, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #293 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 86% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 21, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, December 21, 2024 is #293, 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 2024, part of the full Strands archive.