#658Sunday, December 21, 2025
Strands answers for December 21, 2025 — “Big bad wolf” (#658)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 21, 2025 (puzzle #658) is THREELITTLEPIGS, a 15-letter answer to the theme "Big bad wolf". The 7 theme words are BLOW, BRICKS, DOWN, HUFF, PUFF, STICKS and STRAW.
Where is each answer on the December 21 Strands board?
Here are all 7 theme words from the December 21, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLOW | 4 | row 5, column 4 | row 6, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| BRICKS | 6 | row 4, column 6 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| DOWN | 4 | row 6, column 4 | row 8, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| HUFF | 4 | row 1, column 2 | row 2, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| PUFF | 4 | row 1, column 5 | row 2, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| STICKS | 6 | row 7, column 2 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| STRAW | 5 | row 8, column 4 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| THREELITTLEPIGS | 15 | row 3, column 6 | row 4, column 5 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 21 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 8 words tile all 48 cells of the December 21, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 15 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 F-H-L-E-P-U, row 2 reads F-U-I-E-F-F, row 3 reads L-T-T-R-H-T, row 4 reads E-P-I-G-S-B, row 5 reads I-O-L-B-I-R, row 6 reads C-T-W-D-C-S, row 7 reads K-S-O-W-A-K, and row 8 reads S-N-W-S-T-R.
How hard was the December 21 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the December 21, 2025 puzzle lands in the average range — above 50% 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 December 21 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #658 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 December 21 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 21, 2025?
The Strands clue for December 21, 2025 is “Big bad wolf”, on puzzle #658. It is answered by the spangram THREELITTLEPIGS, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 21, 2025?
The 7 Strands theme words for December 21, 2025 are BLOW, BRICKS, DOWN, HUFF, PUFF, STICKS and STRAW, plus the spangram THREELITTLEPIGS.
What was the big word in the December 21, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 21, 2025 is THREELITTLEPIGS, 15 letters long, running from row 3, column 6 to row 4, column 5. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Big bad wolf” mean?
The Strands theme “Big bad wolf” for December 21, 2025 means THREELITTLEPIGS — 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 December 21, 2025?
Strands puzzle #658 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 21, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #658 rates average on a computed index, harder than 50% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 21, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Sunday, December 21, 2025 is #658, 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.