#300Saturday, December 28, 2024
Strands answers for December 28, 2024 — “Just the essentials” (#300)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 28, 2024 (puzzle #300) is AROMATHERAPY, a 12-letter answer to the theme "Just the essentials". The 4 theme words are CEDARWOOD, EUCALYPTUS, LAVENDER and PATCHOULI.
Where is each answer on the December 28 Strands board?
The 4 theme words for Strands on December 28, 2024 are listed below, followed by the spangram.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEDARWOOD | 9 | row 8, column 5 | row 4, column 6 | bottom to top |
| EUCALYPTUS | 10 | row 2, column 3 | row 1, column 6 | left to right |
| LAVENDER | 8 | row 7, column 5 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| PATCHOULI | 9 | row 7, column 3 | row 4, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| AROMATHERAPY | 12 | row 2, column 6 | row 3, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 28 Strands grid look like?
The Strands board for December 28, 2024 is a six-column, eight-row grid of 48 letters.
Spangram — 12 letters4 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 C-A-L-P-U-S, row 2 reads T-U-E-Y-T-A, row 3 reads H-A-M-O-R-Y, row 4 reads I-E-R-A-P-D, row 5 reads L-O-H-O-O-R, row 6 reads U-C-A-A-W-A, row 7 reads E-T-P-V-L-D, and row 8 reads R-D-N-E-C-E.
How hard was the December 28 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the December 28, 2024 puzzle lands in the hard range — above 99% 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 28 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #300 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 28 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 28, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 28, 2024 is “Just the essentials”, on puzzle #300. It is answered by the spangram AROMATHERAPY, and all 4 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 28, 2024?
The 4 Strands theme words for December 28, 2024 are CEDARWOOD, EUCALYPTUS, LAVENDER and PATCHOULI, plus the spangram AROMATHERAPY.
What was the big word in the December 28, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 28, 2024 is AROMATHERAPY, 12 letters long, running from row 2, column 6 to row 3, column 6. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Just the essentials” mean?
The Strands theme “Just the essentials” for December 28, 2024 means AROMATHERAPY — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 4 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands December 28, 2024?
Strands puzzle #300 has 4 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 28, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #300 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 99% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 28, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, December 28, 2024 is #300, 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.