#302Monday, December 30, 2024
Strands answers for December 30, 2024 — “Keep it classical” (#302)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for December 30, 2024 (puzzle #302) is COMPOSITION, a 11-letter answer to the theme "Keep it classical". The 5 theme words are CONCERTO, OVERTURE, PRELUDE, SONATA and SYMPHONY.
Where is each answer on the December 30 Strands board?
Here are all 5 theme words from the December 30, 2024 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONCERTO | 8 | row 8, column 6 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| OVERTURE | 8 | row 6, column 2 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| PRELUDE | 7 | row 2, column 3 | row 6, column 4 | top to bottom |
| SONATA | 6 | row 2, column 5 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| SYMPHONY | 8 | row 3, column 4 | row 3, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| COMPOSITION | 11 | row 4, column 1 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the December 30 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 6 words tile all 48 cells of the December 30, 2024 grid.
Spangram — 11 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 H-P-A-T-A-N, row 2 reads O-M-P-R-S-O, row 3 reads N-Y-Y-S-E-L, row 4 reads C-O-M-P-O-U, row 5 reads U-R-E-S-D-O, row 6 reads T-O-I-E-I-N, row 7 reads R-E-V-T-C-N, and row 8 reads O-T-R-E-O-C.
How hard was the December 30 Strands puzzle?
On the same measure applied to every puzzle since 2024, Strands #302 comes out average, ahead of 39% of them.
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 30 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #302 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 30 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on December 30, 2024?
The Strands clue for December 30, 2024 is “Keep it classical”, on puzzle #302. It is answered by the spangram COMPOSITION, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on December 30, 2024?
The 5 Strands theme words for December 30, 2024 are CONCERTO, OVERTURE, PRELUDE, SONATA and SYMPHONY, plus the spangram COMPOSITION.
What was the big word in the December 30, 2024 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for December 30, 2024 is COMPOSITION, 11 letters long, running from row 4, column 1 to row 6, 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 “Keep it classical” mean?
The Strands theme “Keep it classical” for December 30, 2024 means COMPOSITION — 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 30, 2024?
Strands puzzle #302 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the December 30, 2024 Strands puzzle?
Strands #302 rates average on a computed index, harder than 39% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on December 30, 2024?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, December 30, 2024 is #302, 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.