#351Monday, February 17, 2025
Strands answers for February 17, 2025 — “Sun shade” (#351)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for February 17, 2025 (puzzle #351) is YELLOW, a 6-letter answer to the theme "Sun shade". The 6 theme words are CANARY, DAFFODIL, GOLDENROD, LEMON, MUSTARD and SAFFRON.
Where is each answer on the February 17 Strands board?
Here are all 6 theme words from the February 17, 2025 Strands puzzle, with the spangram last.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CANARY | 6 | row 2, column 3 | row 4, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| DAFFODIL | 8 | row 3, column 4 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| GOLDENROD | 9 | row 5, column 4 | row 7, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| LEMON | 5 | row 7, column 3 | row 8, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| MUSTARD | 7 | row 6, column 5 | row 5, column 1 | right to left |
| SAFFRON | 7 | row 1, column 4 | row 1, column 1 | right to left |
| YELLOW | 6 | row 5, column 6 | row 4, column 1 | right to left |
What did the February 17 Strands grid look like?
Every letter below appears in exactly one answer — the 7 words tile all 48 cells of the February 17, 2025 grid.
Spangram — 6 letters6 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 N-O-A-S-D-L, row 2 reads R-F-C-A-O-I, row 3 reads F-A-N-D-A-F, row 4 reads W-Y-R-L-E-F, row 5 reads D-O-L-G-O-Y, row 6 reads R-T-S-U-M-L, row 7 reads O-A-L-D-O-D, and row 8 reads N-M-E-R-N-E.
How hard was the February 17 Strands puzzle?
Measured against the full archive, the February 17, 2025 puzzle lands in the above average range — above 75% 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 February 17 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #351 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 February 17 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on February 17, 2025?
The Strands clue for February 17, 2025 is “Sun shade”, on puzzle #351. It is answered by the spangram YELLOW, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on February 17, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for February 17, 2025 are CANARY, DAFFODIL, GOLDENROD, LEMON, MUSTARD and SAFFRON, plus the spangram YELLOW.
What was the big word in the February 17, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for February 17, 2025 is YELLOW, 6 letters long, running from row 5, column 6 to row 4, 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 “Sun shade” mean?
The Strands theme “Sun shade” for February 17, 2025 means YELLOW — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands February 17, 2025?
Strands puzzle #351 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the February 17, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #351 rates above average on a computed index, harder than 75% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on February 17, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Monday, February 17, 2025 is #351, 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 February 2025, part of the full Strands archive.